John Edwards (abt. 1685 - 1743)

Born about 1685 in Westmoreland, Virginia Colony [uncertain]

Husband of Jane (Arrington) Edwards — married after 1715 in Westmoreland, Virginia

Descendants

Died 1743 at about age 58 in King George County, Virginia.

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Biography

He was born about 1685 in Westmoreland, Virginia and was the son of Meredith Edwards and Ann Harrison.

John Edwards married after 1715 in Westmoreland, Virginia to Jane Arrington.

He and his mother were co-executors of his father's estate in August 1712.

He was likely married three times ...

• m1: c1705 (unknown); given their eldest son had a Catholic name, she may have been from Maryland
• m2: 1718 Jane Arrington (daughter of Thomas Arrington and Elizabeth Monroe) ^[1]
• m3: "Ann Edwards" (per his 1743 probate papers).

He appeared in the records of King George County, Virginia from 1723 until his death. Some records call him "Dr. Edwards."

By 1731 he had bought land in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.

From 1737 he served as county Sheriff.

In 1740 he purchased lot#54 in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

He died in 1743 in King George County, Virginia.

On 02 Dec 1743 his estate was in the probate court of King George County, Virginia and was administered by Richard Tutt. By 1747 it had been passed for unknown reasons to Meredith Edwards. ^[2]

Full list of probable children

marriage#1

1. Susanna Edwards, b: c1706; res: St.Paul Parish, Stafford Co, VA; d: bef.1767
2. Ignatius Edwards, b: bef.1709; res: Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, VA; d: 15 Oct 1750
3. Uriah Edwards, b: c1714; res: Spotsylvania Co, VA (speculative); d: 16 Aug 1781.

marriage#2

1. Elizabeth Edwards, b: c1719; res: Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, VA; d: 1792
2. Meredith Edwards, b: c1720; res: Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, VA; d: 16 Oct 1749
3. Andrew Edwards, b: c1723; res: Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, VA; d: July 1788
4. Robert Edwards, b: c1725; res: Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, VA; d: aft.1756
5. William Edwards, b: c1728; res: Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, VA; d: 09 Nov 1813
6. Bridget Edwards, b: c1734; res: Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, VA; d: aft.1758
7. Thomas Edwards, b: c1736; res: Fauquier Co, VA & Buncombe Co, NC; d: c1809

NOTE: It is also possible that his last two children were by his third wife, Ann Edwards.

Research Notes

Notes on the Chancellor Hypothesis, naming John's parents as William Edwards and Ann Harrison. This theory appears in "The King Family" journal article as seen below.

source: "The King Family" by Goode King Feldhauser & edited by George M. G. Stafford about 1949 p5-6

The Edwards family was one of the most prominent among the early pioneers who settled this country. Before crossing the ocean to the wilds of America they had been in Denbigh, Wales, for many centuries. They can easily be traced back to Sir John Griffith Lloyd, a direct descendant of Roderick the Great, King of Wales in 824.

Richard Edwards of Denbigh had four sons: Richard, William, John, and Thomas. Richard, the eldest of these, left Wales during the reign of Queen Elizabeth and settled in Chester, England, where he was a minister of the established church. He later removed to London and at the time of his death was prelate to the queen.

His son, Thomas, was knighted by royal decree in 1624. This Sir Thomas Edwards had five sons: William, John, Thomas, Robert, and Edmund. The eldest, William Edwards (1620-1685), came to America with his mother and step-father, John Cole, of London and settled in Hartford, Connecticut (1639), where he married and left numerous descendants, thus establishing the well known family of that name in New England.

John, Richard, William, and Thomas Edwards, grandsons of Richard of Wales, came to Virginia, and John, the eldest settled in Northumberland County. His son, John Edwards, Jr., was a vestryman in Lancaster County, and then removed to Surry County where he was a burgess. He married Frances Cole and their son, William Edwards, member of the House of Burgesses in 1653, lived in Surry County and married Dorothy Withers.

Among their children was William Edwards, Jr., also a burgess from Surry, who married Ann Harrison, daughter of Col. Benjamin Harrison, the "Councillor" (progenitor of two Presidents of the United States), and they were the parents of John Edwards who married Jane Arrington.

This latter couple lived in Prince William County and later moved to Spotsylvania County. John Edwards was a Captain in the colonial militia and was with the First Virginia Regiment in the French and Indian War. His wife, Jane Arrington was a daughter of Thomas Arrington of Westmoreland County.

The Chancellor Hypothesis Debunked

The Chancellor Hypothesis (William Edwards married Ann Harrison) first appears in the book "Leaves from the Chancellor, Fitzgerald, Cooper, Edwards Tree..." by Dr. C. W. Chancellor in 1895. https://archive.org/stream/leavesfromchance00chan#page/22/mode/2up

The hypothesis is impossible for the reasons noted here: https://edwardsvirginiagenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/11/a-walk-through-various-errors-in.html

And here: https://edwardsvirginiagenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-origin-of-edwards-harrison-theory.html

Sources

1. ↑ "The Monroe Family" by Brooke Payne & Geo. Harrison Sanford King; published in The William & Mary Quarterly v13 #4 (Oct 1933) p231-241
2. ↑ King George County, Virginia Order Book

• Wills of Westmoreland County, Virginia 1654-1800 p47 by Augusta B. Fothergill

• Deed Books of Spotsylvania County, Virginia A-C

• King George County, Virginia Order Book#2 (1735-1751) part#2 c; p348-716

• https://edwardsvirginiagenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/04/william-edwards-was-not-from-surry.html

• https://edwardsvirginiagenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-origin-of-edwards-harrison-theory.html

• https://edwardsvirginiagenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/11/a-walk-through-various-errors-in.html

• https://archive.org/stream/leavesfromchance00chan#page/22/mode/2up