Edward Dorsey, I

EDWARD DORSEY OF MARYLAND

"Considerable research has been conducted professionally in England to prove the parentage of Edward Dorsey of Maryland whose sons gave the peculiar name of 'Hockley-in-the-Hole' to their Anne Arundel plantation. The latest [pre-Y-DNA] research presents more conclusive evidence that Edward the Emigrant was a grandson of Thomas Darcy of Hornsbye Castle, Yorks, and London who died testate in 1605, leaving a matured son Edward. The Darcy's of Hornsbye Castle were a cadet branch of the noble baronage of Darcy, of which Thomas Darcy aforesaid was the great-grandson of Thomas, Lord Darcy, who was executed by the decree of the mighty Henry VIII. REF: Debrett of London, the official authority for British ancestry and publisher of the Ancestry of British Royality and Nobility." (taken from Maryland from Oversees- page 61)

NOTE to above: If we could figure out the origin of 'Hockley' and determine if it is a location or a surname would be helpful.

Edward Dorsey of Maryland['s] sons gave the peculiar name of 'Hockley-in-the-Hole' to their Anne Arundel plantation. The provenance of this name has been obscure, perhaps because no one was looking low enough.

There is a small village called Hockley Hole, on the Middlesex-Buckinghamshire border near Stoke Poges, and another such village in Bedfordshire. But a more likely origin is to be found in old London itself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hockley-in-the-Hole

Hockley-in-the-Hole was an area of Clerkenwell in central London where bull-baiting and bear-baiting and similar activities took place in the 17th century and 18th century.[1] It was roughly where the Ray Street Bridge stands today, north of the junction of Clerkenwell Road and Farringdon Road. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45102

Some sources trace the blood sports of Hockley-in-the-Hole back to Tudor times.

See Discussion https://www.geni.com/discussions/138826

Extensive DNA-based treatise on the Irish roots of Edward Dorsey: http://www.dorseyfoto.com/dorsey/EdwardDorseyIntro.pdf otes on Edward Dorsey:

Parentage is NOT known for certain.

Y-DNA evidence indicates that these Dorseys are not related (in the male line) to the Norman Darcy or D'Arcy families. The haplotype is wrong - R1b rather than E3b - and they are probably, in fact, of Irish extraction (O'Dorcey or O'Dorchaidhe).

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~paxson/southern/dorsey.html http://www.contexo.info/DorseyDNA/LineageI.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Samsonsol/EDorsey
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1938 Genealogical study on the origins of Edward Dorsey from Maryland Historical Magazine, March 1938.

http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc5800/sc5881/000001/0...

Information obtained in: Anne Arundel Gentry: A Genealogical History of Some Early Families of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Vol2 Kindred Colonial Families-Part III Welsh-Hyatt Book pg. 178 'No family of early Anne Arundel , Maryland is better known than the prolific Dorsey family. More descendants have qualified for lineal-patriotic societies, especially the Colonial Dames, than any other family in Maryland.'

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Dec. 15, 1642 - Cornelius Lloyd received a grant of land for bringing 60 persons to the colony and Edward Dorsey was among them.

=

Land transactions in Anne Arundel, Maryland: 1) Nov. 1650 Edward Dorsey was granted 200 acres. 2) 1651 granted 200 additional acres and half of a warrant for 400 acres granted to John Norwood and Edward Dorsey. 3) before 1655. in partnership with Thomas Manning, bought a tract of 600 acres. 4) before 1658 bought a tract of 400 acres lying in Ann Arundel on the north side of the Severn River and a branch of Broad Creek; this tract was later called 'Hockley in the Hole'. Edward Dorsey probably owned addition land but due to loss of early records at Annapolis through carelessness of clerks and destruction of fire, makes it impossible to know all the land he owned.

Edward Dorsey drowned in the Bay on August 2, 1659. A petition was filed with the Anne Arundel court on August 2, 1659 by a Thomas Hynson who had taken charge of Dorseys boat. No inventory was filed or recorded in Annapolis. On August 20, 1664, Dorseys three sons were granted by Cecilius, Lord Baltimore, Dorseys plantation on Cabin Neck Branch of the south bank called Hockley-in-the-Hole. Edward Dorseys Grandson Caleb had the plantation resurveyed in 1685 and found that Hockley-in-the Hole contained 843 acres instead of the originally thought 400 acres. This helps substantiate the additional purchase from Thomas March in 1655.

