William Churchill
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William Churchill (abt. 1649 - 1710)

William Churchill aka Churchhill [uncertain]
Born about in North Aston, Oxfordshire, Englandmap [uncertain]
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 1667 in Middlesex County, Virginiamap
Husband of — married 5 Mar 1703 in Middlesex County, Virginiamap
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 60 in Middlesex County, Virginia Colonymap [uncertain]
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Contents

Biography

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William Churchill was a Virginia colonist.

William Churchill AKA Churchhill

Origin

William was baptized December 2, 1649 at North Aston, Oxfordshire, England.[1] He was the youngest of eleven children of John Churchill and Dorothy (Unknown) Churchill.[1]

Immigrated to Virginia

The date of William's immigration is unknown. His name appears first in record when he witnessed a document in Middlesex County, Virginia in February 1, 1675.[1] (Technically it was his arrival, not immigration, because Virginia was a colony of England. And many colonists made the trip more than once, so more than one arrival is often recorded.)

Family

William married at least twice. He seems to have married 1) Mary Unknown. Very little is known about this marriage. A 1683 document mentions his wife, Mary Churchill.[1] Another document in 1693 mentions his wife, but it is unclear whether this is the same wife as the 1683 Mary.[1] It has been said that he had two daughters born before 1700, but there is no documentation.[1] (The "seems to have" phrase is misleading; we do know for certain that he married Mary, but her maiden name remains unknown. And the Dec. 20, 1683 deed indicates he had two daughters by her.)

William married on October 5, 1703, as his (at least) 2nd, to Elizabeth (Armistead) Wormeley, widow of Ralph Wormeley.

Children of Elizabeth (Armistead) Wormeley and William Churchill: July 25, 1704

Middlesex County, Virginia

William served in several offices for the county of Middlesex. He was Sheriff in 1674, a member of the Council in 1705, and and Secretary of State of Virginia.[2] William was serving as colonel in the Middlesex county militia by 1706.

Virginia House of Burgess

William Churchill[3] was elected to the House of Burgesses in 1691,1692 and 1704.[1] He was asked to serve in 1705 as council member for the newly appointed governor, Edward Nott and attended through the meeting of October 27, 1710.[1]

Note

Note: William received land in Middlesex Co.; in 1696 and was a Clerk of the county for many years.
According to his own disposition and will, he was born in 1649 in North Aston. The arms of the family as represented on a wax seal attached to a deed of his son, Armistead, identify him as belonging to the family of Churchill settled in the Counties of Devon, Somerset and Dorset, during the reigns of King John, Henry III, and Edward I.
William Churchill, of "Bushy Park" and "Wilton," Middlesex county, was born in Oxfordshire, England about 1650 and came to Virginia prior to 1687, when he was a justice of Middlesex. He became a man of large wealth and prominence in the colony and owned two estates in his county, entirely across which his lands were stated to extend. He married Elizabeth Armistead, daughter of Col. John Armistead, and widow of Ralph Wormeley, secretary of state; and left issue. Virginia Biography, Councillors, pg 130.[4]
10 Mar 1710/1711: The will of William Churchill bears the date of 18 Nov 1710, and was proved 10 Mar 1710/11 in Middlesex Co., VA. He required his burial to be "without any great doeings, save a sermon to admonish the living upon the words, 'Set thine house in order, for thou shalt dye and not live,' in Second Kings, 20 chapter, and the latter part of the first verse."
  • He gave L100 sterling to the vestry of Christ Church Parish, for interest of which was to be given to the minister "for preaching four quarterly sermons against the four reigning vices of atheism and irreligion, swearing and cursing, fornication and adultery, and drunkenness, " and the interest of L25 sterling bestowed on the clerk for attending to said sermons.
  • To the poor of the parish of Christ Church, in London, he gave L10 sterling, and the same amount to the poor of North Aston in Oxfordshire the place of his nativity.
  • To his wife, Elizabeth, he gave a gold watch and L1,000 sterling and her part of his negroes for life, and after her death, to his son, Armistead; he gave her besides "my new calash I expect out of England."
  • To his daughter, Priscilla, L1,000 sterling, and
  • to his daughter, Elizabeth, L100, leaving his wife to advance her fortune out of her own.
  • To Armistead Churchill, his son and heir, he gave the bulk of his estate in Virginia and England and

made executors of his wife, his son and daughters, his kinsmen Nicholas and John Goodwin, of London, his "son-in-law" (step-son) Ralph Wormeley,and overseers of his will his brothers, Mr. William Armistead and Mr. Harry Armistead and friends, Mr. Nathaniel Burwell, Mr. John Holloway and Mr. John Clayton.

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Egloff, Nancy D., and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "William Churchhill (1649–1710)", Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, last modified 22 Aug. 2013, Web accessed July 28, 2014
  2. Berkeley, Edmund, transcriber, editor, annotator, "The Diary, Correspondence and Papers of Robert "King" Carter of Virginia, 1701-1732"
  3. Churchill, William - A1702; born 1649, died 1711, Middlesex Co.: 1691-92 (Burgess), 1705-10 (Councillor). accessed 16 September 2021
  4. Tyler, Lyon G., Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Vol I. (Page 60) New York: Lewis historical publishing company, 1915, Open Library, Web accessed July 28, 2014

Acknowledgments

21 Feb 2011 import of Acrossthepond.ged





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Comments: 4

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Does anyone know where the date 1667 for the marriage of Mary (Churchill) to William Churchill came from and why it is in Middlesex Co, VA? If William did not arrive until the around 1674/5 (or perhaps a couple years earlier???) where he is mentioned as a deputy sheriff and also is listed in testament to he and Mary owning land, isn't it more likely they married in England and then came to Virginia?? I'd love to see any data folks have for the 1667 date and also the marriage happening in Middlesex Co.
posted by Sylvia Vertrees
In looking through the family, it would appear that it is based on the birth of the first daughter.
posted by Robin Lee
I'd like to see if we can confirm he is buried in the Christ Church cemetery (which is almost certain), and whether there is an inscribed headstone for him.
posted by [Living Anonymous]
Churchill-300 and Churchill-279 appear to represent the same person because: same parents and birth, death is unsourced
posted by Robin Lee