Lt. Col.
Nathaniel
Pope
Born about in England
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of
Sarah (English) Pope
— married
[date unknown] [location unknown]
Husband of
Lucy Ann (Fox) Pope
— married
27 Apr 1635 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England
Descendants 
Died before
before about age 57
in Cliffs, Westmoreland, Virginia
Profile last modified
| Created 1 Oct 2010
This page has been accessed 13,044 times.
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Contents |
Biography
Ancestor of US President George Washington
She was the mother of 4 children with Nathaniel. Thomas Nathan, Anne and Margaret. [1]
Research Notes
Information in the Website "GenForum" show that it is very likely that Nathaniel, William, Richard and Thomas Pope were sons of Richard Pope Sr. He was a Merchant and Soapmaker in Bristol, England. His oldest son John is reported to have stayed in England. Nathaniel is reported as having land on the Potomac River, close to George Washington's. Lived in Northcumberland Co., VA., and patented land in Westmoreland Co., VA in 1654 and 1656. Set out in a posting in "GenForum" dated 2-27-99 by Dot (Pope) Bedsole. Nathaniel Pope's Will of 1659 names his wife as Luce and sons Thomas and Nathaniel, Jr., both minors, and daughter, Ann. says GenForum posting by Lou A. Murphy dated 2-16-1999. In Nathaniel's Will he appointed Wm. Hardridge (Hardwick) husband of his dau. Margaret Pope Hardwick as Executor of his estate and asked that Hardich (Hardridge, etal) look after his two sons and his land, "Pope Plantation", which became in the course of time Mt. Vernon, says GenForum posting by John Sherman dated 2-7-99. Another posting on the GenForum by Rebecca Freeman dated 2-8-99 states "Nathaniel Pope was the first of his line coming to America from England. He came to MD. about 1630 as a representive. He later moved to Westmoreland Co., VA.
Researchers:(Sandra Sanford G)
Immigrated to America in 1635 and settled in what is know as St. Mary' Hundred; was a member of the MD Assembly, 1641-42; and was dent as agent to Kent Island in 1647; removed to Virginia ___acres of land and named it "The Cliffs" in 1651. Commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of Westmoreland Troops Virginia, April 4, 1655. He married Lucy-----named in will Luce. Will:(from Crozier's Virginia Co. Record Publications) Pope,Nathaniel, 16 May 1659; 26 April 1660 To son Thomas Pope land and plantation situated upon the cliffs, to aforesaid Thomas five cows or heifers to be given him when he shall come to the age of 21 years or day of marriage, which shall first happen. To son Nathaniel Pope the land and plantation where on I now live; my wife Lucy Pope to have the land where I now live as long as she live or remains unmarried. To John Washington that sum of money which he oweth unto me. To my son in law John Washington; to my son-in-law William Hardidge; son Thomas to be exor, and in case of his death son Nathaniel. Witnesses: John Rosier, Laurence Washington; John Washington, William Hardich.
Nathaniel's daughter, Ann married Colonel John Washington, at which time Nathaniel deeded her 700 acres of "The Cliffs". This land became part of the "Wakefield" estate, the ancestral home of the Washingtons. The land on which the Clifts Plantation was situated was first patented in 1651 by Nathaniel Pope, shortly after the Northern Neck was first opened to white settlement. Pope was one of a relatively small group of men who through connections with provincial government managed to obtain huge tracts of land in what was then a wilderness. These men and their descendants would rule Westmoreland Co., VA throughout the colonial period. Although he arrived in the New World as an illiterate yeoman, Pope was one of the richest men in Westmoreland Co., a justice of the peace and a Colonel in the Co. militia when he died in 1660. Nathaniel willed the Clifts Plantation to his son Thomas, during whose ownership it was first occupied circa 1670 Three Pope Immigrants came to America and settled in adjoining counties in the Northern Neck Nathaniel He setted on the Potomac in Westmoreland co., VA between Appomattox (central Virginia, where General Lee surrendered to General Grant Apr 9 1865, ending the Civil War), now Mattox, and Pope's Creek. Excerpt from Wills: volume 1 Pope,Nathaniel, of Appomatox, 16 May 1659, 20 Apr 1660 son Thomas when 21; son Nathaniel; my wife Lucy; my son in law John Washington; son in law William Hardidge. Wit. by John Washington, Lawrence Washington, John Rosier.
