Some great information adds to my grandmother, Cicely Jordan... I've underlined areas that clarify or add to info about my great times 10 grandmother.
I'm posting this to my blog, because I want to keep together their research. I've just learned about the Buncombe County Genealogical Society at the library, and plan to go see how the North Carolina descendents of my great times 10 grandmother might have fared in their own histories.
http://www.reynoldsfamily.org/line17/chris_31.html
Sister of Christopher Reynolds of Isle of Wight?
by Susan E. Clement and Sybil R. Taylor
© 1992 Reynolds Family Association
Chapter 3.1
The following is a verbatim transcript of the page referenced by W. G.
Reynolds as "Ray..., p135."
THE MYSTERIOUS CICELY JORDAN
"Parker Family. In order to convey to the reader of these notes an
adequate conception of the VA origin of the Parkers who practically over-ran
the old Albemarle Precinct in NC near the close of the 17th century, it will be
necessary to present some brief sketches of the families with which they were
connected. Thomas Parker of 'Macclesfield' in Isle of Wight Co. VA, married the
wife of Peter Montague1. This reference does not give the name of
the widow of Peter Montague, so recourse is had to the will of Peter Montague,
proved in May 1659 in Lancaster Co. VA, as shown on page 57 of the 'History and
Genealogy of Peter Montague' by George William Montague (1894) in which her
name is given as Cecily. And thereby hangs a most fantastic tale of marital
adventure:"
At or about the same time, if not on the same vessel, in the year 1611, a
ten year old girl named Cicely Reynolds, and a comparatively young widower, who
had left his small sons behind him in England,
arrived at Jamestown
in the Colony of Virginia. The young widower was Samuel Jordan, who afterwards
established a seat on the James River near its confluence with the Appomattox, which he
called "Jourdan's Jorney". Almost contemporaneously with the coming
of these two, but perhaps a year earlier, Sir Thomas Gates and his companions
of the ill fated 'Sea Venture' had landed, among them being Capt. William
Pierce. This was followed by Joane Pierce, the Captain's wife on the
'Blessing.' Capt. Pierce was a relative in some degree of the young girl Cicely
Reynolds, and doubtless the advance arrival of Cicely was known to both Captain
Pierce and his wife. Besides, Samuel Jordan was a near-relative of Cicely and
her mother's cousin, & still another cousin (of her mother) Silvester
Jordan, came about the same time, so there was no lack of relatives to look
after the ten year old child, whose mother, still living in Dorsetshire, for
some reason had consented to her coming. Twelve years later, her brother, Christopher
Reynolds, arrived on the 'John and Francis' and may have discovered for the
first time that his sister was then married to her second husband Samuel Jordan
and the mistress of Jordan's Jorney, with a six year old daughter by her first
husband, named Temperance Bailey.
These sudden and swift transitions in the life of Cicely Reynolds were
characteristic of one of such adventurous spirit as to undertake a long sea
voyage into strange lands, even though accompanied by near relatives. She was
ten years of age in 1611, and must have married her first husband ___ Bailey
when but about 14 years old, as in 1623-4 her daughter Temperance was seven
years of age2. The Christian name of her first husband has not been
found, but it is safe to say he was of the same family as the Samuel Bailey who
is known to have married a grand-daughter of Capt. William Pierce, her
relative. The grandfather of Cicely Reynolds was Thomas Jordan, of Dorsetshire, England, grand daughter, the mother
of Cicely married a Reynolds [sic]. Her mother's maiden name was Cicely Fitzpen
or Phippen, and she was the daughter of Robert Phippen and his wife Cicely or
Cicellie Jordan. Robert Phippen was the son of one Joseph Phippen, whose mother
was Alice Pierce, and thus Ciceley Reynolds was related to Capt. William Pierce
and his wife Joane. This last couple were the parents of Jane Pierce who
married as his third wife another celebrated Virginia character -John Rolfe. But to
continue the story:
Samuel Jordan of Jordan's
Jorney, became the second husband of this adventurous daughter of his first
cousin Cicely Phippen, and at their home on the James [River] he and his wife
and their household survived the Indian uprising that occurred in 1622-23. But
not long after that Samuel Jordan died. By his first marriage in England he is said to have had three sons:
Thomas (b. 1600), Samuel and Robert Jordan3 and in all of the
genealogical accounts of these Jordans,
each of whom came to Virginia,
there continual bobs up the name of a certain Richard Jordan whose parentage is
unaccounted for. Incidentally he married before 1654, Elizabeth Reynolds, a
daughter of Christopher Reynolds, of Isle
of Wight County.
