Taught many years in NM and TX
Notes from Occupation event: immigrant, land owner
FOR THE RECORD
The following is a verbatim copy of the text compiled jointly by Phd
Thomas Wortham of Jacksonville Arkansas and Tom Wortham genealogist, of
Madisonville, Kentucky. The original version included group sheets
(now updated from the records of several Wortham genealogists) which
can be printed from this computer program, and a detailed map of the
early American colonies. References to the group sheets and maps have
been deleted from the text. Discrepancies or notations will be enclosed
in brackets [to save research time later]. Some abbreviations have
been expanded to their full wording.
This work in a newsletter format, is undated but is said by Phd Thomas
Wortham as having been compiled in the early 1990's.
-=Ron Wortham=-
GENERAL Wortham HISTORY
The earliest known record of a Wortham in America is found in an entry of the
Court Records in Northampton County, Virginia, dated Jan 3 1642/43, in which
property is granted to Captain Francis Yeardley as payment for the
transportation of 58 [53/57] individuals to the New World. On the list of
these early settlers is found one John Wortham.
The country of John's origin is not known ["The Wortham Connection" verifies
England] although England is strongly suspected, since Yeardley and his father
George, former Governor of the Virgina Colony were both English. To further
support that theory is the fact that there existed at that time, both a Wortham
Parish and a hamlet known as Wortham; both located in southeastern England.
Despite several sound theories, the exact location where these early
adventurers may have come ashore is likewise unknown. A noted Virginia
researcher has suggested that the point of entry may have been Yorktown or even
Jamestown, as these were two of the more prominent villages along the Virginia
coast. The 17th century colony was experiencing a socio-economical order
referred to as the Plantation Society. Many wealthy Planters owned large
amounts of land which lay along the Tidewater area's large, navigable rivers.
These propitious farmers would add to their estate holdings by paying for the
transportation of persons from England to "the Virginia Plantations." For each
person so transported, the payer would receive 50 acres of land. This
Headright System, as it was called served to facilitate the populating of the
Colony and allowed the generosity of those already in America to be rewarded.
Because the shipping of goods and people was so vital to their existence, these
large landowners built their plantations (houses) near the banks of the rivers.
Their cargoes were simply unloaded at a convenient point on their property.
Consequently, it is possible that John Wortham first set foot on Virginia soil
at a landing site on Yeardley's property in Northampton County near the
Hungar's Creek area.
Currently, nothing more is known of John's activities in the years
immediately following his arrival in America. The next entry concerning a John
Wortham is found in Patent book 4, 1655-1664, under the date of March 5, 1658,
in which 400 acres of land were patented by John Wortham in what was then
Lancaster County (now located in Middlesex County) "on the Piankatank side of
the main road just below the cut-off to the Dragon Run Crossing." This is the
same property which is still owned by descendants of John Wortham some 330
years later.
Through Church and Court Records, there exists well documented and defined
genealogies of the succeeding 100 years of Worthams in Virginia.
Unfortunately it is not documented as to whether the John Wortham who
patented land in 1658 is the same John Wortham who was transported to Virginia
in 1642.
At this point, we have two possibilities to consider; (1) that both of these
references pertain to the same John Wortham or (2) they are not the same
person, but in fact, father and son. There are several arguments which support
both points of view. For simplicity's sake, John who was transported to
Virginia will be referred to as John, 1642; while John who patented land in
1658 will be John, 1658.
Another area of uncertainty is the marriage(s) of John Wortham. There was no
mention of any other Worthams brought over in 1642 by Yeardley. If John, 1642
did marry soon after landing in the new world, it is quite likely that he
choose a wife from the immediate geographical area. Transportation to other
populated areas along the coast was extremely difficult. [NOTE: In 1619
almost 20 years earlier, a shipload of young women seeking husbands had
arrived. Also, a Dutch ship (the first of many) carrying 50 captured black
African slaves arrived at almost the same time].
The wife of John 1658, did not give birth to their first child until 1663. It
is logical to assume that John, 1658 did not marry Mary, his first wife until
1661/62.
