Nathaniel West Dandridge Sr. (1729 - 1786)

Born 7 Sep 1729 in Elsing Green, King William, Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Dorothea (Spotswood) Dandridge — married 18 Jun 1747 in Hanover County, Virginia

Husband of Jane (Pollard) Dandridge — married 3 Aug 1779 in Goochland, Virginia, United States

Descendants

Died 16 Jan 1786 at age 56 in West Point, York County, Virginia, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: John Thompson [send private message]

This profile is part of the Dandridge Name Study.

Biography

Colonel Nathaniel Dandridge Sr. performed Patriotic Service in Virginia in the American Revolution.

Nathaniel Dandridge Sr. is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A029516.

Nathaniel Dandridge Sr. is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor.
NSSAR Ancestor #: P143439
Rank: PS

Nathaniel West Dandridge was born in 1729^[1][2][3] at his parents’ home of Elsing Green in King William County, Virginia.

Both Nathaniel Dandridge and his first wife, Dorothea Spotwood, were descendants of Norman and Plantagenet Kings of England, Nathaniel through the West’s and Lord Delaware, Dorothea through her father, Major General Alexander Spotwood^[4]

Nathaniel married Dorothea Spotswood in 1747.^{[2] [3]} The following children of this union are listed^[2]: Martha, William, Alexander Spotswood, John, Dorothea, Robert, N. W., Eliza, Anna K. and Mary C. [Note: (1) Anne’s birth date is even before her father’s, and (2) there is an unusual gap in the birth dates of Anna (1767) and Mary (1772) that would allow for the birth of Agnes (reference needed); (3) Although "C" is good for Claiborne in "Mary C.", "K" is not good for "Anna K" if "Catharina" is meant (reference needed).]

Nathaniel acquired 4,832 acres of land in the southeast corner of Hanover County, Virginia, in 1753 by legacy of his mother, Unity West Dandridge.

He held a commission in the British Royal Navy.

He was a member of the Virginia Cavalry Association, a volunteer cavalry outfit. At a meeting of the association in Fredericksburg, VA, on 20 May 1756, he was chosen to be a Captain. At this time the unit of 130 men was preparing to march to Winchester, Virginia, under Colonel Peyton Randolf.

It is uncertain when Nathaniel moved his family to Hanover Co., VA.

He was a member of the House of Burgess 1756-1764.^[5] or online at New River Notes: Virginia Colonial Register^[6]

It was at Colonel Nathaniel Dandridge’s Plantation on Turkey Creek in December of 1759 that Thomas Jefferson first met Patrick Henry. Patrick Henry was a near neighbor of the Dandridge’s and Nathaniel’s lawyer.

A year earlier, Nathaniel’s niece, Martha Dandridge Custis, had married Col. George Washington, the eventual General of the Revolution and “Father of our Country.”

• Ancestor of actress Hillary Duff^[7]

Marriage

His wife, Dorothea, died in 1773, and Nathaniel married Jane Pollard in 1779. Marriage bond^[8][9] There was no known issue of this marriage.

Nathaniel West Dandridge British navy [son of Captain William Dandridge of Elsing Green] married Dorothea Spotswood [1732-1773], daughter of Governor Spotswood.^[10]

They had 10 children:

1. Martha Dandridge married Archer "Archy" Payne*
2. William Dandridge, born 6 Apr 1750 [who was lame], married Ann Bolling
3. Alexander Spotswood Dandridge, born 1 Aug 1753, married Anne Stephen
4. John Dandridge, born 15 Apr 1756, married Elizabeth Booth
5. [[Dandridge-9|Dorothea Dandridge, born 25 Sept 1757, was second wife of Patrick Henry, Jr. of "Red Hill,"Virginia. Patrick Henry was then Governor of Virginia, and was also of royal descent
6. Robert Dandridge, born 21 June 1760, married Mildred Aylett Allen
7. [[Dandridge-12|Nathaniel West Dandridge, born 26 Oct 1762, married Sarah Bigger Watson
8. Elizabeth Dandridge, born 12 Dec 1764, married Philip Payne* 11
9. Anna Katherine Dandridge, born 27 July 1767, married her cousin, John Spotswood Moore
10. Mary Claiborne Dandridge, born 14 Jan 1772, married George Woodson Payne*

• All three Payne men who married Dandridge girls were sons of John Payne of Goochland. These marriages of brothers to sisters created "double cousins".

Military

Although a record of his military service in the Revolutionary War is not yet referenced, he was one of 116 men who signed the Hanover Petition of 24 May 1782. ^[11] The petitioners were objecting to the proposed drafting of militia instead of recruiting for the army by using the normal bounties or other inducements. Over half of these men had already served in Continental regiments or in other state or local units, so their objection seems justified.

