 1650 - 1700 (44 years)
-
| Name |
CHAPPELL Thomas [1] |
| Suffix |
III |
| Alt. Birth |
1642 [1, 2] |
| Birth |
1650 |
Charles City County, VA  [1, 3] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Land |
21 Apr 1690 |
Charles City County, VA |
| granted 904 acres |
- Later this was Prince George County
Grant Book 8, pg. 77
|
| Death |
Between 1694 and 1700 |
Charles City County, VA [1, 4, 5] |
| Land |
3 Jun 1702 |
Dendron, Surry, Virginia, United States [6] |
| Deeded some of the Surry Land |
- Deeded some of his Sury lands to his Brother-in-Law James, Jones, Jr, who later conveyed it to his son, Robert Jones (Surry D. & Wills, 1715-30, pg. 295)
|
| Alt. Death |
Aft 1702 [7] |
| Alt. Death |
Abt 1703 |
Charles City County, VA [8] |
| Alt. Death |
1704 |
Prince George County, VA [9] |
| Christening |
Charles City (later Pr.George Co) Grant Book 8, p.77 [8] |
| Reference Number |
600 |
| Notes |
- Thomas was the son of Thomas the immigrant
Burial: Surry Co. Deeds 1715-30, p.295 (from Boddie's Book)
If he could speak to us today, Thomas Chappell III might describe his life as follows.
I was born about 1660 in that part of Charles City County south of the James that became Prince George County in 1702. I can relate little of my own life because records for both counties are mostly missing. In 1688 my servant Thomas Hughes ran off costing me 391 pounds of tobacco. After the court made him reimburse me and extended the term of his employment by twice the length of his absence, the sheriff gave him 21 lashes on his bare back.
Although Elizabeth Jones and I brought up 4 sons in the Anglican Church, Thomas became a Quaker. He, James, and Samuel settled in present-day Sussex County, while Robert stayed in Prince George. James had some land also in Isle of Wight County next to a reservation for the Nottoway-Iroquois Indians that was a circle 6 miles in diameter containing about 18,000 acres. To encourage settlement of the Colony, the governor gave 50 acres for each new arrival. In 1694 I got 423 acres for paying the passage of "Negroes" Buck, Doe, Santall, Mungo, Gerald, Moreton, Sarah, Abell, and Sue. Of course, these were not their given names. I was living in June 1702 when I deeded land to my brother-in-law, but was dead by 22 June 1704 when Elizabeth agreed to marry Thomas Taylor. I made a will, but it burned with the others. I know of 5 members of Congress and about 20 state legislators among my descendants.
Notes We know Thomas had a will because on 13 Feb. 1721/2, his nephew-in-law, Charles Williams sold 200 acres to James Gee for £9. The indenture called the land "part of a patent granted Thomas Chappell and by him devised to his grandson Charles Williams, in fee simple."
Land sales The few remaining records of Prince George County reveal that Thomas Chappell deeded 100 acres each to brothers John Scott and Drew Scott 12 Nov. 1693. John Scott mentioned this land when he gave half to his daughter 20 Jan. 1710/11. & This was evidently the portion that had belonged to Drew Scott, which fell to John Scott after his brother's death. Chappell's son of the son of the same name quitclaimed the 100 acres that went to John Scott and the 100 acres now belonging to Scott's daughter in July 1712.
THOMAS CHAPPELL THE SECOND
Thomas Chappell, who was, as far as we have any knowledge, the only son of Thomas the immigrant, was born in Charles City County, Virginia, about 1650. He grew to manhood and married Elizabeth, the daughter of James Jones, by whom he had four sons and a daughter. The sons, each of whom will be referred to hereafter, were named Samuel, Thomas, James, and Robert; the daughter, whose given name is unknown, married John Williams. Thomas Chappell2 lived out his days in that part of the county lying south of the James, and died between 1694 and 1700; only a year or two before the organization of Prince George (1702). Hence whatever record was left of him in the counties must have been in Charles City, and as the records in that county, during the period in which he lived, have been lost, we have no information of him from that source.
The following has been found in the Land Office in Richmond, and is a patent granted to a tract of land, which was doubtless the plantation on which he lived and died.
