On 21 September 1626 at Jamestown, my 10x great-grandmother Rebecca Gray, testified in the witchcraft trial of Joan Wright. She testified that “Goodwife Wright told her she should bury her husband.” This meant Wright predicted the death of Rebecca Gray’s husband Thomas Gray, which fortunately for me did not come true! Rebecca Gray further testified about three other instances in which Joan Wright made predictions of death.       

First, she said that Wright told her that she told Mr. Felgate that “he should bury his wife.” Gray added that Wright told her that she told Thomas Harris [also my ancestor!] “he should bury his first wife then betrothed unto him.” Finally, she testified that Wright told her that a woman [unnamed] said to her “I have a cross man [for a] husband” and that Wright replied, “be content for thou shalt shortly bury him.” In each of these cases, Gray reported, the prediction came true.[1]                 

Others also testified against Joan Wright. Giles Allingtone [Allington] testified about his pregnant wife needing a midwife. He said that asked Wright, but his wife rejected her because she was left-handed.[2] Mrs. Allington wanted someone else, so he reported that he asked Mrs. Grave [Graves] to deliver the baby. He testified that Wright left angry about it and that right after this his wife’s breast “grew dangerously sore” and it took four or five weeks for her to recover. Allington testified that both he and the newborn child became ill, but that he recovered in three weeks and the child in two months. He added that child soon fell ill again and died after five weeks of “extreme pain.”

Daniel Watkins testified said that he was at Mr. Perry’s plantation. He said that Robert Thresher was there as well with a couple of hens he planned to send to Elizabeth Arundle. Wright was there and said to Thresher “Why do you keep these hens tied up? The maid you mean to send them to will be dead before the hens come to her.”        

Mrs. Isabel Perry testified that “after losing a log of light wood [ a bundle of firewood?] out of the fort” Wright railed upon a servant of Goodwife Gates for stealing the wood. Goodwife Gates then accused Wright of witchcraft saying she had “done many bad things at Kickotan [became Elizabeth City 1620] .” Perry added that Wright was asked why she didn’t speak up and clear herself of the charges and that Wright replied, “God forgive them” and made light of it. Perry further testified that Wright threatened Goodwife Gates servant telling her that if she did not return the wood she stole, Wright would “make her dance stark naked” and that the next morning the wood was found in the fort.

Elizabeth Gates also testified saying that Wright went to Kickotan to Mr. Moore’s to buy some chickens, but that he would not sell her any. She added that shortly afterward the chickens died. She further said that Wright threatened her maid [servant] saying she would “make her dance naked and stand before the tree.”          

Robert Thresher testified that Goodwife Wright came to him and requested that he give her some plants. He told her that when he “served his own turn, she should have some.” He added that she went away and that night all of his plants were drowned. Alice Baylie testified that she asked Wright whether she or her husband would die first and that Wright said, “I can tell you if I would, but I am exclaimed against for such things and I’ll tell no more.”              

Joan Wright’s husband of 16 years, Robert Wright, testified that he knew nothing of the crime of which she was accused. Colonial Virginia records do not record the outcome of the case. Given there was no further record, it is thought she was acquitted.   

Gray Family of Jamestown and Surry County, Virginia

Among my earliest ancestors to Virginia are Thomas and Rebecca (———-) Gray. Thomas Gray, who was born about 1593^[3] in England, arrived in Virginia by June 1616. Many researchers have suggested Gray arrived in 1608; however, this appears to originate with John Bennett Boddie’s Virginia Historical Genealogies published in 1954, which states that Thomas Gray “arrived as a boy of 15 in 1608”; however, he offers no source for this statement.[4] Nonetheless, his early arrival in Virginia earned him the designation “Ancient Planter”, which was reserved for those colonists arriving before the end of Sir Thomas Dale’s time in the colony [June 1616], who paid their own passage and remained for three years. Initially, Ancient Planters were to have received a share of the profits of the Virginia Company of London, but when it came time to do so there were none. Instead, Ancient Planters received 100 acres of land for their “personal adventure” and another 100 acres for each share of stock they held in the Virginia Company.^[5] Those receiving these grants were the first English private landowners in Virginia. 

