As I have stated many times, in the English kinship system of old, the benefits of an advantageous marriage were shared by cousins, and this complicates any determination of ancestry based on associations. Nevertheless, my view of the descent of a certain Harris family of Virginia is given hereinafter, and based on ‘the balance of associations’.

1. Thomas Pitt, merchant, of Bristol, d. 1613.
1.1. Robert Pitt.
1.2. Mary Pitt, m. Robert 0wen, d. 1615. (The Davis/Hodges connection; the Davis connection being paramount).
1.2.1. Robert Owen, cousin of William Owen.
1.3. Ann Pitt, m. John Merrick.
1.3.1. Ann Waters.
1.3.2. Mary Waters.
1.4. William Pitt, merchant, of Bristol, d. 1624.
1.4.1. Robert Pitt, of IOW, m. Martha Lear. Will of Robert Pitt, merchant: wife Martha, son John, grandson John Pitt, grandson Wm. Pitt, dau. Hester Bridger, dau. Elizabeth Nosworthy, gr/son Robert P., son of Robert Pitt, dec’d, dau. Brasheire. Proved June 9, 1674. Martha Lear, dau. of Col. John Lear, was widow of Col. Wm. Cole, secretary. Thomas Greenwood, reg. April 9, 1658. Sale of land patented by him to John Jennings (overseer of the Will of Thomas Harris, d. 1672); shows widow m. (1) James Pyland, of Bristol, (2) Thomas Edwards. Witness to conveyance: John Davis, William Lewer. Witness to Delivery: Joseph Bridger, William Cole, John George, Nicholas Hill, Thomas Woodward, James Powell, Nicholas Smith. April 9, 1675. Jennings, John: Leg.-son John; daughter Martha; daughter Mary my land on Lyon’s Creek; Daughter Sarah the land bought of Valentine Chitty; son-in-law William Seward; George Seward, wife Mary. (children under 17); Overseers, Capt. Edmund Wickins, Lt. George Moore, Thomas Moore, William Seward. Oct. 19, 1678. Wit: George Lewer, Mathew Wood. Security was provided by Robert Flake (factor for Bristol merchants) and his br.-in-law, George Moore, Bristol Merchant, uncle of Joyce Moore, wife of Francis England. George Moore had issue: (1) Eleanor Moore, who married Richard Piland, the son of James Piland, bapt. on 30 August 1604, in St Mary’s Le Porte, Bristol, headright of Francis England, in 1642. (2) Ann Moore, who married Thomas White. (The estates of Ann Moore and her husband Thomas White were appraised between 1741-1742 by Thomas Day, John Goodrich, and Edward Brantley. (Chapman, Wills, p. 142). Edward Brantley was security for the estate of Thomas Harris, d. 1672. Their son was John White; his Will probated May 2, 1754 (Chapman, Wills, p. 177); ancestot of Avis White, who m. John Harris, the son of Robert Harris, son of Thomas Harris, d. 1688.
1.4.1.1. John Pitt, m. Sarah Moone, dau. of John Moone;* sister of Mary Moone, wife of Thomas Greene, as follows. The connection between the Moones and Bristol was the coastal trading link between there and the other major south coast port of Portsmouth (Hampshire). The merchants and seafarers of both shared strong associations. Feoffment. Of a parcel of land (40a) in Elson, Hants., which (1) purchased of Edward Meller, Esq., subject to provisions contained in Indenture of 17 November 1641 between John Moone and Owen Jennens. Consideration: £160 (1) Roger Barton the elder of Fareham, Hants., gent. (2) Thomas Sayte the elder of Ellson, p. Alverstoke, Hants., yeoman. Enclosed: (a) Bond for the payment of £40 by John Moone of the Isle of Wight, Virginia, U.S.A., to Owen Jenens of Portsmouth, Hants., gent., 7 November 1641. 1669 April 5. (Isle of Wight Record Office, JER/BAR/3/12/172). Owen Jennens was a Portmouth merchant and its mayor, at various times, between 1605 and 1640. His dau. m. Edward Meller, of the Dorset gentry. It may have been through association with the Moones and Jennens families of Portsmouth that such as the Parkers came to Virginia).
1.4.2. Henry Pitt, who m. Ann, relict of John Watson, aft. 1651. John Watson was the br. of James and Robert Watson; the latter sold land to Henry Pitt, March 10, 1655, witnessed by Thomas Woodward, who sold to Robert Harris the plantation on the Blackwater lately held by Phillip Hanford, April 12, 1667. John Watson was appointed attorney by John Bennett, of London, merchant, April 22, 1669. (Of the Somerset/Virginia family, inntermarried with the Harris). The land of James Watson was adj. that of Thomas Hinson, who sold his land to William Brunt, with the assurances of John Seward, the Bristol sea captain and merchant. (Thomas Harris, d. 1688, settled land adjacent to his). A clause bound Hinson to pay compensation Brunt if Robert Pitt acquired the land. 1643. George Hardy (witnessed Will of Edward Harris, d. 1677) witnessed the deed in which James Ruddock exchanged land between William Lawson and Robert Harris. On June 9, 1675, William Exum and Robert Harris witnessed a deed from Anthony Mathews and wife Ann, to *John Moon, son of said Ann, for 300 ac. on Seward’s Swamp.
1.4.2.1. Thomas Pitt. Quit claim. 1. Henry Pitt, late of Bristol, now of Virginia, U.S.A. 2. Thomas Pitt, his son: Premises: Messuage in Redcliffe Street, St.Thomas. Jan. 28, 1662. (Bristol Archive, 33072/6(. June 9, 1681: John Lear of Nansemond County and Ann his wife, sell to Thomas Pitt for 260, all land that Colonel John George by his Will gave to his then wife, the above mentioned Ann. South side Castle Creek and Quarter Spring, now occupied by Col. James Powell.

