Chapter 12

Poythress Family

The Poythress family is thought to be connected to the Wall family [Chapter 11] by the marriage of Ann Poythress to John Wall about 1730-1740 in Virginia. The Wall family is connected to the Covington family through the marriage of Nancy Wall to John Covington [See discussion of this confusing “fact” in the Covington family history, Chapter 10] on 26 July 1770. as his second wife. The Covington family is then connected to the Gathings family through the marriage of Martha Wall Covington to James J. Gathings on 5 April 1838. Their daughters, Mattie (Martha Wall Texanna) and Emma Davis Gathings, both married James McCown.

NOTE TO THE READER: Just as we have a problem in identifying our precise Wall ancestor, we will now add to this problem by stating that, so far, I have not been able to find a single reference to a Wall-Poythress marriage! Yet we know (or at least, are almost certain) that there is such a Wall-Poythress marriage. This is because the name “Poythress” started appearing as a middle name for Covington children after the marriage of John Covington to Nancy Wall. “Poythress” is not a name that one gives a child without reason!

  One source has asserted that Nancy’s father and mother were John Wall of Brunswick County, Virginia and Ann Poythress, and that they moved from Virginia to Anson County, North Carolina, about 1750. If all our speculation is true, then ideally our task would be to find an Ann Poythress of Prince George or Brunswick County, Virginia, who married a John Wall about 1740. As stated, so far this information has alluded me. (This is really not very surprising since many of the Prince George County records were burned during the Civil War; and Brunswick County, which was formed in 1732, was literally on the frontier for many years after that, and early records were practically nonexistent.) Since I have not been able to find a record of their marriage, the best information that we have to go on is the assertion that John Wall did, indeed, marry an Ann Poythress. Our problem, then, is reduced to finding an Ann Poythress who would have been of marriageable age (say, over 16), and in the same vicinity of John Wall. It turns out that there were two! Until far more research is conducted to narrow down, and hopefully eliminate (or better yet, prove) one of the candidates, the reader will have to be contented with the information provided below.

  A John Poythress left a will, recorded in Prince George County (Martins Brandon Parish) on 12 May 1724, in which he names, among his heirs, a daughter, Ann Poythress. Joshua Poythress left a will, dated in Prince George County (Martins Brandon Parish) 17 January 1739, in which he names, among his heirs, a daughter, Ann Poythress. John (will 1724) and Joshua (will 1739) were first cousins as shown in the enclosed diagram. No researcher, to my knowledge, has ever identified the husband of either of these Ann Poythresses. (There were other Ann Poythresses who were of about the right age, but these other Anns have been identified by one researcher or another as having positively married someone other than John (or any) Wall.)

 

The daughter of Joshua Poythress seems to be our most likely candidate since we know she was unmarried in 1739. But the daughter of John Poythress cannot be totally discounted (we know that she was unmarried in 1724, but do not know how old she was at that time) since one eminent researcher asserts that his children “were quite young at the time of their father’s will.” If she were very young at the time of John Poythress’s death, then she is still a very viable candidate. Though both cousins filed their wills in Martins Brandon Parish, we know from the land records that Joshua Poythress’s brother, at least, owned land on “Walls run, bounded by sd. Run, and lands of Sarah Wall.” A John Wall died in 1717, leaving his wife, Sarah, as his executrix, and this John and Sarah Wall had a son named John Wall, who is one of our prime candidates for the John Wall who reportedly married Ann Poythress. This last bit of information provides us with one very important correlating fact: Ann Poythress, daughter of Joshua Poythress, was in the same proximity of John Wall, son of John (died 1717). Then we know that Ann Poythress (almost surely the daughter of Joshua Poythress), signed as witness the will of Robert Hicks, and we know that Robert Hicks was a Brunswick County neighbor of John Wall [see the Wall family history, Chapter 11]. Thus, these two are probably the best candidates for our Wall-Poythress ancestors. An eminent Virginia genealogist, Mr. Robert Bolling Batte, concluded the same thing in 1977 I have now learned.

  I will, nevertheless, document the lineage of both the above Ann Poythresses with the hope that additional time and research will help us to definitely eliminate one.

  Regardless of which Poythress line from which we think we are descended, they have a common ancestor: Francis Poythress.

Francis Poythress was apparently our immigrant ancestor, who came to Virginia as early as 1633. He was married to Mary _____, and he died about 1650. Mary ____ Poythress married, second, Robert Wynne.

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Poythress of Prince George County, Virginia

by Dr. Claiborne T. Smith, Jr.

  “This name appears in the early records as Poythers and Portriss but Poythress seems to be the most consistent spelling. The family descends from one Francis Poythress who appeared in Virginia in the early 17^th century. The later generations have never been satisfactorily worked out as the records of Charles City, Prince George and Dinwiddie, the counties in which the family principally resided, were destroyed during the Civil War.

“The English antecedents of the first Francis Poythress are unknown. He is named as a headright in a granted dated 22 May 1642 for 200 acres to Robert Eyres in Lower Norfolk County. He evidently made a trip back to England as he listed himself twice as a headright in a patent made out to him in 1637. He is thought to have come to Virginia circa 1633 as agent for Lawrence Evans, Merchant of London. Later Evans claimed that Poythress committed abuses in his trust, discharged him, and brought suit against him in the General Court. In March 1638-39, the Governor and Council appointed four of the ablest merchants in Virginia to arbitrate the suit and they decided in favor of Poythress. In 1639 the subcommittee for the foreign plantations to the Lords of Privy Council directed that a further inquiry be made when Evans himself was to go to Virginia. Francis Poythress was elected burgess from Charles City in 1644, 1645, and 1647 and was a lieutenant of militia in the Indian War in 1644. In 1648, as Capt. Francis Poythress, he was appointed by the assembly to levy and collect taxes in the new county of Northumberland and represented that county as burgess. On 13 July 1637, Francis Poythress was granted 400 acres of land in Charles City County, bordering north on his own land, south on the main woods, east upon the land of Capt. Woodlief and west upon Baylie’s Creek. On 8 May 1648 he was granted 750 acres in Charles City near the mouth of Baylie’s Creek, adjoining land belonging to the orphans of Jenkins Osborne, bounded westerly by the lands of Thomas Baylie, ‘now in the tenure of John Butler,’ 350 acres formerly granted Jenkins Osborne and purchased by said Poythress of Jenkins Osborne. [Bayley’s Creek is just east of Petersburg, and forms the southern border of the city of Hopewell. It empties into the James River.] Mary Osborne, and Capt. Edward Hill, by right of dictoris christmas, the other 400 acres due by former patent. When Prince George was formed in 1702 this land fell into the new county. It can be inferred from existing records that Francis Poythress (1) died about 1650. In 1658 Mary West, widow of John Butler, sold to Edward Ardington 150 acres in Charles City, formerly land of Thomas Baylie, bounded on the east by lands lately in the tenure of William Worsham [Book 3 — my wife’s ancestor]. Referring to the patent to Francis Poythress in 1648, it will be noted that at least part of this grant was in 1658 in the possession of William Worsham. The surname of Mary, the wife of Capt. Francis Poythress, is not known. She married (2) Capt. Robert Wynne and had issue by him. As the will of Capt. Robert Wynne, dated July 1675, mentioned Maj. Francis Poythress (2) as ‘son-in-law,’ many genealogists have assumed that Francis Poythress (2) married a daughter of Robert Wynne. However, in the 17^th century usage, ‘son-in-law’ also meant step-son.

“Francis Poythress and his wife Mary had the following known issue:

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1. 1. Francis Poythress; b. ca. 1630; d. ca. 1688; m. Rebecca Coggan [Book 1, Part 2]

1. 1. John Poythress; m. Christian Peebles
2. Jane Poythress; m. Thomas Rolfe (?)

“questionable. The wife of Thomas Rolfe, son of John Rolfe and Pocahontas, is said to have married Jane, daughter of Francis Poythress, but there is no evidence to support this.”

4. Thomas Poythress

“He is mentioned as godson in the will of Capt. Thomas Pawlett 12 Jan 1643. In Oct 1659 Arthur Graunt made an agreement, filed in Charles City Court, to take Thomas Poythress to England and in case Mr. George Laud should not accommodate him with diet and lodging, to provide the same until the next ship to Virginia. (There is no further record of this Thomas Poythress and he either died young or remained in England.)”

Much of the above information is substantiated in more detail in another source, starting with the extant records:

“1623. Francis Poythress 400 acres lying in Charles City County, 50 acres for his own personal adventure, and 350 acres for the transportation of seven persons: Francis Poythress, Richard Wells, Jane Lucas, Thomas Thompson, Rich. Farmer, Bryan Raycock [?], Francis Thomas [?], Richard Whiting.”

[Comment: It is obvious that the above Virginia Land Office record is for the same land that he was granted in an official patent given immediately below. What is interesting, however, is the date of the Land Office record — 1623! The earliest date that any of the published sources credits Francis Poythress for being in America is 1633, but if the above date is correct and not a misprint for 1633, then he appears to have been here 10 years earlier.]

“Francis Poythers (sometimes spelled this way) 400 acres in the County of Charles City, lying North upon the land now in possession of said Poythers; and bounded on the West by Bayle’s Creek; and bounded on the East by the land of Captain Woodliffe. Due for the transportation of said Francis Poythers, Richard Wells, Jane Lucas, Thos. Thompson, Richard Former, Bryan Raycock [?], Francis Howes [?], and Richard Whiting. Granted by Harvey, 13 July 1637.”

“1643-57. Francis Poythress 750 acres in Charles City County, the land lying at or near the mouth of Bayles Creek, 350 acres formerly granted and being part of a patent of Jenkins Osborn 9 July 1635, and purchased by the said Francis Poythress from the said Jenkins Osborne, Mary Osborne and Capt. Edward Hill, and the other 450 acres formerly to the said Francis Poythress by a patent bearing date 13 July 1637.”

“23 July 1639. Report of Sub-Committee for foreign relations to the Lords of Privy Council on petition of Lawrence Evans and letter from Governor and Council in Virginia concerning their proceedings in cause between Evans and Poythress as of 23 March 1639 — directed a further inquiry when Evans was to go to Virginia himself.”

“General Assemblie, James City I, Oct. 1644. Mr. Fra. Poythress, Burgess for Charles City. Daniel Llewellin for Henrico.”

“Assemblie 17 February 1644-5; for Charles City. Mr. Rice Hooe [Book 1, Part 1 — I am a descendant of Rice Hooe through my father’s line] and Lt. Francis Poythress.”

“Assemblie 6 March 1645-6. Act to raise force of men on North side of James River from counties of Henrico, Charles City, York. Warwick, Elizabeth City and North Hampton under command of Lt. Fra. Poythress, who shall follow directions of Capt. Henry Fleet, and they shall build a fort on Rappahannock River, etc.”

