Thomas Harris (abt. 1669 - bef. 1730)

Born about 1669 in Henrico, Colony of Virginia

Husband of Mary Field (Jefferson) Harris — married 1689 in Henrico, Colony of Virginia

Descendants

Died before 6 Jul 1730 before about age 61 in Henrico Parish, Henrico County, Colony of Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Wanda Richards [send private message], Susan Quinn [send private message], George Speed [send private message], and Maria Woodard [send private message]

Biography

Thomas Harris was born about 1669 and died in 1730. ^[1] Note - The beginning sentence of this Thomas Harris’ will names the testator as "Thomas Harris" and the will is signed “Thomas Harris.” There is no additional first name nor middle name.

Parents' Marriage:

1660, "Charles City, Charles, Virginia, United States"^[2]

Birth:

1669, Charles City, Henrico, Virginia^[3][4]

about 1669, Charles City County, Virginia^[5]

Marriage:

At the time of his death, Thomas's wife was named Mary (named executrix of his 1729 will). ^{[6] [7]}

Thomas Harris and Mary Jefferson married 1685, Henrico, Virginia^[3] or 1689 in Henrico Co VA^{[citation needed]}

Children (named in his 1729 will): ^[6][8]

• Son Thomas Harris (not yet 21 in 1729),^[6] died before 1743^[9]
• Son James Harris^[6]
• Son John Harris^[6]
• Daughter Mary James^[6]
• Daughter Edith Trent^[6] (married Henry, son of Henry Trent),^{[citation needed]} married (2) Osborne ^[9], married (3) before 3 Nov 1746, Peter Fitzpatrick.

“Richard Randolph of Curles in Henrico deed from Peter Fitzpatrick and Edith his wife for £20: their claims in 214 acres in Henrico at Warwick "which two tracts of land the said Richard Randolph purchased for a valuable consideration of Henry Trent son to the said Edith as by the said Henry Trent's deed (dated Jan. 7, 1739). Nov. 3, 1746. Sd. Edith relinquishing her dower right upon examination.” Ibid. p. 222. ^[10]

• Son William Harris^[6]
• Son Benjamin Harris^[6][11][9]
• Daughter Sarah Harris^[6]
• Daughter Phebe Harris^[6]
• Daughter Ann Harris^[6]
• Daughter Marthay Pasture^[6]
• Son Francis Harris^[12] (one transcription has "Travis"^[6]), died between May and July 1743^[9]

Death

Between 5 October 1729 and 6 Jul 1730 (date of will and date will proved - see next section)

• Written: October 5, 1729.
• 29 JAN 1730, Henrico, Virginia^[4][3]
• Proved: 6 Jul 1730
• Recorded: 6 Jul 1730, Henrico, Virginia ^[13][3]

Will

Will of Thomas Harris, Sen., of the parish and County of Henrico ^[6][14][15]

A digital image of this will is available at Ancestry ^[16]

Written 5 October 1729^[6][14][12]

Proved 6 Jul 1730^[12]

Recorded 6 July 1730^[6][14]

Wife Mary (executor)^[6][14][12]

Children (see list above)^[6][14][12]

Witnesses: Matthew Branch, William Scott, Thomas Branch^[6][14][12]

Research Notes

Wife Mary

Most researchers agree that he married Mary Jefferson, whose mother was Mary Branch. However, one researcher had the following note (posted on daughter Edith's profile):

"Note that unable to decide who Thomas married - Va Gen 1987 and FFV says he m. Mary Jefferson and Burke's Pres. says Mary Branch who may be d/o of Wm. or d/o Christopher I. ? Latest data suggests he is not son of Major Wm. or grandson of Capt. Thomas Harris. Another says he is son of a merchant of London named George or Thomas [Harris]. BIRTH: s-Va Gen 37-1-26 b-estimate from two depositions in 1689 and 1690. Residence - Charles City until 1689 when he summoned the administrator of his father's will. Moved to Henrico where he died in 1730."^[12]

No, I do not know what Va Gen, FFV, or Burke's Pres. are referring to.

Daughter's Husbands

His will (1729) names daughters Mary James and Martha Pasture.^[6]
His son's will (1743) names siblings Mary James, Martha Pasture, and Edie Osborne.^[9]

His wife's will (1744) names daughters Mary James, Sarah Harris, Marthay Pasteur, Ann Harris. Two lines of the will, which appear to be a bequest, are unreadable.^[17]

His daughter, Sarah's, will (1753) names sisters Mary James, Eadith (Patrick?), and Ann Booth. ^[18]

Daughter Ann is shown in one abstract of his will as "Ann Booth" (with citation to Henrico Co., VA Wills & Deeds 1725-1737, p.272- Weisiger),^[19] but the image of his will (Find A Grave: Memorial #115368617) says Ann Harris. His son's 1743 will names her Ann Harris also.^[9]

Daughter Edith is shown in the transcription of his 1729 will posted with the image of it (Find A Grave: Memorial #115368617) as "Edeth Trout".^[6] The Henrico Co., VA, clerk's handwriting in recording her father's will makes it easy to mistake the surname "Trent" as "Trout." Other abstracts have her as Trent.^[19][14][12] His son's 1743 will shows her as Edie Osborne.^[9] A 1746 Henrico Co., VA, deed shows Edith's husband as Peter Fitzpatrick.

