Line 16.1 John West, Southern Friends and Loved Ones

John was squarely, firmly Church of England. Yet he married a woman who became a Quaker, in spite of her father’s destine for that church. How this affected John is not recorded but he must have struggled in some way with the differences in his own and his wife’s faiths.

John West was born 08 April 1638 St. Dunstan, Stepney, London, England, son of Anthony and Anne West.

Married Matilda Scarborough was born about 1643 in Accomac, Accomack Co., Virginia the daughter of Edmund Henry Scarborough and his wife Mary Littleton (see line 15.2 for children)

Died May 27, 1703 in Accomac, Accomack Co., Virginia

John West began to collect land at the young age of 18. On 23 Dec 1650 he required 1600 acres in Northampton, Virigina. Ten years later on 3 Nov 1660 he gain 800 acres of land. His wife, Matilda was “granted” 250 acres which became John’s because of “marrying with the said Scarburgh”. By 1663, he moved his family to Accomck County, Virginia where in 1670, he and his brother-in-law Charles Scarborough were granted land on an island in Chesapeake Bay. From a 1713 patent issued years after the deaths of  Charles who died in 1702, and John who died in 1703, we can guess that the island was Tangier.

John West was a busy man. He farmed his island land. He was a carpenter and shipbuilder. He was a commissioner for Accomack County, Virginia in 1662, Justice of the Peace from 1663 to 1702, High Sheriff of Accomack Co. in 1664 and 1667 and a member of the House of Burgess in 1680. From 1665-1703 he was a Captain then a Major and finally a Lieutenant Colonel in the state militia. John may have been  the John West Major serving under General Berkely during the Bacon rebellion and suffered great losses in property. If so he was captured and imprisoned for a while as well. The Bacon Rebellion started when a group of settlers, lead by a wealthy planter named Nathnaiel Bacon, protested against the Indian raids. Governor Berkely allowed the Indians to remain enraging the settlers. Both poor white and poor black farmers united to fight against what they felt threat they felt from both the native population and Governor Berkely. The Indians, at least for a time, were allowed to remember but poor old Berkely was recalled to England.

John West wrote his will 3 Februaty 1702/3. It was proved 2 August 1703. The Snead Bible records " Lieut. Coll. John West died May 27, 1703" John’s will named his wife Mathilda and their six sons (Anthony, Alexander, Jonathan, Bennony, John the elder and John the younger) and seven daughters (Catherine, Anne, Mary, Scarburgh, Mathilda, Frances and Sarah) as well as other relatives, included grandchildren.

A busy man indeed was my ancestor John West. He fought rebellions, claimed large portions of land, built ships and raised a large family. On top of all that, he worshiped in the Church of England while his rebellious wife became a Quaker. I can feel assured that their relationship, while certainly differing on theology, remained warm in that they had a large family over nearly twenty-seven years. John left Matilda well off and well provided for. She survived him by over sixteen years, probably being cared for by her children and her “friends” in the Quaker Church.

***SOURCES***

1. [CR] http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~genea/westant2.html "Descendants of Anthony West" by Carolyn Rozelle

2. [AWJV] http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~genea/westant.htm "Anthony West, James city, Virginia" from Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia 1607-1625

3. [WFCF] http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~genea/westberry.html "West Families from Colonial Families of U.S."

4. [PSA] RootsWeb.com "Pam Shelton-Anderson Gedcom"

5.  [CMG]  http://www.esva.net/ghotes/scarb "Descendants of Edmund Scarborough" from Cynthia McDaniel, Ghote

6. [JWW] Will of John West, 1703

7. [RB] http://freepages.genalogy.rootsweb.com/~barlow/west.html West family lineage, Ralph Barlow, Northampton Virginia

8. [LCJW] "Ancestors of Lt. Col. John West" Internet, http://www.freepages.family.rootwebs.ancestry.com/~streetancestors/290.html

Line 16, Anthony West, Church of England Royalty?