“Assemblie 3 November 1647. Burgess from Charles City Capt. Francis Poythress.”

“Assemblie October 1648. Act for reducing inhabitants of Chickoun (?) and other parts of neck of land between Rappahannock and Potomack Rivers, and same to be known hereafter as Northumberland — also that Capt. Francis Poythress levy and collect taxes, etc.”

“Assemblie 10 October 1648. Captain Francis Poythress Burgess from Northumberland County.”

“Governor and Council in March 1638-9 referred the Evans-Poythress suit to four of the ‘ablest merchants in Virginia’ for arbitration, and these men decided that Evans’ present factor should pay Poythress 10 pounds in the hundred for goods sold and tobacco received.”

[Comment: See Appendix IV for a detailed history of Charles City and Prince George Counties.]

 

The author who provided us with the records, above, came to very nearly the same conclusions as the author of the material with which we started our study of Francis Poythress.

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“From the above records and the Genealogy of the Poythress family, Francis Poythress came to Virginia circa 1633 or before and seems to have been factor or agent for Lawrence Evans merchant, of London, England. Later Evans claimed that Poythress committed great abuses in his trust, discharged him and brought suit against him in the General Court. In March, 1638-9, the Governor and Council appointed four of ‘the ablest merchants in Virginia’ to arbitrate the suit and they decided in favor of Poythress. In 1639 the subcommittee for foreign plantations to the Lords of Privy Council directed that a further inquiry be made when Evans himself was to go to Virginia. Evidently Francis Poythress was acquitted of any breach of trust and became a trusted and valued officer of the Colony. He is mentioned in 1644-46 as Lieutenant Francis Poythress and subsequent to 1647 as Captain. He was Burgess in 1644-45 and 47 for Charles City County and in 1648 for Northumberland. He was in charge of the militia against the Indians and was placed in command of the militia in 1648 with power to collect taxes in the more or less turbulent new county of Northumberland, which extended from the York and Rappahannock Rivers to the Potomack, and represented Northumberland County in the Assembly of 1648. He acquired land in his own right in Charles City County. It is not known whom he married and the date of his death is not accurately known. Dr. Torrence in The Sons of the Revolution Magazine for October, 1925, page 33, states that Captain Francis Poythress who came to Virginia in 1633 died prior to 1661; but we are unaware of his authority for this statement. The name was sometimes spelled Poythers, but later became well established as Poythress. It is also spelled Portirss, as seen in the will of Elizabeth Cocke of 1751 speaking of her daughter ‘Elizabeth Portriss’ and was often so pronounced. Jane Poythress who married Thomas Rolfe, the son of Pocahontas has been said to be the daughter of Captain Francis Poythress. This may be tentatively accepted but there seems to be no record to verify the statement. Gov. Wyndham Robertson in his Pocahontas and her Descendants speaks as to the name Jane Poythress under Thomas Rolfe, and we quote from him on page 30 as follows: ‘I adopt Jane Poythress (not Poyers) whom he is stated in the ‘Bolling Memoirs’ to have married in England.’ These Memoirs were written in French by Col. Robert Bolling of ‘Chellowe;’ Jane Poythress was the mother of Jane Rolfe who married Col. Robert Bolling as his first wife and died in 1676. The wife of Capt. Francis Poythress is not known, and only one child Francis Poythress has been definitely shown, with Jane Poythress as a tentative daughter, and yet it is presumed that there were other children. As stated he is said to have died prior to 1661.”

–w—

  We will now trace the least likely Poythress lineage through Francis, son of Francis, above. After completing this lineage trace, we will take up with our alternative, and more likely, lineage through John Poythress, son of Francis, above.

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Francis Poythress (2), son of Francis Poythress (1), born circa 1630 — d. 1688. On 28 September 1681 he was granted 609 acres on the Blackwater, bordering on the Nottaway path and the Clearwather [sic – Clearwater?] spring, in Charles City. He later patented 750 acres in Charles City 20 April 1682 ‘being the land Thomas Morgan died seized of,’ and 1230 acres in Jordans Parish, Charles City 20 November 1683, bordering on said Poythress, Henry Batt, et. al. He passed through the militia grades of captain and major and was a justice of Charles City in 1677. He died about 1688. Francis Poythress m. Rebecca Coggin, daughter of John Coggin. [Now that fact is interesting! John Coggin/Coggan was also an ancestor of my father, making my mother and father distantly related if we are descended from Francis Poythress — the second such relationship that I have uncovered. See Book 1, Part 2 for the Coggan family history.] As Rebecca Poythress, she was granted 1000 acres of land in Charles City 28 April 1692, said land being late in the tenure of Edward Ardington. She later married (2) Charles Bartholomew, the widower of her sister. This resulted in court action, as according to the ecclesiastical law in effect in Virginia at that time, this constituted an incestuous marriage.

 

[Comment: Note that the author (who is a renowned genealogist, by the way) cites “the Charles City Court Minutes as authority for the statement that Rebecca was the daughter of John Coggin/Coggan. This record needs to be found to determine exactly what it says]

 

“John Coggin or Coggan, the father of Rebecca Poythress, was an early settler and physician in Charles City. He m. (1) a daughter of Gregory Bland; (2) the relict and executrix of Capt. Richard Tye, another early citizen, but it is not known if she were the mother of his children. On 25 August 1658 Maj. John Harper, Capt. Thomas Morgan, and Robert Dessell, citizens of the city of Bristol, gave a power of attorney to ‘John Coggan of the city of Bristol, but now resident in Virginia ‘aforesaid, chirurgeon,’ to receive certain property belonging to Margaret Bird, administratrix of the goods belonging to Capt. Richard Bond, late of Bristol and Virginia. John Coggin appears to have been of an unusually pugnacious disposition. According to the Charles City Court Minutes of Feb. 1665, he sued Robert Simonds for ‘assault committed on the person of sd. Coggin, whereby his cheek bone was broken, besides a defect which was occasioned in his eyes.’ A few days later one Robert Potter deposed that — being in the house of Sarah Potter, there met Mr. Cogan and William Wilkins, betwixt whom passed several words of ill and abusive language given to each other, upon which they fell to collering, in which scuffle the said John Cogan was on the ground flung by William Wilkins, of which fall John Cogan received a black eye and a scar on one of his lips, further the said Wilkins lying on the ground upon John Cogan, a dog of the house seized upon one of the legs of William Wilkins and bit him — the which wound Jno Coggan dressed and gave him medicines to carry with him.

“Francis Poythress (2) and Rebecca Coggin had issue, of whom there is record:–w—

1. Francis Poythress

“He was listed on the 1704 Rent Roll in Prince Geo. As ‘Francis Poythress, Sen.’ with 1283 acres of land. Later record uncertain, but he appears to have been the ancestor of a long line of Francis Poythresses.”

2. Anne Poythress; m. Burrell Green

“On 15 November 1721 Burrell Green and his wife Ann of Surry Co. and Francis Poythress of Prince George sold land to Robert Hunnicutt, part of a patent to Rebecca Poythress for 1000 acres of land ‘half of which land is in the possession of Littleberry Eppes, 300 acres of said land was given Rebecca Poythress, a daughter of said Rebecca and 200 acres to the sd. Anne Green. Burrell Green died intestate in Surry and his widow Ann was appointed adm. Of his estate 19 Sep 1733. They appear to have lived in what was later Sussex County.”

3. Rebecca Poythress; m. Richard Pace

“Circumstantial evidence is strong that she married Richard Pace, d. 1738, and removed with him to N.C. According to family tradition, this Richard Pace m. a Rebecca Poythress. In 1715 Francis Poythress, Sen., sold 100 acres to Peter Grammar on Holly Bushes Branch, on the line of Richard Pace. On 11 Nov 1718, Richard Pace and Francis Poythress sold 400 acres on Old Town Run, adjoining the lands of Rosser and Goodrich.

 

Thomas Poythress

“He is mentioned as brother in the will of John Poythress in 1724. At the time of the 1704 Rent Roll, he owned 616 acres in Prince George. In 1715 he was granted 180 acres in Surry. There is no furhter definite record of him and it is not known if he left descendants. He may be the Thomas Poythress who was named ‘cousin’ in 1750, Joshua Poythress (4), second of the name, was executor of a Thomas Poythress.

5. John Poythress; d. between 1720-1724; m. Mary _____

  The following records all pertain to Francis, the son of the immigrant Francis.

“Grant to Major Francis Poythress, for tract of land in Blackwater, lying on the south side of James River, in Charles City County, consisting of 609A., 2 rods and 9 poles. 28 September 1681.”

“Grant to Major Francis Poythress of 750 A., in Charles City County. 20 April 1682.”

“Grant to Major Francis Poythress of 1230 A. 2 rods and 30 poles, lying and being in Charles City County in Jordans Parish on the south side of the James River, for the transportation of 25 persons. (Named). 20 November 1683.”

“Grant to Rebecca Poythress of 1000 A. of land in Charles City County, the land being in the tenue of the late Edward Ardington, deceased, by virtue of his own right etc. 29 April 1692.”

“John Eppes, James Bisse, Nicholas Wyatt, John Stith — 12, 13^th and 14^th of June 1677, acting as Commissioners examined various persons in regard to a certain petn. that had been presented to the Governor and Council from Charles City County. Among others were Capt. Francis Poythress, Mr. Henry Batte and others. This at Westover.”

“Captain Robert Wynne, of Charles City County, long Speaker of the House of Burgesses, in his will dated July 1675 makes his son-in-law Capt. Francis Poythress an executor.”

“14 June 1694. The Attorney General reported that on the 27^th of April last, he took process at last County Court for Charles City vs. Charles Bartholomew and Rebecca, widow and relict of Major Francis Poythress, and John Moore and Elizabeth, daughter of Seth Perkins for their incestuous marriages etc.”

“Deed 15 November 1721, from Burrell Green and Ann, his wife, and Francis Poythress all of Surry County, conveying a tract of land in Prince George County to Robert Hunnicut patented by Rebecca Poythress (being in all 1000 A.) on 29 April 1692, half of which land is in the possession of Littleberry Eppes, 300 acres of said land was given to Rebecca Poythress a daughter of said Rebecca, and 200 A. to the said Ann Green.”

Our second source made the following conclusions from the above records.

