1. RICHARD1 EGGLESTON was born Bet. 1611 - 1619 in England. He married UNKNOWN (EGGLESTON).
Notes for RICHARD EGGLESTON:
Was one of two Richard Egglestons that came to James City Co, VA in July 1635. Had at least one child. Source: Robt B Egglestons Notes and Lucetta Eggleston Crawford Sammis papers.
Robert B Eggleston Papers:
Richard Eggleston, whoever he was, made his way to London and probably made contact with one of the middlemen of London who assembled prospective Virginia servants. The passage to Virginia cost about 6 pounds but the average laborer made only 4 pounds 3 shillings a year. Richard would have signed a contract specifying his term of service and would have been given clothes for his journey and fed until the ship was ready to sail. His ship was sailing in July so as to arrive in Virginia in the fall; this allowed the captain to load this year`s tobacco crop for the return voyage. Most importantly it allowed the servants to spend their first months during the cold weather, reducing somewhat the alarming mortality rate among new arrivals. At the dock Richard`s contract would have been offered for sale for about l6 pounds.
Thomas Hampton, who had purchased Richard Eggleston`s
services, was the minister of the Jamestown church and owned land
adjacent to the town. He received bureaucratic credit for indenturing on May l9, l637, almost two years after the departure of Richard Eggleston from London. (There are many explanations for this time gap, but they must all remain as conjectures.) He received 50 acres of land from the crown for paying for Richard Eggleston`s passage. During the term of servitude he had full control of Richard`s time and person. Richard could not marry and could not vote. On the other hand, he could own property and he had civil rights, allowing him to go to court to avoid maltreatment. Thomas Hampton may not have been an easy master, since court records showed that he was accused of maltreating two boys who were his wards, stealing their inheritance and failing to feed and clothe them.
At the end of Richard Eggleston`s term as a bonded servant by custom he would have received from Mr. Hampton a small sum of money and tools. He could have hired himself as a free worker or, if he were more enterprising, he could have rented land and farmed on his own, since the capital investment for tobacco farming then required land, a hoe and a strong back. If he had a good year or two and did not die of malaria or other diseases he was on his way. The expanding planter had only to pay the passage of other emigrants to receive land; these emigrants would become his servants, helping him to plant more land and pay more passages. Another quicker way to success was to take advantage of the sky-high mortality rate by marrying a rich widow.
Beginning in l652 Richard Eggleston`s name began to appear on land rolls and other records. He had founded Powhatan Plantation near Williamsburg, was a captain of militia-- and he had indentured servants of his own. He acquired tracts of land whose location can best be seen on a map in the W&M Quarterly 20:476, l940. He is first mentioned when in l652 John Flood got land "bordering on Richard Eggleston`s at Powhatan," indicating he was already established there. Then on March 9, l653, he bought 900 acres "on N. side of James River, beg. Sly. on George Gilbert`s devdt., wly. & nly. on Poetan Swamp & Ely. on Lady Lunsford`s land," from Eliza Wetherell. The original patent on this land has been lost but Robert Wetherell in l645 had land which was probably the same tract.
Then in l655 Richard leased 62 1\2 acres "in the Main
adjoining the land of Daniel Lyle," paying as rent "2 Bbls, 2 Bu.
Indian corn sheld at the State House yearly." On March l6, l662,
Richard received a patent for "l377 A., 58 chg.-- on the north side of a branch of Poetan Swamp called the Hay Meadow." This patent actually included the previous 900 acres plus 477 additional acres for the transportation of l0 persons; the patent mentions as neighbors Lady Lunsford, Thomas Warburton and Mr. Hunt.
Richard evidently had a military career, although the records of the campaign are unclear. In 1656 the militia of Charles City County were sent to meet an Indian force near Richmond, where the Virginians were soundly defeated at the Battle of Bloody Run just north of Richmond. The extant records are mainly concerned with the aftermath, when Richard received compensation for a horse lost in the campaign. This could mean only that Richard supplied a horse, but it probably indicates that he was a volunteer.
Other mentions of Richard Eggleston are in 1664 when Thomas Warburton received land next to his and when he was paid a debt in 1669.
We now begin to find mention of a Benjamin Eggleston, who was probably Richard`s son. With all wills destroyed (along with the rest of James City County records) during the Civil War, it is impossible to be certain but in l704 Benjamin paid quit rent on l375 acres; the similarity of size of this tract to Richard`s l662 acquisition is highly suggestive. For the sake of the story and because there had to be an intermediate generation between Richard Eggleston and Joseph Eggleston (the owner of Powhatan until l730) we shall assume Benjamin Eggleston received Powhatan as the heir of Richard, just as we`ll assume further on that Benjamin`s heir Joseph was his son.
