Is James Cary of Nottoway the grandson of Mylles Cary the immigrant?

Research on this subject is scant however Fairfax Harrison does cover this
area in his book “The Virginia Cary’s” on page forty three.  Fairfax
indicates that James Cary of Nottoway was probably 4th generation
contemporary of the Warwick family. He also says on page forty one:

 “He may have been the James Cary who patented lands in King William in
1720 but seems too early to have been the James Cary who patented lands on
the Nottoway River in 1736-1740 and whom there are traces as late as 1759.”

I can understand why Fairfax was unsure of what generation James belong to
however, information that was not available to Fairfax gives a little
better timeline of the Cary’s that lived in this area of Nansemond County.
It is not my intent to discredit Fairfax Harrison for he was a true scholar
and much of what I’ve learned came from his book. My theory is that James
Cary of Nottoway River and James Cary who patented land in King William
County 1720 are the same as James Cary 3 (Thomas 2, Mylles 1).

Elphinston Cary (Edward 4, James 3, Thomas 2, Mylles 1)
In order to make my case I need to talk about my own ancestor Elphinston
Cary. Elphinston was born in Virginia 1745 and lived in Nansemond County.
He is noted in Fairfax Harrison’s book and was party to lands that were
owned by James Cary of Nottoway River. Elphinston migrated to North
Carolina in the late 1700s and then to Georgia where he died in 1821.
Further information about Elphinston can be viewed on the Cary web site:
http://www.econelec.com/Carywebpage/cary/index.htm

James Cary Junior (James 3, Thomas 2, Mylles 1)
James Cary Jr. is believed to be the first son of James Cary of Nottoway
and the brother of Edward Cary. James Jr. was clerk for the Vestry in 1750
and acquired lands in Lunenburg in 1753. He is also mentioned in various
documents pertaining to deeds in North Carolina.

Edward Cary (James 3, Thomas 2, Mylles 1)
Edward Cary is believed to be the father of Elphinston Cary. He and
Elphinston signed a petition for religious freedom in 1784 Nansemond
County. On November 28, 1784 Edward and Elphinston signed a petition to
create a new county from Isle of Wight and Nansemond. In 1745 Edward was
witness to a document signed by James Cary of Nottoway; this was the same
year that Elphinston was born.  Edward is listed in the Vestry Book of the
Upper Parish, Nansemond County. In 1754 he served as clerk for the Nottoway
Chapel.


Ann Cary
Ann Cary is believed to be the widowed wife of James Cary of Nottoway. Not
much is know about Ann except she is the subject of land precessions in the
Vestry book of the Upper Parish.  The common thread between the land that
James of Nottoway and the land that Ann Cary owned is they had the Hart
family as a neighbor. She is referred to as the “Widow Cary” in a deed of
May 10,1786 Wherein Elphinston Cary and his wife Elizabeth, of Northampton
County, North Carolina, sold to Robert Owens of Southampton 200 acres of
land in Southampton County Virginia, which was part of a tract of land
granted to James Cary.

Benjamin Cary
Benjamin may have been the son of Edward and older brother of Elphinston.
He was mentioned in the Vestry book as being present for the procession of
land for John Hart in 1759, Elphinston would have been fourteen years of
age.
James Cary Jr. had already moved out of the area so it’s unlikely Benjamin
was his son.


Abraham’s solicitation to the Wigs 1850.
One document that gives some clue to James Cary of Nottoway and James Cary
3 as being one and the same is the Solicitation of Abraham to the Wigs of
1850. This solicitation was the result of a hoax that fortunes in England
was available to the heirs of Mylles Cary the immigrant.  Fairfax Harrison
talks about this solicitation that was full of errors and fed on the greed
of individuals that had little to do with the Cary family. However I
believe there to be some truths in the solicitation and so did Fairfax.

{Excerpt from Abrahams solicitation}
“Thomas Cary, grandson of old Col. Mylles Cary, sr., married and died a
short time after, in 1790, in Warwick county, leaving two sons, to wit: Wm.
Cary and Miles Cary, and one daughter, wife of Edward Curtis. His father,
Thomas Cary, lived until 1708, as aforesaid; he had born unto him Thomas
Cary, (who died 1790,) James Cary, sr., (of New Kent county, now King
William county, Va.,) Melnor Cary and Elizabeth Cary. James Cary, sr., had
lands bequeathed to him in King William County, Va., as aforesaid; married,
and I think married Jean Wood, Daughter of Thomas Wood, and Cisily, his
wife, (English birth.) He died and left about James Cary, jr., of said
county, and Edward Cary. James Cary, jr., sold to Clements and removed to
Surry County, Va., and afterwards to Isle of Wight County, Va. I find as
yet not further trace of Edward”.



Notes:
James of Nottoway referred to himself as James Cary of Isle of Wight in a
land grant of 1736 whereas he was granted 2,080 acres. One of three
concurrent grants in the County of Nansemond.
James Cary (Jane) and James Michel (Myhill - son of Mary Lockey) were
witnesses to the bond between George and Thomas, Jane's sons by her Clement
marriage. (25 V 67,68-no idea what this means. Must be reference in Otey's
book)

1722 James Cary patented 400 acres on North fork of Reedy Swamp on the
branches of the North Ann in St. John's Parish (King William Record Book
11, p106) He gave the land to James Harrison (?brother in law) in 9 July
1724).

James Cary called James Harrison 'his loving friend" Otey [ 28 [S408]

James of Nottoway is believed to have two sons. James Cary Junior and
Edward Cary, both mentioned in the Vestry book of the Upper Parish and both
having land transactions with James of Nottoway.

The exact birth date of James Cary 3 is not known, Fairfax puts it about
1678 however he could have been born anytime prior to the death of Thomas 2
in 1708. It is believed that James Cary of Nottoway died sometime between
1757 and 1760. The last entry in the Vestry book, that referrers to James
personally is his service as ferryman for the Nottoway Chapel 1757.
Afterwards his lands are in the possession of Ann Cary or the “widow Cary”
He would have been somewhere around 70-80 years of age at his death.

Assuming Elphinston is fifth generation of Mylles Cary the immigrant 1623-
1667. The average age between Elphinston and Mylles Cary is 30.5 years.  I
believe that James Cary fathered James Cary Junior and Edward Cary in his
second marriage.

So the question remains; is James Cary of Nottoway and James Cary 3 the
same person? This is the conundrum that I face and has consumed my spare
time over the last year. My hope is that there are documents that will make
this connection possible. I look forward to anyone interested in Mylles
Cary line to help prove or disprove this theory.

James Cary
Descendant of Elphinston Cary

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