Hodges Council did not make the gift directly to his brother-in-law Joseph Vick. In 1675 Hodges Council's intention was to make the gift to his niece Lucy Vick who was just a baby since she was born about 1674 and was only about one year old at the time and was the daughter of Hodges Council's sister Lucy (Council) Vick who was also a first cousin to Hodges Council's wife Lucy (Hardy) Council. Lucy (Council) Vick was born about 1647 as a daughter of John Hodges Council and his wife Elizabeth (Drake). Hodges Council and his wife Lucy (Hardy) were also first cousins. Lucy Hardy's mother was Olive (Council) Hardy and Hodges Council's father was John Hodges Council. Olive (Council) Hardy and John Hodges Council were siblings since their parents were another man named John Hodges Council and Elizabeth (Drake). Since Hodges Council and his wife Lucy (Hardy) were first cousins, Lucy (Hardy) was also a first cousin to Hodges Council's sister Lucy (Council) who married Joseph Vick and they were the parents of baby Lucy Vick. In other words, Lucy (Hardy) Council had no objection to the gift to Joseph Vick's baby daughter Lucy Vick because Lucy (Hardy) Council was also related to Lucy Vick's mother Lucy (Council) Vick who was her first cousin.
When the gift was made to Joseph Vick, it was made to Hodges' brother-in-law which was intended for Hodge's niece Lucy Vick who was just a baby and as a minor was contractually unable to be a party to the deed of gift. Also, Hodges' wife Lucy (Hardy) had no objection to the gift because she was a first cousin to Joseph Vick's wife Lucy (Council) Vick who was the mother of the baby Lucy Vick. So, it was only logical she would support the gift to her first cousin's baby who was also the niece of her husband Hodges Council.
In order to provide additional clarification and lessen the confusion, it should be noted that this family had four separate individuals who were all named Lucy. Hodges Council's wife was named Lucy (Hardy) Council. Hodges Council's sister was named Lucy (Council) Vick who was born about 1647 and she was the mother of the baby Lucy Vick who was born about 1674 and was a niece of Hodges Council. Joseph Vick's wife Lucy (Council) Vick was a sister to Hodges Council and she was also a first cousin to Hodges Council's wife Lucy (Hardy) Council. Consequently, both Hodges Council and his wife Lucy (Hardy) Council were both related to Lucy (Council) Vick and her baby Lucy Vick. Also, Hodges Council and his wife Lucy (Hardy) also had a daughter named Lucy (Council) who was born about 1676 and married Richard Wooten. During this era, it was much more common when a daughter was named after her mother. Below is a listing of each person who was named Lucy...
Lucy (Hardy) Council (1652-1708) married Hodges Council. She was the daughter of John Hardy & Alice (Bennett)
Lucy (Council) Wooten (1676-1735) married Richard Wooten. She was the daughter of Hodges Council and Lucy (Hardy)
Lucy (Council) Vick (1647-1738) married Joseph Vick. She was the daughter of John Hodges Council and Elizabeth (Drake)
Lucy (Vick) Parker (1674-1735) married Thomas Parker. She was the daughter of Joseph Vick and Lucy (Council)
As this list shows, Hodges Council and Lucy (Hardy) had a daughter named Lucy. Also, Joseph Vick and Lucy (Council) also had a daughter named Lucy. I hope this makes things a little less nebulous, especially since Lucy was such a popular name among this family.
Apparently, Hodges Council was not able to make the deed of gift directly to his niece Lucy Vick because she was just a baby at the time and the deed of gift could not be directly made to his baby niece because she was a minor which prevented her as a direct party in the deed because the deed was considered a contract and minors could not be named as a party in a contract. However, to work around this, Lucy Vick was named as the ultimate recipient of the gift after she inherited it from her father Joseph Vick who was only a placeholder for the property. So, the gift was actually made to Lucy Vick's father Joseph Vick with the stipulation that the property was only to be held on behalf of Joseph Vick's daughter Lucy Vick until she was able to legally inherit the property. The deed was considered a contract and minors could not be named as direct parties to a contract. To work around this, the deed was made to the minor's father Joseph Vick. Minors could be named in a will; however, they could not be named as parties in a deed.
When Lucy Vick grew up she inherited the property. This is confirmed when Lucy Vick died as an adult and the property in the gift was then inherited by Lucy's brother Richard Vick and Lucy's widower husband Thomas Parker since Richard Vick and Lucy's Vick's husband Thomas Parker later sold the property and according to the deed of sale, it stated that Richard Vick inherited the property from his deceased sister Lucy (Vick) Parker. Lucy's husband Thomas Parker also had an interest in the property because as her husband, he was also Lucy's legal heir.
Also, at the time of the deed of gift in 1675, Lucy Vick was only one year old and was the only child who had been born to Joseph Vick and Lucy (Council). The deed of gift specifically stated that the property in the gift was to be inherited by any future siblings of Lucy after she died. Such was the case because Lucy's brother Richard Vick later inherited the property which he later sold. It was mentioned in the sale that Richard Vick had inherited the land from his deceased sister Lucy (Vick) Parker. Since the deed of gift in 1675 stated that Lucy Vick's future siblings were to inherit the property after Lucy's death, it clearly suggested that both Lucy Vick and her future siblings were all related to Hodges Council when he made the gift. If Lucy Vick was just a godchild of Hodges Council, he wouldn't have also stipulated in the gift that the property would then pass on through inheritance to any future siblings of Lucy. The reason the stipulation was made that the property in the gift would then pass on to other future siblings of Lucy was that Hodges Council was also related to Lucy's future siblings as well since he was their uncle. Since Joseph Vick and Lucy (Council) only had one child when the gift was made in 1675, the deed of gift did not specifically identify the names of the future siblings of Lucy Vick such as her brother Richard Vick because they had not yet been born.
Finally, Karen can you include Lucy (Council) Vick as the wife of Joseph Vick? This would really help lessen the confusion as to which Lucy Council was married to Joseph Vick. Too many people have incorrectly included the wrong person named Lucy Council as the wife of Joseph Vick. The wrong Lucy Council was born about 1676 and was the daughter of Hodges Council and Lucy Hardy. That Lucy Council was married to Richard Wooten. The correct person also named Lucy Council who married Joseph Vick was the born about 1647 and was the daughter of John Hodges Council and Elizabeth (Drake). So, people have mistakenly identified the wrong person known as Lucy Council who married Joseph Vick. It was not the younger Lucy Council who was born about 1676, but it was the older Lucy Council who was born about 1647 who married Joseph Vick. As previously mentioned, Lucy (Council) Vick was born about 1647 as the daughter of John Hodges Council and Elizabeth (Drake). You might want to state that it has not been "proven" she was the wife of Joseph Vick. However, nobody else has found a logical explanation for the deed of gift from Hodges Council to the baby Lucy Vick other than the suggestion she may have been a godchild of Hodges Council. Due to all the information I just presented, it supports the conclusion that Lucy (Vick) Parker was not a godchild of Hodges Council, but she was more likely a niece which explains why the gift was made. If Lucy was Hodge's godchild, why would the deed of gift also include Lucy Vick's future siblings as heirs to the property included in the deed of gift unless the future siblings were also related to Hodges Council?
