Thomas Key (abt. 1595 - abt. 1636)

Born about 1595 in England

Descendants

Died about 1636 at about age 41 in Isle of Wight, Colony of Virginia [uncertain]

Biography

Thomas Key is a Qualifying Ancestor of the Jamestowne Society

Thomas Key was a Virginia colonist.

Biographical Sketch of Elizabeth Key^[1]

Thomas Key,^[2] English planter and member of the Virginia House of Burgesses for Denby in 1629-30.^[3]

Before his death in 1636, Thomas indentured his daughter Elizabeth to Humphrey Higginson until she was 15 years old. Higginson returned to England and sold her indentureship to Col. John Mottram of Northumberland County. Colonel John Mottram died in 1655 and the heirs of his estate did not honor the contract of indentureship.^[4]

Elizabeth's mother was an enslaved person. At that time, a child born of a free father was also free.

In her 1655 case for freedom, Elizabeth's attorney was William Greensted (or Grinsted). The case was referred to the Virginia General Assembly. They directed that the lower courts should rule that she and her son, John, should be freed.

Immigration

Name: Thomas Key

Arrival Year: 1619

Arrival Place: Virginia^[5]

Arrival Year: 1624

Returned with wife: Sarah.^[5]

Slaves

• Unknown Key (abt. 1610 - bef. 1655) - mother of the below-named daughter
• Elizabeth (Key) Grinstead - indentured daughter

Children

Name: Thomas Key

Gender: Male

Child: Elizabeth Key

Research Notes

• Given that a burial cemetery is noted in Find A Grave: Memorial #101040234, these details may be dispositive:

Birth: 1590, England

Death: 1636 (aged 45–46), Isle of Wight County, Virginia, USA

Burial: Antioch Christian Church Cemetery, Windsor, Isle of Wight County, Virginia, USA

NOTE: Isle of Wight wasn't named until 1637, per the database, so the death location is marked as uncertain. FindAGrave traditionally defaults to the current place name as opposed to the location name that applied when the person was born or died, thus, a more precise, period specific place name would be preferred.

• As an ancient planter, Thomas Key owned land on Warwick (Warwicksqueake) River.[1][2]
• 1626 Virginia House of Burgesses; served for Denbigh, 1629-1630.[1][2]
• His wife was named Martha.[1][2] She obtained 150 acres on the Warwicksqueake River 2 Dec 1626, which was granted by F West.[2]

[1] NOTE: A typographical error gives the wrong century for his years of service as burgess for Denbigh. Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, ed. Encyclopedia of Virginia biography. Vol. I. 1915, p. 272. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company.

[2] Stanard, W G. Virginia Land Patents. Virginia Historical Magazine and The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Vol 2, No 1. Jul 1894, p. 68. Virginia Historical Society.

Sources

1. ↑ Colonial Williamsburg, Slavery and Remembrance: A guide to sites, museums, and memory, website, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Elizabeth Key.
2. ↑ Key, Thomas - A4603; Denby: 1630 (Burgess). accessed 29 September 2021
3. ↑ Stanard, William G. and Mary Newton Stanard. The Colonial Virginia Register. Albany, N. Y.: Joel Munsell's Sons, Publishers. 1902. page 56
4. ↑ Elizabeth Key Grinstead, Wikipedia. 22 Sep 2018, amb
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} 1619: Virginia; Page Number: 34. 1624, Virginia; Page Number 214. Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s ([database on-line]). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010. 22 Sep 2018, amb

Acknowledgments

WikiTree profile Key-221 created through the import of export_15_aug_2011.ged on 15 Aug 2011 by Taco Goulooze. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Taco and others.