Descendants of Robert Coleman of Nansemond County Virginia 1684-1930: Chapter 1 First Generation

Preface   |   Contents   |   Next   |   References   |   Site Map   |   Site Index   |   Site Map

Some Descendants of Robert Coleman of Nansemond County Virginia 1684-1930

Chapter 1  First Generation

A brief note about navigating the work.  The names that appear as links in the chapters are links back to the index.  The index contains up to three links for each person.  Where available there is a link designated by a single letter, C, A, or P, to the first occurence of the person as a child, adult, and parent, respectively.  This is particularly useful when the child is not mentioned as an adult until a subsequent chapter.

(1) Robert Coleman, I (c1650-c1710) was my earliest known ancestor.  In her book The Coleman Family of Mobjack Bay Virginia, Nicol, 1998, p. 43 records the fact another Robert Coleman, of Isle of Wight County, Virginia transported a headright Robert Coleman receiving land 29 Sep 1667 for the fact.  Nicol speculates this could have been our Robert Coleman, I of Nansemond County, Virginia.  If (1) Robert Coleman, I arrived in 1667 at the age of 17, he would have been born in 1650, but there is no proof of his age at any point in his life.  Any assignment of a year of birth or death for him is merely speculation.  The purpose is to identify him apart from the many other Robert Colemans of the day, not to mention of his line, for he was first of four in a line.  The designation of I, II, III, and IV to identify these four Robert Colemans is again simply my attempt to identify them, not that they were recorded with these numbers.  So, if you quote my years or my use of I, II, III, or IV, then you are obligated to point out that these identifiers are for discussion purposes only, not representative of how the men were recorded in any place that has yet been found.

To borrow a page from the diary of Jennie I. Coleman, writing in the early 1800s from her house in Fairfield County South Carolina, the (1) Robert Coleman, I, first in my line to arrive in Virginia, was likely from Wales. [Coleman, J. P., 1965]   Other sources record the fact the Coleman name was never associated with gentry.  No Coleman lords or ladies were recorded in English history, yet they distinguished themselves frequently in the founding of the Virginia Colony.

The first recorded Coleman to Virginia was Thomas Coleman and his wife who came with the last of the colonists sent by Sir Walter Ralegh (sic) to settle on Roanoke Island off the coast of North Carolina.  Previous attempts at a colony further North had failed and this group attempted to settle far enough South to avoid the harshness of the Northern New England winters.  The colony was not resupplied the following year due to mounting tensions between King Phillip's Spanish Armada and Queen Elizabeth's England that resulted as privateering by Sir Francis Drake and others licensed by the English crown became an intolerable disturbance in the trade or looting of the Spanish dominion in what is now Mexico.  A resupply effort with meager (small) ships failed to leave coastal England due to the threat of invasion of English territorial waters by the Spanish Armada.  This failed resupply effort only resulted in privateering off the English coast.  It took another two and a half years before a resupply voyage could reach the colony, four years after they had been planted there.   What ever happened will remain unknown, but the word "Croatoan" was found carved in a tree.  There is speculation the colonists moved inland to settle and assimilate with native tribes of the area, but the tribes they would likely have befriended were soon wiped out by war with other tribes.  So, whether lost directly before they could assimilate, or whether wiped out after joining with local tribes, there were never any fair haired natives found to represent their progeny.  There are many good references on the colonization of the North American continent by Europeans in general and the English specifically. Some of my favorites are:

  1. Stick, David, Roanoke Island, The Beginnings of English in America, University of North Carolina Press, 1983.  This is an excellent account of the earliest exploration even of Greenland and Iceland by Norsemen and Vikings up through the landing of the first truly permanent colony of Englishmen in Virginia.  This very detailed account was written to laymen by a historian who enjoyed familiarity with the historical documents and legends of our ancestral settlement efforts.
  2. Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson, The Planters of Colonial Virginia, Jefferson Princeton Univ. Press:Princeton, NJ and the Oxford Univ. Press:London, 1922.  This thick tome gives a thorough telling of lots of interesting stories occurring throughout the time period from the arrival of the first permanent settlers through the revolutionary war.  A more complete retelling of the events in the lives and times of our colonial ancestors in Virginia from 1600s through the 1700s and into the 1800s would be difficult to find.  This reference, above all others I have perused, demonstrates the pattern of events that lead to open rebellion in Virginia against the exploitation policies that grew to overburden the colonists particularly about 1650.  The retelling of Bacon's Rebellion, the deeds and misdeeds of Berkeley as the governor of the colony duly appointed by the King, the loyalty of the colonists to the King after his ouster back in Britain, and the trouble the colonists receive for their loyalty when he is reinstated are all told in a wonderful narrative that almost reads like a novel in this fine work.
  3. Rubin, Louis D., Jr., Virginia - A bicentennial History one of a series of books called "States and the Nation" published by W. W. Norton & Company of New York for the American Association for State and Local History of Nashville, TN, 1977.  This book is written to young adults and touches on some great stories but leaves out so much of the entertaining detail that will be found in the other references above.

In the group of Englishmen returning to Roanoke four years after the colony was founded, a Robert Coleman is found who drowned trying to get ashore in stormy seas where many men perished.  Whether he was revered for his action or whether Robert is just a common name, it remains to be seen.  But the facts as are known today show that four different Robert Colemans arrived in the Virginia Colony by 1700. [Nicol, 1998; Coleman, J. P., 1965?]  These are commonly referred to by the county in which each settled.  Therefore, we refer to Robert of Gloucester County (also known as Mobjack Bay Coleman line), Robert of Charles City County, Robert of Isle of Wight, and lastly, (1) Robert of Nansemond County.  Nansemond County is now called Suffolk City County, so when you look at modern maps, be sure to note the new name.

This work is to tell the story of the line of (1) Robert Coleman of Nansemond County.

(1) Robert Coleman of Nansemond may have been brought over to Virginia by Robert Coleman of Isle of Wight.  "On 29 Sep 1667, Robert of Isle of Wight was granted 634 acres in Isle of Wight Co. - 300 purchased from Ambrose Bennet and 334 for transporting seven persons, including a Robert Coleman (Pat. Bk. 6, p181).  The headright Robert Coleman may be the Nansemond County Robert [Coleman] in the previous paragraph.  Nansemond and Isle of Wight bordered each other." [Nicol, 1998, p. 43]

If this is our (1) Robert I of Nansemond, he arrived in 1667 and may have served a five year period of indenture to Robert of Isle of Wight.  As a freeman in 1672, he would have been employed in what ever line of work seemed most opportune.  After some period of 12 years, he has gained the clout to patent his first tract of land.

For another very interesting take on these two, perhaps father and son, see lots of detailed information at: http://andersonnc.wordpress.com/robert-coleman-iow-to-bath-co-nc-d-1721/

Virginia Patents and Deeds, No. xxx, page 378 records:

To all ?? whosoaf?? Now know ye that I the saih? Framing? Lord Howard Joccund ?? do with this (document?) and ?? of this Counsel of State? accordingly give and grant unto Mr. Robert Coleman five hundred and thirty acres of land situated on the West side of a Reedy Marsh being a Growth og Chuckatuck, four hundred acres part therof being formerly granted to Richard and ?? Lo?? ?? 29th of January 1667 by whom it was sold and conveyed to the said Coleman, the remainder being wasteland part within and part without that? position? access?? Bounds, the whole thing Be ceded, beginning at a red oak?? by yc afore said marsh, ? then? South West two hundred fourty four yrds to a white oak by a memmosa?, then North West East forty five poles to the edge of the position? to live red oak, Jeremiah Rutton, corner post, the land in the possession of John Turnow, then by said corner post by North One hundred and six pole to the marsh afore mentioned, and go down this marsh or branch to the first Station.

Nugent recorded that on 20 Apr 1684, Robert Coleman was granted 530 acres of land and another 400 acres that had belonged to Richard & Miles Lewis since 29 Jan 1667 [Nugent]. Nicol recorded that on 28 Oct 1697, another 450 acres was granted to Robert Coleman.  By 1704, according to the Quit Rent Roll which Mississippi Governor, J. P. Coleman viewed in London [Coleman, 1965], and which is available online and in the book The Planters of Colonial Virginia by Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker our Robert Coleman was listed as owning 1400 acres.  This is all that is known of him.

