Mary Terry

Notes:

Benjamin Terry Will

In the name of God Amen I, Benjamin Terry Senr. of Pittsylvania County and Parish of Camden being in my perfect sinces and memory thanks to God for the same but considering the frailty of this Life and the uncertainty of Death, I do make and ordain this my Last Will and Testament. Disannuling all other wills by one made either by word or Wrighting and this only is to be taken for my Last Will and Testment. In manner and form following,Vis First being Penatent and sorry for my sins past most humbly desire forgiveness for the same. I give and commend my soul unto almighty God my savour, in hoom and by the marits of Jesus Christ to trust and hope to be saved and have full remition of sins, and that for the settling of my temporal estate and such goods, chatils and debts as it hath pleased god for above my deserts to bestow me I do order give and dispose the same In manner and form following, that is to say first, of all it is my desire that all my Debts that I owe to any person or persons be truly and honestly payed by my Executors hereafters named.

Item, I lend to my beloved wife Elizabeth Irby four negros namely Abraham Melender and her Child Beler and Sener, six cows and calves with all my hoggs, one feather bead, and furniture one Frying pane, Two Iron potts and hooks with all the plantation Touls one black mair known by name of Lasard and her colt, sober John and the sorril Plow mair all During her natural life and at her Decease to be Disposed of as in this my last Will as further Directed, I give to my son Nathaniel Terry one Survey of Land being the uper Survey on Sandy Creek also one negro man named Tach and one negro man named Gregory to him and to his heirs forever.

Item, I give to my son Benjamin Terry the Tract of land I now live on that is to say the old and first Tract Containing three hundred acres more or less and one negro man named Tach and one negro man named Gregory to him and to his heirs forever.
Item, I give to my son Peter Terry the survey of land on the mine branch and one negro boy named Dave and one negro girl named Isabell and one Riffle gun to him and his heirs forever.

Item, I give------to my son Joseph Terry one negro man named Tommey and one negro girl named Jenney and one rifle gun.

Item, I give to my son Robert Terry one survey of land joining Peter Terry's also one negro Boy name Usoerry and one negro boy named Jessey and one rifle gun which is not payd for but to be paid for out of what I have to be sold.

Item, I lend to my daughter Rozia Murphy two negros namly Harry and Tillie, during her natural life and after her Desease to be equally divided between her children. She the said Rozia, had by her former husband James Scott and all her other children that she has or should have by her present husband Richard Murphy but if the said Richard Murphy should not pay his wifes just children she had by a James Scott their Legesses, that is or will be due them out of their fathers James Scotts estate which I am security for, that it shall be paid them out of the two said negros Harry and Tillis. I lend to my daughter Levinia King two negros namly Abbey and Inez during her natural life and then to be equally devided they and their increase between her daughter Grace Terry and all her children that she has got or may have to her husband Elijah King. I give to my daughter Sarah Terry , three negros namely; Malinda and Bailer together with their futer increase from this time but not to be possessed by them until after my wifes death.
I give to my daughter Mary Terry two negros namely Cyner and Qushener one side saddle feather bed and furniture and it is my desire that all the rest of my estate be sold to pay my debts and if there should be money left that it be devided between all my children and I do appoint my wife Eliz Terry, my son Nath Terry, and my son Benj Terry Exectors
B. M. Terry

Signed scald published and declared before us this 28th day of Decr. 1760 interlined before signed.
Theops Lay
John King
William King At a Court held for Pittsylvania County the 26th day of September 1771.



Excerpt from "Pittsylvania's Eighteenth Century Grist Mills" by Herman Melton

page 102-105

JEREMIAH WHITE: PATRIARCH MILLER ON SWEETING'S FORK

Three Sweeting brothers entered grants of land along the Banister River in 1748. It was from these early settlers that Sweden's Fork, as the waterway is now called, got its name. Jeremiah White called it "Sweeting Fork, a branch of Sandy Creek," when he wrote his will in April of 1788. This branch heads up on the south slope of White Oak Mountain near Chestnut Level. It is the mniddle branch of the creek and is joined by John's Run at a point a few hundred yards from its confluence with Sandy Creek of the Banister. This location is approximately three miles southeast of the village of Spring Garden.