Many genealogists have tried to connect Anthony West to Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr or Lord Baltimore for whom the city of Baltimore is named, although I haven’t found a firm connection, the possibility is very promising. The connection, if true, may also lead back to Henry VIII through his supposed illegitimate daughter, Catherine Cary, who was the daughter of Mary Boleyn, sister to Henry’s second wife the Anne Boleyn who was the mother of Queen Elizabeth II.

Anthony West was born about 1605 somewhere in England

Married the widow Anne Huffe (possibly of Anthony Huffe) who married 3. Stephen Charlton. Anthony West and Anne Huffe were married 11 March 1632/33 at St. Dunstan, Stepney, Middlesex, England.

Their children were:

1.      Katherine West born 09 January 1634/35 in Stepney, Middlesex, England. She died 1700 in Accomac, Accomack Co., VA. She married Ralph Barlowe, the son of Edward and Joan Barlowe.

2.      Anne West born about 1636  in Stepney, Middlesex, England and died 1684 in Accomac, Accomack Co., VA. She may have married Charles Scarbough, brother of Matilda who married Anne’s brother John.

3.      John West born 27 May 1703 in Stepney, Middlesex, England and died May 27, 1703 in Accomac, Accomack Co., VA

4.      Anthony West born and died November 1641 in Stepney, Middlesex, England.

Died 25 May 1652 in Northampton Co., Virginia

Anthony West was probably a younger son who lacked money and came to Virginia seeking a better and wealthier life for himself and his future family. If he was a part of the De la Warr family, he more likely a cousin then a child of the Baron, as none of the lists of children I have found include an “Anthony”. The evidence that Anthony was related to the De la Warrs includes the fact that he used the similar coat-of-arms as Lord Delaware’s, a coat of arms. A copy of the family coat-of-arms can be found on the gravestone of Anthony’s great-grandson, Charles. The arms are quartered with his wife’s. In English records dated around 1622 there is a record of an Anthony West receiving a coat of arms. Many young noblemen seeking adventure or riches in the New World wanted a recorded coat-of-arms when they left England. Since 1622ish fits into the timeline of our Anthony coming to the New World, and the coat-of-arms recorded is similar to the one on Charles West’s gravestone, there is a very strong possibility these are the same Anthony West. At this point the records haven’t revealed a positive connection between my Anthony and the Lord Delaware. Both coat-of-arms picture a "fesse dancettee, and the the three leopard's faces" and the only difference is a "martlet" in the cneter of the fesse on the English one but a star point above the fesse on Charles West's arms. The fact that Anthony came to early Jamestown where his supposed West relations also came and the noted coat-of-arms, does point strongly to some kind of family connection.

The adventurous Anthony West came to Virginia as a very young man in 1622 arriving on The James, living first at West and Sherlowe Hundred and then at “Mr. Treasurer’s Plantation” across the river from Jamestown. He settled in Northampton County and became a Lieutenant Colonel in the local militia. He returned to England before 1632 when he married Anne Huffe. Dated 10 March 1633/4, a marriage license signed by the Bishop of London reads: “Anthony West of ye parish of Stepney in the County of Midd[lesex] Surgeon and a batchr aged 28 years ... alledged that he intented to marry wth Anne Huffe of the fr said parish widowe aged 26 yeares the relict of Anthony Huffe.”

Anthony and Anne stayed in London long enough to have four children. Sometime before 1649, Anthony, with his family, returned to Virginia where 'Anthony West, Ann his wife, John West and Kath: West' were given a patent to settle on the “Great Nusewattock River.”

As noted on his daughter-in-law, Matilda Scarborough West’s story, John West followed the Church of England, so it is most likely that Anthony West did too. Unlike the New England settlers who did immigrate in order to practice their faith, the men and women who came to Virginia did so for economic reasons or for the adventure. They tended to be “good” Englishmen and woman who followed the King’s religion. I tend toward feeling that since his son married the daughter of a man who was rather a zealot for keeping the “King’s Church” as the Church of Virginia, that he must have been at the least a frequent attendee of that church.

