| Notes |
- married ???
son Vachel Clark Sisk 1815
- married Mary Timmons 1820
son George W Sisk 1846
- married Mary E Lemmons 1847
- 1870 census in Johnson Co, AR
- on 6/2/1820 in Hopkins Co, KY married Sarah Flournoy Wooldridge 1770 - bef 1840
- dau of William Woolridge 1709 Henrico Twp, Henrico, VA - d. bet 12/6/1797-7/25/1798 Elbert Co, GA
and Sarah Flourney 1735 Chesterfield Co, VA - 5/27/1806 Elbert Co, GA
- ** See their findagrave.com pages **
- son of John Wooldridge, Sr 1678 Sussex, England - 4/20/1757-10/7/1757 Henrico Co, VA
and Martha Osborne 1680 Fauquier Co, VA - aft 1757 Henrico Co, VA
- dau of Edward Osborne - d. 1696
- ** See their findagrave.com pages **
- in 1738 married Mary ???
son Richard Wooldridge
- married Jane Roberts
- Sarah (Flournoy) Wooldridge signed her will on February 24, 1804, and it was recorded on May 27, 1806.
- Sarah's will names her three sons and one daughter, as well as the children of a deceased daughter.
William Wooldridge's siblings:
bro John Wooldridge, Jr 1705 Henrico Co, VA - 1783 Chesterfield Co, VA
- ** See his will in misc-docs **
- found at DAR.org -- WOOLDRIDGE, JOHN SR -- Ancestor #: A130161 -- see below
- abt 1715 married Elizabeth Branch 1700 - 1721 both in Henrico Co, VA
- ** See their findagrave.com pages **
- bef 1762 married Margaret ??? - d. aft 11/16/1780
dau Verlincha Wooldridge
- married Daniel Elam
bro Thomas Wooldridge 1707 Henrico Co, VA - 5/1762 Cumberland Co, VA
bro Edward Mologe Wooldridge 1711 Henrico Co, VA - 10/10/1808 Chesterfield Co, VA
- bef 1747 married Mary Flournoy 1713 - 1807 Chesterfield Co, VA
- ** See their findagrave.com pages **
- found at DAR.org WOOLDRIDGE, EDWARD SR Ancestor #: A130158
sis Mary Wooldridge 1715 Henrico Co, VA - 1789 Chesterfield Co, VA
- abt 1732 married Jacob Trabue
bro Robert Wooldridge 1719 Henrico Co, VA - aft 7/1794 Chesterfield Co, VA
- abt 1738 married Magdalene Salle
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
found at findagrave.com on 6/20/2016
Barnabas Sisk
Birth: May 15, 1769
Stafford County ?? or Culpepper Co, VA ??
Virginia, USA
Death: Sep. 6, 1841
Hopkins County
Kentucky, USA
Burial:
Flat Creek Cemetery
Mortons Gap
Hopkins County
Kentucky, USA
Created by: Carl Lansden
Record added: Nov 26, 2015
Find A Grave Memorial# 155403054
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
found at http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=johnniebrown&id=I65557
ID: I65557
Name: Barnabas Sisk 1 2
Sex: M
Birth: 15 MAY 1769 in Culpeper, Stafford Co., VA
Burial: Flat Creek, Hopkins Co., KY
Death: 06 SEP 1841 in Hopkins Co., KY
Father: Timothy Robert Sisk b: 1727 in VA
Mother: Elizabeth Bartlett b: 1730 in Culpeper Co., VA ????
Marriage 1
Sarah "Sally" Flournoy Woodridge b: 1770 in Pendleton District, SC
Married: 1789 in Wilkes Co., NC
Children
1.Has Children Meredith Sisk b: 1791 in NC
2.Has Children Barnabas Sisk Jr. b: 08 OCT 1812 in Hopkins Co., KY
3.Has Children Martha "Patsy" Sisk b: 1811 in SC
4.Has Children Willis Sisk b: ABT 1789 in Pendleton District, SC
5.Has Children Pendleton Sisk b: 17 NOV 1798 in NC
6.Has Children Sarah "Sallie" Sisk b: 1808 in Hopkins Co., KY
7.Has No Children Male Sisk b: ABT 1817 in Hopkins Co., KY
8.Has Children Gilly A. Sisk b: 1802 in Hopkins Co., KY
9.Has Children Harrison D. Sisk b: ABT 1803 in Hopkins Co., KY
10.Has No Children Male Sisk b: ABT 1815 in Hopkins Co., KY
11.Has No Children Nancy Catherine Sisk b: 19 SEP 1799 in NC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
found at http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jhc-3cousins&id=I46640
ID: I46640
Name: Barnabas Sisk
Given Name: Barnabas
Surname: Sisk
Sex: M
Birth: 15 MAY 1769 in ,Culpeper,VA
Death: 6 SEP 1841 in ,Hopkins,KY
Burial: AFT 6 SEP 1841
Change Date: 9 MAR 2004 at 00:00:00 1
Father: Timothy Sisk b: ABT 1727 in ,Culpeper,VA
Mother: Elizabeth Bartlett b: ABT 1730 in ,Culpeper,VA ????
Marriage 1
Spouse Unknown ????
Children
1.Has Children Meredith Sisk b: 1791 in ,Wilkes,NC
2.Has Children Pendleton Sisk b: 17 NOV 1798 in ,Pendleton,SC
3.Has Children Harrison Sisk b: 1808
4.Has No Children Gillia Sisk b: ABT 1809
5.Has Children Martha (Patsy) Sisk b: 1809
6.Has Children Barnabas Sisk b: 8 OCT 1812
Sources: 1.Title: Jerry H Collins
Note: 2035 N Poplar St, Waukegan IL 60087-5014 , USA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
** From notes below ** for William Wooldridge
He lived in Elbert County for the remainder of his life, signing his will there on December 6, 1797, as a man in his eighties; it names his five sons, two daughters,and wife Sarah, and divides his estate among them, including 24 slaves, two of whom, Phebe (who was to be manumitted on Sarah's death) and Kate (or their namesakes) had been in the family for 35 years.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
found at DAR.org
WOOLDRIDGE, WILLIAM Ancestor #: A130225
Notice: FUTURE APPLICANTS MUST PROVE CORRECT LINEAGE (WHY?)
Service: NORTH CAROLINA Rank(s): CIVIL SERVICE
Birth: CIRCA 1728 HENRICO CO VIRGINIA ** ?? 1728? not 1709?
Death: 7-25-1798 ELBERT CO GEORGIA
Service Source: CLARK, STATE RECS OF NC VOL 22 P 502
Service Description: 1) JUROR, SURRY CO
Comments
(Overview)
1) RICHARD BORN C 1738 WOULD NOT BE HIS SON; DATA IN CORRECTIONS FILE ****
Residence
1) County: SURRY CO - State: NORTH CAROLINA
Spouse
Number Name
1) X X
2) SARAH FLOURNOY
Hint: Click on the member number to see more.
Associated Applications and Supplementals
Natl Num Add Docs Child [Spouse #] Spouse
Vol.
