William HEAD (17c. Immigrant Ancestor/Northern Neck of VA)
There are some who think that William HEAD (wife Mary), who died in St. Mary's Parish, Richmond Co., VA in 1710, was the immigrant ancestor of the HEAD family that was present in the Northern Neck of Virginia.However, here's another possibility:Maybe he was the son of the immigrant.The records show that the father signed his name with the mark of "X" on 29 Oct 1679, and the son signed his with the mark of "W" on 12 Aug 1689.
William HEAD was transported into the Colony of Virginia by 5 Sept 1660 by Peter PRESLEY, a justice of Northumberland Co., VA.The importation record is only to be found in a court order book of the aforementioned county.
The Northern Neck is the uppermost peninsula of Virginia's mainland that is bordered on the north by the Potomac River, on the south by the Rappahannock River, and on the east by the Chesapeake Bay into which both rivers flow.The counties created in the Neck were:Northumberland (1648), Lancaster (1651), Westmoreland (1653), Old Rappahannock (1656, abolished 1692), Stafford (1664), Richmond (1692), King George (1720).The primary north/south road was referred to in early records as the "Potomac Rappa(hannock) Path", and this, most likely, became today's Highway 301 which traverses the Neck for about 15 miles.(Route 3, the primary east/west road, was known as "The King's Highway".)
Although some families did cross the Chesapeake Bay to settle on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, most migration in the Northern Neck was to head westward along the rivers and its creeks.There also could be movement from one river side of the Neck to the other and the HEAD family echoes this pattern.
Since William HEAD's importation was recorded in Northumberland County, it is reasonable to assume that his early years in the colony were probably spent there serving out his indenture.During that period, he may have married.The only female found in the Northumberland records who might have been his wife was Jane HEAD.She appears to have been the widow of John CHAMBERS, and this may help to explain why there was a subsequentinheritance of land many years later that suggested a CHAMBERS-HEAD relationship of some kind.
John CHAMBERS first appeared in Northumberland County records on 10 Oct 1652 when he was granted 150 acres on the Mattapony River for transporting 3 persons into Virginia.(Evidently, the Mattapony was located between the Yeocomico & Chicacoan "Coan" Rivers near Cherry Point Neck on the Potomac side of the peninsula.)Several months later, he gave a power of attorney to George COLCLOUGH to sell the land on his behalf to Philip CARPENTER of Cherry Point Neck.That may be because CHAMBERS already had an interest in leasing part of a tract called "Little Neck" that was situated near George COLCLOUGH's land.(George COLCLOUGH, born about 1624, was Collector of Customs for Northumberland County in 1655.He was the third husband of Ursula BISSHE who was first married to Richard THOMPSON, deceased 1649, and then Col. John MOTTROM, the first white settler in the Northern Neck.As such, George COLCLOUGH was a stepfather of Ursula's daughter, Elizabeth THOMPSON, who married Peter PRESLEY, the justice who transported William HEAD into Virginia.)
The tract that John CHAMBERS leased was owned by Symon RICHARDSON, later appointed a Constable for the area between the Little Wicomico River and Cupid's Creek.Although the lease was not signed until 14 May 1653, it was retroactive to 1 Dec 1652.The lease was good for 11 years, but John CHAMBERS was already deceased by 2 June 1655 when "Jane CHAMBERS, widow" gave a calf to Symon RICHARDSON's young daughter, Ursula.(Ursula RICHARDSON also received heifers from Richard ILAND (probably Richard ILIFFE/AYLIFFE) on 21 Jul 1656 and George COLCLOUGH on 29 Jul 1658.The records indicate that Richard AYLIFFE and George COLCLOUGH were close associates and possibly related.)
On 14 Jan 1669/70 "Jane HEAD" was one of four witnesses to a lengthy will made by Robert WALTON of Stafford County that was proved in Northumberland Co. court on 19 Jul 1671.The other witnesses were Christopher HERGILL, Thomas HOBSON, a court clerk, and Thomas BRERETON, a county justice.(Thomas BRERETON had been a court clerk in York Co., VA who then advanced in his position to the Quarter (Court) Sessions conducted at Jamestown.He married Jane CLAIBORNE, daughter of William CLAIBORNE, Virginia's first Secretary-Treasurer.On 8 June 1658 Thomas BRERETON was granted 500 acres of land "at the mouth of the Machotic River" (Northern Neck) for transporting 10 persons.One of them was the aforementioned Symon RICHARDSON who had leased land to John CHAMBERS.)
Robert WALTON's will nominated his "brother" Thomas MATHEW "of (Cherry Point) Northumberland Co., VA" as his sole executor.Thomas MATHEW, who was married to WALTON's sister, would later become a catalyst to a major uprising on the Northern Neck frontier.
On 24 Aug 1671 William HEAD was named a co-executor with Capt. John ASHTON, an attorney & county court justice, to the will of Francis LEWIS of Westmoreland Co., VA later referred to in a 1698 record as an "alien".(On 22 Mar 1660/61 Francis LEWIS, in partnership with James GREEN and William BALDROP, aka BALT(H)ROP, had been issued a grant of 1050 acres in Westmoreland County between the Potomac & Rappahannock Rivers.It was described as being on Attopin Creek, an old Indian name for Rosier's Creek, now in King George County near the water-side town of Colonial Beach, VA.)
