SOME EARLY VIRGINIA DATA

 One of the issues facing research into the Terry line is problems with records. So many records have been lost and as a result the scraps left are precious indeed. Many family trees reviewed reveal a lack of understanding of the history of Virginia, the need to date and locate sources and note context in sources. Where they were, when they were there and who lived around them are often critical pieces of the puzzle.

In the source, ENGLISH DUPLICATES OF LOST VIRGINIA RECORDS compiled by Louis Cognents, Jr. provides some information and insight into names in eastern Virginia from late 1600's into the 1700's.

It is clear that a group of TERRY were in the areas of KING WILLIAM CO., KING and QUEEN COUNTY, FORKS OF THE RAPPCHANOCK, and CHARLES CITY counties of Virginia.

1701 - a James Terry, patent record, 418 acres on Pamunkey Neck in King and Queen County, Va. Others living in the same "neck" were Rapier, Davis, Maybank, Winston...).

1702 - County officers for Charles City County, Va included justices Goodrich, Bolling, Epes, Blighton, Low, Wynn, and John Terry.

1704 - Quit Rent Rolls, King William County were listed one right after the other indicating possibly proximity of residence Thomas Terry with 300 acres and Stephen Terry with 330 acres. Following this after other names was James Terry with 400 acres.

c1699-1704 - a James Terry was listed with 170 acres purchased of George Turner, son of James Turner as part of a response to a complaint of 1699 that a Ralph Wormsley, with others, had come into treaty designated lands to survey and that the people listed  were authorized to claim the lands they were living on. 

1714 - Patents of 500 acres for a Thomas Terry  June 16 1714 in King William Co., Va and 335 acres for Stephen Terry, Pamunkey Neck in King and Queen Co.

1717- patent related to 600 acres in King William Co. April 1, 1717 between John Sutton, Richard Maulding and Thomas Terry.

1733 - a man named James Cox , 400 acres, "among branches of Terry's Run, June 21, 1733, on "Forks of Rappahannock."

Here we see a large, early group of Terry families represented with the eldest appearing to be the James Terry who purchased a large number of acres (400).  

There are, in addition, three mentions of the surname MANSON in YORK and JAMES CITY counties.

1704 - Quit Rent Rolls a Peter Manson is listed in York Co., Va with 150 acres.

1714 - Sheriffs appointed in James City County, included a William Manson 28 April 1714. {from another source a William Manson is listed on the 24 Jan 1798 Spotsylvania Co., tax list).

(Some have theorized that Rachel Manson who married William Terry, is a child of Peter or William - they are intent on her having a Virginia birth and marriage despite records to the contrary. However, Peter's children are regularly listed in the church registry where he lived in Charles City and no Rachel is found; information about William is sketchy still. There is a James Manson in Philadelphia 1763 and a large group were in New Jersey about the time of the William Terry and Rachel Manson marriage in 1759.)

Also, there were four mentions of the surname HORTON in WESTMORELAND, SURRY, NANSEMONT counties of Virginia.

1699 - Westmoreland Co., a Horton listed as a county officer.

1704 - Quit Rent Rolls, shows a Daniel Horton, Nansemond Co., Va with 200 acres.

1715 - Thomas Horton, Surry Co., Va, 145 acres, March 23 1715.

(A William Horton does show up in Botetourt Co. Va with a Joseph Horton circa early 1780's on tax lists. a Miles Terry there, son of William and Rachel Terry md a Hannah Horton there. The Terry lines in New York and into New Jersey have several marriages with Horton spouses).

There was also a couple of mentions of a Thomas HART in ISLE OF WIGHT and in KING and QUEEN counties.

 1704 - There is a Thomas Hart on the Quit Rent Rolls, King and Queen Co., Va

1714 December 23 there was a Thomas Hart, Isle of Wight with 295 acres.

There was no mention of the name HALE in this source

One theory is that a William Terry b circa 1700 married a Keziah Hale (sometimes people add with out evidence Rachel Keziah or Keziah Rachel). There were no Hales listed in this source and from surveys elsewhere no place a Keziah Hale married a Terry.

