More detailed history of Cicely Reynolds

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}.