Thomas Ayers of Patrick County, Virginia

Thomas Ayers of Patrick County, Virginia (1733/34-1814) was married twice. Unfortunately, most people seem to be aware of only his second wife, a woman named Barbery.

But Thomas Ayers had a wife before Barbery. The earlier wife was a woman named Eleanor or Ellender.Eleanor/Ellender is named in several deeds executed by Thomas Ayers in Pittsylvania County, Virginia and in Surry County, North Carolina. The last of these deeds was executed in 1790.

Barbery is not mentioned as the wife of Thomas Ayers until 1803, when Thomas executed a deed to sell land in Patrick County, Virginia.Thomas Ayers' last child was born about 1779, so Barbery was not the mother of his children. It appears that Eleanor/Ellender was the mother.

Over the last several months I have searched land records in Lunenburg, Halifax, and Pittsylvania Counties in Virginia, in Surry County, North Carolina, and in Patrick County, Virginia to track the movements of Thomas Ayers. Notes on this research are provided below, giving the citation for each deed or land grant relating to Thomas. Entries 11 and 17-19 document Eleanor/Ellender as the first wife of Thomas Ayers. Entries 25 and 27 document Barbery as the second wife of Thomas Ayers.

I want to learn about the descendants of Thomas Ayers. If anyone has information on his descendants, I would be pleased to hear from you.

1. "Records of St. Paul's Parish: The Anglican Church Records of Baltimore City and Lower Baltimore County," by Bill & Martha Reamy, Volume 1 page 13.Published by: Family Line Publications, 1988 (Westminster, Maryland). This source shows the births of three of Nathaniel and Rhoda Ayers' children: Ruth, b. 2 Feb 1730/1731; John, b. 1 Mar 1731/1732; and Thomas, b. 1 Jan 1733/1734.

2. "Index to Pittsylvania County, Virginia Land Entries, 1737-1770", published by Genalogical Services (undated).This brief index shows that Nathaniel Ayers, Thomas Ayers, Daniel Ayers, and Moses Ayers all were involved in early land transactions in Lunenburg, Halifax, and Pittsylvania Counties.Thomas' early land transactions occurred in 1759 and in 1762-1764.Nathaniel, Daniel, and Moses' early land transactions were in the same time period. (Nathaniel Ayers is the father of Thomas, Daniel, and Moses Ayers.)Extracts of the actual deeds involved with Thomas' early and later land transactions are found in the entries following. This source simply documents the fact that Nathaniel Ayers and three of his sons were purchasing and selling land in Lunenburg, Halifax, and Pittsylvania Counties at the same time. (Lunenburg was the original county, formed in 1746. Halifax was formed from Lunenburg in 1752, and Pittsylvania was formed from Halifax in 1766.)

3. Halifax County, Virginia Deed Book 1, 1752-1759, page 514, dated 18 May 1759.William Byrd, Esqr, of Charles City Co, to Thomas Ayers of Halifax Co,for 4 pounds, 260 acres on branches of Dan River, beginning at a corner pine in Nathaniel Terry's line thence along sd line south. David Caldwell by Power of Attorney for William Byrd. Signed: W Byrd. Recorded 18 May 1759. (This land is sold in Entry 6 below.)

4. Lunenburg County, Virginia Deed Book 7, 1761-1762, page 390, dated 3 May 1762. French Haggard of Lunenburg, to Thomas Ayers of Lunenburg, for 40 pounds, part of a certain tract of land granted by patent to Richard Taliaferro on Sep 5, 1749, and bounded by the south side of Flat Rock Cr of Meherrin River in Lunenburg and bounded by Alling Jentrie, about 50 acres. Signed - French Haggard, Ann Haggard. Wit - Ruben Vaughn, Allin Jentrey, John Hight. Recorded Oct 5, 1762. (This land is sold in Entry 5 below.)