(The George family probably came from Pilton, in Somerse (12 mls from Wemore/Cheddar), and were tenants of John Rodney, son of ‘George Rodney of Over Badgworth and Congresbury, Som., and Elizabeth, da. of one Kirton of Cheddar‘. A John George was baptised at Pilton, Nov. 6, 1603, son of a namesake, baptised April 22, 1580, and Marie Kynman, who married Jan. 27, 1602. John George, of Virginia, gave his age as 50 n a deposition dated April 5, 1653. (This may raise a question regarding the John Harris who m. Agnes Comer, in 1635, in Cheddar).

1. Thomas Harris of Mells, carpenter, b. 1494; landowner as tenant of Glastonbury Abbey.
1.1. John Harris, witnessed a Will in 1554 concerning Mells.
1.1.1. John Harris, of Wedmore, m. Joan Stubbs, Feb. 10, 1569, in Wedmore.
1.1.1.1. John Harris, d. 1625, m. Penelope Millard, Sept. 9, 1611, in Wedmore. He m. (2) Christiana Thurston, bapt. 28 Oct. 1591, on Oct. 8, 1618; the great-niece of Joan Thurston, who m. John Counsell, on Aug. 13, 1573. John Harris was named as a ‘Servant’ of Robert Sherwell’ (gent), husband of Maria Beard, da. of John Beard (this family intermarried with the Bennetts of Wiveliscombe). Marie Sherwell, widow of Robert Sherwell, of Blackford, Somerset, gent. Will proved Nov. 26, 1627. ‘To be buried at Wedmore. “My cousin Richard Counsell*. My cousin Margery Hodges”.** Mr. George Hodges, of Wedmore.

(John Harris was the second-cousin of Thomas Harris, d. 1672, nephew of (1) Edward Bennett, of Virginia, and cousin of Richard Bennett. Richard Bennett’s first wife was Anne, who was Charles Barham’s sister (see Douglas Richardson, ‘Plantagenet Ancestry’). Mr. Charles Barham Ex., Thomas Harris (d. 1672) and Thomas Tuke overseers, were officers of the will of William Ridley, who was probably the br. of Elizabeth Ridley, Charles Barham’s wife. A headright of Thomas Harris, d. 1672, was Giles Driver, witnessed here: Bridgman Joyner (guardian of an orphan of Thomas Harris, d. 1688): Appraised by Thomas Mandew, Giles Driver, Andrew Griffin. Ordered in October Last past. R. Dec. 4, 1719. Signed Ann Joyner. (G.B. 23). Thomas Harris, d. 1672, was security, with John Monger, for the estate of Samuel Griffin (whose dau. sold land to John Newman in 1662, br.-in-law of Thomas Harris, d. 1672), recorded March 26, 1666. Mary Davis was the executor, to whom the estate of Edward Harris, d. 1677, as given, owed money. John Monger patented 800 ac. on the north side of the Rappahannock River on July 29, 1650, for the transportation of 16 persons, among which was a Thomas Joyner, most likely the Thomas who settled in IOW Co., who patented 1300 ac. in Cypress Swamp; father of Bridgman).

