John Waits of Hampshire WVA line

 

 

For many years our line of Richard Wayte b. 1708 has been tied up with the line of John Waits of Hampshire Co., WVA.  While we have had proof that our lines did not connect since 2003, we still find many internet family trees connecting these.  Now that DNA has been submitted from an ancestor of John Waits of Hampshire and has come back as not being related to our documented line, we felt that it was time that the truth is told again.

 

 

While there may some substance to the records the Rev. Waits found in the early 70’s, this is really a fictional piece.  I will make notes at the end of this document indicating what is not proven info from the documents that our Wayte researchers have found.

 

 

I am going to type out what the Rev. Emmett Moore Waits, Jr. wrote in the "The Colonial Genealogist" in 1970 until it leaves our connection with Richard to work on his own line from John of Hampshire and beyond.   This is really the only area of this work that pertains to my line so this is where I look sometimes to see if I can find one of those documents he implies that prove the Richard of Middlesex link to Wiltshire, England.  Ginger and I have delved into some of those to no avail.  We find men with Wayte names but nothing to prove they are ours.  We certainly need more early VA data. 

 

 

From here on is his submission:

 

I.  RICHARD WAIT, born Grittenham Parish, Brinkworth, Malmsbury Hundred, Wiltshire, England, about 1638, son of HENRY and ELIZABETH (PALMER) WAIT, died Christ Church Parish, Middlesex County, Virginia, 10 August 1715.  He married in Middlesex County, Virginia, 3 February 1705 (2nd wife) ANNE DUGLASS, who died in Middlesex County, between 1709-1713.

 

+ Biographical:

            RICHARD WAIT passed through the port of Bristol aboard the ship 'Hopewell' in 1662, destined for Barbados and Virginia, and is named in the record of embarkation as of Brinkworth, Wiltshire.  He was claimed as a headright in Lancaster County, Virginia, 14 May 1662, and again in Rappahannock County, Virginia, 9 July 1663.  The Virginia records indicate that he was a planter in the section of Lancaster County, and was resident in Christ Church Parish, Middlesex County, from 1705 until his death in 1715.  A tradition that he was a sea captain is strengthened by the fact that there are only two references to him in the Virginia records between 1663 and 1705 and by records in England of one "Mr. RICHARD WAITS" as commander of the ship 'Friendship', from 1687 until after 1692.

 

+References:

            Wills, Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 130 Harvey; 'The Parish Register of Christ Church, Middlesex County, Virginia 1653-1812' (1964 reprint), pp. 68, 72,80,83,85, 90; 'Bristol and America: A Record of the First Settlers in the Colonies of North America 1654-1685:  Servants to Foreign Plantations', Volume I 1654-1663, Volume II 1663-1685, transcribed by R. Hargreaves-Mawdsly (1967 reprint), p. 71; Bristol, England, Charters, Book I, p. 361; Lancaster County, Virginia, Court Orders, Book 3, p. 181; Virginia Patent Book 5, p. 200 (95), as cited in Nell Marion Nugent, 'Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents 1623-1800' (1934); 'The Vestry Book of Christ Church Parish, Middlesex County, Virginia 1663-1767', compiled by C.G.Chamberlayne (1927), p. 185; 'The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography', Volume 34, p. 284; Wills, Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 8 Coker.

 

+Note:

            The immigrant ancestor, RICHARD WAIT, as mentioned, had two records as headright in Virginia, one in 1662 and a second in 1663.  That both records refer to the same RICHARD WAIT, or WAYT, is obvious from the duplication of other names in both lists.

 

            The Bristol record (R. Hargreaves-Mawdley, 'Bristol and America'), states that one RICHARD WAIT of Brinkworth, Wiltshire, embarked at the port in 1661-1662 aboard the 'Hopewell' destined for Barbados.  The 'Hopewell' was owned by Colonel CUTHBERT POTTER, planter of Barbados and of Lancaster-Middlesex County, Virginia ('Virginia Magazine of History and Biography', Volume 34, p. 284).  POTTER was justice of Lancaster and later high sheriff of Middlesex County and a charter member and vestryman of Christ Church Parish, Middlesex, the last shown in the list of charter vestrymen in the parish register.  The first headright record of RICHARD WAIT is in Lancaster County, the second in Rappahannock County (Middlesex was taken from portions of Lancaster and Rappahannock south of the Rappahannock River in 1663), and it was in Christ Church Parish, Middlesex, where the immigrant ancestor settled permanently.  It is not unreasonable to conclude that RICHARD WAIT went first to Barbados aboard the 'Hopewell' and then from Barbados, where Colonel POTTER owned a plantation and where he eventually died, to Virginia, where POTTER is of record until 1690.  Other passengers on the 'Hopewell' on the same voyage with RICHARD WAIT destined for Barbados are also of record during the early 1660's as headrights in Virginia.  There is also the following evidence to be added to the reasons for believing RICHARD WAIT, the Bristol passenger, was the same as RICHARD WAIT of Lancaster-Middlesex, Virginia.  RICHARD WAIT married his first wife in England in 1660 as she was SARAH COLSTONE.  In 1663 there is record at Bristol of the passage of one SARAH WAITE to Virginia, and record that on 15 September 1663 SARAH WAITE was claimed as a headright in Rappahannock County, Virginia - the same summer in which RICHARD WAIT, on 9 June 1663, was claimed as headright in Rappahannock.