Americans of Gentle Birth by Hannah Pittman Vol II: Lieut-Col. of Militia, 1655, Westmoreland Co., VA
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The Pope family
Nathaniel Pope is first mentioned as one of the twenty-four freeman of the "Grand Inquest" in Maryland in 1637 and in the Assembly afterward. He affixed a mark to his writings. In 1643 he and his nine menial servants were exempted from military service. He was sent as an agent by Governor Leonard Calvert to Kent Island in 1647, and attempted, as charged, to persuade the rebels against the Proprietary there to come and live at Mattox Neck until they should become strong enough to seize the land again.[2][3]
After removing from Maryland, Nathaniel Pope, in 1651, patented 1,050 acres (4.2 km2) in Old Northumberland between two large creeks; one would bear his name. At Mattox Creek he built dwellings, warehouses, and docks for the merchant trade with England including the port of Bristol. He shipped beaver, tobacco with caske, and raw materials; and he imported English manufactured goods. He settled the argument between John Washington and shipping partner Edward Prescott by paying off the senior officer in Beaver skins at eight shillings[4] per pound. In 1655 he was made Lieutenant-Colonel in the militia. His wife was named Luce and they had:
Anne, who married John Washington; Margaret, who married William Hardwich; Thomas; Nathaniel[5]. The elder Nathaniel was among the county's wealthiest residents at his death in 1660 when he left The Clifts tract to his son Thomas[6]. The Pope and Washington families were bound by more than blood, county documents are filled with their business and legal ties. The will of John Washington bequeaths 1000 pounds sterling to his brother-in-law Thomas Pope.[7]
Disputed Parents
Marlyn Lewis' website, Our Royal, Titled, Noble and Commoner Ancestors & Cousins has in an entry for Lt.Col, Nathaniel Pope, Gent which lists his parents as William Pope, 1st Earl of Downe, and his wife Anne Hopton but the source that he is citing for this is an Ancestry.com family tree, presumably unsourced.
Several sources confirm there were only three children of this couple, two sons, William and Thomas, and a daughter Anne (see profile of William Pope for sources), and there are no reliable sources that confirm that Nathaniel Pope was their child and such a relationship must be considered as fraudulent.
Also the line of the Earls of Downe became extinct in 1668 when Thomas Pope, 4th Earl of Downe, a grandson of William Downe, 1st Earl of Downe, died without issue.[8] Had Nathaniel Pope, been the son of William Pope and Anne Hopton, then one of his male descendants would have inherited the title.
Research Notes
Parents Richard Pope and Catherine (Tocknell) Pope were removed as no one had sources to prove this relationship, nor are there sources on their profiles to prove that these people even existed.
Sources
- ↑ Col. Nathaniel Pope and His Descendants, by G. W. Beale The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Jan., 1904), pp. 192-196
- ↑ Steiner, Bernard (1907). Maryland During the English Civil Wars, Part II. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Studies, XXV, Nos. 4-5. p. 68.
- ↑ Tyler, Lyon (1895). Washington and His Neighbors. Williamsburg, VA: William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 1. pp. 37.
- ↑ Hatch, Charles (1979). Popes Creek Plantation, Birthplace of George Washington. Washington's Birthplace, VA 22575: National Park Service. p. 2. ISBN 0-934146-00-4.
- ↑ Humphries, John (1934). Georgia Descendants of Nathaniel Pope of Virginia, John Humphries of South Carolina and Allen Gay of North Carolina. Atlanta GA. pp. 5.
