Thomas Hughes Sr. (abt. 1685 - aft. 1748)

Born about 1685 in Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Perkins) Hughes — married 1690 in Virginia

Descendants

Died after 1748 after about age 63 in Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Lindia Parkins [send private message]

Biography

Name: Thomas /Hughes/ Source: #S404

Birth: Date: ABT 1685, Place: Virginia Source: #S404
Birth: abt 1670 ^[1]

Marriage Source: #S404
Husband: Thomas Hughes
Wife: Sarah Perkins
Child: Thomas Hughes natural born
Child: Hannah Hughes natural born
Marriage: ABT 1714 Henrico County, Virginia, USA

Death: Date: 1748, Place: Virginia, USA Source: #S404

Event

Event: Type: Relationship Place: 1st cousin, 5 times removed of Samuel Gene Johnson Source: #S404

Note

Note: From: howardletcher@hotmail.com To: howardletcher@hotmail.com
Subject: LETCHER FAMILY GENEALOGY WITH SUBJECT OF GILES HUGHES PERKINS
Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:57:11 -0500



I am Howard Brion Letcher: My direct ancestors are (Stephen) Giles Letcher b. abt 1710 and Hannah Hughes b. abt 1715-20. And if it can be supported with documentation, then my next generation earlier direct ancestors would be (Stephen) Giles Letcher I b. abt 1685 and (Elizabeth) Perkins b. abt 1685-95 with undocumented information that Giles II above and Hannah were both born in Henrico county.

I will work my way down from (Stephen) Giles Letcher II and Hannah Hughes to me (all these genealogies in my family are, of course, supported with documentation) as follows: Their son was James C. (C = possibly Childers) Letcher who married an heiress, Melinda Key (Key family property was located next to Perkins and other Virginia settlers in Henrico, Isle of Wight, Albermarle, Goochland, and Charles City), and after his marriage, James removed to Edgefield, SC, in partnership with his father-in-law, Henry Key II (Henry's gg-grandfather, Henry Key, was lethally married to Lady Margaret Grey (or Katherine--can't remember which at the moment), sister of Lady Jane Grey; and Henry Key I's father was Martin Key of Albermarle), who was a planter and resided there alongside many of the other Henrico county, Goochland, and Albermarle settlers who also came to Edgefield and were family members (Melinda's--aka Millie--second husband was Isaac LeFevre with whom she also had issue); James' and Melinda's son was Giles V who married Agnes Talbert (or Talbot or Tolbert in early Virgina and whose family also was involved with the same Henrico, Albermarle, Goochland, and Charles City familes); Giles V's and Agnes'--aka Aggie--son was John David Letcher who married Anne Mathilda Bozeman (the Boseman, Perkins, Harding, Key, Talbot families again all intermarried and are also all early Virginia colonists) and I participated in a DNA program on behalf of Bob Campbell whose Letcher uncle was tested against my DNA confirming that James and Melinda had another son, Stephen Tolbert Letcher--my father appears to have been knowledgeable about the possible existence of this second son via family lore regarding the abduction by the Cherokees of the two sons as youths and their subsequent separation and then their release from the Indians during General Stonewall Jackson's punitive expeditions through the Indian territories; John David's and Anne's oldest son was Dr. Francis Marion Letcher who married an heiress of the Howard/Billingslea/Slatter plantation fortune, Louisa Claudia Caroline Howard Clanton (her first husband was Nathaniel Holt Clanton and she was a direct descendant of Matthew Arundell Howard b. 1609 through her g-grandfather, Revolutionary Captain/Attorney/Judge Rhesa Howard of Augusta, who married Hannah Few, sister of William Few, signer of the U.S. Constitution and U.S. Senator from Georgia), whose youngest son was Julian Charles (middle-named after his uncle Major Charles Gordon Howard) Letcher who married 2nd Henry Clay Hale, Jr. (direct descendant of Tidewater planter, John Clay II via her g-grandmother Mary Clay Thaxton Hale buried in Independence, Texas), my grandmother (her second husband was James Jefferson Boley), and whose son was my father John Benson (middle-named after a relative, Dr. Benson Booth) Letcher and my aunt Clay Hale Letcher (Julian's first wife was his 1st cousin, Marion Ramsey--issues of this marriage were Elizabeth Letcher and Julian Lightfoot (middle-named after another relative, Dr. Lightfoot) Letcher--, and third wife was Louise Hamburger Pinckney with whom he had Frances Louise Letcher).

