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William Aylett (abt. 1645 - bef. 1679)

William Aylett
Born about in City of London, Englandmap [uncertain]
Ancestors ancestors
Brother of
Husband of — married before 1667 [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Father of
Died before before about age 34 in Bruton Parish, York, Colony of Virginiamap
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Profile last modified | Created 12 Jul 2018
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Biography

William Aylett or Aylit of York County, Virginia is one of the earliest Ayletts in Virginia known from contemporary primary sources. He was a successful and wealthy individual as can be seen from sources over twelve years from 1667 to his death in 1679.

It appears that he was the son of William Aylett, Merchant Taylor of London (d. 1677), since the elder William's will describes supplying two hundred pounds - a substantial sum of money - to his son William Aylett "who hath some years last past settled himself in Virginia".[1] While his father reckoned he had given his son something like £200 already he left him another £100 anyway. (The elder Aylett had been a Common Councilman of London at one point - see Woodhead.[2])

He is mentioned in a second will dated 1661, of William Haselfoote "Cittizen and Goldsmith of London". This mentions that William Haselfoote was an executor of Henry Haselfoote and "The said Henry Haselfoote gave legacies by word of mouth to my grandchildren Alice Coddrington and William Aylett, first son of William Aylett and Magdalen his wife."[3] Thus it appears that William's mother was born Magdalen Haselfoote. She also is named in his father's will as his wife. An Alice Aylett daughter of William and Magdalen christened at St Peter Paul's Wharf in London in 1648 is probably a sister.[4]

The first known record of him in Virginia is in 1667 as married to Sibella Huberd, relict of Matthew Huberd [5]). He witnessed a deed in the York Co. records in 1672 between Elizabeth Napier and Robert Bouth, Thomas Bennett, Matthew Cutler and John Baskervyle.[6] He was the high sheriff of York in 1674[7] and was paid 6205 pounds of tobacco for some unspecified expense in 1676/7.[8]As coinage was not allowed in Virginia at this point it represents a major sum.

He was a vestryman of Bruton Parish in 1674 and 1678.[9]. He is named at the top of a plaque in the current Bruton Church 'in memory of the Colonial Wardens of Bruton Parish Church, Cape. Philip Chesney and William Aylett 1674' (followed by later names) [9] .

The Bruton Parish register records that he died on 15 Jan 1678 (OS) - 1679 (NS). It also shows the decease of Mrs. Sebella Aylett 16 Dec 1674 and Mrs. Lydia Aylett, widow, 23 Sep 1682.

His birth year can only be guessed at since no baptism record has as yet been found for him. It was certainly before 1650 if he was sheriff in 1674. He was also cited as married in 1667, so would need to have been 21 by then, pushing his birth back to 1646. Reference in the Haselfoote will to 'first son' suggests that by 1647, when Henry Haselfoote died, William's brother Thomas might also have been born, making 1645 a likely year for William. Much earlier is unlikely since his mother Magdalen was born in 1628 and is unlikely to have been much younger than 16 when she married.

He was (predictably) involved in tobacco production, since a surviving bill of lading shows him shipping 8 hogsheads of tobacco to London in 1678.[10]

As coinage was not allowed in Virginia, all transactions were conducted in tobacco, and there were few artisans, meaning that most manufactured goods were imported. So if, given his father's profession, this William had been shipping cloth or more likely clothes into Virginia, he would have shipped tobacco back to pay for them.

Clarke in Old King William Homes and Families (1897) saw William as the immigrant father of William Aylett of King William County (d. ca. 1733),[11] though this opinion does not seem to be widely credited. Clarke claimed that William had been granted about 8000 acres by King Charles II, which eventually became the Aylett Fairfield plantation. If this is true, then there is good reason to make the connection. Unfortunately, evidence for this land grant is not cited and it has not been found in any of the usual land grant databases. Fairfield would have been in New Kent county during Charles II's reign.

Alternatively, Edmund Morgan, writing about this period in Virginia [12] points out that orphans usually had their wealth converted to cattle by their guardians, and used the natural increase to buy land when they came of age. If this William was the father of William Aylett of King William County, and the Lydia Aylett buried in 1682 was his mother, then the younger William was orphaned at an early age. That William Aylett of King William County, makes a fairly sudden appearance in 1702 as a prominent citizen, makes this a plausible possibility. The equally sudden appearance of Phillip as a family name in his children and later descendants - a name not used in this William's family of origin or their relations - is suggestive of a Guardian for the younger orphaned William called Phillip, perhaps someone like Phillip Ludwell, though no concrete evidence is so far present for this hypothesis.

Remarkably, every known record of him in Virginia spans a single 12-year period, from 1667-79, so Clarke was probably not unjustified in taking him to be an immigrant.

Research Notes

A wikipedia article (as of 16 Jul 2018) asserts that his father William Aylett of London was a son of Thomas Aylett (1570-1650) of Hovells, in Coggleshall, Essex.[13]. This is confirmed by a baptism in the Coggleshall Parish register [14] and his father's will [15].

Also worth noting - the more I look at this, the more convinced I am that Clarke was right about this being the father of William Aylett of Fairfield. - Ben Buckner

Sources

  1. UK National Archives PROB 11/354/493 William Aylett, Merchant Taylor of London, probate 28 August 1677, written 4 May 1677.
  2. J R Woodhead. "Abrahall - Ayray," in The Rulers of London 1660-1689 A Biographical Record of the Aldermen and Common Councilment of the City of London, (London: London & Middlesex Archaeological Society, 1966), 14-21. British History Online, accessed July 14, 2018, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/london-rulers/1660-89/pp14-21.
  3. Crisp, Frederick Arthur, Collections relating to the family of Crispe, [London, Eng.] : Printed for private circulation only, 1882, p. 13 [1]
  4. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NGD6-J4S : 11 February 2018, William Aylett in entry for Alice Aylett, 20 Jul 1648); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 481,065.
  5. 21 August 1667 re inventory of Sibella's previous husband (York Records Book #4 p389
  6. B. Weisinger, York County, Virginia Records 1665-1672, Iberian Publishing Company, 1987, pp. 29-30.
  7. Virginia. General Assembly. House of Burgesses. Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia, 1659/60-1693. Richmond, Va: [The Colonial Press, E. Waddey Co.], 1914. p. 76 Internet Archive
  8. ibid. p. 81
  9. 9.0 9.1 Goodwin, William A.R. Historical Sketch of Bruton Church. Petersburg, Va.: The Franklin Press Company, 1903, p. 12, 14 Google Books
  10. William Aylett, Bill of lading, 1678 May 15, Tracy W. McGregor Library, Accession # 6075, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.
  11. Peyton Neale Clarke, Old King William Homes and Families, Louisville, KY: Merton And Co., 1897, p. 26, Internet Archive
  12. Morgan, Edmund S. 1975. American slavery, American freedom: the ordeal of colonial Virginia. New York: Norton.
  13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aylett_family_of_Virginia
  14. Essex Records Office D/P 36/1/1 St Peter ad Vincula accessed 9 Jul 2022
    Register of baptisms 1584-1653, 1731-1735; marriages 1561-1653, 1731-1735; and burials 1558-1653, 1731-1735
  15. National Archives PROB 11-213-733 accessed 9 Jul 2022
    Will of Thomas Aylett gentleman of Coggleshall
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Categories: Virginia Colonists