Tristram Thomas' Children

For the support and education of my small children, I will the use and profit of my aforementioned negroes until my aforementioned sons arrive to the age of twenty one years.

~ from our uncle Philemon Thomas' will

Queen Anne's County, Maryland

Our grandfather Tristram Thomas (6GGF) came to Maryland with his parents in 1665 when he was only a year old. He married three times and had ten children. Here is a record of his children, born between 1699 and 1725

daughters of Tristram's first wife, Judith

Penelope

Our aunt Penelope (5A) was born in 1699 in Kent County (later Queen Anne's), MD. She was the daughter of Tristram's first wife Judith Clayland. Penelope first married George Darington. It appears he died shortly after the marriage and I can find no record of children born to the couple. Not long after Darington's death, Penelope married William Jarman, probably the son of Robert Jarman who moved to North Carolina with Penelope's brother, our grandfather, Stephen (5GGF).

In October of 1730, William and Penelope, the administrator of her late husband's will, "returned an account for Darington's estate."

In 1734, William received from his father 180 acres of land called Hogg Hole and another 160 acres of Hogg Hole that had been owned by Penelope's father Tristram. William must have sold those two pieces of property because, in 1747, it appears that the only property he owned was a 125 acre tract of land named Hoggs Harbour he had purchased that year for 7,500 pounds of tobacco. It's possible that William purchased that property with a bequest of 10,000 pounds of tobacco that Penelope had received from her father after his death in 1746.

Only a year after the purchase of Hoggs Harbour, William died. He left that property to his son Stephen (1C6X) who was 18 at the time of his father's death To his daughter Susannah (1C6X), 13, he left "one Negro man named Bris. . ."

Perhaps Penelope received her usual third of the estate but it isn't stipulated in the will. She was, however named "whole and Sole Executrix. . ." We have no information on where or when Penelope died.

Juliana

Juliana (5A), another daughter of Judith Clayland, was born ca. 1703. She married William Stevens in 1724. There is a good chance that William was somehow related to Tristram's second wife, our grandmother Sarah Stevens (6GGM).

I can find a record for only two children born to William and Julianna. Since Anne (1C6X) was born in 1732 and Nancy (1C6X) in 1734, it's possble that other children were born between then and the marriage in 1724. As with her sister, Penelope, we have no information on when or where Juliana died.

children of Tristram's second wife, Sarah

Tristram had seven children with our grandmother Sarah Stevens (6GGM).

Anne Thomas Lambdin Roe

Anne Thomas (5A), born ca. 1708, was the second child born to Tristram and Sarah. Their first child, born in 1705, was our grandfather Stephen (5GGF). We'll have more on Stephen in a future post.

Anne married first John Lambdin in 1741. Their marriage was a short one. John was dead by 1945 when Anne filed a probate record for him. A year later, she married our uncle Samuel Roe (5U). Both Anne and Samuel are named as adminstrators of the estate of John Lambdin. The inventory of his estate was £189.13.11. On the estate papers, Anne is listed as a Quaker.

Note: The Thomas family drifted in and out of the Quaker sphere. By the time the family moved to North Carolina, most of Anne's siblings had adopted other religions.

It appears that our uncle Samuel may have been a bit lacking in funds. Securities for Anne's deceased husband's estate were provided by Samuel's father Edward (6GGF) and his brother, our grandfather John Roe (5GGF). The admininstration of the estate was still ongoing in 1750, five years after John Lambden's death.

Samuel's financial woes were eased a bit In 1748, when his father, Edward Roe, "planter," deeded to "Samuel Roe and Ann his wife - a gift of love to Samuel for his natural life and Anne during her widowhood ~ 164 acres, part of 'Okenthorpe' ~lying in the freshes of Tuckahoe Creek. . .and 'Tully's Addition,' now posessed by Edward Roe."

A year later, Samuel's brother, our grandfathr John, got into the act. A 1749 land record shows that John either sold or gave his brother Samuel his portion of "Tully's Addition:"

John Rowe, Planter, to Samuel Rowe, his brother - part of "Tully's Addition," adjoining "Oakenthrop ~ to include two tobacco houses, on the part of my father lately dwelled on.