I have not provided information on collateral families, but that is where the Perkins and Hughes family relationships become very complex and interesting. From the time of Giles II and Hannah, the Letcher family continued to marry Perkins and Hughes and Harding family members for at least 3-4 more generations.

Having researched the Harford Co, Maryland, Howard family from whom I am descended via Matthew Arundell Howard b. 1609, I was so surprised that all these families were Quakers and relative to the requirements of Society of Friends could only marry within the society (the Howard family not only married within the society, but they typically only married within themselves generally marrying 1st cousins for the first 200 years in America (at least in my family) until sometime before 1799 when Rhesa and Hannah Few Howard converted to the Methodist faith; but moreso, they married double, triple, and quadruple first cousins who were even multiple-related second, third, fourth, and more cousins; unbelievably confusing. Additionally, when a Howard spouse/relative died, the survivor typically married the deceased spouse's brother or sister or another multiple/multiple cousin and because of these circumstances, attempting to separate and trace the issue of children (who usually have all the same names each generation) with each relative/spouse, was extremely complicated, As I said, my grandfather even married his Howard first/and more cousin. Starting my research on the Letchers again about one and a half years ago, I was astonished to find that someone had posted not only Hannah Hughes Letcher's father and mother as Thomas Hughes Sr and Sarah Perkins, but that (Stephen) Giles II's father was posted as (Stephen) Giles Letcher I b. abt 1685 and his mother was posted as "Perkins"; who I subsequently was able to identify as Elizabeth Perkins b. abt 1685-95 whose father was Nicholas Perkins IV and mother was Sarah Childers. The only source I had for this new Giles Letcher I and Elizabeth Perkins information was Pat M. Stevens IV (his Mitchell family was descended from the Mitchell first cousin maternal marriage of two grandchildren of Sarah Hannah Letcher, the only daughter of Giles II and Hannah Hughes) who I have been in touch with as of late but who is unable to locate his supporting material for Giles II's parentage or Giles II's and Hannah's birthplace as Henrico County. He reposted for me on a genealogical website to try to find the person who provided him this

information.

Hannah's father, Thomas Hughes Sr. had his children by Sarah Perkins, daughter of Nicholas Perkins III and Elizabeth Harding [INCORRECT?>(with whom he had all his child ren except Nicholas IV--Nicholas III and Mary Burton Perkins christened Nicholas IV 11 October 1649 at Stepney St Dunsten in London--whose mother was Mary Burton who married second, Richard Parke (see Parke-Custis or Parker)<INCORRECT?]. Thomas Sr.'s second wife was Mary Giles Harding, widow of Thomas Harding. I don't find that Thomas Hughes Sr. and Mary Giles Harding had any children. All her children appear to be with Thomas Harding (but I have not substantiated this as a fact) and children of all of the Giles/Harding and Giles/Hughes and Hughes/ Perkins marriages continued to mar ry Perkins and Hughes and Harding and Letcher children and descendants--again, so very complicated. Additional information is that Nicholas III claimed headrights in 1650 (Aug 3) for Mary (Burton) Per kins, Wm Owens, and Richard Hughes (possibly Rees Hughes Sr). Upon Nicholas III's death in 1656, he left property both in Virginia and England which was claimed by Mary Burton Perkins Parke who ha d already married Richard Parke. Children of Thomas Harding and Mary Giles were as follows: 1. William d. 1768 and first married Edith Cox with one daughter, Sarah, who married Thomas Pollard, and sec ondly married Sarah LaForce (daughter of Rene LaForce) and their oldest son was Giles Harding who married Amida Morris, and Thomas who married Jane Farrar, and William who married Obedience Hutchins a nd finally Rene with no data; 2. Thomas Jr; 3. Mary who married Edward Thomas; 4. Susannah b. 1722 who married first Charles Ellis, and second John Beckley; and 5. Bethenia b. 1719 d. after 1782 who m arried first Nicholas Perkins V and second John Chadwell. Again, the Harding marriages reinforce that they could have been all of Giles Letcher II's half-first cousins if his mother was, in fact, Mary Giles Letcher Harding Hughes; the Hutchins, Perkins, LaForces, Farrars, and others included all the families surrounding Giles II or for whom he appeared as a witness in the mid-17th century. It is also interesting to note that Giles II appears out of nowhere for the first time in 1741 which is coincidentally the marriage date ascribed for him and Hannah Hughes--again to emphasize, Giles II l iterally appears out of nowhere. Also, Thomas Hughes Sr. b. 1685-90 and wife, Sarah Perkins, had the following issue: 1. Thomas Jr whose will was probated 1779 had 2 sons and 2 daughters--William b. 1 743 who married Mary Ball; Moses b. 1745 who married Ellizabeth Ball; Mary married John Jude; and Rebekkah who married Lewis Ball; 2. Charles; 3. Stephen; and 4. Hannah Hughes married to Giles Letcher II. Both Thomas Hughes Sr and Mary Giles Harding Hughes were alive in 1748 but she had died by 1769. Another fact to remember is that Nicholas Perkins IV was the Administrator for William Arrington ( married either Melinda Key Letcher's aunt or sister and was, as I recall, a Revolutionary War General). Stephen Giles Letcher III's son was General Benjamin Letcher.