He died 25 May 1652 [CR / RBNV] His will was written 12 Oct 1651 [AWJV] and proved 25 May 1652 Northampton, E names his wife Ann and issue, John and Katherine [RBNV] Anthony made a will 12 October 1651 in Accomack/Northampton. It was recorded 25 May 1652 (Marshall Wills: 31). An abstract of his will reads: WEST, ANTHONY - 12 October 1651 / 25 May 1652 - My son John West extr. And my wife [no name] and daughter Barloe to have their thirds out of my estate, and my son John to have the rest. And his mother to have the managing of it during her widowhood, but if she married then my son John to enjoy his estate (if it be before he comes of age). No administrator nor overseer to have anything to do with my estate. [GMW]

My West line

Supposed ancestors in parentheses:

[Sir William Boleyn m. Lady Margaret Butler, daughter of Thomas Butler 7^th Earl of Ormond]

[Thomas Boleyn m. Lady Elizabeth Howard, daughter of Thomas Howard, 2^nd Duke of Norfolk]

[Mary Boleyn m. William Carey and was mistress of Henry VIII, King of England]

[Catherine Carey (possibly the daughter of Henry VIII) m. Sir Francis Knollys]

[Anne Knollys m. Thomas West, 2^nd  Baron De La Warr]

[Sons were Robert, Thomas, Francis and John West, 3^rd  Baron De La Warr]

Anthony West married Mrs. Anne Huffe

John West m. Matilda Scarborough

Anne West m. William Sellman

Charles Sellman m. Elizabeth Gassaway

Margaret Sellman m. Joshua Hobbs

Anna “Nancy” Hobbs m. George Burkheart

Mary “Polly” Burkheart m. William Hopkins

Cynthia Hopkins m. Samuel Thomas Miller

Eliza Jane Miller m. Josiah Maltby

***SOURCES***

1. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~genea/westant2.html "Descendants of Anthony West" by Carolyn Rozelle

2. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~genea/westant.htm "Anthony West, James city, Virginia" from Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia 1607-1625

3.   http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~genea/westberry.html "West Families from Colonial Families of U.S."

4. http://freepages.genalogy.rootsweb.com/~barlow/west.html West family lineage, Ralph Barlow, Northampton Virginia

6.   cbrown@swko.net, Liberal, KS (per Diane Powers)

7.   Gail M. Walczyk, "Anthony West" http://www.easternshoreheritage.com/descendants/descendants_jamestowne_West_anthony.htm

8.      Marriage license signed by the Bishop of London, Dated 10 March 1633/4

9.    Rootweb WEST-L Archives EileenGen@aol.com Subject: More on Anthony West 

  Date: Sat, 3 Jan 1998

Line 15.2, Matilda Scarborough West; A Daughter's Holy Rebellion

Sometimes poetic justice is visited in odd ways. Edmund Scarborough Sr., the Indian and Quaker Fighter, was blessed (or maybe cursed) with a daughter that practiced the Quaker faith. She obviously inherited her father’s streak of independence as she fearlessly joined the Friends and worshiped as she found fit.

Matilda Scarborough was born about 1643 in Accomac, Accomack Co., Virginia the daughter of Edmund Henry Scarborough and his wife Mary Littleton.

She married John West born 08 April 1638 and baptized at St. Dunstan, Stepney, London, England. He died 27 May 1703 in Accomac, Accomack Co., Virginia

Their children were:

1.      Mathilda West born 31 August 1658 Clifton, Accomack, VA. She married John Wise or West born 1655. They both died in Accomac, Accomack Co., Virginia.

2.      John West born 1661 in Accomac, Accomack  Co., Virginia and died there 1701. He married France Yardley.

3.      Anthony West born 1662 in Accomac, Accomack Co., Virginia and died there 06 August 1717.

4.      Sarah West born 1665 in Accomac, Accomack Co., Virginia and died there 30 January 1760. She married Tully Robinson born 31 August 1658.

