Thomas Walke

Other Events and Attributes:

• Married: 1750, , , Virginia, USA

Notes:

Colonel Anthony Walke II (1726 - 1779) was the son of Colonel Anthony Walke I. Colonel Walke II was one of the wealthiest Virginians of his day, a great advocate of social drinking, extravagant social gatherings, gambling, and horse racing. When trouble with England began, as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, he espoused the cause of the colonies, and united with Patrick Henry, Mason, Madison, Marshall, Jefferson, and other patriots in resisting British oppression and in establishing American independence. He married Jane Bolling Randolph (1729-1756) who was a direct descendant of Powhatan, the most powerful chieftain in Tidewater Virginia at the time of the arrival of the Jamestown settlers in 1607. This strain in her blood could account for her children’s horseback riding abilities. Reverend Anthony Walke was the only surviving child of these parents. After she died, Col. Walke II married Mary Mosely and had several children: William Walke (1762 - 1795) (who is buried on the property at Ferry Plantation), Edward Hack Walke, John Basset Walke, Mary Walke, Frances Walke and Anna Walke.


Extracts from the Will of Anthony Walke
Source: The Virginia Magazine of History & Biography, Vol 5, No.2 (Oct 1897) pp 139-153

page 143 Anthony Walke, 2nd of "Fairfield"

Anthony Walke, the 2nd, son of Anthony Walke 1st, and Anna Lee Armistead, was born Jan 3, 1726. He married, first, Jane, daughter of Richard and Jane (Bolling) Randolph . . .b. 1729, d. 1756, m. 1750, and left issue by her, the Rev Anthony Walke, the 3rd, an Episcopal clergyman.

He married second, Mary Moseley, daughter of Col. Edward Hack Moseley and Mary Bassett, on May 8, 1757, and had issue: sons, Wm., Edward Hack, and John Bassett; daughters, Mary, Frances and Anna.

Col. Anthony Walke the 2nd, was a man of wealth and liberality. He gave the land and built at his own expense, a church edifice about 12 miles from Norfolk, in Princess Anne county, Virginia, known as "Old Donation Church." (now in ruins 1897)

Col Anthony Walke, 2nd, is buried at "Greenwich," Princess Anne County, Va., one of the Moseley seats.

page 143 (extracts from the will of Anthony Walke, 2nd, merchant, made 15 April 1776; first codicil 5 Dec 1777; second codicil 6 Dec 1777 - proved and ordered to be recorded 14 March 1782.)

Named: wife Mary, son Anthony, sons Edward Hack, William, daughters Mary, and Anna.

Daughter Frances and son John were born after the writing of the will and before making the first codicil. Anna died after the writing of the will and before the making of the first codicil.

page 144 to son Anthony 3rd

"I give and devise to my said son Anthony Walke (3rd) one half of all the lands I now own in the Borough of Norfolk, to him and his heirs forever. (the other half to be divided between William and Edward Hack)

page 145

"To son Anthony my suit of embroidered curtains, in membrance of his mother (Jane Randolph) who took great pains in working them, the two neat trunks, Gold studs, and every other article that belonged to my late wife, Jane Walke, now in my possession, my Father's Walnut Secretarie and clock, a piece of Gold coined in the year 1609, weighing about four pounds nine shillings, which belonged to my Great-Grandfather."

on page 146 from the first codicil there is a paragraph in which Anthony Walke 2nd changed his mind and revised his will. . .the land in the Borough of Norfolk to be equally divided among his 3 sons Anthony (3rd), William, and Edward Hack.

Anthony married Jane Bolling Randolph in 1741 in , , Virginia, USA. Jane (daughter of Richard Randolph and Jane Kennon Bolling) was born in 1729 in Kemperville, Princess Anne, Virginia, USA; died in 1756 in , Albemarle, Virginia, USA; was buried in , Albemarle, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Name: Jane Randolph
• Birth: 1729, Curles Plantation, Henrico, Virginia, USA
• Death: 1756

Notes:

Anthony Walke
Born in 1692, was a son of Thomas Walke, who came from Barbadoes to Lower Norfolk county in 1662, by Mary, his wife, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony Lawson. He lived at "Fairfield," in Princess Anne county. He was justice for Princess Anne, and a member of the house of burgesses from 1720 to 1765. He married three times, (first) Mary Sanford; (second) Elizabeth Newton; (third) Anna Lee Armistead. He died November 8, 1768. IV--Burgesses and Other Prominent Persons

