Susan Greenleafe to Thomas MARKHAM, Jamestown by 1636
I visited this forum looking for info about any direct male descendants of Robert Greenleaf, whose widow Susan later married Thomas MARKHAM in Jamestown, Va USA by 1635 or 6.
Since Susan Greenleaf already had a son Thomas by Robert
before marrying Thomas Markham, we don't know if a younger Thomas Markham who appears later buying land across the river is Thomas Markham's son or perhaps stepson - Susan's son Thomas who took the Markham surname for convenience or affection.
We are doing a lot of dna testing among this group of Markham male descendants and are interested in knowing if any Greenleaf dna project is is in the works, with which we might compare.
However, when I searched this Forum for references to Susan Greenleaf and Thomas Markham, I found a widespread belief that she married a Thomas Warren, which is not the case. The original deed was to Thomas MARKHAM, and the recorded deed clearly says so. A year or so thereafter, another copy was made and the clerk misread and mistranscribed Markham as Warren.When the two deed copies are compared, it's obvious how that happened.The error is compounded by the fact that the second deed apparently has been indexed and is published in print, an error that is now speeding its way across the internet.When I first found the discrepancy in the two deeds many years ago and talked to an archivist in Richmond about it, I was invited to write an article about the anomaly but didn't have time.Now I regret not having done that, since someone else has apparently published the error as fact.I know this won't make me popular, but anyone who is researching descendants of these folks should be looking at the microfilm images of these two deeds and not taking my word or the printed word as fact.I compared them for myself and can tell you that the earlier deed clearly says, Thomas Markham, and that the later "Warren" deed contains the same land, the same names for headright grants, and the same Susan, relict of Robert Greenleaf, but if this relates to you, you should do your own checking and make your own conclusions.
Sorry to rain on anyone's parade, but I also hate to see someone researching Warrens when they perhaps should be looking for Markhams instead.
I don't think it's known for sure whether Thomas and Susan
MArkham had any children in addition to her two with Robert Greenleaf or whether those children survived to adulthood
or just WHAT happened, but what did NOT happen was a marriage between Susan Greenleaf, relict of Robert, an ancient planter, and a Thomas Warren, at least not in Jamestown before 1636.
So sorry to bear such tidings, but....
karen marcum pendergrass brandon
More Replies:
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Re: Susan Greenleafe to Thomas MARKHAM, Jamestown by 1636
Crystal Deckard 10/11/11
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Re: Susan Greenleafe to Thomas MARKHAM, Jamestown by 1636
Karen Brandon 10/11/11
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Re: Susan Greenleafe to Thomas MARKHAM, Jamestown by 1636