5.      Alexander West born 1673 in Liberty Hall, Marionville. He married Mary Robins. He died 03 January 1727/28 VA. Accomac, Accomack Co., Virginia

6.      Benoni West born 1672 Accomac, Accomack Co., Virginia and died there January 1707/08. He married Sarah Snead.

7.      Frances West  born 1672 in Accomac, Accomack Co., Virginia and died 06 April 1731. She married a Mr. Kellam

8.      Jonathan born 27 March 1674 in Accomac, Accomack Co., VA and died there 04 October 1727. He married Rachel Spooner.

9.      Catherine West born 06 May 1677 Accomac, Accomack Co., VA and died there 07 January 1710/11.

10.  John born about 1680 at Liberty Hall, Marionville, VA and died there 16 September 1718. He married Josepha Maria Godwin.

11.  Mary Scarborough West about 1684 at Accomac, Accomack Co., VA and died there 27 January 1767. She married Robert Snead.

12.  Anne  born 12 February 1685/86 in Accomac, Accomack Co., VA. She married William Sellman. They relocated to Maryland where Anne died 01 May 1749 in Anne Arundel County.

Died Accomac, Accomack Co., Virginia on died 03 January 1720/21.

Matilda Scarborough born about 1644 in Accomack County, Virginia. While Virginia was still a “wild” land, she was born into a family of wealth and influence and probably enjoyed the finest life available in the New World. Her father was the son of a very influential man and he most certainly inherited a bit of that influence himself. She married Lt.Col. John West the son of Anthony West and his wife Anne, who had been the widow Huffe at her marriage to Mr. West. There are some genealogies pointing to Anthony West being the son of Thomas West, the Third Baron De La Ware but I haven’t been able to make a solid connection. I feel from the evidence found that he was probably a middle class adventurer, looking for the land of milk and honey and gold. Whatever his state before coming to the New World, Anthony prospered and his son did too. John was a shipbuilder. He served as county commissioner of Accomack County, as well as justice and sheriff. He was a captain and then major and the lieutenant colonel in the local militia. He eventually owned over 5000 acres in Accomack County and 250 more in Northampton County. He was also staunchly adhered to the Church of England.

What possessed Matilda to join the Quaker church cannot be learned now but it was a brace act considering her parents and husband stuck tightly to the Church of England. Her own father led a vicious attack again the Quakers who tried to settle along the Great Annamessex River in 1663 only two years after she married John West. I haven’t been able to find out when Matilda joined the Quakers but her father’s aggression against the Quakers may have made her sympathetic to their cause. Her father died ten years after her marriage. Whether her conversion estranged her from her father is not known. Since she and John West had twelve children born throughout nearly the whole of their marriage, I doubt that and despite the differences in practicing their faith, there must have still been a somewhat warm relationship. She was named in her mother’s 14 June 1691 will as well as her husband’s 6 February 1702/3 will for which she refused to take the usual oath, as was the Quaker way.

We often think of our foremothers as having been weak and timid. I sincerely doubt that Mathilda was either of these. She must have been full of conviction and activity. She ran a large household and was strong in her faith and loyal to her church. I can’t say for sure, but I see her as having been a woman who stood up and spoke her mind and God’s revelations with the passion equal to any Bible thumping male minister. Women were equal to men in the Quaker denomination and following my Quaker Martyr Great-something Grandmother, Mary Dyer, Mathilda may very well have been willing to give up all for her faith. On the other hand, she must also been a very loveable woman who was able to keep her faith and her Church of England family as well.

***SOURCES***

1.     http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~genea/westant.htm "Anthony West, James city, Virginia" from Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia 1607-1625

2.     http://www.esva.net/ghotes/scarb "Descendants of Edmund Scarborough" from Cynthia McDaniel, Ghote

3. cbrown#swko.net, Liberal, KS (Per Diane Powers)

4. The History of Maryland and Virginia Quakers By Jeannette Holland Austin http://www.georgiapioneers.com/

5. Col. John Wise of England and Virginia (1617-1695); Wise, Jennings Cropper, Virginia Historical Society (Film 0000593)

Line 15.1 Edmund Henry Scarborough; Here Comes Trouble

Edmund Henry Scarborough is one of my ancestors who walked on the wrong side of God. OK, maybe not, but he certainly didn’t practice his Christian compassion. He was quit a character as this short look at his life will prove.

