HARRIS OF SOUTHWARK AND VIRGINIA

 

PART 1: HERIZ AND HANKFORD

St. Saviour’s Church – one of the finest parochial churches in the kingdom, in spite of the barbarous mutilation which it underwent when its nave was pulled down, is now almost the sole remaining object of “Old Southwark.” In spite of the loss of its original nave, it is deservedly styled by Mr. A. Wood, in his Ecclesiastical Antiquities of London, ‘the second church in the metropolis, and the first in the county of Surrey.” It is one of the few parish churches in the kingdom possessing a ‘lady chapel’ still perfect.

In 1212, the greater part of Southwark was destroyed by fire. The church was then dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen. In 1273, Walter, Archbishop of York, granted an indulgence of thirty days to all who should contribute to the rebuilding of the sacred edifice, and towards the end of the following century the church was entirely rebuilt. Gower, the poet, it is stated, contributed a considerable portion of the funds. It was in this church (in 1424), that James I. of Scotland wedded the daughter of the Earl of Somerset, and niece of the great Cardinal, the golden-haired beauty, Jane Beaufort, of whom, during his imprisonment at Windsor, the royal poet had become enamoured’ (précis: Edward Walford, ‘Southwark: St Saviour’s Church’, in Old and New London, vol. 6, pp. 16-29, 1878.

This account of Southwark does nor reveal its underworld. Southwark was not a place that would have been beloved by the Mayflower Puritans, as indicated by William Boyd: ‘Shakespeare’s working life was in Southwark, south of the river, and London Bridge, a noisome, rank and dangerous district, freer of the City of London’s legal edicts by virtue of its location, and home to its theatres, pleasure gardens, bear-fighting pits, innumerable taverns and brothels. Historical records establish that there were black and mulatto prostitutes in Southwark brothels at the time, and it seems highly feasible that the Dark Lady might have been such a working girl’. Boyd added: ‘A mere gentleman like Shakespeare, socially well below the salt, could never have had a sexual relationship, of the sort described in the Dark Lady sonnets, with an aristocratic woman’ (guardian.com, Nov. 19, 2005).

Southwark was a ‘melting pot’ of English society. It is a common fallacy to suppose that English people settling in Virginia came only from specific regions – many were drawn to the commercial opportunities brought about by the various London trade associations, and maintained a residence in London; moreso with the opening of the Virginia trade. It can be put no better than this: ‘Southwark, grew steadily more and more important. It was the chief thoroughfare to and from London for the southern counties, and by the coast for the busiest parts of the Continent; a place for ‘birds of passage,’ for great receipt of people and trade, from divers shires of the realm, and so necessarily occupied by inns in number out of all proportion to ordinary shops and dwellings. The Borough, according to a State Paper of 1619, ‘consists chiefly of innkeepers.’ Honest John Stow in his Survey (1598) implies almost as much. In a well-known passage he says, ‘From thence (the Marshalsea), towards London Bridge on the same side, be many fair inns for the receipt of travellers; by these signs: the Spurre, Christopher, Bull, Queen’s Head, Tabard, George, Hart, King’s Head,’ etc.’ (The Old inns of Southwark).

This indenture, dated February 21, 1622, by which ownership of the Globe playhouse and other properties in Southwark and in Bread Street in London was restored to Sir Matthew Brend, shows William Shakespeare as a tenant in the parish of St Saviour:
‘And also all those messuages, tenements, houses, edifices, buildings, chambers, rooms,playhouse, gardens, orchards, void grounds and other lands and hereditaments whatsoever with all and singular their appurtenances now or late in the several tenures oroccupations of Francis Carter, tanner, John Oldfield, tanner, Hugh Tucker, waterman, John Kene, dyer, Henry Draper, beer-brewer, Avery Butcher, waterman, Hendrick Sturman, armourer, Nicholas Zetchwell, baker, John Treherne, gentleman (father-in-law of William Harris, as follows), George Archer, porter, Laurence Bushe, draper, John Johnson, tailor, John Knolles, Abraham Campion, beer-brewer, Richard Burbage, and William Shakspeare, gentlemen, John Bingham, saddler, and Robert Bromfield, gentleman, and of every or any of them, they and every or any of their assign or assigns, or in the tenure, manurance, holding or occupation of any other person or persons situate, lying and being in Maiden Lane in the parish of Saint Saviour alias Saint Mary Overies in Southwark in the said county of Surrey’.
Many of those mentioned hereinafter would have known ‘the bard’, and have witnessed the first performance of Hamlet at the Globe Theatre, Southwark, in 1600/1, for which Shakespeare was paid £5.

What follows is an account of the probability of a Harris family of Southwark deriving from the Norman family of Heriz, and settling in Virginia as part of a deeply entwined kinship group.

A basic premise of genealogical research of early English settlers of Virginia is that they were part of a kinship system that aided such settlement. In one sense, Virginia was not predominantly colonised by individuals, but by ‘collectives’ – English kinship groups. Such groups protected and enhanced their members interests by promoting marriages within them, with marriages between very close degrees of cousins being frequent, leading to many lineages terminating through lack of a male heir. It was a very intricate and many layered web, with two families of second-cousins often intermarrying within the families of each others in-laws; blood-ties being strengthened by non-consanguineous ones. It was such ‘social’ groups that dominated the colonisation of large areas of 17th. century Virginia.

Any study of the local histories of families mentioned in English Wills concerning Virginian settlers in the 17th. century will show a ‘continuation of association’ between families that extended back centuries, sometimes to the ‘conquest’ era. Women formed an essential part of ‘kinship transmission’, as extant letters show, with them taking an active interest in marriage arrangements. This was of necessity. In a world devoid of ‘social security’, any marriage that did not add to a family’s economic stability was a threat, and the greatest dread of the ‘middling order’ was to be plunged into the ranks of the wage labourer. The major theme of all Jane Austen’s novels was that of advantageous marriage.

The advantage of showing a genealogy from an earlier period than the 17th century, as these notes do, is that the extremely intertwined nature of family relationships is exampled, and the point can be made that English settlers in Virginia carried on with English customs, such as that of arranged marriage. Not understanding the basic principles of matchmaking at this time is like trying to understand genealogies through the lense of Hollywood, which, lamentably , many Americans are apt to do, favouring the easily digestible diet of ‘popcorn’ genealogy.

Overarching the basic model of kinship as ‘socio-economic enterprise’ was the relationship of families to the dominant family or families within their group. Powerful families provided the economic ‘umbrella’ under which others operated. The families of Griffin, Payne, Powell, Spencer, and Yearwood were ‘circled’ by those who sought benefit through association.

The entwined nature of relationships makes it difficult to discern distinct families within kinship groups. Many in this account had connections to the land occupied by Sergeant John Harris, but this certainly can not be taken to infer that they were his sons. His land was sold after his death, and this strongly suggests that he did not leave heirs male. That many associated with him came to reside reside in the same area is but a reflection of a facet of colonisation; the English parish was being recreated in Virginia, and many closely related people congregated in the same area. The Sunday Service at St Saviour’s would have been full people called Harris, and those intermarried with them, sitting on the third and fourth rows, second and third cousins, at a time when such a relationship was more important than today, and it would have been difficult to single anyone out, even with a pulpit-eye view, so, how much more difficult a discernment with our far more distant lense?

In what follows I have suggested certain relationships between some of whom I consider ‘the Harris family, but must stress that my arrangement is of a balance of probability type, in some cases a 60% versus a 40% choice; this after having read microfilmed copies of deeds. There is room for disagreement. It is rich irony indeed that many American colonists sought freedom to express an opinion, and many claiming descent from them deny any opinion to others about ‘who was who’ if it differs from their own. I would not deter anyone from assuming the Thomas Harris who d. in 1672 was the father of his namesake who d. 1688. It is a myth that they did not have common connections of a considerable degree.
‘William Harris, brewer, as follows hereinafter, inhabited this world, and supplied the liquor which oiled it; other families involved in this trade being those of Bennett and Garland.

I suggest he was synonomous with William Harris of Bermondsey, a district of Southwark, and Sandon, Essex, who died in 1534, and is recorded thus: ‘In dei nomine amen The xxii daie of August in the yere of our Lord God one thousand fyve hundred & xxxiii … And in the yere of our soveraigne Lorde King Henry the viii … I William Harris of Bermondsey beinge hole of mynde and perfect memorie make and ordayne this my pute testament and last will in manner and forme followinge … ffirst I do bequeth my soule to almightie God, and my bodye to be buried in the bodye of the churche or Monastrey of Saint Savioure of Bermondsey (i.e. St Saviours) … Item I bequeth to Margaret my welbeloved first wif forty shillings by yere in lands and ten’t lyinge in Sandone in the countye of Essex all charges borne … Item if it fortune as god forbide that my sonne Robert decease withoute issue male of his body lawfully begotten Then I will that the said lands and tenements shall remayne to Rowlande my sonne’ … And to this my pute testament and last will I constitute and ordeigne my welbloved wife my sole executrix and John Mynes (br.-in-law) of London myne overseer’ (P.C.C., Hogen, f. 20).

William Harris m. Margaret Mynes, da. and coheiress of Nicholas Nynes, by Elizabeth Sands, da. of Richard Sands. Nicholas Nynes was one of the six clerks of the Chancery, and receiver of Cornwall and Devon. He was a Merchant Taylor. He later became an ‘Alderman and Shreeve of London, 1502, (TNA: E404/85, May 2, 1505). William Harris and Margaret Nynes had male issue: Robert, Rowland, and John (sine prole), see Hawley, Vis. Essex, 1552. William Harris, it can be adduced, was born c. 1470; his sons c. 1495-1500. Thus, of William’s sons, Robert Harris was not the the master in Chancery of1583, who was called to Lincoln’s Inn in 1571. Roland Harris was likely to be ‘The Roland Harris who received a loan from Henry Percy; (he) would not have been the son of William Harris of Southminster, that Roland was not mentioned in his father’s Will. The Roland who received the loan could have been the son of William Harris of Surrey’ (G. R. Batho (ed.), The Household Papers of Henry Percy, Ninth Earl of Northumberland, 1564-1632, 1962).

William Harris was very likely to have been the uncle of the said William Harris of Southminster, this relationship being suggested here:

1. Robert I de Heriz, ob. by 1128, of Tibshelf, Stapleford, and Oxcroft, held of William Peverel 1., benefactor of Lenten priory, Sheriff of Notts. and Derbys., 1110-1114. The present day academic concensus is that the Heriz took their name from la (Héris)siere, Haye-Pesnel, Avranches, which they held of the Peverels, under Hugh d’Avranches (obit. July 27, 1101). Héris is the natural contraction of Hérissiere, which was a ‘fief de Haubert’, that is, held of the ducal family (D.N., v. xi., p. 379, 1776). The rare armorial of the Heriz, the three hedehogs, is a reference to Hérissiere, a fort, the rampart of which was protected by rows of stakes set at the same angle; as the spines of a hedgehog. It was also called La Rochelle-le-Hericiere (ibid.), and ‘la Rochelle-Ambleville’. When William Peverel I. founded the Priory of Lenton, in the first decade of the twelfth-century, donators to it were his feudatories in Avranches; ‘les hommes de Guillaume Peverel sont du diocèse d’Avranches’, being ‘Le premier était Avenel, Raoul Malherbe, Norman de Saint Patrice, Geoffroy de Heriz, Adelelme ou Adelée, Robert de Mortain (Société d’archéologie et d’histoire de la Manche, 1992, Identification des notables de l’Avranchin et du Cotentin cités dans le livre noir de l’abbaye de la Lucerne, 1143-1309, p. 56). Geoffroy de Heriz donated to Lenton two-thirds of his tithes in Stapleford (Mon. Anglic. v. 111b).
1.1. Ivo I. de Heriz, Sheriff of Notts. and Derbys., 1128-30.
1.1.1. Robert II. de Heriz, ob. 1198, who paid relief, in 1181, to obtain the lands of his brother.
1.1.1.1. Ivo II. de Heriz, ob. 1225, m. Hawise Briwiere, probable sister of William Briwiere.
1.1.1.1.1. William de Heriz, ob. 1242, of Wiverton, Justice Itinerant of Notts., m. Maud Basset.
1.1.1.1.1.1. Richard de Heriz (Hoblyn’s MS.).
1.1.1.1.1.1.1. ‘John Heris’, m. Joan Vivian, da. of Richard Vivian and Constance Peverel, descendant of William Peverel I. (See Visitations of Cornwall, Comprising the Heralds’ Visitations of 1530, 1573, & 1620, with additions by J. L. Vivian, 1887, p. 17). The Harris family, as follows, thus, carried the blood of the Peverels.
1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1. John Harris, 1st at Radford, m. Alice le Abbetot.
1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1. John Harris, 2nd at Radford.
1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1. Sir John Harris, 3rd at Radford, ob. ante 1430, m. Katherine Hankford, da. of Sir William Hankford, of Hankford, in the parish of Bulkworthy, and of Annery, in the Parish of Monkleigh, Devon, Chief Justice of the Court of King’s Bench. He was appointed a justice of the Court of Common Pleas in 1398, created a Knight of the Bath by King Henry IV. on the eve of his coronation, March 17, 1400, and Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, 29 Jan. 1 Hen. V. (1414). By his will, dated Dec. 10, 1423, he provided for the rebuilding of the parish church of Monkleigh, and the repairing of those of Bulkworthy and East Putford; and by the inquisition after his death, the writ for which is dated 4 January, 2 Hen. VI. (1424), he was found possessed of lands and tenements in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Wilts, Berks, Oxon, Stafford, London, and Middlesex, all which descended to his grandson and nearest heir, Sir Richard Hankford, whose eldest da., Thomasina Hankford, was born at Tawstock, co. Devon, 23 February, 1 Hen. VI. (1423), and made proof of her age in 15 Hen. VI. (1437), at which time she was wife of William Bourchier, Lord Fitzwarin, whose grandda, Elizabeth Bourchier, m. 3. Sir Edward Stanhope; he being the son of Sir Thomas Stanhope and Mary Jernegan, da. of John Jernegan and (m. 1459) Isabel Clifton; her br, Edward Jernegan m. (1485) Margaret Bedingfield, da. of Edmund Bedingfield and Alice Shelton.
1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1. John Harris, 4th at Radford, ob. ante October 16, 1485.
1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1. Francis Harris, m. Philippa Greville; she m. 2. (1512) Humphrey Arundel, fl. 1523, br. of Sir John Arundel of Lanherne; he being the father of (1) John Arundel (1500 – November 7, 1557), who m. Mary (Belknap) Dannet; whose niece, Elizabeth Belknap, m. Sir Philip Cooke, whose sister, Beatrix Cooke, m. Sir Nicholas Rawson of Aveley, Essex. Their da., Anne Rawson, m. Michael Stanhope, who was beheaded on Tower Hill in 1552, as was his brother-in-law, Edward Seymour, the Protector Somerset.

