Malinda, I have figured it out and here it goes: Sarah [Hoskins]? died 1672-1692. She had 2 husbands and 7 children. First husband: Thomas Meador b. 1635-1638 VA, d. before April, 1662. They were married about 1658-1659. They had 3 children, John, Susannah and Mary. Her second husband was Henry Awbrey. They were married 1662-1664. They had one child, Richard Awbrey. When Sarah [Hoskins]? died, Henry married a second time. This time to a woman named Mary. Richard Awbrey, son of Sarah [Hoskins]? and Henry Awbrey, married Dorothy North, daughter of Augustine and Dorothy North. Richard was b. about 1664 and d. 1697 Essex Co., VA. They had 4 children: Mary, Henry II, Dorothy, and child. Dorothy had a total of 3 husbands. The order was unknown. Her other husbands were Thomas Gouldman II and Peter Ransome. Dorothy Awbrey, daughter of Richard Awbrey and Dorothy North, married John Billups before 1718. Dorothy Awbrey was born about 1687. To sum it up, Dorothy Meador never married Richard Awbrey. It was Dorothy North, of no known relation to Richard, who married him. John Meador, husband of Elizabeth White, and Richard Awbrey were "brothers" because they were in fact half-brothers. They shared the same mother. Dorothy Meador is infact a daughter of Thomas Meadors but there is no record of her ever marrying. I hope this helps. Patrick Cuff

Hello Patrick, You've obviously put a lot of effort into these findings and I appreciate it. I would like to pick your brains a bit more if that's agreeable with you. I'm going to post some material by a genealogist who is considered credible to the point of official recognition by the National Society of Washington Family Descendants . He is a source for "proving in" applications to the NSWFD. That doesn't mean he couldn't be wrong about some things...it's just to "calibrate" you on the nature of the source in case you're unfamiliar with Charles Arthur Hoppin. In fact, a descendant of John4 Wright's son Francis5 , might have just demonstrably proved that there were two different Wm5 Wrights who have been morphed into one individual by genealogists ...including Hoppin....due to some information he says wasn't available to them at the time...but is available now.) Anyway......I would appreciate it if you would give the material below your thoughtful consideration and tell me your view. I just checked in Charles Hoppin's "Washington Ancestry" Vol 1(pub 1932) and on page 366, he comments on "the marriage (about 1705) of John3 {Francis2,Richard1Wrigh} to a Dorothy, probably Dorothy Awbrey....The exact date is not recorded as the records of marriage licenses, and bonds, and of the parish churches for Westmoreland are lost.Other records indicate the fact of the marriage. It has required exhaustive search and study to determine the identity of John3 Wright's wife Dorothy, because of the prevalence in the Northern Neck of women named Dorothy. Seventeen Dorothys of marriageable age, circa 1705, appear in the records. The surnames of these Dorothys were Ransone, Gouldman, Armstrong, Henry, Ripley, Dudley, Gatewood, Smith, Baughan, Durham, Strother, Maclanan, Abbott, and Awbrey. No one of these Dorothys, save the last, extant records show, could be the Dorothy who married John3 Wright." Hoppin goes on to say at the end of the same page that "The Awbreys and Gouldmans in old Rappahannock were relate; when and exactly how we have not stopped to ascertain. The connection seems to have been by a marriage between children of Henry Awbrey and Thomas Gouldman, perhaps by the latter's son Francis Gouldman on one side." On page 367 of the same book, "Mr. Henry Awbrey married in England a wife whose name, together with dates of their deaths in Virginia, have not been found. Their children, however, are clearly recorded--Richard, John, Francis, a daughter who married Philip Maguire, and, perhaps another daughter who married Mr. Francis Gouldman. Our particular interest is in the son Richard2Awbrey, as he was the father of Dorothy3 Awbrey who, it is believed married about 1705 John3 Wright." The 1697 will of Richard Awbrey names daughter Dorothy ..no married name is indicated for either Dorothy or dau Mary.. but of course this is before Dorothy's presumed 1705 marriage to John3 Wright . "To Mr. Francis Gouldman, a ring. To my Sister Maguire a ring, To Philip Maguire a mixt Kersey". ...still page367. Mr. Francis Gouldman and Mr. Thomas Grigson are listed in the will as overseers . And of course, "To my Brother John Meador, weareing Cloaths etc." Hoppin goes on to discuss the connection between Francis Awbrey and the Wright family. On page 368, Hoppin indicates that both Francis Awbrey and John3 Wright "were near neighbors on the Machotic in Westmoreland" and made land purchases in the part of Stafford Co that would become Prince Wm Co, ultimately removing there from Westmoreland Co and becoming Justices of both Stafford and the newly formed Prince Wm Co. Although many of the records prior to 1731 are lost, "the record of the apppointment by the Governor and Council of Virginia, on April 27, 1731, of the first justices of the new county of Prince William, is preserved, revealing that this Francis Awbrey was appointed to be one of the quorum of those first justices. Thus becomes obvious the fact that it was more or less through Francis Awbrey's influence...that the young son aged about twenty-three, John4 Wright, of this Aubrey's newly-widowed niece, Dorothy(Awbrey) Wright, was chosen as a minor member of the same staff of justices then appointed--chosen in lieu of her husband John3 Wright, who died a few months before the erection of the new county of Prince William after having been