Edmund Henry Scarborough was born 02 October 1617 in North Walsham, Norfolk, England the son of Edmund Scarborough Sr. and his wife Hannah Butler Married Mary Littleton

Their children were

1.      Littleton Scarborough who died in 1672

2.      Tabitha Scarborough born about 1636 and died about 1717 in Accomack, McCormack Co., Virginia. She married 1. Colonel John SMART 2. Devereux BROWN and 3. Major General John CUSTIS II.

3.      Charles Scarborough born 1643. He married Elizabeth Bennett. He was involved in the Bacon Rebellion but acquitted of wrongdoing. He died after 1701 in Accomack, McCormack Co., VA

4.      Matilda Scarborough born 1644 in Accomack, McCormack Co., Virginia and died there 03 January 1720/21.

5.      Edmund Scarborough born 1644 in Accomack, McCormack Co., Virginia and died there 05 February 1711/12. He married Ursula Whittington.

There is also strong evidence that Edmund Scarborough was the father of the Ann Toft’s daughters:

6.      Arcadia Toft who married Thomas Welburn (by whom she had five children.) She died 2 August 1710 in Accomack County, Virginia.

7.      Attalanta Toft married John Osborne (by whom she had at least two children) and William Whittington.

8.      Annabelle Toft married Francis Lee (by whom she had one daughter, Rebecca) and William Marshall (by whom she had six children).

Died 23 May 1671 in Occahannock Creek, Accomack Co., VA

Edmund Henry Scarborough was, if nothing else, a very influential and powerful man in the mid-Seventh Century colony of Virginia. Edmund wasn’t beyond murder, adultery and just plain meanness. He was the complete opposite of his gentle brother, Sir Charles. If Edmund did consider himself a Christian, then he was of the type who was relentless of ridding all who did not practice their Christianity or faith as he did. If he was Christian, he was the type whom atheist historians throw out as a “good” example of the evil of that faith. My guess is that he was strict Church of England and didn’t like anyone’s else’s view of Christianity and God.

Edmund was a wealthy as well as powerful man. Edmund served as Speaker of the House of Burgesses, county sheriff and militia colonel. He was a man of many skills, acting as a lawyer, a surveyor, a planter and cattle rancher, owned a shoe factory and many shipping vessels. When his sea vessel “Sea Horse” was captured by the Dutch in 1651, he turned around and captured several Dutch vessels. The native people of Virginia called him the “Conjurer”. They deserved to be weary of the Conjurer as in 1651, he convinced Accomack County people or English blood that the Pocomoke Indian north of them were a threat and lead a raid of over fifty men against them. Edmund and some of the other white men involved in the raid were called to court to justify their actions. The court found them justified. Later he sold guns to the Indians and then turned around and condemned to the General Assembly for owning firearms. In 1671 he called the Indians to a great feast and then as thy feasted, fired on them and killed many of them.

Edmund’s wrath wasn’t just directed toward the Indians of Virginia but towards those whose “faith” didn’t fit the “correct” mold, whatever that was in his mind. He hated Puritans and Quakers and caused them no end of trouble in Virginia. He even went after the Quakers who fled to Maryland to escape him and claimed parts of Maryland for Virginia. Religious irony would follow him after the grave in that his daughter, Matilda’s grandson married a woman who descended from the very religious groups that Edmund tried so hard to eliminate.

Edmund married a woman named Mary, who may have been the daughter of Nathaniel Littleton. She outlived Edmund by twenty years, a just reward for living with such a man. He is believed to have been the father of Anne Toft’s three illegitimate daughters. Anne Toft, an unmarried woman, profited greatly from her relationship to Edmund as he helped her become a wealthy woman. As influential as Edmund was, it could not have set well with his legitimate wife, that he flaunted his mistresses and three young daughters. Mary suffered after Edmund’s death as well when their son, Charles, “neglected” her. In her will, she revoked a legacy to son Charles Scarburgh because of his neglect, leaving money and items to her other children and grandchildren.

