Humphrey Tompkins^{[1, 2]}

1617 - 1673  (56 years)

• Name	Humphrey Tompkins  [2]
  Birth	1617	, Herefordshire, England
  Gender	Male
  Residence	, , Virginia, USA   [3]
  Death	23 Sep 1673	York River, Gloucester, Virginia, USA
  Person ID	I23314	Master
  Last Modified	1 Feb 2022

  
  

  Father	Giles Tompkins,   b. 1590, Monington, Herefordshire, England d. 1668, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England (Age 78 years)
  Mother	Martha Coombs,   b. 1595, Vow Church, Herefordshire, England d. 1637, , Herefordshire, England (Age 42 years)
  Marriage	16 Nov 1616	St Edmund'S, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England   [4, 5, 6]
  Family ID	F10225	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Hannah Bennett,   b. 2 Feb 1625, Jamestown, James City, Virginia, USA d. 23 Sep 1673, , Gloucester, Virginia, USA (Age 48 years)
  Marriage	22 Dec 1647	York River, Gloucester, Virginia, USA
  Children	1. Mary Tompkins,   b. 7 Mar 1649, Virginia Beach, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA d. 1674 (Age 24 years)   2. Edith Tompkins,   b. 2 Feb 1657, Virginia Beach, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA d. 1667, , , Virginia, USA (Age 9 years) + 3. Samuel Tompkins,   b. 13 Mar 1658, Yorktown, York, Virginia, USA d. 31 Oct 1702, Yorktown, York, Virginia, USA (Age 44 years)   4. William Tompkins,   b. 30 Dec 1660, Charles Parish, York, Virginia, USA d. 1722, Richmond, Independent Cities, Virginia, USA (Age 61 years)   5. Humphrey Tompkins,   b. 4 Dec 1661, , Gloucester, Virginia, USA d. 1713, , , Virginia, USA (Age 51 years)   6. Mary Tompkins,   b. 1662   7. Catherine Tompkins,   b. 1 May 1662, , , Virginia, USA d. 30 May 1745, Charles Parish, York, Virginia, USA (Age 83 years)   8. Sarah Tompkins,   b. 1663   d. 1664 (Age 1 year)   9. Hannah Tompkins,   b. 12 Apr 1664, Poquoson, York, Virginia, USA d. 1745, Poquoson, York, Virginia, USA (Age 80 years)   10. Elizabeth Tompkins,   b. 22 Feb 1666, Rye, Westchester, New York, USA d. 5 Jul 1667, Poquoson, York, Virginia, USA (Age 1 year)   11. Ann Tompkins,   b. 12 May 1668   12. John Tompkins,   b. 5 Jun 1670, Poquoson, York, Virginia, USA d. 1710, , , Virginia, USA (Age 39 years)
  Family ID	F10224	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	2 Feb 2022

