John West Sr. (1701 - 1766)

Born 1701 in Blackburn, Bladensburg, Prince George's County, Maryland

Ancestors

Husband of Frances (Anderson) West — married 26 Jan 1735 (to about 1766) in Maryland

Descendants

Died 1766 at about age 65 in Two Brothers, Frederick County, Maryland

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Biography

John West was born about the year 1701.^[1] He was the son of Joseph West and Rebecca Meares. He passed away in 1766.^[2]

February 1728 -- William West, Joseph West, John West, and Bryan Kelly were among the 26 subscribers for building the chapel at Rock Creek in the upper part of the newly-created Prince George parish. ^[3]

John married Frances Anderson [maiden name uncertain]

John wrote his will on 30 October 1765. It was proved on 13 June 1766 in Frederick County, Maryland.^[4]

Item. I give and bequeath unto my well beloved son John all my part of a tract of land called "Joseph" laying on the east side of a branch called commonly the Muddy Branch, which is 200 acres where his dwelling now is.

Item. I give and bequeath unto my well beloved son Benjamin part of a tract called Discontent, resurveyed, being 169 acres of land where his dwelling now is.

Item. I give and bequeath unto my 4 youngest sons, namely, Joseph, William, Basil, and Osborne, part of a tract called Two Brothers which is 200 acres, with 8 Negroes Cyrus, Bash, Will, Lettis, Jenney, Lucy, Toby, and Ceasor, and to my well beloved wife I give an equal part with my 4 youngest sons above mentioned, that is to say equal part of the 200 acres and 8 Negroes during her lifetime, and after her decease her part shall return to my 4 youngest sons with all my movable estate. I appoint my two well beloved sons Joseph and William executors.

On 10 June 1766 wife Frances stated she utterly refused to stand to the will.

The inventory of John's estate was made on 9 September 1766 and was filed with the Frederick County Court the next month on 1 October.^[5]

Slaves

From the will of John West written on 30 October 1765 in Frederick County, Maryland^[6]

1. Cyrus
2. Bash
3. Will
4. Lettis
5. Jenney
6. Lucy
7. Toby
8. Ceasor

From the inventory of John West's estate made on 9 September 1766 in Frederick County, Maryland, Court^[7]

1. Cyrus Negro Man Aged 40 years £32.0.0
2. Bash Negro Man Aged 25 years £48.0.0
3. Will Negro Man Aged 23 years £48.0.0
4. Lettice Negro Woman Aged 27 years £35.0.0
5. Jin Negro Girl Aged 11 years £24.0.0
6. Luce Negro Girl Aged 9 years £23.0.0
7. Toby Negro Boy Aged 7 years £20.0.0
8. Cesar Negro Boy Aged 5 years £17.0.0
9. Sue Negro Boy Aged 2 years £12.0.0

Research Notes

Estimated Birth Years of John West’s sons.

In his will written on 30 October 1765 John West named his sons John West, Benjamin West, and his four youngest sons Joseph, William, Basill, and Osborn West.^[8] On 12 May 1768 Frances West in her will named her eldest son John West, and sons Benjamin, William, and Basil.^[9] The sons appear to have been named in birth order in both wills.

On 10 February 1755 John West in two deeds gave land to his sons John and Benjamin West.^[10] If John and Benjamin were over 21 when their father deeded them this land they were born before 10 February 1734.

In an 1892 biography of Benjamin J. West (1812-1912) a grandson of Benjamin West, it is written Benjamin died in 1820, at the age of ninety-one years.^[11] Benjamin’s will was proven in 1824,^[12] so it is likely he died in that year. While there is a discrepancy in the death year using an age of 91 at death would make the birth year of Benjamin 1733. If so, an estimate of the birth year for the eldest son, John, would be 1731.

Basil was born 10 April 1745.^[13] Osborn was born on 2 October 1749.^[14] This would suggest that Joseph was born about the year 1741 and William was born about the year 1743.