Elizabeth Belknap and Sir Philip Cooke had issue: John Cooke, whose first wife was Alice Saunders (d. 1510), the da. of William Saunders of Banbury, Oxfordshire. John Cooke’s Will states: ‘I make and ordain mine executors Gerard Danett, William Shelley and Richard Cooke, my brother, and I bequeath to every of them £6 13s 4d for their labour and all their costs; Item, I will that they that be seised of and in my lands in Southwark (London) shall after my father’s will performed be seised to th’ use of the performance of my will’ (TNA 11/18/537). His da., Joanna Cooke, m. ‘William Harris, b. by 1502, prob. 1st s. of John Harris of Prittlewell. (2) Katherine Arundel, who m. Thomas Tregian, whose mother was the heiress of Wolvedon. The Wolvedon Arms were: Arg. a chevron between three wolves’ heads erased, sable. William Harris, son of William Harris, which William d. May 14 1559, bore per pale on a chevron engrailed between 3 wolves heads. Sir Thomas Harris, and Cordelia his wife: on the wall of All Saints, Maldon, their armorial was displayed as Quarterly; 1 and 4, on a bend Az. 3 cinquefoils (the Darcy arms); on a canton or, a lion rampant gu. (Vivian: Trelowren-Park, Cornwall, ar. a lion, rampant, gu. armed sa. Vivian (Cornwall) ar. a lion, rampant, gu. All Saints also displayed the armorial of the Peverels of Sandon, which adorned a window in the Darcy chapel. (See The East Anglian: Or, Notes and Queries, ed. Samuel Tymms, pp. 140, 172, 1866).

1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.2. John Harris, half-brother of John Harris 4th at Radford, m. ‘a da. and heiress of Stone of Liston’.
1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.3. William Harris, of Prittlewell, m. Anne Jernegan; probable sister of John Jernegan of Somerley Town (d. 1503), husband of Isabel Clifton, as given, and aunt of Sir Edward Jernegan, as given, whose da., Anne, m. William Barley, the br. of Elizabeth, relict of Sir Ralph Jocelyn (d. October 25, 1478), Lord Mayor of London, who m. Sir Robert Clifford (d. March 15, 1508), grandson of Elizabeth Percy, da. of Henry ‘Hotspur’ Percy. (These relationships were the result of the familial association of Harris and Hankford).
1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.3.1. John Harris of Prittlewell, m. Joan Danyell, da. of Thomas Danyell (as Will, 1514). Thomas Danyell was a desc. of Robert Danyell. 1412: Hugh Wymark and Robert Danyell of Prittewell versus Thomas Roolfe and Alice his wife – concerning Prittewell (see Calendar of Ancient Deeds Series B – Exchequer Augmentation Office Ancient Deeds Series B E326/B7467 in List and Index Society 101/B7467. 1516c). Henry, son and heir of Henry Danyell, of Sandon (son of Thomas), husbandman versus Johanna, late the wife of Robert Danyell, of Dunmow, barber, brother of the compainant. concerning detention of deeds relating to a messuage and land in Bocking, 1515-18 (See Early Chancery Proceedings, volume 5, p. 64, in Public Record Office Lists and Indexes 38/64/403/47).
1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.3.1.1. William Harris, born by 1502, who m. 3. Agnes Rutter, da. of William Rutter, of Southwark.

1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.4. Jane Harris, sister or half-sister of John Harris who m. the heiress of Stone, m. Thomas Killigrew. They leased land in Dunmow, Essex, to ‘John Harryes’. Kyllygrewe v Harryes. Plaintiffs: Thomas Kyllygrewe, of Arwynnek, and Jane, his wife. Defendants: John Harryes and Richard Candyche. Subject: Detention of deeds relating to messuages and land in Dunmow and Olyff. Essex. C 1/144/23. 1486-1493, or 1504-1515. Thomas Killigrew (ob. ante Sept. 20, 1513) and his wife Jane Harris (ob. post 1513) were mortgagors of John Harris and … Cavendish of land in Dunmowe and Ollyfe. The deed stating this does not stipulate any familial relationship between these parties. Jane was the da. of John Harris, 4th at Radford, obit. October 16, 1485, thus sister of (1) Francis Harris (ob. ante 1509), who m. Phillipa Grenville (ob. June 8, 1524), (2) Elizabeth Harris, who remarried at some point after 1538, becoming the second of the three wives of Thomas Gawdy (ob. ante 1557). Her da., Honor, later m. his son, Thomas; (3) William Harris, who m. the heiress of Hayne. It is probably significant that William Harris of Southminster (son of John Harris of Prittlewell), received interest from the Dunmow estate. William Harris was paid 32 shillings by the Royal Commissioners from monies owed to him by the estates tenants, which they had recovered (E. Oxley, The Reformation of Essex, 1965, p. 112).
1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.3.2. William Harris. ‘John Jenyn, clerk. v. William Harrys: Detention of deeds relating to ‘Ebweres and Flooydwers’, and rent charged on a marsh in Prittlewell, Essex’. 1515-1518. I suggest him to be William Harris of Bermondsey, Southwark, and Sandon, Essex, who d. in 1534, alias William Harris, brewer.

(The Peverels of Sandon: 1. William Peverel the younger. 1.1. Richard Peverel. 1.1.1. Hugh Peverel, of Plympton St. Mary, Devon. 1.1.1.1. William Peverel, of Plymton St. Mary, m. Agnes Mainsbridge. Agnes Peverel was holding lands in Chilworth (Hampshire) as early as 1230, when a dispute concerning the boundary between her estate and that of the abbot of Hyde in North Stoneham was settled by a perambulation. She still held the same, for half a knight’s fee, in 1270, and her son Thomas Peverel, who died in 1306, left Chilworth to his grandson and heir, William Peverel. William’s property in Chilworth is described in the inquisition taken at his death in 1337 as a manor, which descended to his son Henry Peverel, who died in 1363, and two years later Chilworth Manor was sold by his son, Thomas Peverel, to Sir Thomas Tyrel, of Essex (Close, 38 Edw. III., m. 32 and 28). 1.1.1.1. Thomas Peverel. 1.1.1.1.1. Hugh Peverel, ob. ante 1259. 1.1.1.1.1.1. William Peverel, ob. 1337. 1.1.1.1.1.1.1. Henry Peverel , ob. 1363. 1.1.1.2. Hugh Peverel. 1.1.1.2.1. Lucia Peverel, m. Sir Alan Basset of Whitechapel, Tehidy & Trevalga. 1.1.1.2.2. Constance Peverel, m. Richard Vivian. 1.1.1.2.2.1. Joan Vivian, m. John Heris. 1.1.1.2.2.1. John Harris, 1st at Radford, sp. Alice le Abbetot.

Thomas Tyrel’s nephew and heir, Walter Tyrel, m. Eleonora Flambard, da. of John Flambard of Essex, and was the father of Sir John Tyrel of Heron, Sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire, ob. 1437, who m. Alice Coggeshall, ob. 1422, da. of Sir William Coggeshall of Little Stamford Hall, Essex, son of Sir Henry de Coggeshall, who died about the forty-ninth of Edward III., leaving Sir William Tyrel of Beeches his son and heir, in whom the direct male line of the family failed, and a vast estate was, by his four daus. and co-heirs, transplanted into other houses; but this estate was settled on Thomas Tyrel, his brother, who had the lordship of Sandon, where he is supposed to have resided

Will, dated March 16, 1471, of Sir William Tyrrell of Beeches, a younger son of Sir John Tyrrell (d. 2 April 1437), Speaker of the House of Commons, and his wife Alice (d. 1422), da. and heir of Sir William Coggeshall (d.1426). N.A. Prob. 11/5/167: Item, ‘I pray my feoffees in all the lands that I have purchased lying in the parish of Southchurch to grant immediately after my decease an annuity of 60s by the year to bedivided in this form following, that is to say, unto Ralph Judde for term of his life 20s, unto Robert Stanner in like form 20s, and 20s unto Edmund Palgraffe, and if any die, the remnant overliving … Item, as for a tenement in Prittlewell that I bought of William Claidon & his wife, I will that Jasper Tyrrell, my son, have it to give and to sell, my wife to have the governance thereof during his nonage, and if he die before he come to lawful age, then John Tyrrell to have it to him and his heirs forever more.

The testator is said to have had four brothers, only two of whom can be documented: (1) Sir Thomas Tyrrell (d. 28 March 1477) of Heron in East Horndon, eldest son and heir, who married Anne Marney, the da. of Sir William Marney (d. 1414) and his wife, Elizabeth Sergeaux. (2) William Tyrrell of Gipping, Suffolk, beheaded on Tower Hill 23 February 1462, who m. Margaret Darcy, the da. of Sir Robert Darcy, by whom he was the father of Sir James Tyrrell (d. May 6, 1502), who m. Anne Arundel, the da. of Sir John Arundel of Lanherne, by whom he was the father of Sir Thomas Tyrrell (d.1551), James Tyrrell (1475-1538) of Columbine Hall, William Tyrrell, and Anne Tyrrell, who m. Sir Richard Wentworth (d. October 17, 1528).

The Peverels of Sandon: c. 1225 Deed, Quitclaim for 1/2mark: Robert Part to John de Sandone Land in Sandon Which his uncle Simon held of Robert de Sandone Witnesses: Robert de Sencler, William son of Hamon de Springfield, Randolph Fachunier, Robert de Crucheshede, Robert Juven, Reginald de Knigtesbrig, Robert Peverel, William son of Hamon de Sandon. May 4, 1281: Quitclaim. John de Queye to Robert son of Robert de Sandon. All the lands with the buildings, gardens, mill, woods, meadows, pasture, rents, homages, etc., in Sandon which he had of the feoffment of Robert’s father. Witnesses: Lord William de …, knight, Robert Peverel. Given at Sandon. September 22, 1325, Grant: John, son and heir of Edmund Peese of Springfield, to John, son and heir of Robert de Sandone. River opposite the meadow of John le Wyte of Sandon, extending and running from the little marsh of Edmund de Badewe to the meadow called Molsham Maad, Witnesses: William de Clovile, Hamon Peverel. ‘By virtue of a licence from King Henry IV. dated 27th Jan. 1407, Joan de Bohun, countess of Hereford, Margaret, wife of Sir Hugh de Baden, William Bourchier, William Marney, Nicolas Hunt, Kts. Robert Rikedon, Edmund Peverell, Henry Frank, clerk, Geffrey Colvill, and John Norman, chaplain, founded here a chantry, for one monk to pray daily for the souls of the said Hugh, Margaret his wife, and Thomas Coggeshall: and they endowed it with ten pounds per ann. issuing out of 2 messuages, a fullingmill, 240 acres of arable, 11 acr. of meadow, 46 acr. of pasture, 2 acr. of wood in Springfield and Sandon, called Springfield Barnes and Sandlord Barnes (Monasticon Anglicanum, p. 451).July 21, 1366, Mortgage: Margaret Mepishale to John Peverel, both of Sandon. Croft called Cranecroft and a grove lying together between land of William Knyghtebregg’ and the way from the tenement of John Peverel to Sparkebregg’, in Sandon. Given at Sandon. Seal: a cup. May 26, 1392, Grant: Thomas Newynton of Suffolk to William Daunbry, John Rothyng, John Herveys, John Swanlond’, clerk, Robert Sewyne, clerk, Rob, de Peyton, Alexander, rector of Helmyngham, Adam Maylond. Manor of Sandon. Witnesses: Thomas Coggyahale, Nicholas FitzRyhard, Edmund Peverel, Geoffrey Colvyle, Robert Mepshale. Given at Sandon. Seal: armorial, viz., a fesse dancettee between three escallops. October 22, 1402: John Litle of Great Baddow and wife Alice to John Wryhte of Sandon. Garden between the highway from Great Baddow to Sandford mill and land sometime of William Cartere, abutting on the tenement called Smalestenement and on the highway to Little Baddow, in Sandon. itnesses: Robert Mepishale, John Havene, John Peverel, Robert Smyth, John Mellere. Given at Sandon. Seals: (i) an `I’; (ii) a `W’ surmounted by a ducal coronet).

The Harris pedigree given in the ‘Visitations’ is likely to be more an ‘elaboration’ than a complete fiction; a claim to be a more distinct part of the ‘Percy circle’ than was the case, at a time in which the creation of falsified heraldic pedigrees was rife.

