| Notes |
- The coach box is said to have belonged to John, the original Boatwright immigrant to America. The box has been passed down through the James Boatwright (b. 1745 - Virginia) family and is now owned by Dan Boatwright.
Our ancestor, John Boatwright, Jr. traveled from Suffolk, England to the new world of Virginia in the mid 1600's. John, Jr. signed on as an indentured servant. It must be emphasized that the indentured servants were not slaves, and that at the expiration of their terms there was no barrier, legal, racial, or social to their advancement. The terms of indenture not only took for granted that the servant, upon completing his contract would establish himself as a proprietor, but usually made it obligatory for the master to furnish him with the equipment necessary for his new life. The servants upon completing their contract, were often given fifty acre plots and finally became owners of land. In exchange for his passage to America, young John agreed to work as an indentured servant for three to seven years. This was a very common way of attracting people to the new world: the promise of a bright future, land ownership and freedom, in exchange for three to seven years of hard labor. John's headright was granted to Humphrey Dennis, of Virginia, in 1654, in exchange for the payment of John Jr.'s passage to Virginia.
John Boatwright Coach Box
Why did young John travel from England to Virginia? England was in turmoil in the late 1640's. The English civil war had just ended. Victorious Puritans would soon behead the King, Charles I. Oliver Cromwell was in the early stages of his protectorate and still battling competitors for supremacy among their Puritan comrades. As the Puritan government became established, Englishmen who supported the monarchy found that England was no longer a safe haven for them. Not only might they lose their financial wealth, some were in danger of losing their heads if they remained in England. The Stepney docks must have been frantically busy as entire families and their retainers sought passage out of England. Was it, perhaps, imperative that John Jr. leave the country at this time? Was John Jr. or his parents so closely associated with the Royalist cause that he had to flee for his safety? Or was John simply looking for a better life, the chance to own land and prosper? We will most likely never know the cause of John's immigration to Virginia as an indentured servant.
John 1631 Gloucester, VA 1654 Immigrated, transportation paid by Humphry Dennis. (Early VA Immigrants 1622- 66, by Greer).
John 1631 Gloucester, VA 1654 He was indentured to Humphrey Dennis of Gloucester Co in 1654. His head right for 50 Acres on South side of Kings Creek, near Poropotank, Gloucester Co, registered 7-6-1654 at Richmond Land Office, Henrico Co VA (Boatright Research Notes by Norman Hurd Ricker, Jr. - Virginia Boatwrights).
The Gloucester County court minute books (book 3, page 322, dated July 6, 1654) record 200 acres granted to Humphrey Dennis, on the south side of Kings Creek, near Poropotank. Headrights for Mary Smith, Thomas Bourne, Thomas Thraile and John Boatwright. These same 200 acres were re-granted as head rights to John Guthrie, noted in the record that the land was "Granted to Humphrey Dennis 1654, deserted". Humphrey Dennis traveled to Virginia as an indentured servant, his head right recorded in 1639 by George Minifye, Esquire, on the north side of the Charles (York) River, beginning at the creek upon the west side of the Indian Fields, opposite Queens Creek and down the river to Timberneck Creek. Kings Creek, Timberneck Creek, Queens Creek and the Poropotank river exist today. The Poropotank river forms the border between Gloucester County and what was then New Kent County (today King & Queen County). The Poropotank river feeds into the York River.
One of only two records of John Jr. in Virginia is the recording of the land granted to Humphrey Dennis for John's headright. That land was located near the Poropotank River, on what is today the border of Gloucester and King & Queen Counties. At the time John arrived in Virginia, both Gloucester and King & Queen Counties were part of York County. John most likely farmed tobacco and would have moved west, in search of land. John Jr. and his son, John III, are recorded in the 1704 Virginia Quit Rent Rolls. John Jr. is indicated as owning 250 acres of land in New Kent County. John III is recorded as being born in 1680, a resident of New Kent County, a member of the St. Peter & Paul parishes, paying tax or quit rent on 250 acres of land.
St. Peter's parish is located in New Kent County. St. Paul's parish is located in what was then New Kent County but today is Hanover County, formed in 1720 from a portion of New Kent County. It would appear by these records that John Jr. settled in what was originally York County but became New Kent County and eventually Hanover County. Because of the burning of the New Kent and Hanover court house records, many valuable records including land purchases, birth and death records, to further substantiate John Jr. or John III's lives, have been lost.
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Abt 1635 - Bef 1704 (~ 68 years)
