Henry was our immigrant ancestor and the first of our line found inVir ginia.
Thanks to Michael Marshall for digging through wills, land records,etc f or documentation of Henry's family and descendants, then postingthem a t Rootsweb.com.
Residences & events:
England
Old Rappahannock Co, VA. The exact date of Henry's arrival in Americai s unknown. Some say he was brought over by a large land owner, andhis n ame did appear in court records as headright in a land patentissued to E pharaditus Lawson, dated May 22, 1650. Thus after payingLawson, the l and allotted him from the Colony of Virginia to pay forhis passage, He nry started his life as a free man. By 1656 hereceived a land patent f or 140 acres, and from then on appears oftenin the records of old Rapp ahannock County. Although he owned land onboth side of the Rappahanno ck River, he lived on the south side, inthe county of what is now Esse x, upon the Occupacia Creek.
"The house of Henry Berry of Occupacia Creek" is mentioned often incou rt records.
11/3/1662 Henry sold land:
KNOW ALL MEN that I HENRY BERRY of the Parish of Sittingbourne in theC ounty of Rappahanock in Virginia have for good causes sould all myrigh t and interest of two hundred acres of land or thereabouts beingin the C ounty of Rappahanock unto GEORGE PLEY of the same County hisheirs & as signes which land boundeth Beginning at a Pocickery uponthe South side o f OCCUPATIONCREEK from thence to marked white Oakneer upon ESE and fro m thence to a Swamp leading neer upon S. to across lyne parting Mr. HA LLs and this Devident above expressedparalell by that Lyne to the Nort h West lyne parelel by the NorthWest lyne to the Creek againe To have a nd to hold to him the saidGEORGE PLEY his heirs or assignes with all p rofits in as large manneras it was given unto me the said HENRY BERRY b y a Conveyance grantedfrom Mr. HALL to JOHN JENNINGS & from the said J OHN GENINGS grantedto me the said HENRY BERRY the assignment bearing d ate the first ofSeptember 1658 containing two hundred acres I the said H ENRY BERRYdoth oblige my self that said GEORGE PLEY shall enjoy every p art ofthe land aforesaid for Ever without hindrance of any persons & furthermore I ingage my self my heirs to acknowledge the sale in theCou nty Court of Rappa. to the said GEORGE PLEY In Testimony of thetruth I h ave sett my hand and seale this third of November 1662
in presence of ROBERT PLEY,
RICHARD GOODE
KNOW ALL MEN that I ANN BERRY the Wife of HENRY BERRY of the County ofR appahanock do hereby acknowledge to have received of GEORGE PLEYfull s atisfaccon for my Dower of Two hundred acres of land on which Ido give m y free consent to the sale hereof and do appoint JOHN WEIGHTmy Lawfull A ttorney for me to acknowledge the Sale in the CountyCourt of Rappahano ck and do hereby ingage to confirme what my saidAttorney shall do in t he premises In Witness I hereunto sett my hand& seale the 3 of Novembe r 1662 in presence of
ROBERT PLEY,
RICHARD GOODE
ANN BERRY
5/10/1671 A survey was done for Henry:
"Surveyed for Henry Berry the 10th day of May 1671 in Stafford Countyi n the Forrest betwixt the two Rivers of Potomak and Rappa", 550acres, " beginning at a marked Wm Lips corner tree stand near the saidBerrys Li ne", adj line of Mr James Kaye, etc. signed per me JohnAlexander
1676 Both Henry and son Henry were executors of the estate of a JohnB utler of Westmoreland Co, VA.
4/29/1730 Long after Henry's death his name appeared in landtransacti ons:
For Robert Faldo va. Ralph Wormeley, William Taliaferro claims 600acre s of the Henry Berry patent, 1664, and survey made April 29,1730.
His will was dated 3/30/1672 and named only son Richard who wasunderag e, and lumped the rest together as "my children.." Sons John,Henry, a nd William are proven from subsequent land deeds, RapahonockCounty, Va .
Will of Henry Berry King George County 1677 Old Rappahannock Countyboo k, 1677-1682
"I will and bequeah my soule to God from whom I have my firstbreat h, my body to the ground to be buryed in a decent manner . Iwill that m y loveing friend Robert Peck by my sole executor that thesaid Peck may a ct in any case, as if I myselfe were in front. I willand bequeath to W illiam Herton one hundred acres of land. I will thatall the rest of my r eall and personall estate be equaly dividedamongst my children except m y wives thirds. To him that shall havethe girle named Jane Stowe to ha ve 2 cows more than the rest. I willthat John Rolt have one heiffer tw o yeares old. I will that all mychildren may have a great care of the k eeping of the said Jane Stowsoe long as she lives. That my sone Richar d may have learning as wellas the rest, as witness my hand this 30th o f March 1672."
Henry's wife was still alive at the time of his death for he willedher a " wives third" of the estate. This leaves some interestingquestions; ma inly, who was the girl Jane Stowe and why were thechildren cautioned t o take "great care" of her? Was she a slave? Award? Or child of a d ead friend or neighbor? Was she perhapshandicapped? And, why does "h im that shall have the girle named JaneStowe" have "2 cows more than t he rest?"