So, the points at which I am stranded are as follows: Is Giles II's mother really Elizabeth Perkins or does his mother remain as "Miss Giles" according to family tradition? In this case, then, does (St ephen) Giles Letcher I even exist because if he does exist, then he would require a "Miss Giles" as his mother to support not only the Giles nomenclature, but also the family tradition--or i s the family tradition regarding Giles nomenclature simply inaccurate? Were Giles Letcher II and Hannah Hughes both born in Henrico co instead of Northern Ireland to which many Quakers and Cavaliers h ad removed during the reigns of Charles I and II and the ensuing Cromwellian rule of England, even the Carden Leches? Where exactly in Northern Ireland? And if Giles II's mother was "Miss Gil es"--then which one--it could probably not be a sister of Mary Giles Harding Hughes since her parents, William Giles and Bethenia Knowles, are not recorded as having another daughter either by wi ll or any other information or available document? Or could another daughter have existed named Bethenia Giles--because I have seen records indicating that a Bethenia Giles was the daughter of William and Bethenia Knowles Giles--however, I only assumed that Mary Giles' full name was Mary Bethenia Giles, but I may have incorrectly assumed that idea? My most interesting question regarding Mary G iles is this new hypothesis of mine--could Giles II be the son of Mary Giles with unnamed Letcher spouse who died previous to her first marriage in 1710 (married first to Thomas Harding at age 22-25 w ould easily afford her means and opportunity for an earlier though truncated marriage to ____ Letcher) to Thomas Harding--this is a possibility because Giles II's birthdate has generally been reco rded as 1710, so give or take a couple of years for birth of everyone involved, then Mary Giles Harding Hughes could easily have been married to ____ Letcher first and this would definitely account fo r the Giles nomenclature and the intermarriage of the Letcher, Hughes, Harding, and Giles families along with the Perkins family? Also supporting this hypothesis is that none of the children of Mary G iles and Thomas Harding was married to a Letcher since that Letcher would be have to be Giles Letcher II, her own son. Would it not then be logical that Mary Giles' son, Giles Letcher II, was marr ied to her step-daughter, Hannah Hughes--this is perfectly logical given the pattern of marriages herein? But if Giles I's or Giles II's mother was "Miss Giles" though not Mary Giles , then could "Miss Giles" be the daughter (to account for Giles I) or grandaughter (to account for Giles II) of John Giles and heiress, Philaritie Woodward, b. respectively 1624 and 1628 (Wi lliam Giles' mother and father)? John's and Philaritie's children are known, at the least, to be John, Thomas, and William along with an illegitimate daughter by Philiaritie named Jane Joh nston (Johnson) to whose father, William Johnson (Johnston), she paid almost 6,000 pounds of tobacco for support of this child who did not live with her and John Giles, and then Jane received the 400 acre plantation at Blackwater from her mother; however, a legitimate daughter of Philaritie and John Giles easily remains possible since I have not found record of all their issue? Two Thomas Gileses exist and one was the brother of referenced John Giles and the other was his son, Thomas. Two daughters of Thomas Giles, the brother of John--Eleanor Giles and Elizabeth Giles--are known to have marri ed the two Smelley brothers who were their stepbrothers. Also, the younger Thomas Giles married the daughter of Jacob Darden and there is an Ann Giles who married John Moore before 1739. To summarize this subject, thank goodness the unattractive Smelley family name never became a nomenclature for any us--take a moment and consider one's unfortunate labelling as Smelley Letcher; Shakespeare alr eady did a number on the Letcher name without adding something Smelley to it. Hopefully, this name was changed to Smedley in subsequent generations.