Then, in 1750, Samuel's brother Joseph (5U) sold him another piece of that same property:

Joseph Roe, Blacksmith, to Samuel Roe - consideration 10,000 pounds of tobacco - 150 acres, part of "Tully's Addition" which desceded to Joseph by the will of his deceased grandfather, John Roe (7GGF) - lying in the fork of the northermost branch of Tuckahoe Creek. Also 27 acres, all of "Roes Lane" . .also part of "Ned's Beginning" and also part of "Sarah's Fancy," all adjoining to "Tully's Addition."

Another Roe record of interest mentions a Mary Kemp, possibly the wife of our uncle John Kemp (6U):

1751 John Roe and Samuel Roe, qualified to make just estimate of the annual value of the lands of Joseph Claires, a minor. . .on 20 December last, entered and found on the plantation occupied by Mary Kemp. . .one small log house, not worth repairing; some old scattered fruite trees; the fencing about all rotten. . .

John Kemp had died intestate in 1750. The only Mary Kemp I can find is his wife who may have lapsed into an impoverished state after her husband's death.

Note: John Kemp was the brother of our grandmother Jane Kemp (6GGM) who was our grandfather Tristram Thomas' third wife.

In 1764, Samuel sold part of the property he had acquired:

Samuel Roe, Planter, to John Tillotson consideration £120 current - 120 acres, part of "Oakenthorpe and "Tully's Addition."

In 1765, there was another land transaction, this time between Samuel and his nephew, John Roe, Jr. (4U):

Jan 1765. Order of Release, On 5 February came Thomas Richardson Roe (5U), Richard Ratcliffe. . .and made oath that they witnessed the within release and did see John Roe, Jr. sign, seal and deliver the within release and acknowledge the land to be the right of the within named Samuel Roe.

Finally, in 1769, "Joe Roe, Planter, to Samuel Roe - consideration £7.10.0 current money -his right and claim to 'Sarah's Fancy.'" At this point in his life, our grandfather John was probably divesting himself of all his Maryland properties in the months before his move to North Carolina.

Anne and Samuel Roe did not move with the bulk of the Maryland Thomas, Roe and Covington families that migrated to North Carolina. After the last 1769 land record, the couple fell into obscurity. I can find no records of any children or even of their death dates.

Tristram and Simon Thomas

Tristram, Jr. (5U) and Simon (5U) were the 3rd and 4th children born to our grandmother Sarah Stevens. We have very little information on these two. We do know, however, that they didn't get a fair shake in their father's will. Tristram, Sr. had five living sons when he died. He divided his property and estate among his wife at the time, Jane Kemp, and three of his sons. Tristram, Jr. and Simon, along with their sisters, received their choice of 400 pounds of tobacco or 40 shillings "current money of Maryland."

Tristram, Jr. married in 1732 but I can find no death date for him. Ca. 1740, Simon married Rebecca Sands and they had at least two children. Since I can find no record of him in North Carolina, it's unlikely that he moved there with his two sons. Simon's main claim to fame seems to be that he was the father of Daniel (1C6X) who was in the same party with Thomas Dockery and our grandfather John Covington (4GGF) on their trek south to North Carolina. Daniel was chosen as the first minister of the Cartledge Creek Church. We'll have more on him in future post.

A death date of 1787 is given for Simon but I can find no proof of the date or place.

Sarah and William Thomas

Sarah (5A) and William (5U) were the 5th and 6th children born to our grandmother Sarah. They had both died before Tristram made out his will in December of 1745. Sarah married Zachariah Melton but I can't find their marriage date. and I also can't find a date for her death. William married in 1738 and died two years later in 1740.

Philemon Thomas

Philemon was the last child born to Tristram and Sarah. A Thomas family bible shows that he was born on 19 Dec 1720. In 1744, while still living in Maryland, Philemon married Sarah Scott at St. Luke's Church in Queen Ann's County. When his father Tristram died the next year, Philemon inherited 60 acres of land on Tuckahoe Creek. He added to his property with six additonal land purchases between 1749 and 1762.

Philemon and Sarah's last child was born ca. 1758. Sarah died about eight years after that. We have pinpointed the approximate year of her death from two land sales. In the first, dated 1765, Sarah is named as Philemon's wife. The second, dated 1767 names new wife Elizabeth. The 1767 sale, to son William (1C6X), was land that Philemon had inherited from his father Tristram. William eventually moved South Carolina but still owned the Maryland property at his death in 1820. We'll have more on William and his unique will in a future post.