Because of the continual re-organization of County lines, it is impossible to
say where he was married. Very early church records are incomplete for those
hastily organized Parishes. This is due in some part to the fact that one
minister would serve an entire County, and that County territories would extend
from their eastern-most boundary westward for great distances. People were
often times "officially" married when the minister came through their
particular area of the County. Regardless of this lack of precise information
regarding the beginnings of married life for John, we do know from "The Parish
Register of Christ Church, Middlesex County, Virginia - 1653 to 1812," that
his first wife was named Mary. Unfortunately, these ancient records do not
include her maiden name. Their first child, Sarah was born in 1663. There
followed a succession of 5 more children , one of whom was George, born in
1673. Only a short time later in 1676, three of their four children died,
presumably from childhood related diseases. George was the only male child of
John Wortham who would survive to adulthood. The exact fate of Mary is
unknown, but since divorce was non-existant in seventeenth-century Virginia, we
can most assuredly presume that she died early in the year 1684.
Sometime prior to 1685, John married an Elizabeth; again the surname is
unknown. They had two children, Oswald and Elizabeth. Elizabeth the mother,
died in 1687, the year following the birth of her child Elizabeth. Colonial
life in a hostile environment was a struggle; therefore, having a wife was an
absolute necessity, especially if there were young children present. John
married for a third and final time to Mrs. Jane Shackleford, widow of Roger
Shackleford of neighboring Gloucester County. No further children were born to
John Wortham.
In Colonial Virginia, there was a definite progression through the ranks of
public service among those who chose these areas of endeavor. A person's
appointment to these positions of trust was determined not only by their
ability to capably perform the duties, but in a large part by their wealth. And
in those days, a mon's wealth was judged by his land holdings. According to
accepted histories of the Chesapeake Bay area, John Wortham's possessions
placed him that segment of society referred to as the "Country Oriented
Gentry." This social rank was just below the highest level of Virginia society.
John served, in order, as a juror, a land appraiser, and a constable, before
being selected for the Church Vestry and ultimately serving in the Middlesex
County Court as a Gentleman Justice.
Prior to the separation of Church and State, which was brought about by the
ratification of the United States Constitution, the Church was the governing
body of each Virginia County. John was a member of the Church of England,
which evolved into today's Episcopal Church in Middlesex County.
[NOTE: The King James -then the reigning King of England- version of the
Bible was not even published until 1611].
An entry in the Christ Church Vestry Book, dated November 7, 1671, ordered that
"John Wortham continue as Reader at the Great Church the Ensuing year and be
paid as formerly."
In 1672, he was selected to serve on the Vestry of Christ Church. The Vestry
was a group of individuals within the Parish who established policies and drew
up regulations not only for the church itself, but for the secular activities
as well.
In 1684, John was appointed as Justice for the County and likewise in that
same year he was selected as the Church Warden.
An entry on page 39 of the Parish Register indicates - "Mr John Wortham
Departed this Life the 8th of June 1692." His will which is one of the oldest
on record in Middlesex County, mentions as his children, only George by then
age 19, Oswald and Elizabeth. Elizabeth, born in 1686, is believed to have
married Richard Daniel before 1703 there in Middlesex County. Nothing more is
known of Oswald.
George was appointed executor of his father's estate, according to the will.
The dispensation of the estate apparently was cause for some heated
disagreement between George and his step-mother Jane. She brought suit against
George in an effort to lay claim to John's sizeable estate which consisted
primarily of land. Suits and counter-suits between the two prevailed in
Middlesex County Courts until April 3, 1693, at which time both cases were
dismissed. One can only suppose that there had finally been some type of
settlement between George and Jane Shackelford Wortham. Nothing more is found
in Middlesex County concerning Jane, but in the 1704 Quit Rent Rolls there was
a Jane "Wothan" listed in the Petso Parish of adjacent Gloucester County as
owning 60 acres of land.
SECOND GENERATION
The second generation of Worthams in America began with only George to carry
on the family name. Immediately after his father's death, George following in
family footsteps, plunged into the arena of public service. In 1693, he was
selected to serve as a member of the Petit Jury, and one year later, he was
serving as an Estate Appraiser.
On November 11, 1695, George leased "one good stong house in the County which
formerly belonged to the late John Wortham... to the County to be used as a
Court House." A small building to be used as a prison along with 40 adjoining
acres were to be used by Middlesex County for a period of ten years.
George then built himself a new house which boasted six rooms with a separate
kitchen. This home was constructed on a slight rise near his father's
homeplace which was then serving as the County Court House.
Over a period of the next six years, George continued to serve in various
sectors of the County government as: constable, jury foreman, surveyor of
highways, County Justice and finally, Sheriff.
By May of 1704, George was listed in the Court Records as "one of her
Majestys Justices for County Middlesex." It was in these same dated records
that he was first referred to as Captain George Wortham. This is obviously in
regard to his rank obtained as a member of the Middlesex County Militia.