[Compare with double underlined portion below.] Very shortly after the death of
Samuel Jordan, of Jordan's Jorney, one of the legatees in the will of Abraham
Persey, a certain Rev. Greville Pooly, vociferously "woed" the widow
Cecily Jordan, who rejected his early advances on the ground that she was with
child; but thereafter she married Capt. William Farrar, a prominent man of the
Virginia Council. Thereupon the parson brought what has been called by
Alexander Brown "the first breach of promise suit in America". The astute third
husband, being a lawyer, succeeded in quashing the proceedings, and Parson Pooly
went on his way. BUT THE CHILD WAS BORN. His name was Richard Jordan, and he
married his first cousin (as they so often did in those days) Elizabeth, the
daughter of Christopher Reynolds4. Thus Cicely Reynolds has been
married twice and was the mother of one child by each of her first two
husbands. By Captain William Farrar, she became the mother of two sons Capt.
William Farrar Jr and Lieut. Colonel John Farrar, of Henrico Co. [VA] who left
no children and never married, so that the girl-emigrant thus became the
ancestress of the numerous Farrars of VA, through her son William Farrar, Jr.
Her third husband, Capt. (or Colonel) William Farrar died about 1635-6. But
Cicely was not near through.
In 1621 Peter Montague, then a very young man, came to Jamestown [VA] in the
'Charles' and was living in James City in 1624 aged 21 years. He was two years
younger than Ciceley Farrar, the widow after 1636. He too, had been previously
married and had two daughters, then very young, named Dorothy and Sarah. He
married the widow Cicely as her fourth husband. His will in Lancaster co. [VA] names seven children, all
obviously her children, but obviously also, not all of his family, this
reflecting his previous marriage. It was proven in 1669. Sarah Montague, one of
the daughters of his first marriage married James Bagnall5 and the
same authority tells us that the widow of Peter Montague became the wife of
Thomas Parker. As Cicely was born in 1601, she was 58 years old at the time of
the death of Peter Montague, therefore it is patent that this latter marriage
was one of convenience, and that no children resulted. But this alliance with
Cicely Montague, alias Cicely Jordan, nee Cicely Reynolds readily suggests an
explanation of the persistent intimacy which through the long years existed and
continued to exist between the Jordans,
Farrars and Reynolds families as reflected by these records6 and
other items throughout the list. [sic]
It is claimed by one writer7 that the Peter Montague of Lancaster
(will 1659 and the one in Isle of Wight, whose un-named widow married Thomas
Parker were different persons. This statement is refuted by our records. The
author of the Montague Genealogy did confuse the parentage, but not the
identity of his subject. Our records disclose that both Thomas Parker, who
first patented lands in Isle of Wight Co. in 16588 who married the
widow of Peter Montague, and James Bagnall, who married his daughter Sarah
Montague were living in Lancaster Co. after 1659. All of the records we have
examined, however, tend to show that perhaps not only James Bagnall and Thomas
Parker but also Peter Montague had been previous residents of Isle of Wight Co,
and further shows that Thomas Parker and James Bagnall were living in the
latter county towards the latter end of the century. James Bagnall was the son
of Roger Bagnall, who died leaving will in Isle of Wight
in 1647, at which time his son John Bagnall was not of age.10
These early emigrants to VA moved about a great deal in their furious search
for vast tracts of land and for social and economic advantage, just as people
of this day and time and it would perhaps be a misnomer to say that Peter
Montague, or James Bagnall or Thomas Parker were either "of Isle of
Wight" in a strict sense, until they had finally settled down at an
advanced age. In 1624 Peter Montague, then 21 years of age was in Jamestown (Hotten) and in 1631 he was witness to a will in
Yorktown, or in York County11. He
was perhaps "of York County" at the time he married the widow of
Capt. William Farrar, and he was certainly "of Lancaster County"
when in 1658 [53?], a year before his death, he was a Burgess from that
county... Add to this the fact, as shown by these records, that Peter Parker of
Chowan [NC], before 1714 had married Grace Copeland, the daughter of William
Copeland and his wife Christian, and that this same Peter Parker sold lands to
William Copeland in 1716 with John Jordan and Jane Jordan as witnesses12
and little room is left for doubt as to the fact that Thomas Parker of
"Macclesfield" who married as his second wife Cicely Montague alias
Cicely Jordan, nee Cicely Reynolds, was the ancestor of the Parkers of North
Carolina." in brackets added by S.R. Taylor.]
References:
1. VA Magazine of History & Biography 6:420
2. VA Magazine of History & Biography 51:384-385 [age of Temperance]
3. Va Magazine of History & Biography 7:121
4. See Boddie's 17th Century Isle of Wight
5. VA Magazine of History & Biography 6:420
6. VA Magazine of History & Biography 1:16; 1:8; 1:628; 2:619
7. Boddie's 17th Century Isle of Wight p239
8. VA Magazine of History & Biography 6:420
9. Fleet's Colonial Abstracts 22:8, 9, 78
10. Boddie's 17th Century Isle of Wight p514
11. Fleet's Colonial Abstracts 24:11
12. VA Magazine of History & Biography 2:456; 2-619
Chapter 3.2
Except where noted, the following is verbatim from book except for
"..." (material which has no value as a source of proof) with
reference at end of sentence or paragraph to which it pertains, and W.G.