Edmund died of smallpox and was buried near Hedra Cottage. A handsome marble marker was placed there by the State of Virginia many years later and can still be viewed.

“Here abouts lies Col. Edmund Scarborough 1618-1671 Surveyor General of Virginia”

***SOURCES***

1. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~genea/westant.htm "Anthony West, James city, Virginia" from Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia 1607-1625

2. http://www.esva.net/ghotes/scarb "Descendants of Edmund Scarborough" from Cynthia McDaniel, Ghote

3. Southern Kith and Kin By Jewell Davis Scarborough Copyright ©1957

Line 15, Edmund Scarborough; Father of Genius and Trouble

Edmund Scarborough was the son of Henry Scarburgh (Scarborough), Gentleman of North Walsham, county Norfolk in England, and his wife Elizabeth possibly a Humberstone. There has been some debate over whether Edmund’s mother was named Mary or Elizabeth, but the latest evidence points to Elizabeth being his mother. There were two Henry Scarboroughs in North Walsham at the time, one married to a Mary and another to Elizabeth. The local church of North Walsham still displays a monument to him. He and his brothers were granted arms and crest in 1614. That must have given young Edmund a boost up in society. Edmund was well educated and when he settled in the colony of Virginia sometime in the early 1620s he distingued himself. He was Commissioner of Accomac County, Va., a member of the Board of Justices, 1632, and of the House of Burgesses from 1628 to 1630. He brought all but his son, Charles with him to Virginia. Young Charles stayed behind to attend college at Caius College. He was a brilliant and influential mathemation until Cromwell became Lord Protector of England and his political party reorganized Cambridge where he worked. At that time he went to Oxford to study medicine and in 1648 he was admitted to the Royal College of Physicians. He later became physician to four English Monarchs, Charles II, James II and William and Mary. Charles became Sir Charles in 1669 when he was knighted and became a member of Parliament. He died in 1693 and was buried in Cranford, Middlesex, England.

The elder Edmund Scarborough died in Virginia in early 1635, having lived in the colony was about ten years. However he proved to be an influential man there, serving as Commissioner of Accomack County, in the House of Burgesses from 1628 until 1630 and on the Board of Justices in 1632.

Edmund’s role in the church in Virginia is not known. However, my guess, based on what he know of his sons, is that he was a firm member of the Church of England, if not a devote member. His son, Charles, seemed to go in the direction of whatever the politics brought his way but leaning toward the Church of England. His leanings were toward survival, serving as court physician to two Catholic Kings and a Protestant King and Queen, as well as surviving the change Puritan Common Wealth under Cromwell. Son Edmund Jr. thought was different story, as we will see.

***SOURCES***

1. http://www.esva.net/ghotes/scarb "Descendants of Edmund Scarborough" from Cynthia McDaniel, Ghote

2. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~genea/westant.htm "Anthony West, James city, Virginia" from Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia 1607-1625

3. Ancestral Records and Portraits, Vol. I (found on Cynthia McDaniel's site]

5. Cavaliers and Pioneers by Nugent Vol. I

6. Southern Kith and Kin By Jewell Davis Scarborough

7. Edmund Scarborough bp. 1584 & William Scarborough of Bacon's Rebellion Posted by: Vickie Elam White, 2008 "Scarborough Family Genealogy Forum"    http://genforum.genealogy.com/scarbourgh/messages2240.htlm

8. Edmund Scarborough bp. 1584 & William Scarborough of Bacon's Rebellion posted by Cynthia McDaniel Ghote on "Scarborough Family Genealogy Forum"

Line 14.1, Elizabeth Talbott Preston Lawrence Galloway, The Daughter of Friends

Elizabeth was the product of a Quaker father and a mother raised in the Puritan belief system. Elizabeth was also a product of a colony fractured and formed by its multitude of Christian sects. Founded as an oasis for the English Catholics persecuted under the Tutor and then early Stuart reigns, Maryland became a haven for many persecuted Christian sects from England and France. Elizabeth was raised with parents from two such sects.