The will of Francis LEWIS was proved 28 Feb 1671/2 by witnesses Daniel HARPER and Evan MORGAN.(Evan married Elizabeth ALLEN who was the widow of William BROWN, carpenter of Sittenbourne Parish.Elizabeth and her first husband were the parents of Elizabeth BROWN who married Dr. Alexander SPENCE, later the father-in-law of Henry HEAD.)In the will LEWIS did not mention any family other than his two young daughters.He left his daughter, Margery, in care of Richard CHAPMAN & wife and his daughter Christian, in care of "Mr. BRUERTON" (his next-door neighbor, John BRERETON of Washington Parish, Westmoreland Co., VA.)He devised equal portions of his estate to his daughters, including his 100-acre "dwelling plantation".However, he requested that his "friend" William HEAD live on this land while caring for the youngster John MOONE until he was seventeen years old.
For the next few years, the records show William HEAD engaged in two activities:selling the harvested tobacco to local agents for the British merchants and submitting receipts to the estate account of the decedent Francis LEWIS.Then came the year 1676.
During 1676, there was a popular uprising known in history as "Bacon's Rebellion" (led by Nathaniel BACON,Jr.) over high taxes, low prices for the planters' tobacco, political favoritism and unsafe conditions in remote areas due to Indian raids.In addition, a year of severe weather disturbances left the colonists ripe for revolt.The beginnings of the rebellion had already started to fester in the Northern Neck because of an incident during the previous summer of 1675 when Robert HEN, a "herdsman" hired by Thomas MATHEW, was slaughtered by a group of Doeg Indians (a tribe who spoke an Algonquian language) at MATHEW's upriver plantation in Stafford County.
As mentioned previously, Thomas MATHEW, whose "dwelling plantation" was in Northumberland County, was a brother-in-law of Robert WALTON whose will was witnessed a few years earlier by Jane HEAD.About thirty years later, MATHEW, who had been elected to the Virginia Assembly in 1676 but, subsequently, returned to England, was asked by British minister Lord OXFORD to record, to the best of his memory, the events of "Bacon's Rebellion".(That manuscript can be accessed via the Internet.)
The records of Westmoreland Co., VA show that William HEAD was among a group of rebel leaders in the Northern Neck participating in "Bacon's Rebellion" that also included Joseph HARDIGE (HARDWICH, HARDWICK), Richard BARTON, Thomas OAKLY, John ALHILL (ATHOL, ETHELL), Steven MANWARING, Richard DONAHAM.Although Gov. William BERKELEY later punished some rebels severely, there is no indication that any of the men in Westmoreland County were executed.After this event, it probably was prudent for the former "rebel chiefs" to keep a low profile.
The last entry found for the immigrant ancestor William HEAD was in the Stafford County records as a witness on 29 Oct 1679 to a deed of 50 acres from Paul LITTLEFIELD to Edward POWELL.William HEAD signed the transaction with his mark "X".
Ten years later, his presumptive son, William HEAD (II), who signed with his mark "W", also appeared in Stafford County as a witness on 12 Aug 1689 to the will of Robert KING.The other witnesses were John BREWTON (BRERETON, BREWERTON), William SMITH, Elizabeth BREWTON, Jonah DENTON and Richard AYLIFFE.The executrix of the will (proved on 7 Apr 1690) was wife Mary KING, and her securities were Richard AYLIFFE and John BREWTON.Appraisers of the estate were John BREWTON, Richard AYLIFF, William HEAD and Richard WALL.
By 10 Mar 1695/6 William HEAD (II) and his wife Mary were living in St. Mary's Parish, Richmond Co., VA when they purchased 100 acres on the east side of Gingoteague Creek (of the Rappahannock) from Robert & Margaret PECK.Witnesses to the deed were William TAYLOR, the current tenant, and Alexander SPENCE.This became the site for "HEAD's Mill" (a water grist mill).
A few months prior to this latest event, Andrew CHAMBERS of Stafford County received a grant from the Northern Neck Proprietary on 5 Oct 1695 for 134 acres.The tract was described as bordering on Machodic dam, Jordan's Bridge, the Potomac Rappahannock Path (Highway 301) and William BENNETT's line.Today it is situated in King George County in the area where Upper Machodoc Creek empties into the Potomac River at Pumpkin Neck.(CR 218 passes through Pumpkin Neck.)
Andrew CHAMBERS was deceased by 2 Mar 1698 when John BRUERTON (BRERETON, BREWERTON) was still administering his estate.The 134 acres in the Upper Machodoc community was devised to John HEAD (son of William HEAD II) when he was only a youngster.(Stafford County records show him reaching majority at age 21 by 9 Apr 1706, thus, being born around Spring 1685.)
This gift of land suggests a close relationship of some kind.Now the question arises:Were Andrew CHAMBERS & William HEAD II half-brothers?