So, for Giles I to obtain the name Giles , then his mother, "Miss Giles", would have to be born in time for his birth in 1685 to attribute either Giles I or II with a "Miss Giles" as his mother (i.e., in order to support the Giles nomenclature as derived from his mother's Giles' surname) which is easily supported by my premise above. These same Giles and Harding and Burton families all married the same Hughes and Perkins families and, of course, they were all Quakers. For this reason, I am assuming that the Letchers may have been Quaker, too, but this may be the reason that there is a lack of information i n the event that "Miss Giles" or Elizabeth Perkins married outside the Society of Friends when marrying a Letcher and were ostracised; however, I truly don't really believe this is a cre dible conclusion on my part since the marriages with the Letchers continue for generations. During the past 4 weeks, I have copied from the Internet any and all documents in Henrico, James Co., Alberm arle, Charles City, Goochland co that mention or contain Giles Letcher II's name either as a witness or purchaser or seller--I probably only have 10 references. And his name appears with Farrar (d aughter married Thomas Harding III), Ware (Ward or Wade), Perkins, Harding, Burton, Childers, Hutchins (daughter married William Harding Jr), Mosely (more of the same marriages), LaForce (daughter mar ried William Harding Jr), Beasley (Thomas Harding or Thomas Hughes was married to Phoebe Beasley), Price (Sarah Price daughter of Daniel Price married Harding Perkins, Mildred Perkins father), Moore ( son married Ann Giles daughter of John Giles--see above) which supports that some if not all these people besides the Perkins and Hardings and Childers were his family with whom Giles II lived and int eracted--they were all certainly intermarried with each other and with the Letchers both then and later on.

Finally, I will provide you with another Perkins/Letcher marriage involving Hughe s as follows: Nicholas Perkins IV son, Constantine (brother to Elizabeth Perkins who was allegedly married to Giles Letcher I), married first Ann Pollard whose father was Stephen Pollard and whose mot her was Ann Hughes (Hannah's sister, I believe); their son was Nicholas Perkins IV who married Bethenia Harding whose daughter married Capt William Letcher (Giles II's son) whose grandaughter was Elizabeth Letcher Pannill Stuart Hairston, the mother of Jeb Stuart and Governor ____ Stuart and General George Hairston, as I recall, along with some other Virginia notables. Constantine and Ann Pollard's son, Stephen Perkins, married Mary Hughes, daughter of Benjamin Hughes (Hannah's and Ann's brother, possibly--I haven't finished this); their daughter, Elizabeth Perkins, mar ried Stephen Giles Letcher IV whose son was Governor/General/Ambassador Robert Perkins Letcher of Kentucky. And of course, Governor Letcher of Virginia who generally has the same descent as above esse ntially with Sam Houston added into the formula deriving the ubiquitous genealogy of the Houston/Letchers of Rockbridge Co, Lexington, Virginia (I recollect my visits with my elderly cousin Marine Gen eral John Seymour Letcher who was the grandson of Governor Letcher of Virginia during the War-between-the-States--I heard that his children recently sold a handful of their Sam Houston/John Letcher/Ro bt E Lee War-between-the-States correspondences for several millions of dollars at auction with either Sothebys or Christies--General Letcher kept all these documents in his detached garage, as I reca ll, and offered to get the letters out and show them to me at a convenient for him to dig for them, but unfortunately, I never visited at a convenient time as I was usually enroute to college in Willi amsburg--his property divided Virginia Military Institute from Washington and Lee perpendicular to Letcher Avenue in Lexington and was the rebuilt residence of Governor Letcher's original home tha t Sherman burned; post-war, General Robert E. Lee served as president of Washington College--nka Washington and Lee--while Governor Letcher served as president of VMI). Also, in Edgefield Co, SC, Meli nda Key Letcher's brother, Tandy Key, married Mildred Perkins, the daughter of Harding Perkins. Mildred's brother, Daniel Perkins, married first Margaret Perkins and third, Susan Perkins. This is only a small amount of collateral Perkins/Hughes/Letcher/Harding marriages that I have bothered to note.

I did run into a document for Harford co Maryland referencing both Thomas Hughes and John Giles--together--but these appear to be different Quaker Hughes and Giles familes as they are involved and intermarried with my own Howard and Hammond families associated with my referenced ancestor, Matthew Arundell Howard b. 1609. I have not discounted their relationship with the Virginia Hughes and Giles families but I haven't spent any time attempting to connect them since the Vi rginia familes all knit so closely and sensibly.

