John Newman (1611 - abt. 1677)

Born 1611 in London, England

Died about 1677 at about age 66 in Rappahannock,Colony of Virginia

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This profile is part of the Newman Name Study.

Biography

John Newman was a Virginia colonist.

John Newman, son of John Newman and Elizabeth Martin, is estimated to have been born about 1611 in England.^[1] No definite death date has yet been located. It is said by some online family trees and a posting on Find A Grave that John married a daughter of Paul Woodbridge. In 1664 John and Woodbridge did have a land transaction in joint tenure. This may be the source for John's supposed marriage to Woodbridge's daughter. More information is needed to confirm this marriage and any children.

It is believed that John Newman, along with his brother Thomas Newman, made his way to Lancaster County in the Northern Neck area of Virginia by about 1652-1654, to eventually live in what was to become Richmond County. The neck of land in Virginia bounded by The Potomac River to the north, the Chesapeake Bay to the east, and the Rappahannock River to the south was initially a part of Charles River County (one of eight original shires of counties formed in 1634), from which York County was formed in 1643, with Northumberland County being formed from the county of York in 1648, and Lancaster County (1651) and Westmoreland County (1653) from Northumberland. Old Rappahannock County was formed from Lancaster. In 1656, with old Rappahannock County being abolished in 1692 when Richmond and Essex Counties were created from old Rappahannock (a new Rappahannock County was created elsewhere in Virginia in 1833 from Culpeper County. The dates of creation of these Northern Neck Counties reflected the population growth of the area, for the inhabitants petitioned for new county creations when their numbers increased to a size that warranted their creation.

Available records reflect that the brothers Newman were a part of this relocation and regional growth. John Newman acquired by patent 150 acres of land in 1644 "situated on Smith's Fort Creek" in James City County. By 1652 it is believed he had relocated to the Northern Neck area, for between 1652 and 1677 he had acquired by letters, patent, grant and deeds about 4000 acres of land situated on both sides of Morattico Creek in the present counties of Lancaster and Richmond, where he resided near Tarpley's Point, then known as Morattico or Newman's Neck. The first record of Thomas Newman in the Northern Neck area was reported in * Beverly Fleet's 1988 "Virginia Colonial Abstracts, Volume I", page 202, where Thomas Newman of Lancaster County was a witness to a deed in 1654 to a land sale involving Edward James and Thomas Best for 350 acres on the north side of the Rappahannock River. So it is safe to say Thomas Newman and John Newman were in the Northern Neck area by 1652-1654.

Arrival in Virginia

John Newton [sic s/b Newman] was one of four of the original Newman brothers to come to America under the auspices of the London/Virginia Company between 1618 and 1635, landing at the Jamestown Colony on the York River in Virginia. Tradition has it that his father was a London grocer.

These Newman brothers, arrival dates and ships of arrival are as follows:

Robert, 1618, "Furtherance".

William , 1622, "Furtherance".

John, 1635, "Globe". NOTE: John is NOT on the passenger list of the "Globe" ^[2]

Thomas, 1635, "Plain Joan".

• This arrival information is not accurate. Actual ship names and dates from Hotten are as follows: (Strutton-11 16:33, 5 July 2022 (UTC))
  • Robert Newman, 1618, Neptune
  • William Newman, 1622, Furtherance
  • John Newman, 1635, Safety
    • There are two entries for Jo. Newman on this ship, one aged 20 (b c 1615) and one aged 24 (b c 1611). It is possible they are for the same person with incorrect age on one.
  • Thomas Newman, 1635, Plaine Joan^[1]

Land Transactions

• Henry Tompson, 150 acs. James City Co., 16 Dec. 1637, p. 541. ... Note: Renewed 16 Apr. 1644 in the name of John Newman.^[3]
• John Newman, 150 acs., James City Co., 1st Apr. 1644, Page 2. ... Said land first granted unto Stephen Thompson, Dec. 16, 1637, by him assigned unto John Rawlins, by him unto Richard Harris, by him unto John Esgrame, by him unto said Newman.^[3]
• John Newman, 400 acs. Lancaster Co., on N. side of Rappa. Riv., 20 Mar. 1654, p. 331. On the head of Moraticond Riv., ... Trans. of 8 pers: Bryan Turner, Em. Turner, Thomas Lonell, George Lovas, Elizabeth Grimes, Susan Newman, Richd. Neavor, Mary Reynolls.^[3]
• John Newman, 400 acs. Lancaster Co., 22 July 1662, p. 322. On N. side of Rappa. Riv. on the head of Moraticon Riv., ... Renewal of patent dated 15 Mar. 1657.^[3]
• John Newman, 480 acs. on the lower or Ewd. side of Moratticon Cr. in Lancaster Co., 26 Mar. 1663, p. 222, (130). Adj. land formerly belonging to Mr. David Fox. Trans. of 10 pers: [see source for list]^[3]
• John Newman, 600 acs. Rappa. Co., on N. side of river, 28 Nov. 1664, p. 281, (235). Betwixt Moratico Cr. & Farnham Cr. ... 400 acs. in joynt tenure with Paul Woodbridge by patent dated 19 Sept. 1664 & by consent equally divided & 200 acs. for trans. of 4 pers: Ann Bryant, Sarah Martin, Wm. Feild, Eliz.Parker.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Hotten, John Camden, Editor. The Original Lists of Persons of Quality; Emigrants' Religious Exiles; … and others who went from Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700. John Camden Hotten: London, 1874. Reprinted Empire State Book Co., New York. Pages 79, 123, 242, 253
2. ↑ https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/globe.htm
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} Nugent, Nell Marion, Abstracted and Indexed by. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1800. In Five Volumes. Richmond, VA.: Press of the Dietz Printing Co., 1935. Pages 85. 153, 305, 403, 466, 485, 521

• Source: S004386 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Note: #NS043861 No NOTE record found with id NS043861

Acknowledgments

• WikiTree profile Newman-639 created through the import of WILLIAMS 2011.GED on Jun 22, 2011 by Ted Williams.

• Ron Meyer Website: Thomas Newman