Daughter Phebe was not named in her brother's 1743 will.^[9]

Disputed Parents

There are two conflicting Thomases who are said to be the son of William and Lucy:

• the Thomas who died unmarried and childless in 1679 - his will names "sister-in-law, Loue Harris [and] my Cozen, Richard Lygon"^[20]
• this Thomas, who left a will dated 5 October 1729, naming wife Mary and 12 children.

See the Disputed Son Thomas section on William's profile for details. Following is the "follow the land" short version:

• Land mentioned in the 1729 will of this Thomas:
  • the plantation I now live upon (200 acres "more or less"), to son Thomas^[6]
  • Curles Spring (311 acres), to son James^[6] - Curies Spring noted elsewhere, and it does look like "ies" in image of will; however, the C is not consistent with other Cs in the image.

• Land mentioned in the 1743 will of Francis (son of this Thomas):
  • "to brother James Harris, the plantation left me by my dec'd brother Thomas Harris, called 'Whitby'"^[9]

• Land mentioned in 1728 will of [Major] William Harris:^[15][21] "I settle my landed estate as follows:
  • "To son Thomas, all land below the Ware, next to John Rabon and next to Ashbrooke
  • "To younger sons William and Edward, the rest; William to have the land where I now live and Edward the land next to Ashbrooke. William's land to extend outward next to John Rabon, on Puckett's Path.
• The land below the Ware appears to be the same as that mentioned in a land transaction of Major William's son William in 1694, which names Thomas as the son of Major William, both deceased (this from a transcription of the record; the original should be examined):
  • 31 July 1694 land transaction describes it as "being part of land Maj. Harris died seized of, and was part given by his will to his son Thomas Harris, also dec'd... conveyed by Hon. William Byrd to above William Harris." (citing Henrico Co., VA Deed & Will Bk. 1688-1697, p. 505 - Weisiger)^[19]
  • "(Henrico Co VA Will & Deed Bk. 1799[sic: 1688 meant]-1697, p. 346) William Byrd of Henrico Co Esq. for 220 acres of land CONVEYED TO ME BY WILLIAM HARRIS, SON OF MAJ. WILLIAM HARRIS, dec'd, being land on south side of James River at place called "The Ware," given by will of dec'd, to his son William, grants to said William Harris, LAND BELOW THE WARE RUN, WHICH SAID MAJ. WM. HARRIS, dec'd, DIED SEIZED OF AND IS PART GIVEN TO HIS SON THOMAS HARRIS (ALSO dec'd), bounded by the river, Joseph Tanner, dec'd, and land sold by Maj. Harris to Peter Ashbrook, 250 acres. 1 Oct. 1692. /s/ William Byrd. Wit: Wm. Soane, George Alves. Rec. 1 Oct. 1692^[20]
  • Thomas's 1679 will bequeaths that land to his sister-in-law: "I give and bequeath UNTO MY SISTER-IN-LAW, LOUE [Love] HARRIS, MY LAND AT YE WARE, ACCORDING TO THE BOUNDS SETT IN MY FATHER'S WILL, to her and her heirs forever and give her as much power of the afores'd land as I myself had in my lifetime." (citing Henrico Co. Will & Deed Bk. 1677-1792, p. 90)^[20]

