USA > Virginia > Some prominent Virginia families, Volume IV > Part 7
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There is near Gloucester Court House the tomb of "Thomas Reade, Gent., Eldest son of Thomas Reade, Gent.," who died April 27, 1739, in his forty-second year, and also the tomb of "Mrs. Lucy, the wife of Mr. John Dixon, of Bristol, England, Daughter of Thomas Reade," who died November 22, 1731, aged thirty years.
[d] See preceding note, Edmund Gwynn had grants of lands in Glou- cester, in 1678 and 1684.
[e] Various records show that John Gwynn was minister of Ware parish, Gloucester, in 1673, and of Abingdon, in 1674 and 1680.
[f] Colonel Wm. Bernard appears, from the land grants, to have settled in Nansemond County, Virginia, about 1640, and to have become in a short time, member of the Council. Perhaps he was appointed before coming to the Colony. He was frequently present at meetings of the Council, between March, 1642-3, and March, 1659-60. (Hening, I, 239, 526, etc.)
[g] Captain Robert Higginson (a name that appears to have been com- monly pronounced Hickerson) seems to have been prominent as an Indian fighter. In 1646, and earlier, he commanded, at the Middle Plantation, a palisaded settlement. A deed, recorded in York August 24, 1682, states that for his services he was given 100 acres at the Middle Plantation. He seems also to have owned land in Martin's Hundred. The epitaph of his daughter Lucy (who died November 6, 1675) on her tomb in the Burwell graveyard at "Carter's Creek," Gloucester, only states that she was the widow of Maj. Lewis Burwell, and that "She was descended from the ancient family of the Higginsons. She was the only daughter of the valiant Capt. Robert Higginson, one of the first commanders that subdued the County of Virginia from the power of the heathen."
[h] Major Philip Rootes, the earliest ancestor to whom the Virginia family has been traced, lived at "Rosewall," in King and Queen County, immediately opposite West Point. He is mentioned in a record, dated 1738, as "Major Philip Rootes, of King and Queen," and was a Justice of that county in 1739, and a vestryman of Stratton Major Parish. Besides his estate in King and Queen, he owned lands in New Kent and Orange, and lots in Fredericksburg. He married Mildred, daughter of Thomas Reade, and died in 1756. His will was dated August 3, 1756, and was proved in King and Queen, with John Robinson, President of the Council, Humphrey Hill. and his sons Philip and Thomas Reade executors. (See cases reported in 6 Call., 21: and 6 Munford, 87; and also will of Susanna Livingston, of Spottsylvania, who named several of his children.)
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VIRGINIA FAMILIES
Major Philip Rootes1 and Mildred Reade, his wife, had issue :
2.
I. Col. Philip Rootes2, of "Rosewall," King and Queen, eldest son; was sheriff of that county in 1265. In June, 1787, was advertised for sale the land "where Col. Philip Rootes, deceased, lived," in King and Queen Co., opposite West Point. He married (Dec. 2, 1756) Frances Wilcox (Middle- sex Records), and was probably father or grand- father to Edmund Wilcox Rootes, a prominent lawyer and recorder, of Richmond City, Va .; d. Feb. 11, 1836.
3. Il. Thomas Reade Rootes2. Married (Feb. 8, 1763, Middlesex Records) Martha Jaquelin Smith, daughter of John Smith, of "Shooter's Hill," Middlesex Co., Va. (Issue Volume III, Chapters V, VI, and VII.)
4. III. John Rootes", was captain in Byrd's (Second Va.) Regiment, in the French and Indian War; d. before 1798, leaving an only son, Philip, then alive (Journal, House of Delegates). John Rootes lived in Gloucester in 1774, and it is probable that his son was the Philip Rootes, of Gloucester, ap- pointed lieutenant U. S. A. in 1800. John Rootes married (March 26, 1760) Sarah Reade (Middle- sex Records), daughter of his uncle Rev. John Reade, rector of Stratton Major Parish.
5. IV. Col. George Rootes2, removed to Northwestern Va., and appears to have been quite a prominent man in that section. He was a member of the House of Burgesses 1774, and member from West Augusta of the Convention of July, 1775.
6. V. Mildred Rootes2. Married ( Feb. 4, 1762) Augustine Smith, of Middlesex ("Shooter's Hill"). (Descendants Volume III, Chapters III, IV, V, VI, and VII.)