A REMINDER - the Terry lines in eastern Virginia may reflect a different DNA line than the two lines found in early Botetourt and Montgomery Co., Va. The DNA there has shown that there were two different Terry groups (one a probable short stay Jasper Terry who left to go east with his Hart inlaws and William Terry who married Rachel had eight children identified through court and deed documents who were, apparently, Haplogroup I-02 and the line of one Jasper Terry who married a Mary Morrison and had, at least one son Josiah who married Mary Lloyd and had sons Jasper Morrison Terry, William Terry who married Jane Winters and Aaron Burr Terry in the area, who have revealed a G-02 Haplogroup). The differing DNA has shown a link to the Terry family of Bucks Co., PA, Flushing, NY and Southold, Long Island. Some of those drifted down into New Jersey and then into Pennsylvania, and it is theorized, into Virginia and old Augusta County.

For more on early Terry records and leads check this article.

SOME HORTON NOTES

Miles Terry, son of William and Rachel Terry of Botetourt Co., Va, married Hannah HORTON. About the same time of their marriage in 1783 on the tax lists for the county are two HORTON men: a William Horton and a Joseph Horton.

It is probable that this woman was a daughter and/or sibling to one or both of these men.

Since Miles Terry removed to points west (Tennessee and Kentucky) along with other family members in the days prior and after the death and estate settlement of his parents (he is on the tax list  until the late 1790's). 

Of note, is that the Bucks Co., PA group and the group out of Southold, Long Island, marry into several Horton lines across several generations. One group goes into New Jersey.

Any male descendants of HORTON might consider comparing their DNA to those family group projects online. Do the lines in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and Kentucky share a common DNA or are their differences?

Early Terry Lines: Some Research, DNA, and other points of note.

 EARLY TERRY LINES

Some preliminary research into early lines, attaching identified DNA or other history as known.

7/26/2021   Marilyn A. Hudson

1273 – David Filius Tirry, Cumberland County, England

Notes:

1273? – Richard Terry, Huntington shire, England

Notes:

1273? – Georffry Terri, Oxfordshire, England

Notes:

1379 – Johannes Tyrre, Yorkshire, England

Notes: Other, more recent (see 1705), men from Yorkshire by that name *Terry) have reported an R-BY22713 Haplogroup

Late 14^th century – Petrous Terre

Notes:

1524 – John Terri, London, England

Notes:

[          ] – Brothers James Terry and Thomas Terry, Barnet, near London, England

Notes:

[          ] – John Tirri md widow Elizabeth (nee Gale) Pierpont and had three sons. William, Stephen and John. It is reported that Stephen and John migrated to America about 1630.

Notes: Descendants from “John”(?) have reported a I-01 Haplogroup. Probable descendants of this group include Zachariah, Champness, Nathaniel, Thomas, Stephen (2), Benjamin (b ca 1700, Halifax, Va had I-BY33210) and a William Terry of Anson Co., NC  who md Ann Raiford had the same (with I-Y131236). There was also a Wm Terry who died in Anson ,NC 1798 with R-ib-02 (RM-173, R-AA5897 among descendants)

1635 – Three brothers (or two brothers and a cousin) arrived on THE JAMES (13 July 1635) in Massachusetts and were said to have come from Kent, England. The men were Thomas Terry (28), Robert Terry (25) and Richard Terry (17). They migrated into first New York (Flushing and Southold, Long Island areas) and then into New Jersey (their children) and some (Robert’s line especially) branched off into Pennsylvania (Bucks Co.).

Notes: Recent DNA research has proven a connection between Robert Terry of Flushing, New York and the founding Terry of Bucks Co., Pa, Thomas Terry, his son (both lines have the I-02 Haplogroup).

Notes:  One exception is believed to be a son adopted and that is why his DNA is different.

Note: Of note too, is that this larger group of Terry’s (children of Thomas and Richard marry people named HORTON).

1650 – A Samuel Terry (1637, Barnet, England – d. 1731, Enfield, Hartford, CT) migrated aboard the PHYCHON, 1650.

