Sarah (Unknown) Bickley (abt. 1682 - 1733)

Born about 1682 in England [uncertain]

Wife of Richard Gissage — married 1701 (to 1703) in King William, Virginia

Wife of Joseph Bickley — married Feb 1704 in Colony of Virginia

Descendants

Died 10 Mar 1733 at about age 51 in Louisa, Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Robin Lee [send private message] and Stephanie Ross [send private message]

Biography

Lots of guesses are being made around Sarah and her history. Some believe her maiden name was Shelton and that she had her first child (Ralph) out of wedlock. However, I would like to believe that the marriage documents that I have with a maiden name of Ellis are correct, that the baptism record I have is correct. Therefore, there was another husband, "Mr. Shelton" that was the father of Ralph and that he passed away prior to her marriage to Richard Gissage. From that point on, everyone seems to agree on the marriage to Joseph Bickley and the children from that marriage. Anyone with other data, please discuss with me Robin Lee....I have seen all the trees on Ancestry.com, etc, but none of those have documents to prove her maiden name.

Poingdestre--Poindexter, a Norman family: through the ages, 1250-1977, page 103^[1] indicates Sarah was the daughter of John and Jane Shelton of Westmoreland and Hanover Counties, Virginia, and states that Sarah, wife of Richard Gissage (Gorsuch) was named in her father's will (this needs to be verified against the will of John Shelton). John & Jane Shelton were the owners of the plantation, "Rural Plains", which still stands, about seven miles from Richmond. Sarah married Richard Gissage, of the Lovelace-Gissage family of Maryland and Virginia. He was the Justice of King William County. He died prior to 1703, and Sarah remarried, Joseph Bickley.

In the article "Gissage and Bickley Families' in The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Oct., 1901), pp. 126-131^[2] the author indicates that the story told by the great granddaughter of Sarah is that Sarah had Ralph from a marriage previous to her marriage to Richard Gissage.

And further, Early VA record “a bond for 200 pounds in King William County dated Sept. 30, 1703, entered into by Joseph Bickley of King and Queen County with Major John Waller of King William to cover two years schooling for Ralph Shelton son of Mrs. Sarah Gissage, whom Bickley contemplated marrying soon.^[3]

Research Notes

Possible Father

A potential father for Sarah is Ralph Ellis^[4]

Notable Descendant

Sarah is the second great grandmother of Powhatan Ellis, United States Senator from Mississippi and Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Mississippi. Powhatan Ellis was born at Red Hill Farm near Pedlar Mills, Amherst County, Virginia. Legacy: The city of Ellisville, Mississippi is named in Ellis's memory.^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE1216586
2. ↑ http://www.jstor.org/stable/1920248?seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents
3. ↑ http://heathcock.org/genealogy/ps22/ps22_203.html While much of this tree has decent sources, the part about Sarah comes directly from unsourced trees on Ancestry.com
4. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JWSG-N56 : 11 February 2018, Sarah Ellis, 03 Oct 1684); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,565,274.
5. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powhatan_Ellis