Some distinguished patriots of the Revolution lived along the banks of Sweeting Fork. Among them were Nathaniel Terry, who was a member of the Pittsylvania County Militia during the Revolution. His father, Benjamin, lived on Sweeting's Fork, and Nathaniel may have been born there. Colonel Robert Williams had holdings on that branch also. In the Colonel's property was a grist mill and over five thousand acres of land. Williams was one of the most prominent Pittsylvania County patriots during the Revolution. Since he was a lawyer before the founding of the county, and a planter with enormous wealth, milling was not his chief pursuit. Nevertheless, Patsy, one of his daughters, married into a milling family when she married John Henry, one of the owners of Henry's Mill on the Sandy Creek of the Banister.

From the sale of inherited land by Jeremiah's son William, the historian learns that Matthew Clay, who served in the Virginia House of Delegates and in the United States Congress, was a neighboring landowner. Although Clay was a distinguished public servant, who was at least partly responsible for the founding of the Town of Danville at Wynne's Falls, his career was overshadowed by that of Henry Clay of Kentucky who descended from the same family.

Jeremiah White moved to the Sweeting's Fork area from Dinwiddie County in 1778. He filed a petition to erect a grist mill on the waterway in August of 1782 -- "he being the owner of the land on both sides." The move was made during the Revolution, and that would have been the most difficult of times. Jeremiah was in declining years by this time, but county records show that a Jeremiah White served as a member of the County Militia during the Revolution. He was to die ten years later, but managed to accumulate 2108 acres of land on six tracts in the county, most of which was presumably on Sweeting's Fork. He left the use of his land to his wife and named sons William and Jeremiah as Executors.

County records show Jeremiah White to be a very prominent citizen. He was commissioned First Lieutenant of the Militia in the County and took the Oath of Allegiance in October of 1780. White was a charter member of Pittsylvania Lodge No. 24, of the Order of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons when it was constituted on September 15, 1788. He was named Justice of Peace in 1780, and qualified as Coroner on March 15, 1787. It was common practice in the early days for prominent men in the communities to qualify as Deputy Sheriff. Jeremiah White did likewise on May 16, 1786.

His son, Jeremiah Jr., rose to the rank of Captain in the Militia in 1794 before being elected to the office of Commisioner of Revenue in 1798.

Old Jeremiah was one of the landed people who owned slaves and was sometime granted exemption from paying property taxes on them. From County Court records, it appears that slaveowners were often exempted thusly when they furnished "tithables" (laborers in this case) for the buildling and repairing of roads, bridges, public buildings, etc.

A Jeremiah White diary would make interesting reading. However, as is the case with the histories of most of the early pioneers, there is a paucity of records. Even so, there is at least one trait which characterizes Jeremiah White. He wa a loyal family man who loved his children and went to any extreme to be fair. This assessment is based on the wording in his will. One can see the effort he went to in trying to divide his estate equally among his heirs.

There were eight children in Jeremiah and Jane White's family. One was a daughter who married a prominent county leader, politician, planter, businessman and miller known as Col. Clark. William Clark. He lived some seven miles east of Competition in the elegant high columned home he called "Pineville", near the Banister River. His wife was the daughter of a miller, married a miller, and gave birth to a daughter who married a miller. The daughter, Lettice, married Col. Leonard Claiborne who applied to build two mills in the county during the late 1820s and early 1830s. One was on "Sawyer's Mill Creek" and one was on Burch Creek. It is known that he operated one of them for awhile, since the name "Claiborne's Mill" appears on a batteaux manifest of the Roanoke Navigation Company during the 1830s. It was not unusual to find three generations of millers in one family in Pittsylvania County during the 19th cCentury.

