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Descendants of John Copeland

Generation No. 1

      1. John¹ Copeland was born Abt. 1616 in Dolphin Leigh, Lancashire, England, and died January 09, 1717/18 in North Cave, Yorkshire, England. He married Sarah Ratcliff Abt. 1644 in Isle of Wight Co, Virginia, daughter of Richard Ratliff and Elizabeth [ratliff].

Notes for John Copeland:
It is important to note that I have serious doubts about the date of death of this John Copeland. I believe that there is confusion between John Copeland, Quaker missionary who went to Boston on the Speedwell in 1656. This "Quaker" John Copeland was listed as "young and unmarried" whereas the John Copeland who emigrated to VA on the Assurance in 1635 would have been 40 and married. I believe that "Quaker" John Copeland preached in the US, but didn't have family here, returned to England and died in 1718 and that the John Copeland who was born in 1616 was probably the father of the line of Copelands in my database. This is elaborated on below.

Copeland Genealogy chart in Copeland Cuzzins, V2,#1 from Mrs. David P. Taylor, 8110 NE Wygant, Portland, OR 97218, submitted by James E.Bell.

1616: approx. date of birth based on age ate time of immigration in 1635
1635: immigrated to VA on Assurance from Gravesend, London, England
1640: witness to a Bill of Sale in Accomack County
1643: granted headright in lower Norfolk County
(above two facts from Lower Norfolk County Minute Book, 1637-1643)

Copeland Cuzzins, V2,#2 has article on "Joseph Copeland, 17th Century Pewterer". This article lists Joseph's father as Thomas Copeland of London and states that he was born c1649. The article theorizes that John Copeland may have been a favored uncle (not father) of Joseph. The article also lists Joseph as the husband of Elizabeth Taberer and father of the Joseph Copeland mentioned in Thomas Taberer's will.

Further information from: Jim and Freda Winnefeld
To: PaulMHMD
(it should be noted that the Winnefeld's subsequently have decided that John Copeland who entered VA in 1635 and John "The Quaker" Copeland were different men. It seems more likely that John who came in 1635 was the one who married Sarah Ratliff and sired the VA Copelands, and that John "The Quaker" may have never settled in America, but preached here and then returned to England to die. This would also account for a seemingly excessive age at death of 102 y/o since John "The Quaker" was probably born c1628, not 1616 which was apparently the birth date of the other John. )

Our information on Quaker Missionary John Copeland (1616-1718) has been
derived from the most part from:

1. Secondary sources (e.g. Morris Guess, "Genealogy of the Families of
Copeland," and Carol Lee Copeland Thompson's "Descendents of John Copeland
and Sarah Ratliff of Virginia and Allied Families."). [Note we disagree with
some of the results of their research and are more inline with Herman L.
Coplen's "The Copeland/Coplen and Allied Families: Immigrants to Virginia"]

2. The invevitable IGI for first approximations

3. Field work in the state archives in Richmond, Raleigh,
Annapolis.

4. Direct access to records held by DAR and Society of Colonial Dames of the
17th Century (both in DC). Also National Archives (but not very useful for
our purposes).

5. Considerable field work in North Carolina and Virginia
(County Historical Societies)

We have not yet gone into gravestone and parish church record checks (except
from secondary sources). Our trip to the UK is to track both John and
Fredda's ancestor William upstream a bit. One takes us to Scotland and the
other to York/Lancashire.

As an aside, I believe the IGI records are excellent in general; one just
needs to look at them with some skepticism and a willingness to use them to
form and test hypotheses. Indeed they are contradictory and often frustrating
(and incomplete).

Jim Winnefeld

A Biography of John Copeland (1616-1718)

by James Winnefeld and Fredda Coupland Winnefeld.

