My 7x great grandfather Charles Hudson (c.1690-1748) wrote his last will and testament on 19 April 1745.[1] The original was no doubt among the countless records consumed by fire on 3 April 1865 fire at Richmond, Virginia where Hanover County and many other old eastern Virginia counties had sent their records during the Civil War believing they would be safer in the Confederate capital. Hanover’s record loss is described as “catastrophic” by the Library of Virginia (LVA).
I had seen Charles Hudson’s will referenced while researching my 6x great grandparents Richard Holland (c.1718-1784) and Sarah Hudson (c.1720-1795) who were both born and raised in Hanover County. The couple were both from wealthy families. Richard’s father was Michael Holland (c.1690-1748) of Hanover and Goochland Counties and Sarah was one of Charles Hudson’s daughters. Both men owned thousands of acres in the counties of Hanover, Louisa, Henrico, Goochland, Albemarle and more.
If you would like to read my three-part series on Micheal Holland and his children:
Richard and Sarah (Hudson) Holland married about 1744. They lived on Meredith’s Creek in Henrico County on land Richard inherited by his father’s will. A 1773 Louisa County Chancery Court case styled Pleasants v. Richard & Sarah Holland tells their story of financial ruin and references her father’s will multiple times. Details in the chancery case prove that Sarah Hudson was Charles Hudson’s daughter, but the will was included in the file.[2]
If you would like to read my four part series on Richard and Sarah (Hudson) Holland and their children, which also features the descendants of the enslaved Patt and Hannah, who were among the more than 65 named enslaved people bequeathed by Charles Hudson in his will:
The search begins
I found a transcription of Hudson’s will in the Virginia Genealogical Society (VGS) Magazine Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr-Jun 1982), p. 59. Unfortunately, the transcription contained either a typo or an omission relevant to my research on Sarah (Hudson) Holland. The introduction noted that the will transcript was “contributed by Mrs. Lucetta Crawford Sammis from a copy found among the unpublished papers of Mrs. Eugenia Glazebrook now in possession of the Virginia Genealogical Society.” I decided to see if I could track down those records and see if they yielded anything further.
I contacted VGS through their website describing my search and asking if they still housed those records. VGS Executive Director Teresa Kelley sent a nice response letting me know that VGS had given these papers to the Library of Virginia (LVA). I searched the LVA catalog and found Mrs. Glazebrook’s papers listed. Her papers amounted to 4.95 cubic feet of papers available in the LVA manuscripts room.[3] Fortunately, I live only 20 minutes away from LVA so I was able to visit.
Upon arrival, I was much relieved to learn they had a finding aid for her papers, which the catalog entry had not mentioned. A finding aid is a summary of the contents and this one included a list of surnames and the folders applicable. I saw the surname Holland and noted it was only included in five folders. There I found Mrs. Glazebrook’s handwritten transcript of Charles Hudson’s will from the 1940s. It was exactly as it appeared in the 1982 VGS publication – typo or omission and all. Unfortunately, she did not include her source. I returned home thinking that she had to see the will in the 1940s to transcribe it. Where was the record she saw?
With renewed determination, I returned to LVA a few days later and requested the Holland files again. This I noticed the surname Lewis in her notes and remembered that Charles Hudson’s daughter Ann married Joseph Lewis and lived in Henrico County from a 1751 Amelia County deed where they sold land and mentioned land adjacent of the Hollands. The Lewis reference was a Henrico County Chancery suit styled Mary & Robert Price, Etc. vs. Sarah Lewis, Etc. I searched LVA’s Chancery Records Index and found the case, which indicated that Hudson was one of the surnames included in the file.[4]
Henrico County cases have yet to be digitalized so I waited anxiously as LVA staff pulled the case file. I was certain I would find it, but much to my chagrin, the will was not in the file. Just as I was about to give up, I glanced at the case file folder cover and saw a notation that read “O/S Box 1, 1 will: 1745 Capt. Charles Hudson: Hanover County.” LVA staff pulled the oversized file and there it was!