Elizabeth Talbot was born about 1625 in England.

Married 1. James Preston, 2. Lawrence, son of Lawrence and 3. Richard Galloway on 10 December 1686 at the West River Meeting House in Anne Ardunel Co., MD

The children of James Preston and Elizabeth Talbott were:

      1. Rebecca Preston

The children of Benjamin Lawrence and Elizabeth Talbott were:

2.      Benjamin Lawrence born 13 May 1677, married Rachel Moriarte. He died 29 December 1719 in Baltimore, Maryland

3.      Elizabeth Lawrence born 25 February 1678/79. She married John Gassaway. She died 09 December 1700 in Anne Arundel County, Maryland

4.      Lucy Lawrence born 1680 in West River, Anne Arundel Co. Maryland. She married John Belt.

The children of

5.      Elizabeth Galloway

6.      Richard Galloway married Sophia Richardson

Died 05 March 1690/91; her body was probably reburied on 15 January 1701/02 in All Hallow Parish, Anne Arundel Co., MD

Since wives in the Seventeenth Century usually followed their husband’s religious beliefs, Elizabeth Talbot was more then likely raised as a Quaker. I tried to find church information on her three husbands. I wasn’t able find any on James Preston, but Benjamin Lawrence was most likely a Quaker as was her third husband, Richard Galloway who after died was buried in Friends Burying Ground, West River, Anne Arundel Co., Maryland. We can pretty much figure that Elizabeth remained a Quaker throughout her life. Richard and Elizabeth were married at the West River Meeting House, which could very well have been a Quaker “Meeting House.”

Elizabeth married three times. Her first husband was James Preston, the son of Richard Preston. His father's will states that if he return from England alive he was to inherit Barren Island and sole use of the dwelling plantation on the “patzxent” until his nephew, Samuel Preston came of age. James never returned to England. He died in 1673/4, leaving his “estate, real and person” to his wife and young daughter, Rebecca. We don’t know what happened to Rebecca as this is the last known record for her. She probably died young.

The widow Preston married as her second husband Benjamin Lawrence. Benjamin Lawrence was the son of another Benjamin Lawrence, who had come as a young man to Virginia in the 1660s. He was given land in Maryland “for transporting himself” and his family (consisting of his wife, Ann Lawrence, and sons Benjamin Lawrence and Nehemiah) to that colony. By his death in 1685, Benjamin Lawrence was land wealthy and left a good inheritance to his wife and children. I have no proof that Benjamin was a Quaker, but unless Elizabeth took up the faith again after his death, it is a good bet that he at some point of his life became a Quaker as well.

Elizabeth’s third husband continued the Southern Quaker link in the family, which as mentioned makes me believe that Elizabeth was a Friend her whole life. She and Richard Galloway had two children, a daughter named Elizabeth and a son named Richard who was also a Quaker. Interestingly enough, Richard Galloway  house remains standing and is listed on National Register Listings in Maryland. A picture and details about the house can be found on the National Register’s web-site. Elizabeth probably never lived in the house as it was completed in the year she died. It is also interesting to note that Elizabeth was reburied almost eleven years after her death in All Hallow Parish, Anne Arundel County.  The reason behind this change of burial place is unknown. She more then likely had been buried beside or near her third husband and daughter in the Quaker burial place first and moved to the All Hallow Parish cemetery eleven years later. After her daughter, Elizabeth Lawrence died and was buried at All Hallow Parish, the family may have felt the elder Elizabeth needed to be closer to her daughter in death.

