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Samuel
Poe of Essex County, VA (active c.1704 – 1725)
Evidence regarding
place of origin, land, and possible children
Recent DNA tests of descendants of William and Simon indicate that the men were close relatives, if not brothers.
Candidates for children present in Essex (Caroline) County
after Samuel’s death in 1725. It is impossible to know which, if any of these
men were sons of Samuel Poe. No records exist to inform us. Therefore, we can
be sure not all these men were sons. Here is the list in order of appearance:
William Poe born
before 1711. First appears in 1732
Mossom Poe born before
1725 - died 13 Aug 1782 Spotsylvania Co., Virginia First appears in 1749.
Mossom (Marsom) appears so late in the records that he could be the son of one
of the other men, or conceivably, a young son of Samuel Poe.
Probable relatives:
Robert
Poe (d. 1722)
Katherine Poe (active 1722/23)
Some connection with the families
of:
Francis Browning
John Sutton
A year
after the death of Samuel Poe, we find Benjamin Poe and William Poe showing up
in the court records. A little later we see Simon and Samuel. It is reasonable
to conclude that Robert Browning, who won the petition to administer Samuel
Poe’s estate, is a relation in some way. Francis Browning later shows up owning
land in
Connections
can be found among Poe and Sutton, especially in later
Samuel Poe
already possessed 800 acres of land in 1704. There does not seem to be any
record indicating how this land was acquired, yet no one ever challenged his
claim. One possibility is that he acquired the land as a beneficiary of the
Headrights statues. According to the Headrights statutes,
The Matthew Collins land and the first lands of Samuel Poe seem to be near lands of John Gouge, Francis Browning and James Coghill and in the vicinity of Paul Micou (see the Essex County Records).
William Poe was taxed for 105 acres in
See: SamuelPoeLand
Possible
It is
possible that Samuel Poe was born in the colonies. Evidence from early
See: Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents
and Grants (referenced below).
11 June
1669
Patent
Book No. 6 (p.224)
MR. WILLM.
OLDIS & MR. ROBERT RUFFIN. 2050 acs. Is. of Wight Co., bet. brs. of the
Blackwater, 11 June 1669, p.224. Adj. Coll. Pitt, Math. Tomlin & Capt.
Fulgham, Trans. of 41 pers: Tho. Nayes, Rich. Hatton, Jno. Morgan, Wm. Hindge,
Rich. Hindge, Jane Hindge, Rich. Hindge, Junr., Jane Hindge, Junr., Wm. Oldis 2
tymes, Mr. Da. Leare (?) 3 tymes, Stephen Pinke, Wm. Pinkeney, Wm.Elliott,
Susan Elliott, Saml. Duke, Mildred Nicholls, Tho. Austen, Mary Jones, Jno.
Poe, Wm. Peirce, Robt. Pawlett, Wm. Grigg, Jno. Arthur, Petr. Strange, Hen.
Long, Robt. Rouse, Jno. Peterson, Hen. Thompson, Tho. Hill, Richd. Loyd, Wm.
Green, David Milton, Sara. Wilkins, Ben.
Ralph
Poe (born before 1661)
Patent
Book No. 7 (p.598)
MR.
LANCELOT BATHURST, 5000 acs., New Kent Co: S. side of Pomunky Riv., upon brs.
of Crump's Cr., 21 Oct. 1687, p.598. Adj. Moses Davis & Jno. Rea. Granted
to George Gill. 20 Nov, 1682, deserted. & now granted by order, etc. Trans.
of 100 pers: Jno. Price, Jno. Gunton, Jno. Kirkam, Wm. Dowers (?), Mary Capell,
Dorcas Deane, Tho. Medston, Wm. Parker, Phill. Doell, Hen. Martin, Wm.
Hansford, Jno. Deane. Wm. Ewder, James Crow, Adam Far, Wm. Fen. James Karr, Ed.
Jeffreys, Wm. Winnick, Wm. Tanbret, Jno. Winit, Penelope Symonds, Tho. Hobson,
Dorithy Greenwood, Rice
Katherine Pow
1663-79
Publisher:
Collation: x, 182,
xvi p. : facsims. ; 24 cm.
Note: Originally
published: 1929.
Servants to Foreign Plantations Vol. II
1663-79
page 71
Katherine Pow; destination Barbadoes
Possible
connection with the Poe family that settled in the areas of
William Poe(s)
p.1
A Tax made the 13th & 14th days of 7th mo: 1693 by us
whose Names are here under subscribed in Pursuance of an act of Assembly held
in the 3 & 4th mo: of this present yeare Intituled an Act for granting unto
Kind William & Queene Mary the rate of one Peny per pound upon the cleare vallue
of all real & personall Estates & six shillings per head upon such as
are not otherwise Rated by this act to be Imployed by the Govr. of this
Province of Pensilvania & Territories for the time being towards the
support of this Governmt.
Middletown Township 1693
list
includes: William Poes
Thomas Poe (Pow)
1693
This is the earliest clear record of a Poe in the Amercas.
Record of the Courts of Chester County,
Pennsylvania 1681-1697. Published by the Colonial Society of Pennsylvania.
Printed by Patterson & White Company, Philadelphia, PA. 1910. Record of the
Courts of Chester County, Pennsylvania Begun Ye 13th of September, 1681 Edning
the 10th Dy of March 1696-7. The original record being in the office of the
Prothonotary of Chester County, at West Chester ,Pa. This follows the Upland
Count Record, 1676-1681, now in possession of The Historical Society of
Pennsylvania.
page 276
Chester Court ye 19th day of ye 11th month 1692 Wee the
Grand Inquest by ye Kings Authority in ye name of ye Propriatery doe present Thomas
Poe and Sarah Buller for Comitting fornication. Thomas vernan
page 277
At a Courtt held at Chester
the 14th 15th & 16th days of the first month 1693.
William Jenkin p'sident. Justices p'sent: John Simcocke, John Bristow, George
Maris, John Blunston, Samuell Levis. Caleb Pusey Sheriff, Joshua ffearne,
Clerke.
Thomas Pow Exhibited a petition to
this Courtt
The said Thomas pow & Sarah
his wife was called to the bar to Answer to a presentment of ye Grand Jury
for Comiting fornication who submited themselves to the Court And the Court
gave Judgment That the said Thomas & Sarah doe stand at the Comon
whipingpost and for the officer to declare theire offence to the People.
And also
fines them Twenty shillings and pay ye Courts Charges
Possible
English Origins
See: English records
The
following ambiguous record is the earliest found so far indicating any
connection between a Poe family member in England and the New World
p. 58
Minutes of
the Council & General Court 1622-1629. From the Originals in the Library of
Congress
[153] Andrew Poe of Holte in Northfolke sworne &
examined Sayeth yt he was Shipt in fflushing by Capt. Powell & Capt. Jonnes
in the Black Bess*, and having victuled at Isle of Wight they put owt to sea
& went forth to ye western Islands, and from thence to ye West Indies where
they lighted on a friggot, but he, this Examint was not aboard her the Shallopp
yt took her.
* From the WebSite:
In 1621 the James, an English ship, brought a
black man named Antonio; in 1622, the Ship Margrett and John brought Mary; in
1623 the Ship Swan landed John Pedro: and in 1625 the Ship Black Bess landed
Brass, a man.
Information
regarding the Poe family at an early date in England comes from the research of
Sir Edmund Bewley in his book:
The
origin and early history of the family of Poore, with full pedigrees of the
Irish branch of the family and a discussion of the true ancestry of Edgar Allan
Poe, the American poet; Dublin, Printed for
the author by Ponsonby & Gibbs, 1906.
The
largest concentration of Poe family is in the Nottinghamshire area of central
England, especially Derby and Nottingham. However, the Poe family occupied
other areas as well. Samuel Poe is almost descended from this Nottinghamshire
Poe stock. The Irish Poe family appears to derive from this stock as well. The
first mention of Samuel Poe is the 1704 Quit Rent Roll of Virginia. However,
there appears to be a William Poe (spelled Poes in the record) and definitely
is a Timothy Poe in Chester County,
Pennsylvania as early as 1692. See information on the Pennsylvania Poe
family of
Through
Bewley and others we learn that one of the earliest well-known members of the
Poe family in England was Dr. Leonard Poe. Dr. Poe was active early in the
seventeenth century. He died in 1631. According to Bewley’s research, Dr. Leonard Poe died without male
heir. In other words, his sons did not leave descendants. He states that the
line “went extinct.”
His
funeral certificate states that Dr. Leonard was the son of James Poe, son of
Richard Poe of Poesfeld in the County of Derby. In his long and involved will,
most of his estate went to his favored son, James, and to his nephew, Robert
Poe (being an apprentice unto one Mr. Harris, a shoemaker in London).The
testator gave 10 pounds to be paid to him at the end of his apprenticeship. He
gave 5 pounds to his sister, Beverly, or if she died, to her eldest daughter.
He also gave to brother, Anthony Poe, 10 pounds and to testator's cousin, William
Poe, dwelling with one Richard Holman, gentleman, the sum of 10 pounds.
These are
the three known sons of Dr. Leonard Poe. This is what we know about them, from
Bewley’s research:
"The Dictionary of National Biography Earliest
Times", Volume XVI (see references), has an article which states that
Leonard Poe died April 4, 1631. He is said to have been a physician from
Rhenish Palatinate. In 1590 he served the Earl of Essex who got a license (MD)
for Leonard 7-13-1596. He had several legal troubles during the various reins
under which he served. See essay that includes much data on Dr. Leonard Poe at
the following link (note the PDF format, you will need Acrobat Viewer): Dr.
Leonard Poe Essay
This is
from American historical association. Historical manuscripts commission. Report
8, Part i, page 228 (see references)
1598, June 30, Leonard was imprisoned and lost license but retained his reputation with his patients and community. 1606, Dec. 11 License was returned with no restrictions due to Earls of South & North Hampton and Salisbury.
1609, Jan
12 Leonard was made the dr. of the Kings household.
1609, July
7th was elected to College of Physicians
1615,
July, 22 was mandated to be Created Medical Dr and obtained a degree at
Cambridge.
1621 April
Was one of three attended Lord Treasurer of Salisbury and attended to his
death.
Here is
why Dr. Leonard Poe is of any concern to Samuel Poe research, and the American
Poe family in general. Dr. Leonard Poe was granted land by James I, King of
England, through the Second Virginia Charter (May 23, 1609)
Information
on this charter can also be found in Hening's Statutes at Large, Vol. I
(1619-1660) p.82. (see references).
No
evidence had been found showing a transferal of this grant to any of Dr.
Leonard Poe’s relatives or friends. He may have sold his rights to the grant.
Some evidence indicates that Dr. Leonard Poe retained some kind of interest in
the Virginia Colony.
Correspondence
between Jamestown and London includes the mention of a Mr. and Mrs. Poe. I do
not know what other Mr. Poe this could be except Dr. Leonard Poe and his wife,
Dionisia Boone. However, this is pure conjecture based on the charter
mentioning Dr. Poe and knowing he resided in London, the city referenced by the
letter.
The
following letter is a summary of online data at the Library of Virginia,
Colonial Records Database. This is a verbatim copy of the abstract available on
the Library of Virginia site.
Here is a
JPG image of the TIFF file at the Library of Virginia repository noted above.
Depository: Magdalene College, Cambridge, Ferrar Papers, Box
xii, No. 1255
Title: Sir George Yeardley. Letter to Sir Edwin Sandys.
Dates: 27 Jun 1621
References: C. M. Andrews, Guide to Manuscripts Materials,
1908, pp. 429-30;
S. M. Kingsbury, Introduction to the Records of the Virginia
Company, 1905,
p. 148; Records of the Virginia Company, 1906-35, vol. III,
pp. 462-4 (full
transcription).
Yeardley, in reply to Sandys' brief letter sent by The
Abigail, expresses his great joy at hearing of the election of his successor
(Sir Francis Wyatt), promises to do his utmost for him, and hopes that he and
Sandys's brother will arrive safely. Yeardley promises to attend to Sandy's
request concerning Mr. and Mrs. Poe*. He has commended Mr. Arondell to
Captain Nuce; of Mr. Lapworth and Captain Smyth he will write in his letter to
the General Company. He has written at large both to the General Company and to
the Society of Southhampton Hundred by The Margaret and John and other ships.
From James City, 27 June 1621, to Sir Edwin Sandys, knight, one of His Majesty's Council for Virginia, at London.
* Note that in this record from the reign of Charles I, Dr. Poe is
referred to as “Mr.”
Middlesex:
- Rolls, Books and Certificates, Indictments, Recognizances, Coroners'
Inquisitions-Post-Mortem, Orders, Memoranda and Certificates, 1625-1667, vol. 3
Errata.
Recognizances and Indictments Taken from Sessions of Peace Rolls Temp.
Charles 1st.
Weeklie.
County: Middlesex
Country: England
07 Oct , 4 Charles 1st.--Recognizances,
taken before George Longe esq. J. P., of John Hill yoman and Robert Hill
oatemealemaker, in the sum of twenty pounds each; For the appearance of the
said John Hill at the next S. P. for Middlesex, to answer &c. "for
rudelie and wilfully running with his carte against the coache of Mr. Doctor
Poe and breakinge the axe-tree thereof." S. P. R., . . . Dec , 4
Charles 1st.
So, the
governor of the Jamestown Colony, Sir George Yeardley, promises to “attend” to
some request made by Mr. and Mrs. Poe. In 1621, we know that Dr. Leonard was in
England attending to the death of Lord Treasurer of Salisbury. Whatever the
request was, it made through Sir Edwin Sandys, in London.
In the
Second Virginia Charter mentioned above, with the name of Dr. Poe, we also find
the names:
Sir Samuell Sandys, Knight
George Sanndys
Henry Sandys, and
It is
likely, then, that Dr. Poe was associated with Edwin Sandys and might have been
referred to as Mr. Poe. At one point in his career, his standing as a doctor
was taken away and later returned:
The Second
Virginia Charter provides more interesting name associations. Note these names
from the list:
Doctor Meddowes [Meadows]
Henrie Collins
Less than
ninety years later, we find these names associated with Samuel Poe. Meddowes is
a name listed in the original grant from which Samuel Poe’s lands appeared to
have been formed. Samuel Poe purchased land in 1707 from a Collins.
Captain
Poe
One other
Poe name "seems" to be associated with the Virginia Company. A
"Captain Poe" is listed in the proceedings of the Virginia Company of
London: November 4, 1623, to May 24, 1624 (see references). This appears to be
a mistake in the "records." Either the transcriber of the original
records got it wrong, or the editor of the modern book copy of the proceedings
got it wrong.
The
mention of "Captain Poe" appears on page 363 of the Records. The list
delineates the members of the charter and is basically the same list of names
in the same order as they appear on the charter.
The list
of names in the second charter surrounding Dr. Poe:
Sir Dudley
Diggs, Knight [Digges]
Sir
Rowland Cotton, Knight
Doctour
Mathewe Rutcliffe [Sutcliffe]
Doctor
Meddowes [Meadows]
Doctor
Tumer
Doctor Poe
Captaine
Pagnam
Captaine
Jeffrey Holcrofte
Captaine
Raunne [Romney]
Captaine
Henrie Spry
Captaine
Shelpton [Shelton]
Here is
the same list as it appears in the Records:
Sir Dudley
Digges
Sir
Rowland Cotton
doctor
Doctor
Mathew Sutcliffe
Doctor
Medowes
Doctor
Turner
Captain
Poe
Captain
Pagman
Captain
Geoffrey Holcrofte
Captain
Raine
Captain
Henry Sprye
Captain
Shelpton
See Nottinghamshire Family History Society.
CDs have been made for marriages, baptisms, etc. and are available through
their online shop.
The St.
Mary's Nottingham register shows two baptisms of children (provided by a
NottsGen researcher who examined the original
Records as
well as the CD collection).
11 Jul 1654
Sarah d. of Edward POE &
Mary
26 Jun 1659 Samuell
s. of Edwd. POE & Mary
While many
other names from Baptisms in the Nottingham area for the period can be
accounted for in later years. This Samuell Poe, son of Edward and Mary Poe,
does not seem to appear later in English records. Perhaps this is our Samuel
Poe. The year of the child’s baptism is in the right ball park. See this
site at Ancestry.com which provides speculation based on the scant historical
record we have to work with: Poe
Family Speculation
The following records have been reported
by British Poe researcher, Enid Tanfield
16.12.1691 Poe
Samuel m. Rebecca Roulston Brailsford,
17,6,1697 Poe Samuel witness to will of Samuel
Wildeboare, Notts
The name
Marsom Poe can be found Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Marsom Poe died in 13
Aug 1782 . Some references in the court records for Caroline County, Virginia
may refer to this person by the spelling “Mersom.” A faint, but possible,
connection to the Marson family of Nottingham might be discerned in the name.
Bewley
makes this statement:
At St. Mary's, Nottingham, the following marriage is
recorded
28th March 1654, Robert Marson of Peeter's Parish and
Isabel, daughter of Simon Poe
And also
from a CD entry provided by a NottsGen researcher:
The St. Mary's register shows:
28 Mar 1654 Robt. MARSON & Isabell POE, Nottingham, St.
Mary
Marsom is
an unusual first name and could reflect these relations in
Robert Poe of Nottinghamshire was the father of Simon Poe, SR of Nottinghamshire, father of Isabel Poe who married Robert Marson of Nottinghamshire
One might note that a
Robert Poe died testate (but apparently landless) in Caroline County, Virginia
in 1722. Further associating names with the English Poe family, Dr. Leonard Poe
left part of his estate to a nephew named Robert Poe.
Bewley adds this
information about the relationship between Simon Poe, SR of England and Robert
Poe, his father:
On
the 1st of May, 1668, Simon Poe, SR of the town and county of
Nottingham, cordwainer, filed his bill in the court of Chancery for the purpose
of recovering possession of a messuuage, house, or tenement in Gedling, which
the Plaintiff's father, Robert Poe, had been seized of in fee-tail, but
from which the Plaintiff had been excluded by his younger brother, George Poe,
of Gedling, aided by Richard Kemp, of Gedling, and Mary his wife. (note: The
freedoms granted by the Skinners' Company in 1689 include 'John Poe, son of
Simon'
Given the
time frame, Robert Poe who died in Essex County, Virginia in 1722 could have
been the Robert Poe, father of Simon Poe, SR of Nottinghamshire.
An 15 July 1666 -
Parents Simon / Ann
Elizabeth 7 Feb 1671 -
Simon / An.
Edwd 12 April 1696 -
Joseph / Suzannah
Hannah 7 January 1691 -
Edward / Hannah
Jane 12 November 1700 -
Joseph / Suzannah
John 20 August 1691 -
Joseph/Susan (see Sheriffs)
Mary 9 December 1693 -
Joseph / Susannah
Samuel 18 April 1699 –
Joseph (see Sheriffs)
Samuel 26 June 1659 -
Edward / Mary
Sarah 11 July 1654 -
Edward / Mary
Sarah 30 November 1685
Edward. margin note says Baptised when she was about 14 yrs of age.
References:
American
historical association. Historical manuscripts commission.
Report of
the Historical manuscripts commission ... 8th Report.
Washington,
1897-19
p. 25 cm.
Library of
Congress CALL NUMBER: E172 .A60 1896
My notes
on this reference need to be verified for volume and page number.
The
dictionary of national biography. From the earliest times to 1900. Volume
XVI /
edited by
Sir Leslie Stephen and Sir Sidney Lee.
Oxford :
New York : Oxford University Press, 1998. 22 v. ; 24 cm. Copy 1 v. 1-22
Library of
Congress CALL NUMBER: DA28 .D4 1998 Biog
Library of
Virginia, Colonial Records Project
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1601-1650/virginia/chart02.htm
McDonald
Poe, Sr.
Biographical
studies : Samuel Poe of Essex County, Virginia : family lineage
in United
States of America, 1704-1975
Pub info Waldron, Ark. : Poe, c1975.
Cavaliers
and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants.
Abstracted by Nell Marion Nugent. Indexed by Claudia B. Grundman. Volume Two:
1666-1695. Virginia State Library. Richmond 1977
John Poe
is mentioned in patent book 6, p.224
Ralph Poe
is mentioned in patent book 7, p.598
Middlesex: - Rolls, Books and Certificates,
Indictments, Recognizances, Coroners' Inquisitions-Post-Mortem, Orders,
Memoranda and Certificates, 1625-1667, vol. 3
(found at Ancestry.com on November 29, 2002)
The origin
and early history of the family of Poore, with full pedigrees of
the Irish
branch of the family and a discussion of the true ancestry of
Edgar
Allan Poe, the American poet. Sir Edmund Bewley.
Dublin,
Printed for the author by Ponsonby & Gibbs, 1906.
The
Records of The Virginia Company of London. Volume IV. Edited by Susan
Myra Kingsbury, A.M., Ph.D. Carola Woerishoffer Professor of Social Economy
Bryn Mawr College. United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1938.
(1996 Facsimile Reprint. Heritage Books, Inc. Bowie, MD)
Virginia
Colonial Records Database at http://www.lva.lib.va.us/
The statutes
at large; being a collection of all the laws of Virginia, from the
first
session of the Legislature in the year 1619. , Vol. I (1619-1660)
p.82.
By William Waller Hening. New York, Printed
for the editor, 1819-23.
[Charlottesville,
Published for the Jamestown Foundation of the Commonwealth of
Virginia
by the University Press of Virginia, 1969]
13 v. 23
cm.
Library of
Congress CALL NUMBER: KFV2425.2 1619a
*
Testimony of Francis Browning. Essex County Court 15th Day of March 1726
** Essex
County Court 17th Day of August 1725
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