J.P. Coleman's book, p. 80 reported that the Colemans and Jordans both came together from Nansemond County Virginia to Edgecombe County North Carolina where they were recorded from 1745 to 1800.  With that in mind, I noted the presence of Thomas Jordan in Nansemond County.  Nugent shows Thomas Jordan patented 550 acres on 22 Oct 1666.  Other references show that William Nichols, Hedgepeths, and Pews were some other families from Nansemond County Virginia who passed through Edgecombe County, NC, making it their home for a time.  While there were very accurate surveys made with magnetic compass and steel chains, there was economic incentive to under report acreage, since less acreage meant less tax to pay.  So while some figures may be rather precise, others may vary by 50%.

Map of Southeastern Virginia showing the location of the town of Chuckatuck, Virginia 

Locating Chuckatuck, the town and the creek, in Southeastern Virginia

The above map shows modern day towns around the Chesapeake Bay area in relation to that area where Robert Coleman of Nansemond County, Virginia first patented land in 1684.

The first land granted was west of a reedy salt marsh on a branch of the Chuckatuck.  The second was not well described, but was land first patented by those who sold it to Robert, Richard & Miles Lewis.  They had patented it on 29 Jan 1667.  It was situated adjacent to land of Jeremiah Rutter and John Turner.  The third plot was said to lie near Wickham Swamp in Upper Parish adjacent to John & Thomas Milner.  The present day Chuckatuck Creek flows SE out of Isle of Wight County toward the town of Chuckatuck where it turns NE to flow into the James River. Chuckatuck is situated South of the James River and closer to the coast than Jamestown.  It lies North of the Nansemond River, which drains into the James near where the James River reaches Chesapeake Bay.  The area is very low land subject to tidal incursions which keep the soil marshy and salty.  It reminds me of the saying, "If you believe that, I've got some swamp land I'd like to sell ya'" Whether Robert's acres were high or low or what the elevations were like in his time are unknown.  But these are the clues we have.  There are much more detailed maps available online. MapQuest.com is a good source of road maps of this area. Topozone.com was a good source of detailed topographic maps (modern 20th century, not 17th century maps) of this area but lost its free status when it was made a part of Trails.com.

Living near a swamp with no chemicals to fight mosquitos and little known about medicine to fight disease was a most decidedly unhealthy place to settle.  This fact was even known to the London Company who stated the fact in their directives about where to settle the Jamestown colonists.  I noted with satisfaction that the entire group of Colemans is not found in Nansemond County after the 1704 presence recorded in the Quit Rent Rolls.  Apparently the whole group, along with other branches of Colemans, recognized the need to move to a more healthy region, and thus would find a place in Northern Edgecombe County, North Carolina to homestead. 

North Carolina migration of descendants of Robert Coleman of Nansemond County Virginia. 

North Carolina Migration Pattern

for descendants of Robert Coleman of Nansemond County Virginia.

Nothing is known of the death of Robert Coleman, I, but it is presumed that a 60 year life span would be a long life for this place and time.  Based on that assumption and on the assumption he was born around 1650, we arrive at an assigned year of death of 1710.  Again, this is more for identifying the man and the approximate time period he lived than it is to assert any actual date of death which remains to be discovered.

It is interesting to note the early connection with the Roundtree family in a note posted to the COLEMAN-L:

Looking for vitals and Parentage of Sarah Coleman b. 1655 in Ireland and died
1723 in Nansemond County, Va. She married Francis Roundtree in 1670 in North
Ireland, where Francis was born. They had 12 children. If anyone has any info
on Sarah Coleman or her family, please let me know
[Erika in MI, post dated Mon, 30 Jul 2001 00:09:27 EDT with a subject of "Sarah Coleman b. 1655 in Ireland"]

And this posting made to ROUNDTREE-L:

Looking for any information that indicates that Frances Rountree (b. 1649)
and Sarah Coleman had a daughter Rebecca who married John Lassiter.
[From Russell Daines Hornsby <[email protected]> To: [email protected], dated Sun, 22 Apr 2001 21:08:12 -0000 with subject "Frances Rountree & Sarah Coleman"]

 

June 26, 2008



Preface   |   Contents   |   Next   |   References   |   Site Map   |   Site Index   |   Site Map