Reynolds' annotation. Roman numerals after a person's name supplied by W.G.R.
to differentiate between individuals with same name.
The first Reynolds to reach the New World
was an 11 year old girl named Cecily.
Cecily arrived at the VA Colony in Jamestown
Aug 1610 aboard the Swan [1]. She came without her parents but under the
auspices of several near relatives of Dorsetshire England.
[1] Hotten, Lists of Emigrants to American 1600-1700, p 209;
Nugent Cavaliers and Pioneers, p XXX: "Her arrival was a
year before 1611, the year that gave birth to the King James Version of the
Holy Bible..."]
The name "Cecily" was an hereditary one [2].
[2] Ray, Index and Digest to Ray's NC Historical & Genealogical
Register, p 135.
Her mother's maiden name had been Cecily Phippen before she was married
around 1594 to Thomas Reynolds (II) [3]
[3] "Thomas Reynolds (II) had a near relative, William Reynolds (I) who
attained distinction from a bequest in William Shakespeare's will, whereby he
bequeathed 25 shillings 'to William Reynolds, Gent.
to buy him a ring.' This will was dated Mar 1616 and was proved at
Stratford-on-Avon England
Jun 1616." See Bentley, A Handbook of Shakespeare, p 59].
...Her [Cecily's] father, Robert Phippen, sprang from grandfather Joseph
Phippen whose wife was Cecily's great-grandmother Alice Pierce. Alice Pierce's
forebears have been traced to 1475, which means that this line of Reynolds is
now documented on the distaff side back half a millennium to the times of
Christopher Columbus.
[4] The lineage of this Pierce family is set forth in Ray, Index &
Digests to Hathaway's NC Historical & Genealogical Register, p 135.
See also Appendix E [Pierce Lineage Chart, which see later in this article.]
A grandson of Alice Pierce's brother was a Capt William Pierce (III) who,
with his wife Joan, served as chaperon to young Cecily Reynolds after her
voyage to VA [5].
[5] Ray, Index & Digest to Hathaway's NC Historical &
Genealogical Register, p 135. "She lived in their home where she
met and married the first of her several husbands, Thomas Bailey."
Thomas Bailey was a member of the Governor's Guard at Jamestown.... Young Bailey became a victim of
malaria. He left his widow with a young daughter, Temperance Bailey, who had
been born in 1616 [6].
[6] Ibid. Note 5. "It is believed that Thomas Bailey's father was
Samuel Bailey."
In accordance with the custom of the Colony, Cecily promptly remarried [7].
[7] "A male protector was an absolute necessity for the safety of the
early female settlers in VA. For this reason we frequently find widows marrying
within a few weeks or months after the death of their husbands, their newly
acquired mate joining with the widow in the administration upon her deceased
husband's estate...We find many 'much married persons' among these early
immigrants." Hathaway,
NC Historical
& Genealogical Register, Vol I, No 2, p 310.
Her 2d husband was Samuel Jordan (I), a cousin of her mother, who had been
previously married in England,
and after the death of his first wife migrated to America. He came to VA on the 1610
voyage of the "Sea Venture" [8].
[8] "The detailed history of this Jordan migration will be found in
Ray, Index & Digest to Hathaway's NC Historical & Genealogical
Register, p 135. "The 'Sea Venture' left England in 1609. Sir Thomas Gates
and Captain William Pierce (III) were fellow passengers with Samuel Jordan (I).
The ship ran aground in West Indies and did not arrive at Jamestown until 1610." See Boddie Colonial
Surry, p 21-22.
He settled first at "Jordan's
Journey" near the confluence of the Appomattox
and James Rivers; later added large holdings on the south bank of the James at Jordan's Point, where he built a house called
"Beggar's Bush" named after a popular London theatrical performance at the time.
[9]
[9] Samuel Jordan's home on the south bank of the James "he had named
'Beggar's Bush' after a popular play at the time..." in London. Hale Virginia Venturer,
p 81.
. . .
As the 'Mayflower' was unloading in New England back in 1620 ... Cecily and
Samuel Jordan, along with the surviving stockholders of the first Virginia
Company were honored with the label of "Ancient Planters," given
legal title to their lands and various immunities and privileges in connection
with their use, as rewards earned by their perseverance in establishing the
first permanent beachhead of English colonization on American soil...
Nugent, p 226: To all to whom these presents shall come etc Greeting in our
Lord God Everlasting. Know yee that I George Yardley Knight, Governor and Capt.