So, if you have anything that will provide me answers or information regarding the above Giles Letcher I/II questions, I would appreciate th at enormously. Or anything more you have available on Giles Letcher II since I have absolutely no document or deed or anything to support Giles Letcher II's existence in the colonies or in Virgini a before about 1741.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

please process this with your copy below that we are descended from both of nicholas perkins III marriages to elizabeth harding an d mary burton since i failed to note that since giles letcher I's wife elizabeth perkins was the daughter of nicholas perkins IV and sarah childers and that nicholas perkins IV was the son of nich olas perkins and mary burton. elizabeth perkins father was who i am referring to as nicholas IV. sarah perkins mother of hannah hughes was daughter of nicholas III. nicholas III's mother was jane irondonger (I have much more on her parentage) and nicholas III first wife elizabeth harding's father was constantine harding. nicholas II has unidentified wife and his father nicholas I was son o f arthur perkins whose wife was elizabeth kymball whose father was nicholas kymball. nicholas perkins III second wife mary burton (mother of nicholas IV) was daughter of lydia fry and john burton son of robert burton of longfield and mary knowles (have lots more on this since mary giles harding hughes was daughter of william giles and bethenia knowles and she was the daugher and heir of capt. john knowles of jamestown--also see newell noel noles). nicholas IV's wife sarah childers is daughter of abraham childers I and jane anne howard--jane anne's father was john howard b 1590 d 1660 a nd abraham's father was william sr the immigrant 1622-1679 and his wife was dame anne ramsden; william sr the immigrant's father was william childers d. 1648 married to anne webster and his fa ther was hugh childers 1500-1571 married to maude _____. thomas hughes sr was edward married to elizabeth skiffen anderson and his father was rees hughes sr (possibly richard). philaritie woodward gil es (married to john giles)--she had an illegitimate daughter jane with william johnston/johnson before her marriage to john giles was consummated. her father was thomas woodward sr who was 1st surveyor general of north carolina and remained assay master to the mint under charles I and did not give up that appointment even after coming to virginia; his father was thomas and the woodwards and the smiths and nathaniel bacon are intermarried. the hardings herein listed are direct descendants of the scottish clan/house of bueccleuch and are listed as such in a genealogy that i have on the hardin/harding family which includes them. also giles letcher has involvement with ware family. somewhere the ware and turpin families that adjoin giles letcher property are also on my father's genealogy, possibly key--can't remember.

Since Mary Giles Harding Hughes (or perhaps a sister, Bethenia Giles) might be the mother of Giles Letcher II, then the following genealogy for her is as f ollows: father was William Giles b. 1650 and d. 1728-9 Henrico co married to Bethenia Knowles b. 1669 d. 1742 whose father was Capt John Knowles of Jamestown b. 1612 d. 1685 and will was witnessed 1676 by John and Robert Burton--he may have been born 1629-30; William Giles was son of John Giles d. 1708 and Philaritie Woodward b. 1628; John's father was Jonathan Giles b. 1603; Philaritie's father was Thomas Sr born 1600 d. 1677 married to Katherine. And the father of Thomas Harding married to Mary Giles was Thomas Harding b. 1630 d. 1689 and was married to Mary Berry b. 1666-91 and died 1715-17??. I also have a document showing Martin Key and Giles Letcher II involved in some transaction in 1650. Back to Capt John Knowles b. 1612 d. 1685 married to Mary Broadnax b. 1620 d. 1685 whose father was Thomas Broadnax the Immigrant 1592-1658 married to Elizabeth Taylor 1596 - ?, daughter of John Taylor Lord of Shadockhurst 1570- ? married to Elizabeth Chute 1530 - ?. Finally, in 1741 (the first appearance of Giles Letcher II), James Wade (Ware, Ward), Giles Letcher of Henrico Parish land bounded by Hazel Ware and Henry Ware (Ward, Wade) James Wade sold remainder to Strangeman Hutchins in the folk (fork) of Tuckahoe Creek adjoining Leonard Henley, John Barnet Jr., Giles Letcher, Henry Ware. Giles Letcher II died before 2 Aug 1779 in Henrico co.

Sources

1. ↑ 20 Feb 2016 - Robert Branham created Thomas Hughes (1670-) Hughes-8762

• Source S404 Author: Ancestry.com Title: Public Member Trees Publication: Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006; Repository: #R1
• Ancestry
• Descendants of Jean II de Bretagne, Rootsweb World Connect Project.
• The Perkins Family of Virginia by William K Hall.