- ↑ http://www.chesapeakearchaeology.org/SiteSummaries/CliftsSummary.htm
- ↑ Harland, Marion (1893). The Story of Mary Washington. Cambridge, MA: The Riverside Press. p. 31.
- ↑ Cokayne, George Edward, The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom: Extant Extinct of Dormant, 2nd ed, vol. 4, revised and edited by Hon. Vicary Gibbs & H. Arthur Doubleday, London: St Catherine Press, 1916. Digital image, Internet Archive, pp. 451, https://archive.org/details/completepeerageo04coka/page/451/mode/1up : accessed 10 January 2022.
- "Col. Nathaniel Pope and His Descendants" , an article from The William and Mary Quarterly, Volume 12.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Popes_Creek_(Virginia)
- Col. Nathaniel Pope and His Descendants The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 4 (Apr., 1904), pp. 250-253, Published by: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture
- Some Prominent Virginia Families, Vol. IV, Ch 3 p58
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Featured National Park champion connections: Nathaniel is 13 degrees from Theodore Roosevelt, 20 degrees from Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 14 degrees from George Catlin, 13 degrees from Marjory Douglas, 20 degrees from Sueko Embrey, 16 degrees from George Grinnell, 23 degrees from Anton Kröller, 15 degrees from Stephen Mather, 21 degrees from Kara McKean, 14 degrees from John Muir, 14 degrees from Victoria Hanover and 21 degrees from Charles Young on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
Now, to refute that statement...
According to J. B. Burke (Burke's American Families with British Ancestry 1977, 2869), Nathaniel Pope, who arrived in America from Bristol, England, in 1635, was born in 1610; Hill (1922, 230) estimates his year of birth to have been c.1614. So, from these two sources, we can safely assume that Nathaniel was born between 1610 to 1614. This year range is extremely important to remember.
All soapmakers in Bristol were required, for purposes of regulation and taxation, to be registered members of a soapmaker's guild called "The Company of Soapmakers". I carefully researched the publication titled The Company of Soapmakers, 1562-1642, by Bristol Record Society. This publication contains pretty much every record generated by the soapmaker's guild between the stated dates. The earliest record I could find of a Richard Pope is dated 1627, which states "Mr Mcell pope hafe his sone to prentes Cold Richard pope and hase payed for hies intorances 0-2-6." (pg. 165) All other references in the book to Richard Pope are in reference to this one, who (as stated in the quote) was the son of Michael Pope.
There was a Richard Pope, merchant and soap-maker of Bristol, who was a son of Michael Pope, also a soap-maker of Bristol, and his first wife, Joane Tomlynson—Michael, in turn, was a son of Richard Pope (d. 1593/94) and his wife, Alice, both of Brislington. Michael and Joane were married at St. Thomas, in Bristol, on 03 Jul 1603, and Joane was buried at that same place on 17 Jan 1607/08 (Hall, Whitson Court Sugar House, Bristol, 1665-1824, in Transactions of the Bristol and Goucester Archæological Society 1944, facing p. 8). These dates establish the range of years in which Richard was born, being between 1603 and 1607/08. Richard’s relationship to Michael, as his son, is further established by Michael’s will within which Richard is mentioned as Michael’s son (Will of Michael Pope, National Archives (PROB 10 / 642) 19 Sep 1642).
Here are the key items which need to be observed...
1) LTC Nathaniel Pope was born between 1610 to 1614, according to the sources cited.
2) Richard "the soap-maker" Pope was born between 1603 to 1607/08, according to the sources cited.
Based on these facts, it is physically impossible for Richard to have been the father of Nathaniel (unless Richard was making babies at the very young age of 2 to 11 years old.
