George Foster on Sandy Creek, Amelia County, Virginia

Foster Family Genealogy in Early Amelia County, Virginia

William Foster, son of George on Sandy Creek

William was born about 1738. He married Nancy Wood and they had one child, Mary. William died in Amelia County 1770-1771.

BIRTH

First taxed under his father in 1754 at 16 years of age, William was probably born about 1738, before his father moved to Amelia County in 1741.[1]

MARRIAGE

William married Nancy Wood, daughter of William Wood, sometime before 1771, say 1768-1770. After William's death in 1771, Nancy married Thomas Green.[see IDENTITY below]

DEATH

William died 1770-1771 in Amelia County; his widow, Nancy, filed for letters of administration February court, 1771.[2]

CHILDREN

Mary (Polly) Foster was born 1768-1770 and married Reuben Wright in 1789.[3] Reuben died about 1822.[4] Mary died about 1828. The children of Reuben and Mary Wright are William Wright, George H. Wright, James G. Wright, Peter J. Wright, Mihitabel who married John Hutchings, Nancy who married William Goode, Martha M. Wright, Paschal F. Wright and Susan A. Wright. (The last three named were underage in 1822.)[5]

IDENTITY

The identity of William Foster, son of George on Sandy Creek, requires two parts. One to prove that George had a son William, and the other to prove that this William married Nancy Wood and had one child, Mary.

That George had a son named William is proved by tax lists. George paid the tax on William in 1754, 1755, (gap in the records), 1763, and 1766. In 1765, William was listed separately as "son of George."[6]

That William married Nancy Wood and had one child, Mary, is based on complex evidence that requires the correlation and analysis of multiple records.

Consider the chancery suit filed to settle the estate of William Wood in 1812. Among the complainants were Reuben Wright and his wife Polly who stated that "the said Polly is a daughter of the said Nancy Green [one of the children of William Wood] by a former husband, her said mother having intermarried with the said Thomas after the death of her first husband."[7] This proves that Polly's mother was Nancy Wood, daughter of William Wood, who married Thomas Green after the death of her first husband.

Consider the marriage bond of Rubin Wright to Polly Foster in 1789. William Wood Jr. gave security and William Wood [Sr.] gave consent; the bond noted that Polly was the granddaughter of William Wood.[8] The marriage bond shows that Polly's maiden name was Foster but it also implies other information. Polly's father would normally be the one to give consent but didn't. The only reason can be that he was deceased. Next in line to give consent would be Polly's mother. Either she was deceased also, or she had remarried and as a femme covert was unable to legally give consent. And so Polly's grandfather gave the consent. The fact that consent was required means that Polly was under 21 years of age in 1789 or born after 1768.[9] These facts can be used to identify the first husband of Nancy Wood.

No marriage bond was recorded for Nancy Wood to a Foster groom but her husband can be identified using other records and some logic. Polly was the only child of Nancy and her unknown first husband so he probably died within a few years after her birth, say 1769-1774.[10] Amelia County Will Books record two estates during that period, George Foster on Flat Creek and William Foster.[11] George Foster can be eliminated as his wife was named Mary and he had multiple children, but William's wife was named Nancy.

William Foster died intestate about 1770. His widow, Nancy, was granted administration of his estate in February, 1771. His estate was small, suggesting that William was a young man just starting out in life.[12] The timeline of Polly's birth about 1769-1770 fits very well with William's death in 1770 with a widow named Nancy. Thus Nancy Wood's unknown husband was William Foster who died in 1770.

Which William Foster died in 1770? Tax lists for Amelia County list multiple men with that name. The men who appraised his estate, Francis Anderson, Francis Hopkins and John Bagbey, can be used to identify his neighborhood to reduce the possible candidates.[13] These men are recorded in the tax lists for 1765-1770 in the area of Raleigh Parish above Flat Creek. William Wood, father of Nancy Wood, also appears on these tax lists. Five William Fosters are listed: William Sr. and his son, William Jr; William on Stocks Creek; William son of Thomas on Stocks Creek; William son of George on Stocks Creek.[14]

Four of these men can be eliminated as the man who died in 1770.

  1. William Sr. died in 1767.[15]
  2. William Jr. inherited land in Charlotte County and is taxed there beginning in 1782.[16]
  3. William on Stocks Creek sold his land in 1772 and moved to neighboring Prince Edward County.[17]
  4. William, son of Thomas on Stocks Creek, was taxed in 1782 as "son of Thos".[18]
This leaves William, son of George on Stocks Creek, as the man who died in 1770. Although the evidence is indirect it is compelling. William Foster, the son of George on Sandy Creek, married Nancy Wood and died about 1770 with one daughter, Mary (Polly).


  1. Tithe Lists for Amelia Co. 1754, List of Thomas Tabb; Binns Genealogy, Amelia Co. Va., (http://www.binnsgenealogy.com).

  2. Amelia Co., Va., Will Book 2x:349, Inventory of William Foster; microfilm reel 28, County Records Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond.

  3. Kathleen Booth Williams, Marriages of Amelia County, Virginia, 1735-1815 (Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1979), 125.

  4. Amelia Co., Va., Chancery Cause, Heirs of Reuben Wright v. Admx. of Reuben Wright; Library of Virginia, VirginiaMemory, Chancery Collection, file no. 1824-022.

  5. Amelia Co., Va., Chancery Cause, Heirs of Reuben Wright by etc v. Admr of Reuben Wright; Library of Virginia, VirginiaMemory, Chancery Collection, file no. 1828-010.

  6. Virginia Colonial Tithe Lists, Amelia Co., 1736-1782; BinnsGenealogy, (http://www.binnsgenealogy.com).

  7. Amelia Co., Va., Chancery Cause, Ann Wood widow etc. v. exr. of William Wood &c by etc, Bill of Complaint (n.d.); Library of Virginia, VirginiaMemory, Chancery Collection, file no. 1814-015, image 19.

  8. Kathleen Booth Williams, Marriages of Amelia County, Virginia, 1735-1815 (Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1979), 125.

  9. Library of Virginia, Research Notes Number 26, "Early Virginia Marriage Records"; (https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/guides/Research_Note_26.pdf).

  10. Polly was the only child of Nancy Wood by her first husband that was named in the list of heirs of William Wood Sr. in the 1814 chancery suit.

  11. Gibson J. McConnaughey, Amelia County Wills, 1735-1780, Bonds 1735-1754 (Amelia, VA: Mid-South Pub. Co., 1978).

  12. Amelia Co., Va., Will Book 2x:349, inventory of William Foster; microfilm reel 28, County Records Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond.

  13. Ibid.

  14. Lists of tithables, 1736-1782, and miscellaneous documents, ca. 1740-1795, Amelia Co., VA,; FHL microfilm 1902616.

  15. Amelia Co., Va., Order Book 10:120 (27 Nov 1767); FHL microfilm 30462.

  16. Land Tax Records for Charlotte County, microfilm reel 70, 1782-1802; Library of Virginia, Richmond.

  17. Gibson Jefferson McConnaughey, Deed books 9, 10 and 11 : Amelia County, Virginia, deeds 1766-1773 (Amelia, VA: Mid-South Pub. Co., 1990), 101 (William Foster to John Foster, 1772). Also Prince Edward Co., Va., deeds, DB 4:259, Joshua Chaffin to William Foster, 1772; Prince Edward Co. microfilm, reel 2, Library of Virginia, Richmond.

  18. Personal Property Tax Records for Amelia County (1782-1853), list of Mack Goode, 1782, entry for William Foster son of Thomas; FHL microfilm 2024454.
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Laurie McKenna. Contact me at [email protected].