Colonel Anthony Walke I (second son of Thomas Walke I) and His Descendants Colonel Anthony Walke I (1692- Nov 8, 1768) was a man of high standing and character in the Lynnhaven Parish Church serving as a vestryman for many years and contributing to its support. Through his efforts and contributions, Lynnhaven Parish Church No. 3 was built using imported brick. He was Colonel and Commander of troops in Princess Anne County under his majesty King George III. He married three times. His first wife was Mary Sanford. They married March 3 1711 and had a daughter, Margaret Walke. His second wife was Elizabeth Newton. They married after 1713 but she died in 1724. They had no surviving children. Anthony's third wife was Anna Lee Armistead. They married on April 4, 1725 and had four children: Colonel Anthony Walke II, William Walke, John Walke, Mary Walke and Margaret Walke.

Colonel Anthony Walke II (1726 - 1779) was the son of Colonel Anthony Walke I. Colonel Walke II was one of the wealthiest Virginians of his day, a great advocate of social drinking, extravagant social gatherings, gambling, and horse racing. When trouble with England began, as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, he espoused the cause of the colonies, and united with Patrick Henry, Mason, Madison, Marshall, Jefferson, and other patriots in resisting British oppression and in establishing American independence. He married Jane Bolling Randolph (1729-1756) who was a direct descendant of Powhatan, the most powerful chieftain in Tidewater Virginia at the time of the arrival of the Jamestown settlers in 1607. This strain in her blood could account for her children’s horseback riding abilities. Reverend Anthony Walke was the only surviving child of these parents. After she died, Col. Walke II married Mary Mosely and had several children: William Walke (1762 - 1795) (who is buried on the property at Ferry Plantation), Edward Hack Walke, John Basset Walke, Mary Walke, Frances Walke and Anna Walke.

Reverend Anthony Walke (1755 - 1814) was the son of Colonel Anthony Walke II. He married Anne McColley McClenahan on January 15, 1776 and had six children: Anne M., Edwin, Jane Eliza, David Meade, Susan, and Anthony IV (1778 - 1820). On July 13, 1805, five months after Anne died, he married Anne Newton Fisher (1774 - 1840). They had three children: John Newton, Thomas, and Lemuel. They are all buried in the old burial ground in what is now Fairfield's subdivision, in unmarked graves.

Reverend Walke was 20 years old in the early winter of 1775 when he most likely witnessed troop movements and battles between Continental Army troops and Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore’s Loyalist troops (people who supported King George III) in battles at Kemp's Landing, 2.5 miles north and then at Great Bridge, 9 miles south of his Fairfield Manor House. The Revolutionary War (1775–1783) caught Reverend Walke at a time when he was coming of age into a Virginia gentry threatened by the loss of political power, wealth, and social prestige made possible by English control over the Virginia Colony. In his writings he blamed the north and their foolish Boston Tea Party actions.

Reverend Walke was a representative to the Virginia Constitutional Convention, and after the Revolutionary War, in early 1788 he was ordained a priest of the Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, and then served the following year as an elector from the State of Virginia to the first presidential election held in Philadelphia. Returning to Princess Anne County, Reverend Walke, with a large inheritance from his father, presided as rector over Lynnhaven Parish Church for many years without a salary (from 1788 to 1800 and again from 1812 to 1813).

Reverend Walke divided his time between preaching and the hunt. Not only was he noted for delivering sermons with a captivating mild mannered voice, but a more picturesque side of him was his love of fox and deer hunting. He conducted sermons with his horse Silverheels tethered near the door of the church. When he heard those hunting horns, he would immediately turn the service over to his clerk, Dick Edwards, and hurry off on Silverheels, not seen again until late in the day.

Anthony Walke, Sr. of Lynnhaven, Princess Anne, Virginia (1692 - 11/8/1768). He is buried at the Old Donation Church. Anthony Walke, Sr. was a very prominent man of the community (member of the House of Burgesses, Judge of the court in Princess Anne - he was one of the justices in the case of Princess Anne's one and only witch).

He married three times. His first wife was Mary Sanford. They married 3/11/1711 in Princess Anne. Anthony and Mary Walke had a daughter, Margaret Walke.

His second wife was Elizabeth Newton. They married after 1713 in Lynnhaven, Princess Anne. She died in 1724. They had no surviving children.

