William Worsham of Jordan's Parish

Evidence needed to support as son of unknown Worsham & / or brother of George Worsham of Bristol Parish

Biography

https://members.tripod.com/randy_t/worsham.html

William Worsham, born ca 1619, possibly in England (Note: Two other possibilities: I came across a William Worsham baptized 02 Feb 1616, Selby, Co. Hampshire, England son of Gulielmi (William). And, next we have a William Worsham born in 1625 in Jordans Parish, Henrico Co., Virignia. There was a William Worsham that was baptized on 26 Jan 1594 in Aldsershot, Co. Hampshire, England, the son of William Worsham which I have seen people state is our William's father, however that William never lived to adulthood. He was buried on 02 Feb 1594 in Aldershot, St Michael the Archangel, Co. Surrey, England). Despite his parentge; our William had a Land Patent for 400 acres of land with his brother George, which was dated on 15 February 1652 in Henrico Co., Virginia. William married Elizabeth _____ (Possibly Littlebury/Littleberry - no proof of maiden name). Elizabeth was born ca 1623 in Henrico Co., Virginia. William was a well respected man. He was at one time a County Commissioner in Charles City Co., Virginia. William died ca 1660/61 in Henrico Co., Virginia, leaving his wife a widow. Their children were:

1. William Worsham, born ca 1647 in Henrico Co., Virginia. He died ca 1677 in Henrico Co., Virginia. William was a deponent in a case involving Capt. Hill and a Mr. Irby in 1665.

2. Elizabeth Worsham, born ca 1651 in Henrico Co., Virginia. She married Richard Kennon. Richard was born ca 1650 of Henrico Co., Virginia, the son of Richard and Elizabeth Kennon. Elizabeth died ca 1743 in Henrico Co., Virginia, and Richard died in 1696 in Conjuror's Neck, Henrico Co., Virginia. Richard was a Justice in the House of Burgess. Their children were: Richard, William, Martha, Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah and Judith Kennon. (Thank you for the names of the children Ruth Burket.

3. John Worsham, (See 2nd Generation), born ca 1653 in the Bermuda Hundred, Henrico Co., Virginia.

4. Mary Worsham, born ca 1657 in Henrico Co., Virginia. She married Richard Ligon on 11 April 1680 in Henrico Co., Virginia. Richard was born ca 1657, the son of Mary Harris Ligon. Richard was a surveyor of Henrico Co., Virginia. In 1704 he owned 1024 acres in Henrico Co., Virginia. Richard had a Will (lost) in which his executor was Mathew Ligon, dated 02 Mar 1723/24. Their children were: Mathew, Richard, Henry, Sarah and Mary Ligon.

5. Charles Worsham, born ca 1661 in Henrico Co., Virginia. He married Mary Beville. Mary was born ca 1662 in Virginia, the daughter of Essex Beville. Charles died in 1712. Their children were: Essex, Henry, Drury, Francis, and William Worsham.

After the death of her husband William, Elizabeth married secondly to Col. Francis Epes. Francis was born ca 1628. Francis was present during a hearing at the Orphans Court in Henrico Co., Virginia, where he gave an account of cattle of Mary and Charles Worsham. Francis died in 1678 from a wound that he inflicted with. Elizabeth died on 23 September 1678 in Bermuda Hundred, Henrico Co., Virginia. Children of Elizabeth and Francis were: Mary, William, Littleberry, and Francis Epes. Elizabeth made two Wills. One for her Worsham children, and one for her Epes children. Both of her Wills were proved on 01 Oct 1678.

• Will of Elizabeth Worsham Epes to her Worsham Children
• To Daughter Elizabeth Kennon: A stone ring, a black gown, a green silk petteicoat, a green satin bodie, and one-fourth of her money in the hands of Samuel Claphamson (of London)
• To Grandchild Mary Kennon/Bolling: A stone ring given her by her sister King
• To Daughter Mary Worsham: One-fourth of her money, certain personal property, and wearing apparel, and her thumb ring
• To Daughter Mary Epes: A new suite which came in this year.
• To Son John Worsham: one-fourth of her money and her silver tobacco box.
• To Son Charles Worsham: One-fourth of her money and certain other personal property.
• The remainder of her Estate to her husband, Eppes' children. Makes her son-in-law Richard Kennon, Executor.

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https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Worsham-22

This William Worsham is the first of his surname to appear in the records of Virginia (in 1640).

He was born by 1619, probably in England.

He emigrated by 1640 when he purchased 200 acres from Seth Ward.