one of the movers, during several previous years, for it's creation." Of course, there was precedent for doing this in the Wright family...John4 Wright was the 4th generation in his family (in the Colonies) to play the roles of Sheriff and Justice and lawyer. In the Wright's native Yorkshire, they had traditionally been Sheriffs and High Sheriffs in the "modern medieval" era that preceded the Colonial era. And this was a role that Justice John4 Wright fulfilled thoughout his long life...for some 70 years when he was into his 90s. They had reason to have confidence in him....the other 3 generations of Wrights before him had also assumed the mantle of this identical sort of responsibility quite capably at a similar young age. He groomed his own sons for this role as well. But I digress. Back to Hoppin ..... Still page 368, " Francis Awbrey, Gent., was appointed Sheriff of Prince William County on June 13, 1739. [ Virginia Council Journal]. His niece, Dorothy (Awbrey) Wright, pre-deceased him in that county, dying intestate." He mentions a few other points to ponder...i.e. the fact that Francis Awbrey and his brother John were the only two Aubreys to cross the Rappahannock into Westmoreland Co . He further said that it wasn't certain which of her uncle's families little Dorothy lived with since she was only aged 10 years at her father's 1697 death, but it was certain that she either lived with or visited them and thus became acquainted with their near neighbor John3 Wright. I would love to hear your thoughts after you have had a chance to consider these findings. Thanks a lot ....malinda Patrick Cuff wrote: > Malinda, > > I have figured it out and here it goes: > > Sarah [Hoskins]? died 1672-1692. She had 2 husbands and 7 children. > > First husband: Thomas Meador b. 1635-1638 VA, d. before April, 1662. > They were married about 1658-1659. They had 3 children, John, Susannah and Mary. > > Her second husband was Henry Awbrey. They were married 1662-1664. They had one > child, Richard Awbrey. When Sarah [Hoskins]? died, Henry married a second time. > This time to a woman named Mary. > > Richard Awbrey, son of Sarah [Hoskins]? and Henry Awbrey, married Dorothy North, > daughter of Augustine and Dorothy North. Richard was b. about 1664 and d. 1697 > Essex Co., VA. They had 4 children: Mary, Henry II, Dorothy, and child. Dorothy > had a total of 3 husbands. The order was unknown. Her other husbands were Thomas > Gouldman II and Peter Ransome. > > Dorothy Awbrey, daughter of Richard Awbrey and Dorothy North, married John Billups > before 1718. Dorothy Awbrey was born about 1687. > > To sum it up, Dorothy Meador never married Richard Awbrey. It was Dorothy North, > of no known relation to Richard, who married him. John Meador, husband of > Elizabeth White, and Richard Awbrey were "brothers" because they were in fact > half-brothers. They shared the same mother. > > Dorothy Meador is infact a daughter of Thomas Meadors but there is no record of > her ever marrying. > > I hope this helps. > > Patrick Cuff

Malinda, In Hoppins book: It has required exhaustive search and study to determine the identity of John3 Wright's wife Dorothy, because of the prevalence in the Northern Neck of women named Dorothy. Seventeen Dorothys of marriageable age, circa 1705, appear in the records. The surnames of these Dorothys were Ransone, Gouldman, Armstrong, Henry, Ripley, Dudley, Gatewood, Smith, Baughan, Durham, Strother, Maclanan, Abbott, and Awbrey. No one of these Dorothys, save the last, extant records show, could be the Dorothy who married John3 Wright." Hoppin goes on to say at the end of the same page that "The Awbreys and Gouldmans in old Rappahannock were relate; when and exactly how we have not stopped to ascertain. The connection seems to have been by a marriage between children of Henry Awbrey and Thomas Gouldman, perhaps by the latter's son Francis Gouldman on one side." First correction, he assumes that the wife came from the same county and not another county that was closely connected. They are usually from the same county but not always. Second, there weren't any Dorothy's with the maiden names Ransome or Gouldman. There was one Dorothy, Dorothy North Awbrey Gouldman Ransome. She had 3 husbands. 1st--Richard Awbrey, 2--Col. Thomas Gouldman II, 3--Peter Ransome. Also, the Dorothy Dudley was married to Henry Gatewood, making her Dorothy Dudley Gatewood. He was incorrect in saying that there were 2. Thirdly, the Awbreys and Gouldman's were related two ways. Richard Awbrey was the halfbrother of Mary Meador, wife of Col. Francis Gouldman I. This made him Francis's halfbrother-in-law. This also made their childrens cousins. Secondly, Dorothy North Awbrey's second marriage was to Col. Thomas Gouldman II. This made her only child, Elizabeth Gouldman, half siblings of Mary, Henry II, Dorothy, and child. This gave the Awbreys and Gouldmans their second connection. Fourth, Dorothy Awbrey cannot be the wife of John Wright. She was born about 1687. She was married to John Billups before 1718. According to Richard Awbrey's will, his daughter, Dorothy was not married by 1697. There was no Dorothy Awbrey for John Wright to marry. Finally, Henry himself states in his will his relations: Mary Awbrey, wife Richard Awbrey, his son Francis Awbrey, his nephew, son of his brother, John Richard's wife, his daughter-in-law Mary, his grandaughter, Richard's daughter There are no further relations given as of 1697. There is no names given of Henry's siblings' children except Francis. There is no proof that Francis had children or even married. But if he did, it is most likely, that Dorothy was his granddaughter. Patrick