Category Archives: Uncategorized

SAINT AUGUSTINE’S ABBEY, BRISTOL manorial accounts, p. 174. Court Roll. Court of Abbot Robert of S. Aug. 14 Oct. 1524 & 28 Apr. 1525, held by Anthony Poyntz, knight, Capitalis Senescallus. Jurati: 14 at each court, of whom Thomas Eyton, … Continue reading →

A consideration facing research into the English origins of Virginia settlers is a lack of evidence: English parish registers are often incomplete, and are a patchwork of various manuscripts. Siblings of those researched and who they narried are thus hidden. … Continue reading →

1. … Croft. 1.1. George Croft. (1. John Lutley, m. Catherine, dau. of William Jenks (br. of Richard Jenks,* as follows), and Elizabeth, sister of William Adams. 1.1. Adam Lutley. 1.1.1. John Lutley, m. the dau. of John Packington and … Continue reading →

Close associations between English families were repeated in Carolina/Virginia. By this measure, the Kittrells of Virginia were Cottrells of Winford, closely associated with a family of Godwin, of Bristol/ Nailsea. Winford is 6 miles from Bristol. Nailsea is 7 miles … Continue reading →

The vital importance of kinship support in England and colonial America is well documented. Neel stated: ‘Marriage is not simply the union of two persons; rather, it binds together two kin groups. It reunites human society, which time and the … Continue reading →

How is it possible to deduce the ancestry of “Mr.” Edward Brantley, who died between March 30, 1688 and January 1689 in the Upper Parish, Isle of Wight Co., Virginia? It can only be done by understanding the “social environment” … Continue reading →

Any conjecture of the ancestry of such as the Harcourts would commence with this Turulf/Torf/Thorulfr, recognising that any attempt to connect him to an earlier lineage is as insubstantial as a light fog. 1. Turulf/Torf/Thorulfr (“Thor’s wolf”), b. ca. 970. … Continue reading →

I often get asked whether it is certain that some Harris families had a paternal Salman ancestor. It is not, as it is possible to identify a Salaman Herry of Springfield (18 mls N.W. of Prittlewell and Southminster; 7 mls … Continue reading →

It may be probable that Sergeant John Harris (of Blagdon) had more descendants than we know of. For five gerations, at least, a Harris family inhabited land near to where Sergeant John Harris lived. In that I am confident that … Continue reading →

1. John Harrison. Robert Alonzo Brock (Eminent Virginians, vol. 2), wrote: “There was one “Master John Harrison” who was a colonial governor of Virginia, in the year sixteen hundred and twenty-three (Smith’s History of Virginia), elected by the colonists to … Continue reading →

James was a very meticulous researcher, over many years. Like many, he started out with an assumption of his broader ancestry, based on pedigrees found in the tomes of Mr. Burke. Truth of Virginia ancestries is unlikely to be found … Continue reading →

It seems so long ago that I wrote this, and, desparingly, if I wrote it a thousand times, it would be listened to even less; because ancient genealogy is for too many people merely the persuit of the psychological need … Continue reading →

One abiding feature that permeated the early colonists of Virginia was that they partnered with members of their English kinship circle, as a co-operative means of survival; a time immemorial practice. People made transactions, of land, etc., within their kinship … Continue reading →

The strand of which these notes concentrate on is that of Sergeant John Harris, with the proposition that he was of Blagdon, Somerset, England. He has long since been an iconic figure who has attracted a host of theories as … Continue reading →

1. … 1.1. Thomas Bennett, bapt. April 2, 1570. 1.1.1. Thomas Bennett, bapt. Nov. 5, 1603, who m. Agnes Beard, July 17, 1623, and who was the headright of his br., Richard, in 1636. 1.1.2. Richard Bennett, bapt. Aug. 6, … Continue reading →

The case for the ancestry of such Virginia settlers as Thomas Harris, d. 1672, Thomas Harris, d. 1688, and Thomas Harris, d. 1629/30, is made hereinafter. They were of different branches of the same family, from Wiveliscombe, Somerset, England, descendants … Continue reading →

It is the nature of a blog that articles on the same subject supercede each other, and information is scattered thoughout. This article attempts to give a brief summary of the relationship of the families of Crispin and Ivri; joining … Continue reading →

When considering the ancestry of such as Geoffrey le Despenser and his son, Thomas le Despenser, a major issue is an over-reliance on the conjectures of antiquarians of old, which are referenced in modern ‘academic’ format, itself not a substitute … Continue reading →

These notes were originally intended to highlight the connection between the Lancaster and Penny families of Bruton, Somerset. Sir William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia (4th son of Sir Maurice Berkeley, standard bearer to Henry VIII and constable of the Tower), … Continue reading →

The following notes concern a group of families (from whence Thomas Owen of Henrico), that had intermarried over successive generations, to a degree that the thread that ran through them was based on an intricate, and vast, network of various … Continue reading →