5. The land in Entry 4 was held for less than two years.Thomas Ayers sold the land as follows: Lunenburg County, Virginia Deed Book 8, 1763-1764, dated Dec 31, 1763. Thomas Ayers of Lunenburg to Roger Atkinson of Dinwiddie County, for 60 pounds, a certain tract of about 50 acres of land patented to Richard Talliaferro on Sep 5, 1749, and bounded by the south side of Flatrock Cr of Meherrin River in Lunenburg, Allen Gentry. Signed - Thomas Ayer. Wit - Richard Witton, David Garland, Saml Garland. Recorded Aug 9, 1764. No mark was made on the deed for Thomas Ayers' signature. (Note that Thomas Ayers purchased the land for 40 pounds and sold it less than two years later for 60 pounds, a 50% profit.)

6. This entry shows the sale of the land purchased in 1759 in Entry 3 above. Halifax County, Virginia Deed Book 8, 1770-1772, page 287, dated Feb 21, 1771. Thomas Ayres of Pittsylvania Co to Colonel John Lewis of Halifax, 50 pounds, on branches of Dan River, about 260 acres, bounded by Nathaniel Terry. Signed - Thomas (T his mark) Ayres. Wit. - David Shelton, Elisha Samuell, Spilsbe Coleman, Douglas Hamilton, Thomas Meriwether, John Lewis. Recorded Oct 17, 1771. (Note that Thomas Ayers purchased the land for 4 pounds and sold it for 50 pounds.)

7. The reason that Thomas Ayers sold the land in Halifax County in February 1771 was that the following month he was granted two land patents in Pittsylvania County. The first patent was on 12 Mar 1771. Thomas was granted 610 acres on Fall Creek. The second patent was on 13 Mar 1771, in which Thomas was granted 532 acres on Cargille Fork of Fall Creek. These two patents were for contiguous plots of land. Both patents were located in Grid 14 C of Pittsylvaia County. (The surveyor had divided the county into 77 Grid squares.) Thomas' father, Nathaniel Ayers, was granted patents in Grid 15 A in 1764 and 1775; and Thomas's brother, Moses Ayers, was granted patents in Grid 15 B in 1775. The Grids in which Nathaniel Ayers' and Moses Ayers' patents are located, Grids 15 A and 15 B, are contiguous with Grid 15 B being north of Grid 15 A. The Grid in which Thomas' patents are located, Grid 14 C, is contiguous to Grid 15 B on the northwest corner.So the three men, Nathaniel Ayers, Thomas Ayers, and Moses Ayers, were living on land that was just a few miles apart in Pittsylvania County. The source of the information on the land patents is found in: "Property Lines From the Old Survey Books, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, 1746-1840", by Roger C. Dodson. The book is not dated, and is self-published. It's interesting to note that the two patents Thomas Ayers was granted placed 1,142 acres of raw land into his hands at little or no cost. This land was undeveloped and it likely was forested in some parts, perhaps with heavy tree growth.

8. In May 1777, Thomas Ayers and Moses Ayers, sons of Nathaniel Ayers, were named in Nathaniel Ayers' will as the Executors of his estate. A portion of Nathaniel's land was left to another son, Daniel Ayers. The following deed, executed by Thomas Ayers and Moses Ayers as Nathaniel Ayers' executors, conveys land to Daniel Ayers in accordance with the terms of Nathaniel's will.This deed is important in that it establishes the "mark" used by Thomas Ayers in land transactions. Thomas Ayers' "mark" was a T, as noted in Entry 6 above. An extract of the deed follows:
Halifax County, Virginia Deed Book 11, 1778-1784, page 91, dated Sep. 15, 1778. Thomas Ayres and Moses Ayres, executors of the will of Nathaniel Ayres deceased, for and in consideration of a certain clause in the will of said Nathaniel Ayres for us, the executors, to make a right to Daniel Ayres to 86.5 acres, part of a tract, and also for 21 pounds 6 shillings 8 pence to us paid by said Daniel Ayres, we acknowledge ourselves fully paid for [an additional] 83.5 acers, the remaining part of said tract, be the same more or less.We therefore grant to Daniel Ayres all that tract of land in Halifax on the branches of Dan River, containing about 170 acres, and bounded by William Payne...Signed - Thomas (T his mark) Ayres, Moses Ayres. Wit - Samuel Matthews, William Richardson, John Lewis Jr, Howell Lewis Jr. Recorded Sep 17, 1778.