Jeremiah White's will was written on April 28, 1788. The will included the following dispositions of his property:

A. He left the use of his "Manner" (manor) house to his wife, Jane, for her natural life "to enable her to educate my younger children." He left seven slaves to her and the use of all land and slaves bequeathed to younger children until they "become of age".

B. One half interest in a tract of land was mentioned. It was a parcel he acquired in an agreeement in which he was to share ownership with the "Conway orphans." This was a strange arrangement which defies understanding.

C. The share of any living child who preceded him in death was to be divided equally among all living children upon his (Jeremiah's) death.

D. He defined the boundaries of the land each child was to receive. This provision gives historians the identity of his neighbors which included the aforementioned families of Terry, Clay and Williams.

E. There was a division of some four hundred acres in Charlotte County.

The disposition of the grist mill became the most interesting and poignant provision in the will. He driected that interest in it should be divided equally between "my two sons, William and Jeremiah, to them and their heirs forever, subject to the following encumbrances, to Wit: As my children have laboured hard with me in assisting to build said mill, I am desirous to give them some privilege therein, but hope this privilege may never become a bone of contention between them, but as a recompence for their labour and dutiful behaviour. It is my will and desire that all my children be entitled for their own families to grind their grain to be free and they bare an equal share of all expenses in keeping the said mill in repair." He also directed that ten acres of land be set aside for the mill.

This will, one of the most carefully crafted wills in early Pittsylvania County history, was proven on May 19, 1788 -- a mere fortnight before the Virginia Constitution Ratification Convention in Richmond. Col. Robert Williams, one of his closest neighbors, was duly elected, in the March past, to be one of Ptittyslvania's two delegates to the convention.

Old Jeremiah tried painfully hard to divide land, slaves, personal effects and household goods equaillly among his heirs. The provisions covering the ownership and operation of the grist mill after his passing are unique in that all were to share in its upkeep and all were to share in its output.

The inference from the reading of the will is that it was a closely knit family which was kept that way by a stern but caring and considerate patriarchal father. The provisions in the deed indicate that he was an impeccably honest man also.

The mill property was buried in tax records as ordiinary acreage with assessed value and all of White's property stayed in his name until after the probation of his estate. Its final disposition is obscured by settlement of the estate and by missing, or non-existant. There is no reason to believe that it was as successful a mill operation as was that of his son-in-law William Clark on the Banister. Perhaps it was largely a plantation mill since there were many slaves in the White fields and a large personal family in the manor house to feed. It is believed that it stayed in the White family for an extended period, since no record of the sale of it was found in county archives.

The records concerning the fate of the remaining White property are confusing. Some heirs begin selling property as soon as their mother departed this life. However, one cannot judge their successes or failures on land transactions and tax records alone. Furthermore, the new nation was to endure at least two of its worst financial panics during the next half century. Failures were not always the fault of the property owner, but were frequently the direct results of distant events and forces beyond the control of local citizens.

Present day Jeremiah White descendants believe they know the location of the mill site because of some stone formations, etc.

The story of Jeremiah White's Mill affords the best example of a family run mill wherein everybody worked and everybody shared in the output. This arrangement worked during Jeremiah White's lifetime because he appeared to have been every inch the "Patriarch of Sweetings Fork". All unanswered questions aside, he deserves having this title applied to him in 1988 -- the bicentenial of his passing.

Benjamin married Elizabeth Irby Dickerson in 1724 in , , Virginia, USA. Elizabeth (daughter of Dr Joshua Irby and Elizabeth Jane Ludson) was born in 1708 in , New Kent, Virginia, USA; died in 1760 in , Bedford, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Notes
Was a medical doctor as was his father (new.familysearch.org)
Aug 5, 1689 He brought suit against his brother William regarding his father's estate distribution. The case was dismissed. (Court Records Charles City VA cited on Rootsweb, by Gwen Brooks, Jul 2000)

The Will of Joshua Irby, probated 1746 in Henrico County
From: "Gwen Brooks" Subject: Joshua Irby 166?-1746 Will in Henrico Co. VA Date: Tue, 23 May 2000 18:48:34 -0400
I've been asked to post the will mentioned in my previous msg.

