Sophia (Almand) Rand (1719 - bef. 1819)

Born 17 Nov 1719 in Gloucester, Virginia

Wife of William Rand — married about 15 Feb 1743 in Abingdon Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia

Descendants

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Biography

William Rand married Sophia Almand, the widow of Benjamin Forsythe.

Sophia Almand was born in Oct 1719 in Gloucester Co., VA. The daughter of cabinetmaker/joiner James Almand and his wife, Christian, Sophia was baptized on 17 Nov 1719 in Abingdon Parish, Gloucester Co., VA.

She first married Benjamin Forsyth; they lived in Gloucester County, Virginia. One child, James, namesake of his Almand grandfather, was born before Benjamin's death. Most likely she met her second husband through her father and cabinetmaking brothers.

The widowed young mother married an older widower, William Rand, in Abingdon Parish, Gloucester County, on 15 February 1743/44. The newlyweds and young James soon resettled in Isle of Wight County, where architect and building contractor William built the conically shaped courthouse and then acquired the first of several establishments and sizable parcels of land. The town property lies next door to the old conically shaped courthouse that William designed and built in 1850. In early days there was also a jail with stocks and pillars on the courthouse property. Most likely they were witness to many public displays of Virginia justice.

Gaming laws being lax, travelers and locals alike engaged in cards and billiards for recreation. Churches such as the Bay, the Brick, and the Chapel drew parishioners (and Baptists at their own services) for The Lord's worship-in 1747, William received permission to build his own private pew at Bay Church.

In that same year of the courthouse construction, Sophia's parents purchased The Rocks, a plantation in Isle of Wight County. Brother Moses bought property in both Smithfield and rural plot in Isle of Wight County. Sophia and William may or may not have lived in Smithfield town-they had plantation property that sported "houses"-although it's more likely they lived at least for a while in the dwelling that is the Smithfield Inn of nowadays.

Moses Almand, brother to Sophia, married Sarah Perrin in Isle of Wight County, the nuptials taking place in July 1745. Possibly Moses had already moved to the county, was the first of the family to settle there. Perhaps he and his brother-in-law William Rand worked together. Moses' calling, as mentioned, was as a joiner (carpenter) and cabinetmaker. Apparently he built churches. It's probably not a coincidence that William was a plan drawer (architect) and contractor who worked on a goodly number of public buildings, bridges, and churches in Virginia.

In about 1750, Sophia gave birth to her first child with William, a son they called John. (Was he named after William's father?) John would grow up to become an attorney, miller, and land owner in Wake County, North Carolina who became a member of the North Carolina Provisional Government during the early years of the American Revolution. John was shot by a neighbor in July 1781, his wound proving mortal about a month later. He left a wife and baby daughter. He also left property, the acres that his father had been granted from King George II in the final year of his reign.

Sophia and William became the parents of five more children: Catherine, William, Mary, Walter, and Christian(a)-all of whom grew to adulthood, married, and reared families in the Isle of Wight area. The elder of the sons were sent to England for their educations, and they chose the law as their profession, although at least John Rand was practical enough to take up the trade of miller, also.

Sophia's father died in 1757, roughly the same period of time that she gave birth to her daughter Mary. Sophia was 38 years old at the time. By the time her seventh and last child arrived, in about 1763, Sophia was knocking on 44. William was at least 58.

The Raleigh News and Observer reported in 1955 that William received a land grant in Wake County, North Carolina, in the year 1759, but he never took up this property. (His sons John and Walter would end up in that area of the country, possibly on land-grant property. Then again, John may have simply purchased the land he later willed to Brother Walter. According to RRL, that is what he did.) William continued with his enterprises. He built buildings and bridges, and supervised their upkeep, collecting bridge tolls for his own account. He owned a gristmill. He also took out a license to operate an ordinary (a tavern or inn) in Smithfield. He also owned property in Isle of Wight, Southampton, and Goochland counties. However, by 1766, he was obviously slowing down. He and Sophia advertised to let the inn property. He wasn't taking many architectural and/or building projects.

Around 1763, Sophia's two eldest sons relocated to North Carolina, where they evidently practiced law together, first in Cumberland County, then James Forsyth settled in Johnston County and John Rand (presumably) took up his father's Royal land grant on Swift Creek, south of Raleigh, in the neighboring county of Wake.

Eight years' later, James Forsyth passed away, leaving a wife and two children.

James had been named in his stepfather's will to serve as the executor. His death necessitated a change in William Rand's will, which he made in on the 30th of August in 1771. The instrument was recorded on November 6, 1771. These dates place his death in the space of time between September 1 and early, early November.

Quite possibly he is buried at the Old Bay Church graveyard, five miles outside Smithfield.

Oddly, Sophia seems to have waited almost two years even to start to settle the estate, which leads Edgiva to wonder if he might have passed away at a date later to 1771. Whatever the case, she remarried, and this may have had something to do with it, as Charles Hanson evidently was out to get her money. [See below.]