From various records in Henning Statutes, Nathaniel seemed to have had his financial ups and downs. Still, in 1781, he is said to have had 124 slaves and lands valued at ₤1600. His will, dated October 8, 1782, left his second wife, Jane Pollard, “the use of the Tact of Land I live on containing about seven thousand acres being what I reserved for my self when I laid of several tact’s for my sons...”

Death

Nathaniel died on his Plantation in Hanover County, at 2:00 AM, Monday, January 16 1786. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

"On January 16, 1786, fifteen minutes after 2 o'clock in the morning, departed this life Nathaniel West Dandridge, Sr., born 7th of September, 1729, in King and Queen County." ^[12]

Nathaniel West Dandridge's Will states he left 1700 acres to Jane not 7000. He at one time had about 4500 acres on Allens Creek and around 1400 on Turkey Creek. The homesite property eventually was reduced to about 700 acres when his second wife Jane lived there with her second husband Thomas Underwood.

Property

He owned property on Turkey Creek but did not live there. His plantation was on Allen's Creek. I just completed an article for the next Hanover County Historical Society Bulletin about my locating his plantation site and the grave of his second wife Jane Pollard and her second husband Thomas Underwood. I would think Nathaniel West Dandridge is buried there too but can not say that for sure since I have not found anything in my research saying that he was indeed buried at his plantation. There are at least 8 depressions visible in the cemetery. None of the graves are marked.^[13]

PLEASE NOTE: ANNE DANDRIDGE (Dandridge-218), WAS PREVIOUSLY CONSIDERED A DAUGHTER OF NATHANIEL WEST DANDRIDGE (Dandridge-3), FATHER, AND DOROTHEA SPOTSWOOD (Spotswood-1), MOTHER, AS WELL AS TRUE, VERIFIED CHILDREN OF NATHANIEL AND DOROTHEA. HOWEVER, THIS SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN AN ERROR BECAUSE HER BIRTHDATE PREDATES THE BIRTH OF NATHANIEL WEST DANDRIDGE. FURTHERMORE, NO REFERENCE WAS INCLUDED WITH THE PROFILE NOR HAS ONE BEEN LOCATED THAT SUGGESTS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ANNE AND NATHANIEL AND DOROTHEA (SPOTSWOOD) DANDRIDGE. ANNE HAS BEEN DISCONNECTED WITH HER SOLE LISTED CHILD.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Entered by Arik Russell, Nov 26, 2012
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} William & Mary Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. V, No. 2, Whittet and Shepperson, Publishers and Printers, October 1896, pp. 81-2, viewable on JSTOR (free account required)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. XXII, 1914, pp. 96-97, Internet Archive
4. ↑ .Browning, Charles H., Americans of Royal Descent (1883) Pgs 94-94, 175-176, 246-247. Entered by Vicki Norman, Nov 24, 2013.
5. ↑ Stanard, William G and Mary N., The Colonial Virginia Register, Joel Munsell’s Sons, Publishers, Albany, N.Y., 1902, pp. 142-165,
6. ↑ Virginia Colonial Register Accessed 9/20/2016.
7. ↑ "Hillary Duff." Who Do You Think You Are? (Season 10, Episode 4). TLC. 4 June 2018.
8. ↑ William & Mary Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. VII, Whittet and Shepperson, Publishers and Printers, 1899, p. 105.
9. ↑ Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. XXII, 1914, pp. 317) .)
10. ↑ Spotswood Family: Dorothea Spotswood
11. ↑ Eckenrode, H. J., Archivist, List of Revolutionary Soldiers of Virginia, Virginia Stage Library, 9th Report, 1912, p. 127.
12. ↑ The Seldens from Virginia by Mary Selden Kennedy. Vol II. North Carolina State Library
13. ↑ Email sep 20, 2017 from Robert Szabo Montpelier, VA

See also:

• Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed September 1, 2016), "Record of Nathaniel West Dandridge", Ancestor # A029516.
• Source: S1659360102 Repository: #R-2145023627 U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Repository: R-2145023627 Ancestry.com Note:

• The Ancestry of Edith Bolling web page, (http://members.aol.com/ttrim36387/bollped.html#mj 1999), "Electronic."

Acknowledgements

• This person was created through the import of indygrandma.ged on 02 January 2011.
• This person was created on 18 March 2011 through the import of knox17032011.ged.
• WikiTree profile Dandridge-237 created through the import of Vicki Norman family tree v2 (3).ged on Aug 1, 2012 by Vicki Norman. Note: Seventh great grandfather of Vicki Norman
• WikiTree profile Dandridge-219 created through the import of My Ancerstors.ged on Jul 2, 2011 by Mike Snider.
• This person was created through the import of Morris_gedcom.ged on 11 June 2010.