Isabella (Beach) Martiau (abt. 1605 - bef. 1657)

Wife of Nicholas Martiau — married 1645 in York County, Virginia

Died before 1657 before about age 52 in York County, Virginia Colony [uncertain]

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Biography

Isabella (Beach) Martiau was a Virginia colonist.

Isabella / Sibella Unknown

Unknown Origin

The origin and parents of Isabella are unknown. Birth date 1605 is a guess, based on the birth date of her husband.

Marriage

Isabella married at least three times, possibly four times.

• She married to Unknown Atkins /Adkins.^[1]

• She married Capt. Robert Felgate. His will is dated 30 September 1644.

• She married to George Beach / Beech.

• She married to Nicholas Martiau.

Isabella married before 5 November 1646, as his third, to Nicholas Martiau.^[2] Some researchers believe Nicholas married once, some twice, and some three times. The first is usually thought to be an unknown wife (sometimes called "Elizabeth"). The third is said to be Isabella Beech, but she must have predeceased him, as she is not mentioned in his will.^[2]

• If Nicholas Maritiau married three times, he married, as his 1st, to (Elizabeth?) Unknown.^{[citation needed]}

• Nicholas Martiau married by 1625, possibly as his 2nd, and as her 1st, to Jane (Unknown) Bartley/Berkeley, the widow of the prominent settler, Lieut. Edward Berkeley/Bartley.^[3]

• He married after 1640^[2] or 1645^[4] to Isabella Beech.

Nicholas Martiau died in 1651^[5]

Death and Legacy

Isabella was not mentioned in the will of Nicholas Martiau (proved April 24, 1657 at York County, Virginia), so she must have predeceased him.^[2]

Research Notes

McCarthy identifies Isabella as "the widow of Capt. Robert Felgate."^[6]

Richard Lee settled in York county about 1642, in which year he obtained a patent for land. Before the massacre in 1644 he lived at Tindall's Creek, on the Gloucester side. May 25, 1646, "William Whitby, gentleman", sold Lee 100 acres at the same place, part of a larger dividend purchased by George Ludlow and William Whitby of Argall Yeardly, Esq. On January 29, 1644-'45, Henry Lee and Richard Lee, planters, both of the county of York, acknowledged themselves indebted to Mrs. Sibella Felgate, widow of Captain Rober Felgate, gentleman, deceased, in the sum of 20,000 weight of "good and merchantable tobacco" for saving harmless the said Mrs. Felgate, who had given to Henry Lee nine head of cattle "belonging to John Adkins, and formerly in the custody of Captain Robert Felgate, as having married the mother of the said John Adkins, who is the brother of Marah, the wife of the above-bounden Henry Lee.^[7]

Note: [need to see original]

1646, 5 Nov: York Co., VA Court orders that Capt. Nicholas MARTIAU pay Mr. Wm. PRYOR 855 lbs. of tobacco out of his own crop, owed 20 Oct last. The court also finds that by specialty under the hand of Isabella BEECH she owes Mr. William PRYOR 337 lbs. tobacco to be paid out of her own crop the 20th Oct last. Order that Capt. Nicholas MARTIAU who hath entermaryed with the said Isabella BEECH shall make payment out of his own crop within 10 days.

Sources

1. ↑ Stanard, William G. and Mary Newton Stanard. The Colonial Virginia Register. Albany, N. Y.: Joel Munsell's Sons, Publishers. 1902. Page 55
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Stoudt, John B., Nicolas Martiau, the Adventurous Huguenot, the Military Engineer, and the Earliest American Ancestor of George Washington. (Page 44) Norristown, PA: Norristown Press, 1932, accessed October 30, 2014
3. ↑ Lewis, Mark, Lewis at Home: Chapter 9 – Councilor John Lewis 9 Jul 2011, accessed September 29, 2014
4. ↑ (Oct., 1905) "Reade Family." The William and Mary Quarterly. Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture JSTOR.org accessed 16 September 2016 (Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 117-125).
5. ↑ Berkley, H. J., (Apr., 1918) "Notes and Queries: Berkeley of Beverstone and Early Colonial Virginia." The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Virginia Historical Society JSTOR.org accessed 10 October 2016 (Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 201-204).
6. ↑ McCartney, Martha W., Documentary History of Jamestown Island Vol. III: Biographies of Owners and Residents, Colonial National Historical Park (Agency), Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Va., 2000, online NPS.gov Pages 234-235.
7. ↑ 'Washington and his Neighbors; Wm. and Mary Qrtly., Vol. 4, No. 1, 1895, Transcribed by Kathy Merrill for the USGenWeb Archives Special Collections Project http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/schools/wmmary/washington.txt USGenWeb], Pages 38-39.

See also:

• Register of Maryland's Heraldic Families Vol 1, page 127

• Source: S474 Title: Ancestry Family Trees

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Jerry Powers for creating WikiTree profile Beech-67 through the import of Powers-White-Beddo Lines_2013-03-17_01.ged on Mar 17, 2013.

Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Jerry and others.