The omission is discovered
That hunch I had that the transcription contained either a typo or an omission turned out to be correct. In fact, the transcription is more fairly described as an abstract, although a detailed one. These were really Mrs. Glazebrook’s research notes and were not intended to be a complete transcription. Here is what the will said with the part omitted from Mrs. Glazebrook’s abstract in BOLD:
I also give the sa[id] Negro woman & her son Peter & her Increas to my grand Daughter Mary Johns[on] with two hundred acres of land on the head of Fosters Creek in Louisa County: [b]eing the one moiate of four hundred acres which said Land & ne[g]ros I give to my sd Gra[n]d Daughter & her heires forever: I also give to my said Dau[g]hter Elizh al that pa[r]t of household goods and Negros I before lent her which she hath In her possesion: al which is to be setl[ed] and [d]eliverd to her by my Executors hereafter named.
Item. I lend to my Daughter Anne Hudson the laybour of foure Negros (viz) Tom Jacob Moll daughter of Anake: and Catchener and ye I[ncr]eas of the females during her natural life and after hur [missing] the said Negros & the Increass [missing] of the fema[les] [missing] her children to be divided amongst them to them and their heires forever: and for want of such child or children I then give the said negros and ye Increass of the females: to my Grand Children then liv[i]ng thats borne of my Daughters: to them and their heires forever to be divided amongst them I also give to my said Daughter three other Negros Vizt Temp & her daughter Moll and a negr[o] man named Cupit. I also give to my sd daughter five hundred acres of Land on V[au]ghans Creeke in Amelia County & adjoyning to the land I gave her Sister Sarah Holland being part of a larger trackt of Land: I also give to my said Daughter the horses and side saddle yt is called hur horses &c: I also give to my said Daughter A[n]n Thirty Pounds Curt money of Virginia: at which three and Land & Thirty Pounds Curt mo[ne]y and horss & sadle: I give to my said Daughter & her hei[r]es forever when she shall arrive to lawful age or married: al which is to be setled and deliverd to my said Daughter by my Executors hereafter named.
More significantly, the will also included an entire paragraph about Sarah (Hudson) Holland that was not in Mrs. Glazebrook’s abstract that proves her relationship to her father:
Item. I lend to my Daughter Sarah Holland the laybour of three Negros (vizt) Harkules Patt: Hanner a daughter of Judys & five hundred acres of land on Vaughans Creek In Amelya [C]ounty adjoyning to the land of Capt Mikeal Holland Dureing her natural life: al which she hath in her possession and after her decease: I then give the said negros and land to be divided amongst her child[ren] if any & for want of such child or children: I then give the same to my Gra[nd] Children then living thats born of my Daughters and their Heires forever. [I] also give to said Daughter three other negros ( vizt) a woman named Jenny & her [t]wo sons Peter and Nedd. I also give to my said Daughter six Pounds curt money or goods to the vallue thereof and I also give hur all the goods & Chattels I before lent her: al which I give to my sd Daughter & her heires forever Excepting the three negros and land above mentioned al which is to be setled and deliver’d to my said Daughter by my Executors hereafter named.
A remarkable document
Filed as part of the aforementioned Henrico County Chancery suit, the document includes the notation: “A copy of Capt. Charles Hudson’s will” [See Image 7 of 7]. There are also other related to the case and is dated 31 December 1766. A complete transcription is attached:
The images were kindly provided by the always helpful LVA staff when I could not get good images myself in the manuscript room. Aside from interesting land records, Charles Hudson named his children, some in-laws, some grandchildren, a few neighbors and a few people whose relationship to Hudson was not stated. Hudson also names more than 65 enslaved people by name and, in some cases, points out their familial relationships:
Family and friends
Daughter Mary Wingfield – husband John Wingfield son-in-law and executor
Grandson Charles Wingfield
Granddaughter Rebecca Wingfield
Daughter Elizabeth Johnson – husband Nicholas Johnson
Grandson Thomas Johnson
Granddaughter Mary Johnson
Daughter Rebecca Wathen – husband Robert Wathen (named as son-in-law and executor)
Daughter Sarah Holland – husband Richard Holland
Daughter Ann Hudson – unmarried and underage in 1745 – later married Joseph Lewis of Henrico
Neighbor Cornelieus Dabney – leaves him 300 acres (he married Sarah Jennings)
His son William Dabney
Son Guilelmas Hudson – underage and unmarried in 1745
Son John Hudson – underage and unmarried in 1745
Son Christopher Hudson – underage and unmarried in 1745
No relationship stated – Elizabeth Jennings – lends 100 acres and two negros then to her children – she later married George Hudson and had two daughters
No relationship stated – Mr. Robert Jennings – trustee
No relationship stated – Mr. Bartlet Anderson
Mary Markam[5] and sister Rebecca Wathen (daughters of Robert & Rebecca (Holland) Wathan
The Enslaved
To Mary Wingfield (LENT 540-acre plantation in Goochland County called Prospect) – Hager and her increase. The other four Negros she has in her possession.