Thomas Gray claimed his dividend of 100 acres in Kickotan [Kecoughtan], which was changed to Elizabeth City in 1620. He sold it to Thomas Purifye on 29 February 1631.[6] On 21 July 1635, Thomas Gray was granted 550 acres in “the County of James” on the southside of the James River (became Surry County in 1652). The land was described as “adjoining on the Eastside to the land or plantation which is now in his possession” and along Rolfe’s and Cross’s Creeks. Of the total, he received 100 acres owed him for being an Ancient Planter. He received an additional 50 acres for “the personal adventure of Anis Gray his first wife into this Colony” and “50 acres more for the personal adventure of Rebecca Gray his now wife into this Colony.” He received another 350 acres for the transportation of his two sons William and Thomas Gray as well as five indentured servants.^[7] This tract was repatented on 26 May 1638.^[8]               

Thomas Gray’s Wives and Children

Thomas Gray was married four times and fathered nine known children. From his land grant above we know his first wife was named Anis (———-) Gray.  Thomas Gray appears on a 16 February 1623/4 list of “The Living in Virginia” residing at Jamestown with his wife [unnamed] and children Jone [Joan] Gray and William Gray.^[9] Anis (———-) Gray died and when a general muster was taken on 23 January 1624/5, Thomas Gray’s wife was Margaret ———-. Listed with them are “their son” William Gray, age 3 (b.c. 1621) and “their daughter” Joan Gray, age 6 (b.c. 1618).^[10]

The marriage to Margaret (———-) Gray was short lived as she was dead by 11 September 1626 when Thomas’ third wife Rebecca (———-) Gray was a witness before the General Court in Joan Wright’s witchcraft trial.^[11] Thomas and Rebecca (———-) Gray had four children including Thomas Gray, b.c. 1626, Rebecca Gray, b.c. 1629, Francis Gray, b.c. 1632 and Lydia Gray, b.c. 1635.

Another General Court case involving Rebecca Gray occurred in 1629, when Christopher Allett testified that about four to six weeks earlier “Goodwife Gray, with her husband and others” came to Mrs. Cheeseman’s house. He noted that William Carter’s wife in an inner room of the house. Upon the Gary’s departure, Allett said that Mrs. Carter [12] asked who the woman was that came to the house. Allett told her “It is your cousin Gray’s wife” to which Mrs. Carter replied, “I will have no such whores to my cousin.” Allett testified that he told her to “take heed” as he had “never heard any ill by that woman.” He said that Carter’s wife replied, “She is a whore, and is reported to be a whore.”  Steven Johnson “affirmeth as much in effect” as had Allett. The court ordered Mrs. Carter to “in open Assembly acknowledge her fault and ask the said Gray’s wife forgiveness.”      

Rebecca (———-) Gray died sometime between 1635 when her last child was born and 1645, which is about the time Thomas Gray married again for a fourth time. Her name is unknown to us, but they had three children including another William Gray, b.c. 1648-49, John Gray, b.c. 1651-52, and another Thomas Gray, b.c. 1652-53. Naming more than one child the same thing was not uncommon. Sometimes the first child died, and a second child was given the same name. Sometimes the person was married multiple times and had a child of the same name by more than one spouse. [13]

Thomas Gray’s other land grants

On 20 July, 1639, Thomas Gray received a patent for 400 acres “upon the head of a creek called by the name of Gray’s Creek” for paying the transportation of eight people into the Colony.^[14] He received an additional grant for 100 acres on 7 June 1642 on the east side of Gray’s Creek “adjoining unto a dividend of 600 acres of land now in the possession of the said Thomas Gray.”^[15] Gray ended up losing the 20 July 1639 grant for 400 acres when on 10 April 1644 it was “made void by not planting and seating same.”^[16] On 14 March 1652/3, Thomas Gray received a grant for 800 acres. This included 400 acres “on the south side of the James River at the head of Smith’s Fort Creek” in the newly formed Surry County (portion of James County south of the James River) and the 400 acres he had lost earlier for failure to plant and seat.^[17]     

 Death of Thomas Gray

Thomas Gray was probably dead by 2 November 1658 when his son Francis Gray transferred his interest in a patent to his brother Thomas Gray.[20] He was certainly dead by 10 May 1659 when Luke Mizell and John Hood referred to him as “Thomas Gray, Sr. dec’d” in depositions taken that day.[21]

Thomas Gray, b.c. 1593, England, d.c. 1658, Surry County, Virginia, married (1) Anis ———-, d. bef. 23 January 1624/5, m. (2) Margaret ———-, d. by. 11 September 1626, m. (3) Rebecca ———–, d. betw, 1635-45, m. abt. 1645, (4) Unknown, d. aft. 1652.