256422 245 GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
194402 368 GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
391323 GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
391324 GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
459311 SARAH [1] DAVID HUDSPETH Purchase
469018 GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
492386 GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
547598 SARAH [1] DAVID HUDSPETH Purchase
572834 S GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
394711 491 GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
599651 S GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
603111 S GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
606175 GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
614343 S GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
616903 S GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
581343 521 GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
631194 S GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
661892 GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
662219 GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
687350 S GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
687729 S GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
651188 618 EDWARD [1] SARAH X Purchase
709691 EDWARD [1] SARAH X Purchase
715798 EDWARD [1] SARAH X Purchase
718783 EDWARD [1] SARAH VINING Purchase
766382 EDWARD [1] SARAH VINING Purchase
588006 750 GIBSON [1] LUCY ELIZABETH HUDSPETH Purchase
742834 755 RICHARD [1] X Purchase
681514 785 GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
768847 793 FAMPCL RICHARD [1] JANE ROBERTS Purchase
787599 863 GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
831606 SARAH [1] DAVID HUDSPETH Purchase
742209 896 GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
843701 SARAH [1] DAVID HUDSPETH Purchase
801240 998 GIBSON [1] LUCY B. HUDSPETH Purchase
= Supporting documentation available
= Descendants list available for this member and this ancestor
= Descendants list available for this member but not this ancestor
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
found at findagrave.com
William Wooldridge
Birth: 1709
Henrico County
Virginia, USA
Death: 1798
Elbert County
Georgia, USA
*** William Wooldridge,Sr (John1) was born 1709 in Henrico County, Virginia, and died 1798 in Elbert County, Georgia. He married (1) Mary 1738. He married (2) Sarah Flournoy Abt. 1750 in Chesterfield Co., Va.. She was born Bet. 1730 - 1738 in Virginia, and died Bet. 1798 - 1799 in Elbert County, Georgia.
Notes for William Wooldridge,Sr:
William was married #l, around 1738, name of this wife unknown.
Richard Sr., was son of this union.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#2 was Sarah Flournoy
William Wooldridge (1709-1798) was born in Henrico County, Virginia. He was apparently the second or third son of John and Martha Wooldridge of that county, and as his father's executor and legatee of his blacksmith's tools, he may have been the leader of the family after his father's death. he appears in the Henrico records from time to time in various ways but does not hold public office in the county. For example, at the April Court in 1743 together with John Wooldridge, Samuel Jordan and Jacob Trabue he was ordered to appraise the estate of Moses Ferguson, deceased.
(90) The same year, "On motion of William Wooldridge leave is given him to keep an ordinary at Samuel Jordan's home below the mount and Jordan enters himself as security."
(91) William may have started farming on his own on a 100 acres of John Roberts' on which William paid the tax in 1736.
(92) (his son Richard married Jane Roberts). Then after a stint of keeping ordinary at Jordan's he patented 400 acres in Albemarle in 1748, receiving two years later 2000 acres in the same county,
(93) in the part which became Buckingham. His fathers will left him 414 more acres in Chesterfield, and it is not known whether he ever lived in the Buckingham section, though a Samuel Jordan did.
*90. Henrico orders, 1737-46:216, Virginia State Library)
*91. EDWARD PLEASANTS VALENTINE PAPERS (Richmond n.d.), 2:649.
*92. See note 30
*93. Patent Book 28:191, Virginia State Library. August 20, 1747. 400 acres on South branch of Slate River called Jones Creek. An April 8, 1749 grant to Patrick Obrian was of 1200 acres in Albemarle on the branches of Slate River adjoining Thomas Jones, William Wooldridge, and his own lines. EXECUTIVE JOURNALS OF THE COUNCIL OF COLONIAL VIRGINIA (Richmond, 1945), 5:282. The 2000 acres is from the same source, p. 341. Beginning at Stephen Saunders line on the south fork of Buck and Doe Creek, running up both Forks and thence across to the head of Jones Creek to the beginning. This was an area Henry (3) (Thomas (2) later owned land in. It is not clear how much of the 2000 acres William Wooldridge took up. On July 3, 1752, he patented for 30 shillings 300 acres in Albemarle on the north branches of Willis Creek near the head adjoining William Blackburn. patent book 31:121, Virginia State Library. The Albemarle County Surveyors Plat Book in the Virginia State Library shows the 300 acres (p. 189) and William Wooldridge is an adjoiner in surveys for Arthur Moseley and Thomas Turpin. The land fell in Buckingham and cannot be traced.
William Wooldridge had at least two wife's; the name of the first, whom he probably married in the late 1730's, is not known. his second wife, whom he seems to have married about 1750 in Chesterfield County, was Sarah Flournoy (94) of the noted Huguenot family of that name.
*94. They named a daughter Sarah Flournoy. Mrs. Sarah Shipp Walker, Wooldridge notes, Virginia State Library, has pointed out that Francis Flournoy's will refers to his daughter Sarah only by her first name, but leaves her a slave, Rachel, who is subsequently named by William Wooldridge in his will. She also cites a 1761 deed of 200 acres from Frances Flournoy and Andrew LaPrade (his son-in-law) to William Wooldridge for very nominal consideration, suggesting the consideration flowed to LaPrade, and Flournoy's interest was a gift. William Wooldridge witnessed deeds for Francis Flournoy on June 18, 1765, to his sons Francis Flournoy, William Flournoy, Gibson Flournoy (William and Sarah Wooldridge named their first son Gibson) , Josiah Flournoy, James Flournoy and Jacob Flournoy.
Chesterfield DB 5:243-51.
He continued living on that land and adjoining his father and brothers in Chesterfield (95) after it was cut from Henrico, and was one of the fairly prosperous planters in that area, owning several hundred acres and some slaves. He appears on the 1756 Chesterfield County tithable list, charged with tax for himself, son William and slaves Frank and James. His oldest son Richard was, at that time, living with John Wooldridge Sr., William's father (96)
*95. Mentions of William in later Chesterfield records include: appraiser of estate of Thomas Godsey dec'd with Tho Lacy and James Bryan (Bryars?), November 3, 1749,
Chesterfield DB 1:17.
Appraiser of estate of Rbt Easley with Tho Lacy and Edwd Wooldridge, April 4, 1752, Chesterfield WB 1:105. Appraiser of estate of Magdalene Salle with Nat'1 Lacy, Thos Lacy, Jr., December 13, 1756,
Chesterfield WB 1:251-53.
Appraiser of estate of Francis Brown, dec'd with Francis Moseley, Perrin Giles, March 22, 1758,
Chesterfield WB 1:277.
Suit against Robert Lovell and John Wooldridge, May 1759, Chesterfield Ob 2:517.
Witness of deed of Robert Wooldridge to Abraham Salle, December 15, 1760,
Chesterfield DB 4:492-95.
*96. Chesterfield County tithe list, Virginia State Library.
Since William's two eldest sons were tithable in 1756, the eldest was born by 1738.
After the year 1770 William and Sarah Wooldridge's family, then William and Sarah, decided to move South. while the reasons for the move is not clear as none of the rest of the Wooldridges left Virginia at this time -- in fact, William was the only one in the second generation to leave the immediate Chesterfield vicinity --- some of the Flournoys did, and perhaps Sarah wanted to go with her brothers to the new territory. beginning in 1771, they begin to show up in the records of Surry County, North Carolina, (97) though in 1777 William, Thomas and Edward are tithables in one household in Chesterfield and as late as 1778 he is called "of Chesterfield" when selling off his remaining land there. (98)
*97. his eldest son, Richard, who as Richard Waldridge, 1 tithable, appears in Surry County in 1771,may have scouted the way. NORTH CAROLINA JOURNAL OF GENEALOGY 3(1957):344.
*98. Manchester Parish, Chesterfield County tithe list, Virginia State Library. Chesterfield DB 8:274.
William, or his son William (3) shows in the Surry County deeds as buying and selling land; in 1777 he is on the venire from which the Grand Jury from the Salisbury District is chosen; the William Wooldridge in 1778 Captain of Militia in that district is probably his son,
(99) but in any event the service in the Surry County Militia is considered service in the Revolutionary War.
(100) There was plenty for the militia to do because of the Tory element in western North Carolina. John Hudspeth, brother of William's daughter-in-law Lucy Hudspeth, was killed while serving as a tax collector in Surry
(101) By the early 1780's, William and part of his family moved on South to Elbert County, Georgia, where he again purchased land and became one of the prominent planters of the County. His land lay on Beaver dam Creek, and his sons Gibson and William owned land that adjoined him for part of the time. He lived in Elbert County for the remainder of his life, signing his will there on December 6, 1797, as a man in his eighties; it names his five sons, two daughters,and wife Sarah, and divides his estate among them, including 24 slaves, two of whom, Phebe (who was to be manumitted on Sarah's death) and Kate (or their namesakes) had been in the family for 35 years.