Anthony's third wife was Anna Lee Armistead. Anthony and Anna married on 4/4/1725 in either Princess Anne or Gloucester Va. Anthony and Anna had 4 or 5 children: Colonel Anthony Walke, William Walke, John Walke, Mary Walke and Margaret Walke. Anna Lee Armistead was the daughter of William Armistead (1671 - 6/13/1711) and Anna Lee (1680 - aft 1754) of East Ware River, Kingston Parish, Matthews County, Gloucester, VA. William Armistead was born at "Hesse" in Gloucester, VA, the son of John Armistead and Judith Bowles Robinson. John Armistead was born in Elizabeth City, VA in 1640 and died at "Hesse" in the 1690s. Judith Bowles Robinson was born in Yorkshire, Eng. in 1645 and died about 1700 at "Hesse". She was the daughter of John Robinson of Yorkshire (who died about 1700 in Virginia). John Armistead was the son of William Armistead and Anne E. Ellis.

This William Armistead was baptized on 8/3/1610 in Kirk Deighton, West Riding, Yorkshire, Eng., and died bef 4/4/1666 in Elizabeth City, Va. Anne E. Ellis was born abt. 1615 in Giggleswick, Yorkshire, Eng. and died abt 1660 in Elizabeth City, Va.

Anna Lee, the wife of the younger William Armistead was the daughter of Hancock Lee (who established "Ditchley" Plantation) and his wife Mary Kendall/Kendell. They married abt. 1675 in Northumberland, Va. Hancock was born abt 1653 in Northumberland, Westmoreland, VA. He died 5/25/1709 at "Ditchley", Gloucester, Va. He was the fifth son of the immigrant, Richard Lee, Sr. and his wife, Ann Constable Owens.

Richard Lee, Sr. established the Lee famiy in Virginia. He was born abt. 1608 in Nordley Regis, Coton Schrops, Eng., and died 3/1/1663 at Dividing Creek, Northumberland, VA. He married Anne Constable Owen abt. 1641 in Northumberland, VA. Anne was born abt 1622 in London, Eng. and died 10/6/1706 at Dividing Creek, Northumberland, Va.

Hancock's wife, Mary Kendall, was the daughter of William Kendall (b. ca. 1620, Eng., d. 7/28/1686 Northampton, Va) and Susanna Baker (b. ca 1625, Eng., d. ca 1680, Northampton, VA.). William and Susanna married abt 1660 in Northampton, Va. William Kendall was the son of William Kendall and Mary Leigh who were born in England and died in Virginia.

Hancock Lee actually had 3 wives. Mary Kendall was the second of these. The first was Martha Burwell, the third was Sarah Allerton.

Anthony Walke, Sr. was the son of Thomas Walke and Mary Lawson. Thomas Walke was born abt 1622 in Barbados (or he emigrated from England to Barbados ca 1622 from England). He died before 1/5/1693 in Lynnhaven, Princess Anne, Va. He married Mary Lawson abt. 1689 in Norfolk, Va. Mary Lawson was born abt 1665 and died in Lynnhaven, Va. She was the daughter of Anthony Lawson and Elizabeth Westgate.

Thomas and Mary Walke had 3 children: Mary Walke, Thomas Walke, II, and Anthony Walke, Sr.

Anthony Lawson was a very prominent man in Princess Anne and in Norfolk, Va. He was born abt 1630 in Jamestown, Va. and died 7/3/1701 in Norfolk, Va. He married 3 times. He married Elizabeth ??? abt 1650. He married Elizabeth Westgate abt 1662 in Princess Anne, Va. He married Mary Gookin 3/1671 (possibly this marriage took place in Nansemond Co., VA.) Anthony and Elizabeth (Westgate) Lawson had 4 children: Mary Lawson, Margaret Lawson, Elizabeth Lawson and Anthony Lawson, II. Anthony was the son of Thomas Lawson and Margaret Bray.

Thomas Lawson was born abt 1600 in Londonderry, Ireland. He died in Virginia. He married Margaret Bray before 1630. Margaret was born abt 1610 and died in Virginia.

Anthony Walke, Sr. was a prominent land owner and probably merchant. He was quite wealthy and had a very large estate in the Lynnhaven section of Princess Anne County (today known as Virginia Beach).

