Archibald Bolling (1750 - abt. 1829)

Born 20 Mar 1750 in Chesterfield, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

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Biography

Archibald Bolling is a descendant of Pocahontas. Here is the trail.

Archibald Bolling lived in Virginia.

Archibald was born in March of either 1748 in Henrico County, Virginia, or 1750 in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Chesterfield County, Virginia was formed from Henrico County in 1749. He is the son of John Bolling and Elizabeth Blair.

Archibald Bolling was married four times. ^[1]

Mr. Bolling gained a little notoriety while involved in legal troubles in 1771. He sued his brother, Robert Bolling, believing that he should have received the property ^[2] that their brother, Edward Bolling, who died in 1770, had left instead to Robert Bolling. Archibald Bolling's attorney, George Wythe, and Robert Bolling's attorney, Thomas Jefferson, prepared exhaustive statements of the case, both of which survive. Jefferson's argument remains one of the best examples of his abilities as a lawyer. ^[3]

According to Robertson, citing his brother's Opuscula, he lived first in a log cabin at Buffalo Lick, Campbell County (now "Mount Athos"), and later in a humble dwelling in Buckingham County. ("Mount Athos" later became the seat of the said brother, Judge John Robertson, a somewhat grander mansion having been built by then.)

According to Brown he had houses at "Red Oak" (on the road to Campbell County) and "The Retreat", still in Buckingham County but near the Campbell County line.

Birth

1. Date of birth: 20 Mar 1750 or 1748

Spouses

1. Sarah (Cary) (1750- ) ^[4]
   1. Date of marriage: 1770 ^[4]
2. Jane (Randolph) (1750- ) ^{[4] [5]}
   1. Date of marriage: 01 Oct 1774 ^[4]
3. Maria (Taylor) Byrd ^[4]
   1. Date of marriage: 13 May 1797 ^[4]
4. Sarah Ellyson (Woodson) Clark ^[4]
   1. Date of marriage: 29 Aug 1802 ^[4]

Research notes

• BOLLING FAMILY - link was for Janet Ariciu's research in Rootsweb (pre-Rootsweb crash ). If the page being referenced was one that was recovered, it's not at the same URL. Janet only shows 3 wives (Sarah Cary, Jane Randolph, and "Mrs. Clark"). The following pages pertain:
  • Archibald Bolling
  • Sarah Cary
  • Jane Randolph

Will

Will of Archibald Bolling. Campbell Co., VA, WB 5, pp. 445-446, w. 23 Jan 1826, p. 14 Jan 1828. Digital image at Ancestry.com - https://ancstry.me/2XVmGEY

wife Sarah
daughter Sarah (Meggerson ?)
daughter Anne E. Cabell
two granddaughters Pocohantas A. Robertson and Virginia Robertson, their mother my late daughter Elizabeth M Robertson
sons John R. Bolling and Blair Bolling
Exrs: son Blair Bolling, friends William Dugiud, William Furbush
Wit: Robert Bolling, B M Markham, Phil A Bolling

Research notes

The date and place cited seem more consistent with the nephew than the uncle.

But the 1829 date of death is probably calculated from the statement that he lived 79 years. This age could be wrong, and could be the result of, or the cause of, the alternative birth date of 1748.

Research Notes

Documentation exists to confirm this person's existence. Do not confuse with a different Archibald Bolling whose existence may have been fabricated to claim descent from Pocahontas. See Bolling Pocahontas Fabrication for a fuller understanding of how the fabrication came to be, who was involved, and the specific ancestry claimed for this person.

Sources

1. ↑ "Page 230. Archibald Bolling of Red Oak". The Cabells and Their Kin: A Memorial Volume of History, Biography, and Genealogy, by Alexander Brown, D.C.L. The Riverside Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Printed by H.O. Houghton and Company. Copyright, 1895. All Rights Reserved. archive.org. (Accessed 19 Dec 2017)
2. ↑ "Will of John Bolling". Dale Parish, County of Chesterfield. 04 Sep 1749. Son Archibald - 1200 acres in Bedford County on the brances of Rock Island Creek; to nephew Bolling Eldridge 400 acres at the same place, and also gives to son Archibald all the land called Buffalo Lick formerly devised to Edward".
3. ↑ Legal Troubles
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7} "Page 311. Children of Archibald Bolling, Number 6". "Some Prominent Virginia Families ". Volume IV. Author: Louise Pecquet du Bellet. Published by J P Bell Company, Inc. Lynchburg, Virginia. © 1907. archive.org. (Accessed 19 Dec 2017)
5. ↑ "Randolph Family of Virginia". wikipedia. (Accessed 19 Dec 2017)

• Mentioned in the will of his father John Bolling.
• Morenus, David. The Real Pocahontas website, "Pocahontas Descendants" chart, 5af.
• "The Ancestors and Descendants of John Rolfe", in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 22, no. 2 (Apr 1914), p. 217, and no. 3 (Jul 1914), p. 332.
• Robertson, Wyndham (1887), Pocahontas and her Descendants, p. 33 (gen 5), p. 36 (children), p. 62 (sketch).

Sources exist that confuse this Archibald with his nephew of the same name. Note that both Archibalds had fathers called John and brothers called Edward and Robert (and Thomas?). And both Archibalds headed off towards Campbell County. To further confound matters, the nephew had a sister Mary Jefferson (Bolling), while the uncle had a sister-in-law Mary (Jefferson) Bolling.