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SOME PROMINENT
7. VI. Elizabeth Rootes2. Married Rev. John Thompson. rector of St. Mark's Parish, Culpeper Co.
8. VII. Priscilla Rootes2. Married Benjamin Grymes. of Spottsylvania.
9. VIII. Mary Rootes2. Married (1772) Colonel Anthony Thornton, of "Ormsbey." Caroline Co. Lieut. during the Revolution.
10. . IX. Lucy Rootes2. Married Roger Dixon.
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VIRGINIA FAMILIES
CHAPTER V
SMITH, OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, VIRGINIA.
The earliest authentic record, I believe, to be found of this family, is the will of John Smith, of Middlesex County, dated February 10, 1721, and proved April 3, 1722. A close com- parison of wills in Middlesex might carry the family still further back. As far as this will shows:
I. John Smith1. Married Elizabeth -, and had issue :
. I. John Smith2. Married Frances -, and died before his father, leaving a son :
I. John Smith3.
II. Thomas Smith2.
III. Jane Smith2. Married John Price. His will was proved Sept. 30, 1726, and mentions sons :
I. Thomas Price".
II. Robert Price3.
III. James Price3.
IV. Samuel Price3.
V. John Price3.
VI. William Price".
VII. Jane Price3.
The will of John Smith mentions also "grandson John Smith. the elder," and "grandson John Smith, the younger," and "grand- daughters, Martha Smith and Jane Price." The inventor includes "a parcel of books."
III. Thomas Smith2 (John1), son of John Smith and Elizabeth -, his wife, dated his will March 9, 1722 or '23, and it was proved June 4, 1723. It mentions wife Anne and sons Thomas Smith3, Gregory Smith3, Anthony Smith3, and daughters Martha and Anne, to whom he gave €150 and £180. respectively : 20s. each for a ring to his sister-in-law, Mrs. Francis Smith, and sister. Jane Price; kinsman, Lewis Day, to have "all his wearing apparel." Desires all his sons and his sister's son. John, to have
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a liberal education. His land in Middlesex, Essex, etc., etc. The original will of his wife, Anne, in Middlesex County Clerk's office, has a squirrel for the crest of the seal (the Lee crest was a squirrel), and was dated September 14, 1748, and proved July 4, 1749. It mentions son Anthony Smith's estate and her three daughters, Martha Bowker, Anne Gardiner and Elizabeth Foster, grandson Thomas Smith, granddaughter Anne Smith, and two sons-in-law, Achilles Bowker and James Gardner. The will also mentions a suit with Thomas Booth and his wife and that her son Anthony's estate lies in the hands of the said Thomas Booth and his wife.
Mr. Augustine Smith, of New York, writes that he has a copy of Milton, bound in vellum, printed in 1760, which has pasted in it a shield with the name of "Thomas Smith, Trinity College, Cambridge," written on it.
The parish register of Christ Church, Middlesex, gives the fol- lowing dates of the birth, etc., of the family.
Thomas and Ann Smith had issue :
I. Gregory Smith, b. Dec. 31, 1712. Baptized Feb. 18, 1713. This is the father of Thomas Smith, of Cople Parish. He d. 1737.
HI. Thomas Smith, b. Sept. 15, 1715. Baptized Oct. 6, 1715.
III. Martha Smith, b. Sept. 16. Baptized Nov. 21, 1717. Married Achilles Booker.
IV. Ann Smith, b. Dec. 24, 1719. Baptized Jan. 17, 1720. Married James Gardener.
V. Anthony Smith, b. July 8, 1721. Baptized July 23, 1721 : d. 1745.
VI. Elizabeth Smith, b. April 19, 1722. Baptized May 5, 1723. Married Thomas Foster, 1743.
1. John Smith, grandfather of Gregory Smith, d. Feb. 19, 1723, buried Feb. 23, 1723.
2. John Smith, Jr., son of 1st John Smith; d. Nov. 15, buried Nov. 18, 1717.
3. Thomas Smith, father of 6th Gregory Smith, d. March 11, buried March 14, 1723.
III. Gregory Smith3 (Thomas2, John1), son of Thomas and Anne Smith : will proved in Essex County, February 21, 1737. describes himself as son of Thomas Smith. He is supposed to have
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VIRGINIA FAMILIES
gone to King and Queen County and was the father of Rev. Thomas Smith, afterwards of Cople Parish, and said to have been fifty years old in 1789, at the time of his death. He married Lucy Cooke, and died leaving three children :
I. Rev. Thomas Smith+.
II. Col. Gregory Smith+, was captain of the Seventh Virginia Regiment 1776, resigned Nov. 28, 1776; colonel Second Virginia State Regiment, June, 1777 to 1781. (Hertman's Historical Register.)
