By Jared L. Olar
January 2020
1. JOHN SIMMONDS, parentage and ancestry unknown, born perhaps circa 1645 probably in Virginia or possibly in England, died between 27 Aug. and 5 Oct. 1715 in North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia. Although the identity of John's parents is unknown, he left a bequest to his mother in his 1715, so his mother must have died at some point after 5 Oct. 1715 when his will was proved. John's wife was named ELIZABETH (NN), born perhaps circa 1650 in Virginia, died after 5 Oct. 1715 in North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia. In his will, John directed that Elizabeth would have the use of his lands and the bulk of his personal property as long as she lived -- thus, Elizabeth must have survived him. It is unknown how many children John and Elizabeth had, but probably most of the people he named in his will were his grandchildren or otherwise related to him. The fact that he named no sons in his will suggests that either he had only daughters, or else his son(s) predeceased him and had no children or only daughters.
John may have been related to the Simmons family of Cherry Point, Northumberland County, Virginia, who were descendants of Francis Simmons, born 1631. Francis and his wife Elizabeth had a son named John Simmons who died 18 April 1677. That John and his wife Susannah in turn had a son named John Simmons who married a woman named Mary and died 17 July 1696. Our John Simmonds/Simmons of Richmond County, Virginia, must not be confused with either the elder or the younger John Simmons of Northumberland County. Again, our John may have belonged in some way to that Simmons family, but at this time I am aware of no evidence that the Northumberland County family had any dealings with our John Simmonds.
Northern Neck Grants No. 3, 1703-1710, page 3, shows that on 9 Dec. 1703 "John Simons" received a grant of 116 acres of land in Richmond County, land that adjoined that of Thomas Yates, John Grimes, and Griffin. Again, on page 109 it says that on 15 Aug. 1705 "John Symons" received another grant of 130 acres of land in Richmond County, land that adjoined John Grimes and John White, and a tract of 1,155 acres lately granted to William Smoot Sr., Abraham Goad, John Ingo, James Ingo, and Richard Fowler. These land grants constituted the Simmonds Plantation, most of which passed to Abraham Dale and Abraham's brother-in-law Thomas Young, who divided it equally between them after the death of John's widow Elizabeth.
A few years after John Simmonds' abovementioned land grants, the Richmond County Court issued an order on 7 May 1712 that "John Simmons officiate as Surveyor of the Highways for this ensuing year from Reed's Old Field over Brockenbrough Swamp" (1712-1713 Richmond Co VA Order Book 6, page 18).
Three years later, as shown in Richmond County Will Book 3, page 228, John made his will on 27 Aug. 1715. He probably died in Sept. 1715 or very early in Oct. 1715, for his will was proved 5 Oct. 1715. An abstract of his will lists most of the people named in the will: "Aug. 27, 1715 - Oct. 5, 1715 - Will of John Simmonds - land to be equally divided betw. Abraham Dale and Thomas Young - loving wife Elizabeth - unto Will Dodson my gun - to Thomas Dale - to Thomas Glascock - my mother to be paid by Thomas Glascock, Abraham Dale, Rawleigh Downman, and Thomas Young unto Will Jobson (sic - Dodson). Wit: Thomas Durham, Thomas Reed, Gilbert X Lowding."
The complete text of the will of John Simmonds, recorded in Richmond Co. Wills and Inventories (1709-1717), pages 228-229, and transcribed in Almon Edward Daniels' Workbook on the Dale Families of Virginia (1958), is reproduced here (all spelling and grammar as in the original):
In the Name of God Amen I John Simmonds of the Parish of North Farnham in the County of Richmd Planter being Sick and weak of body, but of good sound Mind and Memory thanks be to Almighty God, and knowing the uncertainty of this Mortal Life, Do make this my last Will and Testament in manner and form following, That is to say, first I recomend my Soul in the hands of God that Gave it hopeing yt through the Merrets of Our Lord Jesus Christ to attaine the same and my body I Commit to the Earth to be Devoutly buried at the discretion of my Executors hearafter named and toutching my Worldly Estate of what kind or Natur Soever I do Dispose thereof as followeth -
Imprimis. I do bequiah unto patience Bryan a Cow and Calfe.