      Based on Speculation and Incomplete Records John Copeland was a prominant Quaker missionary who emmigrated to America, returned to England several times, was mutilated in Massachusetts for his religious beliefs and teachings, and finally returned to England where he died in 1718. John is an ancestor of many American Copelands. The purpose of this essay is to compile in one place what is known about him, his parents, his siblings, and his children and grandchildren.      There is much that is not known for certain about John, even though he is frequently mentioned in early histories and records of Virginia and Massachusetts. Some of these uncertainties carry down to his children and the various lines of descendents they parented. An examination of these uncertainties should start with ascertaining what is known of John's origins.

John's Origins

      It is likely that John was born in either Yorkshire or Lancashire. If he was born in Lancashire, he was probably the son of Lawrence Copeland. Guess states that this Lawrence was a famous roundhead whose lands were confiscated for his religious beliefs. The LDS International Genealogy Index (IGI) for Lancashire indicates that a John, son of Lawrence Cooplande (sic) was Christened in St. Mary's parish Lancaster on 24 February 1612. The IGI also indicates that Lawrence had a son named Lawrence Christened in St Mary's parish in 1609. There was one more son recorded in the IGI: William Copeland, Christened 6 July 1616 in St. Mary's parish. If John originated in Yorkshire, he was probably the son of Robert Copeland and Alice Young, born 10 April 1616 and Christened in Easingwold on 27 October 1616. This John had numerous brothers and sisters. There is at least one cite that says John was from Yorkshire. There is a possibility that John originated in Scotland. There is an IGI entry that shows a John Copeland being born in Dumphries, Scotland, in 1616. But we have been unable to establish other linkages to Scotland to date. Several sources state that John was from Dolphin Leigh. Guess indicates that it was in Lancashire (he says that was father Lawrence's home). Copeland and Barnes suggest much the same.To date we do not know whether Dolphin Leigh was/is an estate, town, or parish. It is not listed in any gazetteer we have examined. However, an inquiry to the National Geographic Society (Mr. Michael Horner, map archivist) resulted in placing Dolphin Leigh in the southeast outskirts of Lancaster, Lancs at Latitude 54 degrees, 3 minutes, and 9 seconds north; and Longitude 2 degrees, 46 minutes and 3 seconds west. The only additional information is that it is not a town or topographical mark. By elimination it is either a farm, estate, or crossroads. As we will see, John later became a devout Quaker. Quakerism was strong in both Lancashire and Yorkshire (less so in Scotland). As a working hypothesis, we assume in the remainder of this essay that John is from Lancashire.

John Emmigrates to America

      The record clearly indicates that John left Gravesend (near London) for Virginia aboard Assurance in July 1635. In conformance with the then existing law, he was "examined" by a town official before leaving and required to take an oath of "allegiance and supremacy" to support the Church of England. He was carried on the passenger manifest as being 19 years old at the time. It is not known where John debarked in Virginia, though based on his subsequent movements it was likely in the Hampton Roads region.

John's Early Period in Virginia

      It is not known when John was converted to Quakerism, but it is unlikely that such an event happened until the late 1640s or early 1650s when Quakerism's founder, George Fox, greatly expanded the geographical coverage of his ministry. Also it is not known whether John became a Quaker as a result of a conversion in England or in Virginia. What we do know with some certainty is that he settled in the southside of colonial Virginia and married Sarah Ratliff in 1644 in Isle of Wight County (IGI, VA, p. 7,026). As far as we know this was his first marriage. If his given age on sailing for Virginia in 1635 was correct, he must have been 29 years old at the time of his marriage.
      John and Sarah had four children according to the IGI:
Nicholas Copeland (1645)
William Copeland (1647)
Hannah Copeland (1654)
Joseph Copeland (1655)
      All were born in Isle of Wight County. We will return to these children later in this essay.

