John Blacknall (abt. 1687 - abt. 1747)

Born about 1687 in Buckinghamshire, England

Husband of Ann (Unknown) Blacknall — married before 1725 in Gloucester, Virginia

Descendants

Died about 1747 at about age 60 in Kington Parish, Gloucester, Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Lonnie Jones [send private message]

Biography

John was born about 1687. John Blacknall ... He passed away about 1747.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ A source for this information is needed.

NCpedia [1]

Title: Reverend Birth: 1692 in Buckinghamshire Co., England 1 Death: ABT MAR 1747/48 in Kingston Parish, Gloucester (Matthews after 1791) Co., VA 2 3 Note: Michael (Mike) Marshall, , of NC has been of enormous help on these Blacknalls, as well as the Brookes family, below. He says of John:

"From my research, and I will only give a thumbnail sketch here, the Blacknalls of Gloucester County descend from the Rev. John Blacknall who graduated A.B. from Christ Church College, Oxford University, England in 1717. He must have been confirmed an Anglican minister by the Bishop of London because he came to North Carolina in July 1725 with the retinue of Sir Richard Everard who arrived in Edenton as the governor newly appointed by the Lords Proprietors of NC. It seems he was accompanied by a son, Charles Blacknall, who was about one year old. The records are silent with respect to whether he brought with him a wife or other children, but it seems likely he would have brought his wife along with him.

"The vestry records of St. Paul's Church in Edenton show Blacknall was installed as rector soon after his arrival. Unfortunately for Blacknall, he soon became embroiled in a spat between Everard and his predecessor, former governor George Burrington. To extricate himself, it seems Blacknall agreed to marry a white man and a mulatto woman which was at the time forbidden by law and punishable by a 50 pound fine. He carried out the marriage then quickly reported himself to the authorities for which he was entitled to a reward of 25 pounds (half the fine). He was charged by the authorities with a misdemeanor but it seems he was advised to remove himself to Virginia which he did.

"Bishop Meade's 1857 volumes "Old Churches, Ministers, and Families of Virginia," record that by 1726, John Blacknall was the minister of St. Stephen's (called Upper and Lower) Parish, Northumberland County, VA. The same year, his name also appears as a temporary minister of Sittenburn Parish which covered parts of Richmond and King George Counties in VA. However, by 1727 he had become permanently settled in Kingston Parish, Gloucester (Matthews after 1791) County, VA where he raised a family. Letters in the Fulham Palace Papers, now in Lambeth Palace Library, London (this is the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury I believe), show that Charles Blacknall was prepared to follow in his father's footsteps as rector, but "the arrival of twins much too early after his marriage raised questions of "misbehavior." " It appears that he overcame this obstacle and finally became rector of Kingston Parish until his own death in 1769. He may be the Charles Blacknall mentioned in the Virginia Gazette of 11 Apr 1771: "To be SOLD for ready Money, at the Raleigh, on Thursday the 2nd of May, Sundry fine Virginia born SLAVES, belonging to the Estate of Mr. Charles Blacknall, deceased." Signed Mary Blacknall and John Dixon: Executors. The add also notes that the sale would also include a "good CHARIOT and HARNESS for four Horses." Other information I found says that the Thomas Blacknall who served in the Revolution and later moved to Granville County, NC was the grandson of the Rev. John Blacknall. If so, he must have been a son of Charles. Whether this is accurate I cannot say.

"The marriage bonds of Middlesex County, VA record the marriage of a Charles Blacknall to Mary Hardin, daughter of George Hardin deceased. This bond is dated 3 Oct 1745. By this date, the Charles Blacknall, son of Rev. John, would have been about 21 years of age assuming he was about 1 year old when he came to NC in 1725, so a marriage at this time would be about right. But it sounds as if he had twins soon after, so the Thomas Blacknall born in 1762 it seems would have been another, later, child.

And also from Mike:

"Rev. John Blacknall was still alive for a vestry meeting held 26 Oct 1747, but at the next vestry meeting held 20 Oct 1748 he was mentioned as deceased, so he died between these two dates. Moreover, at the 20 Oct 1748 meeting, the church vestry agreed to pay Mrs. Ann Blacknall 8141 1/2 pounds of tobacco and cask (salaries were paid in tobacco in those days). The previous year, Rev. John Blacknall received 16,000 pounds of tobacco. From this, it might be concluded that Rev. John's wife was named Ann, and that Rev. John must have lived roughly 8141/16,000 or 6 months following the vestry of 26 Oct 1747. This would suggest he died approximately in March/April 1748. She may be the Mrs. Ann Blacknall who died 24 Sep 1758. Bishop Meade in his volumes says that Rev. John Blacknal [sic] died in 1747."

And more in Apr 2010:

"....In any case, his emails spurred me to look at the Blacknall line one more time. This time around, I turned up a biographical entry for John Blacknall (presumably Rev. John who came to NC in 1725) in the book "Alumni Oxonienses: The Members of the University of Oxford 1500-1714," by Joseph Foster. It states that this John Blacknall was the son of John Blacknall of "Wiccham," Bucks, gent. (Buckinghamshire). At Oxford, he attended Christ Church College, where he matriculated 31 March 1710, aged 18. This would place his date of birth as 1692. He graduated A.B. in 1714.

"In a bio for Colonel Charles Christopher Blackwell, born in Granville County, NC 4 Dec 1830, it is stated that his grandfather's grandfather, the Reverend John Blacknall descended from the Blacknalls of Wing, Buckinghamshire.

"Rev. John's father was of "Wiccham" Bucks, which I believe is actually "Wycombe." There are two parishes there: High Wycombe and West Wycombe. I found that there was a John Blacknall who was mayor of Chipping Wycombe, Bucks., during the period 1694-95, and I suppose this could be the father of Rev. John.

"Colonel Charles C. Blacknall served in Civil War. He was commissioned August 15, 1863; wounded at Seven Pines; captured at Chancellorsville; wounded and captured at Gettysburg; mortally wounded and captured at Winchester, September 19, 1864; and died November 6, 1864 in Virginia. I turned up a picture (not very clear) of him and it is attached. Also attached is a postcard with a picture of Charles' brother, T. H. Blacknall.

"Charles C. Blacknall had a son named Oscar William Blacknall who became a writer and used the pseudonym "David Dodge," in some pieces he wrote. O. W. was born 6 Sep 1852 and died 6 Jul 1918). O. W. married his double first cousin, Carrie Thomas Blacknall, on 27 July 1875. Their children included: Oscar "Ossie" William Blacknall, Jr., Charles Harry, Shields Mallette, Gladys, Kate McClannahan, one child whose name is unknown, and Harcourt. Charles Christopher Blacknall was born in Granville County, NC on 4 Dec, 1830.

"Hope this is of interest, Mike" Indeed it is! Thanks, Mike! Sources: Title: See notes from Mike Marshall which give 1692 Title: Mike Marshall, , March 2007 Title: For this date of death, see note from Mike Marshall in notes, 2007