9. Having received the two land patents containing some 1,142 acres of land in Pittsylvania County in 1771, Thomas Ayers began to sell parts of the land six years later, in 1777, as recorded in the folowing deed extract:
Pittsylvania County, Virginia Deed Book 4, page 483, dated Nov 8, 1777. Thomas Ayres of Pittsylvania County, to Thomas Pistole of Pittsylvania, for 3 pounds, one certain tract of land in Pittsylvania County on Fall Cr, containing about 150 acres, bounded by Haris (Harris), Cargiles Fork, Thomas Ayrs.Signed - Thomas (T his mark) Ayres. Wit. - Robert Payne, William Lynch, Phil. Southerland. Recorded Mar 20, 1778.
There is no doubt that this is part of the land received by patent by Thomas Ayers six years earlier. Note in the description that the land being sold was located on Fall Creek, and that it was bounded by Harris (the survey plat shows that Nathan Harris was patented land to the west of Thomas Ayers), by Cargiles Fork, and by Thomas Ayers' remaining land. All of this is consistent with the description of the land Thomas Ayers received in the 1771 land patent. Also note that Thomas Ayers signed the deed with his mark, which was a T, the same mark as used in earlier deeds.

10. Two years after the sale of the land in entry 9 above, Thomas Ayers purchased a parcel of land adjoining the land he already owned on Cargille Fork of Fall Creek. The extract of the deed for the purchase follows:
Pittsylvania County, Virginia Deed Book 4, 1774-1778, page 547, dated Feb 24, 1779. From William Twedel and Abigail, his wife, of Pittsylvania County, to Thomas Ayers of Pittsylvania County, for 150 pounds, one certain tract of land on Cargils Fork of Falls Cr in Pittsylvania County, and bounded by Twedel on the west side of the fork, Twedel's old line, about 196.5 acres. Signed - William Twedel, Abigal (X her mark) Twedel. Wit - Humphrey Hendrick, William Booker, John Jones Jr. Recorded Mar 16, 1779.
With this purchase of land, Thomas Ayers now owned about 1,188.5 acres of land on Fall Creek (1,142 acres by patents -150 acres sold +196.5 acres purchased = 1,188.5 acres).

11. The most important land transaction executed by Thomas Ayers took place in 1780, a year after he made the purchase in entry 10 above. In this 1780 transaction Thomas Ayers sold a large block of the land he had received by the land patents in 1771, and the clerk that recorded the sale included the name of Thomas Ayers' wife on the deed. The extract of this deed follows:
Pittsylvania County, Virginia Deed Book 5, 1778-1780, page 470, dated Mar 14, 1780. From Thomas Ayres and Eleanor, his wife, of Pittsylvania County, to Silvanus Stokes of Pittsylvania County, for 200 pounds old Trade, about 429 acres, it being part of 2 surveys in Pittsylvania on the waters of Fall Cr, and bounded by Tweelde's line on the west side of Cargills Fork of Fall Cr, Tweedle's old line, the mouth of Wagers Fork of Fall Cr, [the land owned by] Pistole (Pistol), the bank of Great Fall Cr. Signed - Thomas (I his mark) Ayers, Eleanor Ayers. Wit - William Wilkinson, Thomas Wilkinson, Allen Stokes. Recorded Sep 19, 1780.
The description of the land being sold by Thomas Ayers and his wife, Eleanor, is completely consistent with the land acquired by Thomas Ayers by the two land patents in 1771. There is no doubt that the Thomas Ayers who acquired the patents and the Thomas Ayers who sold this land are the same person. Also, there is no doubt that the Thomas Ayers involved in these land transactions is the son of Nathaniel Ayers. This is evidenced by the mark (which is a T) that he used as the executor of Nathaniel Ayers' will, selling portions of his father's property.He used the same mark in his own land transactions. (Depending on how carefully the clerk made the mark, sometimes it had a small line at the bottom, as well as the large line at the top, to form a T.
It's important to note from the deed above that the wife of Thomas Ayers in 1780 was a woman named Eleanor. Since all of Thomas Ayers' children had been born by 1780, it seems reasonable to conclude that Eleanor is the mother of these children.