Patent Granted to Thomas- Chappell, Jr. "To all &c, Whereas &c. Now Know ye that I the said Sr Edmond Andros, Knt. Governo1' &c. doe with the Advice and Consent of the Council of the State, accordingly give and grant unto Thomas Chappell four hundred and twenty three acres of Land lying and being in the County of Charles Citty on the South side of James river, on the Otterdam Swamp. Viz. beginning at a corner pine on the said swamp, being the corner of the land of Thomas Smith, and runneth on his line. North North East Three fourths East, Eighty five poles to a corner White Oak. Thence North West two hundred and two poles. Crossing a great branch to a corner White oak on the North side of the Said Branch. Thence up that Branch, as it wendeth its way, to a corner Black Oak. Thence North West forty poles and South West one hundred and forty six poles, crossing Otterdam Swamp to a certain Live Oak, thence up the Otterdam Swamp, as it wendeth its way, to a corner Pine by a small meddow, thence South West by South seventy eight poles to a corner pine. Thence East South East two hundred and thirty two poles to a Corner Pine &c." (The description is too lengthy to be copied entire.)
"The said land being dew unto him the said Thomas Chappell by and for the transportation of nine head rights, all of whose names are in the records Mentioned under this Patent. To have and to hold &c. Yielding and Paying &c. Provided &c. Dated ye 20th. day of Aprile, A. D. 1694.
"E. Andros, "GoV. &c.
"Head-rights*-Buck, Doe ; Santall, Mungo, Gerald, Mor-ton, Sarah, Abell and Sue. All being African Slaves." (Patent Book VIII., p. 371.)
These negroes had' evidently been bought by Thomas Chappell from some slaveship which came up the James direct from Africa with her cargo of living freight. Having bought them, he was entitled to the head-rights-fifty acres of land for each person-which he located as above described, and for which he received this patent. At this time-the last decade of the seventeenth century-"a. likely negro fellow" was worth about 4,000 lbs. of tobacco, or in sterling money £30, a sum equal to $150 in the present currency. So that the nine negroes and 423 acres of land cost about |1,350. It must be continually borne in mind, however, that money, at this time, owing to its great scarcity, was much more val-uable than it is now, and had a far greater purchasing power.
The number of African head-rights during this period shows a notable increase. It had become the custom to raise more tobacco to buy more negroes, and to buy more negroes to raise more tobacco. The white servants were gradually giving way to the African slaves, and their numbers had so increased, under the irresistible economic law, that nothing could check it until the whole svstem vanished in the conflagration of a civil war. In numerous cases at this time pat-ents were granted for as many as eighty head-rights, all of whom were imported slaves. Generally, however, as in the patent granted to Thomas Chappell, the number was re-stricted to nine or ten. At first all vessels engaged in the slave trade sailed under the English, Spanish, or Dutch flag; but after 1660, and from that time to the close of the sev-enteenth century, New England ships became engaged in the traffic, and by far the greater number of slaves brought to Virginia came in New England bottoms.
It will be observed that among the negroes included in this list of head-rights were some who bore unique names. They, of course, had no names when brought to this country, except those they bore in their native land, and as these could not be pronounced by the English tongue, it became necessary to rename them. Hence we find the names "Buck" and "Doe," and the plain, old-fashioned English names of "Sue" and "Sarah." While the two former were no doubt appropriate, for the poor creatures were little less wild than the animal after which they were called, it does seem that more human names should have been bestowed on them than "Buck" and "Doe."
In this age the negro was thought to occupy a place in the human family but little removed from that of the ordinary brute. He was a wild animal, and it is interesting to observe the social status assigned him when the question of Christian-izing him came to be considered. If he belonged to the brute creation, then it were better that he should not be Christian-ized, for as long as he remained un-baptized he was not re-sponsible to God for his acts. If, on the contrary, he was a human being and had a soul, then it was the duty of hi& Christian master to have him baptized and taught the Chris-tian religion. It was a puzzling question, indeed, and one which was difficult at first to solve.*
The genealogist is again balked through the almost entire loss of the records of Prince George County, for, as was the case in Charles City, these priceless volumes have been destroyed by the ravages of war. Only one book of any value has been preserved-a large volume of more than a thousand pages-in which were recorded wills, deeds, settlement of estates, and orders of the court for a period extending from* 1714 to 1728. (No record is found from the organization of the county (1702) down to 1714, nor after 1728 to the close of the century.) This old relic, however, contains much valu-able data, and throws light on a period in the history of our ancestors which except for it would have remained en-shrouded in darkness; the information obtained from it has been invaluable, and has enabled us to trace the history of our people a hundred years farther back than we would other-wise have been able to trace it. ; The first document found is the will of James Jones- the father-in-law of Thomas Chappell2-which, owing to its interest to his descendants, as the first will found of their . ancestors, and its value on account of its antiquity, will be transcribed verbatim.
