James Robertson (1713 - 1757)

Born 1713 in Bristol Parish, Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Eppes) Robertson — married 1750 in Virginia

Descendants

Died 1757 at about age 44 in Chesterfield, Virginia

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Biography

Profile written by Allan Thomas

James Robertson was born about 1713 in Bristol, Virginia to parents George Robertson and Mary Worsham.

Marriage 1 James married firstly Martha Field Archer (daughter of John and Martha Field Archer) by whom he had two children, George and Martha. George was born in 1742 and Martha shortly thereafter (1744?).

CHILDREN

Children of James Robertson and his first wife :

• i. MARTHA ROBERTSON, m. in Amelia Co., 21 June [bond] 1763, RICHARD BOOKER.^[1]
• ii. GEORGE ROBERTSON, b. ca. 1742; d. 13 Sept. 1797;^[2] m. MICHAL ARCHER.

Children of James and Mary (Eppes) (Royall) ROBERTSON:

• iii. JAMES ROBERTSON.
• iv. JOHN ROBERTSON. This John Robertson might have been the man who witnessed William Anderson’s deed of gift to his children in 1793. He is mentioned in the will of his brother George that establishes their location near Winterpock and Second Branch of Swift Creek where William Anderson lived and died.
• v. MARY ROBERTSON
• vi. ELIZABETH ROBERTSON.

Marriage 2
James married secondly Mary Eppes who died in 1804. She was the widow of Littlebury Royall and the daughter of Llewellyn and Angelica Bray Eppes.

Children of Second Wife:

1. James,1751
2. Mary 1753
3. John 1755.
4. Elizabeth was born posthumously. <pg.29>

JAMES ROBERTSON, died 1757. His will was dated 4 November 1757 and proved 3 March 1758 in Chesterfield County. He owned land on Winterpock Creek.

April, 1744 James Robertson bought land from John Rowlett in a deed admitted to record April 1744.^[3] He paid tithes on 13 people including Richard Day in 1747,^[4] and paid taxes in Amelia County beginning in 1740.^[5] Chronology suggests that the first two children listed below belonged to Robertson’s first wife,^[6] whom some have identified as Martha Archer. James married second about 1750 Mary (Eppes) Royall, the widow of Littleberry Royall. October 1748 When he died James owned 2,018 acres in Amelia County, including 200 acres on Flat Creek he bought from William Kennon in October 1748.^[7]

1756 Chesterfield County listed James Robertson on the tithe list with 12 slaves.^[8] Few men owned more. Besides “Picketts.”

WILL
James left a will in Chesterfield County that devised “Picketts” and his mill to his wife for life and divided his land between his three living sons (will dated 4 November 1757^[9] and proved 3 March 1758).^[10] His inventory included 38 slaves at three plantations. He held 2,023 acres on Flat Creek in Amelia County at his death, which the court later divided among his three sons.^[11] Chesterfield County charged the estate of James Robertson on 5 tithes in 1762.^[12] James’s brother John Robertson who was executor of James’s estate until his (John’s) death, delivered estate accounts on 7 August 1761,^[13] 23 February 1763,^[14] and December 1766.^[15]

1766 During the August Court 1766, James (son of James) chose his half brother to be his guardian, and the justices appointed George to be guardian of John, Mary, and Elizabeth Robertson as well.^[16] After John Bott, executor of John Robertson, renounced right of executorship in May 1768, the court granted administration to George Robertson the next month and he delivered estate accounts 1766-70.^[17]

DEATH
James died in 1757 in Chesterfield, Virginia. George, Martha, James, Mary and John are listed in his will, along with his second wife Mary. His will was dated 4 November 1757 and proved 3 March 1758 in Chesterfield County. He owned land on Winterpock Creek.

WILL OF JAMES ROBERTSON

Will of James Robertson, of Dale Parish, Chesterfield County, 1757. Executors, wife Mary and brother John Robertson. Wife Mary given plantation on Swift Creek for life, to go to son George after her death; son George, land on Winterpock Creek; land in Amelia to sons James, George and John; daughters, Martha and Mary.^[18] Inventory taken at his late dwelling, etc., 1758, shows among other things, 14 slaves; at his quarter on Winterpock, where Day was overseer, 8 slaves; at his plantation in Amelia, where Raffity was overseer, 16 slaves, etc.^[19]

Sources

1. ↑ Amelia County marriage bond.
2. ↑ Genealogical Abstracts from 18th-century Virginia Newspapers (Headley), p. 288.
3. ↑ Henrico Co. Court Order Book 1737, p. 254.
4. ↑ “A Southside Henrico County, Virginia, Tithable List, 1747, The Virginia Genealogist, vol. 42, p. 264.
5. ↑ Amelia County, Virginia Tax Lists, 1736-1764 (T.L.C.), pp. 142-43.
6. ↑ Adventurers of Purse and Person (Meyer, Dorman), pp. 266, 520.
7. ↑ Amelia County Deed Book 3, 1747-50, p. 173.
8. ↑ “Chesterfield Tithables 1756,” The Southside Virginian, vol. 1, p. 89.
9. ↑ Chesterfield Co. Will Book 1, p. 272.
10. ↑ Chesterfield Co. Order Book 2, p. 381.
11. ↑ “Chesterfield Co. Chancery Papers,” Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, vol. 33, p. 183.
12. ↑ “Chesterfield County Tithables, 1762,” The Southside Virginian, vol. 5, p. 116.
13. ↑ Chesterfield Co. Court Order Book 3, p. 171; Chesterfield Co. Will Book 1, p. 484.
14. ↑ Chesterfield Co. Will Book 1, p. 521.
15. ↑ Chesterfield Co. Will Book 2, p. 183.
16. ↑ Chesterfield Co. Court Order Book 3, p. 749.
17. ↑ Chesterfield Co. Court Order Book 4, pp. 186, 198; Chesterfield Co. Will Book 2, p. 176.
18. ↑ Chesterfield W.B. 1, p. 272.
19. ↑ Chesterfield W.B. 1, p. 482, 483. From Notes on Southside Virginia, p. 115.

• Notes on Southside Virginia, Wills and Deeds, p 115

• The Reverend George Robertson, Rector, Bristol Parish, Virginia (1693-1739): His ministry, marriage, immediate descendants.

• Virginia Marriage Records