Issue of Thomas Gray (by marriage)

Anis ———-, d. by 23 January 1624/5

            Joan Gray, b.c. 1618

            William Gray, b.c. 1621 (died young)    

Margaret ———-, d. by 11 September 1626

            No known issue

Rebecca ———–, d. betw. 1635-1645

            Thomas Gray, b.c. 1626 – died young

            Rebecca Gray, b.c. 1630

            Francis Gray, b.c. 1632                                   

            Lydia Gray, b.c. 1635 – my line of descent*

Unknown – married about 1645

            William Gray, b.c. 1648 – my line of decent*  

            John Gray, b.c. 1650

            Thomas Gray, b.c. 1652

* I descend from Thomas Gray through two of his children including Lydia Gray who married Samuel Judkins I and William Gray who married Elizabeth Jarratt. Thomas Gray is my 10x great grandfather through daughter Lydia Gray and my 8x great grandfather through son William Gray. Both are ancestors of my 2x great-grandfather Patrick Henry Rowell. His father Richard Rowell is a descended from daughter Lydia Gray and his mother, Rebecca Holt, is descended from son William Gray.

---

[1] McIlwaine, H.R. Minutes of the Council and General Court of Colonial Virginia, 1622-1632, 1670-1676 (Richmond, VA, Library Board, Virginia State Library, 1924) , p. 111-112, 114 https://archive.org/details/minutesofcouncil00virg/page/110/mode/2up; accessed 31 March 2023

[2] These people were deeply religious and very superstitious. While it seems silly today, witchcraft was very much believed in in the 1620s. People believed witches could influence weather, affect the health of livestock and people. Left handedness was associated with the devil and with witchcraft. An example that fostered anti left-handedness is from the King James Bible, Matthew 25:31-42: When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left: 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? Or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not: 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

[3] Thomas Gray gave his age in a 7 March 1653/4 deposition when he gave his age as 60. Surry County, Virginia Deeds, Etc., No. 1 1652-1672, p. 41; https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PX-KHP7?i=36&cat=366316; accessed 3 April 2023. 

[4] Boddie, John Bennett. Virginia Historical Genealogies (United States, Pacific Coast Publishers, 1954), p. 310

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_planter

[6] Land Office Patents No. 1, 1623-1643 (v.1 & 2), p. 323 (Reel 1); Library of Virginia

[7] Land Office Patents No. 1, 1623-1643 (v.1 & 2), p. 283 (Reel 1); Library of Virginia

[8] Land Office Patents No. 1, 1623-1643 (v.1 & 2), p. 631 (Reel 1); Library of Virginia

[9] Hotten, John Camden. Original lists of Persons of Quality 1600-1700 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc. 1986), p. 176

[10] Ibid, p. 228

[11] McIlwaine, H.R. Minutes of the Council and General Court of Colonial Virginia, 1622-1632, 1670-1676 (Richmond, VA, Library Board, Virginia State Library, 1924) , p. 111; https://archive.org/details/minutesofcouncil00virg/page/110/mode/2up; accessed 31 March 2023

[12] William Carter was married three times to Avis Turley, Ann Matthis and Alice Croxon. It is thought this entry refers to Avis Turley. McCartney, Martha W. Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers 1607-1635 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2007), p. 190-191     

[13] A famous Virginia example is Thomas Mann Randolph, Sr. (1741-1793) who married Ann Cary (1745-1789) and had 13 children including Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. (1768-1828). After his wife’s death, Thomas, Sr. married a much younger (31 years!) Gabriella Harvie (1772-1853). They had a son they named – Thomas Mann Randolph (1792-1848). The elder son of the name married Martha, Thomas Jefferson’s daughter. Thomas Jefferson’s mother was a Randolph so they were also cousins. Jefferson spent considerable time in his youth at his cousin Thomas Mann Randolph’s Tuckahoe Plantation in Henrico County. (close to my home!)  

[14] Land Office Patents No. 1, 1623-1643 (v.1 & 2), p. 669 (Reel 1); Library of Virginia

[15] Land Office Patents No. 1, 1623-1643 (v.1 & 2), p. 787 (Reel 1); Library of Virginia

[16] Land Office Patents No. 1, 1623-1643 (v.1 & 2), p. 950 (Reel 1); Library of Virginia

[17] Land Office Patents No. 3, 1652-1655, p. 158 (Reel 2); Library of Virginia

[18] Herrman, A., Faithorne, H. & Withinbrook, T. (1673) Virginia and Maryland as it is planted and inhabited this present year. [London: Augustine Herrman and Thomas Withinbrook] [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2002623131/.

[19] Gray’s Creek, Surry County, Virginia topographical map inset; https://www.topozone.com/virginia/surry-va/stream/grays-creek-33/

[20] Surry County, Virginia Deeds, Etc., No. 1 1652-1672, p. 121;  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PX-KHF9?i=76&cat=366316 ; accessed 3 April 2023

[21] Surry County, Virginia Deeds, Etc., No. 1 1652-1672, p. 131;  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PX-KH6V?i=81&cat=366316 ; accessed 3 April 2023

• Surry County Connections