Christopher Reynolds (politician)

Christopher Reynolds was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and ancestor of R. J. Reynolds. Other notable descendants include Samuel Langhorne Clemens “Mark Twain” and "Lonesome" Charley Reynolds.

Christopher Reynolds
Member of Virginia House of Burgesses for one session only
In office
1652–1652
Personal details
Born1611
England
Died1654
Virginia
Spouse(s)Elizabeth
ChildrenChristopher; John; Richard; Abbasha; Elizabeth (stepdaughter?); Jane; George Rivers (stepson); Thomas, born after the Will was written.[1]
ResidenceIsle of Wight County, Virginia
Occupationfarmer

Early life

Christopher Reynolds was born in Gravesend, England in 1611,[2][3] the son of George Reynolds and Thomasyn Church.[4]

He arrived in the Virginia Colony along with several family members, including his brother Thomas,[4] in 1622 aboard the John & Francis. As his party arrived very shortly after the Massacre of 1622, they first lived in Jamestowne, but eventually went across the James River as originally planned to settle as indentured servants in Warrascoyack County, Virginia, later named Isle of Wight County.[5]

Eleven years old when he arrived in Jamestowne, he was an indentured servant of Edward Bennett's Plantation, where he was still living in 1625.[5][6] In 1626 he was documented in a legal dispute concerning the contract of other servants on the Bennett plantation.[5]

Although there are many references to the information above, there are many who question the parents of Christopher being George and Thomasyn. After much research, the Reynolds Family Association does not accept this as fact. There are two very well written and referenced articles to be found at: https://web.archive.org/web/20120103062202/http://www.reynoldsfamily.org/line17/chris_4.html and http://www.genfiles.com/reynolds/Reynoldschron1622-1699.htm that cast serious doubt on the accuracy of the conclusions of the writers of the sources quoted for this information. [Whether the “Reynolds Family Association” has any authority at all remains to be proved, as its existence is novel at best.—Douglas W. Reynolds, Jr.]

Late life

By 1636, he had settled on 450 acres (180 ha) in what eventually became Isle of Wight County near Pagan Creek.[7] He had married Elizabeth, a widow with two children. They raised seven children, several who were mentioned in his will in 1654: son Christopher, son John, son Richard, daughter Abbasha, daughter Elizabeth, daughter Jane, stepson George Rivers, unnamed (unborn son Thomas, born 1655).[8][9][10]

Representative

In 1652, he was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.

References
  1. "Isle of Wight Wills and Deeds Book A"
  2. The sons of Lars: a genealogy of the Larson and Smith families of southwest Missouri. Jerry Laverne Larson. J.L. Larson, 1987. p. 210
  3. [Lineage book, Volume 22. Daughters of the American Colonists. The Daughters, 1977. p. 64
  4. The Rennolds-Reynolds family of England and Virginia, 1530-1948. Stephen Frederick Tillman. 1948. p. 46
  5. "Virginia immigrants and adventurers, 1607-1635: a biographical dictionary", Martha W. McCartney. Genealogical Publishing Com, 2007. p. 597
  6. "1607 - 1660", Peter Wilson Coldham. Genealogical Publishing Com, 1988. p. 62
  7. Historical Southern families, Volume 2. John Bennett Boddie. Genealogical Pub. Co. p. 201
  8. "Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County, Virginia: A history of the County of Isle of Wight, Virginia, during the seventeenth century, including abstracts of the county records" John Bennett Boddie. Heritage Books. ISBN 0-7884-4399-2, ISBN 978-0-7884-4399-2. p. 521
  9. "The Rennolds-Reynolds Family of England and Virginia, 1530-1948. Stephen Frederick Tillman, op. cit. p. 46
  10. Christopher Reynolds. "Isle of Wight Wills and Deeds Book A". Richmond, VA. pp. 46-48

"Isle of Wight Wills and Deeds Book A"

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.