William FitzHugh

Notes:

William Fitzhugh (1651 - 1701) - Describes his home
"...As first the Plantation where I now live contains a thousand Acres, at least 700 Acres of it being rich thicket, the remainder good hearty plantable land, without any waste either by Marshes or great Swamps the Commodiousness, conveniency, & pleasantness your self well knows, upon it there is three Quarters well furnished, with all necessary houses, ground & fencing, together with a choice crew of Negros at each planation, most of them this Country born, the remainder as likely as most in Virginia, there being twenty nine in all, (later he had close to 70 slaves) with Stocks of cattle & hogs at each Quarter, upon the same land is my own Dwelling house, furnished with all accomodations for a comfortable & gentile living, as a very good dwelling house, with 13 Rooms in it, four of the best of them hung, (with tapestries) nine of them plentifully furnished with all things necessary & convenient, & all houses for use well furnished with brick Chimneys, four good Cellars, a Dairy, Dovecoat, Stable, Barn, Hen house, Kitchen & all other conveniencys, & all in a manner new, a large Orchard of about 2500 Apple trees most grafted, well fenced with a Locust fence, which is as durable as most brick walls, a Garden a hundred foot square, well pailed in, a Yeard (sic) wherein is most of the foresaid necessary houses, pallizado'd (a variant spelling of palisaded) in with locust Punchens, which is as good as if it were walled in, & more lasting than any of our bricks, together with a good Stock of Cattle hogs horses, Mares, sheep &c, & necesary servants belonging to it, for the supply and support thereof. About a mile & half distance a good water Grist miln, (sic) whose tole I find sufficient to find my own family with wheat & Indian corn for our necessitys & occasions. Up the river in this Country three tracts of land more, one of them contains 21996 acres another 500 acres, & one other 1000 acres all good convenient & commodious Seats, & wch. in a few years will yield a considerable annual Income. ..." Taken from "William Fitzhugh and his Chesapeake World" pages 175-176.

WILLIAM FITZHUGH Compiled by Janice L. Johns
The British-born William Fitzhugh (1651–1701) was among the first Virginia colonists to establish a dynasty on the land. In this his portrait he looks more like a prominent Londoner than a resident of what was still a colonial backwater. Fitzhugh chose a rural life because it seemed the quickest way to make money; he used slaves to cultivate his 54,000 acres, which were largely in tobacco. He was a self-made man, a successful planter and lawyer, who had accomplished much with the opportunities afforded him in Virginia. “However, Fitzhugh was never entirely comfortable with his achievements, because his newly won wealth was tenuous, given the fluctuation of tobacco prices, and his social position was gained in a largely undeveloped setting where he felt isolated. Virginia was "a strange land" to Fitzhugh, where his peers expected him to project a "creditable" appearance. Once he did so, he could live "comfortably & handsomely." He "never courted unlawful pleasures with women, avoided hard drinking as much as lay in my power, & always avoided feasting." On occasion he entertained visitors with "good wine, . . . three fiddlers, a jester, a tight-rope dancer, [and] an acrobat who tumbled around." He furnished his large, thirteen-room house handsomely, with tapestries and an extraordinary collection of 122 pieces of English silver, much of it engraved with the family crest. The silver answered well Fitzhugh's conflicting urges for moderation and luxury. He termed his collecting both "politic" and "reputable," meaning that silver was a sound financial investment (it could be melted) that at the same time made a social statement about dynasty.” [1]In William’s own words, while addressing his suffering brother barrister Hartwell he wrote as to why he had never had the gout: “I’ll tell you, Sir, I never much frequented Bacchus’ orgies and always avoided Ceres’ shrine, and never was one of Venus’ votaries. To speak (plainly) to you, I never courted unlawful pleasures with women, avoided hard drinking as much as lay within my power, and always avoided feasting and consequently the surfeits occasioned thereby.” From William Fitzhugh and his Chesapeake World, page 46. I find this quote interesting, as we will learn 400 years later from DNA, that he was the father of at least two illegitimate sons. One with Mrs. George Phillips and one probably with Frances (Townsend) Dade Withers Hooe. “It was probably due to William's father Henry's misfortunes that William became successful and wealthy. Henry had made several financial decisions in Bedford England. He made two loans in which he pledged that if he did not pay them off within the year they would double. Whatever he was going to use the money for failed or never took place, resulting in the loss of his possessions to pay off the loan. In addition, as an Alderman, he was fined for not attending meetings. The law stated that if an Alderman did not attend a meeting of the Council, he would be fined. He missed over 60 meetings and as a result of the fines and the debt, he left England for Ireland dying at the age of 51.Probably due to the financial disasters’ of their father, William and Henry and his brother came to the Virginia Colony. William was about 16. It was here that Fitzhugh established what has been called a Virginia Dynasty.” [2] On May 1, 1674 William was married to Sarah Tucker. Sarah was the daughter of Rose Tucker Gerard, a wealthy woman with good family connections in both Virginia and Maryland. In the marriage settlement William received a Negro man and woman, three cows, six ewes and a ram, a number of hogs, a bay gelding, a necklace of pearls, and enough dishes, household furniture and kitchen equipment to set up housekeeping at once. Also, Sarah had been left by her father’s estate, 5,000 pounds of tobacco and an equal share with his other children in the rest of his estate—which she would inherit when she turned 17 years old. When William married his wife she was 11 years old. He sent her to England to be educated for 2 years before she came back to America. The marriage was not consummated until she returned. [3] Captain George Phillips was in command of the “John and Margaret”, a ship that carried tobacco to London. He brought back items from England that were not available in America, like lace, velvet, china, silver, etc. One of the planters who shipped his tobacco with George was William Fitzhugh. The biography of William Fitzhugh (William Fitzhugh and his Chesapeake World) includes several letters in which he mentioned. The book also mentions that William Fitzhugh liked to socialize with his sea captains and their families. According to a DNA sample done on one of Mr. Phillips's descendents in 2010, it seems Mr. Fitzhugh socialized a little too closely with the wife of Captain George Phillips. The timing must have worked out well for Mr. Fitzhugh and Mrs. Phillips, because George named his PRESUMED son George Phillips (Jr.) who was probably born about 1691 or 1692. A ccording to vestry registers of Saint Peter's and Saint Paul's parishes, George Phillips Jr. had at least four sons, John, Richard, George, and James. The two counties where this family lived in the early years were New Kent and Hanover. Both of these are burned counties; all the early records are gone.“Fitzhugh is famous for his many letters on various subjects. He wrote several on slavery and said that the only thing he regretted about America was the lack of good schools. He wrote "Good education of children is almost impossible and better to be never born than ill bred." [4] According to the codicils to his will, William must have made a trip back to England in July 1701. He died October 21, 1701 supposedly from “a bloody flux” contracted from French refugees he had befriended. There is much more to be learned from “William Fitzhugh and his Cheasapeake World.” It is not a family history, but a compilation of the letters he wrote during his lifetime. The letters are mostly business related, but good family information can be gleaned. The book is available through interlibrary loan.