To Elizabeth Johnson then to her son Thomas Johnson (Eliz. LENT 227 cares in Hanover County he bought from William Hudson & Alexander Cock then to Thomas Johnson) – H[missing] [a]nd her son named Peter and the Increase
To Rebecca Wathen (daughters got in distribution [see Image 7 of 7] – must have died about then); (GAVE 550-acre Plantation in Hanover County on Stagg Creek) – Partheny, Venas, Beck & Increase & Pompy, Panswick & Sampson then to her children
To Sarah Holland – (LENT 500 acres on Vaughan’s Creek in Amelia County) – Harkules, Patt, Hanner, a daughter of Judy & increase then to her children; Jenny & her two sons Peter and Nedd
To Anne Hudson – see below (LENT 500 acres on Vaughan’s Creek in Amelia County) – Tom, Jacob, Moll daughter of Anake, and Catchener and Increase then to children; Also Temp & her daughter Moll and a negro man named Cupit.
To Gulielmas Hudson (LENT 2,000 acres in Louisa County on Hudson Creek; GAVE 800-acre plantation on s/s Hardware River in Albemarle County – Bister, Venass, Jemmy, Phillis, Sary, young Judy, young Harry & Solomon then to his children, if none to his brothers children, Harry, Judy, Davey, Dick, Rayner, Jack, Diner
To John Hudson – see below (LENT 1,060 acres on Hardware River in Albemarle County; GAVE 487 plantation in Hanover Co) – Hampton, Cate, Cloey, Anake, Haner & Bibbianer two of Pegs children and a negro boy Stepney to his children, if none to brothers children
To Christopher Hudson – see below (LENT 800 acres in Amelia County; GAVE a different 800 acres in Amelia County) – Charles, John Forest, Two of Anake’s children Cofey & Nanny & Two of Jenny’s children Bob & Nanny, Will, Lando, Nedd, Grigory, Jenny, Bathsheba, Aggey
To Elizabeth Jennings (LENT 100 acres on Mechumps Creek Hanover County then to her children) – Sabra & her daughter Fanny, then to her children
To Rebecca Wingfield – next child of Sabra’s
To Mary Markham (dau. of Robert & Rebecca Wathen) – Ned, Partheny, Lucey, Patt, Abram, Silvey
To Rebecca Wathen (dau. of Robert & Rebecca Wathen) – Stanley, Venus, Dafney, Charles, Titus, Easter
For those interested in further Hudson research, particularly on the enslaved families they held, there is a lot a material included in the following case files or records. They reveal the next round of estate distributions when Hudson’s children died and reveal much about their enslaved population. This is by no means a complete list, but are files I have reviewed:
Albemarle County Chancery Suit 1780-001 – Daniel Gaines & Mary his wife, Jesse Burton & Anne his wife, Charles Hudson, infant by Daniel Gaines his next friend v. John Hudson, Christopher Hudson by Anne Hudson their next friend
Albemarle County, Virginia Will Book No. 8 1824-1826, p. 119 (Will of Charles Hudson, Jr.)
Albemarle County Chancery Suit 1833-003 (original: 1833-002) William Tompkins & wife v. Admr. Of Christopher Hudson, Etc.
Albemarle County Chancery Suit 1831-083 (original: 1831-082) – Admr of Christopher Hudson v. Samuel W Tompkins & Wife, Etc.