Item. I Give unto Abraham Deal one Cow and Calfe.
Item. I Give unto the Son of Abraham Proctor Isaac one two Year old Heifer.
Item. I Give unto Tho. Dale one Cow and Calfe, all my wearing Cloths to be Divided between the sd. Tho. Dale and Danl. Beacham.
Item. I Do Give unto Rawleigh Downman a Small Slipe of Land begining at a Corner tree next the Old field Called Reeds old feild, running up between the Line of the sd. Downman and the Line that John White Deceased Surveyed, Last up to the Sd. Simmonds Plantation, to him the sd. Downman and his hears for Ever.
Item. All the rest of my Land I do Give to be Equally Divided between Abr. Dale & Tho. Young with my Plantation I now live upon after the Decease of Loving Wife Elizabeth to them and there heirs for Ever.
Item. I Do Give unto Will Dodson my Gun.
Item. I Do Give to Tho. Dale a flock bed and Covering.
Item. I Do Give to Tho. Glascock halfe my personall Estate after the Decease of my Loveing Wife Elizabeth Simmonds. My Will and meaning is that she shall not be disturbed During her Life but all to remain as I leave it, That is that she shall have the use of it as Long as she Lives.
Item. A Lot of Coopers tools I do Give to ye sd. Tho. Dale.
Item. I Do Give unto my Mother Six hundred lb. of Tobb'o to be paid to her Yearly During her Life by the sd. Tho. Glascock, Abraham Dale & Rawleigh Downman and Tho. Young.
Item. I Do Give unto Will Jobson (sic - Dobson) five and twenty Shillings and my will and meaning is yt what Legacies of Tobb. or otherwise that ye sd. Rawleigh Downman, Tho. Glascock, Abraham Dale, and Tho. Young Do pay the same according to the overall proportions. In Witness whereof I have hearunto set my hand and Seal this 27th of August Anno Dom. 1715.
Signum
Jno. J. Simmonds (SEAL)
Signed Sealed and Published and Declareed to be his Last Will and Testament in the presents of Tho. Durham, Thomas Reed, Gilberd X Lowding
This Will was proved in Richmond County Court the fifth day of October 1715 by the Oaths of Thomas Durham & Thomas Reed tow of ye Witnesses thereto, and admitted to Record.
Teste: M. Beckwith C & Cur
The fact that the transcription of this will shows John's signature as "Jno. J. Simmonds" has led some to believe John had a middle name with an initial of "J." That, however, was John's mark. Middle names among English colonists of this period are virtually unknown.
The children of John and Elizabeth Simmonds are uncertain, but they evidently had at least one daughter:
2. ELIZABETH SIMMONDS, born circa 1670 in Virginia.
2. ELIZABETH SIMMONDS, daughter of John and Elizabeth Simmonds, born circa 1670 in Virginia, probably died between 5 May 1692 and 27 Aug. 1715 in North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia. That Elizabeth was a daughter of John Simmonds is inferred from the fact that John Simmonds directed that the majority of his lands including his plantation was to be divided equally between her sons Thomas and Abraham Dale (to whom John Simmonds left other bequests in addition to his plantation). Elizabeth married REUBEN DALE, very probably a son of Thomas and Judith Dale, born circa 1650 in Rappanhannock County (later Richmond County), Virginia, died 1692 (before 5 May 1692) in Richmond County, Virginia. Although Reuben's parentage is not explicitly mentioned in early sources, geographical and onomastic considerations make it likely that Reuben was a son of Thomas Dale, son of the Virginia immigrant Nicholas Dale. Reuben and Elizabeth had a daughter and two sons. The following overview of Reuben Dale and his family is presented at the website of a Dale genealogist named Joseph A. Payne called Descendants of Nicholas Dale -- Payne's account is correct in its essentials, but includes the name "Dellaware" as an alternate surname for Reuben's son Abraham, and exhibits unwarranted doubt and confusion regarding Reuben's daughter Elizabeth:
Reuben 3 DALE, (Thomas 2 DELLAWARE, Nicholas 1 DALE) was born about 1650 in Old Rappahannock, Va., and married Elizabeth SIMMONDS who was born about 1670 in Va. Reuben died in 1692 in Richmond Co., Va. Elizabeth died in 1728 (sic) in Lancaster Co., Va.