[1] From: http://www.vahistorical.org/dynasties/williamfitzhugh.htm & mler13 originally submitted to Ancestry.com Richardson Benham Family on 28 Mar 2008.
[2] garystauffer6 originally submitted to Ancestry.com for the HARRISON Family Tree on 30 Dec 2007.
[3] "William Fitzhugh and his Chesapeake world."
[4] garystauffer6 who originally submitted it to Ancestry.com for the HARRISON Family Tree

William married Sarah Tucker on 1 May 1674 in , , Virginia, USA. Sarah (daughter of John Thomas Tucker and Rosanna Sturman) was born on 2 Aug 1663 in , Westmoreland, Virginia, USA; died in 1703 in Eagles Nest, King George, Virginia, USA; was buried in King George, King George, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. George Fitzhugh
2. John Fitzhugh
3. William Fitzhugh, Jr was born in 1677 in Eagles Nest, King George, Virginia, USA; died on 27 Jan 1714 in Ravensworth, Fairfax, Virginia, USA; was buried in , King George, Virginia, USA.
4. Rosemond Fitzhugh was born in 1678 in Stafford, Stafford, Virginia, USA; died in 1730 in , Westmoreland, Virginia, USA.
5. Thomas "Belle Air" Fitzhugh was born in 1679 in Bedford, King George, Virginia, USA; died on 27 Jan 1714 in Ravensworth, Fairfax, Virginia, USA.
6. Henry Fitzhugh was born on 15 Feb 1686 in , Stafford, Virginia, USA; died on 12 Dec 1758 in , Stafford, Virginia, USA.

Notes:

Henry Fitzhugh
HENRY FITZHUGH was born in 1614 in Bedford, Bedfordshire County, England to William Fitzhugh & Margaret Smith.

Henry married Mary King (daughter of Rev. Giles King) circa 1639 in Bedford, Bedfordshire County, England, and They had NINE children that are known of:

Anne Fitzhugh (1639-?),
Margaret Fitzhugh-[Unknown] (1640-1676),
Susan Fitzhugh-Varney (1642-?),
Mary Fitzhugh (1643-?),
Dorothy Fitzhugh-(M1)Smith-(M2)Luke (1644-1694),
Elizabeth Fitzhugh (1645-1646),
Henry Fitzhugh (1650-?),
William Fitzhugh (1651-1701), and
Thomas Fitzhugh (?-died in London).

Henry was a Woolen Draper by profession. It is documented that he was a Member of the Council 1648 - 1649; the Mayor of Bedford, England in 1649; and served as an Alderman 1650 - 29 September 1665. There was a portrait made of Henry Fitzhugh circa 1634, which ecame part of his son William Fitzhugh's estate, and today is part of the Virginia Historical Society's holdings.

It is said that Henry was in financial disaster in his final years, after a 1658 court ruling, and he left England to live in Cork, Ireland sometime after 5 September 1659 until his death circa September 1666.

REFERENCES:

1. Davis, Richard Beale, (1963), "William Fitzhugh & His Chesapeake World 1676-1701: The Fitzhugh Letters and Other Documents," University of North Carolina Press: New York, p.7, 8, 112, & 172.

CHRISTEND:
1. Fitzhugh, Henry A. & Fitzhugh, Terrick V.H., (2007), "The History of the Fitzhugh Family: In Two Volumes," Author House: Bloomington, IN, v.2, pages .o1o - .o30o.

Henry married Mary King in 1638 in Tempsford, Bedfordshire, England. Mary was born in 1618 in Tempsford, Bedfordshire, England; died on 11 Jan 1698 in Tempsford, Bedfordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]