(102) Sarah Wooldridge signed her will on February 24, 1804, and it was recorded on May 27, 1806.
(103) Sarah's will names her three sons and one daughter, as well as the children of a deceased daughter.
*99. Deeds of 1773, 1779, 1784, Surry County North Carolina DB A:73, 290; C:157. Walter Clark, ed., STATE RECORDS OF NORTH CAROLINA (Goldsboro 1907), 22:502. Captain Woolrige of the Surry militia is mentioned in RECORDS OF THE MORAVIANS IN NORTH CAROLINA (Raleigh 1922), 4:1679, 1681. Also TYLER'S QUARTERLY 4(1923):266, 269, 270, 279.
*100. National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, PATRIOT INDEX (Washington 1966), p. 762. See also pension application of Joel Hill: while residing in that part of Surry which became Stokes, he (Hill) served 3 months from July 1779, in Captain Wooldridge's and Captain John Morgan's company, Colonel Martin Armstrong's regiment. Edith Mitchell, EARLY FAMILIES OF THE NORTH CAROLINA COUNTIES OF ROCKINGHAM AND STOKES WITH REVOLUTIONARY SERVICE (1977)
*101. Surry WB 1:134, 142, 147, referring to "brother Gibson Wooldridge."
*102. Elbert County, Georgia, DB A:49; WB 1791-1803:37.
Chesterfield County, Virginia, OB 3:240 (Aug. 1762), records that Phebe and Kate were adjudged 16 and 14.
*103. Elbert County, Georgia, WB 1803-1806:49.
SOME LAND TRANSACTIONS OF WILLIAM WOOLDRIDGE:
1752, July 3 Patented by William Wooldridge PB31:121
Tract 1: 300 acres on north branches
Willis Creek near head adj William Blackburn
1757 Willed to William by his father Gift:note11
Tract 2: 100 acres on e side of Falling Creek
T 3: 314 acres joining the French line
1761, Aug. 7 Francis Flournoy, Andrew LaPrade 26lbs/14/1
Sr. & Martha his wife of Dail Parish Chest.DB5:9
Chest.Co. to Wm. Wooldridge of same.
T4: 200 acres in Chest. adj. Valentine
Winfrey on Tomahawk and Traubes
Branch. Wit: Nath. Lacyh, Edw. Hill,
Cornelius Ellet
1773, Aug.7 Isaac Winscott and Rachel his wife 120 provincial
of Surry Co. NC to Wm. Wooldridge money.
1774 of same DB A:73
147 acres part of 292 acre tract
granted to Abraham Winscott in 1762
on south side Yadkin Forbes line.
Wit: Tyre Glan, Abramham Winscott
1779, Sept. 20 North Carolina grant to William 50 sh./100A
Wooldridge Surry DB A:290
200 acres in Surry Co. on south side
Deep Creek adj. Silas Engards
1791, Aug. 18 Robert Middleton and wife Elizabeth Elbert GA
to William Wooldridge DB A:49
100 acres on Beaverdam Creek
1760, Nov. 29 William Wooldridge and Sarah (x) 180 current
his wife of Dale, Chest. Co., to Va. money
Abraham Salle of King William Chest DB 4
parish, Chest. Co.
T2,3: 674 acres where said Wooldridge's
son lives, Falling Creek Chest. Co. adj.
Robert Wooldridge, Jn Roberts, Samuel
Dean, French line, George Sowall, Andrew
Ammonett. 100 given Wooldridge by father,
part of father's old tract; 314 patented in
William Wooldridge's father's name and
willed to William; rest, 150, purchased by
William from Henry Cary, dec'd. wit: Tho.
Smith, Rbt. Moseley, Isaac Bryant, Charles
Clarke.
1778, Sept. 15 William Wooldridge of Chest. to 400 current
Edwd. Wooldridge of Chest. (SSW money;
notes wartime inflation) DB 8:274
T4: 200 acres in Chest. adj. Jn.
Traube dec'd, Winfrey's line,
Welch's line, Tomahawk Ck.
wit: Edwd Wooldridge, Jr., Wm.
Wooldridge, Rd. Elam.
1779, Dec. 6 William Wooldridge to his wife Gift (will)
pr. July 25
1798 Sarah for life then to his son Elbert Co. Ga
Edward WB B:37
(does not reflect William Wooldridge's 400 and 2,000 acre patents in
Albemarle (note 93), which fell in Buckingham and cannot be traced.
Based in part on compilations of Mrs. Sarah Shipp Walker in the
Virginia State Library.
Will of William Wooldridge Elbert Co., GA Book B P 37
Will dated Dec. 6, 1797, probated July 25, 1798
(those mentioned in will)
Wife: Sarah
Sons: Richard, William, Edward, Thomas, Gibson
Daughters: Sally Hudspeth, Patty Davis
Slaves Cate, Caesar & Phebe
Children of William Wooldridge and Sarah Flournoy are:
25. i. Richard3 Wooldridge, b. 1738, Chesterfield Co., Va.; d. March 1828, Russell Co., Kentucky.
26. ii. William Henry Wooldridge, b. Bet. 1740 - 1753, Chesterfield Co., Va.; d. 1816, Wilson County, Tennessee.
27. iii. Gibson Wooldridge, b. Bet. 1750 - 1755, Chesterfield Co., Va.; d. October 1816, Abbeyville, South Carolina.
28. iv. Thomas Wooldridge, b. 1752, VA; d. Bef. 1830, Alabama.
29. v. Edward Wooldridge, b. 1760; d. 1828, Trigg County, KY.
30. vi. Sarah "Sally" Flournoy Wooldridge, b. 1765; d. 1849, Bayou Bonnet, St. Landry parish, Louisana.
31. vii. Martha "Patty" Wooldridge, b. 1770; d. Bef. 1804, Georgia.
******
***NSDAR Patriot Index, Vol III, p. 3027
WOOLDRIDGE; William: b c 1728 VA d 7-23-1798 GA m (1) Sarah Flournoy Pvt VA.2. WILLIAM2 WOOLDRIDGE (JOHN1 WOLDREDG) was born 1709 in Henrico County, Virginia, and died 1798 in Elbert County, Georgia. He married (1) MARGARET ? Abt. 1738 in Virginia. He married (2) SARAH FLOURNOY Abt. 1750 in Virginia, daughter of FRANCIS FLOURNOY and MARY GIBSON. She was born Abt. 1720 in Virginia, and died Abt. 1806 in Virginia.
***
Notes for WILLIAM WOOLDRIDGE:
William may have been a Captain
Notes for SARAH FLOURNOY:
Half sister of Mary Flournoy
Children of WILLIAM WOOLDRIDGE and MARGARET ? RICHARD3 WOOLDRIDGE, b. 1738, Virginia; d. 1828, Russell County, Kentucky.
ii. WILLIAM WOOLDRIDGE, b. 1740, Virginia; d. 1816, Wilson County Tennessee; m. MARTHA HUDSPETH, Abt. 1773, Virginia; b. Abt. 1743, Virginia; d. 1830, Wilson County Tennessee.
Children of WILLIAM WOOLDRIDGE and SARAH FLOURNOY are:
iii. GIBSON3 WOOLDRIDGE, b. Abt. 1750, Chesterfield County, Virginia; d. October 1816, Abbeville, south Carolina; m. (1) LUCY ELIZABETH HUDSPETH, Abt. 1775; m. (2) LEAH POOLE, Abt. 1812.
iv. THOMAS WOOLDRIDGE, b. 1756, Chesterfield County, Virginia; m. (1) CHERIAH DAVIS, Abt. 1782; m. (2) MARTHA EASTER AYCOCK, Abt. 1807.
v. EDWARD WOOLDRIDGE, b. Abt. 1754, Chesterfield County, Virginia; d. Bef. October 28, 1828, Trigg County, Kentucky; m. SARAH VINING.
vi. SARAH FLOURNOY WOOLDRIDGE, b. Abt. 1756; d. 1849, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana; m. DAVID HUDSPETH, Abt. 1785.
vii. MARTHA WOOLDRIDGE, b. Abt. 1757; d. Bef. 1804, Georgia; m. JOSEPH T. DAVIS, Abt. 1789, Elbert, Georgia.