On May 3, 1708, George was bound "unto our Sovereign Lady Queen Anne in the
sum of 1000 pounds Sterling... and appointed Sheriff." During the first week of
December of each year, the Sheriff was to collect public and County levy, duely
pay and deliver all levys unto respective County Creditors. In addition to
collecting taxes, the Sheriff was to determine the quantity of land in the
County and return a perfect Rent Role of the same.
In the December meeting of the Vestry of Christ Church, George was sworn in
as a member of this prestigious group, a position which he faithfully served
for the next twenty-three years. In 1711, he was ordered to be the Church
Warden of the Middle Precinct.
We have a similar dilemma involving George's' marriages, as we did concerning
those of his father. We currently do not know the surnames of his two wives,
nor do we know the dates of his marriages. We can only assume that George's'
marriages took place in Middlesex County since he owned land and lived there.
From the Christ Church Parish Register, we do know that George's first wife
was named Sarah and that they had a child, Robert who was born on October 4,
1694. Again clouds of uncertainty hide the facts that would reveal the
complete history concerning George's wives. The same Register indicates that
on February 5, 1699, a son George was born to George and Mary Wortham. Exactly
what happened to Sarah Wortham is unknown but George is now married to
Mary...surname unknown.
[Interestingly, "The Wortham Connection", published after this dissertation
notes that George was suspected of murdering a Benjamin David on July 7, 1715.
Check the book on page 594 for that and more items of interest.]
George Sr. was 61 years old when he died on April 5, 1734. His death was
possibly sudden and unexpected, for he left no will to shed any light on his
land holdings and how they were to be dispersed.
Three of his sons decided to seek their fortune outside of Middlesex County.
From the amount of current research available, it is believed that all three
left at some point after their father's death.
Without a will, it is uncertain which son inherited George's land. However,
it was a common practice in England for the eldest son to fall heir to this
portion of the father's estate. Since the colony was still operating under
British rule with people of predominantly English descent, we can assume that
George Jr. did in fact come to own the Middlesex plantation overlooking the
Dragon Run which once belonged to his father.
History tells us that by the first quarter of the 18th Century, farmers who
had been tilling the Virginia soil for well over one hundred years had severely
depleted it of its ability to provide abundant crops as once was possible.
By the mid 1700's there were roads which would facilitate travel away from
the Eastern Coastal regions of the state. Because travel over the Blue Ridge
Mountains was very limited and difficult, most of the early Virginia roads ran
North and South. The migration patterns of the various branches of the Wortham
family almost exclusively followed the direction of these accessible avenues of
movement. Regardless of the precise reason, it was in the third generation of
Worthams that a migration away from the Chesapeake Coastal region and Middlesex
County, had begun.
THIRD GENERATION
No further information regarding Capt. George Wortham's firstborn son Robert
is available, beyond a statement of his mother's name and his date of birth.
Captain George or George Sr.'s second child was George, Jr. whose wife was
Anne. Again, lack of data precludes us from knowing anything more about her.
For as much as we know about his grandfather and father, we are woefully
deficient in material on George Jr. other than the basic information on his
children and what happened to them. From the lack of entries in the Middlesex
County Court Records and Church Records, we can only assume that he chose, very
emphatically, not to pursue a career of public service similar to that of John
and George Sr. He was born, lived and died in Middlesex County, quite unlike
three of his other brothers.
Five of George Jr.'s eight children died at young ages. But unlike the
children of John and Captain George before them who died primarily in infancy,
these fourth generation children were living 8 to 13 years before succumbing to
disease and death. In his will recorded in Middlesex County Courthouse, by then
located in Urbana, George Jr. age 53, mentioned his three living children,
Thomas, George, and Ann, plus his brother John, the only living sibling
remaining in Middlesex County.
Thomas and George both left Middlesex County traveling some 200 miles
westward to Amherst County, Virginia before eventually settling in Georgia. The
majority of Worthams who have lived and are living today in Georgia have their
ancestors in these two lines.
Ann remained in Middlesex County and married her first cousin Samuel Wortham.
Their only son, Charles was brought to Kentucky by his guardian sometime around
1784 - 1786. From this Charles, sprang the Kentucky branch of the Worthams.
George Sr.'s third child, Sarah (1701-1720) was married on November 1, 1716
to John Fearn in Middlesex County. A detailed genealogical biography can be
found on this family in a publication entitled "The Fearns of Virginia" by
Elizabeth C. Ferneyhough.