It appears that these land sales may have been the first of many as Philemon readied himself for a move to North Carolina. Sarah's death didn't halt those plans. The Thomas and Covington families were well known to each other in Maryland and those close ties would continue after members of both families had moved to North Carolina. Philemons's daughter Rachel (1C6X) and her husband William Covington (5U) made the move south ca. 1768.

Note: Rachel's Thomas' husband William Covington was our grandfather John's uncle. William was 30 years older than Rachel. We'll have their story in a future post.

1768 was also the year that Philemon and Elizabeth bought 300 acres of land in North Carolina "on the lower side of Hitchcock Creek on both sides of Fawling (Falling) Creek."

Philemon's 400 mile journey to North Carolina with his wife and some of his younger children would have included overland travel across Virginia and river travel down the Yadkin and Pee Dee Rivers to the final stop near Rockingham, NC. We'll have more on this journey in a future post on our Covington family.

(1) St. Anne's County, MD (2) Virginia (3) Yasmin and Pee Dee Rivers (5) Rockingham, NC

In May, 1770 Philemon purchased 263 acres on Hitchcock Creek. Three months later, with the use of a power of attorney, he sold the last of his land in Maryland with his son William as a witness. Then in April of 1771, he added an additional 150 acres on Hitchcock Creek.

According to research by Carolyn Thomas Platt (6C), "It may have been on this last parcel that Phil built a rather substantial home for his family. The house stood until it was torn down in 1913."

Philemon wrote his will in 1797 when he was 77 years of age. A bit of confusion surrounds his family with his second wife, Elizabeth. In the will, five children are named and they are all identified by the writer of the will as being under 21 years of age. That would make the earliest that one of these children could have been born was 1777. Since Philemon had married Elizabeth in 1767, there was a ten year gap between the marriage and the birth of their first child. When his last child was born in 1792, Philemon was 72 years old!

Philemon's will says in part:

I leave to my wife Elizabeth during her natural life my dwelling house and plantation. . .all my other lands I will to be equally divided between my five children, Elijah, Eli, James, Nathan and Elizabeth. . .after my wife's death I will that the plantation and lands. . .be equally divided between my said five children. . .

At the time of his death, it appears that Philemon had five slaves, Luce, Harry, Jack, Tony and Ned. He left one slave to each of his sons when the sons in turn arrived at the age of 21. He left Ned to his wife with the stipulation that if she would prefer the female Luce, he gave her full power to make the exchange. On Elizabeth's death, her slave would go to their daughter, also Elizabeth (1C6X).

There was another stipulation regarding the slaves:

For the support and education of my small children, I will the use and profit of my aforementioned negroes until my aforementioned sons arrive to the age of twenty one years. . .

Finally, Philemon mentioned that his older children from his first marriage had already received their part of his estate.

Philemon was buried in the Cartledge Creek Church cemetery and his name was included on a marker erected at the church in 1989. Also named on the marker are Thomas Dockery and his wife, our uncle William Covington (5U) and our cousin Daniel Thomas (1C6X).

According to our cousin Carolyn Thomas Platt, a copy of Philemon's will was found in a secret drawer of an old desk in Conecuh County, Alabama. The desk had been taken to Alabama in 1825 by Joseph Thomas (1C6X), one of Philemon's sons from his first marriage. Joseph married his cousin Susannah Thomas (1C6X), daughter of Philemon's brother, Tristram Thomas of South Carolina.

Child of Tristram Thomas and his third wife, Jane Kemp

Benjamin Thomas

Our grandfather Tristram Thomas (6GGF) had nine children with his first two wives. Our grandmother Jane Kemp (6GGM) had four children with her first two husbands.

Note: We've written extensively about Jane and her three husbands who, in a genealogical rarity, all happened to be our grandfathers.

Tristram and Jane married ca. 1724 and together they had the last child that would be born to either of them, our uncle Benjamin (5U).

Benjamin was born in Maryland in 1725. His mother Jane died two years after his birth.but he had plenty of older brothers and sisters to look after him.

The only two records we have for Benjamin are for his marriage to Rebecca Kemp in 1746 and his service in the Maryland Militia in 1748. I'm not able to trace Rebecca's family but it's probable the she was the daughter of one of Jane's brothers or nephews.

Since there is nothing further for Benjamin, I can only conclude that he died during or shortly after his military service.