Sarah Armistead

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: , , Virginia, USA
• Married: 1665, , Gloucester, Virginia, USA

Notes:

A son of William Armistead, of Elizabeth City county, and grandson of Anthony Armistead, of Kirk Deighton, in Yorkshire, England, settled in Gloucester county, of which he was sheriff in 1676, and a justice and lieutenant-colonel of horse in 1680. In 1685 he was a member of the house of burgesses, and on Feb. 14, 1687-88, Gov. Effingham wrote to the English government that a vacancy had occurred in the council and that he had nominated Col. John Armistead as in every way qualified for the place. This nomination was confirmed on April 30, 1688, and Col. Armistead was sworn as member on Oct. 18 of the same year. He remained a councillor until 1691, when, feeling that he could not consistently with the allegiance he had sworn to James II., take the same oath to William and Mary, he declined and was accordingly removed from the council. It is probable that he later realized the hopelessness of the Stuart cause, and relented in his determination, for in 1693 Gov. Andros wrote that Col. John Armistead had retired from the council. He died soon after. He left two sons and two daughters and through them was the ancestor of many distinguished Virginians.; ; III--Colonial Councillors of State

John Armistead was a member of the governor's Council of Virginia late in the seventeenth century. A planter in Gloucester County, he also entered into several successful business ventures. Becoming active in politics, Armistead sat on the county court and served as sheriff. He opposed the tobacco cutting riots and favored English policies put in place after Bacon's Rebellion (1676–1677). Armistead twice represented Gloucester in the House of Burgesses before the governor appointed him to the Council in 1688. Armistead relinquished his seat in 1691 when he refused to take the oaths to the new monarchs William and Mary. Although restored to his place later in the decade, Armistead did not rejoin the Council. His date of death is unknownArmistead was the second of three sons and one of at least four children of William Armistead and Anne Armistead, of Kirk Deighton, Yorkshire, England. He may have been born in Virginia, his parents having settled in Elizabeth City County in the mid-1630s, which is the most likely approximate time of his birth. When he reached adulthood he moved to Gloucester County, where he lived and farmed for the rest of his life. His father had prospered so rapidly after immigrating to Virginia that both of his surviving sons began their adult lives as substantial planters. He may have sent John Armistead to Gloucester County in the 1650s to manage the properties he acquired after that section of the colony was first opened to English settlement.

Sometime in the 1660s Armistead became associated with Robert Beverley (1635–1687), an association that led to several profitable joint business ventures. The relationship grew even closer when Armistead married Beverley's sister-in-law Judith Hone. Armistead had two sons and two daughters, and he acquired even more influential family connections later, when one of his daughters married Ralph Wormeley (d. 1701) and the other married Robert "King" Carter.

Destruction of most of the records of Gloucester County has obscured the details of Armistead's participation in politics. He probably became a vestryman of Kingston Parish within a few years of moving to the county, and by 1670 he was a member of the county court as well as a colonel in the county militia. He became sheriff in 1676 and again in 1680. In 1682 he arrested several local women who were destroying tobacco plants. This put him in opposition to Robert Beverley, the putative instigator of the plant-cutting riots, by which the perpetrators hoped to reduce the supply of tobacco and thereby raise its price. Armistead differed from Beverley on political issues, too. Beverley grew increasingly outspoken in his opposition to English policies designed to control Virginia after Bacon's Rebellion, while Armistead inclined favorably toward the new order.

Armistead served in the House of Burgesses twice. Elected in 1680, he sat at the first meeting of the General Assembly of 1680–1682. His part in suppressing the plant cutters may explain his absence at the second session, and he did not return to the House until 1685. By the mid-1680s he was on friendly terms with Governor Francis Howard, baron Howard of Effingham, who resided at times with Armistead's son-in-law Ralph Wormeley. The association with Effingham proved beneficial, and in 1688 Effingham appointed Armistead to a vacancy on the governor's Council. He was sworn in on October 18, 1688, but his tenure lasted only two and a half years. In April 1691, following the Glorious Revolution, Armistead refused "thro Scruple of Conscience" to swear allegiance to the new monarchs, William and Mary. He consequently lost his seat on the Council. Seven years later the Crown ordered him restored to his place, but Armistead did not take the oaths after the commission was presented to the Council on December 9, 1698.

John Armistead may have been dead by that date, but he could also have been alive and in political retirement in Gloucester County while continuing his refusal to forswear his oath to James II. The date and place of his death are not recorded.