"Reuben Dale appears in the records of Old Rapahannock Co. in 1685 and 1689. This Reuben Dale was dead by 1692 and his wife Elizabeth was his executrix. Richmond and Essex Counties were formed from Old Rappahannock Co. in 1692. Abraham, Thomas, and a younger Elizabeth Dale lived in Richmond Co. in the Northern Neck of Virginia. They must have been the heirs of this Reuben Dale, but the proof is yet to be found. [April 4, 1960]. The daughter of and William Rogers. (sic) This William Rogers was a son of William Rogers and Elizabeth Dale, and a grandson of Maj. Edward Dale. Elizabeth Dale Rogers died in 1728 in Lancaster Co., Va., leaving six children: Thomas Young, Robert Young, Reuben Young, William Dodson, Charles Dodson, and Ann Rogers."
Much of this information came from F. Hiner Dale, former District Judge from Guyman, Oklahoma, in 1960. The question is who was the Elizabeth Dale Rogers who died in 1728 leaving so many children? From all indications Reuben's daughter Elizabeth was born 1692/93 and was much too young to have so many children. It would also seem that it wasn't Elizabeth Dale Rogers, who was the daughter of Maj. Edward Dale, who married William Rogers. I have the attached from James L. Danley.
Children:
+ Elizabeth 4 DALE b.c. 1691
+ Thomas DALE b.c. 1680
+ Abraham Dellaware DALE b. June 3, 1693 d. Oct. 4, 1740
Payne's second paragraph is a quotation from an old, long-defunct Dale genealogy website that had the url of http://hometown.aolcom/philli6372/dale.htm -- the sentence fragment "The daughter of and William Rogers" originated at that defunct website. Unfortunately we cannot tell what the original author had meant to say, but from the context it seems to have been a statement regarding Reuben's daughter Elizabeth and her three husbands, Thomas Young, William Dodson, and William Rogers, by whom she had a total of eight children.
It should be noted that Payne's account incorrectly attributes the date of death of Reuben Dale's daughter Elizabeth (1728) to his wife Elizabeth, whose date of death is unknown. In addition, Payne baselessly questions the identification of Reuben's daughter Elizabeth as the Elizabeth Dale Rogers who died in 1728 leaving six surviving children. Payne said, "From all indications Reuben's daughter Elizabeth was born 1692/93 and was much too young to have so many children." That remark is quite puzzling, because there is no chronological difficulty at all with Reuben's daughter being born circa 1692 and having eight children by 1728 (Thomas Young, Robert Young, Reuben Young, Thomas Dodson, Stephen Dodson, William Dodson, Elizabeth Dodson Simmonds, and Ann Rogers). If we assume that Elizabeth first married at age 20 (more likely she was 17 or 18), then she would have married circa 1712, about 16 years before her death. If Elizabeth had a child every other year, she would have had eight children in 16 years. Elizabeth more likely first married circa 1708, which would allow enough time for the births of all eight of her children and all three of her marriages. (See also Charles Martin Ward Jr.’s article in “The American Genealogist,” Vol. 75, No. 1, Jan. 2000, pages 27–29, and A Refutation of the Alleged Royal Ancestry of Katherine (Dale) Carter)
The Dale genealogy found in Nicholas Dale to Elzadia Florence Dale provides the following information on the life and family of Reuben Dale:
The original Dale settlers were some of the first to come to America in the early seventeenth century. They pioneered west with the first settlers migrating to Tennessee and Kentucky, then to Illinois, Indiana and Missouri, and later to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Reuben Dale is in the records of Old Rappahannock County in 1685 and 1689. The Lancaster County records do not name the orphans of Thomas Dale but Reuben Dale is thought to be one of these orphans. The only other Dale in the area was Edward Dale and he only named daughters in his will. One of Reuben Dale's daughters married a grandson, William Rogers, of Edward Dale. Reuben Dale named a son Thomas, which further supports Reuben as a son of Thomas Dale. This lineage is supported by many Dale family genealogists. Reuben Dale, born about 1650 in Virginia, died before 1694. He married an Elizabeth Simmonds before 1693. Charles River County was [re]named York County that formed Lancaster County that led to the creation of Old Rappahannock County. Reuben Dale appears in the records of Old Rappahannock County in 1685 and 1689. This Reuben Dale was dead by 1694 and his wife Elizabeth was his executrix. In 1692 Richmond and Essex Counties were formed from Old Rappahannock County. Richmond County is adjacent to Lancaster County on the east and is on the north side of the Rappahannock River. Essex County is south side of the Rappahannock River.