• Land notes from this Rootsweb entry (for this Thomas, with the 1729 will) also mention Byrd, but with a 1736 date and different neighbors: "r-Va Quit Rents-had 327 A; Mary H had 94 and buys from W Byrd dec 1 1736 for 90# 90 A on ss James R below the Falls between John Goode and Page Punch on river."^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ Entered by George Speed, Thursday, February 27, 2014.
2. ↑ The Kinnears and their kin : a memorial volume of history, biography and genealogy, with Revolution
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Ancestry Family Trees, database online. Records for Benjamin Harris, Mary Jefferson, and William Harris.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Ancestry Family Tree, Database online. Record for Thomas Harris
5. ↑ From Ancestry Family Tree - http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=4151977&pid=1960
   • Edmund West, comp., Family Data Collection - Births (Ancestry Online Publication)
   • American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI) Godfrey Memorial Library, comp. Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
   • U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current (Ancestry Online Publication)
   • Global, Find A Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current (Ancestry Online Publication)
6. ↑ ^{6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 6.20 6.21 6.22 6.23} Find A Grave: Memorial #115368617 for Thomas Harris, posted by Gresham Farrar (see images attached to the memorial).
7. ↑ Most researchers name her Mary Jefferson, although one suggests she may have been Mary Branch. See "Wife Mary" under Research Notes (above).
8. ↑ See the Changes tab (this detail page for an unsourced list of possible birth years. Deleted because of obvious error for son Thomas (was shown as oldest, "b. abt 1690", but he is named in the 1729 will as not yet being 21).
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8} See the image attached to this profile, "Will Abstracts". Francis Harris's will names siblings, to include Benjamin and Mary James, Edie Osborne, and Martha Pasture. It also names the plantation that he inherited from his brother Thomas, "called Whitby" (and leaves it to his brother James).
10. ↑ Abstract of deed in “The Edward Pleasants Valentine Papers,” p. 1431. Digital image at Ancestry.com - https://ancstry.me/2MU5qhG . Source: “The Edward Pleasants Valentine Papers Vols I-IV, 1864-1908” [database on-line], Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Valentine, Edward Pleasants, “The Edward Pleasants Valentine papers: abstracts of records in the local and general archives of Virginia relating to the families of Allen, Bacon, Ballard, Batchelder, Blouet, Brassieur (Brashear), Cary, Crenshaw, Dabney, Exum, Ferris, Fontaine, Gray, Hardy, Isham (Henrico County), Jordan, Langston, Lyddall, Mann, Mosby, Palmer, Pasteur, Pleasants, Povall, Randolph, Satterwhite, Scott, Smith (the family of Francis Smith of Hanover County), Valentine, Waddy, Watts, Winston, Womack, Woodson,” Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD, 1979.
11. ↑ Note that the name Benjamin cannot be seen in the image of his will. It is included in the transcription, posted with the image on Find A Grave: Memorial #115368617 (for Thomas Harris, d 1730).
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8} Thomas Harris, entry in Rootsweb tree posted by Robert Juch (accessed 12 Jan. 2019)
13. ↑ U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 (Ancestry Online publication, 2011). Louisville, Kentucky: National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Microfilm, 508 rolls. Text: Death date: 1730
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6} also:
    • This abstract, copyright USGENWEB ARCHIVES; files submitted by Patty White. Will from Henrico Co., Virginia Colonial Wills, Microfiche #6051008 (on file with Family History Library, 85 North West Temple St., Salt Lake City, Utah 84105). Note that it omits daughters Edith and Ann.
    • Other abstracts, posted here & here.
    • The abstract in this GenForum post, citing "Henrico Co., VA Wills & Deeds 1725-1737, p.272- Weisiger", names both Edith Trent and Ann Booth (but the image of the will names "daughter Ann Harris" - no mention of Booth).
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} Henrico County Wills, abstracted & compiled by Benjamin B. Weisiger III
16. ↑ Will of Thomas Harris Senr.. Henrico Co., VA, Deeds and Wills No. 1, Part 1 (1725-1737), p. 272, w. 5 Oct 1729, p. 6 Jul 1730. Digital image at Ancestry.com - https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62347/images/007645095_00323?ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnSee
17. ↑ Will of Mary Harris. Henrico Co., VA, Deed Book (1744-1748), Wills, Settlements of Estates, pp. 78-79, w. 29 Oct 1744, p. First Monday in September 1745. Digital image at Ancestry.com - https://ancstry.me/2EZyNZQ
18. ↑ Will of Sarah Harris. Cumberland Co., VA, WB 1, pp. 72-73, w. 12 Apr 1753, p. 24 Sep (faded). Digital image at Ancestry.com - https://ancstry.me/2QXQspi
19. ↑ ^{19.0 19.1 19.2} GenForum post by Rhoda L. Fone on 19 February 2002 (accessed 12 Jan. 2019), in response to this one by Joanie Long, 2/15/02
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1 20.2} Posted on Harris-888, the profile for Thomas Harris, d 1679.
21. ↑ Posted as a comment on William Harris's profile:
    

    Henrico County Wills, abstracted & compiled by Benjamin B. Weisiger III, page 3:
    
    

    "p. 68 Will of William Harris (this is not called a will, but seems to [one]
    
    

    "I settle my landed estae as follows:
    
    

    "To son Thomas, all land below the Ware, next to John Rabon and next to Ashbrooke
    
    

    "To younger sons William and Edward, the rest; William to have the land where I now live and Edward the land next to Ashbrooke. William's land to extend outward next to John Rabon, on Puckett's Path.
    
    

    "My younger sons are to live with their mother until age 16 if she marries and to age 19 if she does not.
    
    

    "Executors:friends Mr. Thomas Cocke and Mr. William Randolph
    
    

    "Dated 20 April 1678
    
    

    "Wit: Richard Lygon, Ann Stuart
    
    

    "Recorded 1 Feb. 1678"

See also:

• Major William Harris, research by M. Stanhope (2015)
• U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 (Ancestry Online Publication), Volume 9
• Marriage record to Mary Jefferson, with a DNA link to daughter, Mary Harris.
• https://gw.geneanet.org/pasteur?lang=en&p=jean&n=pasteur&oc=9