Anthony married Anna Lee Armistead on 4 Apr 1725 in , , Virginia, USA. Anna (daughter of William Armistead and Anna Kendall Lee) was born in 1699 in , Gloucester, Virginia, USA; died on 14 Feb 1732 in , Princess Anne, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
3rd Wife of Anthony Walke I

Notes:

Colonel Thomas Walke I (about 1642-1694) was an immigrant from British-ruled Barbados. He was born before 1643. While his exact birth year is unknown, he witnessed a will in Lancaster County, Virginia in 1664 requiring an age of 21. He married Mary Lawson in 1690, also an emigrate from Barbados. Thomas died in 1694, only four years after his marriage, leaving three children, Thomas II or Jr. (1691-1723), Anthony I (1692- 1768), and Mary. Thomas held colonial distinction and was commissioned a colonel by the Governor of Virginia. He made his fortune shipping goods to Barbados from Hampton Roads and slaves back to Hampton Roads from Barbados.

Thomas Walke II or Jr. (first son of Thomas Walke I) and His Descendants Thomas Walke III - (around 1720– 1761) was the son of Thomas Walke II. He acquired land in Princess Anne County near London Bridge in the early 1700's. He had five daughters to his 1st wife Margaret Thorowgood and one son Thomas Walke IV (1760 – 1797) to his second wife Mary Ann Thorowgood. In 1759 Thomas III built a brick house, (preserved today at 2040 Potters Road, Virginia Beach) on Upper Wolfsnare Creek, an important waterway then. In 1761 Thomas III died, leaving Upper Wolfsnare to his infant son Thomas IV including seven thousand acres and fifty-five slaves.

Thomas Walke IV (1760 – 1797) was the son of Thomas Walke III. He grew up to be prominent in Princess Anne County. He fought in the Revolutionary War and was one of the two local representatives to the Virginia Convention. In Richmond in the spring of 1788 he helped Virginia, by a narrow margin, ratify the U.S. Constitution. He served as Vestryman and Warden of Lynnhaven Parish for many years. He had much to do with the designing and building of the third Eastern Shore Chapel which stood less than a mile from his home. Thomas IV had Communion Silver bearing the date 1759 shipped from England to Eastern Shore Chapel. The silver is now on exhibit at the Norfolk Museum. Thomas married Elizabeth (1797-1815), but had no children. In his will he left his estate to his wife Elizabeth and two of his sisters. Upper Wolfe Snare Plantation was purchased by the Commonwealth of Virginia to obtain right of way for the Norfolk-Virginia Beach Expressway in 1964, but members of the Princess Anne Historical Society, were able to save the house as a historic landmark.

Colonel Anthony Walke I (second son of Thomas Walke I) and His Descendants Colonel Anthony Walke I (1692- Nov 8, 1768) was a man of high standing and character in the Lynnhaven Parish Church serving as a vestryman for many years and contributing to its support. Through his efforts and contributions, Lynnhaven Parish Church No. 3 was built using imported brick. He was Colonel and Commander of troops in Princess Anne County under his majesty King George III. He married three times. His first wife was Mary Sanford. They married March 3 1711 and had a daughter, Margaret Walke. His second wife was Elizabeth Newton. They married after 1713 but she died in 1724. They had no surviving children. Anthony's third wife was Anna Lee Armistead. They married on April 4, 1725 and had four children: Colonel Anthony Walke II, William Walke, John Walke, Mary Walke and Margaret Walke.

Colonel Anthony Walke II (1726 - 1779) was the son of Colonel Anthony Walke I. Colonel Walke II was one of the wealthiest Virginians of his day, a great advocate of social drinking, extravagant social gatherings, gambling, and horse racing. When trouble with England began, as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, he espoused the cause of the colonies, and united with Patrick Henry, Mason, Madison, Marshall, Jefferson, and other patriots in resisting British oppression and in establishing American independence. He married Jane Bolling Randolph (1729-1756) who was a direct descendant of Powhatan, the most powerful chieftain in Tidewater Virginia at the time of the arrival of the Jamestown settlers in 1607. This strain in her blood could account for her children’s horseback riding abilities. Reverend Anthony Walke was the only surviving child of these parents. After she died, Col. Walke II married Mary Mosely and had several children: William Walke (1762 - 1795) (who is buried on the property at Ferry Plantation), Edward Hack Walke, John Basset Walke, Mary Walke, Frances Walke and Anna Walke.

Reverend Anthony Walke (1755 - 1814) was the son of Colonel Anthony Walke II. He married Anne McColley McClenahan on January 15, 1776 and had six children: Anne M., Edwin, Jane Eliza, David Meade, Susan, and Anthony IV (1778 - 1820). On July 13, 1805, five months after Anne died, he married Anne Newton Fisher (1774 - 1840). They had three children: John Newton, Thomas, and Lemuel. They are all buried in the old burial ground in what is now Fairfield's subdivision, in unmarked graves.