12. The sale of 429 acres of land in 1780 left Thomas Ayers with just 759.5 acres remaining. (1,188.5 acres -429 acres sold = 759.5 acres; see entry 10 above for the 1,188.5 acres beginning figure.) At some point prior to 1782 Thomas Ayers sold an additional 598.5 acres of his land, but the sale is not recorded in the Pittsylvania County deed books. The evidence of this sale of 598.5 acres (or perhaps several sales were involved) is found in the property tax lists for Pittsylvania County. The source for these property tax lists is as follows: "The Land Tax Lists of Pittsylvania County, Virginia 1782-1802", compiled by Gayle Austin, (undated), housed in the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
The property tax list for 1782 in this book shows that Thomas Ayers owned just 161 acres of land at that time. This means that in the 1780 - 1782 time period Thomas must have sold an additional 598.5 acres of his land (759.5 acres -161 acres remaining in 1782 = 598.5 acres sold). As stated above, no deed can be found in the Pittsylvania County deed books that records this sale of land.
The property tax lists for the years 1783 and 1784 for Pittsylvania County are missing. The property tax list for 1785 is available, but Thomas Ayers is not recorded for that year. Instead, the 1785 property tax list shows that a man named Thomas Walters owned 160 acres of land, which he had acquired "From Thomas Ayers." (The property tax list recorded any changes in ownership of land that had taken place since the prior year.)Unfortunately, no deed for this sale of land to Thomas Walters can be found in the Pittsylvania deed books. But an important list of names is recorded at the end of the 1785 property tax list. The heading for this list of names reads as follows: "A List of Errors and mistakes in the Land Tax for the year 1785 in the County of Pittsylvania. Returned by Crispin Shelton Jr, D. Sheriff". In this list of names, the name of Thomas Ayres appears, with the words "Not found" written to the side of his name. To explain, in the prior year, 1784, Thomas Ayers had sold his remaining 161 (or 160) acres of land in Pittsylvania County to Thomas Walters, and by 1785 he was "Not found" in the county.Therefore, his name had to be omitted from the property tax list for that year. As we will see in the next entry, by 1785 Thomas Ayers had left Pittsylvania County and settled elsewhere.

13. After leaving Pittsylvania County, Virginia around 1784, Thomas Ayers settled in Surry County, North Carolina. He probably left Pittsylvania County, Virginia and arrived in Surry County, North Carolina in the latter part of 1784, as evidenced by a land grant he received at that time in Surry County. This land grant is recorded in the Surry County land records as follows:
Surry County, North Carolina Deed Book C, page 129, dated 3 Nov 1784. Grant to Thomas Ayres, 150 acres on the North side of the Yadkin River.
Surry County land records show that Thomas' brother, Moses Ayers, also went to Surry County. It's possible that Thomas' family and Moses' family made the move together, since the area in which they were traveling was largely a wilderness in 1784.

14. Thomas Ayers then received two more land grants in 1789, five years after the first grant.These two land grants were made on the same day, and they totaled an additional 150 acres of land.The grants are recorded as follows:
Surry County, North Carolina Deed Book E, 1789-1793, page 35, dated 18 May 1789. North Carolina grant to Thomas Ayers 100 acres on the Yadkin River, adjoining Hawkins near White Rock Ford.
Surry County, North Carolina Deed Book E, 1789-1793, page 35, dated 18 May 1789. North Carolina grant to Thomas Ayers 50 acres on the Yadkin River, adjoining his former corner.
These 100-acre and 50-acre grants in 1789, plus the 150-acre grant in 1784, totaled 300 acres of land that Thomas Ayers had to clear and cultivate in Surry County.

15. The next record available on Thomas Ayers is the 1790 Federal Census. The census listing shows the following for Thomas Ayers: 1790 Federal Census, Surry County, North Carolina, Salisbury District, page 518. Family of Thomas Ayers, consisting of 3 white males 16 and over, and 7 females. (Moses Ayers and his family also appear on this census listing in Surry County, North Carolina.)