1. Henry ‘Hotspur’ Percy, m. Elizabeth Mortimer, da. of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March.
1.1. Elizabeth Percy, m. John Clifford, 7th Lord Clifford.
1.1.1. Mary Clifford, m. Sir Philip Wentworth, beheaded May 18, 1464, after the Battle of Hexham.
1.1.1.1. Sir Henry Wentworth of Goxhill, Lincolnshire, and Nettlestead, Suffolk, Will, dated August 17, 1499 and proved February 27, 1501, m. Anne Say, the da. of Sir John Say, Speaker of the House of Commons, by his first wife, Elizabeth Cheney, da. of Lawrence Cheney, esquire.
1.1.1.1.1. Sir Richard Wentworth, d. October 17, 1528, m. Anne Tyrrell, the da. of Sir James Tyrrell (d. May 6, 1502) of Gipping, and Anne Arundel, the da. of Sir John Arundel of Lanherne, Cornwall.
1.1.1.1.2. Elizabeth Wentworth, m. (1) Sir Roger Darcy, d. September 30, 1508, (2) Sir Thomas Wyndham, d.1522, (3) John Bourchier. (The Darcys, Harris, and Tyrrels were kin through their common association to the Arundels of Lanherne).
1.1.1.1.2.1. Thomas Darcy, born in 1506, the only son and heir of Roger Darcy, and Elizabeth Wentworth, dau. of Sir Henry Wentworth. He m. Elizabeth, dau. of John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford and Elizabeth Trussell. Their children included John, who succeeded as 2nd Baron Darcy of Chiche. He m. Frances, da. of Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich, and they had issue, including Thomas, 3rd Baron and 1st Earl Rivers.
1.1.1.1.3. Margery Wentworth, who m. Sir John Seymour, by whom she was the mother of Queen Jane Seymour, and Edward Seymour, the Protector Somerset, br.-in-law of Sir Michael Stanhope, ancestor of the various Earls Stanhope.
1.1.2. Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron de Clifford, Baron and High Sheriff of Westmorland, Earl of Cumberland, and Earl of Skipton. He m. Joan Dacre, da. of Thomas Dacre, 6th Baron Dacre, by Philippa de Neville (da. of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, and Margaret Stafford), son of Sir John de Neville and Maude de Percy, 1st da. of Henry de Percy, 2nd Baron Percy, and Ideonia de Clifford. Sir Ralph de Neville, by his second wife, Joan Beaufort, da. of Sir John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and Katherine Swynford, was the father of Katherine Neville, who m. Sir John de Mowbray, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, lord of Prittlewell. IPM, Prittlewell, Jan. 13, 1400; his son Thomas Mowbray, 1st Duke Norfolk, was found to hold jointly with his wife Elizabeth the manor of Prittlewell by the grant of Richard Earl of Arundel, father of Elizabeth. It is held of the king of the honour of Rayleigh, by knight service’. His da., Margaret, m. Robert Howard; their da., Margaret, was the wife of Thomas Danyell, who managed the estates of the dowager Duchess of Norfolk, c. 1450. The origins of this Thomas Danyell are unknown, but he seems certain to be closely related to the wife of John Harris of Prittlewell, and this would further augment his family in the orbit of the Percys.
1.1.2.1. Sir Robert Clifford (d. March 15, 1508), m. Elizabeth (née Barley), relict of Sir Ralph Jocelyn (d. October 25, 1478), Lord Mayor of London, and da. of William Barley (1451-1521), of Aspenden, Hertfordshire, and Elizabeth Darcy, da. of Sir Robert Darcy, of Danbury, Essex (younger br. of Thomas Darcy, b. c. 1459, who m. Margaret Harleston (see TNA 11/7/329), who held ‘Crixheth, Crixseth, Criksea’ manor: ‘Distant from Maldon nine miles, and from London, forty-two. In 1498, Thomasine Hopton held it of Thomas Darcy, esq., and Robert Darcy died possessed of it in 1516. ‘The Harrys or Harris family had a large brick mansion here, pleasantly situated and enclosed in a park, well stored with timber. Some remains of the outer court, and the site of the building, and of fish-ponds, are yet to be seen’ (Hist. Essex, Cricksea Hall). Elizabeth Barley was the sister of William Barley, who m. (3) Anne (née Jerningham), da. of Sir Edward Jerningham (d. January 6, 1515) of Somerleyton, Suffolk, by Margaret Bedingfield, d. March 24, 1504. For the Barley pedigree see Tymms, Samuel, ed. (July 1862). ‘Notes on the Parish of Wicken Bonant, Essex’, The East Anglian (London: Whittaker and Co.), Vol. I, pp. 220–9).

PART 2. A HARRIS FAMILY OF VIRGINIA

1. William Harris, brewer, d. by 1540, his executor to ‘pay yearly out of tenements in Bell-yird’ to the Warden of the ‘general poor’ (Hist. Parish of St. Saviour’s, Southwark). These were the site of a ‘distilhouse’ of the late Edward Russel, Esq., distiller, situated at the north corner of the east end of Maidstone-buildings, late Bell Inn or Yard. The Bell Inn was situated near the Tabard, made famous by Chaucer as the rendezvous of the Canterbury Pilgrims, Chaucer mentions ‘the gentil hostelrie that heighte the ‘Tabard’ as being ‘faste by the ‘Bell’. William Harris was a contemporary of William Rutter, father-in-law of William Harris of Southminster, afors., to whom he probably supplied beer:

In 1534, William Rutter leased the Tabard in Southwark, where he had been living for some time, and he passed the remainder of his life as an innkeeper: as well as the Tabard he had an interest in a property called the Horse’s Head. He may have entertained some of his parliamentary colleagues at either or both of these establishments. His da., Agnes, m. William Harris, a Member for Maldon in the Parliament of 1536. Rutter made his will on 22 Oct. 1540, leaving his place of burial to the discretion of his wife. ‘Also I will that the executors of George Payne (d.1538) do pay to my brother Thomas Rutter 10s. for my wages when I was burgess’. He appointed his wife executrix and his ‘brother’ Edward Lowe (or in his absence John Smith of the Vine) overseer of the will, which was proved on 8 Oct. 1541, seven days after Rutter’s burial at St. Saviour’s, Southwark. Thomas Payne was the grandfather of George Payne, as given hereinafter.

William Rutter appears to have been a man of good position. The following entries in the Churchwardens’ Accounts of St. Margaret, Southwark, no doubt refer to him: ‘The xxii day of Marche in the ix yere of Kinge Henry the viii the accompte made of Wylam Rutter and John Smythe churche-wardens for ii yere and made the battementes and enery thynge clere accompted. At the which accompte the same wardens be clery discharged and every thing to them alowed’.

1.1. Robert, Rowland, or John Harris.
1.1.1. John Harris, b. c. 1520; a defendant, ‘John Harris of Southwark’, in a case (c. 1550) brought by Thomas James, concerning the household goods of a deceased merchant, their probable debtor. The James family of Southwark were Dutch metrchants, and intermarried with fellow Dutch merchants, the Williamsonne family of Southwark, cousins of the Harris family, as follow. (See Will of William James, prob. Feb. 11, 1595. TNA, Prob.11/87, ff.91r-93r).
1.1.1.1. John Harris, b. c. 1545; named, with his father, in the Gyles v Bellson case of 1582 (‘John Harrys the elder, John Harrys the younger’). The case concerned the moiety of 31 houses in Southwark, situated in Glean Alley, being assigned for maintenance of the poor and a school-master. (C 78/80/9. Feb. 8, 1582). Glean Alley lay very close to London Bridge.
1.1.1.1.1. John Harris, d. 1616: ‘John Harris, of St Saviour’, Southwark, whose Will, pr. May 2, 1616, states that he is ‘very sick of body’, and requests ‘burial in St Saviour parish near where his wife is lately buried’; naming Robert Harris, his eldest son, Thomas Harris, his second son; Mary Harris, his underage da. (TNA, Prob.11/127, ff.345v-346r).
1.1.1.1.1.1. Robert Harris, m. Ellen Driver, almost certainly related to Charles Driver: ‘Charles Smythe of Parish of St. Saviour, Southwark, Surry (Eng.), grocer appts friend Gyles Driver of Pagan Creek atty, to collect from George Moore and Henry King’ (B. 1. p. 540). In 1664, Henry King (see footnotes, s.f.) and Alice Phillips (s.f.) are witnesses to John Bond selling to Thomas Harris (d. 1672) a corn mill at the head of Pagen Creek; the deeds of lands he purchased in this area being attested by his wife, Eleanor. (See Library of Virginia microfilm trasnscripts, recorded as Isle of Wight Co., Record of Wills, Deeds, Etc., vol. 1 (1662-1715), pp. 569, 586-87).

Olive Hardy, da. of John Hardy named in her father’s 1676 Will as m. to Giles Driver of Southwark, London, was thrice married: 1. Giles Driver, issue: Robert, Charles, Giles Jr., John, and da. Hardy Driver. Giles Driver’s will was probated on June 9, 1677, wife Olive was sole executrix. His nephew, John Council, and nephew-in-law, Richard Wooten (husband of Lucy Council) appraised Giles’ estate. (B 2, p.146). 2. John Bromfield, in 1677 (B. 1, p. 431 & B. 2, p. 454). They had a da. Anne Bromfield (s.f.), identified in her step-father’s, John Pitt’s, Will (ibid.). 3. Lt. Col. John Pitt.

Ellen Harris, of London, widow of the said Robert Harris, stated in her Will, proved March 25, 1631, that she was born in Presteigne, Radnor (Wales) on New Years Day (no year given), and she is ‘in good and perfect health of minde and memory’. She asks to be bur. in the church of St Olave’s, Southwark, near her late husband, Robert Harris. She names Margaret, eldest da. of her cousin, Isaac Driver, deceased, and his widow Barbara Driver; and their three other unnamed children. (TNA, Prob. 11/159, ff. 286v-288v).
1.1.1.1.1.2. Thomas Harris, m. March 2, 1620 (St Saviour) Hannah Edwards, probably of this family: William Edwardes of St Saviour, tailor. Will proved April 4, 1631. Family named: Helen Edwardes his wife, to whom all is left. Joan Church his sister. Rachel Underwood his sister. Executor: Helen Edwardes his wife. Witnesses: Henry Underwood; Edward Coukin; Robert Bankes (LMA, DW/PA/7/12 f.35r and DW/PA/5/1631/40). This Edwards family had links to William Shakespeare, see as follows.

1.1.1.1.1.2.1. Robert Harris. Deed, April 12, 1667, from Thomas Woodward (f.n. 4) of Isle of Wight to Robert Harris, lease for lives of the said Harris and his son Robert, of said Woodward’s dwelling house and the plantation Philip Haniford lately lived on, wanting 100 acres. James Tooke: Sept. 9, 1632, Headright by William Spencer (s.f.); James City, Land Lease, 500 acres assigned by James Tooke to Robert Harris, Pagan Creek, Isle of Wight, 26 October 1646.
1.1.1.1.1.2.2. Thomas Harris, d. 1672. Harris, Thomas, grantee, Land grant 14 August 1652. Patent renewed. See B. 5, p. 273. Isle of Wight County: 40 acres at the head of one of the branches of Pagan creek. Adjoining his own land, Fran. Smith, Thomas Prichard, and John Davis (Land Office Patents No. 3, 1652-1655, p. 205 (Reel 2).

John Davis witnessed the Will of Major Thomas Taberer ‘of the Isle of Wight County in Virginia being in health and memory do make and ordayne this my last Will and Testament with my own handwriting this 24th of Janry 1692, (bequests) the rest of my horses, mares, sheeps, and cattell equally to my da. Ruth’s children by John Numan. Witnesses John Davis, Nicholas Miller, and sealed and delivered 3 Oct., 1693. Proved 9th of Feb., 1694, and admn. granted to Mr. Jno. Numan. (W.B 2, p. 280).

Harris, Thomas. grantee. Land grant 18 March 1662.Lancaster County. 600 acres northeasterly on a branch of Corotoman River and on the land of one Hawkes including the said branch. Adjoining the land of Wm. Thatcher (Land Office Patents No. 4, 1655-1664, p. 632 (Reel 4). The land of James Tooke adjoined the land of Thomas Harris, d. 1672, at Pagan Creek.

Burton, John. grantee. Land grant 3 March 1656. Lancaster County. 900 acres on the branches of Corotoman River, a branch of Rappahannock adjoining the land of Enoch Hawker and Thomas Harris (Land Office Patents No. 4, 1655-1664, p. 121 (Reel 4).

On Oct. 20, 1664, Thomas Harris and Alice his wife sold to Maj. John Bond 190 ac. comprised in 2 pats. at head of Pagan Creek, one in name of John Vasser for 150 ac. dated Nov. 18, 1635; other for 40 ac. in name of Thos. Harris, dated Aug. 14, 1652. Test: Henry King, Alice Phillips.

In 1667, Thomas Harris sold the mill to Gyles Dryver. (William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Apr., 1899), pp. 205-315). Thomas Harris of Surry sold to Christopher Benn all the land at Pagan Point, purchased from William Batte and Mrs. Margaret Upton.

