Virginia 

              Virginia
became state    1788
first ancestor  1610
last ancestor   1810
# of ancestors    57
# of immigrants   17
# born in state   32
# died in state   44
  • BECK family (<1781-1802ca)
  • BOURN family (<1781-1802ca)
  • CHAPLINE family (1610-1794)
  • CLEVELAND family (1695-1785)
  • ELGIN family (1794ca-1810ca)
  • GARTON family (1654-1747)
  • GORHAM family (1661-1718)
  • HARRELSON family (1703-1784)
  • HAZELRIGG family (1656-1780)
  • MCCORMICK family (1740-1794)
  • PETTY family (1652-1793)
  • PRESLEY family (1647-1770)
  • RANSDALL family (1672-1793)
  • RILEY family (1634-1675)
  • SIMS family (1704-1785)
  • THOMPSON family (1644-1720)
  • WELLS family (1637-1652)

    The first permanent English settlement in America was Jamestown in 1607. The new colony suffered initially, with more than 80 percent of the colonists dying in the first three years. They abandoned the settlement in the spring of 1610 to return to England, but were met by a resupply convoy at the head of the James River and turned back. The population expanded up the James River, and in 1619 the first elected legislature in America met as the House of Burgesses. Tobacco was found to grow well and spurred more development of the region. Labor was provided by indentured servants whose passage were paid for by their masters and who were obligated to work for a few years. Land was granted to those who paid for the passage of new settlers. After the first initial settlements along the James River, the Chesapeake Bay land became attractive. William Claiborne, the Secretary of State for the Virginia Colony in 1626, started a trading business along the shores of Chesapeake Bay. In 1631 he established a trading post on Kent Island. When Lord Baltimore obtained a charter for Maryland, Kent Island became disputed land which led to armed conflict between the two colonies. Religion also played a part in continued hostilities, as Virginia was Puritan while Maryland tolerated Catholics.

    Most of our Virginia ancestors came either to the James River in the early part of the 17th century, or to the Upper Neck of Virginia (the land between the Potomac River and the Rappahannock River). By the mid 18th century, settlers started moving inland where there was still land available. After the Revolutionary War, soldiers were granted free land in Kentucky, and by 1810 all of our Virginia and Maryland ancestors had moved to the new territory.

    Before the Revolutionary War, pounds of tobacco was used as currency for all transaction such as land sales or will bequests. As in Maryland, I have yet to find a grave for any of our ancestors in Virginia. The oldest cemeteries in the state are located by churches, but most people were buried in family lots on plantations. There was no legal protection for these graves, and they were usually plowed up by future owners wanting to enlarge their plantations.

    The BECK family (1639-1950) 
        |-Richard Beck
    |
    |-Elizabeth
    The Beck family only lived in Virginia a few years before moving to Maryland. See the Maryland chapter for their story.
    The BOURN family (<1781-1802ca) 
                             |-????
    William Thomas Bourn-|
			 |-????
    The Bourne family was in Virginia as early as 1608 when James Bourne was a "Gentleman" on Captain John Smith's two Voyages of Discovery. By 1800 there were probably hundreds of Bourne families in Virginia. Our ancestor WILLIAM THOMAS BOURN was born in Orange County, Virginia in 1781. A reconstructed census of that county in 1782 showed two families, Henry Bourn who had 11 people and William Bourn who had 6. One of these two men must have been the father or grandfather of our ancestor. Several Bourn families moved to Mercer County, Kentucky about this time, to the area around Lexington. WILLIAM THOMAS BOURN there married MARY ANN RANSDALL, who had also come with her family from Orange County to Mercer County. (See the Kentucky Chapter for more.)