16. In the summer of 1790, Thomas Ayers had a significant setback.A commission consisting of several men was appointed to select a site for a courthouse and other public buildings for a new town. (The town may have been named Rockford. See Entry 23 below.) The commission decided to take part of the land granted to Thomas Ayers and Moses Ayers for the courthouse and public buildings site. The deed showing the exercise of this Power of Eminent Domain follows:
Surry County, North Carolina Deed Book D, page 471, dated 23 August 1790. Thomas Ayers to William Terrell Lewis, Edward Lovell, Micajah Oglesby, Charles Smith, and Henry Speer, Commissioners appointed to settle on a site for a court house and other public buildings, 5 shillings, 53 acres waters Yadkin River near White Rock Ford below Elihue Ayres cabbin, adjoining said Ayres back line, Moses Ayers corner, Nathaniel Ayers Cabbin; tract originally granted Thomas Ayers by State of North Carolina 18 May 1789. Witnesses: John Thomas Longino, Daniel Bills, and William Bills. Signed: Thomas (T his mark) Ayers.
The 5 shillings paid to Thomas Ayers for the 53 acres was just a token payment and not an indication of its true market value, as can be seen from Entry 19 below.

17. After the commission mentioned in Entry 16 took 53 acres of Thomas Ayers' land, he then sold the reamaining amount of his land and left Surry County.It's not known if his leaving Surry County was from anger over losing a significant part of his land or for some other reason. Three separate deeds are found in Surry County to record the disposition of Thomas Ayers' property.The first deed book entry follows:
Surry County, North Carolina Deed Book D, page 466, dated 12 November 1790. Thomas Ayers and wife, Ellender, to Jesse Lester, Stokes County, North Carolina, 400 pounds, 150 acres North side Yadkin River mouth Branch; being Granted to Thomas Ayers by State 3 November 1784. Witnesses: H(enry) Speer and Richard Murphey. Signed: Thomas (T his mark) Ayers and Ellender (X her mark) Ayers.
This deed entry is significant since it identifies Thomas Ayers' wife as Ellender. The name Ellender is a frontier variation of Eleanor. (As shown in Entry 11 above, when Thomas Ayers left Pittsylvania County, Virginia in 1784, his wife was identified as Eleanor.)

18. The second deed book entry to record the sale of Thomas Ayers' land in Surry County follows:
Surry County, North Carolina Deed Book D, page 466, dated 12 November 1790. Thomas Ayers and wife, Ellender, to Jesse Lester, Stokes County, North Carolina, 500 pounds, 50 acres Yadkin River adjoining his former corner, being Granted to Thomas Ayers by State 18 May 1789. Witnesses: H(enry) Speer and Richard Murphey. Signed: Thomas (T his mark) Ayers and Ellender (X her mark) Ayers.

19. The third deed book entry to record the sale of Thomas Ayers' land in Surry County follows:
Surry County, North Carolina Deed Book D, page 466, dated 12 November 1790. Thomas Ayers and wife, Ellender, to Jesse Lester, Stokes County, North Carolina, 400 pounds, 47 acres Yadkin River adjoining Hawkins near White Rock Ford, Nathaniel Ayers Cabbin, 53 acres conveyed by said Thomas Ayers to Commissioners of Surry County. Witnesses: H(enry) Speer and Richard Murphey. Signed: Thomas (T his mark) Ayers and Ellender (X her mark) Ayers.
Note that this 47 acres was valued at 400 pounds, whereas Thomas Ayers received only 5 shillings for the 53 acres taken by the Surry County Commissioners, which was the other half of the plot of land.

20. After selling off his land in Surry County, North Carolina, Thomas Ayers took his family and moved northward over the North Carolina line into Patrick County, Virginia.Actually, he was just returning to the same general area where he had been living in Pittsylvania County, Virginia before moving to Surry County, North Carolina in 1784. This is because Patrick County was formed in 1790/1791 from the western edge of Henry County, which had been formed a few years earlier from the western edge of Pittsylvania County. So Thomas Ayers and his family were really just coming back to where they had lived about six years before. His move into Patrick County is documented by a deed executed in Patrick County, as follows:
Patrick County, Virginia Deeds, 1791-1850, Book 1, page 85. On 6 Aug 1791 David Cox of Wythe County sold 200 acres of land in Patrick County to Thomas Ayers of Patrick County for 230 Pounds. The land was located on Johnsons Creek of the Yadkin River. Witnesses: James Dickinson, Elihu Ayers, and Joseph Murphy Ayers. Recorded on 9 Aug 1793.
Two of the witnesses on the deed, Elihu Ayers and Joseph Murphy Ayers, were sons of Thomas Ayers. Thomas Ayers had received 1,300 pounds in November of the prior year in payment for his three land sales in Surry County, North Carolina. Since he paid just 230 pounds for the 200 acres he purchased in Patrick County, Virginia, he had 1,070 pounds remaining after his purchase. This was a considerable sum in that day. (It's obvious that his land grants in Surry County, North Carolina, had paid off very well.)
Thomas was 58 years old when he moved his family into Patrick County.