Henrico County Chancery Suit 1782-004 – Robert & Mary Price, Etc. v. Sarah Lewis &c. By Etc.
Louisa County Chancery Suit 1773-001, Charles Hudson Etc., v. Lewellen Hudson, Etc.
Louisa County Chancery Suit 1773-010, Pleasants v. Holland (covered in earlier blog posts linked above)
[1] Henrico County Chancery Suit, 1782-004, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
[2] Louisa County Virginia Chancery Suit No. 1773-010, Virginia memory, Library of Virginia Digital Collections
[3] Eugenia Goss Glazebrook. Papers, ca. 1940-1960. Accession 37043, Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.
[4] Henrico County Chancery Suit No. 1782-004, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
[5] William Markam (1715-1782) born Middlesex County died Bedford County. He married Mary Wathen before 1767. Mary was the daughter of Robert Wathen. Mary died of smallpox in 1782 in Chesterfield Co, Virginia. She contracted the disease while entertaining a soldier returning from Yorktown, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/184808031/william-marcum_-_markham
A Son of Virginia 
Greetings!
I came across your blog today and have been reading with much interest. I am the author of the website http://www.gilliamsofvirginia.org.
It has long been said by Gilliam researchers that Richard Holland and wife Sarah Hudson had a daughter named Elizabeth that married Epaphroditus Gilliam aka Dite Gilliam who lived most of his adult life in Buckingham.
A Hudson deed that mentions Richard Holland and Sarah (Hudson Heirs to John Hudson dated 27 Aug 1759. Albemarle. Deed Books 1758–1761, Deed Book 2, p343) is witnessed by John and Peter Gillum.
Your blog also mentions Morrises. Morrises are also mentioned in conjunction with these Gilliams.
Epaphroditus and Elizabeth named their first born Richard Holland Gilliam. His Bible may be found at the Library of Virginia. His papers have been published in The Papers of Col. Richard H. Gilliam of Buckingham County, Virginia.
You do not list a daughter Elizabeth among the children of Richard and Sarah. You do mentions gaps in the children’s births. Do you have any insight? Is Elizabeth a fabrication? Is Richard Holland Gilliam named after a family friend and not a relative?
I would appreciate your thoughts.
Greg Gilliam, gregilliam at aol.com
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Thanks so much for writing. I have a copy of The Papers of Col. Richard H. Gilliam. I bought looking for a connection to Richard Holland. I reviewed a lot of records on Richard and Sarah, but never found any evidence of other children other than Richard Jr (Dick), Christopher Hudson Holland And Mary (Holland Hughes). As you noted their estimated birth years leave gaps. Easy enough to lose a daughter in terms of records.
While Richard Holland ended up in Prince Edward County, his son Dick Holland and Martha (Jones) Holland owned land in Buckingham. My Morrises were in Buckingham as well. Tough county for research as you know. Without any evidence to the contrary, I am thinking perhaps he was named for a family friend.
Of course, with so many records coming on line, who knows what gold nugget might turn up! Steve
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Thank you for the prompt response. I am working on Gilliam family legends, either trying to prove them or disprove them.
As I find more information on the Richard Holland connection may I contact you? The Gilliams appear to have known the Hollands as they witnessed the 1759 deed and Peter Gilliam was the overseer for John Hudson.
See From 1754-1767, the Albemarle Court hears GILLUM vs [John] Hudson’s Executors. 35 Items are mentioned. Peter GILLUM acted as the Overseer for John Hudson. Among the accounts Peter held are those of Thomas and Henry Heard. Entries are similar to the following
1. received of Peter Gillum 4 HHds Tob. For John Hudson, signed Charles Hood
2. Received of Peter Gillum for rolling tob. Signed Willibe Pue [Willoughby Pue]
3. 26 April 1770 Put in estate of John Hudson tob. Rec. of Peter Gillum signed David Burnett
(Albemarle County Court Papers, 1744-1783, Weisinger)
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Absolutely, I have a follow up post to do on Charles Hudson’s children. As you know some were in Albemarle so I’ll also look for any connections too. Maybe something good will turn up.
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