    The CHAPLINE family (1610-1794) 
                                                                                                    |-Isaac Chapline
                                                                             |-William Chapline-|
                                                          |-William Chapline-|                  |=Mary Calvert
    |-George McCormick                 |-William Chapline-|                  |Mary Hooper
    |              |-William Chapline -|                  |-Susannah Kemball
    |-Mary Chaplin-|                   |-Elizabeth Riley
                   |-Ann Forman

    Immigrant ancestor of the Chapline family was ISAAC CHAPLINE. He was born in England in 1584, and married MARY CALVERT in 1606. In 1610 he was an ensign of the royal navy and came on the ship "Starr" as a member of the King's Council under Lord Delaware. He was granted land along the James River in what is now Prince George County, Virginia. His plantation was called "Chaplin's Choice", near Jordan's Point. He built the first fort in the region to protect himself from the Indians. He was a Burgess in the first general assembly that met in 1619. His wife, who might have been a daughter or cousin to Lord Baltimore, and his son John joined him in 1622, coming on the ship "James" with four servants. They had three more children born in Virginia including Mary in 1623 and WILLIAM (1) in 1625. In 1650 WILLIAM (1) married Elizabeth Travers, and they had one daughter named Elizabeth. He later married MARY HOOPER, who was the daughter of HENRY and SARAH HOOPER, and they had one son named WILLIAM (2). WILLIAM (1) received several land grants from Lord Baltimore in Calvert County, Maryland. He received additional grants in 1652, 1658, and 1659, including 300 acres on Hooper Islands in Dorchester County, Maryland, which became known as "Chapline's Holme". He would travel back and forth between Maryland and Virginia to manage his plantations, haul tobacco, and visit his wife's family. He died in 1668 at his home at Fishing Creek in Calvert County. WILLIAM (2) lived on his father's plantation, but also increased his land in Dorchester County, which he dubbed Ashcomb's Outlet and Ashcomb's Enclosure. He married SUSANNA KEMBALL, had six children including a son named WILLIAM (3), and died in 1718 in Dorchester County, Maryland. WILLIAM (3) had estates named "The Hope" and "Expedition" in Prince George County, Maryland. He and his wife ELIZABETH RILEY had seven children born in Maryland. She died in 1726. In 1740 he obtained "Strife" in Connocochiege Manor near Williamsport. From there, he moved south and became the first settler of Mecklinburg, now Shepherdstown, West Virginia, crossing the Potomac at Pack Horse Ford. WILLIAM (3) became a great Indian fighter in the area of Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. He died at Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia in 1752. His second son, named William, died young, so he named his youngest son WILLIAM (4). This fourth installment of WILLIAM CHAPLINE was born in 1726 in Queen Anns Parish, Prince George County, Maryland, married ANN FOREMAN, had seven children, and became a Captain in the French and Indian War. He likewise died at Winchester, which then was in Jefferson County, Virginia. His daughter MARY CHAPLIN, born in 1743, married GEORGE MCCORMICK, who grew up just ten miles northeast of Winchester. (See the McCormicks for more.)

    The CLEVELAND family (1695-1785) 
                                                                     |-Alexander Cleveland
    |-John Hazelrigg                       |-Alexander Cleveland-|
    |                |-Alexander Cleveland-|
    |-Anna Cleveland-|                     |-Mildred Presley
		     |-Margaret Doolittle

    The Cleveland family is another example where there is confusion resulting from three ancestors having the same name, in this case ALEXANDER CLEVELAND. ALEXANDER I was definitely born in England prior to 1620. He may have stayed in England, or he may have come to America with his son. His son, ALEXANDER II, could have been born in either England or Virginia, around 1659; his grandson claimed he was English. His grandson also claimed ALEXANDER II died at the age of 111, and his wife MILDRED PRESLEY died at the age of 103, both dying at their son John's home on Blue Run in Prince William County, Virginia, within three days of each other. They had at least seven children, some born on Bull Run. Prior to 1734 the family moved 60 miles southwest to Blue Run, six to eight miles above its junction with the Rapidan in Orange County near the Albemarle County line. Another son, ALEXANDER III, also moved to Orange County, perhaps near his brother and father. He married Margaret Doolittle of Irish descent, and had twelve children. Their daughter ANNA CLEVELAND married JOHN HAZELRIGG and they moved to Kentucky in 1780 with his parents.