To all Christian People to whom this present Deed or Writing shall come to be seen I Thomas Harris of Chipoaks in the County of Surry send Greeting in Our Lord God Everlasting Know Ye that I the said Thomas Harris for a valuable consideration to me in hand paid by Christopher Benn of the Isle of Wight County Cooper where with I Acknowledge my Self to be fully Satisfied & Contented Have Bargained & Sold Assigned & Confirmed unto the said Christopher Benn his Heirs & Assigns for ever All and Singular the Lands, Teniments & Hereditaments whatsoever late in the Possession of me the said Thomas Harris situate, lying & being at the Head of Pagan Creek in the County of Isle of Wight aforesaid and adjoining unto the Land of the said Xtopher Benn and Purchased by me the said Thomas Harris of Mr William Batte of the Isle of Wight County afores.d and of Mrs Margaret Upton relict of Lieu.t Col. John Upton late of the County afores. … In Witness whereof I the said Thomas Harris have hereunto set my my Hand & Seal this last Day of February Anno Dom’ 1657. Signed Sealed & delivered in the Presence of John Brewer. Thomas Taberer. Thos Jones. These Presents further Witnesseth that I Eleanor the Wife of the above Thos Harris do hereby give my free Assent & Consent unto the Sale of the abovementioned P/mises. In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my Hand & Seal the Day & Year above. Eleanor Harris. mark. Isle of Wight Co., Record of Wills, Deeds, etc., vol. 1 (1662-1715), pp. 569, 586-87.

William Batte was associated with the Powell family of St. Saviour, Southwark: In October 1654, William Powell of the Parish of St.Saviour, Southwark, baker, appeared before the Mayor’s Court to tesify that his elder brother William Powell had died in Virginia, without issue, and that his lands and plantations there should therefore descend to him. William, his younger brother … Depositions explain that both William Powells were so named after their godfather(s) and that William Powell the elder was ‘at ye time of this deponent’s birth (William Powell the younger’s birth) was very dangerously sick in so much as his parents and friends did dispare his life, & for these reasons did also name him William’. The first William Powell’s plantation across the river from Jamestown was called Chippoakes.

In essence, many Southwark-based families followed in the footprints of William Powell. ‘William Batt of Lower Chippoakes’, he sold land, in 1658, at ‘Rich Neck’ (later the home of the Ruffins), to Ralph Jones. The deed recites that 275 acres was formerly patented by William Newsome, on March 3, 1636. As said, on September 6, 1653, Henry Banister deeded to William Batt land which had been left to him by the last Will of William Sheppard, and which was bought from Newsome in 1640 (Surry Deeds and Wills, 1645-72, p. 30.).

The Benns were of St Saviour: Will of James Benn: Sons Arthur, James, George, daus. Mary, Jeane and Anne, wife Jane. Pr. April, 9, 1697. The Will of James Benn, afors., Merchant of Barnaby Street, was probated February 1, 1727. Prob. 11/613/237. He was a partner of Michael Fulgham, whose Will, dated Feb. 17, 1690, named legatees: son Anthony; son Michael the plantation on which William Baldwin Lives; wife Ann; da. Sarah; da. Martha; dau. Mary; da. Anne;* da. Susanna; da. Ruth. Wife Executrix. Overseers: brothers Nicholas and John Fulgham. Witnessess: William Baldwin, James Benn, & Nicholas Fulgham. Recorded March 9, 1691. *She m. Robert Harris; her br., Michael, m. Patience Pitt, da. of Henry Pitt (W.B. 5, p. 135, 1747); her brother, Nicholas, m. 2. (1736), Isabella Harris, da. of John Harris (D.B. 8, p. 347, 1736). By his first wife, he was father of his namesake, obit. 1766, who m. Sarah Westray, da. of Edward Westray.* The will of Hardy Westray, dated Feb. 5, 1760, named legatees: Aunt Patience Westray; brother Fulgham Westray; Sarah Fulgham; Mary Westray. Executrix: Patience Westray. Witnessess: Edmund Westray, Benjamin Westray, & Alice Westray. R. April 3, 1760.

*He was the son of William Westray: ‘To all Christian people to whom these presents shall come, I William Westwray of the lower parish of the Isle of Wight County Send Greeting in the Name of Our Lord God Everlasting Now Know Ye that I the said William Westwray for divers good causes and considerations me thereunto moving but more especialy for the tender Love & good Will which I bear unto my loving Son Edward Westwray have and by these presents do for me and my Heirs Ex & Administrators Give Grant Demise and fully & absolutely Lett and Set over unto my sd Son Edward Westwray and his Heirs for ever the Plantation the sd Edward Westwray now dwelleth on by Estimation One Hundred Acres more or less being part of the said William Westwrays Patent and bounded as followeth Beginning at a Branch called the Warnut Neck Branch’ (D.B. 4. pp.. 141-2, December 24, 1731).

William Westwray’s land in Isle of Wight County was mentioned in the patents of John Hardie (1666), John Hardie, William Oldis, and Robert Ruffin (1674), of Henry Applewhaite (1678), and of John Turner, Mathew Tomlin and Thomas Harris (1686) (who d. 1688). William Westray was the father of of his namesake: ‘Wm. Westwary (Westwray), 750 acs. of Wight Co., 26 Sept. 1664, upon a branch of the Black Water, beg. on the brow of a hill by the swamp side, E. by Mathew Tomlins land, then S.S.E. &c. Trans. of 15 pers: Jno. Goales, Jno. Dewe, George Grenway, Mary Jones, Mary Pitt, Jno. Parfitt & his wife, Phillip Chester, Robt. King, Ralph Taylor, Robt. Taylor, 3 Negroes’ (P.B. 5, pp. 517-518).

Thomas Harris, d. 1672, m. 1. Eleanor George, da. of Nicholas George Sr, d. 1661. Eleanor is not named in his will, dying before her father. Thomas Harris m. 2. Alice Newman, very likely of the family of ‘Daniel Newman, of St Saviour, citizen and fishmonger of London. Testator is weak in body. Asks to be buried in St Saviour church. Will pr. July 15, 1619. Family members named: Mary his wife. Daniel Newman and Anne Newman, his underage children; Anne is not yet ten years old. James, Barnaby, Thomas, and William Newman his brothers. Mary Dennis his sister, and her husband. Edward Bromfield (s.f.) his brother. Others named: William Iremonger his friend (he was the stepfather of William Harris, son of William Harris, ‘fishmonger’, the br.-in-law of Edward Griffin, as follow). Executor: Mary his wife. Overseers: Mr Dennis, his sister’s husband; Edward Bromfield; and William Iremonger. Witnesses: Anthony Preston; George Austen; John Revill. TNA, Prob.11/134, ff.15r-16r. Grace Bromfield was the sister-in-law of John Payne of St Saviour, citizen and fishmonger of London (s.f.).

1.1.1.1.1.2.3. Harris, John, grantee. Land grant 11 January 1661. Lancaster County. 500 acres begg. &c near to a marked path that leadeth from the great swamp to Mr. Parrotts. (Land Office Patents No. 4, 1655-1664, p. 404 (Reel 4). Lancaster Co. Deed, March 15, 1668, from Nicholas Spencer (s.f.) to Richard Perrott conveying 1,900 acres on Pianketank River, called Mottrom’s Mount.
1.1.1.1.2. Thomas Harris, m. 1. …
1.1.1.1.2.1. Sergeant John Harris. The exact location of the lands settled by Sergeant Harris are indicated by a fine imposed on William Simmons after Bacon’s Rebellion. His tract, owned in 1623 by Sergeant John Harris, extended across the Chippoakes into Charles City Co. John Rutherford had transferred part of the farm to William Heath in 1663. In 1681, he signed the guardian’s bond of Thomas Cockeram, orphan of Captain William Cockeram, who had m. Anne Spencer (s.f.).

In 1656, William Cockerham patented 1,250 acres in Surry, 1,100 of which Anne had inherited from her father, William Spencer (f.n. 8). This land lay adjacent to a cleared field belonging to Nicholas Spencer.

In 1685, William Cockerham Jr. deeded William Harris a parcel of land on Hogg Island Main which was part of 1,350 acres patented by William Spencer and inherited by Cockerham. This William Harris was the son of Thomas Harris, as follows.

William Simmons was very likely of the family of ‘Samuel Simons, of St Saviour, whitebaker’; his Will pr. Nov. 10, 1635, naming Margaret Beale his mother … John Hurt (Hart) his br.-in-law; William Powell of St Saviour, whitebaker, his cousin. (TNA, Prob.11/169, ff.152r-153r). That is, William Powell, whose plantation was Chippoakes, to which many associated families of Southwark migrated.

Thomas Felton’s son, John Felton, is evidenced here: May 2, 1654: Bond of Robt. Moseley (f.n. 9) to Jno. Felton. Wit.: John Harris (probably he who m. Unity …, as follows), Sack. Brewster (Crozier Misc. rec. vol. 6, p. 31, 2009). ‘Brewster, Sackford (in Virginia 1655, &c.), Surry Co. In his marriage license, issued in Virginia, April 22, 1655, he is styled ‘Thomas alias Sackford Brewster, of Sackford Hall, in the co. of Suffolk, England, gent’, who m. Elizabeth Watkins, widow of John Watkins, of Surry co. Their son m.the da. of Edmund Prime and … Ridley. Charles Barham m. Elizabeth Ridley, sister of the wife of Edmund Prime. William Ridley was Elizabeth’s brother. William Ridley’s Will was pr. Oct. 19, 1671 (B. 1, p. 98). His legatees included his da.-in-law (stepda.) Jane Tuke, wife of William Tuke of Surry Co.; Edmond Prime’s five children, including daus. Elizabeth Prime and Mary Prime, and son John Prime; Mr. Barham’s two daus., Elizabeth and Perlie; and William Tuke of Surry, ‘my wife’s son-in-law’. He names Mr. Charles Barham as executor. Wit. Thomas Harris, d. 1672.

The Will of George Walton, of Brunswick County, probated January 26, 1767 (W.B. 3, 1751-1769, pp. 462-463) was presented in Court by John Walton, and Isaac Row Walton, his executors, and was proved by the oaths of William Ledbetter, and William Gwaltney. Legatees of George Walton, Gent were Wife, Elizabeth, and children: John Walton, Mary Ledbetter, Elizabeth Simms, Catherine Harris, 5. Isaac Row Walton. William Gwaltney was a great-grandson of William Gwaltney and Alice Flake. A family of Rowe are well recorded in Southwark: Drewe v Chapman. Plaintiffs: William Drewe. Defendants: Lucy Chapman widow, George Cooper and Mary Cooper his wife. Subject: personal estate of the deceased Matthew Rowe, of Southwark, Surrey. C 6/135/61. 1654.

1.1.1.1.2.2. William Harris. He came to Virginia in ‘the George’ in 1621, and John Phipps came in ‘the Tyger’ in the same year. They were surveyors sent over by the Virginia Company to start planning a new town at Jamestown. William Harris and John Phipps appear in 1652 in Surry Co., which was formed in that year, and took in land formerly designated as James City Co., that land being south of the James River. Phipps, John. grantee, Land grant 21 September 1674. James City County: 1100 acres upon a N. Et. branch of Powhatan swamp, adjoining the land of Sr. Wm. Berkeley. (Land Office Patents No. 6, 1666-1679 (pt.1 & 2 p.1-692), p. 524 (Reel 6).
1.1.1.1.2.2.1. Harris, Willm, grantee, Land grant 1 October 1658. Gen. note ‘Son of Willm. Harris, late decd.’ James City County: 1/2 acres in James City. Beg. at a little above the dwelling house of the said Harris. Land Office Patents No. 4, 1655-1664, p. 366 (Reel 4).
1.1.1.1.2.2.1. Harris, John, grantee. Land grant 16 April 1683. Charles City County: 250 acres on the south side of James River and in the parish of Wayonoake and on the east side of the Otter Damms, for importation of 5 persons: Tho. Holder, Hugh Carry, Robt. Barnes, Robt. Huet, Edmd. Taylor. Land Office Patents No. 7, 1679-1689 (v.1 & 2 p.1-719), p. 246 (Reel 7).

These Harris may have been connected to the Phipps family of St Saviours, recorded in this Indenture Release: (1) John Maunsell of Thorpe Malsor, Esq. nephew & heir of Richard M. of Woodford Essex, decd. (2) John Phipps of London, merchant, son & heir of Humfrey P. of London, joyner, decd. For £60, & the request of Dorothy Maunsell late wife of Richard & mother of John Phipps. Of messuage tenement: the Sign of the King’s Head, in parish of St. Saviour’s, Southwark, Surrey & 2 houses which (2) had conveyed to Richard & Dorothy Maunsell for ever. C 2516. October 4, 1649. Abstract from case re bond. Roger Morgan of Bristol, grocer, v. Edmund Phipps and William Newman, grocers, of London and Andrew Boothe, girdler, of London. 5918/2/a. 1625. There is a connection betw. this David Mansell and St Saviours: ‘David Mansell, 500 acres in Martin’s Hundred, in the county of James, adj. the plantation or neck of land now in the possession of said Mansell, and also adjoining Mr. Barham’s land – due for the transportation of 10 persons. By West, July 22d, 1635. Anthony Barham’s Will, proved Sept. 13, 1641, bequeaths to ‘brother-in-law Richard Bennett’ (of St Saviour) and friend Wm. Butler; the Bennetts of St Saviour being connected to a family of Butler of that place. (s.f.).

The Barham connection: 1.Reginald Scott m. Mary Tuke. 1.1. Mary Scott, m. Richard Argall. 1.1.1. Elizabeth Argall, m. Edward Filmer. 1.1.1.1. Katherine Filmer m. Robert Barham. 1.1.1.1.1. Anne Barham, 1625-1682, m. Richard Bennett, Sr., c. 1624-1710, of Isle of Wight County. Anne Barham was a legatee in the 1629 Will of her uncle, ‘Robert Filmer, Gent’.