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“Francis Poythress, son of Capt. Francis Poythress, is shown from the above records to have acquired property in Prince George County in 1681, 82 and 83. The last grant seems to have been deserted possibly after his death, but was regranted to his son John Poythress in 1703. He passed through the militia grades of Captain and Major, and is generally spoken of in his day and in subsequent reference to him as Major Francis Poythress. It has been stated that he was married in 1668 and also that he was also a Justice for Charles City County in 1677, but we have seen no authority thereof. We do not know when he was born and hence can draw no inference of his age at marriage in 1668, if that date is correct. We feel confident, however, that he married Rebecca Wynne [see comment below], for Captain Robert Wynne in his will of 1675 specifically makes his son-in-law Captain Francis Poythress an executor, evidencing confidence in him, for Captain Robert Wynne in his long service as Speaker of the House of Burgesses must have had a broad knowledge of the integrity of men. As seen, he was Captain at this date. We think it is strange that the name of his wife, though always given as Rebecca, should not have been disclosed earlier. A careful study of the children of Capt. Wynne might show a daughter Rebecca which would absolutely verify the above conclusion on our part. This appointment as an executor of the will leads us to put credence in the statement that he was a Justice in 1677. The process reported by the Attorney General in 1694, in which he speaks of Rebecca Poythress being the widow and relict of Major Francis Poythress evidences his death prior to this date. Rebecca Poythress acquired 1000 acres of land in Charles City County in her own name in 1692, which land in the deed of Burrell and Ann Green in 1721 is specifically referred to by date. This deed of Francis Poythress of Surry County indicates that he was the son of Major Francis and the one that is termed Francis Poythress.³ Certainly the daughters were Ann and Rebecca. We therefore place as the children of Major Francis Poythress and his wife Rebecca Wynne the following though not in the sequence of their ages:

1. 1. Francis Poythress
   2. John Poythress, who married Mary Batte
   3. Ann Poythress, who married Burrell Green
   4. Rebecca Poythress
   5. Thomas Poythress, married Elizabeth Cocke

  There may have been others, but these are all that can be placed with record as given. A study of the family and records in connection with Littleberry Eppes would most probably throw some light upon the Poythresses of his times. There is certainly a marriage connection between Poythress and Eppes of an early date.”

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[Comment: In a follow-up article, the above author states that Robert Wynne, in his will, did indeed name Francis Poythress as “son-in-law,” but that use of the term in those days included any relation by marriage, and that Francis Poythress was, in fact, step-son of Robert Wynne. As stated in the first article, the widow of the immigrant, Francis Poythress, married Robert Wynne after the death of Francis Poythress, the immigrant. The Francis named in the will was the oldest son of Francis and Mary Poythress, and the same as married Rebecca Coggan.]

[Comment: The relationship to the Littleberry Eppes family makes for a small world. My wife, Elise, is a descendant of Elizabeth ____ Worsham Epes, by her first husband, William Worsham. As documented in the Epes family history, Chapter 14, we are descended from Elizabeth Worsham Epes by her second marriage to Francis Epes.]

 

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John Poythress (3), son of Francis Poythress (2). At the time of the 1704 rent roll he is listed with 916 acres and styled ‘John Poythress, Jun.’ On 23 October 1703 he was granted 609 acres on the south side of the Blackwater, formerly granted to Francis Poythress 28 September 1681. On 11 December 1721 Hubbard Gibson sold to Peter Poythress 200 acres on the Blackwater, part of a tract granted unto John Poythress, son of the deceased Francis Poythress, which 200 acres sd. John Poythress sold said Gibson 11 December 1704, sd. land borders on land sold to John Poythress by Hercules Flood. On 28 November 1720 Francis Poythress, the elder, deeded to John Poythress, Jun., a tract of land called Powells, 150 acres bounded on north by Richard Bland, south on lands lately in occupation of Joseph Patterson, easterly on Deep Bottom and on the west by Thomas Poythress. The will of John Poythress is undated but was probated in Prince George in May, 1724. ‘Jordans’ is written on the page in the record book. The will devised to son John the home plantation and 100 acres adjoining called Colebrooks, also tract on the main Blackwater Swamp; to son Francis, place called ‘brick chimneys’ binding on land left to son John and brother Thomas Poythress and Deep Bottom; son William Poythress 150 acres called Powells; wife Mary and daughters Elizabeth, Rebecca, and Ann. Robert Poythress and John Woodlief were appointed executors. The mention of the tract ‘Powells’ identifies him as the John Poythress, Jun., of the 1720 deed mentioned above and shows that the will was made after 1720. It has been frequently stated that Mary, the wife of this John Poythress was Mary Batte, d. of Henry Batte, d. 1702. This Mary Batte did in fact marry a John Poythress, but in a 1720 deed dividing some property her husband is listed as John Poythress, sen., while in the same year John Poythress, d. 1724, was styled as jun. to differentiate him from his first cousin, an older John Poythress. The children of John Poythress, d. 1724, are untraced. They were quite young at the time of their father’s death. As the epitaph of Col. Wm. Poythress (1695-1763) in Blandford Cemetery stated that he was the son of John Poythress, many have assumed that he was the son of the John Poythress in question. However, William Poythress (4) son of John Poythress, d. 1724, was still under age in 1738. According to the Court Minutes in that year ‘William Poythress, one of the orphans of John Poythress of Jordans, decd., bound an apprentice to Robert Empson, complained of misusage, was discharged and allowed to choose Charles Irby his guardian.”

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  In substantiation of the above, John Poythress’s will is abstracted as follows:

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“Will of John Poythress of Martins Brandon Parish

 

“To son John, my plantation where I now live, 100 acres; also 100 acres adjacent called Colebrook, taking in Ivey Point, running down to Hugh Evans spring bottom, to Walter Stainback’s, also a tract on the south side of the main branch of Blackwater Swamp, not debarring my brothers Francis and William Poythress from getting timber for their plantation use.

“To son Francis, land at a place called the Brick Chimneys, next to my son John and brother Thomas. If he dies before age 21, my son William is to get it.

“To two sons John and Francis a tract of 280 acres, next to Thomas Poythress, John Young, Darrell Young, and John Winningham, to be equally divided.

“To son William a tract of 150 acres next to Thomas Poythress & Thomas Lovesay, formerly belonging to Joseph Patterson and called Powells, to go to son John if William dies before age 21.

“To son John, items, also to sons William & Francis.

“To wife Mary, various items.

“400 acres to be patented in the woods for son William.

“To daughter Rebecca Poythress, 1 negro, various items.

“To daughter Elizabeth Poythress, same.

“To daughter, Ann Poythress, same.

 

“Executors: Robert Poythress and John Woodleif pasture

“Wit: Francis Epes, Jr.

William Stainback John Poythress

John Winningham

“Recorded 12 May 1724”

–w—

  One source speculates that the wife of John Poythress was Mary Hardyman, daughter of Colonel John Hardyman [Chapter 13] and his wife Mary Epes [Chapter 14], and coincidentally, the sister of another (unnamed) daughter of John Hardyman who married John’s cousin, Joshua Poythress (see below). This source provides us with the following additional information regarding John Poythress.

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“The undated will of John Poythress of Martins Brandon Parish, recorded 12 May 1724, named his wife Mary, sons John, Francis and William, the latter two being under the age of 21, and daughters Rebecca, Elizabeth and Ann, and appointed Robert Poythress and John Woodlief ‘of the pasture’ as his executors. John Poythress was the youngest son of Francis Poythress II and his wife Rebecca Coggin and was born by 1682 since on 23 October 1703 he was granted 609 acres on the Blackwater in Charles City, subsequently Prince George County, which had been granted in 1681 to Francis Poythress but had not been seated. Out of this tract he sold 200 acres to Hubberd Gibson on 11 December 1704.

“A patent for 267 acres in Surry County on the south side of Blackwater was granted to John Poythress of Prince George County on 15 July 1717. The accounting of his estate refers to him as Capt. John Poythress.

“The widow Mary Poythress had married John Abbington of Martins Brandon Parish by 8 February 1725/6 when they sold a slave bequeathed to her in John Poythress’ will. No further record of her survives; John Abbington was living as late as 15 August 1739.”

–w—

  The above source in recounting the history of the children of John and Mary Poythress, said about Ann: “possibly married John Wall who was born about 1722.”

 

“Anne Wall Thomas, Walls of Walltown (n.p. 1969), pp. 15-20, records the tradition that John Wall married Ann or Nancy Poythress. Their children Nancy, William and John Wall moved to Richmond Co., N.C., and the name Poythress is found among descendants. The parents may have died in North Carolina. On the back of the contemporary copy of the will of Joshua Poythress (1740) is a notation showing it was an exhibit in the case of Wall vs. Poythress. It was long assumed from this circumstance that Ann Wall was most likely a daughter of Joshua Poythress but the absence of any reference to her or her family in the will of Elizabeth (Poythress) Boyd Mills suggests the present tentative identification may be more reasonable.”

[Comment: I’m glad that another researcher has concluded that Ann, daughter of John Poythress, might have been the wife of John Wall. However, in the interest of objectivity (and fairness), one must observe that stating “the absence of any reference to her….” is sufficient grounds to dismiss the possibility that Ann Poythress Wall was the daughter of Joshua Poythress is reaching — the author seems to forget that there is also no documentation of his assertion that the wife of John Poythress was Mary Hardiman, much less offer any evidence that Ann, daughter of John Poythress, was married to John Wall. Then to suggest that because no reference was made to her in the will of Elizabeth (Poythress) Boyd Mills, who died in 1795, is absurd! The indications are that Ann Poythress Wall had died much earlier than 1795, and so would not have been named for this reason. The fact that none of the Wall children were named may have been because they were in far-off, remote, North Carolina, and so were not, literally, “close” kin.]

 

From the above information, we know, then, that John Poythress and wife Mary, were the parents of three sons and three daughters. Two of the sons, at least, were indicated in the will to be minors at the time it was written. The daughter, Ann, in whom we are most interested, is likely to have been the youngest child, since she was the last named.

1. 1. John Poythress
   2. Francis Poythress
   3. William Poythress
   4. Rebecca Poythress
   5. Elizabeth Poythress

1. Ann Poythress

Turning now to what we believe is our more likely Poythress lineage from Francis, the immigrant, we take up with his second son, John.

˜²™

John Poythress (2), son of Francis Poythress (1), the immigrant. In April 1661, Col. Edward Hill gave to John Poythress, son of Capt. Francis Poythress, decd., 50 acres at Jordans, adjoining the land occupied by Capt. Robert Wynne. John Poythress was listed as juror in 1665. As John Poythress, Sen. of ‘Deep Bottom’ he was granted 350 acres on the north side of the Nottoway River in Surry on 24 October 1701. He m. Christian, the daughter of David and Elizabeth Peebles [Chapter 15]. ‘The action of John Poythress as marrying Christian, the daughter of Elizabeth Peebles, against Thomas Busby is by consent let fall in court, ye plaintiff avers that the land now claimed by him is within a plot sworn by him as the Boniwood plot.” Elizabeth Peebles was the widow of Capt. David Peebles who acquired by patent 830 acres at the head of Powells Creek, Charles City, 2 August 1650, bounded west on Birchen Swamp, north on Reedy Swamp, north and east on James Ward and south and west on Richard Tye. On 1 September 1659 Capt. Robert Wynne and Anthony Wyatt appraised the perishable estate of the orphans of Capt. David Peebles. There are very few references to this John Poythress in the existing records and the date of his death is not known. At the time of the 1704 rent roll, this John Poythress and none of his sons are listed. It would appear that this John Poythress had died about that time and the estate had not yet been settled.”

