FATHER

John White

MOTHER

Sarah Leonard

WIFE

Mary

CHILDREN

1. Peter White b. Abt. 1762

2. Abigail White b. Abt. 1765

3. Leuisa White b. Sep 1767

John White, Jr
by Susan Brooke
Jul 2022

John White, Jr. was probably born about 1723.  The descendants of his brother, Peter White, wrote about John White, Jr. in their memoirs.  John White Geary wrote that John White, Jr. was an embarrassment to the family.  He had been sent to England to recover an estate of his uncle and had instead, "spent large sums in dissipation." (1)  This would have happened about 1747 before his father moved to Frederick County, VA.  

When his father, Capt. John White,  wrote his will on 4 Sep 1755 John White, Jr. was named as oldest son. All he received from his father's will was 5 shillings. (2) However, in 1762 the executors of his father's estate did try to release to "their brother John White of Frederick Co. VA, a part of a tract of 573 acres in what was then Frederick Co. VA. near the Potomac River.   They could not find him, so they eventually sold the land in 1772. (3)

A note of interest: On 4 Mar 1768 Mary, the wife of John White of Frederick Town, VA was found wandering in Monmouth Co., NJ. Children: Peter aged 6, Abigail aged 3, Leuisa aged 9 mo.  She was "destitute of support" and had been in consultation of the poor in Shrewsbury. "  She was sent back to Frederick Town near Packing VA. on the Potomac River. And, if her husband was not found she was to be turned over to the overseer of the poor.   If this Mary was the wife of John White, Jr. then he must have married her about 1762 as her son Peter White was six years old in 1768.  Yet, his siblings supposedly could not find him in 1762. 

Sources

(1) Memoirs of the Descendants of Peter White

The memoirs of Margaret White Geary
Margaret White Geary was born 20 May 1770 to Peter White.  In 1846, her son, Edward Ratchford Geary wrote "some account of my ancestry as obtained this evening from my mother, Margaret White Geary."

John White, Jr. married and had a large family and settled near Easton, PA

The Recollections of John White Geary.
John White Geary was a brother of Edward Ratchford Geary and thus also a son of Margaret White Geary

"The parents of Peter White, our great great grandfather, were John White and Sarah Leonard, both of them were English. John White was a resident of Shrewsberry, N.J. prior to the Revolution. He was born in England, tracing his ancestry through a long and respectable lineage. Sarah Leonard was an accomplished beautiful and remarkable active woman, born in the province of New Jersey. She was celebrated as a a graceful and skillful rider, also as a devoted church woman. She is said to have inherited a fortune. The family estate was called Shrewsbury and is so known on the records of New Jersey. John White, Jr., a son, was sent to England to recover a large estate accumulated by his uncle, William White, as the Cape of Good Hope, who died a bachelor and intestate. The estate was large but was lost to the American Heirs through the mismanagement of the said John White, Jr., who spent quite large sums in dissipation while in Europe. The result of this was embarrassment of home and the removal of the family to Maryland where the mother Sarah Leonard White died shortly afterward.. Of the union of John White and Sarah Leonard there was issue five sons and four daughters; John, Peter, Leonard, Thomas and James. Abigail, Catherine, Sarah and Ruth,

Peter married Margaret Stull, our great great grandparents; Leonard married Mary McCoy and settled in Fayette Co., PA. His widow married Benjamin Bloomfield. Thomas died unmarried. James married Sarah Clark and settled near Leonard. His widow with one son emigrated to Kentucky. Abigail married first Rev. W. DeButts and later John Furgeson; Catherine married Peter Jones; Sarah married John Stull the brother of Margaret Stull. Ruth married Peter Bainbridge, the son of her Aunt Abigail."

The second wife of John White was Martha Stull (nee Jones) widow of John Stull. This marriage was followed by the marriages of Peter White to Margaret Stull and John Stull, Jr., to Martha White. thus did father, son and daughter marry mother, daughter and son.

John White had two brothers William and Peter White, neither of whom married, and one sister Abigail, all of whom resided in Shrewbury, N.J. Abigail married Peter Bainbridge and was the mother of John, Edmund, Peter and Absalom. Absalom married a Miss Phillips and was the father of Commodore William Brainbridge of our Navy.

All of the White, Leonards and Bainbridges were of English extraction. The Whites are closely connected with the Throckmortons. The Whites Coat of Arms was a emblazonry of a spread eagle and a white horse."

(2) Will of his father, John White
4 Sep 1755
FHL film 5647682
Frederick County, MD Liber A pages 123 and 124

(3) Nixon Family Memorials by Jean W Cox 1970  pg 759

"25 Jan. 1762 James and Leonard released to their brother John of Frederick Co. VA. the tract of 573 acres lying in Frederick Co., VA on and near the Potomac River.  The land was taken up by Capt. John White by patent 4 Jan. 1752 after having been surveyed for Mr. Guy Broadwater.  The tract was described as waste land.  It was granted by Thomas Lord Fairfax, Baron of Cameron in that part of Great Britain called Scotland, Proprietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia.  The transaction was to be completed one year from the day before the date, yielding the rent of one ear of Indian Corn to the said John White Jr.  The final indenture was recorded in Berkeley Co., VA and was dated 28 Nov 1772.  The grantors were Martha Torrence, late Martha White, Peter and Leonard White, executrix and executors of the will of Captain John White, late of the county of Frederick, Province of Maryland, dec'd.  They sold the land to Samuel Johns of the county of Berkeley, colony of Virginia, in which county the land was then situated.  The name of John White, Jr. was not found." 

Berkeley County, VA Deed BK 1 page 143
FHL film 829879 image 233

(4)  4 Mar 1768 Mary, wife of John White of Frederick Town, VA found wandering in Monmouth Co., NJ. Children: Peter aged 6, Abigail aged 3, Leuisa aged 9 mo. Sent back to Frederick Town near Packing VA.

Historical and Genealogical Miscellany: data relating to the settlement and settlers of New York and New Jersey by John Edwin Stillwell volume 5  pg 364   

"The following is a copy of a paper found in the office of the late James Steen, esq., of Eatontown, N.J. 

'Whereas Mary White, wife of John White, of Frederick Town in Virginia, was found wandering in this County of Monmouth with three children, viz: Peter aged six years, Abigail aged 3 years & Leuisa aged 9 months, and all destitute of support & Likely to be Chargeable to Some town in this county and on consultation of the Overseers of the poor of the town of Shrewsbury in said County to us whose names are hereunto set and seal affixed Being two of the Justices of the peace in and for said county of Monmouth one of Being of the Quorum and Haveing Examined the said Mary White on oath do find that the Last place of Legal settlement of her the said Mary and the said three children with the said John White the husband to and father of said Mary White and of said three children in Frederick town In Virginia about two miles & a half from Packing----on Potomac River.  Therefore on Due consideration had of the premises we Do adjudge the said Frederick town in Virginia to Be the place of Last Legal Settlement of her the said Mary White and her three children viz. Peter White, Abigail White and Leuasa White we do therefore Command and Require you forthwith to take Her the Said Mary White and her sd three children and them convey to the constable of the next town In the Nearest and Most Direct Way to Said Frederick town in Virginia and So to Be convey from Constable to Constable the nearest and Direct Way until they arrive at sd Frederick town In Virginia there to Be Delivered to the Said John White and to Remain with him or if the Said John White is not there to be found then to Be Delivered to the Church Warden or Overseer of the poor of Said Frederick town Requiring you the said overseer and Church Warden to provide for them as Inhabitants of your Parish town or Precinct.  Given under our Hands & Seal this 4th of March 1768'

  (Not signed)