Thomas Duke (abt. 1645 - aft. 1707)

Born about 1645 in England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died after 1707 after about age 62 in Nansemond County, Virginia

Biography

The date and place of birth of Thomas Duke of Nansemond County, VA, is unknown. It is likely but not proven that he was born in England. He appeared in Virginia in Chuckatuck, site of a substantial Quaker settlement.^[1]

He is sometimes identified as the son of the individual who appears in Nansemond County records as Thomas Dew, and as a consequence is listed as Thomas Duke II. This is incorrect. Thomas Dew of Nansemond County, Virginia, was an entirely different individual, whose family can be traced separately. We therefore refer to this Thomas Duke as Thomas Duke I of Nansemond.

On 22 Oct 1667 Thomas Duke in the Parish of Chuckatuck, Nansemond County, gave power of attorney to William Epam [Exum] to receive cattle belonging to his wife Margaret that were in the care of Silvester Thacker in Rappahannoch.^[2] Thatcher or Thacker as first granted land in 1643 on Pagan Point in Isle of Wight Co VA, with Anthony Fulliam.^[3] However, he soon moved on. In 1650 Thacker was granted a thousand acres on the Rappananock.^[4] In 1656 Thacker acquired 1000 acres on the Rappahanock, and again in 1660. ^[5][6] Margaret Thacker was probably the wife of Thomas Duke.

Thomas Duke appears in the records of the Virginia Yearly Meeting as the father of a son, Thomas Duke, on 7 Aug 1671.^[7] This Thomas Duke was the founder of the Nansemond County, Virginia, family with the surname Duke.

11 May 1680 Thomas DUKE & Henry Hackley & Nathan Newby witnessed the marriage of Edmund Belson of Nans. Co. & Jean Riddick, the daughter of Robert Riddick of same county.(m. 11th day of ye 5th month 1680) ^[8]

Disambiguation: The Thomas Dew who is mistakenly identified on occasion as the immigrant leading to the Nansemond Duke family can be easily distinguished in religious records. The Dew family was Church of England (Anglican) while the Duke family of Nansemond were members of the Society of Friends.

• Death had to be after 1707 due to consent of marriage of daughter Margaret to Moses Hall per source.

Sources

• marriage consent of daughter Margaret to Moses Hall 1707;

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015051447657&seq=40

1. ↑ Chuckatuck, Virginia Friend Meeting. Early Quaker Records in Virginia. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1977.
2. ↑ Old Rappahannock Co VA Deeds Bk 3: 345
3. ↑ Isle of Wight County VA Records. William and Mary College Historical Quarterly Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 4, P. 291.
4. ↑ Land Office Patents No. 2, 1643-1651, p. 263 (Reel 2).
5. ↑ Land Office Patents No. 3, 1652-1655, p. 388 (Reel 2).
6. ↑ Land Office Patents No. 4, 1655-1664, p. 601 (Reel 4).
7. ↑ Virginia Yearly Meeting Minutes. Ancestry.com. U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
8. ↑ 11 may 1680 Virginia Annual Meeting Book, Society of Friends, p.p. 193-194.

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