On January 6, 1768, an inventory of the estate of Reuben Dale was entered in Richmond County, Virginia. (sic - that was Reuben Dale Jr., grandson of Reuben Dale) Abraham, Thomas, and Elizabeth Dale lived in Richmond County in the Northern Neck of Virginia. They were apparently heirs of this Reuben Dale but this is not proven by direct information. However, in August of 1715, John Simmonds divided his plantation between Abraham Dale and his son, Reuben Dale (the younger), and Thomas Young. Thomas Young was married to Elizabeth Dale. John Simmonds was the father of Elizabeth Simmonds who married Reuben Dale (the elder) who was the father of Abraham Dale. This supports the relationship of John Simmonds to Reuben Dale (the elder) and Reuben Dale (the younger) to Abraham and Elizabeth Dale. On May 28, 1741, this land was sold by Reuben Dale (the younger), son of Abraham Dale, to George Glascock. Elizabeth Dale, was married three times: 1. Thomas Young, 2. William Dodson, and 3. William Rogers. Thomas Dale of Richmond County had two wives, Frances and Joyce. Abraham married Winifred Southern. The above lines are thought to connect to the following Dale line but no definite proof is known by this author at this time. The time line is compatible, but the name Nicholas Dale did not appear in the next generations of Dale family members, but the name Thomas Dale did appear. The English Crown assumed responsibility for the development of the Virginia Colony in 1624/25 after the difficulty of the early settlement efforts of the private company. The Dale family line has now been established by deeds and wills from Reuben Dale (the elder) to the present. The connection of Thomas Dale to Reuben Dale is not established except they lived in the same area and Reuben Dale named his first son Thomas Dale. Abraham Dale, grandson of Thomas Dale, also named a son Thomas Dale.
The time of Reuben's death is discerned from the date that his widow Elizabeth was directed to take an accout of his estate. 1692-1694 Richmond Co. VA Orders, page 10, shows the following order issued in Richmond County Court on 5 May 1692:
It is ordered that ELIZABETH DALE do upon her Oath give an accot, of all the Estate of her late Husband RUBEN DALE dyed possessed of, And that Mr. THOMAS GLASCOCK L Mr. WILLIAM FITZHERBERT take an accot. thereof & returne the same to the next court in course
From this it is clear that Reuben had died before 5 May 1692 and most likely within a month or two prior to the court order.
The known children of Elizabeth and Reuben Dale were:
-- THOMAS DALE, born circa 1680 in Lancaster County, Virginia, married twice.
-- ELIZABETH DALE, born circa 1692 in Lancaster County, Virginia, died 1728 in Lancaster County, Virginia, married three times.
-- ABRAHAM DALE, born 3 June 1693 in Lancaster County, Virginia.
Simmonds Genealogy Resources:
A Workbook on the Dale Families of Virginia, with Particular Reference to the Branch which moved from the Northern Neck of Virginia to Woodford County, Kentucky (1958), by Almon Edward Daniels. Nicholas Dale to Elzadia Florence Dale, a detailed and informative account of the Dales of North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia. Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties, with ancestry of Reuben Dale (1720-1768) of North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia. Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties, with information on Francis Dale, founder of the Simmonses of Cherry Point, Northumberland County, Virginia.