3. EDWARD2 WOOLDRIDGE (JOHN1 WOLDREDG) was born 1711 in Henrico County, Virginia, and died October 10, 1808 in Chesterfiled County, Virginia. He married MARY FLOURNOY Abt. 1745 in Virginia, daughter of FRANCIS FLOURNOY and MARY BOUGH. She was born Abt. 1712 in Virginia, and died Abt. 1810 in Virginia.
Notes for EDWARD WOOLDRIDGE:
For more information on the decendants of Edward Wooldridge see the book Decendants of Josiah and Kesiah Nichols Wooldridge c. 1973, published by Wright W. Frost
See also WFT Vol# 34, tree 1763 submitted by Suzanne R. Boston
Notes for MARY FLOURNOY:
Mary is sister to Sarah Flournoy, wife of William Wooldridge.
Child of EDWARD WOOLDRIDGE and MARY FLOURNOY
SIMON3 WOOLDRIDGE, b. 1747, Virginia; d. January 29, 1830, Prince Edward County, Virginia..
-------..Descendants of John Wooldridge
Generation No. 1
1. John1 Wooldridge was born Abt. 1678 in England, and died 1757 in Henrico County, Virginia. He married Martha Osborne Abt. 1703 in Henrico County, Virginia. She was born Abt. 1680 in Fauquier, Virginia, and died Aft. 1757 in Henrico County, Virginia.
Notes for John Wooldridge:
JOHN WOOLDRIDGE (SR.), Immigrant Blacksmith and Planter
(c. 1678-1757)
Though not documented, family legend has it that the Wooldridges are from Scotland. Laurence B. Gardiner found in the Memphis genealogy library a paper on old homes of Shelby County, Tennessee, which says John Wooldridge Elam named his home East Lothian after the county of the settler's ancestors south of the Firth of Forth in Scotland, and that his brothers named their homes West Lothian and South Lothian. In 1982 L. Gardiner and William C. Wooldridge engaged Mrs. Kathleen B. Cory to search births in the surviving parish register of Midlothian, Scotland, for the period 1660-1680, but she found no Wooldridges either there or in her survey of available printed indices to Scottish records of the 17th century, with the exception of a family in Edinburgh (Constantine Wooldridge married Margaret Akinstall, Oct. 24, 1644; Constantine Wooldridge painter married Marjory D. of Patrick Copland mariner, Dec. 18, 1869; George Wooldridge or Woolredge joiner md. Isobel Hart, Nov. 20, 1668.)
In the early 1600's at the same time that Jamestown, Virginia, was being settled, Ulster, Ireland finally capitulated to England, and England brought in colonists from Scotland and England to colonize and subjugate Ulster. Presbyterian, they still had to pay taxes to the Church of England (in Scotland they paid taxes to the Church of Scotland) which was Anglican. They could not hold political office, have certain jobs, paid extra taxes, and suffered other discriminations. so, in the late 1600's, these Presbyterian Scots-Irish began to immigrate to the New World.
A blacksmith in Ireland did quite well. He would have done the smithing work for about 200 families, covering about an 1800-acre area. All hardware needs would have been supplied by him--he would have been the local Walmart, making all metal kitchen utensils, nails, hinges, wheel hubs, keys, locks, farming tools, and so on. As an economic example, if a housewife needed a spatula, it would have cost her about a month's egg and butter money -- the money she used to run her house. Smithing was a full-time job --12 to 16 hours a day, 6 days a week. A blacksmith had no time nor financial need for farming.
John Wooldridge (Sr.) was born about 1678 and immigrated from Scotland, Ireland or England (probably from Scotland) to Virginia in the New World probably in the 1690's as an indentured servant to Richard Kennon in Henrico County. In March 1699 he petitioned against his mistress, Mrs. Elizabeth Kennon, "for wages according to Indenture." The petition was held through three subsequent sessions. The 1699 petition suggests an artisan's contract for passage -- John was a blacksmith -- as wages were more characteristic of artisans than agricultural indentures.
The Kennon establishment, Conjurer's Neck, stood on the Appomattox River about five miles from present-day Petersburg. Richard Kennon was among the newer class of merchants settling in Chesterfield County. His dwelling, known as "Brick House", erected at Conjurors Neck in 1685 is believed to be the oldest house still standing in Chesterfield. Conjuror's Neck is a peninsula formed by the junction of Swift Creek and the Appomattox River. Tradition says the name was given the area because it was the dwelling place of a famous Appomatucks Indian medicine man when the first white man came to Chesterfield. Richard Kennon died in 1696 and his widow, Elizabeth Bolling Kennon, ran the estate.
In 1685 a great pow-wow with the Eastern Indian tribes had been held in Albany, New York. Two of the few remaining local Appomatucks were included among the Virginia delegates to confirm the articles of peace. There were frequent acts of violence in later years, but the old fear of Indians had subsided.
Law enforcement, however, was a major concern. The pillory and whipping post were used for petty offenders and a ducking stool was available at Varina. For hog stealing in 1690, the penalty was to stand in the pillory for two hours with ears fastened to the beam by nails and then cut loose with a knife, the resulting mutilation being a sort of "Beware" notice. Branding in the hand for theft was a common punishment. Death was the penalty for horse stealing. John Stower was appointed constable for the large area from Falling Creek upwards to the present Powhatan line, taking in all of Midlothia.
John Wooldridge (Sr.) worked as a blacksmith after his emancipation, staying the the Conjuror's neck area. He married Martha Osborne, (daughter of Edward Osborne) about 1704 or 1705 of the more established Osborne family, and began to raise a family. Captain Thomas Osborne came to Virginia in 1616 and took over the Coxendale tract abandoned after the 1622 Indian massacre there, and patented additional land on Proctors Creek where years later a town bearing his name was started. John (Jr.) was born about 1705, named after his father. Thomas (Sr.) was born about 1707, named after his maternal great-grandfather. William (Sr.) was born about 1709. Edward (Sr.) was born about 1711, named after his maternal grandfather. Despite his growing family, John was able to save money -- blacksmiths were scarce and were able to demand high wages for their work.
The winter of 1709-1710 was a hard one -- the whole colony was swept by disease. And in 1711 tension arose when there were rumors of an impending invasion by a French fleet. William Byrd, !!, as county lieutenant, made plans for defense, double called for after a planned Indian raid was also reported to him. The following spring the Govenor of North Carolina issued a call for 200 volunteers from Virginia for help against a planned Indian uprising. Twenty-six Young men from Chesterfield County responded, but by the time they reached Nottoway, word came that everything was okay.
On March 1, 1712, John bought his first land, 100 acres on the South side of the James River, from Bartholomew Stovall for five shillings. The land was bounded by Hugh Ligon and Edward Stratton.
His family continued to grow, and in 1715 his daughter, Mary, was born. Robert was born in 1719.
In 1725, John Sr. patented two 400-acre tracts, close to the boundaries of the Huguenot settlement that had been established in Manikin in 1700 near the present Chesterfield-Powhatan border. The first tract lay on the South side of the James River adjoining the lands Of Gilbert Gee and Mrs. Hannah Tullet. The second tract lay on the South side of Swift Creek on the Henrico Beaver Ponds. These patents began the Wooldridge coal interests. He gave the second tract to John Jr., who came of age about that time, as his own plantation.
In September 1729, John Sr. elevated his station, being thereafter called Mr. Wooldridge, dropping the assignation, blacksmith. He sold his old 100-acre tract, where he had lived, to Joseph Goode for 25 pounds and moved west to his Manikin land, bringing him closer to the Huguenot settlement than he was then ready to deal with. he was very unhappy when his daughter Mary later married a Huguenot.