    The ELGIN family (1794ca-1810ca) 
                   |-Frederick Elgin
    Mary Elgin-|
               |-Catherine Perry

    The Elgin family lived in Maryland for a hundred years before FREDERICK ELGIN and his wife CATHERINE PERRY and their two children Thomas and MARY S. moved to Loudown County, Virginia, the most populous county in Virginia at that time. They had another five or six children born in Loudown County before the family moved to Woodford County, Kentucky, where their last four or five children were born. See the Maryland and Kentucky chapters for more.

    The GARTON family (1654-1747) 
        |-Thomas Petty
    |                  |-John Garton
    |-Catherine Garton-|
                       |-Martha Adelade Martin

    JOHN GARTON was born abound 1640 in Rappahannock County, Virginia. Some people think he wasn't born until 1654, and that his parents may have been Captain William Garton, who was born in 1634, and Hannah Margaret Angell, who was born in 1639. There is no evidence supporting this. In 1680 JOHN married MARTHA ADELADE MARTIN, whose parents are also unknown. They had at least five children born in the same county. JOHN served as Sheriff of Richmond county in 1690, but he also grew tobacco on his plantation, which was appraised for 17,504 pounds of tobacco in 1697. He left a will shortly before he died in 1698 in which he mentions his wife MARTHA and five children including CATHERINE GARTON who married THOMAS PETTY. In 1701 CATHERINE appeared in court with her mother in a suit against Robert and Anna Post concerning JOHN's estate. They won the suit, and Post was ordered to pay 3000 pounds in tobacco.

    The GORHAM family (1661-1718) 
        |-Edward Ransdall
    |             |-Miles Gorham
    |-Mary Gorham-|
                  |-Susannah

    MARY GORHAM is a little bit of a mystery. EDWARD RANSDALL's wife was definitely "Mary". Their first son was named Wharton, which in that time was often the maiden name of the son's mother. MARY GORHAM was bound out (i.e. became an apprentice) by her mother, SUSANNAH, to Henry Wharton on April 12, 1687 for a period of 10 years until she turned 17. The Whartons had no children, and MARY might have thought of them as her parents. Her real father, MILES GORHAM, first appears in Northumberland County, Virginia, in 1661. He probably came from southern England, but don't know when or from where. He was first married to Alice and had a son John with her. The son was bound out to serve Capt. John Rogers during one of his father's trips. MILES married SUSANNAH in 1671, and they had three children: Michael, Susannah, and MARY. MILES left the county again in 1686, and all three children were bound out to others. MILES married a third time to Winifred, and died in 1693. He appears to have owned land along the Yeocomico River, first on the east side in Northumberland County, and then around 1680 on the west side in Westmoreland County. He appeared to have financial problems, and was sued by a creditor. He died in 1693, while his daughter was still with the Wharton family. See the Ransdall's for more on MARY.

    The HARRELSON family (1703-1784) 
                                           
                      |-Paul Harrelson
    Rebecca Harrelson-|                
		      |-Rebecca Burgess

    There is confusion about the Harrelson family. What we know for sure is, first of all, that PAUL HARRELSON was naturalized in Virginia on March 23, 1703. Second, PAUL HARALSON, who was born about 1655 and died 1732, married REBECCA BURGESS and was a surveyor and landowner. Third, PAUL's will dated 1718 and recorded April 5, 1734 in Hanover County, mentions four children and a grand-daughter, REBECKAH SIMS. Some people conclude that there were two people, father and son, but the facts can also support just one PAUL HARRELSON who was born in England, had five children including REBECCA HARRELSON who then married THOMAS SIMS and had a child named REBECCA SIMS.