Genll. of Virginia etc. by verture of the great Charter of orders and lawes
concluded on in a great and Genll. Quarter Court by the Treasurer Councill and
Company of Adventurers and planters for this first Southern Colony of Virginia
(according) to the authority granted them by his Majtie under the great Seal)
and by them dated at London the Sixteenth of November 1618 and directed to
myself and the Councill of Estate here resident, do with the appraobation and
consent of the same Councill who are joined in Condicion with mee Give and
grant to Samuel Jourdan of Charles Citty in Virga. Gent,
an ancient planter who hath abode ten years Compleat in this Colony and
performed all services to the Colony that might any way concern him etc and to
his heirs and assignes for ever for part of his first genll. dividend to be
augmented &c, 450 acs. on his personal right, etc. and out of the rules of
Justice, equity and reason and because the Company themselves have given us
president in the like kind of the personall claim of Cecily his wife an ancient
planter also of nine years continuance, one hundred acres more and the other
250 acs. in recompence of his trans. out of England
at his own charges of five servants, namely John Davies, who arrived in 1617
for whose passage the sd. Samuel hath paid to the Cape.
Mercht., Thomas Matterdy bound apprentice to sd. Samuel by indenture in England
dated 8 Oct 1617; Robert Marshall brought out of England by Capt. Burgrave in
May 1619, at the costs of sd. Samuel; Alice Wade the same year in the George,
etc., & Thomas Steed in the Faulcon in July 1620; and maketh choice in 3
several places: one house & 50 acs. called --ilies Point [Bailies Point] in
Charles hundred, bordering E. upon the gr. river, W. upon the main land, S.
upon John Rolfe and N. upon the land of Capt. John Wardeefe; 2ndly, 1 tenement
containing 12 acs., etc., encompassed on the W. by Martins Hope, now in tenure
of Capt. John Martin, Master of the Ordinance; & 388 acs. in or near upon Sandys his hundred,
towards land of Temperance Baley, W. upon Capt. Woodlief, etc. To have etc.
Yielding & paying to the sd. Treasurer & Company & Provided, &
c.
Given at James City 10 December 1620
and Signed
George
Yardley
Fr.
Pory, Secr.
This patent certifeid to the Treasurer. Lawr. Hulett. At a Genll. Ct. held at James Citty
Oct. 20, 1690, Present: The Right Honble. Francis Nicholso, their Maj. Lt.
Richard Bland, the patent being for 450 acs. in Chas. Citty Co. granted to Mr.
Samuel Jordan in 1620, which is truly recorded. Test: R. Beverley, by W.
Soward, Cl. Genll. Ct. P.B. No.8, p125.
Footnote 13: "The story of the massacres at the lower plantations on
the James is recounted in Boddie, Seventeenth
Century Isle of Wight County, Virginia,
pages 35 and 36."
Footnote 14: Hale, Virginia Venturer, pages 81-82: "Far
up the James at Jordan's Point, stalwart old Samuel Jordan, one of the original
Burgesses of the first Assembly, having escaped an early attack and being
warned of what was happening by a colonist who rowed over the river to his plantation,
gathered together a few stragglers, fortified... 'Beggar's Bush' and lived on
there without loss of live despite assaults on the enemy and carnage among his
neighbors."
Footnote 15: Ray, Index and Digest to Hathaway's North Carolina
Historical and Genealogical Register, page 135: "But not long
after that (the 1622 massacre) Samuel Jordan died... Cecily's third husband was
William Farrar (I); they had two sons: John and William (II), the last of whom
became the sire of the famous Farrar clan of Virginia." [19]
[19] Ibid. Note 18 {Ray, Index and Digest to Hathaway's North Carolina
Historical and Genealogical Register, page 135}.
She next married Peter Montague; they had 7 children during their 23 years
of marriage. When Peter Montague died in 1659, Cecily married, Thomas Parker by
whom there were no heirs." [22].
[22] Ray, Index and Digest to Hathaway's North Carolina Historical and Genealogical
Register, page 135.
Beyond this point, the history of 'Aunt Cecily' becomes obscured by the
ascendancy of the Independents or Puritans. In that transition, the old
plantation aristocracy of which she was a part lost power in the affairs of the
Colony. But her original chaperon in America, Captain William Pierce
(II) wound up on the winning team in that shuffle. So did her brother,
Christopher Reynolds (III)." [23]
[23] For a capsule description of the transition that cast the parliament
and the King of England at loggerheads during this period, see White, Concise
History of England, pages 93-97.
Thus, Aunt Cecily Reynolds-Baily-Jordan-Farrar-Montague-Parker was able to
end out her days in calm assurance that her title "Number One Wife and
Mother of America" was abundantly secure." [24]
[24] Ibid. Note 22. {Ray, Index and Digest to Hathaway's North
Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register, page 135}.