Below is excerpt from the Maryland State Archives: "The progenitor of the Dorsey family in Maryland was Edward Dorcy, Priscilla Dorsey Ridgely's great, great grandfather, who migrated to Maryland from Virginia in 1649. He acquired property in Anne Arundel County and settled near the Severn River in 1650. Genealogist Henry Ridgely Evans claims that the surname Dorsey/Dorcy is a possible corruption of Darcy or D'Arcy. Through his research, Evans has discovered several Dorseys and Darcys among a group of Puritan dissenters in early seventeenth century Virginia; therefore, Evans theorized that Edward Darcy came to Maryland seeking refuge from "proscriptive laws against Nonconformists" which existed in the Virginia colony at the time. Evans concludes that Edward chose Maryland because it was known as a place of toleration where "all Christian sects were on a plane of equality and none were persecuted."

Source: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=spot54&id...

__________________________________________________

• Edward Dorsey, Sr
• Birth: 1619
• Death: Aug. 2, 1659 Kent Island, Queen Anne's County, Maryland, USA

Anne Arundel Gentry

• This name is well very well known in the annals of early colonial days and Maryland records contain frequent references to his many public offices. Various spellings of his name appear in the deeds and land patents of Lower Norfolk County, Virginia, between the years 1642-1648 and continued to appear on records in Maryland, but the original signatures of the sons of the immigrants show the family spelled the name Dorsey. The name is derived from the Norman-French of "de Adreci" which is found in Britain by 1086.
• The founder of this family in Maryland was Edward Dorsey, who had lived several years in Virginia before he came to Anne Arundel County in 1650. By naming one of the early land patents "Hockley-in-the-Hole," it presents a clue that the name was given in memory of and English estate, but with untiring research among English records, no proof has been found for the parent of the emigrant.
• The Dorsey family had its beginning in Virginia around Lower Norfolk and the immigrant, Edward, did not figure to any marked degree in the public life of Virginia or even Maryland, but there were certainly great potentialities in the genes which he transplanted in his sons and daughter which made the family among the first rank in Anne Arundel County.
• The Virginia records indicate that sometime before October 7, 1646, Edward Dorsey entered Virginia as a transportee of Cornelius Lloyd who at an unknown date assigned his headrights to Thomas Brown. Edward Dorsey either left the Colony and returned or there were two Edward Dorseys, which is unlikely, for Francis Fleetwood on March 16, 1652, received headrights for importing an Edward Dorsey. At that time Edward Dorsey of Anne Arundel was well established in Maryland, but it is known that headrights were granted sometimes years after the actual transportations.
• Amidst a strictly agricultural and fur-trading economy, Edward Dorsey, a shipwright, was one of the early industrialists and thus constructed much-needed watercrafts for the early planters along the Bay and the several inlets on which he and the first settlers established their plantations.
• Edward Dorsey married in Virginia and his wife was undoubtedly Anne --who later became convinced of the Quaker preachings. His four proved children were born in Virginia.
• Children of Edward and Anne Dorsey
  • 1. Col. Edward Dorsey, Jr., born ca 1645.
  • 2. Sarah Dorsey Howard, born ca 1651.
  • 3. Hon. John Dorsey, born 1658.
  • 4. Joshua Dorsey, born 1659.
• By the year 1648, freedom of worship in Virginia had been prohibited and life there became less attractive. As a result, many settlers turned to the newly erected County of Anne Arundel in Maryland, where alluring inducements to obtain land were being offered, and where freedom of worship was said to be guaranteed. Among those who went, were Edward Dorsey, John Norwood, Matthew Howard, Thomas Todd, and Nicholas Wyatt.
• Edward was undoubtedly one of the first to leave Virginia and settle on the Severn through the graces of Governor Stone, the date being best placed as the summer of 1649. By Edward Dorsey arriving in Maryland from Virginia with the early contingencies of the non-conformists, his political beliefs coincided with those of the Puritans, but during his nine or more years in the Province, he was inactive politically sofar as extant records would indicate.