(2) Robert Bennett, bapt. April 27, 1571; d. circa 1623, in Virginia, m. Alice …. On June 10, 1642, George Hardy received a patent for land adj. that of Alice Bennett on the easternmost side of Lawne’s Creek, IOW Co. (Nugent, p. 140). On April 2, 1644, Justinian Cooper sold to his neighbour, Alice Bennett, widow, for a cow and a calf and barrel of corn, 150 ac. in IOW, between Castle and Cypress Creeks. On July 19, 1647, Alice Bennett deeded the said 150 ac. to her granddaus., Mary (wife of George Hardy) and Sarah Jackson, daus. of Richard Jackson. Edward Bennett’s dau., Silvestra, m. Nicholas Hill (as his second wife and her second husband) when he was advanced in age. On 30 Sept 1664, Lt. Col. Nicholas Hill and his wife Sylvester received a patent of 750 acres in Isle of Wight, “Being the moiety of 1500 acres of land appurtaining unto the said Sylvestra and her sister, who were daughters and co-heirs of Mr. Edward Bennett, deceased, by the riverside in a valley called the Rock. Nicholas Hill’s Will named as overseers his friends Major James Powell, Mr. Thomas Taberer, Mr. Wm. Bressie and John Jennings, and was proved by the oath of Mr. John Newman (of the Wedmore, Somerset, family; br-in-law of Thomas Harris, d. 1672), On Oct. 20, 1675 and by Mrs. Mary Davis, on Oct. 21, 1675. John Jennings had m. (1) Martha Harris, dau. of Robert Harris,* (2) Mary … relict of William Seward, by whom he had issue, John Jennings Jr., husband of Mary Hill, dau. of Nicholas Hill and Sylvestra Bennett. Nicholas Hill appraised the Will of Thomas Harris, d. 1672. (As an aside, I believe that the John Harris, baptised Oct. 1, 1587, and bur. Aug. 3, 1637, in Nunney, Somerset, was Sergeant Harris, and kinsman of his namesakes named herein).

1.1.1.1.1. *Robert Harris. Lawne’s Creek, October 26, 1646: “James Tooke to Robert Harris, all my right and title to this lease”.
1.1.1.1.1.1. Edward Harris, bapt. Aug. 8, 1624, probably d. in 1677, in Virginia. The inventory of Edward Harris states that he owed money to “Mrs Davis”; almost cartainly the wife of John Davis, i.e. Mary Greene; da. of Thomas Greene and Mary Moone, and cousin of Martha Greene, who m. Anthony Fulgham, of Pitminster, Somerset.
1.1.1.1.1.2. Martha Harris, m. John Jennings.
1.1.1.1.2. Thomas Harris, who m. Joan … quite possibly Joan Kirton, bapt. Apr. 15, 1621, dau. of a Thomas Kirton, presumably a junior member of the armigerous family intermarried with the Rodneys (and they with the Hodges), probable landlords of the George family, of Virginia).
1.1.1.1.2.1. Thomas Harris, bapt. Dec. 31, 1637, in Cheddar.
1.1.1.1.2.1.1. Robert Harris, m. Anne Fulgham. The Hole family intermarried with the Fulghams were probably they of Wedmore. Conveyance from Robert Hole, Wedmore, yeoman, son and heir of Marie Hole sister and co-heir of Robert Sherwell, and Temperance his wife to Richard Counsell, Heathhouse, Wedmore, yeoman: ¼ part of free chapel. Reciting letters patent April 14, 1603, grnating the free chapel to Michael Cole and John Rowdon who sold it to Robert Sherwell. April 15, 1625. (Bristol Arch. HA/D/357). Robert Sherwell m. Maria Beard, Oct. 6, 1578.
1.1.1.1.3. John Harris.
1.1.1.1.3.1. John Harris, m. Agnes Comer, Feb. 4, 1635, in Cheddar.
1.1.1.1.3.1.1. John Harris, of him, nothing is known.