Notes: He settled in first CT and then Springfield, Massachusetts. He married 1660 Ann (Ann) Lobdell.

Notes: Descendants of this man have DNA Haplogroup of R-ib (RM 269 and R-L48)

[Early 1600’s?] – Father and seven sons from Scotland. The History of Barren Co., Kentucky, contains information on a Bennet W. Terry, son of a Stephen Terry who had been in Botetourt Co., Va (his will was probated there in 1825). His children were Nathaniel Davis Terry, Bennet W., John Alfred, and Drucilla Terry.

Notes: Bennet W. Terry was born 1802 in Botetourt Co., VA (and thus matches the group who do show up in a different area of the county in late 1780’s tax lists than the groups around Little River and Black Run branches of the Roanoke; indicating separate family groups).

Notes: Kentucky Genealogy & Biography (vol.2 pg 138-139) contains the story that the father of Bennett (Stephen Terry) was one of seven brothers who arrived with their father from Scotland (the father was Scottish and the woman an “Irish lady of rank”). Said Stephen apparently married twice (or his record is confused with another Stephen Terry (and there were several) in Virginia.

Notes:  In 1739 and 1745 a Stephen Terry is buying and selling land in Orange Co. Va (then a massive county covering almost all of Virginia).

Notes: The same, or possibly another, Stephen Terry arrived aboard the JOHN &MARY in 1630, Massachusetts. Passengers of the John & Mary, vol.9 p. 133, with ancestors and 4 generations of descendants). There is possibility the Scottish group arrived directly to a Virginia port, but more research is needed.

Notes: He might have been married to a Sarah Young and a Sarah Davis.

Notes: Court records indicate there was a divorce case between a Stephen Terry and wife Sarah in Botetourt Co. Deed Books (14:59) between Stephen, wife Sarah, ”youngest”  children named were Bennett W. , John Alfred, Drucilla Terry. There may have been an older son named Stephen as a Stephen Terry md an Eleanor Biggs 1793 in Botetourt Co. That same year in Louisa Co., Va a Stephen Terry married a Sarah Davis (since his son Nathaniel is identified as Nathaniel Davis Terry with wife Martha Bagby Terry in court proceedings, it can be assumed that they were in Orange County area out of which Louisa was eventually formed).

Notes These Scottish brothers may include men named William and Thomas who appear to have drifted in and through the Botetourt County area on their way someplace else. A Jesse Terry who is on the Tax list for two short years may be a son of the group that; probable son of Thomas and Sarah Kincaid Terry.  The Thomas is believed to be the Thomas who married Sarah Kincaid and removed to Wilkes Co., Georgia (they have reported a Haplogroup of I-01).

1704 – VA Quit Rent Rolls, lists in King William Co., A Stephen Terry, James Terry, and Thomas Terry (eastern Virginia coastal region).

Notes: There is an early James Terry in eastern Virginia who is categorized in Haplogroup I-01.

1705 – A John Tirrey, b 1705 Akrigg, Yorkshire, Haplogroup R-BY227213

Notes:

Early 1700’s – Pittsylvania Co., Va

Notes: Many listed, appear wealthy and prominent in the area.

C1744 – A William Terry and a Jasper Terry arrive in Augusta County (a large early county encompassing the area of later Botetourt, Montgomery, etc.) and purchase items at an estate sale.

Notes: They quickly acquire land through purchase and patent (bounty for services to govt.; both were apparently surveyors and may have come down the trails George Washington had used to reach the same areas a few years earlier). They have property next to each other.

Notes: Court records clearly identify the man whose children received 1/8 shares of his estate is the same man who rec’d land patents 9 Sept 1755. He died late fall 1792 according to court records when his son Jasper with wife Ruth filed to be named administrator. His son Miles challenged that but was defeated in subsequent actions of the court. His children through court actions and records, were William Jr., Jasper (with wife Ruth), John, Miles, Susannah Terry Brown, Mercy Terry Harrison, Rachel Terry Martin and Jemima Terry Boucher. His wife was named Rachel in same records.