21. After having left Surry County, North Carolina in 1790, Thomas Ayers does make one more purchase of land in Surry County. The deed to record the purchase follows:
Surry County, North Carolina Deed Book F, Page 134, dated 16 February 1792. Jesse Lester to Thomas Ayers, Patrick County, Virginia, 5 shillings, 1 1/2 acres waters Yadkin River adjoining Moses Ayers, Nathanil Ayers Cabbin. Witnesses: Aires Hudspeth and Gentry (X his mark) Ayers. Signed: Jesse Lester.
Note that the Surry County deed says, "Thomas Ayers, Patrick County, Virginia". There is no evidence that Thomas Ayers ever returned to live in Surry County after leaving it in 1790. This 1 1/2 acres of land is too small to be of commercial value for farming.Since the land adjoined Moses Ayers, Thomas' brother, it seems likely that it was purchased for Moses' benefit. The 5 shillings was a token amount for a land transfer. (Recall that Thomas received just 5 shillings for the 53 acres he was required to deed over to the Surry County Commissioners in Entry 16 above.)

22. As shown in Entry 20 above, Thomas Ayers was settled in Patrick County, Virginia, by 1791. After having purchased the 200 acres of land from David Cox, he sought more land through land grants. He received at least three land grants in Patrick County, totaling an additional 250 acres. Extracts of these grants follow:
Grant #1: Source: "Patrick County, Virginia Land Entry Book, July 1791 - February 1796, and Abstracts of Grants, 1791 - April 7, 1890," by Betty A. Pilson and Barbara C Baughan, Willow Bend Books, 2004, page 14. The abstract of the grant follows: "March 28, 1792 - Thomas Ayrs, SR. enters 50 acres asn. Wm. Carter beginning on a blazed chestnut on the road that leads from his house to Jobe Ross, thence each way. (Surveyed)"
Grant #2: Source: "Patrick County, Virginia Land Entry Book, July 1791 - February 1796, and Abstracts of Grants, 1791 - April 7, 1890," by Betty A. Pilson and Barbara C Baughan, Willow Bend Books, 2004, page 22. The abstract of the grant follows: "March 19, 1793 - Thomas Ayers enters 150 acres on the east side head of Johnson's Creek near the head along the foot of the mountain adjoining Jobe Rose line and Deprad's, thence for quantity. (Surveyed)"
Grant #3: Source: "Patrick County, Virginia Land Entry Book, July 1791 - February 1796, and Abstracts of Grants, 1791 - April 7, 1890," by Betty A. Pilson and Barbara C Baughan, Willow Bend Books, 2004, page 244. The abstract of the grant follows: "March 1796 - Thomas Ayers, Sr., enters 50 acres Beg on his line the north side of Johnson's Creek at a blazed red oak running each way for quantity (Surveyed)."
The three grants listed above conclude the land acquisitions found for Thomas Ayers in Patrick County. It should be noted, however, that his son, Thomas Ayers Jr., has many land tansactions, both by purchase and by grant. Sometimes the Patrick County records aren't very clear and it's difficult to determine if Thomas Ayers is involved in a land acquisition, or if it's his son who is involved. But for the three grants above, the records are clear enough to determine that they were made to Thomas Ayers, Sr.
Thomas Ayers had 200 acres of land before receiving the three land grants listed above. The 250 acres in the three grants, added to the 200 acres already owned, gave him a total of 450 acres of land in Patrick County. Thomas Ayers was 63 years old when he received the last grant.