Up to the opening of the eighteenth century the imaginary boundary between the English settlements and the Indian lands was a line from the falls of the Appomattox River to the Manakin village on the James at the mouth of Bernards Creek. But on the far frontier of Virginia aggressive French forces with bloodthirsty Indian allies posed such a threat that a buffer was deemed desirable. Consequently a large tract of the wilderness was set aside for a new type of immigrant -- the peaceful religious refugees from France known as Huguenots. Approximately 100,000 acres of land in the old haunts of the Manakins were made available for the placement of families exiled from their French homes by religious persecution.
By the end of 1700, 800 Huguenots had settled in Virginia. While the Huguenots were Protestants and nominally under control of the Church of England, even their religious thought was alien to that of their neighbors in many respects. Radically different farming methods were brought by them, and they showed no inclination to adopt the pattern set by the affluent planters below the falls or to slip into the habits of the small inland farmers. English homes of the period wee often one and a half story homes (to avoid the tax on two-story homes) with a central hall and door. The Huguenot homes omitted the central hall (to save heat?) and used "double doors" -- an outside door to each room. Yet the adaptability of the Huguenots is evidenced as they left no dialect or accent as a heritage, contrary to the French in Canada or Louisiana, neither did they leave any distinctly French architecture. Soon there were intermarriages and in a remarkably short time little differences in nationalities was seen.
Each of the refugee families was assigned 133 acres, and to encourage them in becoming permanently settled they were exempted by the Burgesses from all taxation for seven years, Later extended another year. Upon application i person to a distributing station at Bermuda Hundred, each of the French families were eligible to receive a bushel of Indian meal monthly to tide it over until crops could be made. The necessary monthly travel between the French settlement and Bermuda Hundred converted the old Indian trails into something resembling roads and even encouraged settlers to move into the no longer isolated interior. The manakins had been reduced to about 30 bowman and apparently were willing to leave their old hunting grounds peacefully. In 1711 Abraham Salle was one of those who moved south and received a large grant in Chesterfield. Salle's eldest daughter, Magdalene, later married John's youngest son.
Although the move brought with it many good things, wolves during this period were a constant menace to the scattered residents of Chesterfield County. Bounties were being paid at each term of court for wolf heads and many young Chesterfield men became especially proficient in hunting down and slaying the wild beasts as a partial livelihood.
About 1731, his eldest son, John, Jr., married Elizabeth Branch. Like his father, John married into one of the older and more prominent Virginia families. Christopher Branch had settled in Chesterfield County in the 1620's, and in 1624 his son was listed as the only Virginia born child in Chesterfield County. John Sr., soon became a grandfather with the birth of Richard Wooldridge.
About 1732 his daughter, Mary, married Jacob Trabue, another at least occasional blacksmith who became interested in coal, but one of the strange thinking and acting Huguenots. John Sr. objected, declaring to the couple that he would give them no help or inheritance. In 1732 sons, Thomas and Edward patented land in Goochland.
On Jan. 4, 1733, grandson Joseph Trabue was born to daughter Mary Wooldridge Trabue. About 1733 another grandson, John Wooldridge, III, was born to his son John, Jr.
The area increased in importance at this time. In 1733, William Byrd, II, recorded in his diary plans to lay out two new cities, one north of the James River at Shaccos to become Richmond, and the other south of the Appomattox River near Blanford, to become Petersburg. He considered these points natural places for trade. In 1737 Major William Mayo finally surveyed the Richmond site.
In 1734, John, Jr. bought 300 acres of the Beaver Ponds land on Swift Creek, between the two proposed cities.
About 1735, a granddaughter, Mary Wooldridge, was born to his son John Jr., and about this time son Thomas married and gave him another John Wooldridge grandson. Again the Wooldridges married into an older and more prominent family, although it is not certain that it is the Hatcher girl he married. William Hatcher had received a grant of 1050 acres between Swift Creek and the Appomattox River around 1635. On Aug. 28, 1735, son Jean/John Trabue was born to daughter Mary Wooldridge Trabue.
In 1736, John Sr. bought 650 acres on the Buckingham road from Henry Cary for 32 pounds 10 shillings. The land seemingly adjoins his 1725 patent. In 1736 John Sr. had two or three hands and John Jr. one, but sons William and Thomas had none. In 1736, when John Sr. was about 58 years old, he owed quit rents on 800 acres. His son William paid on an additional 100 acres owned by John Roberts, and John Jr. paid on 300 acres just purchased from Samuel Burton. About this time his son William started farming on his own on 100 acres of John Roberts. William married his first wife in the late 30's.
On Oct. 10, 1737, daughter Mary presented him with another grandson, David Trabue.
In 1738, grandson Richard Wooldridge, by son William, was born, and about 1740 grandson William Jr., was born. On March 22, 1739 grandson William Trabue was born to Daughter Mary Wooldridge Trabue.
About 1740 son Thomas gave him another grandchild, Frances Wooldridge. On March 24, 1742 granddaughter Elizabeth Trabue was born to daughter Mary W. Trabue. In 1743 Mary Wooldridge was born to son Thomas, and on June 11, 1744, Thomas presented him with granddaughter Elizabeth. Mary W. Trabue gave him granddaughter Marie Trabue. Before 1744, perhaps about 1738, son Robert, about 18, married Magdalene Salle, said to be an old girl. About 1740, son Robert gave him grandson Colonel Thomas Wooldridge. Another son, Abraham? was born to son Robert in the 1740's.
About 1745 the Wooldridge family built the first section of the family home, Midlothian, alongside an old Indian trail, then called Buckingham Road, now
known as Midlothian Turnpike. This part of the house, now known as the East Wing, was a one-and-a-half story house with a central hall, outside chimneys, and had steep winding stairs leading to two small loft rooms lit by dormers. A porch stretched across the length of the front of the House. In the latter part of the century, soon after the Revolution, the West Wing was added. This part of the house was also built as a two-over-two but the second story had a gambrel roof, the only such roof in the village, allowing more headroom upstairs. Midlothian has a long history of hospitality to travelers, continuing in some fashion even today as Crab Louis Restaurant, where the owners proudly point out its Wooldridge origins. Midlothia was renamed "The Sycamores" in the late 1800's by the then owners John J. Jewett and his wife Nancy Jones, who purchased it in 1875.
About 1745 granddaughter Frances Wooldridge was born to son John Jr., and grandson Edward Wooldridge, Jr. was born to son Edward.
John Sr. continued to add to his estate, purchasing in 1747, 314 acres "on the French line", South side of the James beginning at John Tillets on the north side of Falling Creek thence on Wooldridge's old line to John Roberts and Richard Dean, thence to Dean's old line to Oak cornered on Ffrench parish thence to French road. John Sr. made his first will in 1747 at about the age of 69, when his holdings peaked at 1,764 acres, including 400 acres long in the possession of his son, John, Jr. Also about 1747, grandson Simon Wooldridge was born to son Edward. On Sept. 4, 1747, daughter Mary W. Trabue gave him grandson Joshua Trabue.
John Sr. had finally become reconciled to his French Huguenot children-in-law and Mary's marriage. According to William Lacy, "About the year '46 John Wooldridger Sr. sent for me to write his will and told me then, when Jacob Trabue married his daughter, he was much dissatisfied with the match, and he then made a resolve never to make Jacob Trabue the better for anything he was worth, but after he found Trabue to be a good husband, he was sorry for his rash romise and had concluded to let his daughter have theuse of a Negro girl named Hannah and her increase during his daughter's life and after her death to her son Joseph Trabue. [He said] 'I will make my grandson equal to my other sons in everything exceptlandk' and so I wrote his will." The will is dated April 20, 1747, and was rewritten in 1757.