*Bruce's "Economic History of Virginia."
Will of James Jones.
"In the name of God. Amen. I James Jones being weake and sick but of sound and perfect mind and memory, praise be therefor given to Almighty God, doe make and ordain this my present Last Will and Testament in manner and form fol-lowing, that is to say. First and principally I commend my soul into the hands of Almighty God, hoping through the merritts; Death and passion of my savior Jesus Christ to have full and free pardon and forgiveness of all my sins and to inherit everlasting Life; and my body I commit to the earth to be decently buried at the discretion of my Executor, here-after named, and as touching the Disposition of all such Tem-poral estate as it hath pleased Almighty God to bestow upon me I give and dispose thereof as fallows:
"First. I will that my debts and funeral expenses shall be paid and discharged.
"Item. I will that my loving wife have the Labour of four negroes during her natural life, they are named Will, Robin, Maria and Betty. Provided they are not removed off from the plantation I now live upon, if they are, then Imediately to return to my executor, which plantation I will my wife shall live Upon during her life.
"Item. I give my wifes two sons* two negro children, one named James, the other unborn, the first child that either Betty or Maria shall bring to be the other, which two negro children to be Disposed of to my wifes two sons as she shall think fitt, the unborn and the born child James to be and remain with their mothers till they come to the age of two years and a half year.
"My will is Likewise that my wife have during her life what household stuff my executor shall see fitt and that she have a reasonable maintaiiiance yearly out of my stock.
"Item. I give to my daughter Mary Dardin my negro man Jo-during her life.
"Item. I give to my daughter Elizabeth a negro named Hanna to be at her disposal to do as she sees fitt. * "Item. I give to nvy daughter Hanna one negro named Jack to be at her disposal at her death or before as she sees fitt.
"Item. I give to my daughter Rebecca two hundred acres of land, lying in Surry county, beginning from the Swamp up by the Spring, South, to the outline, that to be the head line, to her and her heirs forever.
"Item. I give to my Granddaughter Eliza Glover one hundred acres of land on the south side of Pond Runn, to her and her heirs forever.
"Item. I give to my grandson James Jones, this my plan-tation I live upon- after my wifes Decease and all my_ land in Prince George county, after his father and mothers De-cease, to him and his heirs forever.
"Item. I give to my Grandson Thomas Chappell one hun-dred acres of land lying in Surry county from the Swamp South, joining upon William Cocke above the outline, to him and his heirs forever.
"Item. I give to my Granddaughter Jane Cock , daugh-ter of John Cocke, one negro named Amy to her and her heirs forever as also one feather bed and bolster, one rug and one blanket, and if the ticke be bad Lett a new tick? be bought, as also two young cows, one young mair t One Iron Pot, two Pewter Dishes and one Doz. of Spoons.
"All the rest and Residue of My personal Estate, goods and chattels whatsoever, I do give and bequeth to my Loving son James Jones, full and sole Executor of this my last Will and testament and I do hereby revoke, disanull and make void all former wills and Testaments by me heretofore made.
"In Witness whereof I the said James Jones to this my last will and testament do set my hand and seal this the 6th. day of April A. D. 1719.
"James Jones. [Seal] (Sealed with wafer.)
"Signed and sealed in presence of
"Gilbert Hay "Edward Prince "Thomas Temple.
"At a Court held at Merchant's Hope for Prince George County on the second Tuesday, in May, being the twelfth day of saicf month, A, D. 1719, the above written last will of James Jones, deceased, was exhibited in Court by James Jones, his Executor, who made oath thereto and it being proven by the oaths of the witnesses thereto a certificate was granted the . said James Jones for obtaining a Probate in due form.