23. A deed was executed by the High Sheriff of Surry County, North Carolina, in 1801 regarding a fragment of land abandoned by Thomas Ayers, which was sold at a tax sale. The amount of land abandoned was very small--just 1/5 of an acre. Moses Ayers, Thomas's brother, had left Surry County to move to Georgia a year of two before this tax sale took place. Since Thomas Ayers' land and Moses Ayers' land had both adjoined Rockford Town, the fragment of land may have been occupied by Moses prior to his departure for Georgia. The deed follows:
Surry County, North Carolina Deed Book K, Page 296, dated 25 December 1801. Zadock Riggs, High Sheriff of Surry Co NC, to Jesse Lester of Surry. 23 Shillings 1/5 of an acre of land near Rockford adjoining the Rockford town lands. By virtue of his office as High Sheriff of Surry Co, NC, Sheriff Riggs did on 17 Oct 1801 after duly and lawfully advertising the same expose to public sale at Rockford the property of Thomas Ayers, Senr, in order to raise a sum of money sufficient to discharge the public, county and poor tax thereon for 1800 and costs for advertising the same.

24. In 1802 an important deed is recorded in the Patrick County, Virginia deed books. In this deed, Thomas Ayers sold part of his land in Patrick County.The extract of the deed to record the sale follows:
Patrick County, Virginia Deeds, 1791-1850, Book 2, 1791-1850, page 492. On 11 Feb 1802 Thomas Ayers Senr of Patrick County sold land situated on Johnson's Creek to Joseph Naylor for 70 pounds. The land is described by metes and bounds, but the acreage is not stated.Signed: Thomas (T his mark) Ayers. Wit: John Huff, Daniel Hicks, Elihu Ayers.
The reason this deed is so important is that no wife is mentioned for Thomas Ayers in the deed. This means that Thomas' wife, Eleanor (Ellender), was dead by 1802.If she had been alive, she would have been required to sign the deed in order to relenquish her dower rights. So it appears that by 1802 Thomas Ayers was a widower.

25. In the followwing year, 1803, another important deed is recorded in the Patrick County, Virginia deed books. In this deed, Thomas Ayers sold part of his 200 acres in Patrick County to his son, Elihu Ayers. (See Entry 20 above for the purchase of the land.) The extract of the deed to record the sale follows:
Patrick County, Virginia Deeds, 1791-1850, Book 3, page 39. On 12 May 1803 Thomas Ayers and his wife, Barbery, sold land in Patrick County containing 37 1/2 acres, more or less, to Elihu Ayers for 50 Pounds. The land was located on Johnson's Creek. The deed is worded in an unusual way. It states that the land is to be the property of Elihu Ayers "...to have and to hold the same to himself the sd Elihu Ayers his heirs and assigns forever against me my heirs my wife Barbery and her heirs or either of us or our heirs, and all and every other Person or Persons Whatsoever either in law or equity recovering claiming or having any Just right title or Estate therein but by these Presents forever Warrant and defend the Land and Premises above mentioned to the sd Elihu Ayers..." Signed: Thomas (T his mark) Ayers.Witnesses: Thomas Whitlock, David Quals, and James Dickenson.
Note that Thomas Ayers' wife is now Barbery (Barbara). As stated in Entry 24, it appears that Eleanor (Ellender) died sometime between November 1790, when Thomas Ayers' family left Surry County, North Carolina, and February 1802, when Thomas made his first land sale in Patrick County, Virginia. Thomas had then remarried prior to May 1803 when he sold another part of his Patrick County, Virginia land to his son, Elihu. His marriage to Barbery explains the reason for the unusual wording in the 1803 deed. Usually, when property is conveyed by a man and his wife, the deed warrants the sale against them and "their heirs and assigns forever."But in the 1803 deed, note that the sale is warranted against Thomas Ayers and his heirs and assigns, and then separately against Barbery and her heirs, and then against either of them and their heirs. This wording clearly conveys the fact that Barbery had heirs that were not common with her husband, Thomas. In short, this was a second marriage for both Thomas and Barbery, and each had heirs that were not common with the other. The county clerk wisely worded the 1803 deed carefully to avoid any controversy.
Why isn't Thomas' remarriage found in the Patrick County, Virginia marriage records?Patrick County was formed in 1790/1791, the same time that Thomas Ayers moved into the county.Few marriages are found in this new county's records until the early 1800s; apparently, many marriages were never returned by ministers or the marriages simply weren't recorded by the county clerk.