From this period, if not earlier, John Sr. and his sons were directing their energies to growing tobacco, working their holdings personally with the help of some slave labor. Together, the family mastered the demands of growing tobacco. Virgin fields had to be cleared before cultivation. The trunks of trees were girdled, forcing the trees to die. Ropes were then attached to thebranches of the dead trees to pull them down. On rainy days, when the danger of fire spreading out of control was at a minimum, the fields would be burned. Plows had to then break through rooty topsoil, and the fields kept cultivated. After harvesting, the leafe had to be processed, and long sheds for drying the leaf had to be built. Oaken hogsheads had to be built or bought. When the crop was harvested and cured, it had to be transported for sale. Ten pounds of tobacco was worth about one shilling.
Small amounts of cotton and wool were also produced in Chesterfield for domestic use although spinning and weaving were technically forbidden in Virginia by British law -- the colonies were meant to consume to enrich the mother country, and all raw goods were by law to be shipped to England for manufacture. The finished products were then to be shipped back to the colonies for purchase. The women took the cleaned c
JOHN WOOLDRIDGE, BLACKSMITH (by Laurence B. Gardiner & William C. Wooldridge 822 W. 52nd St., Norfolk, VA 23508
In the Henrico County Court for March 1699, the "petn of John Woldredg against his Mistriss Mrs. Eliza Kennon for wages according to Indenture" was presented, then held through the subsequent three sessions.
The petitioner sued in his own name (later Robert Hyde of York County became his lawyer) and he was probably near 21 in 1699.
[Henrico Colonial Records 3:260, 265, 277, 280, Virginia
State Library.)
[It seems unlikely he was much over 21, as he lived until 1757, and an indenture often expired with the youth's 21st birthday. Richard Hofstadter, AMERICA AT 1750 (New York 1971], pp 49-50, For Hyde see WILLIAM AND MARY QUARTERLY (hereafter WMQ), lst Sr. 6(1897-98):126; 14(1905-06):148
The suit is the first record of a new man in that part of Virginia,
1. JOHN WOOLDRIDGE (ca.1678-1757), blacksmith, farmer, and founder of a long-lived and far spread family.
Eighteenth-century Virginia produced, besides statesmen and presidents, a vigorous population of such farmers. They and their families filled up the Piedmont, fought the Revolution, and furnished both inspiration and audience for a generation of republican political discourse. They were the yeoman of the Jeffersonian ideal. Where did they come from and where did they go? What made them different? These small farmers, perhaps 90% of the total, are familiar only in the aggregate (3) Looking at several generations of a single family adds the insight of concrete detail to tables and averages.
(3) Thomas Jefferson Wertenbacker, THE PLANTERS OF COLONIAL VIRGINIA (princeton 1922), pp 53-55. Thomas Jefferson's own family originated in southside Henrico; the progress of the southside farmers provides a backdrop for his thinking.]
John Wooldridge probably came to Virginia as a young man;
a headright was claimed for him by another member of the Kennon family years later, and the 1699 reference to wages, according to indenture suggests an artisan's contract for passage. (4)
He was thus part of, or at most a generation removed from, the high tide of immigration to the colony after 1650 (5) as a result of which thousands of former servants, their terms completed, faced life on their own in Virginia by the turn of the century. (6) While this background may have implied a family of middling stations in Britain, (7) in Virginia it meant starting from the bottom. But indented service or apprenticeship could be an opportunity: it apparently gave John a trade and a degree of literacy, and did not make him meek; he comes into the records demanding his due.
Without land, John plied his trade and saved his money. Not until March 1, 1712, when he was in his 30's did he buy his first 100 acres, from Bartholomew Stovall, for five shillings. (Henrico Deeds and Orders, 1710-14, p. 199, Va. State Library.) Before that, however, he was well set enough to marry, at about the age of 27. No record of his marriage survives, but the date is approximated from the dates of birth of the children beginning about 1705, the sons listed in apparent order in Wooldridge's will. His wife, Martha, (1688--after 1757), named in the will, may have been the daughter of Edward Osborne, whose 1696 will names daughter Martha. The couple's association with families like the Osbornes, Wards, and Branches points to a connection with people who had been resident much earlier in Virginia and who had already made places for themselves, although their original prominence was going into eclipse. In short, John Wooldridge seems to have made a good marriage, not into the local leadership but at least into solidly established clans.
Wooldridge was a blacksmith and had much to offer in his own right. Lamentations over the scarcity of blacksmiths and the high prices they exacted suggest a master of the trade would have no trouble making a living. Smithing in turn brought him in contact in a small way with coal, for that was the fuel used.
A colony of Huguenots came to Virginia in 1700, taking up land at Manakin at the western fringe of settlement on the south side of the James River. In 1701 coal was found in the area, as the story goes by a Huguenot youth in search of a fowl he had brought down with his gun. He clambered into a brushy declivity and happened on the black rocks. William Byrd patented land including a "cole mine" within the grant of the French refugees in 1704, and Abraham Salle, a leader of the settlement, patented land by "the cole it road" in 1715. A contemporary wrote in about 1708 that the Manakin mine was "us'd by the Smiths, for their Forges." If not already there, John Wooldridge soon joined the ranks of these "Smiths." Perhaps attracted by the coal, looking westwardly, he patented two 400 acre tracts in 1725 (Patent Book 12:366, 370, Virginia State Library) close up to the boundaries of the Huguenot settlement, near the present Chesterfield-Powhatan border.
Coal in the region preserved its early reputation for smithing, and perhaps a strategic location near good quality coal fostered Wooldridge's success. Certainly it was plentiful; on land he later held in the same area, wagon wheels turned it up in their ruts. There may have been a natural transition from the blacksmith's casual collection of coal for his fire to open pit mining of coal for sale. Johns son Robert was involved in one early commercial coal development: John Pankey advertised in the Virginia Gazette to sell pit coal from Robert Wooldridge's pits lying at Warwick on the James River (Virginia Gazette, Nov. 11, 1780). The business continued in the family until well into the nineteenth century. Except for William Byrd's activities, not a great deal is known abut the earliest commercial coal developments in Virginia, and the link between the blacksmith father of the early eighteenth century and the mine operator son of the late eighteenth is suggestive.
After taking a few years to seat his new Manakin lands, Wooldridge sold his old 100 acre tract, "land where Wooldridge lately dwelt," to Joseph Goode for 25 pounds in September 1729 (Henrico Deeds and Wills 1725-37, 1:246, VA State Library). The short move west brought closer connections to the Manakin Huguenots than Wooldridge was ready for. About 1732 his daughter Mary married Jacob Trabue, another at least occasional blacksmith who became interested in coal. Wooldridge objected. According to William Lacy, "About the year '46 John Wooldridge Sr. sent for me to write his will and told me then, when Jacob Trabue married his daughter he was much dissatisfied with the match and he then made a resolve never to make Jacob Trabue the better for anything he was worth, but after he found Trabue to be a good husband he was sorry for his rash promise and had concluded to let his daughter have the use of a Negro girl named Hannah and her increase during his daughter's life and after her death to her son Joseph Trabue. (He said) I will make my grandson equal to my other sons in everything except land, and so I wrote his will." Another will was drawn in 1757, then changed by insertion. The changes made it questionable; it was finally order to be probated on May 5, 1759, after the Justices heard "arguments of the counsel on both sides."
Though not recorded in Chesterfield, the original will along
with related depositions by John Wooldridge (Jr.), John Roberts, William Lacy, and Agness Lacy age 19 are in the Chesterfield County loose or "dead" papers, now in the Virginia State Library in Richmond. it is dated April 20, 1757, and is witnessed by Agness, Elizabeth and William Lacy. The change may have been
occasioned by the death of Joseph Trabue by 1757, and substitution of Joshua Trabue. John Wooldridge Sr. died between May 31 and Oct. 7, 1757 when his will was offered for probate. The order of depositions and the 1759 probate order are in Chesterfield OB 2:352, 364, 525
The real beneficiary was a lawyer, John Fleming, who entered in his fee book for October 1757 the sum of 10 shillings for advice on a will and in May 1759 the sum of 12 shillings sixpence for "arguing the matter of Wooldridge will" for Jacob Trabue.