III. Anne Smith4. Married Robert Armistead, as his second wife.
Mrs. Gregory Smith married, second, a Mr. Booth. Rev. Thomas Smith said that Booth was afraid of him and that Booth demanded of his mother to send him to Europe, England, to be educated and so get him out of the way. (Volume III, Chapters IV, V, and VI.)
FOURTH GENERATION.
IV. Rev. Thomas Smith+ (Gregory3, Thomas2, John1), son of George Smith and Lucy Cooke, his wife; b. 1739; d. 1789. Rector of Nomini Church, Cople Parish, Westmoreland Co., Va., from 1765 to 1789. Married (1765) Mary Smith, b. 1744; d. 1791, daughter of John Smith, of Shooter's Hill, and Mary Jaquelin. At one time, during the residence of his family at the rectory, attached to this old church, there came an alarm that the British ships were coming up the Potomac River. The rector ordered everything that could be hastily collected to be put into a wagon to be driven off to a place of security. As the servants were engaged in loading up the wagon, the oxen moved one of the wheels against a plank on which a line of beehives was standing. The plank was upset and the hives thrown to the ground. The bees flew in every direction, stinging every living thing within reach. The family and servants fled into the house. They were obliged to stuff even the keyholes to keep out the infuriated bees. The oxen ran entirely away and the fowls, which were in the wagon, were stung to death.
Rev. Thomas Smith d. May, 1789. His wife d. December 14, 1791. In October, 1791, their daughter, Sarah, in her seventeenth year was married to Benjamin Dabney. He was a widower with
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three children, though but twenty-seven years old. Sarah's step- daughter, Ann, afterward married her brother, Major Thomas Smith, b. January 17, 1778.
Benjamin Dabney had given up the family mansion at Dabney's Ferry, together with his patrimony, on his father's death, to his brother and his half-brothers, and he made his home on the York River, at Bellevue, in King and Queen County. He had also, to some extent, used his own means in the education of his half- brother, James Dabney, and his wife's favorite brother, John Augustine Smith. Both young men received medical educations abroad-James Dabney in Edinburgh, and John Augustine Smith in London and Paris. His kindness and trust were not misplaced. When his own early death deprived his children of a father's care. Dr. James Dabney and Dr. John Augustine Smith were the best friends whom his children had.
IV. Ann Smith+ (Gregory", Thomas2, John1), daughter of Gregory Smith and Lucy Cooke, his wife. Married Robert Armi- stead and was his second wife. Issue:
I. Thomas Armistead5.
II. Martha Burwell Armistead5. Married Benjamin Dabney, (See below Dabney Family.)
III. Robert Armistead5. Married -, and is said to have had six children.
FIFTH GENERATION.
V. Thomas Armistead5 ( Robert Armistead, married Ann Smith+, Gregory3, Thomas2, John1), son of Robert Armistead and Ann Smith, his wife. Married Miss Marchant, of North Carolina. He was captain of the First Virginia State Regiment from April 6, 1778, to January, 1780, in the Revolution. Issue :
I. Martha Burwell Armistead6. Married Fowler, and lived in Baltimore.
II. Abiah Armistead6. Married William Mitchell. Issue :
I. Alfred Mitchel™, of Richmond, Va.
II. Judge William Mitchell, of Texas.
III. Anne Smith Armistead6. Married - Barton. Issue :
I. Armistead Barton, d. in New Orleans, La.
II. Daughter Barton7. Married - Hutchings, of Williams- burg, Va. Issue :
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VIRGINIA FAMILIES
I. Daughter Hutchingss.
11. Daughter Hutchings8. One of these married a West India planter. The other married - Moody, of Williams- burg, Va.
IV. Catherine Armistead, b. March 25, 1787. Married, first. William Pierce, of James City Co .; second, Everard Hall, a distinguished lawyer, of Norfolk, Va.
Issue by first marriage :
I. - Hall7.
II. Emily Hall ?. Married Robinson Arnold. Issue :
I. Catherine Armistead Arnolds.
Mrs. Everard Hall d. in Richmond, June 2, 1864. (Richmond, Standard, May 22, 1880.) (See Armistead, Volume II, Chapter XIX.)