He married b 1645 Elizabeth (who might have been a Littlebury). She died about 1678 in Bermuda Hundred, Henrico Co., VA (present-day Chesterfield County).

It has been speculated that her maiden name was Littlebury simply because that was a given name among her descendants, but the author of the Worsham genealogy suggests that name could have come from the family of her second husband, Francis Eppes.[1][2][3]
After William's death, she married second Col. Francis Eppes - several children by him.

In 1652, he and George Worsham (a brother?) patented 400 acres in Henrico County, Virginia at the mouth of Old Town Creek extending east toward Swift Creek in present-day Colonial Heights.[4]

About 1657, William served as a commissioner or justice for Charles City County.

He died about 1661 in Henrico Co. or Chesterfield Co., Virginia.[5][6]

His widow wrote a will dated 28 Aug 1678, in which she was identified as Elizabeth Epes of Bermuda Hundred, Henrico Co., VA; it was amended with a codicil 23 Sep 1678.[7][8]

Offspring & Descendants

1. Daniel Worsham, d 1729[9]
2. Frances Worsham
3. John Worsham, b abt 1653
4. Mary Worsham, b abt 1657
5. Charles Worsham, b abt 1657; d June 1712[9]
6. Elizabeth Worsham

Research Notes

The Connection from William Worsham to Elizabeth Worsham, his granddaughter, was made through a web site of Dorothy and Larry Washam at Geocities.com There is a book - Worsham & Washam Family History.....[9]

Lineage Society Associations

Colonial Dames
23385 Dolores Miltenberger
17487 Ruth N Ross Shipley Krell[9]

Disputed Origins

A previous version of this profile claimed, without reliable source, that he was the son of George Worsham and Susan Tayor. There are no contemporaneous records of either their existence, their marriage to each other, their presence in Virginia, or the identity of any children. The origins of this William Worsham are currently not known; these parents have been detached.

There is an imported second parent set that is suspicious (birth dates in Virginia in the 1500s), I have converted them to "foster" parents until someone determines the true set.

There is a FamilySearch Pedigree file for a William Worsham (LZPP-HMY) which identifies his parents as John William Worsham (9W9F-MK4) and Nancy Bennett (G9M3-S3B), but cites no reliable source to support this claim as of 9 Dec 2021. McClain-3310 21:42, 9 December 2021 (UTC)

Worshams and Wertleshams are in the records of Bexle (Bexhill) Sussex, England as early as 1462 AD. Researchers believe that the Worsham name originated from Wyrtlesham, Worswick, Worleich, Worsam, or Worsley. Early spelling variants in England include Wertlesham, Wartling, Wyrtlesham, Worsham.

The first to migrate to America was William Worsnam (Worsham) who originally bought 200 acres in Henrico Co, Virginia in 1640. George Worsham, probably William's brother, also settled in Virginia. Twelve years later, in 1652, William and George Worsnam (Worsham) purchased 200 acres in Henrico Co., Virginia along the Appomattox River at the mouth of Old Town Creek and extended north and east toward Swift Creek. Their early descendant's predominately lived in Henrico, Charles City, Prince Edward, Amelia and Chesterfield Counties of Virginia.

Some accounts have william being born in England and being the first of the Worshams to settle in America. He and his brother Henry bought several hundred acres in Virginia.

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William was in Henrico County Virginia as early as 2 Nov 1640 when he purchased 200 acres of land from Seth Ward. His last name was recorded as Worsnams (Patent Bk 3 p 23). He would have been at least 21 years of age when he purchased land in 1640 but he could have been older. Henrico County was created in 1634. Virginia was first colonized in 1606 when James I granted a charger to the Virginia Company. the first ships left England in 1607 and formed the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown. We do not know when William came to America.

References

• Lewis of Warner Hall: the history of a family, including the genealogy of ... By Merrow Egerton Sorley Pg.809
• https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I0380...
• http://daleeverettthompsonfamily.com/getperson.php?personID=P18534&...
• [https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:9MMX-FYF]
• Two sets of parents this set privileged because: [https://www.myheritage.com/FP/search-plans.php?colId=1&itemId=51210...]
• Reference: FamilySearch Genealogy - SmartCopy: Feb 21 2020, 21:47:44 UTC
• https://www.virginians.com/redirect.htm?topics&w
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Worsham-22 cites

1. "Echoes from the Valley" by Crampton Harris Helms, MD p.148 lists DOB as 22 Oct 1620 in St. Botolph, Colchester, Co. Essex, England, daughter of Robert Littleberry b 1 Mar 1591 Copford, Co. Essex, but where this information was received is questionable.
2. VA Historical Mag. Vol 33, p 184-6 2.
3. Francis Eppes, His Ancestry & Descendants p. 61-3
4. Virginia Land Patent Book 3, p. 23.
5. Find A Grave: Memorial #73427656
6. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/221180224/william-worsham
7. Henrico Co., VA Court Order Book 1678-1693, pp. 59-60
8. Find A Grave: Memorial #73427796
9. Source Citation Birth year: 1662; Birth city: Henrico Co; Birth state: VA Source Information Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Individual Records [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
10. Virginia Biography, Vol III, p. 271-272, Virginia City Information; link for Ancestry.com subscribers
11. Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, ed. Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography. Vol. I-II. New York, NY, USA: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915. link for Ancestry.com subscribers.
12. archive.org copy (free), on page 272, in the entry for Richard Kennon (pp 271-272, accessed 9 December 2021) mentions William's daughter Elizabeth Worsham, Richard's wife.
13. Genealogies of Virginia Families from the William and Mary College Quarterly. Vol. V: Thompson-Yates
14. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LZPP-HMY/william-worsham-1621..., accessed 9 Apr 2021

• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~worshamwasham/ (dead link)

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WILLIAM WORSHAM & ELIZABETH
1. WILLIAM WORSHAM, SR b bef 1619, probably in England. He came to Virginia
bef 1640 & d abt 1660 in Henrico Co., VA. The first record of William Worsham in
Virginia is in a patent record of 1652 in Henrico Co., VA:
Wm & George Worsnam, 400 acs. Henrico Co., 15 Feb 1652, 200 acres part hereof
lying at the old Towne att Appamottox Riv., bounding Ely. (eastly) upon sd Riv.,
siding S. W. by the Old Towne Cr. upon John Coogney's land, extending N. E. upon
land of Mrs. Dorothy Clerk, widdoe; & 200 acres being part of the Old Towne
aforesaid, bounded from the S. by W. comer of sd Worsnams first 200 acres, upon
the head of sd land N. by E. thence into the woods towards Swifts Cr. & c. 200 acres
being part of a patent granted unto Wm. Clarke, dec'd. 6 May 1638 & by sd. Clarke
sold unto Seth Ward from whom it was purchased by William Worsnam, 2 Nov.
1640; & 200 acres for trans, of 4 pers; Henry White, Jo. Plummer, Susan Chiles,
Sarah Chiles; Oliver Green, land due for.1
This patent mentions 200 acres William Worsnam purchased in 1640 from Seth Ward.
As he would have been at least 21 years of age to purchase land, he must have been bom no
later than 1619.
WiUiam belonged to one of me families of the earliest settlers in Virginia. The Worsham
family has become very numerous and widely scattered diroughout the United States. William
lived in Jordan's Parish, Charles City Co., VA. Charles City County was established in 1634.
Early records show a variety of spellings of the name.
It may be possible to locate our Worsham family in England by tracing the names of the
people who William was responsible for transporting to America.
The land was located along the Appomattox River at the mouth of Old Town Creek and
extended north and east toward Swift Creek in what is now part of Colonial Heights north of
Petersburg, Virginia.
William probably married ELIZABETH by 1646. Some researchers believed her
maiden was Littlebury because this name appears as a given name among some of her
descendants. The Littlebury name could have come from the Eppes family since she and her
second husband named a son, Littlebury Epes. Some researchers use the article on the
Worshams which appeared in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography Vol. XLVI,
1938 as their source. Elizabeth's will mentions "my sister King." Therefore, Elizabeth may
have been the sister or sister-in-law of the wife of Eusebius King of neighboring Charles City
County who had land near Swift Creek. Eusebius' name was mentioned in the will of Mary
Piatt, spinster dated 10 Mar 1699 & Proved 1 Feb 1700.
'Land patent of Wm. Worsnam and George Worsham, Virginia Land Patent Book 3, p 23 as abstracted in Nell Marion
Nugent, Cavaliers and Pioneers, Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants 1623-1800 (Richmond, VA: Press of the
Dietz Printing Co., 1934) pp 238-239

- Worsham Family History _D. G. Tuttle - L. E. Washam pg 1

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Note that Find a Grave lists the name as John Worsham. There is a lineage to follow along this website. However, the sources / evidence is not provided.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73427656/john-worsham

It doesn't appear that this profile is a husband of Elizabeth Eppes. Other research or a correction would be appreciated.