Sarah (Poythress) Hamlin (1731 - 1788)

Born 7 Aug 1731 in Prince George, Colony of Virginia [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of Stephen Hamlin — married about 1750 in Bristol, Washington, Virginia

Descendants

Died 28 Jun 1788 at age 56 in Sussex, Virginia, United States

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Descendant of Elena Vere.

Sarah (Poythress) Hamlin was born in Virginia.

Biography

Sarah (Sally) Poythress was born the 7th of August, 1731, to William Poythress Sarah Eppes (daughter of Col. Francis Eppes and Ann Isham) in Bristol Parish ^[1], Sarah was christened October 7, 1731, at Bristol Parish, Prince George, Virginia.^[2]

Marriage and Issue

She first married Robert Cryer 1724–1746 they had one daughter Elizabeth in 1746. she then married In 1750 to Stephen Hamlin in Bristol, Washington, Virginia, USA^[3]

Stephen and Sarah were the parents of:

i. William Hamlin, b. ca. 1750, Surry Co., Va.

ii. Susannah Hamlin, b. ca. 1753

iii. Nancy (Nanne) Hamlin, b. ca. 1755, Sussex Co., Va..

iv. Mary (Molly) Hamlin, b. 10 Apr., 1757, Sussex Co., Va.

v. Charles Hamlin, b. 22 Apr., 1760, Sussex Co., Va.

vi. John Hamlin, b. 8 Mar., 1763, Sussex Co., Va.

Freed their slaves

She was the mother of John, Charles, & William who came to Ohio. She and her sons freed their slaves in 1788, after the Revolution. Both William and Charles had emancipated their slaves before there mother Sarah did. Since the estate had not been settled at the time that Sarah relinquished her slaves, It is interesting to note that Sarah had been asked by the Quakers to free her slaves in 1782. It is recorded in the Black Water Monthly Meeting, the 19th of October, 1782, that "Sarah, an elder, refused to free her slaves at this time, 'saying she does not see it to be her duty at present'." ^[4] Another legal document ensued: We the heirs and Legatus of Stephen Hamlin Deceased do for ourselves our Heirs & Relinquish all our Right Title, Interest Claim & Demand to the above named negroes In witness whereof we have hereto set our hands and seals this Fourteenth day of the twelfth Month in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven hundred and Eighty eight ^[5]

"Sarah Cryer nee Poythress"

Although the maiden name of Sarah Cryer Hamlin can not be proven, it is possible that she was Sarah Poythress who was born the 7th of August, 1731, to William Poythress and Sarah Eppes in Bristol Parish, Prince George Co., Va. The reason for this supposition is that Sarah Hamlin's grandson, William, had Poythress as his middle name as did another descendent. William Poythress was the son of John Poythress; the grandson of Major Francis Poythress; and the great grandson of Capt. Francis Poythress who arrived in Virginia in 1733. ^[6] Sarah Eppes was the daughter of Francis Eppes. If Sarah Cryer was the former Sarah Poythress, she was about sixteen when she married Robert Cryer.

In a Historical Sketch of the Hamlin Family written by E. L. Sebrell, Limaville, Ohio, August 25th, 1894, and copied by Daisy Wood the 15th of August, 1899, Stephen Hamlin's wife was said to be "a widow lady by the name of Sarah Portress (one of the several spellings for Poythress) whose maiden name was Cryer." It has been proven that the widow was Sarah Cryer; so Poythress could have been Sarah's maiden name. Andrews, in his study of the Hamlin family, stated "Sarah Cryer nee Poythress". Because many of his statements were not documented the information given is not necessarily authentic.

In Virginia Tax Papers, 1782 1787, on page 54, Stephen Hamlin had 30 slaves in Dinwiddie County. Could this be the estate of the Stephen Hamlin who married Sarah Cryer since the land was not divided until 1790? Practically all the records in Dinwiddie County were destroyed during the War Between The States, as were some of the records of Surry, Sussex and Prince George County, making it very difficult to obtain a complete history of the legal transactions of the Hamlin Family.

'Notable family members'

• Sarah Eppes (daughter of Col. Francis Eppes and Ann Isham). married Col. William POYTHRESS after 1726. If you look closely at her headstone which sits directly behind the church at Blandford Cemetery (next to her husband Col. William Poythress), you will see a dent in the headstone. It is believed that her headstone was hit with a canon ball during the Revolutionary War. Testing has been done and a canon ball from that time period fits there perfectly. - Mother
• Henry Isham son of William Isham, Gent, of Little Harrowden, Northhamptonshire, (third son of Euseby Isham, Knt., and his wife Anne Borlase, daughter of John and Anne (Lytton) Borlase).Emigrated about 1656 to America, where he settled in the Bermuda Hundred, Henrico County, Virginia.His occupation was as an attorney. and He became the ancestor of such notable Americans as President Thomas Jefferson, Confederate General Robert E. Lee, and Chief Justice John Marshall. -great grandfather ^[7]
• Francis Poythress "came to Virginia about 1633, and patented lands on James river, in that part of Charles City county now known as Prince George. He was burgess for Charles City county in 1645 and 1647, and for Northumberland county in 1649. He had the rank of captain. His daughter Jane who married Thomas Rolfe (Pocahontas' only known child.) - great grandfather
• Elena Vere, the daughter of Richard Vere of Addington, and Isabella Green. Elena was also the sister of Sir Henry Vere (d. 1493), who in 1485, the year of his sister's marriage, served as High Sheriff of Northamptonshire. Elena and her brother are believed to be direct descendants of Robert de Vere of Addington, whose brother Aubrey de Vere III (d. 1194) was the first Earl of Oxford. The family descends from Aubrey (Albericus) de Vere I (d. 1112/13), who is named in 1086 in the Doomsday Book as holding a manor with estates in Essex, and who probably arrived in England on or after 1066 with William the Conqueror. He is the grandfather of the aforementioned brothers Robert de Vere of Addington and Aubrey III, 1st Earl of Oxford. Elena Vere and her family are said to be direct decendants of Hugh Capet of France. -6th great grandmother ^[8]

This profile is a collaborative work-in-progress. Can you contribute information or sources?

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/92602771
2. ↑ "Virginia Births and Christenings, 1853-1917," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRRM-XK1 : 5 December 2014), Sarah Poythris, 07 Aug 1731; citing , reference ; FHL microfilm 1036590 IT 2.
3. ↑ https://www.geni.com/people/Sarah-Hamlin/6000000018898683016
4. ↑ (Hinshaw, Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Vol. VI, p. 107 under Hamlin.)
5. ↑ http://hestories.info/stephen-hamlin-immigrant-and-descendants.html
6. ↑ (The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. VII, p. 71 and Vol. 33, p. 32)
7. ↑ http://www.mikesclark.com/genealogy/descent%20from%20Hugh%20Capet.html#henry
8. ↑ http://www.mikesclark.com/genealogy/isham.html

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree page on John Poythress and Christian Peebles

See also:

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