• In November 1650, Edward Dorsey of Anne Arundel County was granted a warrant for 200 acres of land in Maryland and in 1651, for 200 acres more and others later. While the early non-conformists settled around present Greenbury Point, then known as Town Neck, his seat and shipyard was at "Dorsey" on the south side of the Severn. It formed a promontory between "Freeman's" or "Norwood's Cove" and Dorsey Creek. On May 4, 1655, Edward Dorsey bought 500 acres of land from Thomas March which later his son and heir, Edward, sold to Tomas Manninge of the Clifts, the transaction being dated November 6, 1670.
• Ultimately, Edward and his wife became "convinced" of the Quaker doctrine. In 1655 Elizabeth Harris, the proselyting Quaker, arrived in Maryland and was bent on "convincing" and did a great deal of converting the non-conformists around the Severn and elsewhere. A letter of Thomas Hart, dated London 28th of the 2d instn 1658 in which is embodied a letter of Robert Clarkston of the Severn dated 14th of ye llmo 1657 proves definitely that the Dorseys were "convinced." "...& likewise Ann Dorsey in a more larger measure, hir husband I hope abideth faithfull in his measure." At a Quaker meeting there were present "Edw: Dorsey & his wife."
• A lawsuit in 1659 was instituted before the Provincial Court over the ownership of ten acres of land on the south side of the Severn between the land of Edward Dorsey and John Norwood which had been taken up by Nicholas Wyatt and sold to John Freeman. It can be concluded that the early seat of the Boatright was definitely on the South Shore.
• When Edward Dorsey settled on the Severn, his children were somewhat young as explained in the will of Thomas Gates, dated May 2, 1659. He requested that his heirs give to the children of Edward Dorsey free outlet to the woods and springs as he had given them. This signifies that the children or some of them were old enough to avail themselves of the privilege.
• Edward Dorsey with others was drowned off the Isle of Kent during the summer of 1659. Thomas Hinson, of Kent County, took charge of his boat, as is shown by the following petition to the court of Anne Arundel held on Tuesday 2 August 1659: "Whereas Thomas Hinson hath petitioned this Court Shewing that hee having taken up the Boate wherein Edward Darcy and some others were drowned, neare the Isle of Kent, being desired by the said Darcys Overseer to take up the same Which he did deliuery the same Boate to the cheife in Authority, taking a discharge upon the deliuery of the same under his hand att Annarundell & now by his Petn Crauing for his paynes taking therein, as the Court now sitting shall adiudge him. It is Ordered that the said Thomas Hinson haue One uhndd pownds of Tob. payd him for his said paines & care taken, by those (whoeuer they bee) that posses & enjoy the said Boate."
• At the time that Edward Dorsey was drowned, the Province was passing from the control of the Puritans to the more conservative and orthodox rule of the Calverts and no doubt laxity occurred in many of the estates being settled before the Prerogative Court. No inventory or administration of his personal estate is recorded at Annapolis. There is a possibility of a last will and testament that is not extant.
• On August 20, 1664, the three sons of Edward Dorsey were granted by Cecilius, Lord Baltimore, a plantation on Cabin Neck Branch of the south bank called "Hockley-in-the-Hole" some distance from the Severn. If a warrant for this 400 acres had been granted to Edward Dorsey, the Boatright, before his death and he died intestate then the son and heir would have gained seizure, but as it was, all three sons became joint-grantors. There is perhaps a veiled proof that the emigrant left a will. The distinctive name of "Hockley" is from an estate in the County of Middlesex, England.
• Ann Dorsey, wife of Edward is thought to have outlived her husband, and to have returned to their former home in Virginia, for no further record is found of her in Maryland. It has been said unofficially that his widow under the ancient deodand law of England laid claims to the ship from which he was drowned. Research to date fails to verify this assertion.
• Family links:
• Spouse:
• Anne Dorsey (1619 - 1690)*
• Children:
  • Edward Dorsey (1645 - 1705)*
• Note: *Edward was possibly born in Ireland or England. His wife's maiden name may have Phillipson or Bache.
• Burial: Body lost at sea
• Specifically: Drowned in the Chesapeake Bay, off the Isle of Kent
• Find A Grave Memorial# 35240970
• From: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=35240970 ___________________________________________

EDWARD DORSEY

MARYLAND

(1619-1659)

“No family of early Anne Arundel , Maryland is better known than the prolific Dorsey family. More descendants have qualified for lineal-patriotic societies, especially the Colonial Dames, than any other family in Maryland.”

