no image
Privacy Level: Open (White)

Thomas Coleman (1738 - 1810)

Thomas Coleman
Born in Gloucester, Gloucester, Virginiamap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married Jun 1758 in Northumberland, Virginiamap
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 72 in Farnham, Richmond, Virginiamap
Problems/Questions Profile manager: Lora Koch private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 1 Feb 2011
This page has been accessed 1,012 times.

Contents

Biography

Thomas Coleman was born around 1738 in Virginia. Various sites and trees show him as being born in Gloucester, Lancaster, or Spotsylvania County, Virginia, but no records exist to verify any of these.

Thomas died sometime between the date his will was written 20 March 1810 and the date of probate, 7 May 1810.[1] According to court records, his youngest daughter Mary, and her husband Oliver Stott, purchased the land where Thomas, and his second, late wife Ann, had lived.
Thomas and Sarah Walker of Northumberland Co. VA, Thomas Coleman Jr. of Tennessee, Robert Coleman of Kentucky, James Coleman of Kentucky, and the heirs of Lucy Fulks, deceased, to wit: Nancy Fulks, John Fulks, Charles Fulks and William Fulks by Charles Fulks his guardian, of Northumberland County, VA to Oliver Stott of Richmond County, VA, whose wife Mary Stott is one of the legatees of Col. Thomas Coleman Sr., deceased. Consideration is $523.40 current Virginia money. Being the said land whereon the said Col. Thomas Coleman Sr., deceased, last resided and being in Farnham Parish, Richmond County, VA."
Thus it appears Thomas died in Farnham Parish in Richmond County.[2]

Thomas married Betty (Connolly) Coleman (1741-1788) in about 1758.[3]

They had the following children:

  1. Thomas Coleman, born 30 Jun 1770. Thomas died on 15 Nov 1826 in Williamsport, Tennessee. He was buried in Coleman Cemetery, Maury County, Tennessee.
  2. Lucy Coleman, born 1 Mar 1759
  3. Richard Coleman, born 22 Apr 1761
  4. Betty Coleman, born 26 Jan 1763
  5. Robert Coleman, born 15 Aug 1772
  6. Sarah Coleman, born 19 May 1775
  7. James Coleman, born 4 Jan 1778
  8. Mary "Molly" Coleman, born 23 Apr 1780

Thomas' wife Betty died in Dec 1788. Circa 13 July 1790, Thomas married Anna Susannah (Asbury) Stowers (1740-), widow of Samuel Stowers (abt.1740-1786), who died in 1786.

They had the following children:

  1. Thaddeus Coleman born 21 May 1791
  2. Charity Ann Coleman born 21 Feb 1793


Coleman Confusion

There are a number of Coleman lines and their assorted genealogies can get confusing as they share many given names which makes untangling them difficult. On top of those issues, the records are few--and no less confusing.

Currently, Thomas' father is listed as Samuel Coleman, who was born in King and Queen County and died in Caroline County. Neither of these are what is given for Thomas, posing a slight question as Thomas was only about ten when his father died and unlikely to live elsewhere. As to where he was born, Lancaster is a good guess if we consider the theory presented in[4] Sherrianne Coleman Nicol's The Mystery of Thomas Coleman that Thomas is instead, the son of Richard and Charity Jenkins (?) Coleman. Lancaster is where Richard Coleman is believed to have died--as that is where Charity settled his estate--and Thomas would have been around five years old at the time. A point in this theory's favour is that in Charity's will of 24 Jan 1793, proven on 5 Jan 1795, she leaves everything to her grandson John Mitchell. However, as the abstract notes: "... if he has no heirs, land to be sold and the money to be div. between three chil: Thomas Coleman, Richard Mitchell, and Hannah Luttrell; grdaus. Sarah Walker, Sarah Coleman, Frances Kirk." The witnesses to this will were George Connolley, possibly the father of Betty, Thomas's wife.[5]

When it comes to this profiled Thomas, it is likely there are two men being confused and conflated for each other. They were both born in or about the same year, 1738. One, however, is believed to have died at around age 40.[6] This may be the Thomas who fought in Virginia in the American Revolution and died sometime between 1778 and 1780.[7]

The other, the subject of this profile, died before 1810, the year of his wills' probate.[8] And while probate can take time, 30+ years seems unlikely, being a lifetime at that time

An additional mark against the two Thomas' being one in the same is this: if he did indeed die around 1778, it is unlikely he was able to marry Ann Asbury Stowes c. 1790 and father two children in 1791 and 1793. They are in the will referenced above, so unless a great number of coincidences took place, it looks like this profile is Thomas of 1738-1810 and Thomas of 1738-1778 is another man entirely.

So, which one is the son of Samuel and Betty? And is the Thomas profiled here indeed the mystery Thomas Coleman of Mobjack Bay?[9] With as many Colemans' that use the Mobjack Bay Colemans as a resource, it seems a sound resolution.


Sources

  1. Source Citation: Wills and Inventories, 1699-1879; General Index to Wills, 1699-1950; Author: Virginia. County Court (Richmond County); Probate Place: Richmond, Virginia Source Information: Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2021. Original data: Virginia County, District, and Probate Courts.
  2. Richmond County Deed Book, pp161-163. I am attempting to find an a copy of this deed. Foster-19042 16:54, 5 April 2023 (UTC)
  3. Source Information: Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Marriages of the Northern Neck of Virginia, U.S., 1649-1800 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: Headley, Robert K. Married Well and Often: Marriages of the Northern Neck of Virginia, 1649–1800. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2003.
  4. Nicol, S. C. (n.d.). The Mystery of Thomas Coleman. Retrieved from https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~mobjackbaycolemans/genealogy/g04thomas.htm. Updated 2007, curated by Coleman, W. D.
  5. Section: Will Book 9, 1794-1822 Source Information Ancestry.com. Wills of Richmond County, Virginia, 1699-1800 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data:Headley, Robert K., Jr. Wills of Richmond County, Virginia, 1699-1800. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2002.
  6. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/143433658/thomas-coleman
  7. Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. Original data: Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783; Microfilm Publication M246, 138 rolls; NAID: 602384; War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, Record Group 93; The National Archives in Washington, D.C.
  8. Source Citation: Wills and Inventories, 1699-1879; General Index to Wills, 1699-1950; Author: Virginia. County Court (Richmond County); Probate Place: Richmond, Virginia Source Information: Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1900 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2021. Original data: Virginia County, District, and Probate Courts.
  9. Nicol, S. C. (n.d.). The Mystery of Thomas Coleman. Retrieved from https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~mobjackbaycolemans/genealogy/g04thomas.htm. Updated 2007, curated by Coleman, W. D.


Acknowledgements

Created through the import of Sheppard_Duncan_Bickham_Stroud.ged on 01 February 2011





Is Thomas your ancestor? Please don't go away!
 star icon Login to collaborate or comment, or
 star icon contact private message the profile manager, or
 star icon ask our community of genealogists a question.
Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com

DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Thomas by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree: It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Thomas:

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.



Comments

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.

C  >  Coleman  >  Thomas Coleman