    The HAZELRIGG family (1656-1780) 
                                                                                      |-Thomas Hazelrigg
                                                                |-James Hazelrigg-|
                                         |-Richard K. Hazelrigg-|                 }-Ann Compton
                     |-William Hazelrigg-|                      |-Ann
    |-John Hazelrigg-|                   |-Ann Williams
    |                |-Jemima
    |-Anna Cleveland

    THOMAS HAZELRIGG was born in 1615 in England. He probably became an indentured servant of Col. John Mottrom to pay for his passage to America. THOMAS petitioned for his release in 1656, so he arrived in America before that date. He married the widow ANN COMPTON in 1657 in Westmoreland County. They had three sons, William, JAMES, and Thomas, plus ANN had a previous son John. After the death of ANN, THOMAS married Hester in 1673, but died in 1675 in Westmoreland. Thirteen-year-old JAMES was apprenticed to Clement Spilman for eight years beginning in 1673. He married ANN and had two sons, RICHARD and Sam. He died in Westmoreland County in 1713. RICHARD married ANN WILLIAMS and had seven children. The family moved to Prince William County by 1744; ANN might have died before this move. RICHARD died in Prince William County, and his will was probated in 1762. His son WILLIAM HAZELRIGG was probably born in Westmoreland around 1730. He had 12 children with as many as four wives, probably all born in Prince William County. Up until this point, the Hazelrigg ancestors were probably tradesmen, as there is no evidence that they owned land. However WILLIAM and his wife JEMIMA sold land in Virginia in 1780 when he moved to Kentucky along with some of their sons and his brother James. Son JOHN married ANNA CLEVELAND in Prince William County, where their first four children were born, and they moved to Kentucky with his parents.

    The MCCORMICK family (1740-1794) 
                                           |-John McCormick
                    |-George McCormick-|
    James McCormick-|                  |-Anne Carruth
                    |-Mary Chaplin

    JOHN MCCORMICK emigrated around 1740 from Ireland (Scots-Irish) to what was then part of Orange County, Virginia, but what became Frederick County, Virginia in 1743, Berkeley County, Virginia in 1772, Jefferson County, Virginia, in 1801, and Jefferson County, West Virginia, in 1861. He bought 395 acres and built a stone house which still exists, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as White House Farm. It is located in the northeast corner of West Virginia, about ten miles from Harpers Ferry and the Potomac River. George Washington surveyed his land in 1752, with JOHN's sons James and John helping Washington as chain carrier and pilot. JOHN was a prosperous country doctor, having graduated from the U. of Dublin. He married ANNE CARRUTH in Ireland, and they had eight children, some born in IRELAND and some in America. He died on his farm in 1768, and bequethed it to his youngest son Andrew. His son GEORGE, born on the farm, married MARY CHAPLIN in 1767 in Yohogania County, Virginia. This was northwest of Frederick County, in a region that was disputed between Virginia and Pennsylvania. Both colonies claimed the area, and gave over-lapping land grants to their own settlers. The dispute was finally settled in the 1780s by extending the Mason-Dixon line west to what is now the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania, making most of Yohogania County in Pennsylvania. GEORGE served in the Revolutionary War from December 16, 1776 until September 30, 1778. His unit, the 13th Virginia Regiment, was recruited from Yohogania, Monongalia, and Ohio counties, the three counties also claimed by Pennsylvania. He was commissioned a Captain in July 1777 under Col. William Crawford of General Mullenburg's Brigade and General Green's Division. He fought in the Philadelphia campaign, first in the Battle of Brandywine, the largest battle of the Revolution, and next in the Battle of Germantown.

    GEORGE and MARY had 14 children, most born in Yohogania County, including JAMES, born May 10, 1790. The 1850 and 1860 U.S. census lists JAMES as born in Pennsylvania, which is true based on the modern map of the state, but Yohogania County was under the jourisdiction of Virginia, so other sources say he was born in Virginia. Before 1794 the family moved to Harrodsburg, Mercer County, Kentucky, where the last children were born. For more about the McCormick family, see the chapters on Kentucky and Missouri.