(Daniel Boucher, of Bristol, merchant. Will rec. May 1, 1668. Leg. to my kinsman Robert Boucher; dau. Elizabeth; to ***Hodges Councill the younger (guardian of an orphan of Thomas Harris, d. 1688), to William the son of William Hunt; to my son in law George Williams; to Mary the dau. of William Hunt, to Elizabeth Munger the dau. of John Munger, to Elizabeth Davis the dau. of John Davis, deceased; if my dau. Elizabeth dies without issue estate to my kinsman Robert Boucher; remainder to the grandchildren of my deceased wife Elizabeth. Friends John Hardy and Thomas Taberer (related to Thomas Harris, d. 1672), overseers. Witnesses: Hodges Counsell, and William Bacon).

1. John Counsell, m. (2) Joan Thurston, Aug. 13, 1573. (The family of Thurston were established at Thornbury, Gloucestershire, along the south bank of the Bristol Estuary. As the Bridger family, they held land in Woodmancote. Edward Thurston, of Thornbury, in Chancery Proceedings, 1636, is recorded as being the husband of Judith Gwatkins, da. of William Gwatkins. In Virginia, James Bland, of Prince William Co., m. Mary Gwatkins. He was the son of Theodorick Bland and Margaret Mann, who was probably related to Elizabeth Mann: ‘Thomas Mann and wife Elizabeth Mann to Theophilus Joyner (neph. of Bridgeman, a guardian of an orphan of Thomas Harris, d. 1688, 150 acres on Blackwater River and bounded by William Mayo, Bridgeman Joyner, and Hodges Counsell, Wit: William Mayo and Richard Booth. Rec. June 9, 1683).
1.1. *Richard Counsell, bapt. Apr. 4, 1568 (of Westham, parish of Wedmore). (PROB 11/104/18, May 4, 1604).
1.1.1. **Margery Counsell, m. John Hodges, 1610, Wedmore.
1.2. John Counsell, bapt. Dec. 25, 1569.
1.2.1. John Cownsell, bapt 28 Nov. 28, 1601, m. (1) Mary Coomer, Nov. 26, 1631; the sister of Agnes Coomer, who m. John Harris in the adj. parish of Cheddar, Feb. 4, 1635. Richard Jeffries: Dying intestate, administration requested by John Counsell, who married the relict of the said Jeffries, Aug. 9, 1666. R. Oct. 15, 1666. Security, Mr. (Francis) England (B. 2, p. 13), on adj. land to whom settled Thomas Harris, d. 1688
1.2.2. Hodges Counsell Sr.
1.2.2.1. ***Hodges Counsell Jr.

(Elizabeth Rodney (of Cheddar juxta Wedmore, kin of the Hodges family of the latter place), after the decease of her husband, bef. Feb. 10, 1611, m. Henry Norwood “de medio Templo London generosus’ and Eliz. Kirton, Westcamel, widow”. They were the parents of Henry Norwood, of Virginia; br. of Richard Norwood, the father of William Norwood, whose daus. (Lydia and Elizabeth), m. (respectively) John Sowerby, and Francis Branch. On June 9, 1666, George Hardy deeded Francis England 100 ac. where George Branch formerly lived called “Shadow Rock”. (p. 545). George Branch m. Ann England, dau. of Francis, having issue: (1) Francis, who m. Elizabeth Norwood, dau. of William Norwood, aforesaid, (2) George, who m. Susan, dau. of William Corker, sister of Lucy Rose, of whose children Bartholomew Owen was a benefactor. Francis England’s land was adj. that of Thomas Harris, d. 1688, and Matthew Tomlin).

Very much connected, an absurdity to think not; or, put another way, an attempt to claim ancestors by defining who they were; a vanity of vanities.

copyright m stanhope 2018