"Teste-Wm. Hamlin "Clerk/1
The following letter was presented to the court and or-dered to be recorded.
"Worthy Sirs. Having seen and heard read the Last Will of my late husband, James Jones, deceased, I therefore think fitt to acquaint your W. p. T. that I think myself justly dealt by therein and to prevent further disputes I desire the will probated, I being willing to rely on the Legacy left me in
said will.
"Given under my hand and seal this 20th. Aprile 1719.
Her
"Sarah X Jones. [Seal]
Mark.
^Teste. . (Sealed with red wafer.)
"E. Goodrich To the Worshipfull: His Majesty's
"Mary Loyd. Justice of the Peace for Prince
George County."
*Probably sons by a former husband.
(56 A GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE
s *"
James Jones was doubtless an old man when he died; probably 80 years of age; and if so was born about 1640. He belonged to a numerous family in Prince George, one of whom, Major Peter Jones, founded the city of Petersburg in 1733, which was named for him. Descendants of the same family afterwards (about 1740) removed to Amelia County, where one of them, another Peter Jones, married Katy, the youngest daughter of James Chappell. Governor James C. Jones, of Tennessee, was a son of this couple. (See Chapter X.)
The land devised in the will of James Jones was acquired by him under a patent dated October 28, 1702, from Sir Francis Nicholson, Governor. It contained 640 acres. It was for thirteen head-rights, and from the names the persons imported seem to have been redemptioners, and not slaves. The land, it seems from the description in the patent, laid partly in Prince George and partly in Surry counties.
Elizabeth Chappell did not long remain a widow, for among the records has been found a unique and peculiar document, the meaning of which was for a time difficult to understand. It proved, however, to be a bond given to James Jones, in the nature of an ante-nuptial contract, by one Thomas Taylor, the prospective husband of his widowed daughter, Elizabeth Chappell. I transcribe this
Marriage Contract.
"Know all men by these presents that I, Thomas Taylor, am held and firmly bound unto James Jones, Indr., his heirs and Executors, in the sum of four hundred and forty two pounds and eight shillings, of lawfull money of England, to which payment well and truly to be made, I bind myself, my heirs, executors and administrators. Sealed with my seal and dated this 22nd. day of June 1704. The condition of this obligation, is such that if the above bonded Thomas Taylor, shall from time to time, and at all times, forever hereafter, suffer and give liberty to Elizabeth Chappell, the widow and Relic of Thomas Chappell, deceased, to give and dispose to her children, how, when and as she thinks fitt, any and all sums of money, or its value in country commoditys, or personal property of which she may be possessed, then the above written obligation to be void, null and of no effect; otherwise
to stand in full force and virtue.
"Thomas Taylor. [Seal]
(Sealed with red wax.) "Signed sealed and delivered in presence of "William Harris on "Rebecca Harrison.
"At a court held at Merchant's Hope for Prince George county on the second Tuesday in February, being the eighth day of said month, A. D. 1725-6 The above written bond (sealed) was proven by the oath of Rebecca Harrison and ordered to be duly recorded.
"Teste. William Hamlin "Clerk."
It will be observed that while this bond was given in June, 1704, it was not recorded or presented to the court until February, 1725 - twenty-one years after it was executed, and probably as long after the marriage was entered into. It is also probable that it was not presented until the death of Thomas Taylor, who must have died about this time, for in the same record book is found a power of attorney executed by Elizabeth Taylor, who was evidently then again a widow, and an old woman, to Charles Fisher, master of the ship Mary Gailye, dated November 2, 1725, empowering him to sell her tobacco and transact other business for her in London. The amount of the bond given by Thomas Taylor, at a time of great scarcity of money in the colony, would indicate that Thomas Chappell had left a good estate to his widow and children. The amount would be equal to $2,150 in the currency of to-day and in present value to about $12,000.