In all, four of John's six children married Huguenots, and there followed other associations with the Huguenot outpost. John's youngest son Robert was godfather to his nephew William Trabue in 1739; about 1738 he had married Magdalene Salle, granddaughter of Abraham Salle. Edward Wooldridge married Mary Flournoy and was godfather to his nephew David Trabue in 1737; William married Sarah Flournoy and served as godfather to his niece Marie Trabue seven years later.
In 1736 Wooldridge bought 650 acres for 32 pounds 10 shillings, on the Buckingham road, seemingly adjoining his 1725 patent, from Henry Cary (of which 400 were given to his son Edward in 1753); in 1747 he patented 314 more acres, described as "on the French line" in his will.
From this period if not earlier he and his sons were directing their energies to the sovereign weed tobacco. They worked their holdings personally. In 1736 John Sr. may have had two or three hands and John Jr., one, but William and Thomas had none. The initial capital could have come from smithing, and Wooldridge did not necessarily give up the trade altogether when he started farming; he bequeathed his blacksmith tools to his son William. Nevertheless, after1729 he no longer styled "blacksmith," and by the time he died he was in the eyes of some "Mr." Wooldridge, a more honorific title then than now. The family home was named "Midlothian," perhaps (or perhaps not) In memory of a distant origin in lowland Scotland.
The movement from servant to artisan to planter bears witness to he opportunities in 18th century Virginia for people who started with nothing. Progress took time and longevity helped. Wooldridge was 33 before he owned his first acre and when the tax collector came in 1736, about 56 old, he owed quit rents on 800 acres owned by John Roberts, and John Wooldridge Jr. paid on 300 just purchased from Samuel Burton. Not until 1747, at the age of 69, did his holdings peak at 1764 acres, including 400 long in the possession of his son John.
But if progress was slow, it was attainable and probably commonplace. Success for a man of this epoch, to be sure, did not mean advancing from humble origins to a position of political leadership. Wooldridge did not rise socially in relation to his peers; they all rose together. The freedmen of 1700 became the yeoman of 1750, numerous, landed, and prosperous in relation to anything they had known before. Wooldridge's family in its beginnings in the latter half of the seventeenth century could not have been called prosperous, but everyone in it meets that description for most of the eighteenth century.
Men who had, as they saw it, raised themselves from servitude to landed proprietors and established their sons on lands of their own may well have transmitted to their families a strong loyalty to the society in which they had succeeded. The Virginia economy was based on an agricultural laboring class which had made its way to prosperity by a half-century of tenacity and hard work. Such men are self-confident and resourceful. when England began to tighten the reins, she would find the Virginia yeoman, who might not seem to have much stake in the struggle, among the most refractory of the colonists. by then John Wooldridge was dead, but 16 of his 24 grandsons, including one* who had looked after him in the last years of his life and been rewarded with a 250 acre legacy, in one way or another took part on the side of the colonies, the majority in active service, and at least two more were too old for active service.
*Richard Wooldridge appeared with the old man on a 1756 Chesterfield tithe list, Virginia State Library, and is remembered in his will.
As a militiaman in Lincoln County, Kentucky, he is on a 1782 payroll for an expedition against the Shannese Indians under George Rogers Clark. Ill.. Dept. Papers, Virginia State Library.
John Wooldridge Sr.'s will is in the Chesterfield County loose or "dead" papers preserved in the Virginia State Library.
John Wooldridge, Sr. Will proved by James Duyprey, George Smith, Benjamin Watkins. Inventory July 25, 1783.
Chesterfield OB 6:452, 460; WB 3:389, 395.
Children of John Wooldridge and Martha Osborne are:
2. i. John2 Wooldridge, Jr., b. 1705, Henrico County, Virginia; d. 1783, Chesterfield Co., Va..
3. ii. Thomas Wooldridge, b. 1707, Henrico County, Virginia; d. May 1762, Cumberland Co., Virginia.
4. iii. William Wooldridge,Sr, b. 1709, Henrico County, Virginia; d. 1798, Elbert County, Georgia. ***************
5. iv. Edward Mologe Wooldridge, b. 1711, Henrico County, Virginia; d. 1808, Chesterfield Co., Va..
6. v. Mary Wooldridge, b. 1715, Henrico County, Virginia; d. 1789, Chesterfield Co., Va..
7. vi. Robert Wooldridge, b. 1719, Henrico County, Virginia; d. July 1794, Chesterfield Co., Va..
Generation No. 2
2. John2 Wooldridge, Jr. (John1) was born 1705 in Henrico County, Virginia, and died 1783 in Chesterfield Co., Va.. He married (1) Elizabeth Branch 1731 in Henrico County, Virginia. She died Aft. 1755 in Henrico County, Virginia. He married (2) Margaret 1760. She died 1783 in Chesterfield Co., Va..
Notes for John Wooldridge, Jr.:
At the age of 70 John signed a petition dated Aug. 20, 1775, to the Third Virginia Convention. it prayed that the Chesterfield Committee (of association) be disolved and reelected, because it had been established without the petitioners' knowing what it was to do. however, "we now conceiving that the Committee are to do business of mjuch Greater Importance, than we could possibly the conveive," it seemed best to start over that "we may have no divisions amongst us, but all unite and be as one man in this Critical Time in the great and Common Cause.
(Herbert L. SDcribner, ed., " Revolutionalry Virginia: The Road to Independence, Vol. III, The breaking Storm and the Third Convention, 1775"; Charlottesville 1977), p. 469)
The Revolution did not come to Virginia for several more years, but when it did, John Wooldridge furnished 300 pounds of beef for American troops, ....to John Robertson, "Commander"
(Ethel C. Clarke, "Chesterfield County Revolutrionary Supply Claims," March 1780. Jones Memorial Library, Lynchburg.
His will was probated July 4, 1783, Chestefield Co., Va. OB 6:452, 460;
WB 3:389, 395
Inventory July 25, 1783.
Children of John Wooldridge and Elizabeth Branch are:
8. i. Richard3 Wooldridge, b. 1731, VA; d. 1782, Campbel lCo., Va.
9. ii. John Wooldridge, b. 1733, VA; d. 1782, Bedford, Va.
10. iii. Mary Wooldridge, b. 1735, VA; d. Aft. 1780, VA.
11. iv. William Wooldridge, b. 1740, VA; d. 1817, Kentucky.
v. Frances Wooldridge, b. 1745.
12. vi. Edmond Wooldridge, b. Abt. 1748, VA; d. 1791, Woodford Co., Ky.
vii. Elizabeth Wooldridge, b. Abt. 1749; d. Aft. 1780.
13. viii. Virlinche Wooldridge, b. 1750, VA; d. 1834.
14. ix. Phebe Wooldridge, b. 1752, VA; d. 1792, Chesterfield Co., Va..
15. x. Robert Wooldridge, b. 1754, VA; d. 1801, Kentucky.
16. xi. Thomas Wooldridge, b. 1756, Chesterfield Co., Va.; d. 1840, Kentucky.
17. xii. Martha Wooldridge, b. 1762, VA; d. 1786, VA.
xiii. Hanna Wooldridge, b. 1765, VA; d. Chesterfield, VA; m. Richard Elam, October 21, 1784, VA; d. VA.
3. Thomas2 Wooldridge (John1) was born 1707 in Henrico County, Virginia, and died May 1762 in Cumberland Co., Virginia. He married unknown Watkins 1735 in Virginia. She died 1762 in Cumberland Co., Virginia.
Notes for Thomas Wooldridge:
Will: Cumberland Will Book 1:246, Feb. 22, 1762, pr. May 24, 1762. Witnesses John Watkins, John Wooldridge, Thomas Hall.