***SOURCES***

1.  http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/8058/lawrence.htm "Descendants of Benjamin Lawrence and Ann Ascomb}

2.  http://www.rootsweb.com/~mdannear/firstfam/ "Talbot"

3. "Early Families of Southern Maryland, Vol. 2" The Lawrence Family

4.  Anne Arundel Gentry, Vol. 1, Gassaway Family

5.  Early Families of Southern Maryland, Vol. 3, "Galloway"

6.   http://thecityobserver.org/scarborough/index-scar.htm "Scarborough - Ewen - Richardson - Carroll - Current - Petticoat" by P L Chadwick

Line 14 Richard Talbot; Southern Friends

The Quakers didn’t just touch New England with their theology; they also went south to Virginia and then to Maryland. Richard Talbot and his Lawrence relatives practiced the Quaker faith in Maryland.

Richard Talbot was born about 1625 in England.

Married Elizabeth Ewen, daughter of Richard EWEN and Sophia EWELL (see line 7)

1.      Elizabeth Talbott born 10 August 1656 in West River, Anne Arundel Co. MD

2.      Edward Talbott born 06 November 1658 in West River, Anne Arundel Co. MD

3.      John Talbott born 10 December 1664 in West River, Anne Arundel Co. MD

4.      Richard Talbott born 05 January 1668/69 in West River, Anne Arundel Co. MD

Died 15 July 1699 Poplar Knowle, Anne Arundel co., MD

Richard Talbott was born about 1625 in England. He may have immigrated to Virginia first but by 1649 was in the Maryland colony and had set up household at West River in Anne Arundel County. In December of 1656 he bough a plantation on the West River in Anne Arundel Country called Poplar Knowle, which became his home. In 1659 Richard Talbott was assigned land from his father-in-law, the puritan Richard Ewen. This was at a time when the Puritans in Massachusetts were percecuting the Quakers. Mary Dyer the Quaker Martyr would be hanged in Boston in 1660. The religiously fractured Maryland, although full of it’s own religious battles, had at least in one family who found peace with the marriage of Quaker Richard Talbot to Puritan Elizabeth Ewen.

The  Amistead Family History reports  that Richard  was the son of Sir Robert Talbott, the 2nd Baron of Carlton Co. in Kildare and Grace Calvert daughter of Sir George Calvert, 1st Baron of Baltimore. They claim he was next in line to become Earl of Shrewsbury but because he was a Loyalist and sided with King Charles I, Cromwell had his estates confiscated. Richard, invited to Maryland by Governor Stone, left England. Other Talbotts who came at the same time were Sir William Talbott and Colornel George Talbot, both of whom were related to Lord Baltimore for whom the city of Baltimore is named. Richard first received land in 1649 from the proprietary government. It was a tract called “Timber Neck. How true this account of Richard’s ancestry is, I have not been able to determine. TheAmisteads certainly favored the story and many of the young men and families who came to Maryland were Loyalist fleeing for their lives.

Richard Talbot may have become a Quaker after his marriage to Elizabeth Ewen, although it is possible that he was introduced to the faith by the Quaker missionary Elizabeth Harris who was preaching in Maryland by 1655. Six years before, the “Toleration Act”, more formally known as An Act Concerning Religion, was enacted by Lord Baltimore who was trying to protect the Catholic population for which the colony of Maryland was founded. The Catholics were quickly becoming a minority in their own home. The Quakers benefited from this Act, as well as other Christian religious outside the Anglican Church. Quakers moved from Virginia into Maryland, where there was still discrimination again them, but where they at least had some freedom to practice their beliefs.

    Richard Talbot’s will was signed 2 April 1663 in West River, Anne Arundel Co., Maryland. He willed "Poplar Knawle." to his son Richard and sons Edward and John were joint heirs to "Talbotts Ridge" His daughter, Elizabeth, however was given non-land gifts. Richard died a man rich in land and family and, I hope, in his faith.

***SOURCES***

1.  http://www.rootsweb.com/~mdannear/firstfam/ "Talbot"

2. Ancestry.com "Our Research" by Alice Ament Davidson Gedge

3. http://www.tcarden.com/tree/ensor/Talbot.htm "Talbot"

4. Anne Arundel Gentry, Vol. 1, Gassaway Family

5. http://genealogy.Iv/MDBios/anne_arundel.htm "Richard Talbott / Sir Robert ? Calverts;