from Colonial Wills of Henrico County, Virginia 1737-1781 by Benjamin WeisigerIII,
Will of Joshua Irby of Henrico County
To Edmund Irby, son of Anthony Irby, 200 acres at lower end of my land,beginning at the river, bounded by Capt. Henry Anderson and Cedar Cr. If hedie, then land goes to his sister Wilmoth Irby. To my wife Jane, my land for widowhood, and then divided between John Worsham and Joshua Worsham, sons of George Worsham, 100 acres to Joshua and the rest to John.To said Joshua Worsham the tract I bought of Richard Womack. To my daughter Sarah Worsham, 2 negroes.Wife to have dwelling, etc. for life.The remaining part of my upper tract that my son John lives on, to him, also items after my wife's death. To daughter Mary Dewberry, a negro. My land on lower side of great branchof Naqua Cr. in Brunswick Co. to 2nd son of Mary Dewberry, who was born in my house. My land at fork of said creek to 3rd son of said Mary. To son Peter, one negro. To my grandaughter Wilmoth Irby, dau. of my son Anthony, negro after my wife's death. Personal estate to be divided between my sons John and Peter and daughters Mary and Sarah .To George Worsham, all stock at my Quarter, provided he live there or putsomeone there. My part of the mill and privileges to Edmund Irby, son of Anthony. As for my daughter Penelope Parrot, let her keep what is in her possessionand that is more than she does deserve.To my son Joshua Irby, 1 shilling and it is my desire he be turned out ofdoors by the last of November next. To Elizabeth Moickey, 1 shilling.To son William Irby, 1 shilling.All my money in England to George Worsham and his heirs.Executors: wife Jane and George Worsham.Trustees: Mr. Abraham Green, Mr. Richard Bland, and Mr. John Povall.
Dated 28 August 1745 Wit. Peter Wankeir, William Beazley, William Herringham. Recorded May 1746.

Dr. Joshua Irby (1666-1746)
Dr. Joshua Irby was the 3rd son of Dr. William Irby.
In 1688, Joshua Irby sued his older brother, William, for failing to give him his inheritance from his father, Dr. William Irby's estate, since the 1st of October (1687). It is likely that Joshua had just turned 21 at that time so he was probably born in October of 1666.

Joshua was a very unpleasant and cantankerous fellow. He seems to always either suing someone else or being sued himself.

He married Elizabeth Ludson in 1694. Somehow they managed to have 9 children together, 5 boys and 4 girls. Joshua didn't seem to have liked any of them very much.

They were:
Anthony (1696-1786)
John (1697-1761)
Sarah (1698-????)
Mary Ann (1701-1755)
Penelope (1703-1800)
Joshua(2), Jr. (Ted's 6th Great Grandfather) (1705-1755)Peter (1709-1794)
William (1710-1774)
Elizabeth (1718-????)

You can get a glimpse of his rather unpleasant personality from the numerous records of him that have survived.

In 1692, he was fined a shilling for swearing.

In 1716, James Westbrook appealed to the courts saying that he was a servant of Dr. Joshua(1) Irby and that he was being illegally held in bondage. Apparently, James was some kind of indentured servant. The court agreed with Westbrook and Joshua had to release him and pay him 5 shillings.

The next year, John Westbrook, James' brother, went to court again, this time on behalf of Henry and Margaret Westbrook, James Westbrook's brother and sister. He claimed that Joshua unlawfully was detaining them too and that he abused them in the most violent and gross manner. The court agreed and ordered them to be released.

Elizabeth Ludson Irby died in about 1720. A few years later, when he was about 60, Joshua(1) married a second time to a woman named Jane, last name unknown.

Joshua(1) lived most of his life in Prince George County, Virginia but, about 1721 after Elizabeth had died, he moved to Cedar Creek on the North Side of the Appomattox River in what today is Chesterfield County. He received grants for land where the Great Branch enters Waqua Creek in Brunswick County but does not appear to have ever lived there himself.