Actually, several other presumably unrelated Egglestons
emigrated to Virginia in the seventeenth-century. There was Arthur Eggleston in l635, Jon. Egglestone in l753, Hugh Eglestone in l657 and Roger Eglestone in l665. Most of these men must have not survived long but Arthur had a son Edward who was noted in 1682.
Benjamin must have been born about l652 because in l673 he was of age and ran afoul of the law. He was brought into court for having "spoken presumptuously and impudently of the governor"and was given the choice of a public whipping or a fine of 3000 pound of tobacco. This was a year of unrest; as a prelude of Bacon`s Rebellion three years later meetings were held to refuse tax payment. Perhaps it was at such a meeting that Benjamin, speaking beyond himself as young men are prone to do, earned a public whipping. The governor involved, William Berkeley, was also the owner of the neighboring plantation, Greensprings. The records do not indicate which punishment Benjamin chose.
Where were the Egglestons in Bacon`s Rebellion in l676? Greensprings was the scene of a battle and was fortified by both sides of this vicious little civil war. As aggrieved next-door neighbors, the Egglestons would not have been expected to side with the majority Bacon faction, yet they were not among those who were made to suffer after the Berkeley faction ended as winners.
Benjamin`s spirit evidently recovered after his brush with the law in 1673 for he went on to prosper as a planter. He too patented land; on October 23, l690, he received 595 acres on the south side of the Chickahominy River for transporting l2 persons. This land may or may not have adjoined Powhatan plantation; he did not keep it long for in l694 it was deserted and awarded to another planter. On April 26, l698, he also patented l670 acres on the east side of Powhatan Swamp (presumably adjoining his other land) for transporting six people.
We know that Benjamin had a close friend in William Broadribb, who owned land adjacent to his. Broadribb appointed Benjamin as legatee in his will of l703 and mentioned him as his "loving friend". Other mentions of Benjamin on legal documents date from l680, l686 and l708;both he and his son Joseph were listed as militia officers.
Benjamin`s son Joseph was born in l678, but the name of Benjamin`s wife is not known. His second wife was Elizabeth Hartwell, the widow of William Hartwell who was one of the most vengeful of the Berkeley supporters after Bacon`s Rebellion. (Hartwell died in l699.) We know this because Elizabeth`s son William Hartwell died in l7l3 and his will mentions his mother Elizabeth, "the wife of Benjamin Eggleston." This is probably the Elizabeth Eggleston who paid tax on l75 acres in James City County in l704.
The l704 quit rent roll also shows that Benjamin paid tax on l375 acres but in addition notes that a Joseph Eggleston paid tax on 550 acres in James City County. Although there is no document to prove the relationship of Benjamin and Joseph the fact that Joseph at a later date owned Powhatan certainly makes a father-son connection the most likely explanation. Further confusion is created by the presence of Benjamin Jr. who must have been a brother or half-brother.
Chapter 3
Powhatan seems to have been divided in two in the first quarter of the eighteenth century, probably after the death of Benjamin Eggleston. The northern half was owned by "Benjamin Eggleston, Jr.," who must have been a son of Benjamin. The southern half of the plantation continued with the name Powhatan and was in the hands of Joseph Eggleston. Benjamin Jr. had a daughter Elizabeth who married Richard Taliaferro at which time the plantation was again split; the 1768 tax record shows that Benjamin`s widow Elizabeth owned 450 acres while the Taliaferros owned 975 acres. This portion remained in the Taliaferro family for several generations; the imposing Georgian house, which still stands, was built by the the Taliaferros in the 1740s. There are remains of the brick foundations of another house, facing on the old Jamestown-Williamsburg road which was perhaps the site of the earlier Eggleston home. Benjamin witnessed a will in l736 and was an inspector at College Landing in l752. Elizabeth Eggleston the widow of Benjamin Jr. continued in the portion known as Mt. Pleasant which was willed to her son Joseph and several Eggleston generations after. The proliferation of Josephs and Elizabeths is indeed confusing.
Joseph Eggleston seems to have been a prominent citizen of James City County. He served James City County in the House of Burgesses from l727 to l732. The journal of the House records his presence at various sittings but on July 2, l730, he and another member were taken into custody by the Sergeant-at-arms for "absenting themselves from their duty".They were seated the next day after paying a fine. Joseph also served as justice of the peace for the county in l726.