LEE FAMILY.
COLONEL RICHARD LEE.
Richard Lee1. of a good family of Shropshire, some time in the reign of Charles 1. went over to the Colony of Virginia, as Seere- tary, and one of the King's Privy Council.
When he reached Virginia, which was at that time not much cultivated, he was so pleased with the country that he made large settlements there with the servants he had carried over. After some years he returned to England, and gave away all the lands he had taken up and settled at his own expense to those servants he had fixed on them, some of whose descendants are now possessed of very considerable estate in that colony. It is stated that Richard Lee married Anna -, 1642 ; d. at his seat upon Dividing Creek. in Northumberland County, where he is buried, and his tombstone is there to be found.
The only information as to the number of children of Richard and Anna Lee is taken from his will. The exact date of his death is not known. The application of his son for land due his father. deceased, dated April 20, 1664. proves him to have died before that date. Issue :
I. John Lee2.
II. Richard Lee".
III. Francis Lee".
IV. William Lee".
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SOME PROMINENT
V. Hancock Lee2.
VI. Elizabeth Lee2.
VII. Anne Lee2.
VIII. Charles Lee2.
II. Richard Lee2 (Richard1), son of Col. Richard Lee and Anna -, his wife; b. 1647, at Paradise, in Gloucester Co .; d. March 12, 1714 at his home, Mt. Pleasant, in Westmoreland Co., Va. Married (about 1674) Laetitia, the eldest daughter of Henry Corbin and Alice Eltonhead, his wife. Laetitia b. 1657; d. October 6, 1706. Their tombstone is still to be seen at "Mt. Pleasant"; it is a very large slab of hard white marble. The inscription has been almost effaced, which is not to be wondered at, as it has been exposed to the weather for more than one hundred and eighty years. ("Old Churches and Families," II, p. 152, Bishop Meade; Richard Lee's will, "Lee of Virginia," pp. 78-79.)
Richard Lee2 and Laetitia Corbin, his wife, had issue:
I. John Lee3, baptized Oct. 3, 1678. He must have d. in infancy, as he is not mentioned in his father's will.
II. Richard Lee3.
III. Philip Lee3.
IV. Francis Lee3. Nothing is known of his life, excepting the mere mention of him in the wills of his father, brother and nephew. He was living as late as 1749, for his nephew mentioned him at that date as being now in possession of his estate, Paradise. He left no male heirs.
V. Thomas Lee3.
VI. Henry Lee3.
VII. Anne Lee3, d. 1732. Married, first, Col. William Fitz- hugh; second, Capt. Daniel McCarty, of the Parish of Cople in the County of Westmoreland. (Fitzhugh Family, Volume II, Chapter XVI.)
HON. PHILIP LEE.
III. Philip Lee3 (Richard", Richard1), third son of Richard Lee2 and Laetitia Corbin, his wife; b. Westmoreland Co., Va., about 1681; d. April, 1744. As he moved to Maryland in 1700, he may have been born earlier than the date given here. He was
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VIRGINIA FAMILIES
a member of the Council in Maryland, and a Justice; no further data concerning his career has been discovered. He lived at "Blenheim," in Prince George County in that state.
Philip was twice married: first, Sarah, daughter of Hon. Thomas Brooke (b. 1632; d. 1676), of Brookefield, and Barbara Addison, his wife. Thomas and Barbara Brooke deeded land to her, as wife of Philip Lee, in 1713; she died November, 1724. She left her younger son Arthur Lee and his heirs forever all that tract of land which Thomas Brooke, Esq., had given her, lying at Rock Creek. "I (Sarah) do by these presents constitute, ordain and appoint my Loving Brother, Mr. Thomas Brooke, Gent., to be executor of this my last will and testament," etc., etc. Philip3 married, second (about 1725 or '26), Elizabeth, widow of Henry Sewall, Gent. Issue, eight children.
Philip Lee's will, dated March 20, 1743, and recorded in Charles City Co., May 1, 1744, can be found in "Lee of Virginia," p. 97.