Reverend Walke was 20 years old in the early winter of 1775 when he most likely witnessed troop movements and battles between Continental Army troops and Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore’s Loyalist troops (people who supported King George III) in battles at Kemp's Landing, 2.5 miles north and then at Great Bridge, 9 miles south of his Fairfield Manor House. The Revolutionary War (1775–1783) caught Reverend Walke at a time when he was coming of age into a Virginia gentry threatened by the loss of political power, wealth, and social prestige made possible by English control over the Virginia Colony. In his writings he blamed the north and their foolish Boston Tea Party actions.

Reverend Walke was a representative to the Virginia Constitutional Convention, and after the Revolutionary War, in early 1788 he was ordained a priest of the Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, and then served the following year as an elector from the State of Virginia to the first presidential election held in Philadelphia. Returning to Princess Anne County, Reverend Walke, with a large inheritance from his father, presided as rector over Lynnhaven Parish Church for many years without a salary (from 1788 to 1800 and again from 1812 to 1813).

Reverend Walke divided his time between preaching and the hunt. Not only was he noted for delivering sermons with a captivating mild mannered voice, but a more picturesque side of him was his love of fox and deer hunting. He conducted sermons with his horse Silverheels tethered near the door of the church. When he heard those hunting horns, he would immediately turn the service over to his clerk, Dick Edwards, and hurry off on Silverheels, not seen again until late in the day (see references 14-16, 25, 120-122, 145, 147, 151-154, 211, 214 – 216).

__________________________The Walke’s Historic Homes.

* Upper Wolfsnare House. Of the three noted historic homes, only one stands today – the brick house Thomas Walke III built in 1759 at today’s 2040 Potters Road, Virginia Beach on Upper Wolfsnare Creek, an important waterway in 1759.

* Fairfield Manor. Four years after Colonel Thomas Walke I’s death, his executors in 1697 purchased the land from Tully Emperor to become the home of his second son, Colonel Anthony Walke I (1692 – 1768). Fairfield Manor House was located just south of present day Virginia Beach, Kempsville (in the vicinity of Locke Lane and Kempsville Colony, near Kempsville Park). Fairfield was a grand house with black servants, blacksmiths, wagon-makers, saddlers, and tradesmen imported from England. Fairfield belonged to five generations of Walkes, i.e., Colonel Anthony Walke I (1692-1768), Colonel Anthony Walke II (1726-1779), Reverend Anthony Walke (1755-1814), Anthony Walke (1778-1820), and David M. Walke (1800-1854), until it was destroyed by fire March 1865.

The First Ferry Farm House (Walke Manor House) is shown above in General Thomas Hoones Williamson’s 1812 watercolor picture.

* First Ferry Farm House. Colonel Anthony Walke II made plans for a second house at Ferry Farm (near Lynnhaven Parish Church) and bequeathed the land to his second son, William (1762-1795) who built the 1st Ferry Plantation House (Walke Manor House) in 1782 for his half brother Reverend Anthony Walke. It was owned by Walkes until it was destroyed by fire in 1828. The house was replaced by a smaller one in 1830.

On October 21, 1914 Lewis Walke and his son, Roger S. Walke, visited the Ferry Plantation and found the tomb of Lewis Walke’s great-grandfather, William Walke (1762 – 1795), Colonel Walke II’s first son by his second wife Mary Moseley. The tomb was several hundred yards from the Ferry House with the stone lying flat on the ground. Sometime in the 1930’s Ann Talbot Parks had this gravestone moved to the Old Donation Cemetery. The inscription is no longer legible, but was recorded by Lewis Walke back in 1914. It reads, “Here lie the Remains of WILLIAM WALKE late a Magistrate & Representative of this County Who departed this Lifethe 1st of Janry., 1795 Aged 33 years In Life Esteemed in Death lamented”
(References 3, 4, 14-17, 120, 145, 147, 182, 212, 213).
_____________________The second Ferry Farm Plantation House built in 1830

Thomas married Mary Lawson. Mary was born in 1670 in Lynnhaven Parish, Princess Anne, Virginia, USA; died on 5 Jan 1694 in Lynnhaven Parish, Princess Anne, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

William married Anna Kendall Lee in 1693 in , Gloucester, Virginia, USA. Anna (daughter of Hancock Lee and Mary Kendall) was born on 5 Jan 1681 in Ditchley, Northumberland, Virginia, USA; died in Oct 1754 in Hancocks Neck, Northumberland, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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]