If they were on the Eastern Shore (Accomack and Northampton), your ancestors
could have been forced out in part by Col. Edmund Scarborough. He was a
forceful and colorful character. He patented land in Accomack upon the
death of his father in November 1635. He was Speaker of the House of
Burgesses in 1653 and a Member, 1642-1671; the Sheriff in 1666, Justice of
Northampton Co., and held a number of offices in the Church over the years.
Col. Scarborough was an able lawyer, a power in the Courts, an ardent
Royalist and ran his affairs as in the feudal system.
He was a prominent businessman. He owned a fleet of ships which traded up
and down the eastern seaboard (read Massachusetts to GA) and held interests
in salt (I believe he was the only salt producer at the time) and other
businesses (he had a shoe factory, malt plants in addition to shipping and
trading in tobacco and other things) which he conducted in part with Mrs.
Ann Toft on property he had granted to her in 1660 when she is said to have
been 17 and again in 1664 and in 1669. There was a deed between them that
he would conduct business on her plantation in "a manner that he sees fit."
There is circumstantial evidence that she was his mistress: the name of the
place (Gargaphie comes from Ovid's Metamorphoses, iii, 180, which refers to
the bower where Diana and her nymphs disported); his relationships with a
young woman living in a remote part of the county alone; that he improved
the land yet renounced all claim for himself and his natural heirs after his
natural life; the statements of a servant (who was punished, of course)
that he would "work no more for Scarburg's whores and bastards" (Virginia's
Eastern Shore A History of Northhampton and Accomack County by Ralph
Whitelaw, Vol II, page 1151). She bore 3 girls to him following the
beginning of their association. Once he died, she quickly married Daniel
Jenifer and arranged for the property to be deeded to the girls.
In addition, the Indians called him "The Conjuror" and the governors of both
VA and MD had disagreements with him. During his dispute with the governor
of VA, he had to flee to New England before they made up. His dispute with
MD involved surveying the line between VA and MD. As the Surveyor, he moved
the line north so that his property fell within VA. It was only after the
vigorous protest of Governor Calvert, that the line was re-surveyed and
moved back to the south and referred to as the Calvert-Scarborough Line when
it was ratified by the Legislatures of the two states.
According to Southern Kith and Kin (by Jewel Davis Scarborough, 1957) a
book about the Scarboroughs and their relations, he "was anathema to the
Puritans and Quakers whom he considered his special enemies." As you can see
from the above, that they were kicked out of the area may have had much to
do with his attitudes and authority and not quite so much to do with the
law. Checking the records in the House of Burgess will probably give you
more info about his role in evicting them.
Cynthia McDaniel
-----Original Message-----
From: Research and writing about Virginia genealogy and family history.
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sally Phillips
Sent: Monday, December 05, 2011 9:55 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [VA-ROOTS] Puritans in Early Virginia
One of my ancestors, Richard Cheyney, supposedly came from a wealthy, noble,
royalist family in England. In the early 1600s, as the Puritans began to
attain power, Richard and his family began to lose some of their influence
and wealth. He supposedly came to Virginia about 1635, paying his own
passage. A group of English Puritans in Virginia were forced out by the
early Virginia government because of their religion. These Puritans and
Richard Cheyney the Immigrant then moved over to Providence near present-day
Annapolis, Maryland. I assume "a wealthy, noble, royalist" would not be a
Puritan. His son was a member of the Episcopal All Hallows Church near
Annapolis. So I'm not clear about these early Puritans and Cheyney's
connection (or lack thereof) to them.
Does anyone know about these Puritans in early Virginia? Were they a
cohesive group? Did they settle in one place? How were they forced out?
Did they all go to Maryland? Maryland was supposed to be Catholic; why
would Puritans choose to go there?
Clearly my knowledge of religious history needs work! Thanks in advance.
--Sally Phillips
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