III. Henry Lee3 (Richard2, Richard1), sixth son of Richard Lee and Laetitia Corbin, his wife; b. 1691; d. June, 1747. He lived at "Lee Hall," on the Potomac, adjoining "Mt. Pleasant." It is probable that he took little or no part in public affairs, no records exist of his having done so. Married (1723 or '24) Mary, daughter of Colonel Richard Bland, of "Jordans," Prince George Co., Va. She was b. August 21, 1704; d. 1764. Henry Lee made his will July 30, 1746, and the last codicil, June 13, 1747, was probated at Westmoreland, August 25, 1747. (See "Lee of Vir- ginia," p. 132.)
IV. John Lee+ (Philip3, Richard2, Richard1), son of Philip Lee and Elizabeth Sewall, second wife: b. Maryland, moved to Virginia and settled in Essex Co .; he succeeded his cousin, C'ol. John Lee, of Cabin Point, as County Clerk in 1761. Married Mrs. Mary (Smith) Ball, widow of Jesse Ball, and eldest daughter of Philip Smith, of "Fleet's Bay," Northumberland, and Mary Mathews, who was a descendant from Gov. Samuel Mathews.
"John Lee, of Maryland," married Susanna Smith, sister of Mary Smith, who married his cousin, John Lee, of Cabin Point. They had besides other children two sons, Hancock and Philip Ludwell Lee. Hancock succeeded his father as Clerk of Essex Co., and held the position until 1792, when he was succeeded by his brother, Philip Ludwell, who continued in office until 1814.
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Elizabeth, third daughter and child of Philip Smith, of "Fleet's Bay." and Mary Mathews, married James Talbot, of Bedford Co., and had children :
I. James Talbot.
II. Mary Talbot.
III. Elizabeth Talbot.
IV. James Smith Talbot.
V. John Talbot.
VI. Martha Talbot.
VII. Williston Talbot.
VIII. Sarah Talbot.
IV. Richard Lee+ (Henry3, Richard", Richard1), second son of Henry Lee and Mary Bland, his wife; was probably b. at "Lee Hall." Westmoreland, about 1726. Squire Richard Lee bore a prominent part in the affairs of his county, representing West- moreland almost continually from 1757 to the time of his death. He was also a justice of the peace: one of the vestry of Cople Parish, 1:55-1785, and naval officer for the port of "South Potomack." ("Lee of Virginia," pp. 287-88.)
When about sixty years old "Squire Lee" married his first cousin, Sally, daughter of Peter Poythress, the antiquary, of Branchester, Prince George Co., Va. She was a granddaughter and he a grand- son of Richard Bland. This Sally Poythress was only sixteen years old when she married.
Squire Richard Lee+ d. 1795, leaving a son and three daughters ; the son died very shortly after his father. The widow married (May 23, 1798) Capt. Willoughby Newton. She died May 28, 1828, and was buried at "Lee Hall." She had several children by her second husband. among them Willoughby Newton, of Linden, who married Mary, daughter of Judge William Brockenbrough and was the father of Rev. John B. Newton, M. D., now assistant Bishop of Virginia. Squire Richard Lee's will was written the 16th of February, 1790, and probated at Westmoreland. March 23, 1795. (For will, see "Lee of Virginia," pp. 289, 290.)
V. Col. Philip Lee5 (John+. Philip", Richard2, Richard1), of "Nomini," was the son of John Lee, of Maryland, who moved to Virginia and settled in Essex Co., Va., on an estate he called "Smithfield." He succeeded his brother, John Lee, of "Cabin Point," Essex, as County Clerk in 1761. This John Lee of "Cabin
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VIRGINIA FAMILIEN
Point" was the eldest son of Henry Lee and Mary Bland, his wife : was grand-aunt of John Randolph, of Roanoke. She was of "Lee Hall," Westmoreland Co. Col. R. Lee married Mary Jaquelin Smith, daughter of Rev. Thomas Smith, of Cople Parish. (See Volume III. Chapters IV and V.)
V. Lettice Lee" (Richard+, Henry", Richard", Richard1) daugh- ter of Squire Richard Lee and Sally Poythress, his wife: b. 1792: d. 1827. Married Dr. John Augustine Smith, son of Rev. Thomas Smith, of Cople Parish, and Mary Jaquelin Smith, daughter of John Smith, of Shooter's Hill, and Mary Jaquelin, his wife. daughter of Edward Jaquelin and Martha Cary. Issue Volume III. Chapters V, VI. and VII.