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 1617 - , Herefordshire, England Residence - - , , Virginia, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  Bennett Farm44YO68 Presenter: Nick Luccketti -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Historical Background: A grant made to Joane Bennett, widow, in 1636 for 450 acres. The patent was reissued in 1639 to Hannah Bennett, daughter and heir of Samuel Bennett (Nugent 1974:116). Hannah married Abraham Turner in 1644 (YCDOW 3:159). They may have stayed with Augustine Warner, who lived on a 450 acre tract immediately north of the Bennett patent, for in 1646 Abraham Turner made on oral last will and testament in the Warner's house where he lay ill (YCDOW 2:417). Actual occupation of the Bennett patent may not have occurred until the mid-1640's. By May of 1648, Hannah had remarried Humphrey Tompkins (YCDOW 3:360). They had nine children, three of whom did not survive infancy. Humphrey appears to have been a successful planter who was frequently charged with various minor governmental responsibilities. Humphrey Tompkins died in September of 1673 (Charles Parish 1915:250). With Hannah Tompkins embarking upon a third marriage in 1674, the estate devolved to her eldest son Samuel (YCDOW 5:65). His career was not unlike his father's, although Samuel seemingly encountered difficulties later in his life. In 1681, Samuel married widow Elizabeth Clark who bore him two children (YCDOW 6:302). Samuel was appointed constable for the lower precincts of Poquoson in 1683 (YCDOW 6:512) only to be replaced three years later, foreshadowing his troubles to come. Following Elizabeth Tompkins' death in 1688, Samuel married Sarah Trevillion who inherited 200 acres from her brother (YCDOW 9:74). Samuel promptly sold the property for two slaves, which the records indicate were the only laborers Samuel ever owned. From 1697 to 1702, Samuel was named as defendant in three different debt suits, one case resulting in the attachment of his estate (YCDOW 10:360, 11:141, 12:5). Further, Samuel was again appointed constable in 1699, only to petition the court seventeen months later to be relieved of his duties (YCDOW 11:171,541). Samuel Tompkins died in 1702 leaving eight children and an estate appraised at little more than 30 pounds sterling (YCDOW 12:109). In sum, the occupation of Bennett Farm apparently began in the mid-1640's, likely with the marriage of Hannah Bennett to Humphrey Tompkins who, according to the York County records, was a small planter. The Tompkins' had only one servant and Humphrey's only office was surveyor of highways in Poquoson. When he died in 1673, the estate passed to his eldest son Samuel. Although Samuel was twice appointed constable, he seems to have had economic difficulties throughout his life. Apparently the Tompkins family moved to a new site following Humphrey's death in 1702. Archaeology: Structures The principal dwelling on the site originally consisted of a 20' square cell formed from two bays with posts spaced at 10' intervals There was no surviving evidence of a fireplace; however, a door in the southeast corner is indicated by a small intermediate posthole. The presence of a posthole for a door frame further implies that there were no sills between the posts. Without sills capable of supporting floor boards, Structure 1 presumably had a dirt floor. Later a 14.5' addition containing an 7.5' bay and a 7' bay was constructed on the east end of the dwelling. Nine of the 10 postholes of the dwelling each had a posthole cutting through it from the outside. The apparent repair postmolds of Structure 1, however, were 2'-3' outside the original postmold. The function of this second set of postholes was revealed when they were sectioned to show postmolds that angled in towards the building; thus, rather than replacing the original posts of Structure 1, the second set of posts acted as struts or buttresses propping up the building. Located approximately 58' from Structure 1, Structure 2 was the only outbuilding found at Bennett Farm. It measured 14.5' by 14.5' with side-wall posts at intervals of 7.0' and 7.5'. The spacing is identical to that of posts in the addition of Structure 1. Pits A single pit, 68/28, lay 30' south of the main house and 30' northwest of Structure 2. About 30' south from pit 68/28 and 50' west of Structure 2 was a cluster of large and small pits. Finally, a single large pit, with several adjoining small pits, was found 50' south of the central cluster. The sequence of the refuse pits, extending in a line south of the main house, corresponded to the dates when they were filled with trash; 68/28 was filled first c.1650, 68/1-6,8-10 was filled last after 1696, while the pits in between were filled during the intervening years. When first uncovered, each of the major refuse pits appeared as a single large feature filled with dark soil. Upon removing the top layer from the pits, it was discovered that each contained variously sized smaller holes ranging from 2'-6' in diameter, suggesting that these were not treeholes, but were dug, perhaps to obtain clay for daub. The vast majority of the artifacts recovered during the excavation came from the refuse pits. Those pits that were abundant in artifacts also had large quantities of oyster shell and animal bone indicating the domestic nature of the trash, undoubtedly coming from either Structure 1 and/or Structure 2. Other pits yielded few artifacts and likewise little shell and bone. The pits were excavated by hand and the soil was selectively sifted through 1/4" wire screen when small bones were present. Wells Well 1 was 8' deep below subsoil with no evidence of any form of lining. The fill was virtually devoid of artifacts. A section of a wooden ladder was preserved in the bottom. Well 2 was10'3" below subsoil and was lined with barrels. Postscript Pit 28 - 87 wbc stems for 1653, TPQ of post-1645Pit 24 - 21wbc stems for 1660, TPQ of post-1677 Pit 16 - 90 wbc stems for 1658, TPQ of post-1677 Pit 30 - 57 wbc stems for 1666, TPQ of post-1677 Well 7 - 44 wbc stems for 1701, TPQ of post-1680Pit 1 - many for 1678, TPQ of post-1680, 1696 coin

  
  

• Sources

  [S761] Yates Publishing, Ancestry Family Trees, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), Ancestry Family Tree. [S1376] Genealogies of Virginia Families from the William and Mary College Quarterly. Vol. V. Thompson-Yates. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/344268:48436?ssrc=pt&tid=180622097&pid=312343733602 [S1378] Ancestry.com, Virginia Biography, Volume I-II, (The Generations Network, Inc.). https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6398/images/1-GenRef-Enc-VA-Bio-CHAP-000343640?ssrc=pt&treeid=180622097&personid=312343733602&hintid=&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true&pId=343 [S763] Ancestry.com, England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NVD2-GHW [S1379] Ancestry.com, Wiltshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre; Chippenham, Wiltshire, England; Wiltshire Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: 1901/1. [S704] Ancestry.com, England & Wales Marriages, 1538-1988, (Ancestry.com Operations Inc), Place: Salisbury, Wiltshire, England; Collection: St Edmond; -; Date Range: 1587 - 1650; Film Number: 1279311.