    The PETTY family (1652-1793) 
                                                      |-Hubert Petty
    |-William Ransdall             |-Thomas Petty-|
    |                 |-John Petty-|              |-Rebecca
    |-Nancy Ann Petty-|            |-Catherine Garton
                      |-Rebecca Sims

    Note: Lancaster County, VA was split off of Northumberland and York counties in 1651. Old Rappahannock County was then split off in 1656, and Old Rappahannock County in 1692 was divided into Essex County and Richmond County. So a person could have lived in Northumberland, then Lancaster, then Rappahannock, and finally Richmond without ever moving. Orange County was split off of Spotsylvania County in 1734.

    Our immigrant ancestor in the Petty family was HUBERT PETTY, who landed in Calvert County, Maryland in 1652 as an indentured servant to William Turner. His apprenticeship was for seven years, although he was able to obtain his release around 1655. In 1665 he bought 150 acres of land in Lancaster County, Virginia. His will in 1687 listed his minor son THOMAS and gave him all of his land and property, with his executor Walter Welch being designated as THOMAS's guardian. In 1700, THOMAS brought suit against Hubert Patey, the executor of Walter Welch, deceased, claiming he was not given his full share of his inheritance (and proving to modern day genealogists that HUBERT was indeed the father of THOMAS). THOMAS won "four cowes and their increase since he became of age". He married CATHERINE GARTON in 1701 in Richmond County. They had at least ten children, probably all born in Richmond County, before they moved to Orange County where she died in 1747 and he died in 1750. Their son JOHN, born about 1703, married REBECCA SIMS in Thomas Parish, Richmond County in 1725. In 1734 JOHN and his father THOMAS each leased 100 acres of land in Spotsylvania County (soon to be Orange County), JOHN on the North side of Rapidan River and Thomas on the South side. JOHN and REBECCA had 17 children, before they both died in Orange County, he in 1770 and she in 1784. Their daughter NANCY ANN PETTY married WILLIAM RANSDALL.

    The PRESLEY family (1647-1770) 
        |-Alexander Cleveland             |-William Presley
    |                 |-Peter Presley-|
    |-Mildred Presley-|               |-Jane Newman
		      |-Elizabeth Thompson

    WILLIAM PRESLEY, his wife JANE NEWMAN, and their sons PETER, Paul and William immigrated from England to Virginia by 1647, when he represented Northumberland County in the House of Burgesses. In 1649 he obtained a grant of 1150 acres of land in the county for transporting 23 people from Kent Island, Maryland to Northumberland. This land was along the Potomac River between Presley Creek and Coan River. John Mottrom, the first settler in this area, was his neighbor across Coan River, and Robert Newman, brother of his wife, was his neighbor across Presley Creek (Newman's land is still called "Neuman Neck") WILLIAM built his estate home on this land and called it "Northumberland House". He was a justice of the County Court from 1650-1652; High Sheriff 1653-4; churchwarden in 1655; and member of the Virginia House of Burgesses 1647-8 and 1651-4. Son PETER inherited Northumberland House, and he passed it down to his son Peter. Peter was a justice of the peace in 1660 and member of the House of Burgesses in 1677 and 1684. PETER married ELIZABETH THOMPSON in 1660, and they had six children, including MILDRED PRESLEY who married ALECANDER CLEVELAND in 1694. We do not know how they met.

    The RANSDALL family (1672-1793) 
                                                                                 |-Edward Ransdall
                                                           |-Edward Ransdall-|
    |-William Thomas Bourn                 |-John Ransdall-|                 |-Elizabeth Rannow
    |                   |-William Ransdall-|               |-Mary Gorham
    |-Mary Ann Ransdall-|                  |-Sanford
                        |-Nancy Ann Petty

