Well, I know almost nothing about this Wright family, but by chance the list owner for the Old Chester County, Pa sent the following information to that mail list this morning: > By 1735, 70 families moved into the Shenandoah Valley of Va, and > were issued patents for their land, and were considered the > originators of the colony. I've abstracted those who were actually > from Chester Co, from HOPEWELL FRIENDS HISTORY 1734-1934, by the > Committee of Hopewell Friends; > > Alexander ROSS, was granted 2373 acres, 6 miles north of > Winchester. On this tract lies the Hopewell Meeting House on land set > aside by Ross for that purpose. Alexander 'started' life as Caleb > Pusey's "boy", who he began serving at the age of 11 when he was > brought to PA, and he continued his servitude till he was 21. > > Morgan BRYAN owned several tracts that totaled 2134 acres, and made > his home in what is now Berkeley Co, WV...he is said, by family lore, > to have been born in Ireland and married Margaret Strode, in Chester > Co ca 1725 . What IS knows is that he was taxed in Birmingham twp in > 1719, and Marlborough in 1720, '21, '22, and '26. Morgan does not > appear to have been a friend so his relationship with Ross is unknown > before they purchased the large land tracts. Morgan lived in VA > till his wife's death, when he sold up and moved to the Forks of the > Yadkin River, in NC. Here, his granddaughter, Rebecca, dau of his son > Joseph, married Daniel Boone. > > Richard BEESON and wife Charity, purchased land from John Peteate and > George Robinson, in 1737, and moved from the New Garden MM to > Hopewell.. Their son, Richard Jr and his wife, Ann Brown, had been > living in West Nottingham, but moved to the Shenandoah Valley around > the same time. > > John RICHARDS owned 500 acres on the south side of Cedar Creek. He > was born in Devonshire, England, but emigrated to Chester Co, where he > lived in Tredyffrin twp and was taxed there from 1720 to 1726. > > Cornelius COCKERINE owned 172 acres in what is now Berkeley Co, WV, > and lived in Chester Co before moving to VA...he owned property in > Fallowfield and Sadsbury. > > William HOGE owned 411 acres southwards of the village of Kernstown > and about 4 miles from Winchester. He had previously lived in Chester > Co where he was taxed in East Nottingham from 1718 to 1730, when he > moved to VA, with his first wife Barbara Hume. > > James WRIGHT was taxed in East Nottingham, Chester Co, from 1718 > through 1726, when he then moved to the Monocacy Valley in Frederick > Co, Md, before moving to VA, 4 miles north of Winchester. He was a > distinguished minister of the Friends and very well known. He and his > family suffered great hardships during the French and Indian Wars, the > accounts of which are recorded in the Philadelphia meeting. (this is > one of my ancestors) > > John LITTLER had 1332 acres, around 5 miles north of Winchester. He > married, in 1728 at Nottingham, Mary Ross, dau of Alexander and > Catherine Ross. He had a license to keep a Public house in Chester > before moving to VA. After his death Mary became a successful > business woman and among other things operated a tavern where she > entertained the General Braddock's officers, in 1755. kedenfield@charter.net wrote: > >Message Board Post: > >I have a William Wright, Sr. , bc 1760s with a family in Bedford Co., VA. by 1784. His children were (at least): Charles, William Jr., Jane & Richard. > >This family has been DNA linked to another family, probably from Orange Co., AND from the same generation, yet I can find no match :-( > >.... > > Remember that Orange County was VERY large from 1731-1740 and would have encompassed the area near Hopewell MM.....I made a quick trip to the area this fall and the research that I did there made me remember that I needed to look at the Orange County records for these people in this time frame. I also do some research in Bedford County, Virginia (part of the same research trip) and Lynchburg City is bounded by Bedford County, Campbell County, and Amherst County. Lynchburg has VERY strong Quaker roots. If you haven't already explored the Quaker possibilities for your Wright family, I think that you will want to do that at this point. If you are a novice at Quaker research you are in for a treat as it is lots of fun. Get back with me if you want ideas on how to get started. Marsha in WV PS. what is the other family with which the Wright family has been linked through DNA?