Virginia focused genealogy and history
Tag: asonofvirginia
My 9x great grandfather Thomas Gwaltney died in late July 1666 in Surry County, Virginia. On 4 September 1666, two people provided testimony at Surry Court about his nuncupative will [spoken in the presence of witnesses]. John Clarke testified that he was at Thomas Gwaltney’s house in late July two days before he died and … Continue reading Thomas Gwaltney of Surry County, Virginia
Descendants of Nathaniel “Natt” & Ann “Nancy” (Jeffries) Morris at the Morris family cemetery at Vassars. Pictured from left to right: Mardi (Morris) Deluhery, Russell Harper, Jennie (Morris) Gundy, Mary (Morris) Becker, Andrea Morris, Betsy (Morris) Sinnott and Steve Craig. I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days in Buckingham County in late … Continue reading A Field Trip to Buckingham County – meeting my Morris cousins and making new friends: (Nathaniel Morris c.1745-1813) my 5x great grandfather
The Virginia legislature met from 18 April to 12 May 1705 at Williamsburg, which had been the capital since Jamestown was abandoned in 1699. During that session they considered a petition from a group of men “born in France and other foreign countries” asking to be made naturalized English citizens. Among them were my 8x … Continue reading My Huguenot Ancestors settle at Manakintown – the Dupuy, Le Villain & Remy families
Brick Wall Ancestor #2 “Jas. A. McHugh, a well-known railroad man on the L. and N. [Louisville & Nashville] road, was killed early yesterday morning near Lebanon Junction, by falling from a rapidly moving freight train. About 5 o’clock McHugh, who was brakeman, was running from one car to another, when his foot slipped on … Continue reading James Irvin McHugh (c.1853-1890) – my 2x great grandfather
I don’t remember a time when I was not interested in history. Growing up in Yorktown, Virginia, a part of the Historical Triangle along with Jamestown and Williamsburg, it literally surrounded us. An early colonial Virginia port, Yorktown is principally famous for the October 1781 surrender of Lord Cornwallis to American and French troops that … Continue reading How I became interested in genealogy and family history: Edwards family of Surry County, Virginia
My great grandmother Annie May (Blanton) Morris (1884-1977) is my gateway to the Blanton family. According to my grandmother she knew a lot about family history. She died when I was 13 years old, but her memory left her before I was old enough to connect with her in that way. We called her “Big … Continue reading My Blanton Family Roots – Thomas Blanton (c.1650-1697/8)
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 … Continue reading The Last Will & Testament of Charles Hudson of Hanover County
In 1991, my maternal grandmother Rebecca Blanton (Morris) Eisenbeis (1913-1994) wrote the following about her life [in italics]: A Thing of Beauty Is A Joy Forever[1] I was a lonely twenty-two year old young lady many miles from my family and home in Virginia - November 24, 1935 I had been to church, then … Continue reading Recollections on life by my grandmother Rebecca Blanton (Morris) Eisenbeis (1913-1994)
My 6x great grandfather Thomas Atkinson (c. 1731-c.1803) operated a store for many years in Amelia County and Nottoway County (formed out of Amelia in 1789). A photocopy of his “daybook” survives among the holdings of the Library of Virginia.[1] A daybook was portable and used to record transactions to later record in an account book, … Continue reading Thomas Atkinson’s Daybook – my 6x great grandfather
Well, it's getting to look a lot like Christmas around our house. We decided to have an additional tree this year - a Virginia history book tree! The idea came from a friend (thanks Annette) who is a fellow book lover and a regular A Son of Virginia reader who recently posted about a book … Continue reading Happy Holidays from A Son of Virginia
My 6x great grandparents Hector and Sarah (Holt) Truly’s arrived in Amelia County in 1743.[1] Truly was then – and is now – an unusual surname. The American Dictionary of American Family Names states that the surname is “probably English, perhaps a variant of Truelove.”[2] The given name Hector is also unique in my family … Continue reading The Truly family of Amelia County, Virginia