Edward Dorsey entered Virginia sometime before October 7, 1646 from England. His parents are not positively known. Many believe that the name Dorsey derived from the ancient D’Arcy, which can be traced at least as far back as 1332 in Old England.

His beginnings were around the Lower Norfolk of Virginia where he was a shipwright. He married Anne in Virginia in 1638. Not much is known about her. Some indications give her last name as HOWARD although this has not been able to be proven.

He and Anne arrived in Maryland as early as 1650 for he was granted a warrant for 200 acres in Anne Arundel County and in 1651-1652 an additional 200 acres. There is also some evidence that on May 4, 1655 he bought 300 acres from a Thomas March. As a shipwright , he was an early industrialist “and thus constructed much needed watercrafts for the early planters along the Bay and the several inlets on which he and the first settlers established their plantations.”

He was not politically active, he was a non-conformist, with belief’s coinciding with the Puritans. As time went on he and his wife began to shift towards the Quaker doctrine. “In 1655 Elizabeth Harris, the proselyting Quaker, arrived in Maryland and did a great deal of converting the non-conformists…At a Quaker meeting there were present “Edw: Dorcy & his wife” (See “Quakers in the Founding of Anne Arundel County”, by J. Reany Kelly pp 15,17)

Edward Dorsey drowned in the Bay on August 2, 1659. A petition was filed with the Anne Arundel court on August 2, 1959 by a Thomas Hynson who had taken charge of Dorsey’s boat. No inventory was filed or recorded in Annapolis. On August 20, 1664, Dorsey’s three sons were “granted by Cecilius, Lord Baltimore, Dorsey’s plantation on Cabin Neck Branch of the south bank called “Hockley-in-the-Hole”. Edward Dorsey’s Grandson Caleb had the plantation resurveyed in 1685 and found that “Hockley-in-the Hole” contained 843 acres instead of the originally thought 400 acres. This helps substantiate the additional purchase from Thomas March in 1655.

Information was obtained in: “Anne Arundel Gentry: A Genealocial History of Some Early Families of Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Vol 2” “Kindred Colonial Families-Part III” Welsh-Hyatt Book pg. 178

The Children of Edward Dorsey and his wife Anne, were:

• 1. Col. Edward Dorsey, b. 1646 in Virginia and d. December 31, 1705 m. Sarah Wyatt in 1676.
• 2. Hon. John Dorsey, b.1650 in Anne Arundel, MD and d. March 22, 1715 m. Pleasance Ely
• 3. Sarah Dorsey, b.1652 in Lower Norfolk Co., VA and d. 1692 m. Matthew Howard in 1667
• 4. Joshua Dorsey, b. 1654 in Anne Arundel, MD and d.1688 m. Sarah Richardson

There is some indication of a 5th child, a daughter by the name of Anne born in 1649, but most records only credit Edward with 4 children. Submitted by Anna Elizabeth Miller of Centreville, VA

• ************

The Dorsey family had its beginning in Virginia around Lower Norfolk and the immigrant, Edward, did not figure to any marked degree in the public life of Virginia or even Maryland, but there were certainly great potentialities in the genes which he transplanted in his sons and daughter which made the family among the first rank in Anne Arundel County.

Amidst a strictly agricultural and fur-trading economy, Edward Dorsey, a shipwright, was one of the early industrialists and thus constructed much-needed watercrafts for the early planters along the Bay and the several inlets on which he and the first settlers established their plantations.

Edward Dorsey married in Virginia and the name of his wife has not been conclusively proved but the best genealogists generally credit her as being named Anne. Their children were:

• 1 Joshua Dorsey
• 2 Sarah Dorsey Howard
• 3 Colonel Edward Dorsey Jr
• 4 the Honorable John Dorsey

He was undoubtedly one of the first to leave Virginia and settle on the Severn through the graces of Governor Stone, the date being best placed as the summer of 1649. Ultimately, Edward and his wife became "convinced" of the Quaker doctrine. In 1655 Elizabeth Harris, the proselyting Quaker, arrived in Maryland and was bent on "convincing" and did a great deal of converting the non-conformists around the Severn and elsewhere.

Edward Dorsey with others was drowned off the Isle of Kent during the summer of 1659. It has been said that his widow under the ancient deodand law of England laid claims to the ship from which he was drowned.

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/t/o/Amanda-Stockton/WE...

____________________________________

The name, Dorsey, was pronounced as if spelt "Dossy," and in fact it appears, at times, so recorded. It was also written "Darcy," from which circumstance a French origin has been claimed for the family; but there is evidence to indicate that the Maryland Dorseys had been located for a time, at least, in Ireland, prior to their arrival in America. That the family bore arms is proved by the seal to the original will (dated January 7, 1742), of Caleb Dorsey, of Anne Arundel county, which displays: "on a fess between three wolf heads, a lion passant, guardant."

Edward Dorsey, also called "Edward Darcy, Gentleman," received, in 1650, a warrant for two hundred acres of land in Anne Arundel county, Maryland, and a grant was issued to him on February 23, 1651, for two hundred acres additional. In 1667, Edward Dorsey assigned to Cornelius Howard his right to land for transporting seven persons into the Province. "Dorsey," held by Edward Dorsey, gave the name to Dorsey's creek, upon which was located Thomas Gates, whose will of 1659 provided that "Edward Dorsey's children shall have free outlet to the woods and spring, as formerly I have given them." He therefore had children, although it is not known whether they followed him to the Province or traveled between the Province and England; but an early record read: "Robert Bullen demands lands for bringing a number of passengers, amongst whom was Edward Dorsey, in 1661." The record continues: "August 24, 1664, patented to him (Edward Dorsey, Jr.) and to John and Josua Dorsey, a plantation called 'Hockley-in-the-Hole,' originally 400 acres (later resurvey, 842 acres), near the site of Annapolis." Edward Dorsey died prior to 1681, for on December 6th of that year, Edward Dorsey of Anne Arundel county, Gent., son of Edward Dorsey, late of said county, deceased, conveys his interest in "Hockley-in-the-Hole" to his brother, John Dorsey. Edward Dorsey married, and had issue: 1. Edward, of whom later. 2. Joshua, died 1688; married Sarah Richardson. 3. John, died March 11, 1715; married, 1683, Pleasance Ely. 4. Sarah, married Matthew Howard, Jr.

• __________________
• Edward Dorsey1
• M, #184000, b. 1619, d. 8 February 1659
• Last Edited=6 Feb 2006
• Edward Dorsey was born in 1619.1 He married Anne (?).1 He died on 8 February 1659 at Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, U.S.A..1
• Children of Edward Dorsey and Anne (?)
  • 1.Colonel Edward Dorsey+1 b. c 1645, d. bt Oct 1704 - Dec 1705
  • 2.Sarah Dorsey+1 b. c 1647, d. c 1691/92
  • 3.Anne Dorsey+1 b. c 1648, d. 1698
• Citations
• 1.[S1122] Peerage News, online http://peeragenews.blogspot.co.nz/. Hereinafter cited as Peerage News.
• From: http://www.thepeerage.com/p18400.htm#i184000 ________________________
• Edward Dorsey
• M, #78629, b. circa 1615
• Edward Dorsey was born circa 1615. He married Ann circa 1640.
• Family Ann b. c 1618
• Child
  • John Dorsey+ b. c 1645, d. 11 Mar 1715
• From: http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p2617.htm#... __________________
• Edward DARCY
• Born: ABT 1590, England
• Father: Thomas DARCY (1º E. Rivers)
• Mother: Mary KYTSON
• Married: ¿?
• Children:
  • 1. Edward DORSEY (b. 1619)
• From: http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/DARCY.htm#Edward DARCY1 _______________________
• Links
• http://www.genspirit.com/dorsey.htm
• http://www.fgs-project.com/maryland/d/dorsey-e.txt
• http://fitzgerald.narod.ru/bio/scottie-ancestors.html

_________________________

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Dorsey-254#1650__Immigration_to_Maryland

Birth

Birth: ca. 1619 in Middlesex, England, father's name unknown. It might have been Dorsey or Darcy [Note: Y-DNA evidence shows that he was not related to the D'Arcy family, and may have been of Irish ancestry.] http://www.contexo.info/DorseyDNA/PDF%20Files/IrishOrigins.pdf

Edward Dorsey ... [9] Birth date is speculative.Edward Dorsey b.ABT 1615

1642 Transported by Cornelius Lloyd

... On December 15, 1642, Cornelius Lloyd received a grant of land for bringing 60 persons into the colony. Among the list of names was that of Edw: -orsey, the first letter of the last name being obliterated... On October 7, 1646, Thomas Brown was given 240 acres in Lower Norfolk County due by the assignment of the rights of 5 persons transported by Cornelius Lloyd - among them Edward Dorsey.[8]

Marriage

Edward DORSEY was married to Ann, [11] her surname being unknown. [6]

Some researchers have inaccurately listed her as Ann, daughter of Matthew Howard, Sr. While Matthew HOWARD did have a daughter named Ann, there is record of her husband being James Greneffe. [12]

Also, there is evidence that Edward DORSEY's daughter Sarah married Matthew Howard, Jr., son of the previously mentioned Matthew HOWARD. If Edward DORSEY's wife were the daughter of Matthew HOWARD, that would mean that his daughter Sarah's marriage to Matthew HOWARD, Jr. would have been to her blood uncle, a relation that was strictly forbidden, then as now.[6]

The listing of Edward DORSEY's wife Ann as a HOWARD probably came about through some researcher's incorrect interpretation of his son Joshua DORSEY's will. In his will, Joshua made bequests to his "cousins" John, Samuel and Matthew HOWARD. Though not stated these were children of Matthew HOWARD, Jr. [who married Joshua's sister Sarah DORSEY]. "Cousin" in the 1600s was a term often used for nephew or nieces, and sometimes used to refer to grandchildren. That researcher being unfamiliar with usage of the term apparently interpreted that they were true first cousins, and incorrectly concluded that Edward DORSEY's wife Ann was a daughter of Matthew HOWARD, Sr.[6]

Another possibility for the surname of Ann, wife of Edward DORSEY, is that suggested by Jay Worrall, Jr. He suggested she may have been the daughter of Humphrey BACHE of London, and the aunt of Elizabeth HARRIS, of Quaker fame.[6]

Children

Edward DORSEY and wife Ann had four children: 1.Edward DORSEY [15] b. say 1644; m.1 Sarah WYATT; [16] m.2 Margaret [17] d. between 26 Oct. 1704 and 31 Dec. 1705 Baltimore Co., MD7[6]Col. Edward Dorsey; Edward Dorsey 1646 - BEF 1705 2.Joshua DORSEY [15] b. say 1646; m. Sarah; [18] d. between 20 Feb. 1687 [18]He made bequests to "cousins" (i.e. nephews) John, Samuel and Matthew Howard, [children of Matthew Howard.] [18]

6 and 3 May 1688 [19] Anne Arundel Co., MD. [18][6]Joshua Dorsey. Joshua Dorsey ABT 1639 - 1688. Other sources have 1649. 1.John DORSEY[15] b. say 1648; m. Pleasance [20] d. between 26 Nov. 1714 and 22 Mar. 1714/5 Baltimore Co., MD [20]Captain John Dorsey; John Dorsey ABT 1643 - 1714. Other sources have 1647. 2.Sarah Dorsey [21] b. say 1650; m. Matthew Howard [22]; d. before 3 Oct. 1691 Anne Arundel Co., MD[6] Sarah Dorsey ABT 1647 - BEF 1691. Other sources have 1656.

No Daughter Ann

There are several other inaccurate statements regarding the first generations of the DORSEY family. Some researchers have attributed a daughter to Edward DORSEY a daughter Ann who married Nicholas GREENBERRY. There is no evidence that Edward DORSEY had a daughter named Ann. While Nicholas GREENBERRY's wife was named Ann, she could not have been a daughter of Edward DORSEY. Nicholas GREENBERRY did not emigrate from England to Maryland until 1674, at which time he arrived with his wife and two children.3 His wife could not have been the daughter of Edward DORSEY, who had been living in the colonies for over 25 years.[6]

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http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=35240970

Maj Edward Dorsey, Sr

Birth: 1619
Hertfordshire, England Death: Aug. 2, 1659 Kent Island Queen Anne's County Maryland, USA

This name is well very well known in the annals of early colonial days and Maryland records contain frequent references to his many public offices. Various spellings of his name appear in the deeds and land patents of Lower Norfolk County, Virginia, between the years 1642-1648 and continued to appear on records in Maryland, but the original signatures of the sons of the immigrants show the family spelled the name Dorsey. The name is derived from the Norman-French of "de Adreci" which is found in Britain by 1086.

The founder of this family in Maryland was Edward Dorsey, who had lived several years in Virginia before he came to Anne Arundel County in 1650. By naming one of the early land patents "Hockley-in-the-Hole," it presents a clue that the name was given in memory of and English estate, but with untiring research among English records, no proof has been found for the parent of the emigrant.

The Dorsey family had its beginning in Virginia around Lower Norfolk and the immigrant, Edward, did not figure to any marked degree in the public life of Virginia or even Maryland, but there were certainly great potentialities in the genes which he transplanted in his sons and daughter which made the family among the first rank in Anne Arundel County.

The Virginia records indicate that sometime before October 7, 1646, Edward Dorsey entered Virginia as a transportee of Cornelius Lloyd who at an unknown date assigned his headrights to Thomas Brown. Edward Dorsey either left the Colony and returned or there were two Edward Dorseys, which is unlikely, for Francis Fleetwood on March 16, 1652, received headrights for importing an Edward Dorsey. At that time Edward Dorsey of Anne Arundel was well established in Maryland, but it is known that headrights were granted sometimes years after the actual transportations.

Amidst a strictly agricultural and fur-trading economy, Edward Dorsey, a shipwright, was one of the early industrialists and thus constructed much-needed watercrafts for the early planters along the Bay and the several inlets on which he and the first settlers established their plantations.

Edward Dorsey married in Virginia and his wife was undoubtedly Anne --who later became convinced of the Quaker preachings. His four proved children were born in Virginia.

Children of Edward and Anne Dorsey 1. Col. Edward Dorsey, Jr., born ca 1645. 2. Sarah Dorsey Howard, born ca 1651. 3. Hon. John Dorsey, born 1658. 4. Joshua Dorsey, born 1659.

By the year 1648, freedom of worship in Virginia had been prohibited and life there became less attractive. As a result, many settlers turned to the newly erected County of Anne Arundel in Maryland, where alluring inducements to obtain land were being offered, and where freedom of worship was said to be guaranteed. Among those who went, were Edward Dorsey, John Norwood, Matthew Howard, Thomas Todd, and Nicholas Wyatt.

Edward was undoubtedly one of the first to leave Virginia and settle on the Severn through the graces of Governor Stone, the date being best placed as the summer of 1649. By Edward Dorsey arriving in Maryland from Virginia with the early contingencies of the non-conformists, his political beliefs coincided with those of the Puritans, but during his nine or more years in the Province, he was inactive politically sofar as extant records would indicate.

In November 1650, Edward Dorsey of Anne Arundel County was granted a warrant for 200 acres of land in Maryland and in 1651, for 200 acres more and others later. While the early non-conformists settled around present Greenbury Point, then known as Town Neck, his seat and shipyard was at "Dorsey" on the south side of the Severn. It formed a promontory between "Freeman's" or "Norwood's Cove" and Dorsey Creek. On May 4, 1655, Edward Dorsey bought 500 acres of land from Thomas March which later his son and heir, Edward, sold to Tomas Manninge of the Clifts, the transaction being dated November 6, 1670.

Ultimately, Edward and his wife became "convinced" of the Quaker doctrine. In 1655 Elizabeth Harris, the proselyting Quaker, arrived in Maryland and was bent on "convincing" and did a great deal of converting the non-conformists around the Severn and elsewhere. A letter of Thomas Hart, dated London 28th of the 2d instn 1658 in which is embodied a letter of Robert Clarkston of the Severn dated 14th of ye llmo 1657 proves definitely that the Dorseys were "convinced." "...& likewise Ann Dorsey in a more larger measure, hir husband I hope abideth faithfull in his measure." At a Quaker meeting there were present "Edw: Dorsey & his wife."

A lawsuit in 1659 was instituted before the Provincial Court over the ownership of ten acres of land on the south side of the Severn between the land of Edward Dorsey and John Norwood which had been taken up by Nicholas Wyatt and sold to John Freeman. It can be concluded that the early seat of the Boatright was definitely on the South Shore.

When Edward Dorsey settled on the Severn, his children were somewhat young as explained in the will of Thomas Gates, dated May 2, 1659. He requested that his heirs give to the children of Edward Dorsey free outlet to the woods and springs as he had given them. This signifies that the children or some of them were old enough to avail themselves of the privilege.

Edward Dorsey with others was drowned off the Isle of Kent during the summer of 1659. Thomas Hinson, of Kent County, took charge of his boat, as is shown by the following petition to the court of Anne Arundel held on Tuesday 2 August 1659: "Whereas Thomas Hinson hath petitioned this Court Shewing that hee having taken up the Boate wherein Edward Darcy and some others were drowned, neare the Isle of Kent, being desired by the said Darcys Overseer to take up the same Which he did deliuery the same Boate to the cheife in Authority, taking a discharge upon the deliuery of the same under his hand att Annarundell & now by his Petn Crauing for his paynes taking therein, as the Court now sitting shall adiudge him. It is Ordered that the said Thomas Hinson haue One uhndd pownds of Tob. payd him for his said paines & care taken, by those (whoeuer they bee) that posses & enjoy the said Boate."

At the time that Edward Dorsey was drowned, the Province was passing from the control of the Puritans to the more conservative and orthodox rule of the Calverts and no doubt laxity occurred in many of the estates being settled before the Prerogative Court. No inventory or administration of his personal estate is recorded at Annapolis. There is a possibility of a last will and testament that is not extant.

On August 20, 1664, the three sons of Edward Dorsey were granted by Cecilius, Lord Baltimore, a plantation on Cabin Neck Branch of the south bank called "Hockley-in-the-Hole" some distance from the Severn. If a warrant for this 400 acres had been granted to Edward Dorsey, the Boatright, before his death and he died intestate then the son and heir would have gained seizure, but as it was, all three sons became joint-grantors. There is perhaps a veiled proof that the emigrant left a will. The distinctive name of "Hockley" is from an estate in the County of Middlesex, England.

Ann Dorsey, wife of Edward is thought to have outlived her husband, and to have returned to their former home in Virginia, for no further record is found of her in Maryland. It has been said unofficially that his widow under the ancient deodand law of England laid claims to the ship from which he was drowned. Research to date fails to verify this assertion.

—Anne Arundel Gentry: A Genealogical History of Some Early Families of Anne Arundel County, Maryland by Harry Wright Newman

Family links:

Spouse:

 Anne Howard Dorsey (1619 - 1690)*

Children:

 Edward Dorsey (1645 - 1705)*

 Ann Greenberry (1648 - 1698)*

 Sarah Dorsey Howard (1651 - 1691)*

 John Dorsey (1658 - 1714)*

*Calculated relationship

Note: *Edward was possibly born in Ireland or England. His wife's maiden name may have Phillipson or Bache.

Burial: Body lost at sea Specifically: Drowned in the Chesapeake Bay, off the Isle of Kent

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Extensive DNA-based treatise on the Irish roots of Edward Dorsey: http://www.dorseyfoto.com/dorsey/EdwardDorseyIntro.pdf otes on Edward Dorsey:

Parentage is NOT known for certain.

Y-DNA evidence indicates that these Dorseys are not related (in the male line) to the Norman Darcy or D'Arcy families. The haplotype is wrong - R1b rather than E3b - and they are probably, in fact, of Irish extraction (O'Dorcey or O'Dorchaidhe).

• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~paxson/southern/dorsey.html
• http://www.contexo.info/DorseyDNA/LineageI.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Samsonsol/EDorsey

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1938 Genealogical study on the origins of Edward Dorsey from Maryland Historical Magazine, March 1938.

http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc5800/sc5881/000001/0...

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Jan 7 2016, 15:38:00 UTC

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Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties Maryland, J.D. Warfield, Baltimore 1905.

Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties database http://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/

Arrived in N. America as indentured in the Virgina colony. After 5 years of service, moved to Maryland.