This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: StephenDennehy29 Surnames: Powell Berry Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.maryland.counties.somerset/848/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Does anyone know where this 1626 birthyear given for Walter Powell comes from ? I've never seen anything that indicated his birthyear or age ? Has anyone ever come across any record in Accomack or Northampton Co., Vir. which mentions Walter Powell ? The earliest record we know to concern our Walter is the birth record of his 2nd. child Mary to he and his first wife Elizabeth in Somerset Co. 30 Jan. 1669 (1670 Gregorian calendar). The first record of a land purchase is in Somerset Jul. 1670. Jeffery Mendenhall applied for land for transporting Walter Powell, wife (unamed in original record; later mistakenly listed as Margaret, his 2nd. wife) and dau. Elizabeth to Somerset Co. from Vir.9 Jul. 1671. Walter must have mar. Elizabeth _____ 1666 or 1667 and had children: 1) Elizabeth b. c. 1667 (which would make her 16 when she mar. Hugh Tingle 21 Dec. 1683) 2. Mary b. 30 Jan. 1669 (1670); mar. Walter Evans Walter, Elizabeth and dau. Elizabeth migrate to Somerset Co. from Vir. in 1668 or 1669. The wife Elizabeth must have died in childbirth or as a result of "childbed fever" as a result of childbirth in early 1670. Walter remar. Margaret Berry prob. in 1670 and had children: 3) Sarah 1671; d. by 1679 4) Wm. 12 June 1673 5) John b. 27 Sept. 1674 6)Margaret b. 22 Feb. 1675 (1676); mar. Henry Schoolfield by 1695 7) Katherine b. 26 May 1678; mar. Wm. White 8. Sarah prob. b. Nov. 1679, liv. 1696, no further info. Walter's wife Margaret Berry d. 26 Nov. 1679, probably as a result of childbirth. The reason I list 2 Sarah's is that Walter, in his will names his sons in order (Wm., John) and then his daus. in order (Eliza, Mary, Margaret, Katherine and Sarah). If this were the Sarah b. 1671 she would have been named third among the daus., not 5th.). I seriously doubt the Walter Powell trans. to Lancaster Co., Vir. in 1643 by Capt. Samuel Mathews is ours. Even if he were 15 in 1643 (b. 1628) he doesn't marry until 1666, at the earliest, when he''s 38. Men rarely married that late, though it's not unheard of. The Walter Powell to Lancaster 1643 is stated to have gone to adjoining Northumberland Co., Vir. in 1647 (what is the source ?). then no record of him until Jan. 1670--no mention of him at all in 23 years ?! This seems highly unlikely. What might shed some light is this transportation record I found on the Md. Archives Website under "Settlers of Maryland" by Carson Gibb: Land Office AB & H, p. 276 Wm. Eltonhead recieves 400 acres of land from Walter Powell for transporting him (24 Jan. 1652 (1653)). Res. Wm. Eltonhead I found he was b. Eng. 1615, immigrated to Lancaster Co., Vir., then went to Calvert Co., Md. by 1649, also had land holdings in St. Mary's Co. He was a Roman Catholic, hung by the Puritans in May 1655. If this Walter Powell were ours, he would have to have been transported to Vir. (of which there is no record), then to Somerset Co. Md. 1668-1669. Possibly land records in Calvert Co. would show something but unfortunately the MdLandRecs. site currently only has land records for Calvert Co. from 1812. i think the most likely birth period for our Walter is 1640-1645. I think he was born in Northampton Co., Vir. s/o John, son of Thomas and Elizabeth (in Northampton by 1624, Thomas still living 1662). Son John is mentioned in a few records through 1654 , then nothing so I assume he died shortly after that. There is no indication of siblings for Walter so he may have been the only surviving child. John seems likely for Walter's father's name because he names his first son Wm. (for his father-in-law William Berry); it seems likely he would have named his 2nd. son John for his father. Walter became a Quaker after 1674; his son John was bap. 25 Oct. 1674 -probably in the Anglican Church. His dau. Elizabeth was mar. in 1683 by Wm. Traile, a Pres. minister. _______________________ The only records we can find anywhere on Walter's father-in-law Wm. Berry are the 1680 tax list which shows him on land called "Hopewell" in Manokin, Somerset Co. 1680 and his appt. as trustee for a bequest by George Johnson, a Quaker, to "the Quaker poor" 23 Nov. 1680-Somerset Co., md. A James Berry is listed on hopewell from 1683, given it as a land grant in 1685 and sold it , with his wife Jane, to John Henry 18 Jan. 1715 (1716). James must have been Wm.'s son. the WQm. berry listed in Northampton Co., Vir. records 1641-1645 is another Wm. Berry who apparently d. 1645 though his estate was not probated until an admin. bond was posted 28 Feb. 1650 (1651). Our Wm. Berry is NOT the son of James and Elizabeth, in Northampton Co. by 1636. their son Wm. was prob. born that year saince James and Elizabeth were transported with no mention of any children. this family moved to Puxuxtent Co. (Later named Calvert Co) c. 1649, then to Talbot Co. where James d., 1657, estate admin. by son William of Talbot Co. This family was Anglican, then Puritan. Since James b. c., 1610 named a son Wm. and our Wm. born prob. c. 1620 nameed a son James; they may have been brothers. Based on the above I think our Wm. and family prob. immigrated to either Accomack Co., Vir. or Somerset Co., Md. in the late 1660's. I think dau. Margaret was born in Eng. c. 1650. What is the source for listing Wm.'s wife as Mary and the statement that they had a dau. Mary ? Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.