The following deed, found in Prince George County, while too long to be transcribed in full, is of sufficient im-portance to be mentioned:
"This indenture made the 13th. day of February A. D. 1721 between Charles Williams, son of John Williams, Deceased, and Annie, his wife, of the county of Prince George, of the one part, and James Gee, of the county of Surry of the other part. Witnesseth: That in consideration of the sum of Nine Pounds, current money, to them in hand paid by James Gee, do grant, bargain and sell to him the said James Gee, the following parcel of land containing two hundred Acres, part of which is situated lying and being in the county of Surry and the other part in the county of Prince George (a description of the land follows). It being a part of a patent granted unto Thomas Chappell and by him devised "by will to his; grandson Charles Williams, in fee simple. * * * * *
(Signed) "Charles Williams. "Annie Williams" (Sealed with wafers.)
This deed establishes the fact that Thomas Chappell2 died testate, his will no doubt having been destroyed with the records of Charles City County. It also establishes the fact that he had a daughter who married John Williams, and that his plantation, as has been heretofore stated, was in the east-ern part of Prince George County, not far from Merchant's Hope-the same neighborhood in which his father had settled when he came to the colony in 1635, and where many of his descendants lived for three or four generations. In fact, there are many Chappells living in this section of Virginia to-day, especially in Prince George and in the adjoining counties of Surry and Sussex. Several members of the Virginian branches descendants of Thomas Chappell2 were among those in attendance at the Chappell family reunion which was held in Richmond r Va., July 3, 1896. They have never left the "old stamping-ground."
|
| Person ID |
I15 |
Booth Family |
| Last Modified |
6 Jul 2015 |
| Father |
CHAPPELL Thomas, II, b. Merchants Hope, Prince George, Virginia, USA d. Abt 1700, Merchants Hope, Prince George, Virginia, USA |
| Mother |
BANNISTER Mary, b. 1615, South Hampton, England d. 1700 (Age 85 years) |
| Marriage |
1638 |
Merchants Hope, Prince George, Virginia, USA [2] |
- Married at the Merchant's Hope Plantation
|
| Alt. Marriage |
1648 [9] |
| Family ID |
F5 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family 1 |
JONES Elizabeth, b. Abt 1649, Prince George, VA d. Aft 1725 (Age ~ 77 years) |
| Marriage |
Abt 1670 |
Charles City County, VA [10] |
|
|
| Alt. Marriage |
1677 [9] |
| Alt. Marriage |
1677 |
| Children |
| | 1. CHAPPELL Thomas, b. 1678, Charles City County, VA d. Bef 1726, Prince George County, VA (Age 48 years) |
| | 2. CHAPPELL Samuel, b. 1680, Charles City County, VA d. 1749, Dendron, Surry, Virginia, United States (Age 69 years) |
| | 3. CHAPPELL Robert, b. 1680, Charles City County, VA d. 12 May 1724, Prince George County, VA (Age 44 years) |
| | 4. CHAPPELL Mary Ann, b. 1682, Charles City County, VA d. 1749 (Age 67 years) |
| | 5. CHAPPELL James, b. 10 May 1694, Charles City County, VA d. 12 Feb 1769, Sussex County, VA (Age 74 years) |
|
| Family ID |
F12 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
23 Feb 2008 |
| Family 2 |
JONES Mrs. Sarah, b. Abt 1672, Charles City County, VA d. Yes, date unknown |
| Marriage |
Abt 1693 |
Sussex County, VA [11] |
- This marriage has not been confirmed. Info received from LDS records
|
| Family ID |
F518 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
11 Feb 2006 |
-
-
| Sources |
- [S283] Phill E. Chappell, Chappell History - Phil E. Chappell, (Hudson-Kimberly Publishing Company, Kansas City, Mo. (1900)).
- [S282] Fletcher Trice, Fletcher Trice, (Ancestry.com
fletcht2001@yahoo.com).
- [S148] LDS microfilm.
- [S2] Genealogies of Virginia Families, Vol 1, by Wm and Mary Otly, 729-730 (Reliability: 3).
- [S41] LDS IGI Data (Reliability: 3).
Shows death as btwn 1702/1703 in Surry County
- [S315] John Bennett Boddie, Southside Virginia Families (Reliability: 2).
- [S315] John Bennett Boddie, Southside Virginia Families, Pg. 66 (Reliability: 2).
- [S273] Ancestry.Com.
- [S902] Holloway Family Genealogy, Holloway Family Genealogy (Reliability: 3).
- [S41] LDS IGI Data.
- [S148] LDS microfilm, AFN: 1 GQO-PDC (Reliability: 3).
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