Notes: Nearly all the land dealings of this group, with the exception of William Jr., possibly, revolved around land on the Black Run Branch of the Roanoke. Three sons of John Terry have been tested and reveal Haplogroup in the I-02 group.

C1760 – A Jasper Terry, with wife Mary Morrison, arrives in the same Augusta County area.

Notes: He and his offspring will cluster around the Little River Branch of the Roanoke. Note too, that these two groups will be in different tax districts as well during several years in the 1780’s and 1790’s. This geographical separation into distinct groups suggests they were not related to the William Terry group in the way many have suggested.

Notes: Recent DNA research has concluded that the descendants of Jasper Terry and wife Mary Morrison who  had , at least, one son Josiah who married Mary Lloyd and that son had sons Jasper Morrison Terry and Aaron Burr Terry, along with a William wo married a Jane Winters – are all G-02 Haplogroup.

Notes: A theory I present is that it may be possible that this Jasper had another son, Jasper Terry who married a woman named Margaret and names three daughters in his will (Keziah Terry Graham, Karon-Happuck Terry Rose, and Jemima Terry DeWeese, along with a Jonathan, Silas, William and Elijah) several individuals when he dies in Montgomery Co., Va 1819. Numerous researchers have merged this Jasper with the Jasper who files to be administrator of William Terry’s estate in 1792. His wife was named Ruth in late 1790’s and early 1800’s deeds. It is a simple way to resolve the problem of who these people all are – except – for the DNA evidence indicating that there were two (at least) distinct DNA Haplogroup in the region at the time.  If DNA tests are studied for Jonathan, Silas, William and Elijah, as well as his daughters, more information may appear that clarifies the connections.

C1744 – Jasper Terry with wife Mary Hart, drifted into Augusta County as the land was just being opened.

Notes: There were many labeled squatters in the area so records may not reflect all activity in the region (a problem considering how sorely the state was decimated by conflict when it came to historic records. Armies made bonfires of rare and irreplaceable deeds, records, and maps.).  

Notes: They came in the company of Hart relatives (Arron Hart, Miles Hart, John Hart, and others), fellow Pennsylvanian and Quakers Henry Brown and his extended family, and others, including the probable cousin, William Terry. The elder Hart, a minister and adventurer probably did not stay long in the Augusta County area. He dies in Union County, South Carolina some decades later and in the region are the sons and grandsons of he and several of his co-travelers.

Notes: I theorize that Jasper and Mary, who had one son, Joseph Terry, believed to have been fostered into Jasper’s brother John’s keeping in Bucks Co., PA, followed this group eastward. His land may have been left with William or sold to someone else and the record lost. This line of Jasper Terry and Mary Hart, being descended from the Bucks Co., Terry, are Haplogroup I-02.

Notes: Seen in this light, the distancing of the two Terry groups, one on Black Run and the others along Little River, makes some sense. They were neighbors but not relatives.

 

                                                                                                                                                                   

RICHARD TERRY ARRIVED ABOARD 'THE JAMES' (13 JULY 1635)

 He was the youngest of the three Terry men aboard the "James" in 1635, one of three presumed brothers, from Kent, England. All bearing, apparently, DNA of the I-02 Haplogroup. The other men were Robert Terry (1610-1675) and Thomas (1606-1672). Richard Terry was born 1616 Kent, England and died 16 May 1676,, Southold, Long Island. Like the others, it is believed they landed in Massachusetts, migrated into New York-Long Island area and then into New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

He married a woman named Abigail LNU and from his will the following children have been identified:

Gershom Terry (the name is from the Bible and means "exile" or "stranger here"; may reflect his feelings in going to a new land to start a new life), md Deborah LNU. He had at least one son, Gershom Jr. who married a Mary and had another Gersom 3; David b ca 1706 may have md a Mehitabil Aldrich and had a John and a James; and a Mary.

Samuel Terry

Abigail Terry

Nathaniel Terry, who md a Mary HORTON. Their daughter Phoebe Terry Horton md Caleb Horton (1687-1722) and had children, Mary Horton (possibly md a Terry), Elijah Horton, Nathan Horton, Nathaniel Horton, and Phoebe Horton Tuthill.

