Robert Lawrence & Elizabeth – emigrants

Sally’s 8-great Grandparents:

“the emigrant”

Robert Lawrence 1611 – aft 1682 | his parents
& Elizabeth ? est 1616 – | her parents
of London, England & Virginia

my working hypothesis – the way I see it as of this moment!!

5 June 1611 – Robert Lawrence, was bapt.
2nd son of Sir John Lawrence, merchant of London.
? 4 Nov 1631 – entered Oxford U and possibly studied law at the Inner Temple in the following year.
He married Elizabeth and they left for the Virginia Colony
ca 1633 – Robert Lawrence came to Virginia from Chelsea, Middlesex, England.
ca 1634 – son George is born [not used as head right for land]
1639 – son Robert Jr. is born in Virginia
[not used as head right for land]
Aug 25, 1642 He patented 100 acres of land on Lawnes Creek, Isle of Wight, VA and 200 acres adjacent to the widow Bennett and Mr. Hardy,
28 Sept 1643 – 150 acres near the mouth of Lawnes Creek
20 Aug 1644 – 400 acres with Ellis Brown in Lower Norfolk County on the east branch of Elizabeth River
in 1652 Robert was a Puritan
1659 – migrated to Nansemond Co
in 1659-60 – He was a Justice for the County of Nansemond.
14 March 1659/60 petitioned the Virginia House of Burgesses
to have a “writ of ease granted him from his future officiating as a Commissioner
in the County of nanzemund.”
in 1660 he was a Quaker
1st month 1661 – Thomas Jordan at a Quaker meeting
stated that he was “taken at a meeting at Robert Lawrence’s
and bound over to the court of Nansemond.”
19 Oct 1682 – Robert Lawrence, the elder, witnessed the Quaker wedding of John Scott and Elizabeth Belson
So, Robert Lawrence died after 19 Oct 1682

[Some say Elizabeth, Robert’s wife name was Adkinson, I would like to know why.]

Children of Robert Lawrence & Elizabeth his wife
1. George Lawrence ca 1634 – (lived Nansemond Co, VA)
2. John Lawrence ca 1637 – ca 1700 Nansemond Co VA
married Mary ?
3. Robert Lawrence Jr. 1639 – 1720 Isle of Wight Co VA
married Jeane Sanders, widow of Henry Gay
?4. Thomas Lawrence
?5. Richard Lawrence
?6. Henry Lawrence
note: ? are included in the compilation of Hugh Buckner Johnston

#1 – 1 Nov 1692, deed, George Lawrence to John Lawrence.
“Document #1 above indicates George Lawrence [b ca 1635] divided his 830 acre grant [1686] in 1692 among three Lawrences whom we assume to be his sons: John, James and Henry. [In 1704 th Nansemond County Quit Rents Roll shows the results of this division Jno. Lawrence – 100 ac; Geo. Lawrence – 400 ac; Henry Lawrence – 200 acres; James Lawrence – 100 ac] Only the deed to his son John is among the Lawrence papers listed above, so we might surmise this John Lawrence to be Lemuel Lawrence’ ancestor.

“We surmise from document #1 that the other sons of George Lawrence ca 1635 were Henry and James. Therefore we disagree with Boddie who believed Henry to be the son of Robert Lawrence ca 1615. Boddie records that Henry Lawrence’s daughter Isabella married in 1702. Henry’s sons Michael and Thomas Lawrence who attended that wedding were probably minors since their names do not appear on the quit rent rolls of 1704 for either Isle of Wight or Nansemond Counties. They both owned land in Nansemond County in 1747. All this leads us to place the births of Henry’s offspring around 1685 or 1690 and the births of the brothers Henry, James, and John Lawrence around 1660. James Lawrence also appears to have had offspring about 1685 since he names a son George in his will made in 1687, presumably shortly after the birth of that son.
from the Lawrence Hiatus by Joseph D Lawrence Jr.

Grandchildren of Robert Lawrence & Elizabeth his wife:

George Lawrence ca 1634 – | his parents
of Nansemond Co VA

Children of George Lawrence: see
#1 – 1 Nov 1692, deed, George Lawrence to John Lawrence.
1. Henry Lawrence ca 1652 –
married ca 1670 Elizabeth Edey ca 1654 – 1739
On 19 Oct 1670 Henry and Elizabeth Lawrence received 350 acres on the NW branch of the Nansemond River from the will of Humphry Edey; 250 acres adj. Mr. Robert Lawrence granted to the said Edey and 100 acres on an island adj. a creek purchased by said Edey from Jno. Loyd.
Elizabeth, widow and Relict of Henry Lawrence of Nansemond County – will 1739 Nansemond [copy in SH Co records] found in “the Southside Virginia” Vol 1 #2 Jan ’83 -abstract by L H Hart
Elizabeth also leaves granddaughter Martha the now wife of John Mackey a negro girl named Rose.
* indicates mentioned in the will.
* a. Isabella Lawrence ca 1686 – [now wife 1739]
married 15 Jan 1702 *Thomas Page
i. *Thomas Page
* b. Michael Lawrence will dated 1754
married *Susannah ?
i. *Henry
ii. *Thomas
iii. *John [left home place in father’s will 4 July1754]
*c. Thomas Lawrence
*d. Abigail Lawrence
married *Bryant Daughtry
*e. Sarah Lawrence
[one gold ring having this posey – as God Decreed so we agreed – + 5sh]
married *John Parsons dec bef 27 Sept 1739
*f. Pleasant Lawrence [now wife1739]
married *John Benton Jr.
*g. Mary Lawrence
married *Andrew Booth dec bef 27 Sept 1739
* h. Martha Lawrence dec bef 17 Sept 1739
married *Thomas Daughtery
? i. Richard Lawrence 1704 – [not mentioned in Elizabeth’s 1739 will]
had 200 acres Nansemond
2. John Lawrence 1660 of Nansemond Co VA –
a. George Lawrence 1685 –
3. James Lawrence wrote will 9 May 1687
a. George Lawrence
? 4. George Lawrence

John Lawrence ca 1637 – bef 1700 | his parents
& Mary Power| her parents

Robert Lawrence 1639 – 1720 | his parents
& Jane Saunders [Gay]| her parents

Traveling South through the rivers to North Carolina [NC Archives]
Both Robert and his brother John patented land in 1663 in what is now Bertie County
on the east side of Salmon Creek

Deposition 1708 March 25: Robert Lawrence of Nansemund County aged about Sixty nine years Examined and sworne Saith
That about fourty Seven years agoe this Deponent Seated a plantation on the South West side of Chowan River about three or four miles above the mouth of Morattock where he lived about Seven years, by which means he had often occasion of passing and repassing the Chowan, in which he often took notice, and still very well knows a large Creek on the said South west side of Chowan commonly called and known both by the English and Indians by the name of Weyanoake Creek Which Creek issueth into Chowan about twenty five miles above Morattock Rivers mouth and according to the best of this Deponents Judgement about twenty miles below the mouth of Maherine River And this Deponent further Saith that he never heard either the Blackwater Nottoway or Meherine River or any other River or Creek but that abovementioned called by the name of Weyanoake Creek. Signed Robert RL Lawrence
Attested to by Ar Allen, Fran Milner, Tho. Milner, Hen. Jenkins, James Lockhart

Children of Robert Lawrence Jr. & wife Jane Saunders [Gay]:
1. Robert Lawrence ca 1662 I of W VA –
married ca 1704 Sarah Exum (his cousin) ca 1688 – bef 1726/27
a. Robert Lawrence est 1702/05 – bef 28 Jan 1744/45 I of W VA
Robert made his will in Newport Parish of Isle of Wight County on 1 November 1743, and was probated on 28 January 1744/45. Robert’s will: (1) son Hardy, half of home plantation, horse, bridle, saddle, gun, sword, 2 sows with pigs, and a set of iron wedges; (2) son Robert, half the home plantation, mare, cow and calf; (3) son George, ¬£6 when he comes of age, cow and calf, 2 leather chairs, and black walnut table; (4) son Charles, ¬£ when he comes of age, 4 leather chairs, and a small cedar table; (5) daughter Sarah, feather bed, bolster, sheet, blanket, bedstead, 2 pewter dishes, and 6 pewter spoons; (6)daughter Priscilla, feather bed, 2 pewter basis, 6 pewter spoons, iron pot; (7) wife and executrix Ann, rest of the estate, the use of half the plantation in her lifetime; (8) brother John Lawrence to look after George’s estate; (9) Charles Lawrence left in the care of his grandfather Hardy Council. Witnesses, William Lawrence, John Lawrence, and Hardy Councill
married Ann Council dau of Hardy
i. Hardy Lawrence est 1722/24 – 1788 I of W VA
Hardy Lawrence made his will in Newport Parish on 12 May 1788, and it was probated on 2 October 1788. Hardy’s will: (1) son and executor Robert, half of 200 acre home plantation, reversional interest in the rest, feather bed, 2 slaves, all corn from crib that his family needs for this year; (2) wife and executrix Patsy, use of half the home plantation, 5 slaves, gift of mare, bridle, saddle, and residue of estate not bequeathed; (3) daughter Polly Pope, 2 slaves, feather bed and furnishings; (4) son Ishmael, 100 acres adjoining Jesse Lankford, 50 acres in Southampton County, 2 slaves, and half the grist mill in Southampton County; (5) son Hardy, rest of the land in Southampton County, half the grist mill, (all children to grind corn there toll-free if they will help keep the mill in repair); (6) daughter Permelia Lawrence, 2 slaves, use of the still (the other children may use it at will, also). Witnessed: Mills Lawrence, George Lawrence, and John Lawrence.
married Martha [Patsy] Gay
1. Robert Lawrence
2. Polly Lawrence
married a Pope
3. Ishmael Lawrence
4. Hardy Lawrence
5. Permelia Lawrence
ii. Robert Lawrence ca 1723 –
married 23 March 1786 Sarah Eley dau of Robert
iii. George Lawrence [under age]
married 13 Jan 1792 Sarah Beale
iv. Charles Lawrence bef 1728 – a 1800
[under age when father died]
married ca 1760 Amey Joyner
they are thought to be most likely the parents of Charles Lawrence ca 1761 – 1806
who married Elizabeth Daughtrey and removed to Sumner County TN
line ofPaul E Lawrence web-site of Paul E Lawrence
1. Robert Lawrence 1860/70 – ca 1834
2. Charles Lawrence est 1761 – aft 8 Dec 1806 Sumner Co TN
married Elizabeth Daughtrey ca 1765 – ca 1836
a. Charles Lawrence say 1787 – 20 Feb 1815
b. Annah [Amah] Lawrence s 1790 – ca 1840
c. Robert Lawrence ca 1794 – 1870
d. John Lawrence ca 1799 –
married 12 Oct 1820 Betsey Mckinsey