26. Thomas Ayers' name appears on one more deed prior to his death in 1814. An extract of this deed follows:
Patrick County, Virginia Deeds, 1791-1850, Book 3, page 334. On 14 Jul 1810, Thomas Ayers Sr., John Yeats, and Thomas Ayers Jr., sold 287 acres of land on Johnson Creek to William Moore for $180. (The names of the men's wives are not mention in the deed.) Witnesses: Brett Stoval, Philip Anglin and Benjamin Landreth.
The deed states that the 287 acres being sold were located on Johnson's Creek, which is where all of Thomas Ayers' land was situated in Patrick County. But if it was Thomas Ayers' land that was being sold, then why are the names of John Yeats and Thomas Ayers Jr. also on the deed? The names of these two men on the deed, in addition to Thomas Ayers' name, suggests that the three men were acting as commissioners of some type, perhaps to dispose of land in someone's estate, or perhaps acting in some other official capacity. In short, it's doubtful that any of Thomas Ayeres' land was being sold in this transaction. See entries 29 and 30 below for the disposal of Thomas Ayers' land and property.
Note that one of the witnesses to this deed was Benjamin Landreth.In about 1799 Benjamin Landreth had married Rhoda Baker Ayers, one of the daughters of Thomas Ayers. (The marriage is not recorded in the Patrick County marriage records.) This deed establishes a connection between the Landreth and Ayers families in Patrick County

27. It appears that Thomas Ayers died sometime in 1814 at about age 80 or 81. No will has been found for Thomas Ayers, but administrators were appointed in October 1814 for the disposition of his estate.The entry appointing the administrators follows:
Patrick County, Virginia Order Book 2, April 10, 1810-December 31, 1821. Entry dated October 17, 1814: Administration of the estate of Thomas Ayers is granted Jacob Griggs and Barbery Ayers, who qualified and gave bond with their securities, John Bolt, James Taylor, and Samuel Handy.

28. A month after administrators were appointed for Thomas Ayers' estate, his property was inventoried. The following abstract records the inventory:
Abstracts of Wills, Inventories and Accounts, Patrick County, Virginia, 1791-1823, page 270, dated 21 Nov 1814. Inventory of the estate of Thomas Ayres, Sr. The inventory includes: household furniture, side saddle, kitchen items, bee gums, pack saddle, cotton wheel, tomahock, corn, sheep, cattle, horse, loom, books, hog.Signed: William Carter, William Moore, James Dickerson, Thomas Whitlock and Joseph Griggs, administrator.Total: 185.50. Ret'd: Dec Ct 1814.
This inventory was completed in November 1814, but it was not until 1819---five years later---that sales were made of Thomas Ayers' property.These sales are recorded in the following two entries.

29. Patrick County, Virginia Deeds, 1791-1850, Book 5, Page 237.On 1 August 1819, James Dickerson, William Carter, Elcahah Ayers, and Abraham P. ____? were appointed commissioners to sell the land of Thomas Ayers, Sr., deceased. The land consisting of about 175 acres which was purchased by Thomas Ayers from David Cox in 1791.Sale price of $500, sold to James McGraw. (Also see the next entry.)

30. Abstracts of Wills, Inventories and Accounts, Patrick County, Virginia, 1791-1823, page 185, dated 30 Oct 1819. Item: The estate of Thomas Ayres, deceased. Property and land sold. Payments to: Elcany Ayres, James Dickerson, William Carter, Martin Cloud, Jacob Grigg, Jesse Mankin, andSamuel Hanby. Total: $697.81. Ret'd: June Court 1820.
Searches have been made in the Patrick County, Virginia deeds and court records to try and find if any of the funds received from the sales in Entries 29 and 30 were distributed to the heirs of Thomas Ayers, but no distributions have been found.