A prayer-book notation evidently written by Joseph`s son Joseph II, states: "Joseph Eggleston of Powhatan (a residence), James City Co.,departed this life October 24th Anno Dominini l736, aged 52 years. The above Joseph and Anne Eggleston left behind them five sons and one daughter, to wit: Joseph, John, Richard, William, Edmund and Elizabeth, who intermarried with one William Wyatt of Caroline Co."
After the death of Joseph his estate was probably divided with cash provisions for the children, since all of the sons bought land shortly after his death. Two sons, John and Edmund, went to Hanover county,perhaps because of their mother`s Pettus family connections. Richard, William and Joseph went west to Amelia County.
The descendants of Benjamin Jr. remained in James City County. Joseph Eggleston, the son of Benjamin Jr., was a vestryman of Chickahominy Church south of Toano in l769 and a member of the James City County Committee of Safety in l775. In the l782-l800 period the county polls listed a Francis Eggleston and a Richard Eggleston as property owners. When Powhatan was sold in l8ll the deed mentions adjoining Eggleston land. After this Egglestons continued in the county, for Dr.J.D. Eggleston says:
"I visited the Poetan Swamp neighborhood many years ago...After a close study of "Old Powhatan", I rode over to
another old Eggleston home, about a half mile distant, and was
fortunate in finding near it a descendant of the Joseph Eggleston who was a member of the Committee of Safety of James City County.
The father of this Joseph is not known; nor is his relationship to the other Egglestons. I asked this descendant whether this old Eggleston home, very near his house, was "Old Powhatan". He
said it was not; and "Old Powhatan", the brick building from which I had just come, was another old Eggleston home, but that he did not know when it was built, nor did he know the relationship between his ancestor...and the "Old Powhatan" Egglestons."
References and quotes sent by Betty Khun
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 15:02:30 -0800
From: "Wally Kuhn" <Kuhn@vcss.k12.ca.us> Add to Address Book
Subject: Eggleston
To: hghurn@starting-point.com
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Hi, I am still hoping to hear from you. In the meanwhile, I thought that you
might find the following helpful:
Eggleston History from the book James City County by McCartney:
p. 111.
³In April 1670 Virginiaıs 64 year old Governor William Berkeley married
Frances Culpeper Stephens, the 36 year old widow of the governor of
Albemarle.² With the wealth that came with this marriage the Berkeleys
expanded the Green Spring house into a large mansion. ....... ³Berkeleyıs
advancing age and lengthy tenure in office appear to have made him somewhat
testy, arrogant, and possessive of his privileges. In 1673 he had Benjamin
Eggleston of James City County hauled before the General Court for having ³
presumptuously and impudently intrenched upon the derogative and abused the
Authority of the Right Honorable Governor.² For that offence, Eggleston
received 39 lashes at Jamestownıs whipping post and a heavy fine.
Egglestonıs father, Richard Eggleston, had begun patenting land along the
east side of Powhatan Creek during the 1640s and 50s and by 1662 had
amassed 2,277 acres adjoining Green Spring. Thus, the man the aging governor
had flogged was his neighborıs son.²
PP. 142, 143
Powhatan
³In 1684 Christopher Wormeley, who owned 660 acres called Powhatan on the
south side and east side of the Drinking Swamp (a branch of Powhatan
Creek), had part of a nearly 2,300 acre tract that formerly belonged to
Richard Eggleston. In 1690 Wormeley bequeathed Powhatan to his son, William
who in 1695 patented another 700-plus acres on the east side of Powhatan
Creek. Meanwhile, Richard Egglestonıs son Benjamin, in 1698 repatented the
rest of his fatherıs land on Powhatan Creek and enhanced its size by 300
acres. During the eighteenth century, Richard Taliaferro, who married
Elizabeth Eggleston, developed part of the Eggleston property into a family
seat called Powhatan.²
p. 152
Land Ownership in James City County
³In 1750 .....and Benjamin Eggleston, Thomas Cobbs, and Henry Tyler served
as inspectors in the warehouses at Capitol and College Landings.²
p. 166
A picture of Powhatan Plantation House, a beautiful two-story brick mansion.