Apparently, Joshua didn't get along well with any of his children but really ticked them off when he wrote his will on August 28, 1745.

In that will, he left almost everything to his grandchildren and little or nothing to his own offspring.

His sons, John and Peter, and his daughters, Mary Ann (who had married Thomas Nathaniel Dewberry) and Sarah (who had married George Worsham, IV) received some land and a few slaves from the estate, but his grandchildren by Anthony, Mary Ann, and Sarah all received the bulk of his fortune.

He left his 5th son, William, a mere shilling.

He also left his son Joshua(2), Jr. one shilling and added that it was his desire that he be put out of his house by the end of November of that year.

He left his daughter, Penelope (who had married Nathaniel Parrot), the things that she already had and added that "is more than she does deserve".

The biggest blow came to his oldest son, Anthony, who was left absolutely nothing!

The will caused a huge uproar among those children who felt they had been cheated. William, his 5th and last son in particular, was so incensed that he sent his attorney, a certain Mr. Hayles, to court to stop the horrible will from being probated.

The court gave William a month to appear in court himself to show why the will should not be allowed. A month later he did just that, but not to the satisfaction of the court and the will was recorded.

Anthony, John, and Penelope hired their own lawyers to fight the will naming their stepmother, Jane Irby, as defendant. They all lost and the will stood as written.


not exactly mr nice guy

p52 Prince George OB 1715-17202nd Tuesday in March, 1715 p. 52
“On the petition of James Westbrook a servant boy belonging to Joshua Irby it’s ordered that the said Irby be summoned to the next Court to answer the same, and that the said James be and remain with his brother John Westbrook til tryall (trial).” [this is the verbatim transcription]

p57 ibid, 2nd Tuesday in April, 1715 p. 57
“In the suit Depending between James Westbrook and Joshua Irby by petition for being unlawfully Detained by the said Irby as a servant, the sd. partys appearing and the cause being well and Sufficiently argued by the attorneys of sd. party’s, the Court do adjudge that the said James was not Legally bound to the said Irby and that Pltf by law is a freeman.”

p65 ibid, 2nd Tuesday in June, 1715 p.65
“In the action depending between Joshua Irby and John Westbrook, the pltf failing to appear to prosecute, on the motion of the defendant’s attorney, it is ordered that he be ?nonsusted and pay the said defendant five shillings with costs Al Exeo

p129 ibid, June 11, 1717
“The petition of John Westbrook concerning two orphan children now under the care of Joshua Irby is referred til the next Court to prove the allegations therein where the sd. Irby is ordered to bring the said orphans to Court.”

p141 ibid, Aug 13, 1717“On the petition of John Westbrook for and in behalf of Henry and Margaret Westbrook orphans and children of James Westbrook Deceased now under the care of Joshua Irby, setting forth that the sd. Irby unlawfully Detained the sd. orphans as servants and then doth abuse in a most violent and gross manner and praying the sd. orphans (as they are not Lawfully bound) may be released from their servitude and barbarous usage. And the sd. Irby being summoned to answer to the sd. complaint and he being called and failing to appear thereupon it’s Ordered that the sd. orphans be acquitted and released from any further service to the sd. Irby and for and During their Minority to remain with the sd. John Westbrook.”

posted by thomas goggin on genealogy forum



From Dennis Moore's "Irby: An American Saga"

In 1688 Joshua Irby sued his brother, William, for failing to give him his inheritance from his father, Dr. William Irby's estate, since the 1st of October (1687). It is likely that Joshua had turned 21 at that time so he was probably born in October of 1666. He married Elizabeth Ludson (or Hudson) in 1694. He was a cantankerous man. One
can catch a glimpse of his personality from the numerous records that have survived. In 1692 the young doctor was fined a shilling for swearing. In 1716 James Westbrook appealed to the court saying that he was a servant of Dr. Joshua Irby and he was being illegally held in bondage. Westbrook stayed with his brother John Westbrook until the case could be decided. The court agreed and Joshua had to release him and pay him 5 shillings. The next year John went after Henry and Margaret Westbrook, his brother and a sister. He claimed that Joshua unlawfully was detaining them and that he abused them in the most violent and gross manner. The court agreed and ordered them to be released. The orphans were the children of James Westbrook who died in 1711 in Prince George County. The children of Westbrook were Samuel, John, James, Thomas, Margaret, Frances, and Elizabeth Westbrook.