 

            The claim that the immigrant ancestor was a "sea captain" has always been "family tradition".  However, in seeking confirmation of this, the following records have been found:

            (a)  English Probates, 19/179 Scroope Folio (Abstract):  Will of THOMAS DOBBS, of Ludgershall (near Malmsbury), Wiltshire, dates 27 August 1657/proved 11 February 1658:  wife, JOANE; daughter, URSILLA.  Witnesses: RICHARD WAIGHT and GILES PALMER.

            (b)  Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 8 Coker (Abstract):  Will of LEWIS GODDARD of the Parish of St. Sepulchre's, London, of "the Good Ship 'The Friendship', Mr. Richard Waits, Commander."  Dated 10 October 1692/proved 24 January 1692/93:  wife, ANNA GODDARD.  Witnesses:  GILES PALMER, JOHN WYHERD.

 

 

This may or may not constitute proof that the immigrant ancestor, RICHARD WAIT, or WAITS, was a sea captain sometime between the years he was recorded as a headright in Virginia and is of record in 1671 in HUGH BRENT's will as having owned land in Lancaster County, Virginia, and his permanent settlement in Christ Church Parish, Middlesex County Virginia, beginning with the year 1705.  [It must also be kept in mind that by law Wills had to be probated in Canterbury if the deceased owned land in more than one county or died, or was likely to die, at sea or in the colonies.  Editor]

 

 

 

 

Notes:

 

From here onward he talks about the Wayte Coat of Arms (which I have not investigated at all) and then starts in on our Richard b. 1708.  He talks about his wife Sarah Blake, her parents and grandfather John Blake who was an immigrant to VA from Pitminster, Somersetshire, England.  I can only assume he might be right about that part since I haven't checked it out yet. 

 

But then he claims that Richard, the ancestor married again after Anne Duglass to Charity Beaumont in 1713 and they had a son William, then later Charity married John Ingram after Richard died and with him had a son Samuel Ingram.    From what I can tell in Virginia records there was a Richard who married Charity in 1713, died in 1715 and she remarried.  The problem is that who was it who died in 1724?  The Christ Church Parish Records have two Richard's dying, the one noted in 1715 and one in 1724.  Which one is ours?

 

He states that part of his proof of his John in Hampshire Co was that a William Waite and a Samuel Ingram lived next to said John in Hampshire Co.  So for years I thought that perhaps the Richard who married Charity was a cousin or nephew or relative of some sort to our Richard who married Sarah Blake but DNA has proven that our lines do not intersect at all.  So we can say that if the John Waits of Hampshire lines are sure of their William Waite and Samuel Ingram connections, then our Richard is probably the one who died in 1724.   And that of course we have two separate families living in Middlesex at the same time. 

 

 

 

Richard Wait, possible headright of 1663, seems to be the same one who was about 14 years old and he was indentured to a Henry Corbin.  Ginger found the record after William Lindsey found the mention of him being 14 in one of the old books.  "Essex Co. Order Book Entry page 255 - Richard Waight, servant to Henry Corbyn, esq., coming into this county without indenture and appearing at this court is declared to be 14 years old and is ordered to serve according to act, 13 Jan 1663/4"

 

One other note about his proof besides the Richard who was 14 years old in 1663 was that Ginger saw the actual will of Hugh Brent of 1671 at the LOV which was to prove that Richard owned land in Lancaster County.  The will merely states giving "ye neck of land which was cleared by Mr. Wate....." nothing about Richard owning anything.

 

One of the things that the John Waits of Hampshire line as always stated is that the family tradition of a sea captain.  So the part about a Richard Waits, commander of the Friendship might be the only part of this tale that is true.  It is also possible that he is the same one who married Charity Beaumont and died in 1715.  And it is also possible that he is the same man who married Sarah Colstone but there must have been another Richard Wayte in Middlesex who was married to Anne Moore Duglass in 1705 and he must have been the one who died in 1724 if the William Waite and Samuel Ingram of Middlesex connection to John Waits of Hampshire is true.

 

 

The Rev. made many assumptions and while his guesses could be right in some places, I have a hard time thinking that Richard Wayte b. about 1638 was the same one who married first Sarah Colstone, then Anne Duglass in 1705, and Charity Beaumont in 1713. He would have been a bit long in the tooth I think, so I feel that we are missing a generation or two perhaps.

 

Much more is needed before we can safely state who the parents of Richard Wayte b. about 1670 who married Anne Moore Duglass in 1705 were.

 

 

 

Update July 1, 2008