p. 169
Powhatan
³Sometime after 1701, William Wormeley inherited his fatherıs 660 acres
called Powhatan, which he supplemented with another 700-plus acres. Later,
375 acres of his Powhatan property came into the hands of Edward Jaquelin of
Jamestown Island. Jaquelin, who died in 1739, conveyed his acreage at
Powhatan to his spinster daughter, Martha, who sometime prior to 1766 sold
it to her brother-in-law, Richard Ambler. Meanwhile, Benjamin Eggleston,
whose forebears had owned the bulk of Powhatan since the mid-seventeenth
century, divided it between his sons, Joseph and Benjamin Jr. Although
Joseph Eggleston took up residence upon his share of Powhatan, Benjamin
Jr.ıs acreage descended to his wife and daughter, both of whom were named
Elizabeth. During the 1740s, daughter Elizabeth and her husband, Richard
Taliaferro, a highly skilled architect, built a brick residence upon the
property she inherited, the restored Georgian mansion that still survives.²
p.194
Powhatan Plantation
³In 1768 James City Countyıs tax assessor credited Richard Taliaferro with
Powhatan, 975 acres that formerly belonged to his father-in-law, Benjamin
Eggleston Jr. Egglestonıs widow, Elizabeth retained the residual 450 acres,
which were still in her possession in 1768. Meanwhile, Edward Jaquelinıs
spinster daughter, Martha, who inherited his Powhatan property, sold it to
her brother-in-law Richard Ambler, who left it to his son, John. It like the
rest of Johnıs James City County property, descended to elder brother,
Edward whose principal heir was John AmblerII. A detailed inventory of the
late Edward Amblerıs estate reveals that he used his acreage at Powhatan as
a subsidiary farm and had slaves, livestock and farming equipment on the
premises.²
p. 257
Powhatan
³John Ambler II of Jamestown inherited his fatherıs 375 acre quarter at
Powhatan, part of the acreage that belonged to the Wormeleys during the
seventeenth century. He sold it in 1815, the same year he bestowed his
Jamestown Island plantation upon son, Edward. Peter Desverges, who
purchased almost all of Amblerıs Powhatan acreage, quickly conveyed it to
William Hewlett, who retained it until the early 1840s. In 1820 Hewlettıs
farm contained only $20 worth of buildings, a reflection of its use as a
subsidiary property. In 1829 William Hewlett added a house of modest but
middling value and appears to have moved in.²
³Meanwhile, Richard Taliaferro I, who owned much of the Egglestonsı share of
the Powhatan tract, died of ³gout in the head.² He left a widow, the former
Elizabeth Eggleston, and a son, Richard Taliaferro II, his ultimate heir.
Richard II and his wife Rebecca Cocke, were residing at Powhatan when he
died around 1790. She stayed on, managing the farm very capable, and
significantly enhanced its productivity. After Rebecca Cocke Taliaferroıs
death in 1811, her executors sold Powhatan to Richard T. Hannon of
Petersburg. The property passed through the hands of other absentee owners
before Thomas Martin bought it. His son, Dr. William Martin who inherited
Powhatan around 1845, still owned it at the time of the Civil War.²
p. 287
Egglestons
³ A few miles above Williamsburg and next door to the Martinıs Powhatan
Plantation, was a 450-acre tract that Elizabeth Eggleston inherited prior to
to 1768 from her husband, Benjamin Eggleston Jr. ³Egglestons,² which
originally was part of Powhatan, lay along the north side of News Road
(Route 613). By 1844 it had passed to Green Spring overseer George C.
Richardson, who was living on his own land at the time of the Civil War.
Nearby was Benjamin Greenıs farm. During the 1860s News Road was a minor
thoroughfare that had a ³bad crossing² at Powhatan Creek.²
p. 329
Tales of the Civil War
According to a letter written by L. W. Lane, a Williamsburg resident, he
indicated that Union troops also burned the old ³Powhatan House² and
³Dunbar² Parke Jonesı dwelling.²
Regards, Betty in Ventura, CA
Herb Hurn's view of the Eggleston descendants taken from the information sent by Betty Khun:
Richard Eggleston b, circa 1620--bought Powhatan land in the 1640's, 50's
Benjamin Eggleston b, circa 1653--Punished by flogging in 1673;
bought additional Powhatan land in 1698. Circa 1701-1720 distributed
Powhatan between his two sons, Joseph and Benjamin, Jr.
Joseph Eggleston b, circa 1673 Inherited half of Powhatan circa 1701-1720
Benjamin Eggleston, Jr b, circa 1673 Inherited half of Powhatan circa 1701-1720,
Married Elizabeth, who inheirted half of Powhatan as his wife.
Elizabeth Eggleston, b, circa 1700, Inherited half of Powhatan from father,
married Richard Talifarro, built Powhatan Georgian Home in the 1740's.
In 1768, Richard Taliaferro bought the other half of Powhatan from his
mother-in-law Elizabeth.
Richard Taliaferro II, b, circa 1720 married Rebecca Cocke,
lived at Powhatan until his death in 1790. Rebecca Cocke Taliaferro
managed Powhatan until her death in 1811.
Child of RICHARD EGGLESTON and UNKNOWN (EGGLESTON) is:
