God has blessed me with the privilege of being able to trace a few lines in my family tree to my immigrant ancestors. My maternal grandfather's line is made up primarily of Virginians, a great deal of them who made entry through Jamestown. Their stories, and families intertwine as tight as the twines of a rope.
The Warrens are included among those earliest Virginia families, and I have two lines of these, from different generations. And it begins with my 12th Great Grandfather, Thomas Warren.
I have, or had, completed my 30 fathers in 30 days series, and have begun a post of 'honorable mentions", some of my ancestors that didn't make the cut, but whom I had started posts on, but hadn't completed. I began the post with William Spencer, the father-in-law of Thomas Warren and one of Jamestown's "Ancient Planters". Thomas was going to be second, but I just couldn't. Instead, I'm giving him his own, brief, post.
He was born in the village of Ripple, in Kent, England around 1624. Ripple is a small, ancient village of Saxon origin, in the Dover District of Kent. He married a lady named Alice Powell around 1640. She is not my ancestor. Thomas would die on April 21, 1670, in Surry County, Virginia at only 46 years old. Few of the Jamestown settlers and their immediate descendants made it past 50, when you think about it, and like many of them, Thomas was married multiple times. He is also listed among the descendants of Charlemagne in Chapter LXXXVI "Warren -West- MacLamroc- Hoge-Daine.
"Captain Thomas Warren, bapt. at Ripple Court, co. Kent, England, 30 Jan. 1624, came to Surry Co. Virginia ante 3 Feb 1640/41, d. at Smith's Fort Plantation, Surry Co. Va., 1669/70; m. (his third, her second) in Surry Co., Va, ca. 1658, Jane - d. in Surry Col,Val,aft 1669."
In between Alice Powell and Jane Allen King, he had married the daughter of William Spencer.
According to two sources: "Warren in Virginia Historical Genealogies" by John Bennett Boddie, 1954, and "The Newsom and Related Families of Surry, Isle of Wight, Southampton and Sussex Counties, Va," by B.C. Holtzclaw, Ph.D., Thomas was the son of William and Catherine Gookin Warren. William Warren is recorded as a parishoner of Ripple in 1621, and as a 'Liberal' benefactor of the local church. He died intestate and administration of his estate was granted to his widow in 1631, Catherine Warren of Ripple.Thomas's siblings baptized in the same church were Daniel Warren (No dates), Edward Warren (1620/21), Albertus Warren (1622/1623) and Mary Warren Sewall in 1627.
Thomas Warren served in the House of Burgess in 1644, 1645, 1658, 1662 and 1666.
Thomas Warren (1624-1670), patented land in Surry County and purchased land from Thomas Rolfe, the son of John Rolfe and Pocohontas. On this land he built the Warren House in 1652, the oldest standing brick house in Virginia. Family died and are buried at or near the Fort Smith Planation.
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| The Warren House |
Smith's Fort (Rolfe/Warren House) is located on the west side of Virginia Rte. 31, between Hopewell and Smithfield. Warren House has also been documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey.
https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/jamesriver/war.htm.
Thomas Warren deposed on 3 May, 1661 that he was 40 years old. He had served in the House of Burgesses when he was a mere 22 years old. He was married three times, first to Alice Powell, second to Elizabeth Spencer Shepherd, a widow and daughter of William Spencer and third to Jane King, a widow of John King.
Thomas left a will, now lost, on March 16, 1669, probated on April 21, 1670 by his son, William. Elizabeth Spencer Shepherd Warren, my ancestor, died between 1655 and 1658, as Thomas Warren, Jr. his first child with Jane, was born on January 9th, 1659. Jane would marry a third time to Samuel Plaw after the death of Thomas.
The known children of Thomas Warren were Alice, William, Elizabeth, Thomas Jr., Allen, Robert and another William by Jane.
My line from Thomas is his daughter, Alice, who, at age 32, gave a deposition in 1677. She was the wife of Mathias Marriott, who I have posted on. The following agreement is found in Book 1, page377, dated September 24, 1670, Surry County, Virginia.
"An agreement between Jane Warren, relict of Mr. Thomas Warren, deceased, late of Surry County, of one part, and Matthias Marriott who hath married Alice Warren, the only sister of the whole blood of William Warren, son of the aforesaid Mr. Thomas Warren, of the other part, witnesseth" That said Jane Warren and Matthias Marriott are and have been at controversy and variance about the division of the aforesaid Thomas and William, their estates, both personal and real....first that Mrs. Jane Warren shall have her thirds of the whole estate above said Mr. Thomas Warren, his estate, and if Thomas Warren, son of the above said Mr. Thomas Warren and Jane, his wife, should happen to die before he comes to the age of 21 years, that the land that was given to him by his fathers' will, will then fall to William Warren, the youngest son of Thomas Warren and said Jane his wife, during his natural life and when he dies, said land is to fall to Matthias Marriott and his heirs forever. It is also agreed that Thomas, a negro man, is and shall remain Matthias Marriott and his heirs forever." They then divide up crops and furniture, Matthias gets a white mare, her foal, a gold ring and caster set, etc. My question is, why name a child William when you had an older son William, who may or may not have passed before the boy was born, but it seems like after? And the manservant was named Thomas, too. Imagine being in the Warren house and calling out the name "Thomas" and here comes the servant, the father and the son? Would that not be a little confusing? Couldn't they think of any other names?
The Warren Family Cemetery is located on the grounds of the preserved Warren House near the Fort Smith preserved historic site. Also buried there are John Hunnicutt, (1650-1699), son -in -law of Thomas Warren, Wives Jane Allen King Warren Plaw, (the last), Mary Alice Powell Warren (the first), Elizabeth Spencer Shepperd Warren (the middle), daughters Alice Warren Marriott and Elizabeth Warren Hunnicutt and son- in- law, Matthias Marriott, grandfather of Mary Marriott who married Henry Davis, grandfather of Job Davis, the 5th Great Grandfather I named this blog for.