e. Lemuel Lawrence 15 Apr 1803 – 8 Mar 1881
married Nancy Daniel
line of Paul E Lawrence
f. William Lawrence ca 1805 – 1869
3. John Lawrence ca 1765 – 11 Aug 1845
v. Sarah Lawrence
vi. Priscilla Lawrence
b. John Lawrence – will 1757 I of W VA
John Lawrence made his will in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, 2 March 1757 and it was probated 5 January 1758. John’s will: (1) grandson Elisha Lawrence Ballard, the home plantation, the land in Southampton County received in his father’s will, half a patent in Southampton County, 2 slaves, still, worm, featherbed, and furnishings; (2) nephew John Lawrence, half a patent in Southampton County; (3) granddaughter Honour Ballard, slave, feather bed and furnishings, and ¬£20 in cash; (4) granddaughter Ann Ballard, ditto; (5) daughter Ann Ballard and her husband Elisha Ballard who is to act as executor, 2 slaves and the rest of the estate. Witnessed: Hardy Lawrence, Joseph Lawrence, William Moore. On 25 February 1739/40, John Lawrence assisted John Bowin and William Fowler in appraising the estate of William Bradshaw. On 25 June 1744, John, John Johnson, and William Fowler appraised the estate of James Tullaugh. On 9 September 1749, John and William Lawrence and William Edmonds appraised Fowler’s estate. On 6 August 1752, John Lawrence, Jacob Butler, and James Bryant appraised the estate of William Daughtry. On 5 June, 1755, John and William Lawrence and John Darden appraised the estate of John Daughtry
i. Samuel Lawrence ca 1740 – from Uncle Jeremiah’s will 1755
ii. Ann Lawrence ca 1738 –
married Elisha Ballard
c. Samuel Lawrence ca 1714 – bef 25 Oct 1763 no issue or
i. John Lawrence – from Uncle John’s will 1757
Samuel Lawrence was called brother-in-law and executor in the will of Jacob Darden on 25 March 1739/40, and was asked to care for Charles Darden and certain land in Nansemond County during Charles’ minority, witnessed by George Lawrence and John Marshall.
On 7 March 1752/3, Samuel Lawrence’s land in Upper Parish of Nansemond County was processioned by Robert Lawrence and Thomas Pinner in the presence of John Lawrence and himself. He may have died without heirs as his land belonged to John Lawrence on 25 October 1763
d. Elizabeth Lawrence ca 1717 –
married Jacob Darden will 1739/40
i. Jacob Darden
ii. Charles Darden
e. Ann Lawrence ca 1721 I of W VA –
married 1st ca 1742 Edward Eley IofW, VA
son of Robert Eley III and Martha Daughtrey
married 2nd ca 1750 William Joyner Jr. IofW VA – aft 31 Dec 1776 SH, VA
son of William Joyner [Sr,] and Elinor Smelly
f. Jeremiah Lawrence ca 1725 I of W VA – bef 2 Dec 1755 dsp
Jeremiah made his will 30 November 1755 and it was recorded 2 December 1756. His will: leg. to George and Charles, the sons of my brother Robert Lawrence, land in Southampton County; to Sarah Lawrence, if she pays a bequest to her brothers, Hardy, Robert, George and Charles Lawrence; toCharles, the son of Jacob Darden; to brother Samuel; to sister Ann Joiner and her husband, William Joiner and her children; brother John; to Samuel, the son of brother John Lawrence. Ex. brother John Lawrence. Witnessed Joshiah Jordan, Joseph Scott, and Joseph Meredith.
2. Jane Lawrence –
married Henry Gay [stepbrother] –
3. daughter
married John Gay [step-brother]
(perhaps others)

Children of Joane Saunders and Henry Gay:
1. Thomas Gay of Isle of Wight Co
married Chuckatuck MH 11/11 1699/1700 Rebecca Page dau of Thomas