After William's death, Sophia and her brother Lewis served as executors of his last will and testament. They disposed of much of his property, to-wit:

Isle of Wight County Deed Book 13, 1772-1778

(p.135) 7 Jun 1773…. Sophia Rand, Executrix, and Lewis Almond, Sr., Executor of the last will of William Rand, decd., to George Hall… Lot # 19 in Smithfield Town. Wit: Henry Applewhaite, Bartholomew Lightfoot Jr., Harrison Whitfield and Richard Hardy. Rec: 2 Sep 1773

Isle of Wight County Deed Book 13, 1772-1778

(p.272) 16 Nov 1774…. Sophia Rand, Executrix, and Lewis Allmond, Executor of the last will of William Rand, decd., to William Robertson…. 210 acres (being land bought from Jonas Williams on 30 Sep 1764 and was part of 290 acres which was sold to Jonas Williams on 30 Mar 1710 by William Moore and wife, Sarah Moore). Wit: John Norsworthy, John Applewhaite and Bartholomew Lightfoot, Jr. Rec: 7 Jul 1774

(p.284) 30 Dec 1774…. Sophia Rand , Executrix and Lewis Allmand, Executor of the Estate of William Rand, decd., to Andrew Mackey…. 200 acres (being land William Rand bought from Jonas Williams on 13 Sep 1724 ) and 80 acres (being part of a tract formerly belonging to John Williams who gave it to Robert Jones, who, with Martha Jones, conveyed it to the said William Rand on 31 Oct 1749…. Also 484 acres which said William Rand, decd., bought from Jacob Thomas on 18 Apr 1748. The total sale is for 764 acres. Wit: John Taylor, W. Baldwin and William Orr. Rec: 2 Feb 1775

Rand, William. Account estate, examined by Daniel Barraud, Goodrich Wilson, Thomas Smith. Signed Sophia Hanson and Lewis Allmond. R. October 1, 1778 Page 499

Isle of Wight County Deed Book 14, 1755-1782

(p.51) 4 Mar 1779…. George Hall and wife, Elizabeth Hall, to William Smith…. Lot # 19 in Smithfield Town (being land bought from Sophia Rand and Lewis Allmand, acting Executors of William Rand, decd., in 1773). Wit: William Hodsden, J. Wills and George Hall, Jr. Rec: 4 Mar 1779

As seen above, why did Sophia wait before settling her husband's estate. Could he have died in 1774?

R.R. Laurenson on Sophia's remarriage: 'The widowed Sophia subsequently remarried for a third time to Charles Hanson in 1778. The marriage occurred six years after the death of William Sr., when Sophia was 59 years of age." The poor, aging dear must have thought she was marrying for love. "However shortly after her marriage, Sophia became concerned that her new husband had married her with the intent of enhancing his financial position. With this fear in mind, she took Charles Hanson to court to protect the property that William Sr. had desired to pass on to her and his heirs. Hanson was then placed in the custody of the sheriff until he could provide a bond that would allow her estate to be appraised and to deter him from taking possession of any property that was designated for the heirs of William Rand..."

She died between 1 Jan 1789 and 22 Feb 1789 in Smithfield, Isle of Wight Co., VA.

The remainder of the William Rand Sr. estate in Smithfield was disposed of at that time by her youngest son Walter and her son-in-law James Pitt, Laurenson reports. "Charles Hanson survived Sophia by five years and died in 1794."

Sophia's final resting place isn't known for certain, but she could be interred at Bay Church graveyard.

Oscar Rand in 1965 wrote, "On September 7, 1775, she made a will, which is in the possession of a descendant, Mrs. Arlena Trayler Mallon, of El Monte, California, who kindly loaned the will to this writer for inspection in connection with preparing this account of the Rand family ancestry. Three of the bequests made by the will are of more than ordinary interest. They are:

"Item - I give and bequeath to my said Son Walter one gold Ring marked WRS and a pair of silver shoe Buckles to him and his heirs. "Item - I give unto Charles Ross my Horse and riding Chair to him and his heirs. "Item - I give and bequeath all my wearing Apparel to be equally divided between my three daughters Catherine Garton, Mary Smith, and Christiana Ross."

"In the last item of the will, which consumes less than one page, she appointed her son-in-law, Charles Ross, as Executor."

Not mentioned is her son, William Rand junior, another England-educated attorney. William also moved to North Carolina, and served in the State Representatives in 1784. Unfortunately, William took a wrong fork in the bridle path of life at some point and ended up riding the fast horse to wrack and ruin, squandering all of his gifts, inherited and genetic. What triggered his downfall is not known.

Marriage

Date: 15 FEB 1743/44

Place: Abingdon Parish, Gloucester Co, VA

Residence

Residence:

Date: 1766

Place: Living in North Carolina

Children

1. John Rand
2. William Rand
3. Christiana Rand
4. Mary Rand
5. Walter Rand

Sources

• WikiTree profile Almand-134 created through the import of donevanell (2).ged on Dec 20, 2011 by Ralph Rogers. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Ralph and others.
• https://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=rand100&id=I09781 (accessed July 2018)
• "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:36C9-52M : accessed 19 October 2018), entry for Sophia /ALLMAN/, cites sources; "Lampkin Family Tree" file (2:2:2:MM6S-25C), submitted 25 June 2017 by Mike Lampkin [identity withheld for privacy].