–w—

A transcription of the will of John Poythress follows:

˜²™

“In the name of God Amen I John Poytres Senr. of Pr. Geo County, Being of Sound perfect Disposeing minde & memory & Calling to mind The uncertainty of This mortall life Desireous to settle That Estate The Allmighty hath been Pleasd to bless me with all between my wife And Chilldren after my deseas doe make this my last will and Testament in manner & form following Provokeing all other wills by me hereto fore made.

 

“Item. I bequeath my Soul to Allmighty God That gave itt Trusting in the merritts and Passion of my Blessed lord and Sviour Christ Jesus for pardon and Remission of all my Sins in generall Desireing that my body be decently Intred after ye manner of ye Church of England to the Discression of my Exrs. Hereafter named ass for my worldly Estate my debts being first paid I give & bequeath ye Same In manner & form following.

“Item. I give my Son ffrancis Poythres all that Land & Plantacon I now lived on to him and his Heirs forever.

“Item. I give my son David Poythes three Hundred Acres of Land att Tunnatorah to him and his Heirs forever.

“Item. I give to my Son Josh Poythres three hundred Acres land at Monkanneck & to his heirs.

“Item. I give my Son Robt Poythres Three Hundred Acres of land at ye Indian Swamp to him for his own proper use and behoof nott to make Sail of ye sd ffifty Acres of Land.

“Item. I give my Son ffrancis Poythres Two negroes named Coffer & Sis.

“Item. I to my son David Poythres two negroes named Jack and Young Mary.

‘Item. I give to my Son Joshua Poythes two Negroes named Betty & Beck.

“Item. I give to my Son Robt Poythres two Negroes named Tom and Young Sarah.

“Item. I give to my William Poythres Three negroes named ffrank Cook and Ame & frank Cook at nattuah.

“Item. I give to my Son Jno Poythres two negroes & their increase named Bess & Nanny.

“Item. I give my Son Peter Poythres two negroes & their Increase named Benn & nanny.

“Item. I give to my Loveing Wife Christian Poythres three Negroes Named Catto Usse & Sarah to my loveing wife for Her Proper use and to be at her onw Disposeing.

“Item. I give to my Daughter Eleva. Poythres two Negroes named Pegg and her son Tom.

“Item. I give to my Daughter Christian Poythres two negroes named Moll and John Cook.

“I give to my Loveing wife Christian Poythres my Servt. Jno. Ffeeld Dureing his time and at his freedom to have besides his Corn and Cloathes A Cow & Claf & a new Gunn.

“Item. I give to my Daughter Mary Woodleif fforty pds Sterling.

“Item. I give all my moveable Estate to be Equally divideed between my wife and Chilldren my son Jno Poythres & son Petr Poythres giving an acct. of wt they have in hand.

“Item. I give to my granSon ffrancis Poythres & son of ffra Poythres ye negro Child ye Shu goes withall.

“Item. I give to my Loveing wife Christian Poythres my two negro wences Shu & Jude as her own propr Estate to be at her own Disposing.

“Item. I apoint my loveing wife & my Son Jno Poythres to be Exrs. Of this my last will and testament.

“Item. I apoint my two Brothers Thomas & Joshua Wynne and William Stainback to be ye Deviders of my Estate.

 

“Signed & Sealed in Present Signum

of John F Poythres X

Jno + Winninham (Winningham)

Petr P Leeth

Tho T Leeth

William Stainback

“Att a Court held for Prince George County ye 11^th December 1712.

“The next before Written last Will & Testament of Mr. John Poythres decd. was Proved in Open Court by the Oathes of Jno. Winningham, Peter Leigth & William Standback Wittnesses Thereto & a Probt. Thereof granted Johne Poythres Exr. & Christian Poythres his relict & Exx. named Therein & Att Their motion The same is admitted to record.”

–w—

The children of John and Christian Peebles Poythress listed in the excerpted article were:

1. John Poythress; m. Mary Batte

 

“On 21 October 1707, as Capt. John Poythress, he was mentioned as a member of a commission to examine the inhabitants concerning the dividing line between N.C. and Va. On 8 June 1714 Sarah Daniel sold to John Poythress, Sen. 50 acres bounded on the west by Birchen Swamp, north by Joseph Daniel, east by sd. John Poythress and south by Thomas Goodwyn. From this deed it would appear that John Poythress inherited part of the grant of his grandfather David Peebles (see above). The original Peebles grant in 1650 appears to have been the nucleus of the ‘Bonaccord’ estate owned by Elizabeth Poythress who m. Capt. James Cocke, c. 1770. Hence it is likely that Elizabeth Poythress descended from this John Poythress. According to the Prince George Tax records, in 1800 Elizabeth Cocke devised to her son James Cocke a tract of land called ‘Goodwins’ which had been left her by her brother John Poythress. On 11 July 1725 John Hardyman sold to John Poythress 2 acres on Walls Run, bounded by sd. run, and lands of Sarah Wall and John Wilkins. The deed was witnessed by Joshua and William Poythress. John Poythress was a burgess from Prince George 1723-26. On 13 October 1727, as Capt. John Poythress, he was granted 225 acres on the south side of the Maherin River in Brunswick Co. This same tract was sold by a Thomas Poythress of Martins Brandon Parish, P. George to Wm. Rivers 13 May 1773. This John Poythress is seemingly the one who married Mary Batte.”

[Comment: Thomas Goodwyn, named in the above deed, has an intriguing, but as yet unknown, connection to our family history. In the Wall family history, Chapter 11, we find that John Wall, Senior, is named administrator of Thomas Goodwyn’s estate in 1732. The activity and amount of time expended by John Wall in this duty indicates a deeper relationship than just a casual or professional one.]

 

2. David Poythress; d. ca. 1739

 

“On 16 July 1735, he sold to Robert Poythress 600 acres in Surry, 350 acres of which had been devised to him by the will of his father John. In 1739, Edmund Poythress, son of David Poythress, came into court and stated that his father had died without a will. He was granted admin. On the estate with William Poythress, Gent., his security to the sum of 800 pounds. No further record.”

• Christian Poythress

“listed as witness to the will of Joshua Poythress in 1739. No further record.”

4. Elizabeth Poythress; m. 1) John Fitzgerald, 2) Thomas Eppes

“probable. John Fitzgerald who appeared in Prince George by 1723 is said to have m. Elizabeth Poythress. In 1738, Robert Poythress obtained judgement against William and Francis Poythress, executors of the will of John Fitzgerald.”

5. Robert Poythress; b. 1690; d. 1743-1747; m. Elizabeth _____

“He first appears in the records in 1713 when he was accused of furnishing ammunition to the Indians. In 1724 he was an executor of the will of John Poythress who appears to have been his first cousin. He was named as brother in the will of Joshua Poythress in 1739, and is mentioned as deceased in 1747. The name of his wife was Elizabeth, as in 1752 Peter and Elizabeth Poythress, as his executors, brought suit in Surry Co. against Thomas Eldridge. He surname is not known but it is likely that she was the Elizabeth Poythress mentioned as daughter in the will of Elizabeth Pleasants Cocke in Henrico in 1752. In Jan. 1793 Tabitha Randolph deeded to Henry Archer a fifth interest in certain slaves left by her father Robert Poythress of Prince George, by will dated 24 May 1743. The deed further recited that Robert Poythress left three sons, Peter, William, and Robert Poythress.”

6. Peter Poythress; m. Anne _____

“He was sent to negotiate with the Tuscarora Indians in 1711. He is mentioned several times in the secret diary of Wm. Byrd and in 1711 Byrd mentions having attended the marriage of Peter Poythress and widow named Anne at the house of Col. Edward Hill in Charles City. The surname cannot be deciphered. On 10 October 1721, John Hardyman sold Peter Poythress a water mill on Powell’s Creek. There is no record of his death. He and his wife Anne had one daughter Anne, born 13 December 1712; d. 9 April 1758, who m. Richard Bland of ‘Jordans’ and had 12 children, of whom Elizabeth, b. 1732, m. her cousin Peter Poythress. (The Bland who, on 3 September 1657, bought a tract of land on the south side of James River called ‘Jordans’ from Capt. Benjamin Sidway and Mary, his wife. Mary Sidway was the widow of the first Benjamin Harrison in America.”

[Comment: In the account of the founding of Fort Christanna in the Wall family history [Chapter 11], Peter Poythress is named as an Indian trader and interpreter.]

7. William Poythress; b. 1695; d. 18 Jan 1763; m. Sarah Eppes

“According to his epitaph in Blandsford Churchyard, he was born in 1695, ‘the son of John Poythress’ and died 18 January 1763. He m. Sarah Eppes, b. 1702, d. 1750, daughter of Col. Francis Eppes (Blandford epitaph). William Poythress acquired large grants of land in what was later Dinwiddie County and moved there before his death. The birth records of several of his children were recorded in the Bristol Parish Register. Descendants untraced. The will of his daughter Anne Isham Gordon (b. 9 April 1726, B.P.R.), dated 1790, Prince George Co., is published in Crozier’s Williamsburg Wills. She mentioned nephews William and Benjamin Poythress Yates, sons of late Co. Wm. Yates; niece Mary Muir and her children, Margaret and William Poythress Muir; niece Lucy Gordon, d. John Gordon, decd.; friend Thomas Gordon; sister Elizabeth Ramsay; Elizabeth Peachy; executors Thos. Gordon and Thos. G. Peachy. Elizabeth Poythress, b. 21 September 1742, daughter of William, m. 26 November 1760 Patrick Ramsay.”