Anne Hopton was born in 1561.1 She was the daughter of Sir Owen Hopton.3 She married, firstly, Henry Wentworth, 3rd Lord Wentworth, son of Thomas Wentworth, 2nd Lord Wentworth and Anne Wentworth, circa 1585.3 She married, secondly, William Pope, 1st Earl of Downe in 1595.1 She died circa 7 May 1625.1 She was buried on 10 May 1625.3 From circa 1585, her married name became Wentworth. From 1595, her married name became Pope.1
William Pope, 1st Earl of Downe was baptised on 15 October 1573.1 He married Anne Hopton, daughter of Sir Owen Hopton, in 1595.1 He died on 2 June 1631 at age 57.1 He gained the title of 1st Earl of Downe.
Lt. Col. Nathaniel Pope, Gent. was born circa 1603 at of Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.5 He married Lucy Anne Fox, daughter of Newell Roger Fox and Lynda Springfield, on 27 April 1625 at Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.1,5 Lt. Col. Nathaniel Pope, Gent. died on 27 April 1660 at The Cliffs, Westmoreland, VA.1
Lucy Anne Fox b. 7 Apr 1611, d. 27 Apr 1660
Anne Pope+1,2,3 d. 26 Sep 1669
There are warnings about the unreliability of Our Royal, Titled, Noble and Commoner Ancestors in the guidance Projects have given on reliable sourcing for pre-1700 profiles.
edited by Michael Cayley
I tried to add the following as a Research Note, but it wouldn't let me save it until two suggestions were fixed first, and I wasn't sure what the US Presidents Project wanted to do with those. If you want to try adding the following information?
Disputed Parents Marlyn Lewis' website, Our Royal, Titled, Noble and Commoner Ancestors & Cousins has an entry for Lt.Col, Nathaniel Pope, Gent which lists his parents as William Pope, 1st Earl of Downe, and his wife Anne Hopton but the source that he is citing for this is an Ancestry.com family tree, presumably unsourced.
Several sources confirm there were only three children of this couple, two sons, William and Thomas, and a daughter Anne (see profile of William Pope for sources), and there are no reliable sources that confirm that Nathaniel Pope was their child and such a relationship must be considered as fraudulent.
Also the line of the Earls of Downe became extinct in 1668 when Thomas Pope, 4th Earl of Downe, a grandson of William Downe, 1st Earl of Downe, died without issue.<ref>Cokayne, George Edward, The Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom: Extant Extinct of Dormant, 2nd ed, vol. 4, revised and edited by Hon. Vicary Gibbs & H. Arthur Doubleday, London: St Catherine Press, 1916. Digital image, Internet Archive, pp. 451, https://archive.org/details/completepeerageo04coka/page/451/mode/1up : accessed 10 January 2022.</ref> Had Nathaniel Pope, been the son of William Pope and Anne Hopton, then one of his male descendants would have inherited the title.
edited by John Atkinson
A comment on the profile of William Pope, 1st Earl of Downe, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Pope-5273 and his wife Anne Hopton suggest that they are the parents of Lt Col Nathaniel Pope. This is probably based on Marlyn Lewis' website https://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p2824.htm#i84843 but the source cited there is an Ancestry.com family tree, presumably unsourced.
However, there are no reliable sources that confirm Nathaniel Pope is their son and I've added a research note to the profile of William Pope to indicate this.
Just wondering if you want to do the same on this profile.
[Col.] John Washington, born about 1634. He immigrated to Virginia in 1656. He married (1st) 1 Dec.1658 Anne Pope, daughter of [Lieut. Col.] Nathaniel Pope. They had two sons, [Capt.] Lawrence and John, and one daughter, Anne (wife of [Maj.] Francis Wright). His wife, Anne, died 1668. He married (2nd) in 1670 Anne Gerard, widow of Walter Broadhurst and Henry Brett. He married (3rd) Frances Gerard, widow successively of [Col.] Thomas Speake, [Col.] Valentine Peyton, and [Capt.] John Appleton. [Col.] John Washington left a will dated 21 Sept. 1675, proved 11 Jan. 1677.
Thank you!