Mrs. Irby, Elizabeth Ludson Irby, was still alive in 1708 when she and Joshua sold Robert Hicks 240 acres 10 but sometime later she died and he married a woman named Jane. He lived most of his life in Prince George County but about 1721 when he was about 55 years old, he moved to Cedar Creek
on the North Side of the Appomattox in what is Chesterfield County today. He received grants for land where Great Branch enters Waqua Creek in Brunswick County but does not appear to have moved there himself. Joshua made some bitter children when he wrote his will August 28, 1745. In that will he left much to his grandchildren and little to his own offspring. His sons, John and Peter, and his daughters, Mary Dewberry and Sarah Worsham, received land and slaves
from the estate. His grandchilden by Anthony, Mary, and Sarah all received the bulk of his fortune. He left his eldest son, William, a mere shilling. He left his son Joshua a shilling and added that it was his desire that Joshua be put out of doors by the last of November. He left his daughter, Penelopie Parrot, the things that she had and added that "it is more than she does deserve." The biggest blow came to his son, Anthony, who was left absolutely nothing! The will caused an uproar among the children that felt they had been cheated in the will. William sent his attorney, a Mr. Hayles, to court to stop the horrible will from being probated. The court gave Irby a month to appear in court himself to show why the will should not be allowed. A month later he did just that but not to the satisfaction of the court and the will was recorded. Anthony, John, and
Penelopie hired their own lawyer to fight the will naming their stepmother, Jane Irby, as defendant.

Dr married Elizabeth Jane Ludson in 28 Oct 1694 in St Johns Church, Henrico, Virginia, USA. Elizabeth (daughter of Thomas Ludson) was born in 1670 in , Henrico, Virginia, USA; died on 11 Dec 1746 in , Henrico, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Married: 1659, , Charles City, Virginia, USA

Notes:

Notes for William Irby, Sr., M.D. :
Was in Charles City County, VA on 6-3-1665 practicing medicine.

Owned property on James River in vicinity of Turkey Island near Shirley Plantation.

William Irby was granted by the King of England a very large concession of land in Charles City County and lived and died there on the grant, leaving by his will much valuable silver. Judged by the standard of his time he was a man of very large wealth. He was related to the Baron of Boston, England, whose family name was IRBY.

William Irby married the daughter of Baron Blunt, an English woman.

The Irby family goes back at least to WILLIAM de IRBY, Knight, in 1251.

More About William Irby, Sr., M.D. and ? Blunt :
Marriage: Abt. 1660, Charles City County, VA.

Children of William Irby, Sr., M.D. and ? Blunt are:



+Joshua Irby, M.D., b. October 1664, London, England or Henrico, VA, d. May 19, 1746, Henrico, VA.

From "The History of Halifax County (Virginia)" by Wirt Johnson Carrington, page 210-212

A Mr. W.G. Stanard, secretary of the Virginia Historical Society, made a chart of the Irby family starting with William de Irby, Knight, in 1251 and coming to Dr. William Irby, the first Virginia emigrant who settled in Charles City towards the end of the 17th century. He married the daughter of Baron Blunt, an Englishman. He was given a land grand by the King of England and then lived and died on that land, leaving in his will much silver, including plate. By the standard of the time he was a wealthy man. He was related to the Baron of Boston, England whose family name was Irby.