Over an 18-month span from 1746-1747, Surry County, Virginia Court records refer to my 6x great grandfather James Price as a “common profane swearer” and “a wicked dissolute person.” He was also indicted by a grand jury for “living in adultery with Ann Williams.” On 18 November 1747, the Surry County Court found James Price … Continue reading James Price (c.1716 – 1772) of Surry County, Virginia (my 6x great grandfather)
I have an old copy of A. R. Hudgins History of Amelia County published in 1965, which includes the following information about Robert Vaughan I [my 6x great grandfather] and Jeter’s Mill: “In 1740 Robert Vaughan [my 6x great-grandfather] was granted 800 acres of land on the lower side of Flatt Creek. (When a … Continue reading History of Jeter’s Mill – Amelia County, Virginia
My first known Atkinson ancestor was my 8x great grandfather Charles1 Atkinson of Essex County, Virginia (c.1665-c.1702) who was covered in an earlier blog post you can check out here: https://asonofvirginia.blog/2022/08/24/charles-atkinson-c-1665-c-1702-of-old-rappahannock-and-essex-county-virginia/. Charles1 and Ann (Copeland) Atkinson left four children including Charles2 (c.1695-1761), Nicholas2 (c.1697-1773), John2 (c.1699-1478) and Mary2 (c. 1701- ). My 6x great grandfather … Continue reading Thomas Atkinson of Essex County and Amelia County, Virginia – my 6x great grandfather
![Part 4 – Dick and Martha (Jones) Walker Holland, their children & Edy [Patt], Jenny and Dinah, some of the people they enslaved](https://i0.wp.com/asonofvirginia.blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/photo1dickhollandexecutors.png?resize=975%2C461&ssl=1 "Part 4 – Dick and Martha (Jones) Walker Holland, their children & Edy [Patt], Jenny and Dinah, some of the people they enslaved")
Hello A Son of Virginia subscribers, here is the last in my Holland series. I'd appreciate your feedback. Hope you enjoy it. Steve
If you missed Parts 1 & 2, you really should start here: Part 1: https://asonofvirginia.blog/2023/08/15/richard-and-sarah-hudson-holland-of-hanover-henrico-louisa-and-prince-edward-counties/ Part 2: https://asonofvirginia.blog/2023/09/06/richard-sarah-hudson-holland-and-patt-and-hannah-daughter-of-judy-part-2/ CONTENT GUIDANCE: When I undertake a study of my Virginia ancestors, I find every source I can about a person or a group of people and find that it usually tells a story. Sometimes one record, … Continue reading Richard & Sarah (Hudson) Holland (my 6x great grandparents), Dick & Martha (Jones) Walker Holland (my 5x great grandparents) and the descendants of Patt and Hannah, daughter of Judy (some of the people they enslaved) – Part 3
CONTENT GUIDANCE: When I undertake a study of my Virginia ancestors, I find every source I can about a person or a group of people and find that it usually tells a story. Sometimes one record, such as a will or estate inventory tells a story by itself. Sometimes there is more. The Holland story … Continue reading Richard & Sarah (Hudson) Holland and Patt and Hannah, daughter of Judy – Part 2
My 6x great-grandparents Richard (c.1718-1784) and Sarah (Hudson) (c. 1720-1795) Holland were born with proverbial silver spoons in their mouths. Both came from very well to do Hanover County families. Richard Holland was a son of Michael Holland (c.1690-1746) who amassed nearly 45,000 acres during his lifetime in the counties of Hanover, Henrico, Goochland, Louisa … Continue reading Richard and Sarah (Hudson) Holland of Hanover, Henrico, Louisa and Prince Edward Counties
In Part 1, I introduced Michael Holland and his family and started our exploration of early Virginia records to see what they might have to say about his origins, his age and/or his marriage. Based on the records found I concluded that he (1) was not Virginia landowner in 1704, (2) became a landowner in … Continue reading Michael Holland of Hanover and Goochland Counties, Virginia (my 7x great grandfather) – Part 3
Have you ever wondered about how your ancestors celebrated the Fourth of July? Well, these celebrations have been held from the earliest days of our republic. In fact, the Virginia Gazette reported on 18 July 1777 that in Philadelphia on 4 July, “the anniversary of the Independence of the United States of America was celebrated … Continue reading Fourth of July celebrations in the old days
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