Robert Woodson (abt. 1634 - abt. 1707)

Born about 1634 in Fleur De Hundred, Prince George County, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Ferris) Woodson — married 1656 in Curles,Henrico, Virginia

Descendants

Died about 1 Oct 1707 at about age 73 in Fleur de Hundred, Henrico County, Colony of Virginia

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Biography

Robert Woodson was a Virginia colonist.

Robert^[1] and his brother John were sons of John Woodson who had accompanied Sir John Harvey from England to the Colony of Virginia in 1624, in the capacity of a "Surgeon to a company of soldiers". John senior brought with him his wife, whom he had married in Devonshire.

Alias: "Potatoe hole Tator" Woodson. Robert was known as "Potato Hole" Woodson because his Mother hid him in the potato bin during the Indian Raid that killed his father.

Robert married about 1656 Elizabeth Ferris of Curles, Henrico Co., and had five sons and four [sic; only three listed] daughters, order uncertain; additional children details from Purse and Person:

• John b abt 1658, m Judith, the daughter of Stephen Tarleton. He died before 5 Dec 1715.
• Richard was born in 1662. He died before 4 Mar1715/1716.; m Anna Smith
• Robert was born in 1660. He died in Feb 1729/1730; m 1st, Sarah Lewis, 2nd Rachel Watkins
• Elizabeth was born in 1662. She died about 1740.
• Joseph was born about 1664. He died before 15Oct 1734.; m Mary, daughter of John Woodson and Mary (Tucker)
• Benjamin was born on 21 Aug 1666. He died before Aug 1723.; m Sarah Porter
• Sarah was born c. 1665. She died before 12 August 1716; m Edward Mosby
• Mary was born in 1678. She died on 1 Feb 1766.; m George Payne
• Judith was born about 1673. She died before Jun 1733.; m William Cannon

From "Adventurers of Purse and Person" Owner of "Curles" land conveyed by deed dated Jan 8, 1674 by Nathaniel Bacon unto Robert Woodson, grandfather of Tarleton Woodson.

Robert acquired a large estate and lived the life of a wealthy planter. Was Surveyor of Highways in Henrico Co. in 1685. His name appears on many court records and in some papers, he is given the title of "Col."

On 1 June 1689, in Henrico County, Virginia, Robert Woodson provided 100 acres to daughter Sarah Mosby, wife of Edward Mosby.^[2]

"I Robert Woodson Sr. of love and affection that I have do loan unto my loving daughter Sarah the wife of Edward Mosby of the same place....100 acres of land situate upon the south side of the White Oak Swamp....belonging unto the said Sarah Mosby during her life time and to John Mosby son of said Edward and Sarah Mosby..."

Robert died after October 1707 in Varina, Henrico, Virginia when he made a deed to his grandson, William and Joseph Lewis.

Research Notes

Disputed Children

Stephen and Agnes were previously attached as additional children, but no source was cited for either claim. Neither is named as a child in the entry for Robert in Adventurers of Purse and Person, so those children have been detached pending identification of a reliable source for the claim.

Other

THE GEORGIANS by Jane Austin - "From Historical Genealogy of the Woodsons and Their Connections, Page 23: 'Robert was born, according to his own deposition, in the year 1634, at Fleur de Hundred, on the southside of James river, in what is now Prince George County, Virginia...It was here that the family lived at the time of the massacre by the Indians on the 18th of April 1644, when Robert and his elder brother were saved by being thrust into a pit made for the purpose of keeping Potatoes; from which circumstance their descendants, for several Generations, bore the sobriquet 'Potato Hole Woodsons'."^[3]

From Adventurers of Purse and Person - ROBERT WOODSON deposed, June 1680, that he was "46 years of age or there abouts," and, 1 June 1696, that he was aged about 61. He married Elizabeth Ferris, daughter of Richard Ferris. On 21 Oct 1687 Robert Woodson, Richard Ferris and three others patented 1780 acres on White Oak Swamp in Varina Parish and the same day he, John Woodson, Sr., and two others patented 470 acres, also in Henrico county. He held 1157 acres in Henrico County, 1704, and died after 1 Oct 1707.^[4]

Robert married 5 Elizabeth Ferris 1, 2, 3, 4 daughter of Richard Ferris and Elizabeth in 1656 in Curles, Henrico Co., VA. Elizabeth was born in1638 in Curles, Henrico Co., VA. She died before 1689 in Curles, Henrico Co., VA.

Robert and Elizabeth Ferris Woodson, among others, received a patent, 21, October 1687, for 1785 acres at White Oak Swamp in Varina Parish, in that county.

This man was the direct ancestor of Jesse Woodson James, and his brother, Alexander Franklin "Frank" James, the famous James Boys.

Their son Benjamin Woodson, married Sarah Porter; their son Robert Woodson (d. 1748/50) married Rebecca Pryor. Their daughter Elizabeth married Shadrach Mims (1734-1777) and became the mother of Elizabeth Mims (b. 1769) who married Robert Poor (1763-1801), a cornet in the American Revolutionary War. Their daughter in turn, Mary Poor, (died 1825) married John James (1775-1827), son of William and Mary (Hinds) James of Goochland County, Virginia. Their son Robert Sallee James, who died in the Gold Rush area of California, married Zerelda Cole and they had sons Frank James and Jesse James. ^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ Unless otherwise cited, information on this profile is from Virginia Soldiers of 1776, by Louis A. Burgess (a 1973 reprint of the 1927 book), vol 2, pp 798-801 (following entry for Major Tarleton Woodson), excerpts from pp 798-801.(presentation doesn't seem to differentiate between sources - "from the Richmond Standard and from notes furnished ... by Mr. Charles Van Der Veer... a member of the family. Other data from the Va. land office, which included additional references.)
2. ↑ Henrico County, Virginia Court Records, J June 1689, Page 66 Gift to Daughter Sarah Mosby, wife of Edward Mosby, document attached.
3. ↑ THE GEORGIANS by Jane Austin, AAI CD100 Genealogies of Virginia Families, From the William and Mary Quarterly Historical Magazine, Volume V, Thompson-Yates (and Appendix), Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1982
4. ↑ Adventurers of Purse and Person 1607-1624/5 AP&P Dorman, John Frederick; Virginia M. Meyer The Dietz Press, Inc., Richmond
5. ↑ See: Background of a Bandit, by Joan M. Beamis and William E. Pullen (1971).

See also:

• Findagrave.com http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=76792422
• Davis, Virginia Lee Hutcheson. Tidewater Virginia Families. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004. Ancestry.com accessed 30 June 2022. NOTE: Excellent document with 73 sources included.
• http://reynoldspatova.org/documents/_Henrico%20CoVADeeds1607-1705.pdf p. 84
• http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~unab22/woodson.htm