New material for owners of TMOV First Edition, 1980

Contents:
  Images   Chronology of Jamestown
  Supplemental Indexes   Oldest artifact
  Maps   Rocky Oak Church

Images

An image of Edward, Sr.'s will was added to his biographical sketch  (See:  Front,  Reverse,  Clerk's statement). An image of the [8]Walter Maxey family reinterment record, contributed by Roger Rigney, was added to Walter's sketch. Roger also had a stone marker installed at the grave site.

Supplemental Indexes

Here are additional indexes from the CD:

Maps

  • Homestead Map.  A high resolution scan of the back end paper of the printed book, showing the homesteads of Edward Maxey and his sons. The southern boundary of Edward, Sr.'s western plot is 320-polls long or one mile, which provides a scale for the map. The last date on the map is 1814.

  • Composite Map. As an aid to visiting these early homesteads, here is a new composite map, which overlays a modern road map (based on aerial photographs) with sketched outlines of the homesteads. At the top of the map, just above the words "Fine Creek" is a bend of the James River. And they do know the name "Maxey" in Flat Rock, Virginia.

Chronology of Jamestown, Virginia

Here is a chronology to aid in relating events in Great Britain and Virginia to the lives of our Maxey ancestors.

Oldest artifact

Here is an image of the oldest record of the Maxey family found thus far, followed by a transcription and explanation by Edythe Maxey Clark. The record is mentioned also on pages xi and 1.


A Court at Westopher March ye 24th 1691 Charles City Co., Va.
These may certifye that there is due to ye Honoble Wm Byrd Esq: foure hundred acres of land for the importation of these persons subscribed, being legally proved in Courte.
Dan: White Tho: Dabie  
Geo: Warner Aime Roberts Mary Durham
Edwd Maxey Jos: Breaden Jno: Semper
From Court Orders, 1687-1695, p. 394 (folder 15)

The Colony of Virginia Company, in order to stimulate immigration and settlement, decreed that any person who paid his own way, or another person's way to Virginia, should be awarded 50 acres of land for each individual brought in. However, the "headright" may actually have arrived in the Colony long before the patentee entered a claim for land due. The claimant was required to present a receipt to prove that the passage money had been paid, and the above county court record, which includes Edward Maxey, was probably the type of proof that was needed before applying for a patent.

Unfortunately, Edward's name was not included in the many patents that William Byrd I subsequently received. Some receipts were lost or too badly damaged to read before they had been recorded, and in the case of three of the Byrd patents in 1704 (see Patent Book 9, pp.612-613) the names were not given but only the number of headrights -- 7, 11 and 74, respectively.

William Byrd I (1652-1704) came to Virginia in 1671 (probably from London, where his father was employed as a goldsmith) to claim his inheritance from his deceased uncle Thomas Steggs. Byrd not only received considerable land located on both sides of the James River from his uncle, but acquired a great deal more through his own patents from 1683 through 1704. He was a member of the House of Burgesses from 1677 through 1682, and later was auditor-general of Virginia. In 1691 he moved to his new plantation at Westover on the James River, near the now famous plantations of "Shirley" (Carters) and "Berkeley" (Harrisons). He began building his mansion house about 1689 or 1690, and it is known that he had white indentured servants (as well as many slaves) who signed a contract, usually for five or seven years, in return for their passage to America. Byrd took a tremendous interest in the French Huguenots who settled in Manakin Town, and gave them substantial assistance in the four years before his death. For instance, he allowed them to grind their corn at his mills free of charge; and it has been said that if it hadn't been for his help they probably wouldn't have survived. The bill granting the French title to their lands was sponsored by him. He, his wife and a daughter are buried at a church in Jamestown. His only son, William, Jr. (1674-1744) was sent to England for his education and remained there until 1705 when he returned to manage the estates he had inherited.  
Edythe Maxey Clark - 1991

Rocky Oak Church - 1745

The above homestead maps show a Rocky Oak Church just southwest of Flat Rock, on the edge of John Maxey Sr.'s land. A sliver of land containing the church has been marked off, indicating John may have deeded the land to the church. The interesting thing is the church is still there. It's in private hands, rented to religious organizations from time to time for a meeting place. A cemetery with some Maxey graves is adjacent to the church. Here are recent photographs of the church, the front door, and the "restroom".

H. David Maxey
March 2009
 

THE MAXEYS OF VIRGINIA - Third Edition
A Genealogical History of the Descendants of Edward and Susannah Maxey
Copyright © 2000 Edythe Maxey Clark