John Tyus (1600 - bef. 1650)

Born 1600 in Low Laydon, Essex, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died before 1650 before age 50 in James City, Virginia Colony

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Biography

John Tyus was a Jamestown colonist.

Overview

John Tyus was born in 1600 and baptized on February 17, 1600 in Lowe Laydon, Essexshire, England, son of Robert Tyus and Millicent Browne. John married Jane Long.^[1] He came to American in 1620 aboard the ship Bona Nova.^[2] He died in Virginia around 1650, and most likely he is buried on his farm. ^[3]

Name

Several different spellings are found for John's surname. His baptismal record is in the name "Tyas," although no contemporaneous record has been found. Records during the period of time he was in the Colony of Virginia show "Tyos" on the 1624/25 census, "Tyers" on the census of living and dead, "Tios" on some of the court records, and "Tyus" as the surname assigned to him by historian J. Bennett Boddie and carried forward by his descendants.^[4]

Birth and Baptism

In a court appearance in 1627, John testified that he was "26 years old, born at Lowe Layden in Essex."^[5] This would place the year of his birth at around 1600/01. (Leyton is a current-day suburb of east London.^[6]) He was baptised on 17 Feb 1600 in Leyton, St. Mary the Virgin, Essex, England, a son of Robert Tyas.^[7]

Arrival In Jamestown

John Tyus appears to have been the first one of this family in Virginia. He traveled aboard the Bona Nova in 1620, and on 16 Feb 1624 was living at the Eastern Shore.^[8] By 4 Feb 1625, he was living at the Treasurer' Plantation owned by George Sandys in James City. He appears on the 1624/25 Muster as one of sixteen people serving Treasurer Sandys,^[9] whose plantation focused upon industrial development. The provisions included in the muster give some insight to silk and wine production that took place there: ^[10]

Provisions:

Corne, 100 barrells; Powder, 20 lb; Lead & Shott, 300 lb; Peeces, 30; a Peece of Ordnance, 1; Armors Steele Coats & Coats of Male, 30; Swords, 20; Goats, 9 and six kidds; Swine, 2; Dwelling houses, 2; Stores, 2 wth other Cabbens; House framed for silk worms, 1; Garden of an acre & a half, 1; Vnie[Vine]yard of 2 acres, 1; a Large Forte, 1.

Family

Around 1626, John married Jane Long^[1] They had at least one son:^[1][4]

• Richard Tyus, Jr., b. 1628

A Mistake is Made

In 1627/28, John ran afoul of the law when he befriended William Mills, a 21-year-old thief. Mills, who was a servant of Edward Grindon, testified in court that he stole items such as "a capful of currants" or "a shirt sleeve of sugar" from his master; he then took these items to John's house.^[11] On the next court date, the stolen goods had expanded to poultry, shoes, and shirts, some of which were found in John's house. John was found guilty as an accessory to the theft and sentenced to 40 stripes at the whipping post. His wife, Jane, was discharged, finding that she had probably been “drawn thereunto by the will & power of her husband.”^[12]

Land Lease

In May 1634, John leased 50 acres adjacent to Bridges Freeman on the east side of the Chickahominy River in James City County. (C. P. 19).^[4][13][14]

Death

John Tyus passed away before 1650. The exact date of his death and location of his burial are not known.^[3][1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Profile of John Tyas, Ancestor # LHNR-56V (accessed 2 Mar 2021)
2. ↑ Passenger List of the Bona Nova 1620 Research and compilation by Anne Stevens, packrat-pro.com.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Find A Grave: Memorial #100134611 John Tyas
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Boddie, J. Bennett. (1955). Southside Virginia families. Redwood City, Calif.: Pacific Coast Publishers. , page 385.
5. ↑ McIlwaine, H.R., ed. Minutes of the Council and General court of Colonial Virginia, Richmond: The Library Board, 1924; repr. Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1979., p. 163
6. ↑ History of Low Leyton
7. ↑ Ancestry Record 61698 #3280021 Essex Record Office; Chelmsford, Essex, England; Essex Church of England Parish Registers. Source Information: Essex, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2019.
8. ↑ "List of Living and Dead"
9. ↑ Hotten, John Camden. The Original Lists of Persons of Quality, 1600-1700, London, 1874., page 235.
10. ↑ Jester, Annie Lash., Hiden, Martha Woodruff. 1883. Musters of the Inhabitants in Virginia 1624/1625, Adventurers of Purse and Person Virginia 1607-1625: FamilySearch International, Title No. 2058494., page 40.
11. ↑ McIlwaine, page 159
12. ↑ McIlwaine, page 163.
13. ↑ McCartney, Martha W. Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary; Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD, 2007, p. 707
14. ↑ Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography Vol. 2, No. 3 (Jan., 1895), Published by: Virginia Historical Society, p. 313.

See also:

• Virginia Founding Fathers, Ancestry.com (accessed 2 Mar 2021)
• Ancestry Family Tree (containing good sources) (accessed 2 Mar 2021)