Sources

1. ↑ Maryland, Frederick County, Deed book K, page 354, digital images, Maryland State Archives, MDLANDREC (https://mdlandrec.net/main/index.cfm : accessed 30 January 2023), the deposition of John West, Senr. Aged Sixty four Years or thereabouts, taken on 11 November 1765 at the home of Joseph West.
2. ↑ "Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GT1P-SQ7D?cc=1803986&wc=SNYC-C6X%3A146535301%2C147297001 : 20 May 2014), Frederick > Wills 1744-1777 vol 1 > image 146 of 315; Hall of Records, Annapolis.
3. ↑ History of Western Maryland. Pages 742 - 743.
4. ↑ "Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GT1P-SQ7D?cc=1803986&wc=SNYC-C6X%3A146535301%2C147297001 : 20 May 2014), Frederick > Wills 1744-1777 vol 1 > image 146 of 315; Hall of Records, Annapolis.
5. ↑ "Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GT1K-96C?cc=1803986&wc=SNYH-168%3A146535301%2C146960801 : 20 May 2014), Frederick > Inventories 1763-1771 vol 2 > image 127 of 369; Hall of Records, Annapolis.
6. ↑ "Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GT1P-SQ7D?cc=1803986&wc=SNYC-C6X%3A146535301%2C147297001 : 20 May 2014), Frederick > Wills 1744-1777 vol 1 > image 146 of 315; Hall of Records, Annapolis.
7. ↑ "Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GT1K-96C?cc=1803986&wc=SNYH-168%3A146535301%2C146960801 : 20 May 2014), Frederick > Inventories 1763-1771 vol 2 > image 127 of 369; Hall of Records, Annapolis.
8. ↑ Frederick County, Maryland. Maryland Register of Wills Record, 1629-1999. Registers of Wills, Frederick, Maryland, images, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : 29 January 2023), Will book, A-1, pages 263-264, will of John West written 30 October 1765, proved 13 June 1766; FHL microfilm 14019.
9. ↑ Frederick County, Maryland. Maryland Register of Wills Record, 1629-1999. Registers of Wills, Frederick, Maryland, images, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : 29 January 2023), Will book, A-1, pages 329-330, will of Frances West written 12 May 1768, proved 18 March 1769; FHL microfilm 14019.
10. ↑ Maryland, Frederick County, "MDLANDREC," digital images, Maryland State Archives, MDLANDREC (https://mdlandrec.net/main/index.cfm : accessed 30 January 2023), Deed book E, page 660, deed dated [10] February 1755 John West to Benjamin West, 100 acres part of The Joseph. Maryland, Frederick County, "MDLANDREC," digital images, Maryland State Archives, MDLANDREC (https://mdlandrec.net/main/index.cfm : accessed 30 January 2023), Deed book E, pages 660-661, 10 February 1755, John West to John West, Junr, 100 acres part of The Joseph.
11. ↑ Portrait and Biographical Record of St. Clair County, Illinois (Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1892), page 590; digital images, Internet Archive (https:/archive.org/ : accessed 15 February 2023).
12. ↑ St. Clair County, Illinois. Illinois, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1772-1999. Illinois Regional Archive, Carbondale, Illinois, images, Ancestry.com (https:/www.ancestry.com/ : 14 February 2023), Will book A, pages 84-86, will of Benjamin West written on 6 December 1819. It was submitted to the Court on 3 February 1824, proved on the 6th, and recorded on 9 August 1824., FHL film no. 2155782.
13. ↑ Evan P. Middleton, Supervising Editor, History of Champaign County, Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions, 2 volumes (Indianapolis, Indiana: B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., 1917), volume 2, page 1020; digital images, Internet Archive (https:/archive.org/ : accessed 18 February 2023).
14. ↑ Osborn WEST was born in the year of our Lord 1749 October 2nd Day, West Family Bible Records, 1749-1868, The New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Translated Out of the Original Greek and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised, Daniel D. Smith's Stereotype Edition, (New York: Daniel D. Smith, 1825); privately held by unknown, Typed transcription submitted by Cathy Langhoff, Family Bible Records: West Family Bible, Marshall County, MS, website for genealogical research (http://msgw.org/marshall/church/biblerec.php: accessed 17 February 2023).

• West Family Genealogy. Descendants of Joseph P. West. Items #1, Joseph P. West; #15, West; #46, Benjamin West; #92, Mary West & #105, James West. Website Accessed by Michael Boynton on December 20 & 21, 2016. June 1, 2016 at 10:00 AM. As of Jan 2021 this link is no longer working. The original web site cited can be found in the changes tab.

• John Thomas Scharf. History of Western Maryland: being a History of Frederick, Montgomery, Carroll, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties from the Earliest Period to the Present Day, Including Biographical Sketches of Their Representative Men. Volume 1. Genealogical Publishing Company. 2003. Page 651. Accessed on December 23, 2016 at 8:20PM. Available at https://books.google.com/books?id=ntVpHBIz0hAC&pg=PA768&dq=Cabin+John&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjFyt_J1IvRAhXIw1QKHdwKBeQQ6AEIKDAD#v=snippet&q=William%20West&f=false

DNA

• West Family DNA Project. Joseph P. West 1662 MD. Website accessed by Michael Boynton on December 23, 2016 at 6:20PM As of Jan 2021 this link is no longer working. The original web site cited can be found in the changes tab.