8. Joshua Poythress; d. 1739-1740; m. ____ Hardyman [Chapter 13]

“On 18 February 1717, James Parham sold to Joshua Poythress 200 acres on Bailey’s Creek known as ‘High Peak.’ On 9 July 1725 Joshua Poythress purchased from John Hardiman and his wife 300 acres in Prince George known as ‘Flower de Hundred.’ A copy of the will of Joshua Poythress survived the destruction of the Prince George records for that period and is on file in the Va. State Library. He devised his lands purchased of Mrs. Duke and Capt. Hardiman ‘on which he then lived,’ his land on the Nottoway River in Surry Co. and his lands on Tommaheton and Whiteoak Swamps to his sons Joshua and William Poythress, with the provision that they maintain their brother Littleberry Poythress at their joint expense. Also mentioned were his wife, not named, granddaughter Harwood, daughters Ann, Elizabeth, and Mary Poythress, brothers Robert and William Poythress and friends and relatives Richard Bland, Thomas Poythress and John Woodlief. He appointed his brother Robert Poythress and his ‘cousin Thomas Poythress’ executors and the will was witnessed by Richard and Ann Bland and Christian Poythress. In 1740 Robert Poythress and Thomas Poythress were granted adm. with Richard Bland and William Poythress securities to the sum of 5,000 pounds. The name of the wife of Joshua Poythress is not known. Later deeds show that his sons Littleberry and William died without issue. His son Joshua Poythress married Mary Short. The will of William Short of Surry, prob. 1757, mentions daughter Mary Poythress, her husband Joshua, and their children Joshua, William and Elizabeth Poythress. Of the daughters of Joshua Poythress (3), Mary seemingly married Col. G. Peachy. Elizabeth Poythress had no children by either marriage and her will was probated in the Petersburg Hastings Court in 1800. Named in the will among others were nieces and nephews, Elizabeth Fraser, Elizabeth, Martha, Sarah, Susanna, and Richard Eppes, Susanna Maitland, Joshua Poythress, John Boyd, and Edward Boyd.

 

In addition to those listed above, we must also add two children that were named in John Poythess’ will:

• Francis Poythress

1. Mary Poythress; m. _____ Woodleif

We will now turn to our second (and probably older) source of Poythress family information to supplement the above. The following records provide the basic information upon which the author builds his analysis.

“Grant to John Poythress Sr. of Deep Bottom, 350 acres lying on the north side of Nottaway River, for the transportation of seven persons; John Lee, Robt. Boreman, Humphry Hix, Henry Snetgrove, Mary Drin, U. Standback, Wm. Lambud. 24 Oct 1701”

“John Poythress took out patent for 600 acres in Prince George County, and found part of it in Surry — ordered that Surry Surveyor lay that part off etc. — 22 June 1708”

“Deed between David Poythress of Surry County, and Robert Poythress — 600 acres on the north side of Nottaway River in Surry County, 350 acres of said land was devised to said David by his father, John Poythress by his last will and testament, and the other 250 acres patented by David Poythress 5 September 1723. 18 July 1735”

“Grant to David Poythress, of Surry County, tract of 250 A. lying on the north side of Nottaway River, in Surry County, consideration of 25 shillings. 5 September 1723.”

“Benj. Harrison, Col. John Hardyman, Capt. John Poythress and others appointed to examine inhabitants of Prince George, Surry and I. Of Wight Counties regarding boundary disputes with the Province of North Carolina. 21 Oct 1707”

“Francis Poythress, Sr. is shown to possess 1283 acres of land in Prince George County, Thomas Poythress 616 acres, and John Poythress, Jr. 916 acres.”

 

˜²™

To clearly differentiate the early John Poythresses is a difficult problem, but we will endeavor to show from the foregoing records certain facts relative to the John Poythresses who lived preceding and following 1700, and for better study we group the records [I have only included those that relate to the one in whom we are interested: John Poythress, Sr.] under three headings. After giving the studied results of the groupings, we will give certain speculation thereon. Scientific speculations are permissible, and any hypothesis is allowable for it is simply an attempt to explain known facts which exist. When it becomes acceptable to the scientific world it becomes a theory of the day, and holds until a fact is discovered which runs contrawise. The theory passes, another hypothesis arises, becomes accepted and a new theory reigns. This is science and knowledge expands and continues to grow. This is our problem with the Poythresses and if you so wish, to term it the Poythress puzzle. We do not expect to solve it but in the repercussion following new facts will doubtless arise from the interested descendants of the Poythress and allied families. The result will be an increased and more accurate family knowledge and that is our desire in these studies. In our first grouping we considered the first six records [these I provided].

This John Poythress of Deep Bottom certainly owned property in the counties of Prince George and Surry. Bear in mind that Surry County was set off from James City County in 1652 and Prince George from Charles City County in 1702 and both extended to the boundary of the Province of North Carolina. Prince George was an enormous county extending to the west and south from the Appomattox and James Rivers, and it is difficult at the present day to delimit the boundary between Prince George and Surry in the early part of the eighteenth century. Blackwater River empties into the Nottaway and passes through Isle of Wight County and has its headwaters in Prince George. A careful study of the grants on main Blackwater in connection with the Poythress family, as also other families would elucidate much history of these early families. It will be noted that later we find grants to Poythresses in Isle of Wight and Brunswick, the former set off from Surry, and the latter from Prince George. John Poythress’ first grant in 1701 was for 350 acres north of the Nottaway River and this grant was not so far from North Carolina. The next record of him is in 1707 when the Executive Council of Virginia appoints him styled Capt. John Poythress with Col. John Hardyman and others to investigate the dispute as to the boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina. From this investigation he evidently discovered that his patent in Prince George which he thought was in that county was found to be partly in Surry, and the Executive Council in 1708 ordered that the Surry Surveyor lay off the part in Surry. The next direct evidence of him is brought out in connection with his son David. In 1723 David Poythress is granted 250 acres in Surry on the north side of Nottaway River. In 1735 David Poythress of Surry deeds to Robert Poythress at that time of Prince George 600 acres on the north side of Nottaway River, 350 acres of which had been devised to him by his father John Poythress, and 250 acres was granted to him in 1723. This 350 acres was the grant originally in 1701 to John Poythress, Sr. of Deep Bottom. The study of this grouping and particularly of this tract of 600 acres is direct evidence of the John Poythress,. Sr. and his son David. These two records of David are the only knowledge of him we possess, but there is indirect information relative to John Poythress, Sr. In the quit rent rolls of Prince George County in 1704 John Poythress, Jr. Is shown to possess 916 acres of land, which indirectly establishes a John Poythress, Sr., as of that date. Again this John Poythress, Jr. Of 1704, in 1720 as John Poythress, Sr. of that date join his wife Mary in selling a tract of land of 1200 acres devised to her by her father Henry Batte. This is indirect evidence that the John Poythress, Sr. of Deep Bottom had died prior to 1720. This is all the knowledge we have of him…”

–w—

Joshua Poythress, then, was the son of John and Christian Peebles Poythress. He was probably born about 1696. We are not certain at this time to whom he was married, but more than one researcher has speculated that he married the daughter of John Hardyman [Chapter 13]. He died about 1739-1740. From his will described above, and abstracted below, we know that he was the father of at least seven children:

1. 1. Joshua Poythress; b. ca. 1720; d. before 9 Feb 1782 in Prince George Co., Va.; m. Mary Short, daughter of William Short of Surry County
   2. William Poythress; b. after 1720
   3. Littleberry Poythress
   4. (daughter) Poythress; m. _____ Harwood

 

1. Ann Poythress; b. ca. 1725; m.(?) John Wall [Chapter 11]
2. Elizabeth Poythress; b. 1725; d. 3 Oct 1795 at Petersburg; m. (1) Walter Boyd (d. Oct-Nov 1770), (2) James Mills (d. 1781-782) Sep 1771; (3) Thomas Griffin Peachy 22 Sep 1783
3. Mary Poythress; m. Peter Epes of ‘High Peak,’ Prince George Co., Va.

 

[Comment: The fact that Joshua Poythress had a son named Littleberry is circumstantial, but compelling evidence from a genealogical point-of-view, that Joshua Poythress, indeed married a daughter of John Hardyman. It is known that John Hardyman married Mary Epes, and that Littlebury/Littleberry, an unusual name at the time, was an Epes family name. In fact, John Hardyman had a son named Littlebury, so the name was propagated through the generations. I have learned that it was a distinctly Virginia name, and it would not be surprising to learn that anyone who was named Littlebury/Littleberry was descended from the Epes family in some way. In Book 2, Part 2, we have yet to trace a Littleberry Perdue, but he, too, was probably a descendant of the Epes family!]

 

Another source offered the following brief summation of his life:

 

“Joshua Poythress of Prince George County, who purchased 100 acres in Bristol Parish from Thomas Vincent and his mother Sarah Vincent on 11-12 May 1713 and ‘High Peak,’ 200 acres in Martin’s Brandon Parish, from James Parram on 4 February 1717/8, was deeded for £300 300 acres of ‘Flower de Hundred’ by John Hardyman [son of Colonel John Hardyman, and presumed brother of Ann Poythress — Chapter 13] on 9-10 July 1725, and acquired an adjoining 250 acres of ‘Flower de Hundred’ from Mrs. Elizabeth Duke for £400 on 6 October 1732. He left a will dated 17 January 1739/40 and proved 8 April 1740, which mentioned (but did not name) his wife, named his five children Joshua, William, Ann, Elizabeth and Mary Poythress, his granddaughter Harwood, and his son Littlebury Poythress who was to taken care of for life by his brothers, and appointed his brother Robert Poythress and ‘cozen’ Thomas Poythress as executors.

“Although no surviving record identifies his wife, the naming of a son Littlebury suggests the possibility she was a daughter of John and Mary (Epes) Hardyman.”

Joshua Poythress was the recipient of a grant of 333 acres in 1722:

“Joshua Poythres, 333 acs. (N.L.), Pr. Geo. Co.; on N. side of Moccosoneck Cr; along line of William Jones, Junr.; 22 June 1722. Imp. Of 7 pers: Edward Prince, Thos. Farmer, Wm. Loynes, Christopher Ingolbe, Hugh Clark, John Geurden, James Robinson.”

The will of Joshua Poythress is abstracted as follows:

 

“Will of Joshua Poythress of Martins Brandon Parish. Land I live on, bought from Mrs. Elizabeth Duke and Capt. John Hardyman to my sons Joshua and William, to be equally divided. All land on the Nottoway in Surry county likewise to be equally divided.

“To granddaughter Harwood, £50.

“To son Littlebury 20 shillings, and other sons are to keep him during his lifetime.

“All the rest of the estate to be equally divided between wife and five children Joshua, William, Ann Poythress, Elizabeth Poythress and Mary Poythress.

“Brothers William and Robert Poythress, and friends and relations Richard Bland, Thomas Poythress, and John Woodleif to divide the estate.

“Executors — brother Robert and cozen Thomas Poythress

“Dated 17 January 1739.

“Wit: Ann Bland, Christian Poythress, and Richard Bland.”