Richard Terry Jr.

John Terry

The Children of John and Esther Brown Terry, Perry County, Indiana

This line is very substantiated and verified due to early work by descendants Lula Terry Elliot, New Wray, Ruth Terry Preston, Dennis Terry and others. The descendants of the Perry Co., Indiana group of younger children were especially detailed in their history.  The older children, as they often did in that time, launched off and led lives often distant to their parents in that pioneer era. Yet, they retained some connection with their extended family and friends through letters and visits.

            John TERRY (1760-1842) married Esther BROWN 2 Feb. 1781 in Botetourt Co., VA. The first two or so years of their marriage was in Botetourt County, Va. At the time of his father's death it believed that several family members were making a move (1793) and by the time the estate is being settled and all eight children are settling their shares of land circa 1804-1809, John identifies his residence as Anderson Co., Tennessee. A John Terry can be found on Hawkins County, TN records for 1789,1793,1800, and 1801 (as can records of a John Martin, who it is believed was the spouse of John's sister Rachel Terry Martin). Various other court records of the county and time reveal the presence of a John Terry.

It is believed their children were:

                a.      Josiah TERRY (b.1780-1868) (Proven via DNA; I-02). He opted to return to or remain in Tennessee. He had 13 children. He was born in Va and died in Wayne Co., Ky. He md #1 Nancy THOMAS. Apparently were living in Anderson Co., TN when they had son Joseph (1806-1863) md Minerva Stephenson; William (1808-?) md Ithema Payton and had 4 children (Josiah, Wm, Nancy J, Mildred A. . He md #2 Nancy STEVENS (d/o of Edmund Stevens), they had 11 children: Martin (1820-?) md Nancy Thompson, 2 sons; md #2 Sarah Davis and had three sons; Rachel (1821-1890) md Richard Smith and had 17 children; James (1823-?) md Tilda (Polly or Pop) Smith d/o Isaac and Matilda Elliot and had 8 children; Esther (1825-?) md Thomas L Phillips; Alsie (1827 - 1871) md Jonathan Phillips had five children with Esther; Edmund (1830-?); Milton  1834-1904) md Jane Thomas and had 10 children; Nancy (1836 - md Ely Roysden; Themie (Ithema) 1839-1909, md Jackson Smith; Josiah Jr. (1842-1911) md Johanna Roysden, and had 9 children.

               b.     William TERRY (1785-1869) md Barbara ENNIS (Proven via DNA; I-02). William  and John Jr. apparently followed the parents into Indiana, with William possibly moving into Gibson Co. on land originally purchased by Miles for his father and then later William purchased his own land, as did John. When they leave in the 1830's it appears they may have sold the land back to family.

               c.      John TERRY  Jr(1790-1848) md Nancy ENNIS (Proven via DNA:I-02). see above

               d.     George Freton TERRY (twin- 1788-c1865)

             e.     Haden TERRY ( twin-1788-?after 1809). He is listed on the 1809 tax list of Wayne Co., TN.

             f.      Elijah TERRY (1791 TN-?). Left Wayne Co., KY with brother Josiah around 1815 when their father went to Perry Co., Ind. Found on the 1850 Scott Co., TN census with a wife Sary, sons ELijah Jr., Marion, and Calvin (who became a Baptist minister). He had daughters Helen, Naomi, Emily, Easter and Serepta. According to divorce records of Wayne Co., Ky (1828) Elijah left that county one night with one Sally Rice Foster, wife of a Charles Foster. They went to Scott Co. and lived.

               g.      Daniel TERRY (1791-?)   . He was listed on the 1818 Campbell Co., TN tax list along with Josiah, Elijah and a John Jr. It is the general area of earlier Hawkins, that became Campbell Co. and contains the area where Onieda, Scott Co., now sits.      

              h.    Jasper TERRY  (b. TN/KY (some question about him; reference to notes about him being a brother but so far the text of those notes or the rationale are unclear)

                i.      Esther TERRY (John WHITE) (1798-?)

                j.      Elisha TERRY (7 Jan 1816 -?) md Salley Small.

                k.     Rachel TERRY (1804-1867) md Thomas Sandage April 15, 1821.

                l.      Elias TERRY (10 Sept 1807-?) md Eleanor Sandage, September 18, 1826.

               m.     Miles TERRY  (11 March 1809- ?) md Nancy A. Baswell.

                n.    Thomas TERRY (1814-1853) md Polly Bradshaw.