Time Line
1650s - Sometime during this decade, John Armistead's father William Armistead sends him to Gloucester County to manage the properties he acquired after that section of the colony was first opened to English settlement.
1660s - Sometime during this decade, John Armistead becomes associated with Robert Beverley. Armistead will marry Beverley's sister-in-law Judith Hone.
1670 - By this year, John Armistead is a member of the Gloucester County court and a colonel in the county militia.
1676 - John Armistead becomes sheriff in Gloucester County.
1680 - John Armistead is elected to the House of Burgesses.
October 18, 1688 - John Armistead in sworn in to fill a vacant seat on the governor's Council.
April 1691 - Following the Glorious Revolution, John Armistead refuses to swear allegiance to the new monarchs, William and Mary, and loses his seat on the council.
Categories Colonial History (ca. 1560–1763) Colonial Government

John married Judith Bowles Hone Robinson in 1656 in , Gloucester, Virginia, USA. Judith (daughter of 1st Baronet of London, Lord Mayor of London Sir John Robinson and Lady Elizabeth Catherine Potter - Robinson (1619-1688), (Immigrant) (Eng to VA)) was born in Dec 1645 in Heswick, Cleasby, Middlesex, Yorkshire, England; died in Jan 1693 in Kingston, Gloucester, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: , , , USA
• Baptism: 3 Aug 1610, Kirk Deighton, Yorkshire, England
• Arrival: 1636, , , Virginia, USA

Notes:

1. William ARMISTEAD was born in 1610 in Hesse, Gloucester, Virginia, USA. He died in 1666 in Hesse, Gloucester, Virginia, USA.

LAND: Descriptions of Lands patented within the present boundaries of Gloucester and Matthews Counties, Virginia. Abstracted from the Land Patent Books in the Land Office, Richmond, Virginia. Book 2, Pg 331, July 1, 1651, 1231 acres.

On the head of Eastermost River in Mockjack Bay on the NW side of a small creek on the NE side of river encompassing the heads of river to the SW side.

Headrights: Elizabeth Price, John Crists, John Lancelott, Richard Gold, Robert Hunly, William Frasey, Barbary Frasey, Edward Morgan, Theo. Frasey, John Paptast, James Kittenue, Roger Paynter, Katherine Teye, Thomas Hudson, William Taylor, John Frasey, Jose: Brewster, William Smith, Mary Rekey, Kath. Ayres.

LAND: Matthews County, Book 2, Pg 331, July 1, 1651, 600 Acres.

On E side of Eastermost River in MockJack Bay above Pudden Creek. Headrights: James Steward, Thomas Jones, Ann Perry, Mary Hall, William Wells, John Owen, Henry Edwards, Tho. Dyer, Danil Forrest, John Hunningford, Tho. Guige, Marg. Brookes. (These rights are written my mistake on Philip Hunley's patent of June 29, 1651).

BIRTH: Alternate location is Kirk, Deigton, York, England

William married Ann E. ELLIS about 1642 in , Middlesex, Virginia, USA. Ann was born in , Gloucester, Virginia, USA. She died in Hesse, Gloucester, Virginia, USA.

They had the following children:
+ 2 M i. Colonel John ARMISTEAD was born about 1635. He died about 1698.
+ 3 M ii. Anthony ARMISTEAD was born about 1637. He died in 1726.
+ 4 F iii. Catherine ARMISTEAD was born about 1643. She died on 23 Apr 1692.

SOURCE: William Armistead, 14 generations in America, http://www.surnames.com/jamesriver/descendants/william_armistead/default.htm

William married Anne Netherton Ellis in 1632 in Giggleswick, Yorkshire, England. Anne was born in 1611 in Giggleswick, Yorkshire, England; died on 4 Dec 1678 in Hampton, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA; was buried in Hampton, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Arrival: 1636, , , Virginia, USA

John married Lady Elizabeth Catherine Potter - Robinson (1619-1688), (Immigrant) (Eng to VA) on 15 Nov 1640 in Cleasby, Yorkshire, England. Lady was born on 16 Sep 1616 in Cleasby, Yorkshire, England; died on 1 Mar 1688 in Cleasby, Yorkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Anthony married Frances Thompson on 15 Aug 1608 in Kirk Deighton, Yorkshire, England. Frances was born on 15 Oct 1587 in Kirk Deighton, Yorkshire, England; died on 25 Jun 1634 in Kirk Deighton, Yorkshire, England; was buried in Kirk Deighton, Yorkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Roger married Epham Naissance in 1574 in Kirk Deighton, Yorkshire, England. Epham was born in 1550 in Kirk Deighton, Yorkshire, England; died on 19 Apr 1609 in Kirk Deighton, Yorkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]