1.1.1.1.2. Thomas Harris, m. 2. ’12 Sep 1595 Elysabeth Bannester’. Her father was the licensee of ‘the Greyhound’. On September 6, 1653, Henry Banister deeded to William Batt land which had been left him by the last will of William Sheppard. There is likely to have been a cousinship link between the descendants of Thomas Harris and the Payne family of Southwark: Marriage Licence; Jn. Payne, Sussex, Margaret Banester issued for St. Saviours Church, LMA. P92/SAV/330. 1569-1585.
1.1.1.1.2.1. John Harris, m. Aug. 5, 1618 (St Saviour) Jone Bate (Batte). Thomas Harris, d. 1672, sold to Christopher Benn all the land at Pagan Point, purchased from William Batte and Mrs. Margaret Upton. He received 600 acres in Lancaster Co. bounding northeast upon a branch of Corotoman River and upon land of one Hawkes.
1.1.1.1.2.1.1. John Harris: Estate by Unity Harris, widow and administratrix of John Harris. May 3, 1687. Signed Wm. Newsums, John Clarke, Wm Newitt (B. 3, p. 82).
1.1.1.1.2.1.1.1. John Harris: Leg.- to wife, Sarah, the feather bed that I lie on and the furniture that belongs to it. To da., Mary, the rest of my estate. Probated June 15, 1720. Wit: John Kitchen, Robt. Ruffin. (B. 7, p. 273).

(1. Robt. Ruffin, m. Elizabeth Prime. 1.1. Robert Ruffin, d. Feb. 15, 1720, in ‘Richneck’, Surry Co., Virginia, m. Elizabeth Watkins, da. of John Watkins and Elizabeth Spencer (s.f.). 1.1.1. John Ruffin, m. Martha Hamlin, dau. of Richard Hamlin. 1.1.1.1. John Ruffin, d. July 9, 1777, m. Sarah Williamson. 1.1.1.2. Nancy Ruffin, m. Hartwell Cocke. 1.1.1.3. Francis Ruffin, d. Mar. 13. 1805, member of the Committee of Safety, 1775, of Mecklenburg Co., m. (1) Hannah Cocke, (Nov. 2, 1782), 2. Susanna Harris, da. of William Harris and Mary Short (Davis, Tidewater Virginia Families, pp. 502-540). 1.1.2. Edmund Ruffin, b. Prince George Co., m. Anne Simmons).

1.1.1.1.2.2. Thomas Harris, patentee of March 2, 1658, d. 1668.
1.1.1.1.2.2.1. William Harris. On Jan. 29, 1675, William Harris petitioned the Surry Court to have the benifits of his labour as he was now of age (Surry Court Orders B. 3, p. 112). William and his wife Mary sell parts of his 850 acres ineritance to William Gray (1679), Thomas Jarrell (1680), Robert Ruffin (1683), and William Newsum (1685). The original patent of Thomas Harris in 1657, or the deed from the estate disposition in 1668, is mentioned in these transactions. The William Harris who received the 850 acres is the same as the orphan William Harris. William Harris is shown in this deed of 1668: Ind. betw. Mrs Alys Carter and Edward Warren for 2500 lbs of tob., land from the cart path from the Great Swamp to Chippoakes, formerly lot to Peter Adams, ad. Wm. Nusom’s to Wm Harris, belonging to Wm. Carter, late husband to Mrs. Carter, 200 ac. houses etc. for 21 years. Wit: Geo Watkin, Gertrude Watkin. As William was aged 14, he could own land, so a guardian, David Williams, was appointed. William Harris m. 2. Margaret Gray Taylor.

In 1685, William Cockerham Jr. deeded William Harris a parcel of land on Hogg Island Main which was part of 1,350 acres patented by William Spencer and inherited by Cockerham. This William Harris was the son of Thomas Harris, as follows.

1.1.1.2. Thomas Harris.
1.1.1.2.1. John Harris, m. (July 1605, St Saviour) Anne Athawaye, a namesake of William Shakespeare’s wife. There is a strong connection of ‘the bard’ to Southwark, the home of the Globe Theatre, built in 1599, at which his plays were performed, and in which he acted. Hamlet was first performed here in 1600/1, for which Shakespeare was paid £5. It is almost certainly the case that many people given in this account witnessed this performance, and probably drank with Shakespeare in one of Southwarks many taverns. ( As suggested to me by one ‘old time’ Harris researcher, could this be Sergeant Harris who married a first wife at 19 years of age?).

The Will of Richard Yearwood, of St Saviour (father of Governor George Yearwood of Virginia), d. 1632, John Harvards’ step-father, shows that his da., Hannah, m. Edward Payne of Southwark, br. of John Payne, ‘now beyond the seas’. John Sadler, brother-in-law of John Harvard, was the br.-in-law of Richard Quiney, whose br. m. William Shakespeare’s da., Judith. On November 16, 1635, William Barker, John Sadler, Richard Quiney, merchants, and their associates, patented 1250 acres in Charles City County, Virginia.

Richard Yearwood, Edward Alleyn (the actor and founder of Dulwich College), Phillip Henslowe (theatre owner), George Payne, and John Treherne purchased ‘The Blewe House’ together to leave in trust for a school in Southwark. As shown herein, John Treherne Sr. was the father-in-law of both William Harris (d. 1600) and Edward Griffin; George Payne was the father of John ‘who is nowe beyonde the sea’.

The connection of London merchants to the upper Chippoakes region of Virginia, associated with Sergeant John Harris, derived from the the connections between Governor George Yardley and John Harvard, both of whom being of Southwark: The baptismal records for St Saviour’s Church, Southwark, record that John Harvard, founder of Harvard University, was bapt. on November 29, 1607, his parents being Robert Harvard, a butcher in Pepper Alley, and also warden of St Saviour’s, and Katherine Rogers, who remarried twice – to John Elletson and Richard Yearwood, father of Governor George Yearwood of Virginia. John Harvard m. a da. of John Sadler, ‘of St. Stephens, Wallbrook, London, Grocer’, associate of William Barker, mariner.

William Barker, bapt. on 7 May 1592 in St. Werburgh’s, Bristol; merchant and mariner, who deposed his age to be 37 in 1629, and mate of the Hopewell, which sailed fom Virginia on New years Eve of that year for England, under Captain Richard Russell, in company with ‘the Gift’ of London, under Captain Samuel Crampton and Master Edward Beale. (See P.W. Coldham, English Adventurers and Emigrants, 1609-1660, p. 23, 1984).

He bought land in Flowerdew Hundred from Abraham Piersey’s da., Elizabeth. This property passed to his son, John, in 1655, who left the plantation to two of his sisters, Sarah and Elizabeth Limbrey. William Barker traded out of London with his partners, which included John Sadler and Richard Quiney, Merchants, with who he patented land in Charles City County, as aforementioned. (The association to the Limbreys was not a fiction, it being the case that it was more enhanced by ‘imaginative’ interpretation.

He was also a partner of Francis Derrick: April 13, 1639: ‘Bond of Francis Derrick (the younger), of Bristol, and William Barker, of Ratcliffe, Middlesex, to the King, in 1,000l. conditioned for the appearance of Derrick before the Council, to answer an accusation of piracy pretended to have been committed by him upon a Spanish ship in a voyage to Virginia, about 11th October 1636’.

Francis Derrick was the son of his namesake – see TNA Prob. 11/176/291, the Will of Francis Derrick, Merchant of Bristol, Gloucestershire. The link to Sergeant John Harris is established thus: ‘Francis Derrick to Richard Johnson, bill of sale for 30 acres, October 14, 1638: ‘Whereas John Baker and Dorothy his wife, daughter of the late deceased Sergeant John Harris, have by order of court at Henrico on the 27th day of August last surrendered to mee Captain Francis Derrick all the right and title which they and claime unto the devident of land belonging to the late deceased Georg Cawcott which was given to the said Dorothy by the last will and testament of the said Cawcott as by the surrender in the said court and by the pattent and will recorded at James Cittie, etc. For good and valuable causes and considerations. Wtnesses: Lawrence Hulett and John Owell’ (Nugent, B. 1., part 2, p. 113).

SHAKESPEARE

To return to the subject of Shakespeare: The antiquarian, E. Malone, in a work printed by R. C. and J. Rivington, 1821, recalled the connection of the Quineys and Hathaways to Stratford: ‘Mr. Richard Quiney, who lived in London, and died in Stratford in 1656, at the age of 69; or Mr. Thomas Quiney, our poet’s son-in-law, who lived, I believe, till. 1663, and was twenty-seven years old when his father-in-law died; or some one of the family as Hathaway. Mr. Thomas Hathaway, I believe Shakspeare’s brother-in-law, died at Stratford in 1654-5, at the age of 85’.

He considered whether the wife of William Shakespeare was the da. of Bartholomew Hathaway: ‘Mr. Bartholomew Hathaway, a substantial yeoman, who was the possessor of the Shottery estate, and who, I believe, was the son of Mr. Richard Hathaway, born before the commencement of the register, died at a good old age, in 1624. From his will, which was made December 16, 1621, and proved at Stratford, December 6, 1624, I find that he had three sons; John, Richard, and Edmond. To Richard he bequeaths twenty shillings; to Edmond, his third son, 120/. to be paid in seven years after his decease; and to his eldest son, John, his messuage, in Shottery, with the appurtenances, and two yard lands and a half [about seventy-five acres], lying in the fields of Shottery and Old Stratford; limiting the said lands to him and the heirs of his body, remainder to his son Edmond, remainder to Richard. To each of the children of his son John, viz. Alice, Richard, Anne, and Ursula, one of his best ewes. To his own daughter, Anne, the now wife of Richard Edwards, the sum of thirty shillings; and to each of her seven [q. six] children, Avery, Bartholomew, Alice, Thomas, Richard, and Ursula, 6s. viiid. His executor is his son John; and Mr. John Hall, of Stratford, and Stephen Burman, of Shottery, his overseers ; to each of whom he leaves 2s. vid. Avery Edwards, the person above-mentioned, lived, in the year 1622, at Luddington, as appears from the collector’s subsidy book, 19 Jac. in the chamber of Stratford. Richard Hathaway, a baker, who was elected an alderman of Stratford, April 18, 1623, and died there in October, 1636, was probably the second son of the above-named Bartholomew.

I do not believe that there was any other person of the name of Hathaway, who had an estate at Shottery’.

Clearly, Bartholomew’s da. was not the wife of William Shakespeare, yet John Ward (1629–1681), vicar of Stratford-upon-Avon from 1662 to 1681, is noted for his diary in which he recorded anecdotes about William Shakespeare, and was probable of the family of William Ward, of St Saviour, citizen and goldsmith of London. Testator is sick and weak in body. Asks to be buried in St Saviour church. Will proved October 5, 1624. Family members named: Rose Ward his wife. Edward and Rose Ward his underage children. Margaret Wood, widow, his aunt. Robert Harverd his brother. William Shawarden and his wife Eizabeth, his cousins. Others named: James Archer, minister at St Saviour. Richard Yearwood his good friend. George Garrett his friend. Co-Executors: Edward his son and Richard Yearwood his friend. Administration granted to Richard Yearwood ‘durante minori etate Edwardi Warde’. Overseers: Robert Harvard, George Garrett, and William Shawarden. Witnesses: Joshua Whitfield; William Page, scrivener. (TNA, Prob.11/144, ff.113v-114r).

It is not improbable that Anne, grandda. of Bartholomew Hathaway, was the first wife of John Harris, aforesaid, with she being closely related to William Shakespeare’s wife.

1.1.1.2.1.1. William Harris, m. ’29 Nov 1635 Elizabeth Lane’, at St Saviour. She was highly likely to have been of the Lane family of St Saviours: Bargain and Sale for a year. 1. Edward Woodward of St. Andrew’s, Holborn, Middx., esq. 2. Thomas Lane of St. Saviour’s, Southwark, Surrey, vintner. St. Saviour’s, Southwark, Surrey: King’s Arms in St. Margaret’s Hill, late occup. Henry Goldstone, now occup. Henry Chitty, cit. and vintner of London. E/HOD/053. 1665. He was probably related to Thomas Lane, of St. Olave, Southwarke ob. at Virginiah, beyond the sea, belonging to the ship ‘Owners Adventure’, batchelor. Prob. 4/16559. June 12, 1685.
1.1.1.2.1.1.1. Thomas Harris, b. 1636. Peter Newsam, s.l. 1638 , witnessed the Will of Richard Hinde, which was proved on December 12, 1625: ‘Hynde, Richard, of St Saviour, citizen and salter of London’. His Will names Ann, his wife, John Hynde, Richard Hynde, and William Hynde, his underage sons. Executor: Ann his wife. Witnesses: Nicholas Kinge (who m. Margaret West, of St Saviour); Peter Newsam, scrivener. Overseers: Stephen Streete of London, grocer; ‘Ralph Yardly of London‘, who was the father of Governor Yardley of Virginia (TNA, Prob.11/147, f). Dorothy Bassano’s (cousin of the Lanier family of Southwark) second-cousin m. Dorothie, da. of the said Jo. Hinde. Dorothy Bassano m. Thomas Harris, born 1636, in 1662, a ‘Salter’ of London’, probably an apprentice of the Hynde family. (This Thomas may have been one of the Thomas Harrises noted in Virginia at this time; not inconceivably he who d. 1688, given the Lanier connections of his wife).
1.1.1.2.1.1.2. William Harris: Estate appraised Aug. 4, 1693. Signed: John Phillips, Wm. Newett, John Clarke. (B. 4, p, 324).
1.1.1.2.1.1.2.1. William Harris, m. Mary Short.
1.1.1.2.1.1.2.1.1. William Harris. He probably m. a da. of Nicholas Thompson.
1.1.1.2.1.1.2.1.1.1. Thompson Harris, of Bedford Co., ‘sells to William Heath’ (1756). Grandson of this William Heath: ‘William Lea and Alice, his wife, to William Heath, 150 acres … formerly Thomas Ffelton’s, deceased, and lyeing and being in Southwarke Parish in the County of Surry in Virginia commonly called Upper Chippoakes in the woodes joyneing upon the lands which was John Harryes and neere unto the plantation which was formerly Robert Morseleys. ‘Bedford County Records, D.B. 1, p. 107: Indenture dated Feb. 21, 1756, in which Thompson Harris of County of Orange in Province of North Carolina sells to William Heath of the county of Bedford in the colony of Virginia, for 20 pounds a tract of land in said county of Bedford on both sides of Great Branch of Turnip Creek, containing by estimate 400 acres, more or less, etc., witness: William Lewis, John Lane, Joseph Williams.
1.1.1.2.1.1.2.1.1.2. Thomas Harris, and wife, Sarah (Lane) Harris, Mary Lane and Faith Lane, sell ‘110 acres within the main Swamp and bounded by Col. John Allen’ (1741); daus. of Thomas Lane, d. in 1721 in Surry Co., m. Mary … Surry Co., D&W, 1715-1730, B. 7, p. 333: May 12, 1721, estate appraised by Wm. Ruffin and Wm. Holt. John Newsum was also mentioned. Thomas Lane’s son, John Lane, d. in 1789, in Bedford Co., m. Jane Heath, da. of William Heath, grandson of William Heath, afors.

