2892Jonas Griffith is a son of 5784Jerom Griffith1-3 and (as explained below) 5785Elizabeth Gelding. 2892Jonas was probably born circa 1678.4 *
Problem:Resolved Who is 2892Jonas' mother?
2892Jonas' father 5784Jerom married 5785Elizabeth Gelding, as proven most directly and explicitly by the will of her mother 11571Elizabeth ___ Gelding, dated 9 April 1698.5
These excerpts from 11571Elizabeth's will, dated 9 April 1698, prove that 5784Jerom Griffith married 5785Elizabeth Gelding. Full page.5
However, the aboveshown will was written in 1698, many years after 2892Jonas' estimated birth year (1678). How can we be confident that 5784Jerom was married to this 5785Elizabeth around the time of 2892Jonas' birth? Although this question has no straightforward answer, other, sometimes circumstantial evidence firmly demonstrates that 2892Jonas' mother is in fact 5785Elizabeth Gelding. This evidence is presented below in a few different sections.
Records from the 1660's
A few records from the 1660's prove that 2892Jonas was married to someone, and that that someone plausibly could have been 5785Elizabeth Gelding:
A cattle mark record from 31 July 1665 confirms that 2892Jonas was married at the time, but the record doesn't provide his wife's name.6
5785Elizabeth was born circa 1649, as proven by the court deposition record copied below.7 Thus, she would've been about 16 in 1665, a plausible age to marry, although just barely. The cattle mark record's mention of 5785Elizabeth's childhood (i.e., "when she was a child") 6 gives the impression that she was quite young, so perhaps a marriage at age ~16 should not surprise us here.
Northampton County's 1662 and 1664 tithable lists show 5784Jerom and (his proposed father-in-law) 11570William within a few lines of each other,8,9 suggesting close proximity. The 1663 list also shows them relatively close.10 As of 1673 5784Jerom and 11570William lived within about 3 miles of each other.11
11570William Gelding and 5784Jerom Griffeth close together in Northampton County's 1664 tithables list. Full page.9
A record from 1684
11570William Gelding's will, dated 11 November 1684, mentions "my Eldest Daughter Elizabeth Griffin," 12 so we can be confident that 5784Jerom Griffeth and 5785Elizabeth Gelding had married by that date. 1684 is fairly close to 2892Jonas' estimated birth year (1678).
Records Involving 2892Jonas' Brothers
5784Jerom Griffeth's will dated 14 March 1708 mentions children (in order of appearance) Jerom, James, 2892Jonah (or "Josias" as he's named for subsequent mentions), Luke, Francis Hall (daughter), Esther Freshwater, Dorothy Hayes, Benjamin, and Margaret Griffeth; and wife 5785Elizabeth. Near the end of the will 5784Jerom specifies that his wife 5785Elizabeth should retain "Every Part and parcell of my goods and chattles that I am now possessed," and after her death to be equally divided to Benjamin, Thomas, 2892Josias, and Margaret.2
Notice 5784Jerom's favorable treatment of 2892Jonas, Benjamin, and Thomas here and these brothers' apparent closeness. 5784Jerom previously had given them 50 acres each, all by one deed.1 Their closeness echoes in later documents: 2892Jonas witnessed his brother Benjamin's will, and Benjamin named 2892Jonas and Thomas as contigent heirs to his estate (without mentioning other siblings at all).132892Jonas, Thomas, and their brother James were once all charged together for swearing on the Sabbath.142892Jonas named one of his sons Benjamin, who (judging from an important, later record15) was probably 2892Jonas' eldest.
In light of the abovecited records, it seems exceedingly likely that Benjamin, Thomas, and 2892Jonas are full brothers (i.e., not half-brothers). With that consideration in mind, consider these excerpts from the will of their brother James:16
Thus we see that James, brother of Thomas, had an unnamed mother who was still alive.16 Because James is 5784Jerom's son,2 his unnamed mother must be 5784Jerom's wife 5785Elizabeth as named in 5784Jerom's will.2 Based on records presented previously,5,12 we furthermore know that this is in fact 5785Elizabeth Gelding.
Continuing with our logic, we can conclude that since James is brother to Thomas, and since Thomas is brother to 2892Jonas, therefore 2892Jonas' mother must likewise be 5785Elizabeth Gelding.
