John Field Archer, II

John Field Archer, II

ARCHER, JOHN DAR Ancestor #: A002997
Service: VIRGINIA
Rank(s): CIVIL SERVICE, PATRIOTIC SERVICE
Birth: 4-2-1734 in HENRICO COUNTY, VIRGINIA
Death: 2-28-1784 in BERMUDA HUNDRED, CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, VIRGINIA
Service Source: WILLIAM & MARY QUARTERLY, SER 1, VOL 5, PP 101-102; FLOURNOY, CAL OF VA STATE PAPERS, VOL 8, P 99
Service Description: 1) MEMBER, COMMITTEE OF SAFETY; COMMISSIONER

John Archer (2 April 1734 - 28 February 1784) married Eliza Trent. He performed civil service and patriotic service during the Revolutionary War while living at Bermuda Hundred in Chesterfield County, Virginia.

John was born in that part of Henrico County that later became Chesterfield County, Virginia; his death is noted as being in Bermuda Hundred, Chesterfield County.

Eliza was living in 1784.

John Archer, with land in Chesterfield County, Cumberland County, and Amelia County, had five living children and his wife was pregnant when he wrote his will in February 1784. He lived in Bermuda Hundred. He was sick when he wrote his will.

Children

None of John's daughters were 18 or married at the time of his will. His son Peterfield was not yet 21, but as he was named an executor of the will, he was at least 17.

Peterfield Archer (married Elizabeth Walthall)
Elizabeth Archer[4]
Martha Field Archer (married James Robertson)
Ann Archer
Mary Archer
Unborn Archer - John Archer (married Elizabeth Chamberlyn Batte)

Will

Will of John Archer "of Chesterfield County in Bermuda Hundred", dated 22 February 1784[4]
Loving wife (not named)
Son Peter Field Archer (my lands and Plantation in Amelia County); not yet 21
Daughters, when they reach the age of 18 or when married (one fifth part)
Peter Field Archer is not included in the "one fifth part", the five are John's daughters "Elizabeth, Martha Field, Ann and Mary, also the son or daughter" his wife was pregnant with.
Sister Judith Archer

Land in Cumberland County to be sold.

John's will provides for "the child that my loving wife is now pregnant with". If a daughter, an equal share with the other daughters. If a son, he inherits the "Plantation in Bermuda Hundred. Also all my lands adjacent lying in the county of Chesterfield"; if the child is not a son, or if the son dies without heirs, then after John's wife dies to his son Peterfield Archer, with instructions for payment to the daughters.

Executors: His wife and "my brother, Henry Archer, my brother James Robertson, my cousin, John Archer, son of William Archer, and my son, Peterfield Archer"

Witnesses: Samuel Shearwin, Blackman Moseley, Thomas Poullan

Slaves

Named in John's 1784 will
to son Peter Field Archer: Will, Ned, Lewis, Sam, Flora and her children, Chloe, Joe, Lucy, Daniel, and Bobb.
to daughters: "the one fifth part of all my Negros not already willed away."

Research Notes

John probably died shortly after he wrote his will on 22 February 1784, in which he said that he was "weak and sick but of perfect mind and memory".

Sources

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 11 March 2020), "Record of John Archer", Ancestor # A002997.
↑ Chesterfield County was formed from Henrico County in 1749. ~ http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~george/countyformations/virginiaform...
↑ Jamestowne Society Lineage Paper Project (accessed 13 August 2021:
Archer, John III (1734 - ed 1784) married Elizabeth Trent (1734 - liv 1784) – QA Thomas Swann A7803 - Note - "ed" is the only "ed" on the page; maybe a typo for "wd"? [not defined, but "will date" would make sense]
Note: A Jamestowne Society link to "Lineages to the Revolutionary War Era" was "not found" as of 13 August 2021: www.jamestowne.org/revolutionary-war-era-people.html
↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 Chesterfield County Wills. Transcription submitted for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Nancy Slator.
↑ From Bob's Genealogy Filing Cabinet (accessed 3 September 2021):
"Children aged 17 and over could act as an executor so long as other actions by adults were not required. (This is a relatively rare occurrence.)" ~ "Legal Age"
"Although it was technically possible for a person aged 17 or more to act as an executor, the limited powers of minors assured that virtually all executors were adults." ~ "Wills, Intestates, & Probate"
In light of the restrictions, one of the provisions in the will - that Peterfield provide money to his siblings "within 4 years" of his mother's death - makes more sense, as that would put him at full legal age (21) if he was only 17 at the time John made his will.
↑ Note that DAR records only include children who had descendants that joined the DAR.
↑ Transcribed twice elsewhere as "Peterfield Archer".
See also:
LDS #LDYB-MK7: "This person was deleted by merge. Surviving person: John Field Archer" = KZM4-7X9 (deleted). Surviving person: G3YX-T7D, John Field Archer III. (No reliable sources.)