(1. William Short Sr., m. Elizabeth Symons, d. 1676, Charles City. 1.1. William Short. Originally lived in Charles City Co., on the south side of the James River* (later Prince George County); he repatented 1100 acres of land ‘above the head of Chippokes Creek about one and one-half miles up the western most branche’, identifying himself as ‘the son and heir of William Shorts’. 1.1.1. William Short. The will of William Short was pr. Sept., 1741, in Surry Co., naming his wife, Susannah (Heath), his sons William and Thomas Short, grandchildren William, Sarah, Martha (ch. of William Short); grandda. Susanne (da. of Thomas Short); da. Mary Harris; son-in-law William Harris; William and Thomas Harris (grandsons). He also mentions kinsman Benjamin Heath, to whom he left two cows and calves. Peter and Sarah Vincent were the administrators. The witnesses to his Will were William Heath, Richard Jones, and Richard Bullock. The appraisers included John Mason, Christopher Tatum, and William Heath. 1.1.1.1. Mary Short, m. William Harris. 1.2. Thomas Short, moved to Cabin Point, Surry Co., having received a tract of land on Burlin Swamp from his father, on a tributary of upper Chippokes Creek. 1.2.1. William Short, lived in Wyanoak Parish; m. Elizabeth Griffith, dau. of Richard and Griffith of Prince George Co. 1.2.1.1. Cornelius Short, m. a da. of of Isaac Tynes. 1.2.1.1.1. John Short, m. Elizabeth Echols; he lived in St Clair Co., IL. 1.2.1.1.2. Mary Short, m. 1. Isaac Echols, 2. Joseph Hancock).

HARRIS AND WILLIAMSON

1.1.1.3. Willm Harris, d. 1600, m. (May 11, 1594) Sarah Trehearne. ‘William Harris Fishmonger, of Saint Saviour’. The Will of ‘Jeffrey Williamson, of St Saviour, (Southwark) fishmonger’, was proved April 8, 1589. Overseers: ‘William Harris, fishmonger’. Others named Elizabeth his wife. Thomas Williamson, his brother. William Harris and Edward Griffin (s.f.) both m. daus. of John Treherne Sr. Thomas Williamson was a creditor of John Fisher: ‘John Fysher, of London, Gent’, bequests to: ‘My brother Lorance Fysher. Cousin Jasper, son of my uncle Robert Fisher decd. Cousin Jasper’ sonne of Edwarde decessed.’Cousins Marie Botomley, Margrett Knighte and Richard and Elizabeth Wheeler (son and dau. of Edmund Wheeler, goldsmith).John Hanberie, William Cownden goldsmith, Richard Barker of Aveleighe,Edwarde Jackson scr.and Marie his wife. Residue to my cousin etc. Mris Elizabeth Wheeler (wife of the said Edmund), my extrix.Witness Steven Damport, Edwarde Harryes, Edwarde Younge. Dat. 23 Sept. 1603. Admon. 17 Apr. 1604 to Thomas Williamson, a creditor, the extrix renouncing (Testator was of St Saviour’s, Southwark). P. C. C., Harte, fo. 43. Edwarde Harris of St Saviour may have been he who m. (Dec. 15, 1603) Alice Prescot.

(From John Treherne’s Will: In the name of God Amen, the 24th day of July Anno Domini 1618 and in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord James by the Grace of God King of England, France and Ireland Defender of the Faith etc. the 16th and of Scotland the 51st, I John Treherne gentleman, Porter of our said Sovereign Lord his Majesties Gates, and now dwelling in the parish of St. Saviour in Southwark … I give and bequeath to William Harris and John Draper two of the sons of my daughter Sara now wife of William Iremonder gentleman … and to the said daughters of the said Edward Griffin and Anne his wife their legacies at their several ages of 21 years’).

William Harris was a vestryman of St Saviours: P92/SAV/450: Vestry Minutes, 1582-1628, St Saviour, Southwark: 1600 November 1 Saturday: … Also Mr. Treherne was elected and chosen to be a vestryman in place of Mr. Harrys deceased. William Harris lat attended a vestry meeting on April 23, 1599. The list of those attending this meeting was:

Churchwardens:
Mr Humphrey Emerson
Mr Henry Dallton
Mr Leonard Croxton
Mr Ralph Yardlye
Vestrymen:
Mr Hugh Browker
Mr Thomas Broomfield
Mr Robert Myles
Mr William Garlond
Mr Thomas Howse
Mr Richard Clarke
Mr Godfrey Hayes
Mr John Payne
Mr Robert Face – see footnotes
Mr William Cownden
Mr Edmund Nashe
Mr John Bingham
Mr James Russell
Mr William Mee
Mr George Payne
Mr Randolph Carter
Mr Roger Franklyn
Mr William Harys
Mr Robert Harverde

They are listed in order of seniority, and probably seating place. A feature of these records is that those at the top of the list of vestrymen were the ones appointed as churchwardens. William Harris would have been well acquainted with those present, who were bound together as much by trade associations as by religious sentiment. Religion was used to justify their success in trade as the ‘chosen ones’, in a Lutheran sense.

Another entry reads: ‘1598 January 1 Monday: Mr. Thomas Harverd was chosen to be a vestryman in stead and place of Mr. Gibbons’.

The Harris and associated families were heavily involved with shipping, and could be called upon to serve in the defence of the Realm: The Parish of St Saviour, Southwark. The 1629 Census of Watermen. These extracts from the Admiralty muster of watermen taken on 2 February 1628 (TNA, SP 16/135, piece 4) include all those names identified as of St Saviour parish. A Muster taken the second daie of February 1628 of all the Watermen belonging to the Port of London & the liberties thereof before Sr Robert Mansell Knight Vice Admirall of England, recorded with ages. These people and their families played an important part in the colonisation of early Virginia:

Johas Benn 30
Hugh Shephard 55
William Powell 25
William Shepheard 47
James George 34
Thomas Kinge 45
Thomas Griffine 34
John Harvey 50
Nathaniell Newman 28
George Griffine 53
Ambros Hart 45
Thomas Clearke 19
Thomas West 19
Thomas Underwood 18
Edward Harris 25
Thomas Griffine 21
Thomas Hart 46
Thomas Payne 41
John Pallmer 22
Robte Grymes
John Griffine
Thomas Cradocke 40
William Joyner 32
James Sampson 22
Richard Burrowes 35
Jeoffrey Shepherd 30

Edward Griffin, afors., was the father of Thomas Griffin, father of (1) George Griffin, whose wife was Joan Griffin, as described in her will, proved April 19, 1661: ‘Joan Griffin of the County of High Nockect in the River Ausemund in the Country of Virginia and now being in St. Ollave’s parish near London … (2) Thomas Griffin, father of his namesake, appraiser of the estate of ‘Richard Williamson, Appraisal taken November 16, 1665. Mr. Peter Garland Adm., Appraisers: Francis Ayers, Richard Williamson, Thomas Griffin’. Reg: August 9, 1666 (B. 2, p. 6). Given the continuous association in Virginia between this family of Griffin and one of Williamson, it seems highly probable that Thomas Williamson, brother of Jeffrey, was the ancestor of the said Richard Williamson, and he the father of Dr. James Williamson and Dr. Robert Williamson, as follows. The connection of the Harris family to that of Williamson was probably based on ‘William Harris Fishmonger’ being the brother-in-law of ‘Jeffrey Williamson, fishmonger’, and his brother, Thomas. Thomas Griffin’s widow, m. Samuel Griffin of Northumberland county, who was almost certainly a close kinsman of her former husband.

Thomas Griffin, in his will, probated April 9, 1670, left to his son and namesake ‘land I bought of Captain Fulgham’ (‘Wills & Admins’, 1-3, p. 9). Thomas Griffin is mentioned in the Will of Edward Bradshaw, who gave to Thomas Griffin ‘8 hhd tobo. I sold to Mr Travers … also all other goods that is betwixt me & ‘Mr Underwood’.

‘Mr. Underwood’ was Col. William Underwood, whose da., Anne, m. Dr. James Williamson. William Underwood Sr. m. Margaret …, who m. (2) John Upton. The Will of John Upton shows that Margaret Underwood’s da., Anne Underwood, m. James Williamson. ‘William Uderwood, son and heir of William Underwood, Senr., late of Rappa. in Virginia in the parts of America Gent send greeting Know ye that I William Uderwood the sone have made & appointed my well beloved uncle William Mosley my lawfull guardian & attorney for me’. recorded July 22, 1663 (Rappahannock Records, Vol. 1656-64, p. 342).

1.1.1.1.4.1. William Harris Jr., m. a sister of John Shepeard (TNA, Prob. 11/318/482, Will of John Shepheard, Grocer of Southwark, November 14, 1665), also recorded here: ‘Peter Pope, notary public, in Rotterdam, Holland. That John Shepeard of Rotterdam appoints ‘his well beloved brother Wm Harris‘ to receive ac/s from Wm. Underwood or James Williamson, merchants, living in Virginia, particularly for all goods delivered the said Williamson in the absence of Underwood … late end of the year 1648′ (Beverley Fleet, Virginia Colonial Abstract).

John Shepeard’s son was a merchant who was a partner of the Courteens and their kin, the Boudewins. (See American Historical Association, Select cases of the Mayor’s Court of New York City: 1674-1784, p. 199, 1935). Any proven correspondence between Sergeant John Harris and Peter Courteen would be of interest, especially given the association of this Harris family to the Williamsons, who, as given, were Dutch merchants.

The Lancs. Co. Levy, February 6, 1654, indicated groups of Neighbours: ‘Mr William Underwood to rec. for 26 tytheables … Jo. Sherlock … Mr Williamson … Tho Robinson’. John Sherlock was associated with Dr. James Williamson: ‘John Sherlock, 200 acres Lancaster Co., 15 Nov. 1653. In Rappa. Riv., on the head of a devdt. of land formerly surveyed for Mr. James Williamson, lyeing on Totaskey Creek, running N.E. by N. by the creek side to a small branch dividing this & the land allotted to the Rappahanock Indians. Transportation of 4 persons: Judith Holliman, … Holliman, Robert Sutton, Christopher Holliman.

1.1.1.1.4.1.1. Thomas Harris, m. Ellen king, 1637, St Saviours. She was highly likely to have been related to Nicholas Kinge, aforementioned, who, to repeat: m. Margaret West in 1630, probably of the family who were neighbours of Ralph Yardley and Richard Yearwood in Southwark. Nicholas King’s da., by his first wife, m. John Harvard’s brother. Nicolas Kinge was from Bromley, Kent, and is mentioned in the Will of Elizabeth Feltham, along with ‘John Kyng’, his likely kinsman. It was very likely this Thomas who transp. Anthony Arnold in 1658.

1.1.1.1.4.1.1.1. Thomas Harris, d. 1688. Fauntleroy v Arnold. Plaintiffs: Henry Fauntleroy. Defendants: Thomas Arnold and George Arnold. Subject: water supply St Martin Ludgate, London. 1657. Henry Fauntleroy was baptized September 13, 1620, at Hedley, Hampshire. He was buried at Isleworth, London, and was the br. of Col. Moore Fauntleroy, whose son, Col. William Fauntleroy was born in 1650, in Rappahannock Co., VA. He m. Katherine Griffin, da. of Col. Samuel Griffin. ‘George Bryar & Rich. Lawrence, 3000 acs. Rappa. Co. on Ewd. side of Rappa. Cr., 16 Mar. 1663. Beg. on sd. Cr. side adj. land of Col. More Fantleroy & opposite to the now plantation of Col. Walker, extending along the Cr. side to land of Charles Grimes, dec’d., bounded by same, land of Mr. Jno. Hull & his own to white oak in his Cr. &c. Trans. of 60 pers: … Thomas Harris, Ann Harris, Susan Harris … Mathew Tomlin … Andrew Joyner …’. Old Rappea Co. DB 1682-1686, p. 103: Will. Fantleroy to William Loyd 800 acres beginning at the corner tree of Mr. Underwoods,’ George Bryar was a transportee of William Underwood in 1650, in Warrasquinoake.