 

Another piece of information that tends to corroborate our pet theory that Ann Poythress was the daughter of Joshua Wall comes from Anne Wall Thomas’ book, The Walls of Walltown. The vital excerpt is as follows:

 

“Probably of greater significance is correspondence that Walter Ashe Wall had in 1953 with Mr. Richard Dunn of Richmond, Virginia. Mr. Dunn wrote:

“’From 1725 to 1949 Joshua Poythress I and his descendants owned the Flower de Hundred plantation in Prince George County, Virginia. On 18 July 1952, I gave to the Archives Division, Virginia State Library, a copy of the will, dated 17 January 1739, of Joshua Poythress I of Flower de Hundred which I had found among the papers of my late father, Dr. William Wilcox Dunn (1870-1952) who was the last descendant of Joshua Poythress to own Flower de Hundred.

“’From your viewpoint, the interesting thing about the copy of the Will of Joshua Poythress I is that it was introduced as evidence in the suit of Wall against Poythress as is clearly shown by the following wording which was inscribed on the back of the will:

“’Will (copy) of Joshua Poythress Wall vs. Poythress’…

“Also following excerpt from the will of Joshua Poythress I establishes the fact that as of 17 January 1739 he had an unmarried daughter named Ann Poythress — ‘the remainder of my estate I give and devise to my loving wife and to my sons Joshua Poythress and William Poythress and to my daughters Ann Poythress, Elizabeth Poythress and Mary Poythress to be equally divided between them when my son Joshua Poythress shall come to age.’

“’From the above, it would seem to me that Ann Poythress, daughter of Joshua Poythress I of Flower de Hundred, married John Wall after the death of her father and being dissatisfied with the division of her father’s estate brought suit against his executors.’“

 

We have explored two possible Poythress family lineages connecting the Ann Poythress, who is hypothesized to have married John Wall, to Francis Poythress, the immigrant. At the beginning of this chapter we theorized that the Ann Poythress we sought must have married John Wall about 1740. We find some very compelling evidence that we might be on the right track in Brunswick County records.

In the will of Robert Hicks of Brunswick County, Virginia, dated 6 Mar 1738/9, and probated 7 February 1739, Ann Poythress is listed as a witness. This definitely establishes that an adult Ann Poythress was in Brunswick County, and that she was unmarried in early 1739. (In one provision of his will, he gives to his son “all my land at the Indian Fort below where I now live..,” and in another he leaves his home plantation to his son James.) To date, no other records other than this will and the will of her presumed father, Joshua Poythress, have been found that list her as Ann Poythress, indicating that this Ann Poythress probably did marry about 1740.

 

[Comment: It would be extremely interesting to know what relationship, if any, Ann Poythress had with Robert Hicks. In those days, being named in a will usually indicated some sort of relationship. As a partial answer to my own question, we have established that John Wall, Robert Hicks, and Peter Poythress probably had close business relations in the Indian trade. Perhaps Ann Poythress, after the death of her father, was living with her uncle Peter Poythress, and was with him on what must have been one of his frequent trips to Brunswick (if he did not live there) to attend to business. All speculation — there is not a clue in the abstracted will.]

 

Then in a deed dated 6 May 1747, from John Wall Jr. of Brunswick for 2 tracts of land “on the south side of the Meherrin River & on the east side of the Great Creek below Christiana Fort…,” John Wall’s wife is named as Anne. An interesting coincidence that deserves remarking upon is the fact that Robert Hicks named land south of the Indian Fort, and John Wall’s land was south of Christiana Fort. If these two references to forts are to the same fort (and I firmly believe they are), then the Ann Poythress of Robert Hicks will was probably living very near to John Walls in 1739. In a “poll of voters” taken in 1748 in Brunswick County, we find James Hicks (another of the sons of Robert Hicks, and the inheritor of Robert Hicks’ home plantation) living in the same district as John Wall Jr. (the poll of this district was taken by “Col. John Wall”).

Not proof! But the above information provides us with some very interesting corroboration of our hypothesis, that Ann Poythress, the daughter of Joshua Poythress, was indeed the one who married John Wall, Jr., about 1740 in Brunswick County, Virginia. We will continue to explore and test this hypothesis as time and resources permit, and will assume, for now and until proved in error, that our hypothesis is correct.

 

[Comment: I now have definitive information that Mr. Robert Bolling Batte, and eminent Virginia genealogist, reached precisely the same conclusion that Ann Poythress, daughter of Joshua Poythress, married John Wall. Mr. Batte reached this conclusion before 1977 when he dated a chart showing this information.]

 

Before leaving the Poythress family history, it is informative and interesting to document some of the history of Flowerdew Hundred, part of which Joshua Poythress owned at the time of his death. He apparently acquired this historic land in 1725 from his presumed brother-in-law, John Hardyman, Junior. The following deed abstract lists the buyer as John Poythress, but this is almost surely an error in transcription since it has been described so many times as being made to Joshua Poythress.

 

“9 July 1725 John Hardyman of Martins Brandon Parish & Henrietta Maria his wife, to John [sic] Poythreess of same, 300 acres in Martins Brandon Parish commonly known by the name of Flower de Hundred; bounded on N. by James River, E. by Robert Wilkins, S. by land called Dutchy Hill, and W. by Elizabeth Duke; being part of the Flower de Hundred Tract which contained 1000 acres, 150 of said 300 were devised to Henrietta Maria wife of John Hardyman, by will of her father, John Taylor, late of said county, dated 5 April 1707. The other 150 were devised to Sarah, now wife of Francis Hardyman, and another daughter of said John Taylor, and by Francis and Sarah sold to John Hardyman.

Wit: Thomas Eldridge John Hardyman

William Poythress H. Maria Hardyman

Recorded 13 July 1725″

 

Flowerdew Hundred is now being maintained as an historic site by the Flowerdew Hundred Foundation of Hopewell, Virginia. It is open to the public (for a few) daily from 1 April until 30 November, and is located “on the south side of the James River off Route 10, about 5 miles east of the Benjamin Harrison Bridge.” A brochure recounting its history contains the following information.

˜²™

Flowerdew Hundred

“At the end of the first decade of English settlement, the Virginia colony was still struggling to survive. The years from 1617 to 1622, however, saw a dramatic increase in the number of new settlements along the James River and of immigrants from England. The growth and prosperity of this period were partly the result of a change of policy by the Virginia Company that encouraged private investments in the colony. The most important provision of this new policy permitted private economic ventures or settlements called ‘particular plantations,’ or ‘hundreds.’ For the first time, individual investors were allowed considerable freedom in managing their operations as well as the right to whatever commodities or profits were produced. The inducements of plentiful land, greater freedom from economic monopolies, and the discovery that tobacco was a profitable staple crop generated a heavy influx of men and supplies at a critical point in Virginia’s settlement.

“Flowerdew Hundred was one of the earliest and most important of these particular plantations. Sir George Yeardley had already acquired the 1,000 acre tract of land by 1619, when be became Governor of the colony. He named it Flowerdew Hundred, perhaps in honor of his new bride Temperance Flowerdew. Yeardley’s settlement was already well established by the summer of 1619 as it was represented in the first General Assembly at that time. The Indian massacre in March of 1622 devastated most of the plantations in the colony, but Flowerdew Hundred was well defended and only six people were killed there. When the harassed colonists decided to temporarily abandon all but a handful of strongly fortified places in the wake of the massacre, Flowerdew Hundred was one of the settlements that they continued to occupy. By 1624 Flowerdew Hundred had a population of over sixty people and was a thriving agricultural unit raising livestock and producing corn and a yearly tobacco crop of about 10,000 pounds. The settlement also had a windmill, the first in English North America, which had been built about 1621. Only a few years after the massacre Flowerdew Hundred was one of the largest and most developed settlements in Virginia.

“Sir George Yeardley sold the plantation to Abraham Peirsey in 1624. Peirsey was a merchant-planter who, after Yeardley, ranked as the second wealthiest man in Virginia. A census of the colony taken in 1625 provides some rare details about Flowerdew Hundred at that time. A total of 57 people lived on the plantation, including ’29 servants and 7 Negroes’ belonging to Peirsey. The other residents included six married men, their families and servants, three single men, and a minister. There were twelve dwelling houses on the plantation as well as three storehouses, four tobacco houses, and the windmill. Ample supplies of food were on hand in the form of cattle, hogs, corn, peas, and quantities of fish. A continued concern over defense was reflected in the cannon, armour, gunpowder, and swords listed.

“Both Yeardley and Peirsey invested heavily in developing Flowerdew Hundred, especially by controlling the labor of large numbers of indentured servants, and it is likely that both men realized handsome profits. Even at this early date agricultural operations at Flowerdew Hundred resembled those of the successful tobacco plantation of the later seventeenth century, which would remain basically unchanged until the introduction of Negro slaves on a large scale during the next century.

“By the mid-seventeenth century Flowerdew Hundred was owned by William Barker, a merchant sea-captain, and later by his son John Barker. Toward the end of the century several unsuccessful attempts were made to found a town on the James River at Flowerdew, underlining the importance of the site’s location as well as its commercial and agricultural value. By 1700 the original 1,000 acre plantation had been subdivided into several smaller tracts, but Flowerdew continued to be the site of agricultural operations on the fertile fields along the river. The largest portion of the original grant came to be owned by Joshua Poythress and several generations of his descendants during most of the eighteenth century.

“Flowerdew Hundred is one of the best preserved early seventeenth century English settlements yet to be discovered in America. Its size, preservation, and history make it a major source of information about the early colonization period and the transformation of Englishmen into Americans.

“The archaeological significance of Flowerdew Hundred lies in its many undisturbed sites. The techniques of surface survey and aerial photography have located over 60 archaeological sites dating from prehistoric times to the present. Indian occupation, revealed by the discovery of projectile points, pottery, and the remains of houses and villages, dates from about 9,000 B.C. to the seventeenth century. At least twelve sites date from the earliest period of English settlement circa 1619-1630. Two of these sites have been the focus of archaeological investigations; and enclosed settlement containing the remains of three or more wooden buildings, and a well-preserved house foundation made of siltstone which is part of a larger dwelling complex. Large quantities of artifacts such as armour, gun parts, leather goods, pottery, tools, glass beads, and tobacco pipes have been found at these sites.

“Other archaeological sites at Flowerdew promise to be as richly informative as those already excavated. The excavation and study of these sites is a major part of the ongoing research program being conducted by Flowerdew Hundred Foundation, Inc., a non-profit educational organization.

“Flowerdew Hundred has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Historic Landmarks Register, thereby ensuring the preservation of the property for continued historical and archaeological research. The information obtained from this research will provide invaluable resources for our knowledge and understanding of early America.”

–w—

A more detailed history of Flowerdew Hundred and its owners is contained in a genealogy of the Duke-Symes Family:

˜²™

Flower de Hundred, the seat of John Taylor

“Sir George Yeardley, Knt., came to Virginia in 1609. He was appointed governor in 1626, and held office until his death in November 1627. His wife was Temperance Flowerdew. In 1618 he patented the place that was later to be known as Flower de Hundred and named it Flowerdew for his wife’s family.