    The first mention of the EDWARD RANSDALL name in America was in records dated 1661 and 1666 in St. Mary's County, Maryland. He was perhaps the Edward Ransdall who married Elizabeth Rannow in England. He had a son, also called EDWARD, who was born in St. Mary's County. In 1664 he leased half of a 100 acre parcel in St. Clement's Manor. The son was a carpenter and cooper, who is mentioned in the records as not only owning land but also having apprentices assigned to him. He married MARY GORHAM before 1695 when their first son, Wharton Ransdall, was born. They had at least five sons and two daughters. When MARY died, EDWARD married Mrs. Amy Kelly, widow of Captain John Kelly. EDWARD received a grant of 141 acres in 1706 on Rappahannock Creek, a branch of Nomini River. He died in 1724, with a will that names his children, including minor son JOHN. JOHN moved in 1735 to Orange County, Virginia with his sister Millicent and her husband Luke Thornton. There he married, probably a Miss Sanford, and had five to seven children. He did not fare well, and in 1760 his children were ordered to be bound out because he was poor. WILLIAM married NANCY ANN PETTY of Orange County in 1762, and they had 12 children born in Virginia, including MARY ANN RANSDALL, born December 31, 1782. WILLIAM paid taxes in Orange County through 1793, then moved to Mercer County, Kentucky, along with his brothers John and Sanford. WILLIAM paid taxes on 2 horses and 300 acres of land along the Salt River. He died in 1802, and his wife ANN paid the taxes until she died in 1818. In 1830 WILLIAM's land at the head branches of Thompson Creek, a branch of the Chaplin River, was divided into 12 lots ranging from 36 acres to 65 acres, and alloted to his children. MARY ANN (cited "Mrs. Polly Bourne, formerly Polly Ransdale") received 56 acres. MARY ANN's uncle Sandford Ransdell also left her an inheritance as stated in his will of December 27, 1831: "Slave to niece Mary Ann Bowen and at death to her dau. Nancy Bowen; another slave to her to be sold and divided amoung her three daus. Kitty, Martha Ann, and Sally Bowen."

    The RILEY family (1634-1675) 
                   |-Miles Riley
    Hugh Riley-|
               |-Mary Hull

    Twenty-year-old MILES RILEY and his older brother Garrett embarked on the ship Bonaventure January 2, 1634, sailing from London to Virginia. MILES probably settled in old Rappahannock County, between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers. He married MARY HULL and had four sons, including HUGH born in 1653. MILES died in 1669. HUGH RILEY settled in Calvert County, Maryland about 1675. See the Maryland chapter for more.

    The SIMS family (1704-1785) 
        |-John Petty                 |-Thomas Sims
    |              |-Thomas Sims-|
    |-Rebecca Sims-|
                   |-Rebecca Harrelson

    THOMAS SIMS and his son THOMAS SIMS were both born in England, the son in 1685. There is no record of them in Virginia prior to the father's death in 1704 in Halifax, Virginia. Nor do we know much about the son, who married REBECCA HARRELSON and had at least seven children. Their daughter REBECCA SIMS married JOHN PETTY and died in Orange County in 1784. Her mother died two weeks later in Halifax, while THOMAS died in Culpepper County in 1785.

    The THOMPSON family (1644-1720) 
        |-Peter Presley
    |                    |-Richard Thompson
    |-Elizabeth Thompson-|
                         |-Ursula Bysshe

    The Thompson family started in Maryland (see the Maryland chapter), but moved to Northumberland County, Virginia around 1644. RICHARD THOMPSON died there in 1649. URSULA married three more times: Col. John Mottrom, George Colclough and Isaac Allerton. ELIZABETH married PETER PRESLEY in 1660, had six children, and died in Northumberland County in 1720.

    The WELLS family (1637-1652) 
                   |-Richard Wells
    Mary Wells-|
               |-Frances

    RICHARD WELLS, born in England in 1610, a wealthy liberal Puritan educated as a surgeon, came first in 1637 to Charles City County, Virginia, northwest of Jamestown. He soon married FRANCIS and moved to Upper Norfolk County on the south side of the James River, where there were other Puritan families. They had eleven children, all born in Virginia except for the youngest. RICHARD served in the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1645 from Upper Norfolk County. He moved to Maryland to seek religious freedom in 1652. See the Maryland chapter for more.

    Bibliography:
    "Historical Southern Families. Volume XII" by Mrs. John Bennett Boddie, 1968 (p. 13 Edward Ransdell)
    www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us - Early Colonial Settlers of Sounthern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties