Capt. John Lea, of King & Queen, VA

CAUTION - As of 16 Dec 2023, may NOT be the son of Col. William Lea, Il and his wife, Mary Lea.

See notes at wikitree profile and a link to spirited debate about the family in the comments below.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lea-86

Capt. John Lea

• Birth: ABT 1677 in Mattaponi River, King & Queen Co., VA
• Death: ABT 1729 in King & Queen Co., VA
• Father: William Leigh b: ABT 1654 in New Kent, later, King & Queen Co., VA Unproven
• Mother: Mary Green b: ABT 1655/1658 Unproven

6200 hundred acres was inherited from his father, William Lea.

Marriage

1. about 1699 in (probably) King & Queen to an unknown woman. Unverified & speculative.
2. After about 1707 to Anne Taylor b: 12 JAN 1681/1684 in New Kent, later, King & Queen Co., VA the daughter of James Taylor & Mary Gregory. If appears she was 1st married to Edward Eastham. She survived John Lea & married Thomas Caruthers, and may have died before Oct 1731, when her children were appointed a guardian.

Children of 1st wife Unproven

1. John LEA b: 1699/1700 in St. Stephen Par, King & Queen Co., VA. Married Anne Carter.
2. Catherine LEA b: ABT 1702 in , King & Queen Co., VA. Married 1) George Priddy 2) Richard Shackleford
3. Daughter LEA b: ABT 1705 in , King & Queen Co., VA. Married John Key.
4. Daughter LEA b: ABT 1707 in , King & Queen Co., VA. Married Robert Baylor.

Children of 2nd wife:

1. Elizabeth "Betty" LEA b: ABT 1710 in , King & Queen Co., VA. Married 1) Zachary Taylor 2) Swan Jones. Grandmother of President Zachary Taylor. More usually seen as the daughter of Hancock Lee & Sarah Allerton Some researchers believe she married Thomas White and moved to North Carolina.
2. James (Country Line) Lea b: 1712 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Married Ann (perhaps) Herndon
3. William (South Hico) Lea b: ABT 1715. Married Frances (perhaps) White.

notes on the children

"Apparently, John Lea of King and Queen County, Virginia. had wife Ann, who was dead by October 5, 1731, and two minor sons, William and James Lea (and possibly a sister Elizabeth (Betty)), who had guardians appointed for them in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, October 5, 1731. There were possibly more children, but no record of them has been found."

The following records indicate that Zachary Taylor was their guardian as of 5 October 1731:

Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Guardians Bonds, Will Book A. £50 Zachary Taylor, guardian to William Lee, orphan of John Lee, with Thomas Chew, security. October 5, 1731.. £50 John Key, guardian to James Lee, orphan of John Lee, with Zachary Taylor, security. October 5, 1731. Source: Spotsylvania County Records, 1721-1800: Being Transcriptions from the Original Files at the County Court House.

"Other older children of this Captain John Lee/Leigh, in addition to the three orphans listed above, purportedly were (a) John Leigh, Jr. (born 1699/1700), (b) Catherine Lea (born c. 1702), who married (1) George Priddy and (2) Richard Shackleford of King and Queen County, Virginia, (c) daughter (born c.1705), who possibly married John Key; (d) daughter (born c.1707); and (e) Elizabeth Lea (born 1709/1710), who married Zachary Taylor." Source: Amite County, Mississippi 1699-1890 (Volume #3): The Environs, Albert Eugene Casey (1957) at 550-551.

Often suggested as the James & William sons of John Lea & Ann Taylor:

1. William "of Cobbs Creek" LEA b: ABT 1714. Married Mary Barnett.
2. James of Kilgore's Branch LEA b: 1715/6 in St. Stephen Par, King & Queen Co., VA. Married Anne Bankston.

notes

Records from Colonial Virginia are in scarce supply and the Lee / Lea / Leigh families seem especially complicated and prone to mixup.

From Caswell County Historic Society

"The parents of the John Lea of this entry are not known. Also, note the substantial uncertainty with respect to the sons of John Lea and Ann Unknown Lea. Researchers are advised to proceed with extreme caution in this area as the Lea family of Virginia and North Carolina is difficult to understand. Please beware of the extensive undocumented "genealogy" that is in both print and on the Internet. Particular attention is called to the negligent work done by Albert E. Casey in his book Amite County Mississippi 1699-1890. While portions of Casey's book are helpful (especially with respect to the Lea family of Amite County, Mississippi), his description of the early Lea ancestors is believed flawed. The number of junk online family trees is too large to list. Let the researcher beware."

From Rose, Ben Lacy and Satterfield III, Preston. Chapel on South Hyco: The Story of Lea's Chapel United Methodist Church, Person County, North Carolina 1750-2000 AD. Richmond: Robert Schreiber, Printing, 2000. Pages 14-17.

"William Lea of South Hyco (also called Capt. William Lea) was born in England (SIC) around 1715 and came to America with his parents before 1731. The family settled in King & Queen Co VA and William's father is known in the records of Virginia as John Lea of King & Queen County. William was the oldest of three children. He had a brother James and a sister Betsy. ..."

Sources

1. Lea Family Ancestry by Raquel Lindaas, Heritage Consulting, Salt Lake City, UT, for the Rev. Dr. Cynthia Forde, March 2006.

Links

• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jhlawr5&i...
• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jimjessee...

comments

Apparently there is spirited debate among researchers. Many of the cases made, discussed, refuted, etc can be read here:

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=caswellco...

It appears as of May 2014 that

• John Lea was perhaps the son of William Leigh, who served in the Virginia House of Burgesses. He lived in King & Queen county, Virginia. Supporting this parent identification is the note (unverified) that John "inherited property from his father." A name evolution to Lea is however inadequately explained.
• John served in the Virginia Militia, earning ranks of Captain and perhaps Major.
• John married a woman named Ann, often thought to be the daughter of James Taylor & Mary Gregory, and that she survived Lea and next married Thomas Caruthers. However there is an Ann Taylor, daughter of James Taylor & Mary Gregory, married to Edward Eastham in 1707. So there's a problem with either her parent identification, or with the date of her marriages. In favor of her membership in this Taylor family is that her "orphan" (lacking a father) children petitioned for Zachary Taylor as their guardian.
• children of John emigrated to the northern section of Orange county, North Carolina that evolved into Caswell county, North Carolina in 1777.

The Caswell County Historical Association looks like an excellent site to research these Lee lines.

descent

• M iii John Leigh LEA was born in 1677 in Of Lea Hall, Cheshire, England. He was christened in Land, Spotsylvania, Co, Va. He died on 5 Oct 1731 in Of, Surry, King And Queen, Va.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS LARGELY UNPROVEN. NOR ARE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS CITED:

William Lea and Mary Green's son, John Lea (1677-1729) and Ann Taylor had 7 children: 1a thru 1g

1a-----------------

1a. John Lea (1700-1727) m.? had 2 children:

1a1. Richard LEIGH b. 1721 son - Richard Leigh, Jr.

1a2. Ferdinand LEIGH b ca. 1724 m.MarthaCole (?) had issue:

1a2.1: Rev. William Leigh m. Eliz. Watkins:2 sons - Judge William and Benjamin Watkins Leigh

1b--------------

1b. Catherine b. 1702 m.1 Geo. Priddy m2. Richard Shackelford

1c--------------

1c. Daughter m. John Key

1d--------------

1d. Daughter m. Robert Baylor

1e--------------

1e. Elizabeth m. Zachary Taylor - or she could be the Daughter of Hancock LEE. Conflicting info on this is widespread.

1f---------------

1f. William (Cobbs Creek) Lea (1711-1762)m. Mary Barnett had issue:

=============================================================================

1f1. Zachariah m. Ann ? had children: Mary Ann, Vincent, Henry, George,Rachel, Sarah

1f2. William (south Hyco) m. Frances White had children:

1f2.1 Eunice m. Sandy Rose

1f2.2 Annis m1. John McNeill m2.James Cochran

1f2.3 George m. Jeannette Logan Douglass - son Wm. Archer Lea m. Susan Cochran

1f2.4 Elizabeth d. before 1803

1f2.5 Frances Hendrix

1f3. Barnett Lea m. Mourning Roan?

1f4. George Lea (1739-1825) m.Lucy Tolbert had children:

1f4.1 Frankey

1f4.2 Sarah m. Henry Black

1f4.3 Rhoda m. William Miles

1f4.4 Ransom m. Cathey Miles (?)

1f4.5 Eunice m. Nathanial Deane

1f4.6 Temple m. Nancy Moffett

1f4.7 Judith

1f4.8 Lettice

1f4.9 Green m. Peggy Moffett

1f5. Sarah b. 1741 m. Geo. Runnels

1f6. James (1743-1816) m. Eliz. Lea

1f7. John b. 1749 m. Peggy Satterfield

1f8. Richard b. ca. 1745

1g--------------

1g. James Lea b. ca. 1715 m. Anne Tolbert

=========================================================================

1g1. William (1747-1806) m. Cathey VanHook had 8 children:

1g1.1 Lawrence m. Phoebe Sargent

1g1.2 James m. Nancy Dobbins

1g1.3 Eunice m. Wm. Donaho

1g1.4 Washington

1g1.5 William

1g1.6 Artimissia

1g1.7 Phoebe

1g1.8 Madison

1g2. James Jr. b. ca. 1749 m. Eliz.

1g3. Polly b ca. 1752 m. James Sargent

1g4. Phoebe b. 1755 m. Thos. Kilgore

1g5. Gabriel (1758-1834) m. Eliz. Ashburne had 9 children:

---------------------------------------------

1g5.1 Vincent m. Mary Voinard

1g5.2 William m. Sarah McNeill
(she is the daughter of 1f2.2 above - Annis Lea & John McNeill)

1g5.3 Gabriel m. Mary McCauley

1g5.4 Eliz. m. Daniel Malone

1g5.5 Mary m. Elijah Morton

1g5.6 Sallie m. John Richmond

1g5.7 James m. Rebecca Mead

1g5.8 Phoebe m. John C. VanHook

1g5.9 Barbara m1 Richard Hayes, m2 Stephen Winstead

Disputed child

This John Lea is not the John Lea son of John and Ann Taylor. There are no sources, no guardianship records, nothing that proves they had a son named John. They did have a sons William and James who are validated with sources. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lea-86