        This John TERRY during his life is in the area of Montgomery-Wythe Co., Va.; Hawkins Co., Anderson, Knox, counties in TN; Perry County, IND.   This is surmised from the presence of a John TERRY in the locales associated with various births and wills.   Also, letters from the period indicate that William TERRY (1785-1869) did indeed have brothers named John and Josiah.  In addition, William will make reference to a family named Martin living nearby being of the “old stock of Martin” – those Martins came from Hawkins Co., Tennessee (where William was born) and there were was   Aunt Rachel who married a John Martin. 

            These all tie together to provide logical areas in which to find the migrating family as they left Virginia. The family figured in areas out of which other counties were formed: Augusta into Botetourt Co. into Montgomery Co. into Wythe Co., all a southwest movement toward the Cumberland Gap and Holston Valley areas which were major entries into the wilderness. T entrance into the area William Terry, son of John, always claimed as his birthplace, the Sullivan-Hawkins Co. areas of Tennessee.  

Following known trails of the day, they would have angled back northwest heading across Kentucky toward the Louisville area and Adair Co. (where it is believed William may hay married Barbara Ennis and they had their eldest son, William.

Finally, they traveled through the area known as Anderson and Knox Counties in Tennessee into those areas when they became Indiana and then to settled in Perry Co., IND.    There is a John TERRY in Hawkins Co., Tennessee the known birthplace of William (1785-1869) in the 1790’s according to deeds of the period. [1]

              This same John TERRY was in Anderson County, Tennessee in 1792 when his father in Botetourt County, VA died.  John subsequently sold his inheritance to his brother-in-law, Thomas BROWN.  This land was in Botetourt County, Virginia, on “Murray Creek” that had been formerly known as Black Creek and was land where William TERRY “deceased” had lived.[2]  

            Earlier origins are hinted at by noting the oral history of the TERRYS of Perry Co., Ind. and those of Barry Co., Mo.     In Lula Terry ELLIOT’s work A Partial History of William Terry and his descendants, 1724-1981, one descendent, Bertha Terry BEATTY cites stories in their family that two brothers immigrated to America in the 1600’s.   One brother stayed in the New England area and the others headed south into Virginia.[3] .  

Interestingly enough, the Terry line in Bucks Co., Pennsylvania, descending through one Thomas Terry has links to a man who died in early New York State and has probable links back to three men (two brothers and a likely cousin) who came from England. The men (Thomas, Richard and Robert? arrived in 1635 aboard a ship called The James in the time of the Great Migration when people were leaving England and Europe as “dissenters” to the religious persecution and economic hardships at home.

              

[1]      Hawkins County, Tennessee Register of Deeds, vol. 1-2, 1787-1906.[microfilm].  In this and the Sullivan County Tennessee records only one TERRY is found, a John TERRY in 1792-1800 in Hawkins Co.

[2]      Botetourt County, VA, Deed Book 8, pg. 602, June 1805. I’m not sure who first proposed the possible connection between the Terry’s of Botetourt Co. and those in Indiana, Tennessee, and Missouri, but I suspect some of the earliest were Nell WRAY and Ruth Terry PRESTON.  As early as 1984, Lulla Terry ELLIOT was noting a connection between her Anderson Co., IN Terry’s and the Virginia group.

[3]       Elliot, Lula Terry. A Partial History of William Terry and his Descendants –1724-1981. (Self-published, no date): 7,9,29-30,130.

[4]       This motif appears in many family tales across a wide range of family lines and may represent the contemporary equivalent of a modern car crash or cancer as mortality factors.

SEE THE ELLIOT AND GEORGE TERRY SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION (bibliography entry this blog.)