John the Quaker Missionary

      One researcher believes John travelled from Virginia to Boston in 1651. Sometime later he returned to England. It is possible that he converted to Quakerism at this time. He left England 30 May 1656 for Boston aboard Speedwell, and is listed as a Quaker on the passenger manifest. On arrival in Boston he and seven other co-religionists were promptly jailed. The captain of Speedwell was required to take them back to England. But the following year John returned to Boston in the Woodhouse. He was described at the time as young, unmarried, and educated. John's stay in Boston was again a stormy one and resulted in his having his right ear cut off by order of a Boston court in 1658 and again being ejected from the Colony. John's subsequent travels until 1665 are unknown, but in that year he was again in England and was among the Newgate prisoners to be sentenced to transportation, first to the Barbadoes, and subsequently to Virginia. Sarah died either in 1675 or in 1687. The first date is consistent with a report of his second marriage in England. A letter sent to George Fox in 1678 states that John was in Virginia at that time.

John's Later Years

      Chuckatuck County records in Virginia show his signature many times between 1679 and 1696. He became a celebrity in his old age as one of the old Quakers who had suffered for his beliefs.He was asked on several occasions to display his mutilation to sympathizers. He remarried (his third marriage by our count) in 1691, and reportedly received many visitors in his home as late as 1698. Coplen gives the date of his death as 9 January 1718 and his burial site as North Cave, Yorkshire.

John's Relationship with Lawrence of Braintree, Massachusetts

      Several genealogists have pointed to the possibility, even probability, that Quaker John was the brother of Lawrence of Braintree, Massachusetts. The evidence for this connection is scanty and consists of a possible common father in Lawrence of Lancashire and the fact that John made several journeys to Massachusetts during the course of his ministry. The birth dates in the IGI suggest that if Lawrence of Braintree is the son of Lawrence of Lancashire, it is quite possible that his brother John is not Quaker John. If we accept the "John is from Yorkshire" hypothesis set out earlier in this essay, it follows that Quaker John and Lawrence of Braintree were not brothers, but may have had an earlier joint ancestor in England or Scotland. If Lawrence and Quaker John were brothers, Lawrence was much the older, having been born in 1599 (see IGI and William Copeland Clark, p. 43) while Quaker John was born in either 1612 or 1616.

John and Sarah's Children

We have already cited four children born of John and Sarah: Nicholas (1645), William (1647), Hannah (1654), and Joseph (1655). Guess (p. 8) cites four sons: John, Nicholas, William, and possibly Thomas. Guess makes no mention of Hannah or Joseph.Thompson has still a different list of John's and Sarah's children: William, Nicholas, John, Sarah, and Thomas. The names common to all three lists are: William and Nicholas. The children of William and Nicholas are fairly well documented by the various genealogical researchers. However, the children of William son of Quaker John and William son of William Copeland of Middlesex Co., Virginia are either almost identical in naming and sequence, or some genealogists have borrowed the family of one and attributed it to the other William.

The Puzzle of Quaker John's Marriages

      The evidence suggests that Quaker John entered into three marriages, the first to Sarah Ratliffe of Isle of Wight County, Virginia. The names of his second and third wives are unknown. Moreover, we do not know if he had any children from those later marriages.The dates of the various marriages are confusing. For example, one researcher has him entering into his second marriage while another researcher shows first wife Sarah Ratliffe still alive. These events raise the suspicion that Quaker John has been confused with other John Copelands that may have existed. For example, suppose that there were a John each from Dumphries, Lancashire, and Yorkshire and that two or more of them lived in Virginia at the same time.
      A multiplicity of Johns may also explain the confusion over the children attributed to him, and his extraordinarily long life (102-106 years). Moreover, the possibility of more than one John in Virginia in the middle of the 17th Century may better support possible linkages of one of them with Lawrence of Braintree, MA. Morris E. Guess, "Genealogy of the Families of Copeland." Guess doesn't say definitively that John is the son of roundhead Lawrence, but that is what his reporting implies. The IGI makes a distinction between this Lawrence (born in 1609) and another Lawrence born in 1599 who is said to have married Lydia Townsend in Massachusetts. We will return to this point later in this essay as we attempt to define the linkage between Quaker John Copeland, our interest here, and Lawrence Copeland of Braintree, MA who married Lydia Townsend. See cite 20 from Fredda Coupland Winnefeld's chronology. John W. Copeland, "The Copeland Family of Moore County North Carolina," Gastonia, North Carolina. Baker Barnes, "Genealogy of Copeland."
      According to the National Geographic Society, Dolphin Leigh can be located on Royal Ordnance Survey maps (sheet 97 at 50,000:1). An examination of these maps does not show Dolphin Leigh. An on-site visit of the neighborhood is required to further pinpoint Dolphin Leigh.