“Tyler’s Quarterly Magazine says on page 115 that in 1617, Sir George Yeardley received from the Indian King the gift of Tanks Weynoake, and in 1618 he patented one thousand acres on the south side of James River, west of a creek, and called both creek and place Flowerdew Hundred. At a point of land called in early records ‘Tobacco Point’ and which is now known as ‘Windmill Point’ he erected in 1621 the first windmill in the United States. In 1619, the plantation was represented in the first Legislative Assembly by Edmond Rossingham and John Jefferson, the supposed ancestor of Thomas Jefferson.

“Mrs. John Dunn of Richmond, Virginia, has a charming article on Flower de Hundred in ‘Historic Gardens of Virginia.’

“In 1624 Sir George Yeardley sold Flower de Hundred to Abraham Persey. A fragment of this deed, said to be the oldest in North America, is in the Virginia Historical Society, Richmond.

Sale of the Estate to William Barker by
Elizabeth, Daughter of Abraham Persey

“Abraham Persey, merchant, widower, came to Virginia in the ship Susan in 1616, and was for a number of years Cape Merchant and Treasurer of the Colony. He was also a member of the Council. In 1625 he married Frances, widow of Nathaniel West, of West and Shirley Hundred, a brother of Lord Delaware. Among other lands Abraham Persey owned Flowerdieu Hundred (1,000 acres) and Weynoake (2,200 acres) which he purchased from Sir George Yeardley (Hening 1,145). In his will, dated March 1626, ‘Abraham Persey of Persey’s Hundred, Esquire,’ directs that all his estate in Virginia (after legacies to this brother and sister and his wife’s son, Nathaniel West) shall be sold and gives his wife one-third and one-twelfth part and his daughters Mary and Elizabeth ‘the other one-third, one-sixth, and one-twelfth part.’

“Elizabeth married, firstly, Captain Richard Stephens and, secondly, Sir George Harvey, Governor. Flower de Hundred was included in her portion of her father’s estate. In 1636 it was repatented to her by Governor John West.

“‘The next owner,’ says Mrs. Dunn, ‘was the picturesque William Barker, mariner, who sailed the seas in the Merchants Hope and was one of the company to found the old plantation, courthouse, and church of that name, along with one Quiney, whose brother, Thomas, married Judith Shakespeare.’

“Mrs. Dunn has kindly furnished the following notes from papers in her possession and from copies of records which her family gave the Virginia Historical Society:

“William Barker left Flower de Hundred to his son John who, dying, left it to his sisters. An old record reads:

 

“‘Whereas by and after the decease of John Barker late of Flowerdue Hundred in Charles City Coun. in Virginia deceased, all that tract commonly called Flowerdue Hundred containing 1,000 acres did lawfully descend and come to Sarah then the wife of Richard Taylor, deceased, and now the wife of Robert Lucy and Elizabeth, wife of Phillip Limbry — sisters and co-heirs with the said John Barker.’

 

“A paper labelled ‘The Patent of flower de hundred Land April 24^th 1673’ gives to Robert Lucy & Sarah, his wife, the Uppermost part and to Phillip Limbry and Elizabeth, his wife, the South part.

“Sarah Lucy’s Uppermost part included the site of the present house. It was described in 1673 ‘with houseing, fencing, buildings and all other profits, vantages and privileges whatsoever to the same belonging.’ These conveyances are given in a later chapter.

“Susannah Peachy Poythress, only daughter and sole heir of the third Joshua Poythress, was born at Flower de Hundred in 1785 and was buried there in 1815. She married Mr. John Vaughan Willicox of Charles City County and Petersburg in 1804, at which time they built the present house, a white wooden structure, on a rolling bit of ground, back from the river. Flower de Hundred is still the property of Joshua Poythress’s direct descendants of the seventh and eighth generations, that part on which the house and garden stands being owned by Dr. William Willicox Dunn of Richmond, Virginia.

“It is the tradition that the old house of brick that was long ago destroyed by fire was down by the windmill. It would seem that this part of the plantation was inherited by Elizabeth Duke, since she conveyed to Joshua Poythress ‘all that Messuage Tenament Plantation and tract of land … along the Town Land and James River to a Point of Land called Wind Mill Point.’

Will of Captain John Taylor
(Copied from a photostat of the original, courtesy of
the Virginia Historical Society, on the margin of
which is written: ‘Loaned by Wm. M. Willicox of
Flower de Hundred. Sept. 21 1881’

“IN the name of GOD AMEN, I JOHN TAYLOR of Prince George County being very sick & weak in body, but of perfect sense and memory thanks be to God for the same do make this my last will and testament in manner and form following. I commit my Soul to Almighty God who gave it trusting in the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ for pardon of all my Sins and to enjoy a blessed and Glorious Eternity, and my body to be decently buried at the discretion of my Executors hereafter named, and as to what wordly estate it hath pleased God to bless me with I give and bequeath as followeth,

“IMPRIMIS, I give and bequeath to my daughter Elizabeth Duke two Negroes (Vizt) one man called Dick, and one man called Buck, and my Riding horse called Trooper, besides what I have already given her.

“ITEM, I give and bequeath to my daughter Henrietta Maria Taylor four Negroes (Vizt) Hector, Moll, Caesor and Frank, one feather bed and furniture six young Cowes and Calves, all to be paid her at twenty one years of age or day of marriage, which shall first happen.

“ITEM, I give and bequeath to my daughter Sarah Taylor four Negroes or Mulattoes (Vizt) Henry, George … (torn out) … to be paid to her at twenty one years …. Lying and being in Prince George County. Credits of what nature and quality soever they be be I do give and bequeath to my dear and Loving wife Henrietta Maria Taylor, as also five Negroes (Vizt) Antilope & his wife Amy, Jack and his wife Sue & Hannah & all my land at Pigeon Swamp I give unto my Loving wife to her and her heirs forever, she paying all my Just debts and funeral charges.

“LASTLY, I do hereby nominate, ordain, appoint my dear and Loving wife Henrietta Maria Taylor and my dear daughter Elizabeth Duke my whole and sole Executrix of this my last will and testament, desiring her to see my Estate managed and improved to the best advantages, my debts and Legacies punctually paid and my children godly and Vertuously educated, and I do hereby make void and revoke all other will or wills heretofore by me made IN WITNESS hereof I have hereto set my hand and seal this fifth day of April One thousand seven hundred & seven.

John Taylor

Flower de Hundred Passes from the Taylor Family

John and Henrietta (Taylor) Hardyman to Joshua
Poythress their interest in Flower de Hundred

“THIS INDENTURE made this Ninth Day of July One Thousand Seven Hundred Twenty five Between John Hardyman of the Parrish of Martins Brandon in the County of Prince George and Henrietta Maria his Wife of the one part and Joseph [Joshua] Poythress of the Same Parrish and County of the other part, Witnesseth That the said John Hardyman and Henrietta Maria his Wife Have Sold … unto the said Joshua Poythress … One tract of Land containing Three Hundred Acres, more or less, in the Parrish of Martins Brandon in the Said County of Prince George, commonly called — or known by the name of fflower-de-hundred, bounded on the North by the River James, on the East by Land of Robert Wilkins, on the South by the Land Called Dutchy Hills, and on the West by the Land of Elizabeth Duke, it being part of the said fflower-de-hundred Tract of land, which containeth One Thousand Acres or thereabouts; One Hundred and fifty Acres of the said Henrietta Maria Wife of the said John Hardyman by the Last Will and Testament of her ffather John Taylor Late of said County, deced: dated the fifth of April, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven hundred and Seven, and the other One Hundred and fifty Acres were Devised by the said Will unto Sarah, now wife of ffrancis Hardyman, and One of the Daughters of the said John Taylor, and by the said ffrancis and Sarah Hardyman sold unto the said John Hardyman and to his heirs forever, as by Deed referrence being thereunto had, will more fully appear…

John Hardyman, Sealed with a wafer

H. Maria Hardyman, Sealed with a wafter

“AT a Court held at Merchants Hope for Prince George County on the Second Tuesday in July, being the thirteenth Day of the Said month in Anno Dom. 1725 —

“THE above written Deed of Lease of Land (Indented and Sealed) was in Open Court acknowledged by John Hardyman and Henrietta Maria his Wife, the Subscribers thereto — to be their Act and Deed to Joshua Poythress.

Sale of Land that was devised by Captain John
Taylor to his wife, Henrietta Maria.

“THIS INDENTURE made this Seaventeenth day of December in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seaven hundred Twenty Three Between John Hardyman and Henrietta Maria his wife, Francis Hardyman & Sarah his wife, Elizabeth Duke, and Frances Greenhill of the one part and John Mason of the other part … For and in Consideration of the Sum of five Shillings Current Money of Virginia (Twenty-two pounds and Six Shillings in the release) paid by the said John Mason have bargained and sold … One parcel or Tract of Land Containing Two Hundred and Twenty Three Acres Situate … on the East side of the Pigon Swamp in the County of Surry, and bounded as followeth vizt. Beginning at the mouth of the Cattail branch, thence running up the said Branch to the line of Richard Bland, Deceased, thence along the said line to a branch called Under Ground Branch, thence down the said Branch to the aforesaid Swamp …

Elizabeth Duke to Joshua Poythress
Her portion of Flower de Hundred

(From the original deed, by courtesy of the
Virginia Historical Society)

“THIS INDENTURE made this Ninth day of October in the year of our Lord Christ One thousand Seven Hundred and thirty two Between Elizabeth Duke of the County of Prince George Widow of the one part and Joshua Poythress Merchant of the said County of the other part WITNESSETH That the said Elizabeth Duke for in Consideration of the Sum of Four hundred pounds Current Money of Virginia to her in hand paid by the said Joshua Poythress the receipt whereof the said Elizabeth Duke doth hereby acknowledge and for other good Causes and Considerations her thereunto moving She the said Elizabeth Duke hath Granted Bargained and Sold Aliened Enfeoffed Released and Confirmed unto the said Joshua Poythress His Heirs and Assigns forever all that Messuage Tenament Plantation and Tract of Land commonly known by the name of fflower de hundred containing by Estimation two hundred and fifty Acres be the Same more or less Scituate Lying and being in the Parish of Martins Brandon and County aforesaid and bounded as followeth Beginning on the Line of the Land of the said Joshua …”

–w—

[Comment: For additional contextual history of Flowerdew Hundred, see the Prince George County history in Appendix 3.]

[For a continuation of the Poythress family lineage, see the Wall family history, Chapter 11.]

 

Notes & References

McSwain, Eleanor Pratt Covington, My Folk, p. 60.

White, Eurie Covington, Covington Cousins, p. 35.

Wall Family Folder, Albemarle, Stanly County, North Carolina, library.