Richardia Lee", sister of Lettice Lee, b. 195: d. 1850. Mar- ried (1815) Presly Cox and had two daughters :
1. Elizabeth Cox. Married E. C. Griffith.
1I. Sarah Cox. Married Col. Thomas Brown, who purchased the old "Lee Hall" estate from Dr. J. Augustine Smith, and built himself a fine residence on the opposite side of the main road from the old mansion, which perished by fire many years ago. This estate is now owned by his son. Thomas Brown.
DABNEY FAMILY.
FIDELIS
ATUS
ET
GE
DABNEY COAT-OF-ARMS
I have been fortunate enough to secure the "Memorials of a Southern Planter," written by Mrs. Susan Dabney Smedes, from which my notes are taken.
Hon. W. E. Gladstone wrote a very interesting letter to Mrs. Smedes, praising the book very highly. He wrote: "I have finished it this morning and my interest in the work is not only lively, but profound."
In France the old Huguenot name and family of d'Aubigne
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SOME PROMINENT
still live. They form but a small colony in their native land, never having increased much. All the branches of this family in America claim a common ancestry. They have the same armorial bearings-an elephant's head, three footless martins, and the fleur de lis of France-the same traditions, and the same motto, which they hold in three languages.
In France they have the motto in the Latin, "Fidelis et Gratus." One of the American branches has it in French, "Fidèle et Re- connaissant," while most of the name in the United States have it in English, "Faithful and Grateful."
The name has changed many times since the American branch left France, two hundred years ago. It is written in different ways, as Daubeny, Daubney, Bigny, D'aubinay, Dabnée, and Dabney. The traditions all say that they descended from that fearless Huguenot leader, Agrippa d'Aubigné, who flourished from 1550 to 1630.
Agrippa was not the first of his name known at the French court. According to tradition in the family, a d'Aubigné was at the court of Louis XII. He commanded a company of Swiss guards.
Agrippa d'Aubigné wrote a very interesting history of the fear- less times in which he lived-one of the best that has come down to us. Agrippa was the grandfather of Mme. de Maintenon. He had two sons, Constant d'Aubigne, married twice; first, Ann Mar- chant, one son, Theaodore d'Aubigné ; second, Jeanne Cardillae : she was the mother of Mme. de Maintenon and Chevalier d'Aubigné, who never married.
Constant d'Aubigné and Ann Marchant had issue :
I. Theodore d'Aubigne, from whom are descended the d'Aubigné family.
The name of d'Aubigne can be found among the rolls of Battle Abbey, amidst the list of knights who fell at Hastings. Some survived the conquest and are mentioned in Hume's History as champions of Magna Charta. A branch of the d'Aubigne family left France, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 1685, because they were no longer allowed to worship God with freedom of conscience. They first went to Wales. Two brothers, Cornelius and John d'Aubigné, left Wales between 1715 and 1717 and sailed for America. Another brother, Robert, came over about the same
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VIRGINIA FAMILIES
time and settled in Boston. Cornelius and John came to Virginia.
Cornelius settled on the northern side of the Pamunkey River, John settled on the southern side of the Pamunkey River.
In the land office of Richmond, Va., is recorded :
"Cornelius de Bany or de Bonés or de Bony, a grant of land, 200 acres in New Kent, dated 27th of September, 1664. Another grant to same, of 640 acres, dated June 7, 1666. This last grant was on Tomboy Creek, York River. Again, Sarah Dabney, a grant of land, 179 acres, on Pamunkey River, in King and Queen Co., April 25, 1701. Then follow other grants to other Dabneys in these early days of our country."
Among the records at Hanover Courthouse, destroyed in Rich- mond conflagration, 1865, occurred this entry in the first minute book of that county, at the beginning of the entries, which were begun when the county was cut off from New Kent County, in 1726 :
"Ordered that it be recorded that on - - day of April, 1721, Cornelius Dabney, late of England [he seems to have gone to Eng- land before coming to America] married Sarah Jenings." All accounts agree that his first wife died shoftly after coming to Virginia, leaving one son, George.
From this English George d'Aubigne came the William Dabney, who gave two sons to the Revolutionary Army :
Charles Dabney, who commanded the Dabney legion, and George Dabney, who was a captain in that legion. They were both at the siege of Yorktown and the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. They received the thanks of Congress for services rendered. George Dabney's powder horn, that he carried into battle, is still in the possession of one of the descendants. Patrick Henry was on intimate terms with them.
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