Dr. Irby left a son, William (and Joshua and Edmund), and several daughters. His descendants moved first to Charlotte County and then to Halfiax County. There a William Irby, Gentleman, is found


In about 1595, the long line of descendents of Ivo de Taillebois (visit Ivo de Taillebois) led eventually to the birth of William Irby, the Elder (Ted's 9th Great Grandfather) in Devonshire, England.
William, the Elder had 5 children, 2 girls, Wilmouth and Patience and 3 boys, Edmund, William (Ted's 8th Great Grandfather), and Nichols. Nothing is known about Wilmouth, Patience, Edmund or Nichols, but a lot is known about William.

At the age of 21, William decided to try his fortune in the new American Colony of Virginia. He left England in 1651 aboard a fleet of three ships, which were wrecked in a hurricane off the coast of Barbados.

William survived the shipwreck and lived in Barbados for three years while they tried to put together one good ship from the wreckage of the original 3. They managed to do it and William finally arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in about 1655.

While in Barbados, he apparently lived with or became a good fried of the pirate Captain Francis Morgan. He is listed in the Barbados Wills and Administrations as a witness in 1653 to a will being made by Captain Morgan.

Captain Morgan had a son named John who was a surgeon and had been schooled in England. This is probably where William Irby picked up his medical training because the English Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons has no record of a Doctor William Irby ever attending any medical school in England, and their records go back to the 1400's!

When William finally got to Virginia, he built his home not far from Jamestown, where the James and Appomattox Rivers meet, near Turkey Island. Shortly thereafter (in 1659) he married Ann Blunt who was only 15 at the time, half his age. He was 34.

The Blunts were a well-established family in Jamestown, having come there with the original settlers in 1607.

There is a story that in 1665 he was begged to come to the aid of a sick child. He was preparing to leave when Colonel Edward Hill, the county sheriff, arrived at the Irby plantation. He wanted to press Irby's horse into service to look for a run-away slave. Dr. Irby refused to allow the horse to be taken because he had to go to the aid of the sick child. When the Colonel insisted, William threatened him with his sword waving it menacingly at the sheriff. Their language soon became "opprobrious." Before long the officer had his pistol pressed firmly against the doctor's chest and it seemed that one would surely die.

Thanks to the intervention of one of the Colonel's men, the problem was settled with the doctor allowing the horse to be taken as long as the colonel was not the one to ride it. Had the Colonel pulled the trigger that July day the following saga would have never occurred and one of the great American family histories of triumph and tragedy would never have been weaved.

In the late 1670's, Nathaniel Bacon, led a revolt in Virginia. He led many colonists who were angry about the way they felt the then Governor Berkeley was siding with the Indians and preventing the colonists from moving into the western frontier. The revolt may well have succeeded had not Bacon died of an illness. Berkeley had fled and his wife had been kidnapped but Bacon's death soon spelled disaster to the poorly led rebels and they were quickly were subdued.

Governor Berkeley went on a horrible rampage following the conflict putting many to death that he felt had been involved in the insurrection. King Charles II was bewildered in the way his far-away Governor had reacted and said that Berkeley had killed more people for their part in the revolt than he had for the beheading of his father (Charles I by Cromwell).

Henry Isham (remember the name Isham - it comes up many times in this tail) was a leader in the revolt and he died for his part. He was a good friend of Bacon's and probably a good friend of William Irby too. Certainly the doctor must have fought beside Bacon and Isham but he apparently lived at least 2 years after the revolt was crushed.

The last record that suggests Dr. William was still alive was written in 1679 when he brought suit to collect a debt.

All three of the doctor's sons followed in their father's occupation. Doctors; William, Jr., Edmund, and Joshua Irby (Ted's 7th Great Grandfather), tried to heal the many agonies that afflicted the early residents of Virginia.

Dr married Mary Elizabeth Ann Blunt in 1659 in Jamestown, James City, Virginia, USA. Mary was born in 1644 in Jamestown, James City, Virginia, USA; died in 1680 in , Charles City, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Walter married Olive Cooper. Olive was born in 1590 in Clerkenwell, London, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]