McSwain, Eleanor Pratt Covington, My Folk, The First Three Hundred Years, 1670-1978, Vol II, p. 2.

Weisiger, Benjamin B. III, Prince George County, Virginia, Wills & Deeds, 1713-1728, p. 85.

Weisiger, Benjamin B. III, Prince George County, Virginia, Records, 1733-1792, p. 174.

Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 33.

Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 34.

“P.B [Patent Book] I-439” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 30.

“Sainsbury Papers XIV-77; Colonial Papers X-29-77” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 30.

“Henning-283, 289, 318, 338, 353, & 359” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 30.

“P.B. I-439” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 30.

“Nugent-175” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 30.

“Fleet II-II” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 31.

“W&M (2) 15-80” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 31.

“See Wynne; V.H.G.-174” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 31.

“W&M (2) 15-79; Col. Surry-65” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 31.

“W&M (2) 15-79” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 31.

“Fleet 11-56” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 31.

“Land Office, Richmond, Virginia, Book I, 13 July 1637, p. 439” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 172.

“Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents, Vide Va. Mag. Hist. & Biog. Vol. VII pp. 71-72, 190, 438” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 172.

“Land Office, Richmond, Virginia, Book 2, p. 139, 8 May 1648” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 172.

“Sainsbury Papers, XIV, p. 77; Colonial Papers, X, No. 29, p. 77” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 172.

“Henings Statutes, Vol. I, p. 283” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 172.

“Henings Statutes, Vol. I, p. 289” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 173.

“Henings Statutes, Vol. I, p. 318” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 173.

“Henings Statutes, Vol. I, p. 339” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 173.

“Henings Statutes, Vol. I, p. 353” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 173.

“Henings Statutes, Vol. I, p. 359” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 173.

McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 173.

McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, pp. 173-174.

“P.B. 7-99” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 31.

“P.B. 7-130; 335” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 31.

“Winder Papers II-406, 431” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 31.

“Charles City Court Minutes 1687-1695” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 31.

“P.B. 8-241” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 31.

“Exc. Journal Council Col. Va., Vol. I-3131, dated 14 Jun 1694” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 31.

“Stanards Emigrants-24” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 32.

“Fleet II-37” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 32.

“Fleet – Vol. II” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 32.

“Fleet II-56” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 32.

Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 32.

“P. Geo. D.B. -1713-1728” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 32.

“Surry B.8-330” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 32.

“V.H.G.-168” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 32.

“P.G.B. 1718-1728, 63” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 32.

“P.G.B. 1718-1728, 271” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 32.

“P.B. 10-265” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 33.

“W&M (2) 15-52” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 33.

“Book 7, 1679-1689, p. 99, Land Office, Richmond, Virginia, Grants” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 174.

“Book 7, 1679-1689, p. 130, Land Office, Richmond, Virginia, Grants” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 174.

“Book 7, 1679-1689, p. 335, Land Office, Richmond, Virginia, Grants” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 174.

“Book 8, 1789-95, p. 241, Land Office, Richmond, Virginia, Grants” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 174.

“Winder Papers II, pp. 406-431” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 174.

“Vir. Mag. Hist. & Biog., Vol. XXXIII, p. 31-33” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 174.

“Executive Journal Council Colonial Virginia, Vol. I, p. 3131” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 174.

“Va. Mag. Hist. & Biog. Vol. 19, pp. 28-9” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, pp. 174-175.

McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 175.

“Bk. P.B. 9-571” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 33.

“P.G. Deeds 1713-1728-p. 508” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 33.

“P.G. Deeds 1713-1728-p. 425” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 33.

“P.G. Deeds 1713-1728-p. 706” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 33.

“W&M (2) 15-64” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 33.

“Court Minutes 1738-41, 244” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, pp. 33-34.

Weisiger, Benjamin B. III, Prince George County, Virginia, Wills & Deeds, 1713-1728, p. 85.

“Prince George Co. Wills & Deeds 1713-1728, p. 706. A notation identifies him as ‘of Jordans.’” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p. 204.

“Claiborne T. Smith, ‘Poythress of Prince George County, Virginia,’ in John Bennett Boddie, Historical Southern Families, IV (Redwood City, Calif., 1960), pp. 30-37; Claiborne T. Smith, ‘Poythress-Hardyman-abbington’ (typewritten; n.p., n.d.)” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p. 204.

“Patent Bk. 9, p. 571” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p. 204.

“Prince George Co. Wills & Deeds 1713-28, p. 508, deed of Hubberb Gibson and his wife Mary, and their son Edward, to Peter Poythress, 11 Dec 1721” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p. 204.

“Patent Bk. 10, p. 327” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p. 204.

“Prince George Co. Wills & Deeds 1713-28, p. 941” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, pp 204-205.

“Prince George Co. Wills & Deeds 1713-28, p. 853” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p 205.

“Prince George Co. Minute Bk. 1737-40, p. 322. He was sued for debt by a London merchant and apparently was being sought by the court since Sheriff of Charles City County reported him not in his bailiwick and he failed to appear to prove the will of William Stainback of which he was a witness (ibid., pp. 215, 284)” ” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p 205.

Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p 206.

Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p 206.

“Charles City C.O. 1655-1665; 273” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 34.

“Charles City C.O. 1655-1665; 565” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 34.

“P.B. 9-396” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 34.

“Charles City C.O. Aug. 1689” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 34.

“Nugent 202” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 34.

“Fleet II-47” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 34.

“Prince George County Deeds, Wills, Etc. 1710-1713, Book B, pp. 175-177” — The Southside Virginian, Vol. IX, No. 4, Oct-Dec 1991, pp. 154-155.

“Exc. Journal Council Col. Va. 3-155” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 34.

“P.G.D. 1713-18; 18” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 34.

“S.V.F. 150” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 34.

“W&M (2) 15-50” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 34.

“P.G.D. 1713-18; 829” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 34.

“P.B. 13-205” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 35.

“Brunswick D.B. 13-1” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 35.

“P.G. D.B. 1713-28; 428” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 35.

“Surry D.B. 1730-35; 506” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 35.

“P. Geo. Minute book 1738-41, p. 399” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 35.

Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 35.

“Chart of Poythress Family In Virginia, Secton A of Two Sections” compiled by Robert Bolling Batte, and dated 26 Apr 1977.

“Minute Book 1738-41, 123” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 35.

“Chart of Poythress Family In Virginia, Secton A of Two Sections” compiled by Robert Bolling Batte, and dated 26 Apr 1977.

“Ex. Council Col. Va. 3-366” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 35.

“Bristol Parish-127” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 35.

“Surry O.B. 1751-53” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 35.

“Henrico W.B. 1-158” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 35.

“Chesterfiled D.B. 12-396” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 35.

“Ex. Council Col. Va. 3-284” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 35.

“P.G.D. 1713-28; 495” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 36.

“Surry O.B. 1645-1672, p. 102” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 36.

“See Slaughter, 211 for descendants” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 36.

“P.G.D. 1713-1728, 211” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 36.

“P.G.D 1713-1728, 211” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 36.

“Minutes 1738-41, p. 400” — Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, p. 37.

Boddie, John Bennett, Historical Southern Families, Vol. IV, pp. 36-37.

“Grants, Book 9, 1696-1706, p. 306, Land Office, Richmond, Virginia” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 194.

“Notes from the Journal Executive Council Colonial Virginia, Vol. III, p. 187” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 194.

“Surry County Deed Book 1730-1735, p. 506” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 194.

“Grants, Book II, 1719-1724, p. 284, Land Office, Richmond” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 194.

“Notes from Journal of the Executive Council Colonial Virginia, Vol. III, p. 155” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 194.

“Quit Rent Rolls of Prince George County 1704” — McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, p. 194.

McGhan, Judith, Genealogies of Virginia Families (William and Mary College Historical Magazine), Vol. IV, pp. 196-197.

Family Group Sheet prepared by Sandra Ellerbe Krutilek of Pacific Palisades, Calif., and provided in personal correspondence dated 17 Oct 1995.

“This date is estimated since he was of age, or nearly so, when his father wrote his will” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p. 207.

“Prince George Co. Deed Bk. 1787-92, p. 112. Joshua Poythress was named as executor in the will of Mary Poythress, widow of Peter Poythress, dated 9 Feb 1782 and proved 12 Feb 1788. Since the executor was designated neither as Senior nor Junior, Joshua presumably was then dead.” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p. 207.

“Surry Co. Will Bk. 10, p. 85, will of William Short, dated 24 Dec 1756 and proved 15 Mar 1757” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p. 207.

“This date is estimated since he was named following his brother Joshua in the listing of children in his father’s will. Nothing further is known about him but it appears that he died unmarried. The land in Surry, later Sussex County which was devised to him and his brother Joshua jointly was sold by Joshua on 19 May and 26 Nov 1763 (Sussex Co. Deed Bk. C., pp. 6-7, 36-37), indicating that William had died without issue.” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p. 208.

“Chart of Poythress Family In Virginia, Secton A of Two Sections” compiled by Robert Bolling Batte, and dated 26 Apr 1977.

Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, pp. 208-209.

Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p. 209.

“Prince George Co. Wills & Deeds 1710-12, pp. 231-32” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p. 206.

“Prince George Co. Wills & Deeds 1713-28, p. 211” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, pp. 206-207.

“Prince George Co. Wills & Deeds 1713-23, p. 826” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p. 207.

“Virginia Historical Society, Mss.2, F6692.b” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p. 207.

“Virginia State Archives Acc. 23849, Joshua Poythress of Martin’s Brandon Parish, Prince George County; Prince George Co. Order Bk. 1737-40, p. 400” — Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, p. 207.

Dorman, John Frederick, Ancestors and Descendants of Francis Epes I of Virginia, pp. 206-207.

“Patent Book 11, p. 131— Nugent, Nell Marion, Cavaliers and Pioneers, Vol. III, 1695-1732, p. 237

Weisiger, Benjamin B. III, Prince George County, Virginia, Records, 1733-1792, p. 174.

“Letter to WAW from Richard Dunn, Lawyers Title Insurance Corp., Richmond, Virginia, 18 Sep 1953” — Thomas, Anne Wall, The Walls of Walltown, p. 20.

T.L.C. Genealogy, Brunswick County, Virginia, Wills, 1739-1750, pp. 3-4.

“Chart of Poythress Family In Virginia, Secton A of Two Sections” compiled by Robert Bolling Batte, and dated 26 Apr 1977.

“P. 826” — Weisiger, Benjamin B. III, Prince George County, Virginia, Wills and Deeds, 1713-1728, p. 109.

“Morris, The Duke-Symes Family, 1940, pp. 42-45, 47-49, 65-67.” — provided by Sandra Ellerbe Krutilek of Pacific Palisades, California, in personal correspondence dated 4 Feb 1996.