Notes for unknown Watkins:
her name could be either:
Watkins ... or ...
Hatcher
Children of Thomas Wooldridge and unknown Watkins are:
18. i. John3 Wooldridge, b. 1735, VA; d. Aft. 1780, VA.
ii. Frances Wooldridge, b. 1740; m. Richard Parker, Abt. 1762.
19. iii. Mary Wooldridge, b. 1743, VA; d. Abt. 1809, New Store, Buckingham, Va.
20. iv. Elizabeth Wooldridge, b. June 11, 1744; d. November 07, 1818, Bedford Co., Va.
21. v. Thomas Wooldridge, b. 1748, VA; d. 1830, Buckingham Co., Va.
vi. Henry Wooldridge, b. 1751, VA; d. 1823, Buckingham Co., Va.
22. vii. Martha Wooldridge, b. Abt. 1756.
23. viii. Daniel Wooldridge, b. 1758, VA; d. 1821, Chesterfield Co., Va..
24. ix. Joseph Wooldridge, b. 1761, VA; d. 1835, Buckingham Co., Va.
4. William2 Wooldridge,Sr (John1) was born 1709 in Henrico County, Virginia, and died 1798 in Elbert County, Georgia. He married (1) Mary 1738. He married (2) Sarah Flournoy Abt. 1750 in Chesterfield Co., Va.. She was born Bet. 1730 - 1738 in Virginia, and died Bet. 1798 - 1799 in Elbert County, Georgia.
Notes for William Wooldridge,Sr:
William was married #l, around 1738, name of this wife unknown.
Richard Sr., was son of this union.
#2 was Sarah Flournoy
William Wooldridge (1709-1798) was born in Henrico County, Virginia. He was apparently the second or third son of John and Martha Wooldridge of that county, and as his father's executor and legatee of his blacksmith's tools, he may have been the leader of the family after his father's death. he appears in the Henrico records from time to time in various ways but does not hold public office in the county. For example, at the April Court in 1743 together with John Wooldridge, Samuel Jordan and Jacob Trabue he was ordered to appraise the estate of Moses Ferguson, deceased.(90) The same year, "On motion of William Wooldridge leave is given him to keep an ordinary at Samuel Jordan's home below the mount and Jordan enters himself as security." (91)
William may have started farming on his own on a 100 acres of John Roberts' on which William paid the tax in 1736. (92) (his son Richard married Jane Roberts). Then after a stint of keeping ordinary at Jordan's he patented 400 acres in Albemarle in 1748, receiving two years later 2000 acres in the same county, (93) in the part which became Buckingham. His fathers will left him 414 more acres in Chesterfield, and it is not known whether he ever lived in the Buckingham section, though a Samuel Jordan did.
*90. Henrico orders, 1737-46:216, Virginia State Library)
*91. EDWARD PLEASANTS VALENTINE PAPERS (Richmond n.d.), 2:649.
*92. See note 30
*93. Patent Book 28:191, Virginia State Library. August 20, 1747. 400 acres on South branch of Slate River called Jones Creek. An April 8, 1749 grant to Patrick Obrian was of 1200 acres in Albemarle on the branches of Slate River adjoining Thomas Jones, William Wooldridge, and his own lines. EXECUTIVE JOURNALS OF THE COUNCIL OF COLONIAL VIRGINIA (Richmond, 1945), 5:282. The 2000 acres is from the same source, p. 341. Beginning at Stephen Saunders line on the south fork of Buck and Doe Creek, running up both Forks and thence across to the head of Jones Creek to the beginning. This was an area Henry (3) (Thomas (2) later owned land in. It is not clear how much of the 2000 acres William Wooldridge took up. On July 3, 1752, he patented for 30 shillings 300 acres in Albemarle on the north branches of Willis Creek near the head adjoining William Blackburn. patent book 31:121, Virginia State Library. The Albemarle County Surveyors Plat Book in the Virginia State Library shows the 300 acres (p. 189) and William Wooldridge is an adjoiner in surveys for Arthur Moseley and Thomas Turpin. The land fell in Buckingham and cannot be traced.
William Wooldridge had at least two wife's; the name of the first, whom he probably married in the late 1730's, is not known. his second wife, whom he seems to have married about 1750 in Chesterfield County, was Sarah Flournoy (94) of the noted Huguenot family of that name.
*94. They named a daughter Sarah Flournoy. Mrs. Sarah Shipp Walker, Wooldridge notes, Virginia State Library, has pointed out that Francis Flournoy's will refers to his daughter Sarah only by her first name, but leaves her a slave, Rachel, who is subsequently named by William Wooldridge in his will. She also cites a 1761 deed of 200 acres from Frances Flournoy and Andrew LaPrade (his son-in-law) to William Wooldridge for very nominal consideration, suggesting the consideration flowed to LaPrade, and Flournoy's interest was a gift. William Wooldridge witnessed deeds for Francis Flournoy on June 18, 1765, to his sons Francis Flournoy, William Flournoy, Gibson Flournoy (William and Sarah Wooldridge named their first son Gibson) , Josiah Flournoy, James Flournoy and Jacob Flournoy.
Chesterfield DB 5:243-51.
He continued living on that land and adjoining his father and brothers in Chesterfield (95) after it was cut from Henrico, and was one of the fairly prosperous planters in that area, owning several hundred acres and some slaves. He appears on the 1756 Chesterfield County tithable list, charged with tax for himself, son William and slaves Frank and James. His oldest son Richard was, at that time, living with John Wooldridge Sr., William's father (96)
*95. Mentions of William in later Chesterfield records include: appraiser of estate of Thomas Godsey dec'd with Tho Lacy and James Bryan (Bryars?), November 3, 1749,
Chesterfield DB 1:17.
Appraiser of estate of Rbt Easley with Tho Lacy and Edwd Wooldridge, April 4, 1752, Chesterfield WB 1:105. Appraiser of estate of Magdalene Salle with Nat'1 Lacy, Thos Lacy, Jr., December 13, 1756,
Chesterfield WB 1:251-53.
Appraiser of estate of Francis Brown, dec'd with Francis Moseley, Perrin Giles, March 22, 1758,
Chesterfield WB 1:277.
Suit against Robert Lovell and John Wooldridge, May 1759, Chesterfield Ob 2:517.
Witness of deed of Robert Wooldridge to Abraham Salle, December 15, 1760,
Chesterfield DB 4:492-95.
*96. Chesterfield County tithe list, Virginia State Library.
Since William's two eldest sons were tithable in 1756, the eldest was born by 1738.
After the year 1770 William and Sarah Wooldridge's family, then William and Sarah, decided to move South. while the reasons for the move is not clear as none of the rest of the Wooldridges left Virginia at this time -- in fact, William was the only one in the second generation to leave the immediate Chesterfield vicinity --- some of the Flournoys did, and perhaps Sarah wanted to go with her brothers to the new territory. beginning in 1771, they begin to show up in the records of Surry County, North Carolina, (97) though in 1777 William, Thomas and Edward are tithables in one household in Chesterfield and as late as 1778 he is called "of Chesterfield" when selling off his remaining land there. (98)
*97. his eldest son, Richard, who as Richard Waldridge, 1 tithable, appears in Surry County in 1771,may have scouted the way. NORTH CAROLINA JOURNAL OF GENEALOGY 3(1957):344.
*98. Manchester Parish, Chesterfield County tithe list, Virginia State Library. Chesterfield DB 8:274.
William, or his son William (3) shows in the Surry County deeds as buying and selling land; in 1777 he is on the venire from which the Grand Jury from the Salisbury District is chosen; the William Wooldridge in 1778 Captain of Militia in that district is probably his son, (99) but in any event the service in the Surry County Militia is considered service in the Revolutionary War. (100)
There was plenty for the militia to do because of the Tory element in western North Carolina
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S Butler and S Hibbs Family History Our Family's Journey Through Time
1769 - 1841 (72 years)
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