      Tepper, Passengers to America, pp. 99-100. Note that if this was his real age, it calls into question the validity of placing his origins in Lancashire. A birth date of 1616 fits with the Yorkshire and Dumphries records. If these assumptions are valid, it is very unlikely that John was the brother of Lawrence of Braintree (MA). As we shall see, John eventually married 3-4 times. Note carefully that John did not name his first son after either himself or his reputed father, Lawrence. Note that Carol Lee Copeland Thompson believes John and Sarah had five children: William, Nicholas, John, Sarah , and Thomas. She gives no birth dates. See her Descendents of John Copeland and Sarah Ratliff of Virginia And Allied Families.

      Greer, Early Immigrants, p. 78.; John Cox, "Notes on the Eight Names Marked as Quakers in the Speedwell Passenger List, 1656," (parent publication unknown), p. 149-151. Cox believes that the manifest marking was done after arrival in Boston "and as soon as the offense of their preaching was known."One wonders if we are talking about the same John who landed in Virginia in 1635 at the age of 19, and who married Sarah Ratliff in 1644. In 1656 the John who landed in 1635 would have been 40 years old, a ripe age for the 17th Century.

      Cox, op. cit.:There is one reference to his being in London in 1661. Thompson cites the later date.

      Herman L. Coplen, Jr., The Copeland/Coplen and Allied Families: Immigrants to Virginia, Gateway Press, Baltimore, 1983, p. 3. Note that the place of death was less than 30 miles from where John would have born if his origins are in Yorkshire. See in particular Coupland (p. 5) who states that: "There can therefore be little doubt that the Massachusetts and Virginia Copelands were related through Lawrence and John, most likely brothers." Guess reaches a similar conclusion (pp. 7-8). Neither provides direct evidence of the relationship (e.g., letters to each other, visits). William Copeland Clark who did considerable research on the life of Lawrence mentions no connection with John, although he examined closely other members of Lawrence's family and progeny. We know of no children from his later marriages. IGI, VA. It is curious that if John were the son of Lawrence of Lancashire, that none of his sons were given that name (a common practice in 17th Century Britain). But we should also note that if he were the son of Robert Young of Yorkshire, it is equally curious that none of John's sons were named Robert. The IGI and Coplen attribute the "common children" to William, son of William of Middlesex Co and Christian (no surname known), while Guess, Copeland, and Thompson attribute them to William son of Quaker John and Christian Taberer.


Children of John Copeland and Sarah Ratcliff are:

+	2	i.	Nicholas² Copeland, born 1645 in Virginia; died Abt. 1694 in Isle of Wight Co, Virginia.
	3	ii.	Hannah Copeland, born 1654 (Source: IGI.).
	4	iii.	Joseph Copeland, born 1655 (Source: IGI.).

Notes for Joseph Copeland:
Copeland Cuzzins, V2,#2 has article on "Joseph Copeland, 17th Century Pewterer". This article lists Joseph's father as Thomas Copeland of London and states that he was born c1649. The article theorizes that John Copeland may have been a favored uncle (not father) of Joseph. The article lists Joseph's first wife as Mary. It also lists Joseph as the husband of Elizabeth Taberer and father of the Joseph Copeland mentioned in Thomas Taberer's will.

+	5	iv.		Sarah Copeland, born Abt. 1663 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.
+	6	v.		William Copeland, born 1650 in Isle of Wight, Virginia; died Aft. October 23, 1720 in Chowan County, North Carolina.

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