The earliest known record of 2892Jonas is a Northampton County, Virginia court record dated 28 March 1699, which shows that he sued George Noble. The nature of the suit isn't stated.4
1699: The earliest known record of 2892Jonas. Full page.4
In 1707 2892Jonas' father granted him 50 acres "of wood land ground and marsh [...] where he now liveth" adjoining his father's land.1 The land lay within Whitelaw's section N16, which I've marked on the master map.
Later that year (1707) 2892Jonas failed to appear for jury duty, so the Northampton County sheriff was ordered to bring him to court for contempt.17
His father's will, dated 14 March 1707/8, notes 2892Jonas' occupation as a cooper and left him one shilling, 50 acres to the south of his brother Thomas' land, and (contingent on his mother's eventual death) a share of the rest of his father's property.2
On 28 Jan 1708/9 he was appointed to serve on a Northampton County grand jury.18
On 2 March 1709/10, 2892Jonas sued his cousin Charles Moore (son of Katherine Moore,18 who was the sister of 2892Jonas' mother 5785Elizabeth12). The nature of the lawsuit isn't stated. Charles apparently didn't show up for his hearing. 2892Jonas was awarded the sum of three barrels of Indian corn plus court costs.19
On 19 August 1712, 2892Jonas, his brothers James, Thomas, and (their brother-in-law) Matthew Moore were all charged with swearing on the Sabbath, and were ordered to appear before a grand jury at the next court.14 The outcome of their case is unknown.
1712: 2892Jonas and a few relatives in legal trouble for swearing on a Sunday. Full page.14
On 19 July 1715 2892Jonas, his brothers Jerom, James, and Thomas, and (their brother-in-law) Matthew Moore were sued for allowing their water-mill to damage William Willis/Willit's marsh.20 The outcome of their case is unknown, but on 14 December 1719 2892Jonas and a few relatives co-sold the water-mill and a half-acre of land around it to William Willet Senr. The land lay "on ye sea board side upon ye south side of Pimino branch" (This creek is no longer recognizable but lay a short distance south of Mill Creek.) and previously belonged to 5784Jerom Griffeth, decd. 2892Jonas received 600 pounds of tobacco as part of the deal.3
On 18 November 1718, 2892Jonas was appointed to serve on a Northampton County jury.21
The abovementioned deed dated 14 December 1719 is the last record of 2892Jonas alive.3 A will dated 4 May 1720, for which 2892Jonas' widow 2893Ann signed as a witness, proves that 2892Jonas had died by that date.22
4 May 1720: The first evidence of 2892Jonas' death, and ironically also the first evidence of his wife 2893Ann ___. Full page.22
The above record is the first of three that names his wife/widow 2893Ann ___, but we can deduce from later records that they were married for many years; see the discussion on the page of 2892Jonas' son 1446Jonas. She's later mentioned in a deed dated 10 October 1727, which explicitly identifies her as 2892Jonas' widow and confirms that he had died; the relevant excerpt is copied below.15
10 October 1727: This deed confirms 2892Jonas' death and explicitly identifies 2893Ann ___ as his widow. Full page.15
Footnote:
*
A court record dated 28 March 1699 shows that 2892Jonas was the plaintiff in a lawsuit.4 This is the earliest known record of 2892Jonas. He would've almost certainly been 21 years old (then the age of majority) or older at the time. His absence in earlier records and his frequent appearance in later records suggests that he probably had turned 21 not much earlier before he filed suit.
11: Jim Lokenbauer, "Northampton County Maps" (maps and name indices, 1999), ghotes of Virginia, <https://www.esva.net/ghotes/femaps2.htm>. If the website goes offline, I've saved a back-up of the necessary files (but the pages' internal links wouldn't work properly, so a bit of patience would be required). The sections are purportedly the same as those in Ralph Whitelaw's 1951 book Virginia's Eastern Shore: A History of Northampton and Accomack Counties, volume 1, although I haven't seen Whitelaw's book for myself. Lokenbauer's indices show that 5784Jerom Griffith lived in section N16, and that 11570William Gelding lived in section N25. I overlaid Lokenbauer's maps onto a modern map and traced (roughly) the borders of these two sections, which you can thus see on the master map.