John Wortham (1703-1757) was George Sr.'s fourth child. He married, in
Middlesex County on November 2, 1732, Mrs. Judith Machen Stewart, the widow of
Hugh Stewart. Judith was the daughter of Thomas and Mary Chelton Machen. John
and Judith also lived out their entire lives within the confines of Middlesex
County. As with George Jr., there is limited information to provide us insight
concerning the life of John Wortham. Once again, we have to assume that he
quietly spent his days farming. He and Judith had twelve children, of whom
only four are on record as having been married. As far as can be ascertained
they all remained in Middlesex County. their son Samuel married his cousin Ann
and resided in Middlesex. Samuel died when his only son Charles was three
years of age. Charles along with his younger sister were brought to Kentucky
prior to it becoming a state in 1792.
William (1707-1744) the sixth child of George Sr., was the first Wortham of
whom we have factual information indicating he moved from and lived outside
Middlesex County. He left home, but only went as far as adjacent Essex County,
the only County which shares a land boundary with Middlesex. William married
Miss Margaret Rutherford, daughter of John and Mary Rutherford of Essex County.
They had four children; three girls and one son, John who in turn had only one
child - a girl named Rose. Hence the Wortham surname ended on that particular
branch of the family.. We know that William died in Essex County, but we are
not exactly sure where John died even though he was indeed a resident of the
County.
Samuel Wortham (1709-1774) George Sr.'s seventh child, was the first of his
sons to remove a significant distance from Middlesex County. He and his wife
Margaret - again surname unknown, lived in Caroline County, Virginia which is
located about 65 miles Northwest of Middlesex. Their journey could have been
accomplished either by road or by traveling up-river on the Rappahannock. The
earliest record of Samuel in Caroline County is on March 9, 1749 at which time
he was serving as an Estate Appraiser. From 1753 to 1759, he was Sr. Warden at
St. Margaret's Parish Church, and on May 10, 1759, he was sworn in as a member
of the Vestry for that Parish. Also in 1759 he was appointed as Overseer of the
County Road. During the period from 1760 to 1771, Samuel was named as executor
of several Caroline County wills. Samuel and Margaret gave the name of "Chalk
Level" to the plantation on which they lived and raised their eight children.
Their youngest son, Charles, inherited this family land, resided there and
raised a large family of his own. His descendants account for many Worthams in
and around the Richmond vicinity through the years.
Charles Wortham (1711-1743) , the eight child, chose to remain in Middlesex
County, where he married Ann Hipkins/Hypkins/Hipkings. Apparently the spelling
of her surname caused considerable confusion among the County Court Clerks
there. Charles died relatively early and left no children named in his will.
James Wortham (1716-1770) the last child of Captain George Wortham also
migrated from Middlesex County, but opted for a southern route. He is on
record as having owned property in Prince George's County, Virginia, but lived
the majority of his life, and died in Brunswick County, Virginia which is
located on the virginia-North Carolina border. He also owned sizeable amounts
of land in North Carolina, so it is not surprising that his children took up
their livelihoods in that state. Two of his sons, William and Edward had many
descendants, some of whom remained in North Carolina, but the majority migrated
further west into Tennessee, and eventually into Missouri, Arkansas, Texas and
Oklahoma.
THIS HISTORY COMPLIMENTS OF
Dr. Thomas Wortham Tom Wortham
Jacksonville, Arkansas Madisonville, Kentucky
Logged verbatim into computer data, December, 1993 -=Ron Wortham=-
[NOTE: Some considerable updating has occurred of the dates in this
text, due mostly to contributions from other Wortham genealogists. As
this line of Worthams prints out, please accept what is shown in your
printout unless you can document proof of errors. If you are working
with a data version on a computer, you can make the corrections on your
own copy. Please advise me of those, so I can correct it on my own
copy and share it with the other persons who are working with this same
data.]
-=Ron Wortham=-
Our first known immigrant arriving with BROTHERS James and Charles. Following
"The Wortham Connection", they are first COUSINS of John and the sons of slave
and captive, William Henry. Some genealogists report that John too, was his
son. If that were true Bill Wortham notes indicate, William Henry would have
been 51 at the time of John's birth. "The Wortham Connection", Page 89.
TIMELINE: 1636- Harvard College is founded in Boston.
Buried in Prairie Bell Cemetary
Daniel Charles DUNNAGAN (DOAS)
Never married.
George was an avid researcher of his DUNAGAN family.