Harris, Thomas, grantee. Land grant 27 April 1686. 240 acres beg. at a gum Mathew Tomlins corner tree. Land Office Patents No. 7, 1679-1689 (v.1 & 2 p.1-719), p. 510 (Reel 7).

Matthew Tomlin. Will dated March 7, 1684 named legatees: John Turner; Mary Turner, my grandchild, son Mathew the plantation whereon Richard Braswell lives; grandson Mathew Tomlin land adjoining John Fulgham. Executor, son Mathew. Witnessess Richard Sharpe, Jenkins Dorman. Recorded Dec. 9, 1686. His son – ‘Matthew Tomlin of the Lower Parish of Isle of Wight County to John Johnson of the same parish, for a valuable consideration, a 225-acre tract commonly called Pigneck, bounded by Thomas Harris’ Corner Tree in the Head of a Branch by the Edge of a Pocosson (B.1, pp. 570-571). Aug. 13, 1687.

May 3, 1669: Edward Gibbs Estate: Giles Driver, Arthur Smith, Richard Sharpe, George Williams, Elizabeth Gibbs. April 25, 1670: Darby Stantlin Will. Gulian Stantlin, Matthew Waikly, Henry King, Nicholas Cobb, Richard Sharpe, William Cole. October 9, 1672: George Williams Estate. Arthur Smith, Pharo Cobb, Henry Applewhaite, Richard Sharpe, Francis Ayres. June 9, 1679: Edward Bechinoe Estate. Mary Bechinoe, Richard Bennett, Richard Sharpe. May 15, 1680: John Daniell Estate. Richard Sharpe, Pharoah Cobb, Owen Griffen.
December 2, 1696: Arthur Smith Will. Thomas Smith, John Hole, Richard Hutchins, Mary Pitt, George Smith, William Thomas, Mrs. Burnett, Mr. Sharpe, Henry Wiggs, Arthur Smith Jr., Arthur Benn, Jeremy Fly, Jane Benn, Sarah Monro, Mary Pitt, James Benn, Henry Applewhaite, Boaz Gwin, Robert Brocke.

January 15, 1699: Richard Sharpe’s Will: Anne Harris, Richard Reynolds, Richard Reynolds Jr., Arthur Smith, Christopher Reynolds, Sharpe Reynolds, Henry Applewhaite, John Hood, John Watson. April 9, 1700: Richard Sharpe’s Estate: Richard Reynolds. No wife or children are mentioned. Anne Harris could be married da. (compiled by James E. Hargraves).
March 14, 1688: Thomas Harris’ Will. Edward Harris, John Harris, Thomas Harris, Robert Harris, Jane Jones, Ann Harris, John Fulgham, George Harris, John Turner, Martin Harris, William Harris, Bridgman Joyner, Mrs. Anne Sharpe, John Sherrer, John Coggan.

1.1.1.1.4.1.1.1.1. Edward Harris: Leg: son Edward, land adjoining John Johnson and John Turner, being land that was granted to my father, Thomas Harris, son Jaconb land on the Flatt Swamp of the Meherrin River, sons Nathan and West Harris, the land granted to me on the north side of the Warwick branch, son Daniel, da. Anne; da. Martha Williamson, son James, wife Mary. Ex. son Nathan Harris. R. March 25, 1734. Wit. Thomas Atkinson, John Harris.

1.1.1.1.4.1.1.2. Edward Harris, d. 1677. The Will of John Gibbins, pr. Sept. 25, 1721, names Mary Adkins, da. of John Gibbins, of IOW Co., widow of James Adkins, d. 1723, and names a Thomas Harris as a son of Edward Harris. This Edward Harris was the son of Edward Harris, d. 1677, and Martha Hardy. Also named are Mathew Harris and Robert Harris, and William Kinchen, Mary Adkins second husband, br. of Mathew Kinchen, who m. Elizabeth Ruffin, da. of Robert Ruffin and Elizabeth Watkins. An Edward Harris of St. Olave’s, Southwark, is mentioned in the Will of Francis Grove, of St. Saviour, Southwark, proved September 4, 1645, requesting him to be buried near the body of his unnamed daughter. He bequests to the poor of St Saviour parish. Others named: The unnamed children of Richard and Anne Gibbins. Raph Gibbins. This Edward Harris was possibly a brother of Thomas Harris, who m. Ellen King, and he who was a neighbour of John Payne, in 1662, who bought land from Francis Hobbs.

FOOTNOTES
There were many notable families of St Saviour intermarried to that of Yeardley. Nicolas Kinge was the ‘cousin’ of Richard Yearwood; he m. Margaret West in 1630, probably of the family who were neighbours of Ralph Yardley and Richard Yearwood in Southwark. Nicholas King’s da., by his first wife, m. John Harvard’s brother. Nicolas Kinge was from Bromley, Kent, and is mentioned in the Will of Elizabeth Feltham, along with ‘John Kyng’, his likely kinsman:
Elizabeth (Oldbury) Feltham of St. Olave wid. of Obury, co. Salop., wh. I was bo., of St. George’s, Southwark, and of Bromley, co. Kent. (Dat. Aug. 14, 1620.) Bur. in chyd. of St. Olave, Southwark, in tomb wh. late husbs. Christr. Woodward and Robt. Feltham lie; gowns to 40 poor people; poor chn. of Christ’s hosp., Lond.; poor of St. Thomas’ hosp., Southwark … poor prisoners of the 3 prisons in Southwark, viz., the King’s Bench, Marshalsea and the White Lyon; Nichs. King; son-in-law Henry Walton; Thos.* and Wm. (und. 24), sons of son Christr. Woodward, his daus. Eliz., Cath., Susan, Mary and Anne Woodward (und. 21); Henry and John Kyng, Saml. Walton and Eliz., wife of Robt. Long (all und. 24), chn. of da., Susan Walton, deed.; Eliz. and Margt. Long (und. 21), chn. of sd. Eliz. and Robt. Long; John, the yr., Rd., Christr., Henry, Edw. and Robt. Sayer (all und. 24), sons of da. Rebecca Sayer, deed., her 2 daus., Eliz. and Rebecca Sayer (both und. 21); son-in-law, John Sayer; kinsm. Robt. Long; Co. of Vintners, Lond.; dau.-in-law Kath. Woodward; bro.-in-law Mr. Daynes; sist. Margt. Oldeberry, wife of bro. Rd., her dau., Fraunces; cos. Emlyn James; sist. Knighte; Thos. Westwood als. Oldberye, his daus. Eliz. and Susanna (und. 21); neph. Edw., son of bro. Christr. Westwood; John and Edw. Westwood als. Oldberye, chn. of bro. Rd. Westwood als. Oldberrye, deed.; Eliz., wife of Thos. Wilboone; Mary, wife of Thos. Jenninges; Thos. (und. 21) son of Agnes Crowe; John Hasell and his wife; Mary, wh. dwells wt. goodwife Hasell; frd. Nichs. King of Bromley, co. Kent; goddaus. Rebecca Cheney and Rebecca Phillippes; Exor: son Christr. Woodward’ (Soame, fol. 108, 419. Pr. Nov. 27, 1620).

*Thomas Woodward, whose Will was proved October 9, 1677, in IOW, is mentioned in a land transaction of Sept. 1665: ‘Agreed between Henry King and Phil. Hanniford that after Thomas Woodward has measured his 500 acres from creek to Mr. Ayres that then Phil. Hanniford can run bet. him and Henry King, above said branch contained in Sweet’s Pat. Test: Robert Flake, John Harris’.

1. Christopher Woodward m. 2. Elizabeth Oldbury, da. of John Oldbury of Shropshire; she m. 2. Robert Feltham. 1.1. Susan Woodward, m. 1. John King of Bromley, Kent, and London, b. 1552, d. Sept. 15, 1603, a ‘draper and free of the companye of Cloth Workers’. 1.1.1 John King, m. Sarah Walton. 1.1.1. John King. He was associated with William Simmons, and, consequently, with land associated with Sergeant John Harris. Maj. William Rookings, son of William and Jane Rookings who had patented Flying Point, on the Upper Chippokes, in 1638, was sentenced to death in 1677. His Will mentions children, William, Elizabeth, and Jane, and (his cousin) Mary Short’s children. Overseers and guardians were his br.-in-law, Capt. Nicholas Wyatt, of Charles City, and neighbours William Simmons and John King, afors., of Upper Chippokes, all Bacon’s supporters. Mary Short was the wife of William Short, of Charles city Co., and grandmother of Mary Short, wife of William Harris, as given. 1.1.2. Henry King. He witnessed John Bond selling to Thomas Harris a corn mill at the head of Pagen Creek.

The Will of George Walton, of Brunswick County, probated January 26, 1767 (W.B. 3, 1751-1769, pp. 462-463) was presented in Court by John Walton, and Isaac Row Walton, his executors, and was proved by the oaths of William Ledbetter, and William Gwaltney. Legatees of George Walton, Gent were Wife, Elizabeth, and children: John Walton, Mary Ledbetter, Elizabeth Simms, Catherine Harris, 5. Isaac Row Walton. William Gwaltney was a great-grandson of William Gwaltney and Alice Flake.

Alice Phillips was probably of the family of William Phillippes of St Saviour, tailor. Will proved May 18, 1601. Family members named: Agnes his wife. Margery Phillipps his mother. Margaret Phillipps his sister. John his brother, and John’s unnamed son, the testator’s godson. Richard his brother, in Ireland. His unnamed sister and her husband John Yardley. His unnamed son in law. (TNA, Prob.11/97, f.271r-v).

Edward Bromfield was associated with the Bennett family of St Saviour: Will of Thomas Benett or Bennett, Gentleman of Saint Saviour, Southwark, Surrey. Will proved May 5, 1626. A further administration issued, 1641 July 20, to Walter Thompson, husband of Joyce Thompson, the former Joyce Bennett, she now deceased. Family named: Joyce his wife, formerly the wife of Timothy Foule. John Bennett, tailor, his brother, to have the lease of a house in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, the lease held of Richard Lyne of Ringwood, Hampshire. Richard Bennett of London, tailor, his cousin. Executor: John Bennett his brother. Witnesses: Bartholomew Bromfeld scrivener; Nicholas Foule; Christopher Guier. TNA, Prob.11/149 f.169r-v.

Thomas Benett is evidenced in this court case: Bennett v Leake. Plaintiffs: Thomas Bennett. Defendants: Henry Leake, Edward Bromefield, Richard Holman (brewer). Subject: messuage and brewhouse near Battle Bridge in St Olave’s, Southwark. C 2/JasI/B41/3. 1603-1625. His brother died a year previous to him: Will of John Bennett, Grocer of Saint Saviour Southwark, Surrey. Will proved February 27, 1640. PROB 11/182/327.

His cousin, Richard, was a brewer: Will of Richard Bennett, Brewer of Saint Saviour, Southwark, Surrey. He has four tenements and a brewhouse leased from Elizabeth Lucas of St Saviour, widow. Will proved July 19, 1649. Family named: Anne his wife, to have his brewhouse and all its equipment. John, Thomas, Richard, b. c. 1623, and Anne, his underage children. John, his eldest, to have a messuage in the Pike Garden occupied by Henry Brookeshead. Thomas to have a messuage adjoining his brother’s, now occupied by Arthur Packett. Richard to have the testator’s dwelling house adjoining his brewhouse in the Pike Garden. (This Richard is highly likely to have been Richard Bennett of Virginia). Anne to have a tenement adjoining the testator’s house, now occupied by Raphe Pennye. John Bennett, his brother, and John’s daughters Frances Bennett and Jane Bennett. Executor: Anne his wife. Overseers: Mr Thomas Butler; John Alsey (Halsey). Witnesses: Thomas Butler; John Alsey; John Bayley scrivener.TNA, Prob.11/208, ff.410r-411r.

The witness to Richard Bennett’s Will, Thomas Butler, was a nephew of John Butler: John Butler of St Saviour, yeoman. He asks to be bur. in St Saviour church. Will proved November 21, 1605. Family named: Ellinor his wife, to have all his properties in St Saviour parish if she remains unmarried. Thomas Butler his brother, Thomas’s unnamed wife, their underage son Thomas Butler, and two other children, unnamed, a son and da. Roger Jackson and Frances his wife, the testator’s son-in-law and da.-in-law. Francis Pearson his son-in-law, Phillis his wife, and their children. Elizabeth Harrison his sister and her husband John Harrison. The children of Ann Hitcheman his da.-in-law. Elizabeth Adams his wife’s sister, and her husband Nicholas Adams. Roger Sadler his wife’s br., and his unnamed wife … Kinge, sister to ‘Nicholas Harrison’ [sic]. Others named: Robert Face, John Payne, John Wrenche, and John Marshall, his good friends, charged with overseeing the upbringing of his nephew Thomas Butler; should one of them die, the churchwardens are to elect someone to replace him. Frances Bradford, da. of Elizabeth Bradford. (TNA, Prob.11/106, ff.166v-169r).

The Bennetts were associated with various members of the Harris family:
Will of Joseph Bridger. Prob. Apr. 9, 1685: ‘Son William land granted to me by escheat of 850 acres formerly belonging to Nathan Floyd, except what is disposed of by me to Francis Hobbs, Mrs. Dorothy Bond, and William Blount … To: my wife the land on which I now dwell of 850 acres formerly belonging to Capt. Upton … Daus. Martha Godwin, Mary, Elizabeth, and Hester. Wit. James Bennett (son of Richard), Robert Pitt, Samuel Luck, Richard Glover. (B. 2, p. 242). Francis Hobbs was the br. of Margaret Hobbs, 1st wife of John Harris, son of Thomas Harris d. 1672, and his first wife, Eleanor George.

Deborah Portis Widow of John Portis, appoints Richard Bennett, son of Richard Bennett, Sr. and Thomas Harris, her attorneys. Wits: Francis Floyd, Thos. Wilson, Benj. Drewit. Rec. Nov 21, 1704. IOW B. 2, pp. 16-17. Thomas Harris was either the son of Thomas Harris, d. 1688, or Thomas Harris, d. 1729 (Tom King).

The Portis family are highly likely to have been of St Saviour: Gowghe, John Gowghe, the elder, of St Saviour, innholder. Testator is sick in body. Bequests to the poor of the parish of St Bride in London, and of Mere in Wiltshire. Bequests to the poor of Paris Garden and of the Liberty of the Clink ‘wherein I nowe dwell’. Will proved December 28, 1616. Family members named: Katherine his wife. John Goughe his son, and John’s underage son, John Goughe. Anne Portys his da., wife of Robert Portys, and their children. Randall Goughe his brother, and Randall’s da. Sara Goughe. Ann Glover his sister. Others named: Roger Cole, gentleman. Martha Brewster, wife of Richard Brewster. Dionis Harvy his maidservant. Joan Clarke. Mr Archer, minister. Executors: Richard Holman of the Inner Temple, gentleman; Roger Cole. Overseers: Robert Portys; Edward Griffin his neighbour. Witnesses: Edward Griffin; Edmund Platt; Thomas Lander; Randall Goughe; Ann Portis; Sara Goughe; James Durninge. (TNA, Prob.11/128, ff.444r-445v.).

The Bennetts are also recorded thus: William Lindsey Hopkins, Isle of WIght Deeds, Willis, Guardian Accounts Book A, 1636-1787: July 5, 1699, p. 292: Richard Bennett., Sr. of the upper parish to Richard Bennett , Jr. of the same … land on Hickory Valley Branch and bounded by Edward Jones (being part of land that was bought from William Myles in 1656). Dec. 9, 1700, p. 322: John Luther and wife Mary Luther to Tristram Nosworthy … 80 acres ‘whereon we now live’ (being land given to Mary Luther the da. of Benjamin Beal in the Will of Ambrose Bennett). Wit: Joseph Bridger, Elizabeth Harris, and Edward Myles. Dec. 1, 1693, p. 80: John Luther and wife Mary Luther, to Robert Mercer … ‘land we live on’ (being land said Mary Luther by the will of Ambrose Bennett) Wit: John Butler, Richard Reynolds, and Joyce Reynolds.

Prior to his death, Ambrose Bennett Sr. appointed William Westray as his son’s guardian. The will of Ambrose Bennett Jr., dated Aug. 30, 1680 named legatees: wife Elizabeth; unborn child; reversion to Mary Beale, da. of Benjamin Beale; Alice Blackit; Martha Rutter, da. of Walter Rutter; Isacke Williams. Wife Executrix. Overseers: Col. Arthur Smith and Richard Reynolds, Sr. Witnessess: Walter Rutter & Christopher Wade. R, Dec. 9, 1680.
In 1682, Richard Bennett patented 630 acres in the Lower Parish of Surry Co., bounded by the land of Francis Mason, William Edwards, and the Hollybush Swamp, for the transportation of thirteen persons.

On Sept. 4, 1694, he made a gift of 200 acres on the west side of Pocatink Swamp to his son James Bennet of the Lower Parish of Surry Co., July 5, 1699 (Deeds 1694-1709, ‘all right and title in land that belonged to Edward Jones then taking in plantation Richard Bennett now lives, being part of land bought of William Miles in 1656. (B. 9, p. 292). Richard Bennett Sr. was aged seventy-five years on the 8th of March 8, 1697-8, which would have made him twenty-three years of age in 1656. Richard Bennett m. 2. Sarah, who subsequently m. Robert Lancaster, d.1720. Sarah Bennett-Lancaster made her will the 31st of October 31, 1722, which was probated Jan. 29, 1723. Robert Lancaster was … etc.

These Bennetts were almost certainly the Bennetts of St Saviour, as the Westrays: The Queen’s Head Inn, Southwark. The Queen’s Head is on the site of a house called the Crowned or Cross Keys, which belonged to the Poynings family. In 1529 it was used as an armoury or store place for the King’s harness. In 1558 it still retained its old sign, for Richard Westray, ale brewer, bequeaths to his wife Joane his messuage on this site, ‘Cross Keyes with the brewhouse garden and stable … as it is now newly builded by his son Thomas. In 1634 the house had become the Queen’s Head, and the owner was John Harvard, of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, who afterwards migrated to America and gave his name to Harvard University, Massachusetts. About this time it was frequented by carriers, as we learn from John Taylor, ‘the water-poet’. The Queen’s Head seems to have escaped the fire of 1676, perhaps owing to the fact that, by way of precaution, a tenement was blown up at the gateway. The main building was pulled down towards the end of 1895. It was then found to be of half timbered construction, dating possibly from the time of Richard Westray. A carved oak mantelpiece in a room on the first floor appeared to be of the early seventeenth century.

The intermarried Spencer and Sheppard families of Virginia were of St. Olave’s, Southwark, and are recorded thus: ‘William & Alice Spencer’ (m. June 23, 1622), at St. Olave’s, Southwark. William Spencer’s nephew, Nicholas Spencer, is recorded in the St. Olave’s registers as being the father of John Spencer: ‘John Spencer 26 September 1641 f. Nicholas Spencer’.

William and Alice Spencer had issue: Elizabeth Spencer, who m. (1) Major Robert Sheppard (bef. 1654) of James City, VA. He was very likely a son of ‘Francis Shepheard and Elizabeth Ellis’ (married September 28, 1617), St. Olave’s Southwark. (2) Thomas Warren, of Ripple Court, Kent. This latter association, and that to the Kinge family, account for the strong links betw. the Harris family, and others of Southwark, to families of Kent origin.
A general point can be stressed: the landed class throughout England were drawn to the magnet of Southwark, and the possibilities it gave as a trading port to engage in commerce and enhance wealth. The origin of such English families was often of less importance than the ties that bound them to various London ports; the hub of the emerging trade in tobacco, etc.

Major Robert Sheppard and Elizabeth Spencer had issue: Anne Shephard, who m. (1) Thomas Hart, (2) William Newsome. Thomas Warren and Elizabeth Sencer had issue: Alice Warren, who m. Mathias Marriott, their da. being Margaret Marriot, who m. Robert Flake; their da., Alice Flake, m. William Gwaltney. Their da., Anne Gwaltney, m. Edward Boykin, who patented 520 acres on the Blackwater in 1683. Arthur Allen (father-in-law of James Williamson), sold him 525 acres on the Blackwater on August 9, 1692, and, on February 5, 1702, sold to Edward Boykin ‘of the Upper Parish of Isle of Wight’ one half of 800 acres of land in the Quit Rents of 1704. Edward Boykin’s wife was evidently a da. of William Gwaltney, Sr., whose Will was probated in Surry Co. on March 2, 1732 (B. 8, p. 257).

William Gwaltney gave his ‘Grandson Edward Boykin one cow’, this being Edward Boykin, Jr., who returned an account of the estate of his father, Edward Boykin, in March 1730. John Boykin died soon after his father, who had given him the plantation ‘whereon I now live’, and prior to settlement of his father, Edward Boykin, Sr.’s estate. John Boykin died intestate, as an inventory of his estate was appraised by Francis Williamson, John Dunkley, and Edward Harris, and recorded February 23, 1729 (B. 3, p. 255). This Edward Harris was likely to have been the son of Thomas Harris, d. 1688, whose son, Nathan Harris, m. Catherine Walton.

Robert Spencer was the eldest son of Nicholas, afors., who, in 1660, gave his age as thirty years in a deposition. Robert Spencer is a link between the land formerly owned by Sergeant John Harris and the Thomas Harris who died in 1672: ‘William Lea and Alice, his wife, to William Heath, 150 acres … formerly Thomas Ffelton’s, deceased, and lyeing and being in Southwarke Parish in the County of Surry in Virginia commonly called Upper Chippoakes in the woodes joyneing upon the lands which was John Harryes and neere unto the plantation which was formerly Robert Morseleys (Moseley) adjoining to a great swamp which divides Surry County from Charles Cittie County … one hundred and fifteen acres of said land lyeth in Charles Cittie County adjoining unto the rest of the divident which lyeth in said Surry County … Witnesses: Robert Spencer, John Gittings’ (Surry Co. Court Records. R. November 10, 1660). In May 1660, Thomas Harris, d. 1672, appointed Thomas Culmore of Surry County as his attorney to receive of Robert Spencer all tobacco due him in that county. On November 5, 1666, the said Thomas Harris appointed his ‘loving friend Robert Spencer’ as his attorney in Surry County, to collect a debt owed by William Corker of that county. It can be noticed that the location of these lands are on the boundary of two old counties, and distinct county affiliation is problematic.

William Moseley was associated with George Yardley, baptised July 28, 1588, at St. Saviour, Southwark, who d. in 1627, in Virginia. His wife was Temperance Flowerdew; their son, Francis, m. Sarah Offley, her third husband, she having married (1) Adam Thorowgood, (2) John Gookin. By John Gookin, she had Mary Gookin, who m. (1) William Moseley, and (2) Anthony Lawson. Mary was the niece of Major General Daniel Gookin of MA. (see Jester’s Adventurers of Purse & Person, p. 185, 1964). Elizabeth Yardley, b. 1615, d. 1666 in Bruton Parish, York Co., sister of Francis, m., as first wife, Joseph Croshaw; their da., Unity Croshaw, m. Colonel John West. Mary Bromfield, d. bef. May 28, 1673, widow of Thomas Bromfield, was Joseph Crowshaw’s fifth wife. Ralph Yardley, father of George, mentions, in his Will, his ‘sister’, Ann Palmer, widow of John Palmer, whose Will names Richard Yearwood and Nicholas Kinge as her cousins. Ann’s da., Anne, m. (2) Robert Bromfield, the br. of Edward Bromfield, merchant, and lord Mayor of London, who m. Margaret Payne, da. of John Payne of Southwark, herein mentioned.

Governor George Yearwood, son of Richard Yearwood, was the br.-in-law of Edward Payne, brother of John Payne of Virginia. John Payne of Southwark, ‘who is nowe beyonde the sea’ is seen in this deed as a co-sponsor, with Thomas Griffin (a cousin of the Harris family) and William Newsum: ‘William Nesum, Tho. Sax, Miles Battersby & John Payne, 800 acs. called the Island Neck, lieing on N. side of Rappa. Riv. neare Curritomon Riv. mouth, Northumberland Co., 29 Jan. 1649. Same: 550 acs. in same county & same date. On N. side the Rappa. Riv., adj. to the Island Neck, running N. N. W. to Marsh Poynt Cr. Trans. of 11 pers: Richd. Pagget, Richd. Jones, Ja. Richardson, Wm. Horlson, Hugh Griffin, Tho. Griffin, Tho. Grimsditch (C&P, 2, p. 188). This obviously connects to Thomas Harris, d. 1672, as his father-in-law, Nicholas George, with John Grymsditch, received a 300 acre patent of land in Isle of Wight C., on Pagan Creek (B. 1, p. 633). John Grymsditch was a transportee of William Newsum, January 29, 1649 (Virginia Patents B. 2, p. 188).

John Payne bought land from Francis Hobbs: ‘John Payne, 653 acs. on N. side of Rappa. Riv., beg. at miles end of his land purchased of Fra. Hobbs. 2 June I657. Trans. of 13 pers’. (ibid., 4, p.362). John Payne was a neighbour of Edward Harris: ‘John Paine, 88 acs. Lancaster Co., 20 Feb. 1662. N. side of Rappa. Riv., abutting N. & by W. upon land of Edward Harris, dec’d., S. by E. upon a Cr. dividing this from land of Richard Coleman. Granted to Rice Jones 2 Sept. 1652, sold to Howell Powell & George Harris, who assigned to Charles Snead & by him assigned to sd. Paine’ (ibid., 5, p. 487). *On Feb. 20, 1638, Nicholas George, with John Grymsditch, received a 300 acre patent of land in Isle of Wight C., on Pagan Creek; 200 acres to Nicholas by assignment from William Clapham to whom it was due for transportation of 4 persons. & 100 acres due sd. Grymsditch for the per. adv. of himself & wife (B. 1, p. 633). To repeat, a da. of Francis Hobbs m. John Harris, son of the said Thomas Harris.

George Payne of St Saviour, citizen and grocer of London. Asks to be buried in St Saviour parish ‘neare where my Children do lye’. Will proved August 17, 1625. Family named: George Paine and Edward Payne his sons, and another son John ‘who is nowe beyonde the sea’. William King of Brenchley, Kent, clothier. Constance Bell ‘whome I now keepe’. Others named: Katherine Underwood, da. of Henry Underwood. George Kynastone his godson. George Payne his grandson, son of George Payne his son, and the testator’s godson. Executor: Margaret his wife; should she be unable, then Edward his son. Overseers: Francis Killingbecke of Twineham, Sussex, clerk, his br,, and Richard Yearwood, citizen and grocer of London. Witnesses: Henry Underwood, James Buttes, Richard Cattle, Roger Askewe, John Gloster, James Blackleach, Thomas Underhill. (TNA, Prob.11/146, ff.193r-194v). Margaret Payne of St Saviour, widow of George Paine. Nuncupative Will, Aug., 25, 1625: bequests to the poor of St Saviour parish; mentions ‘Robert Bell, brother of Constance Bell, deceased’ (TNA, Prob.11/146, f.199r).

They are all here.

copyright m stanhope 2016