John 'The Carolina Rebel' Culpeper, of Albemarle

not to be confused with John Culpepper, of Hollingbourne

John Culpeper, "The Rebel of Albemarle" "The Carolina Rebel" was b. ca. 1644 (btwn Nov. 1641 and Aug. 1648) in Barbados?? and d. "died in Albemarle County sometime between 11 June 1691 and February 1693/94" (Smith thesis, p. 54)

John Culpepper was "a man whose name survives in history notorious for his participation in Carolina's Culpepper Rebellion in 1678 and 'never in his element but whilst fishing in troubled waters'" (Maggs-Mayo-Henley Families from Hale and Our Henley Grandfathers by Marian Goodwell).

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Family

Perhaps the son of John "the merchant" Culpepper of London.

Married

1. Judith, who would have died before 1679 or 1680.
2. About 1680 to Margaret, widow of Valentine Bird.
3. About 1688 to Sarah, daughter of Edward Mayo & Sarah Maggs. She was married second to Patrick Henley/Henly ca. 1692 and third to Matthew Pritchard 9 March 1699. She was called the "much married lady." (A marriage to James Larkin has been disproved.)

The child of Sarah Mayo and John Culpeper was Sarah, who married Benjamin Pritchard.

Origins

John arrived on the ship "Carolina" from Barbados, West Indies.

Genealogies of Virginia Families, Vol. II, p.400: "A Key Chart of the Pedigree of the Wigsell Culpepers to Illustrate their Relations with Virginia" lists "John Culpeper (1633-post 1680) of Albemarle in Carolina; the 'Carolina rebel' of 1677" as a son of Thomas Culpeper (1602?-1652?) of the Middle Temple.

Thomas' biographical information is found on pp.498-503 and shows that "he m. 1628, Katherine, dau. of Sir Warham St. Leger (1579-1632), of Ulcombe, co. Kent." Biographical information for their son, John is found on p.505.

However, the Culpepper Web Site (http://gen.culpepper.com) given refers to the master's thesis by William S. Smith on Culpeper's Rebellion. In his thesis, he mentions a recently discovered deposition, where John of Albemarle gave his age. This would have placed his birth in the 1640's.

Therefore, John of Albemarle could not have been the same person as John, the son of Thomas and Katherine, born 1633.

At this time, there is no verifiable documented proof of the parentage of John of Albemarle. It is possible that he may have been the son of John "the Merchant", brother to Thomas.

Culpeper's Rebellion was named from his involvement:

http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/SECTIONS/hp/Colonial/Bookshelf/Monogr...

Biographical Notes

From http://www.ncpedia.org/biography/culpeper-john

Why the uprising is called Culpeper's Rebellion is not known. The name, which apparently is traditional, probably originated in popular misconceptions concerning the circumstances of Culpeper's trial in England. There is no evidence, even in the testimony produced at the trial, that Culpeper spearheaded the revolt against Miller. In fact, Culpeper was absent from Albemarle much, if not all, of the fall preceding the revolt, which occurred early in December. He was in Boston that September, and he returned to Albemarle, presumably from his New England trip, only a few days before the uprising. He may have been instrumental in procuring the arms that reached Albemarle on the eve of the revolt, and he may have performed other missions in New England or elsewhere, but he could not have been the chief instigator and organizer of the events in Albemarle without being in the colony during the months immediately preceding them.

The extant accounts of the uprising make it clear that the revolt was directed by a group of the colony's leaders, of whom Culpeper was only one. The chief actions attributed to Culpeper during the affair were drafting a "Remonstrance" sent to an outlying section of the colony to arouse support; drafting other "seditious libells"; "agitating" the people of Chowan; participating in the seizure and imprisonment of one of Miller's clerks; being in a group that seized Miller's papers and the official records of the colony; advising the prosecutors in Miller's trial and instructing the foreman of the jury of the proper form for returning the verdict; and other acts fitting the role ascribed to him as "their Secretary or Register and one of their Caball or Grand Council in matters of advise."
... Eventually, Culpeper was brought to trial on the charge that he had seized the king's customs without authority, had conspired to defraud the king's customs, and had incited the people of Albemarle against the king and the proprietors. ...

After his trial Culpeper returned to Albemarle. His wife, Judith, had died, probably some years earlier. Either before he went to England in 1679 or soon after his return in 1680, he married his second wife, Margaret Bird, widow of Valentine Bird. After Margaret's death in 1687 or early the next year, Culpeper married Sarah Mayo, who probably was the daughter of Edward Mayo, Sr. That marriage took place on 23 Aug. 1688.

At about the time of his second marriage, Culpeper took up a plantation in Pasquotank Precinct, where he lived the remainder of his life as a merchant-planter. So far as surviving records show, he took no further part in public affairs. In his business, however, he had widespread connections with merchants in New England, New York, and elsewhere.

Culpeper's death occurred at some date between 11 June 1691 and February 1693/94, by which time his widow had remarried. He left two or more minor children, designated in extant records only as "the orphans of John Culpeper." His widow married Patrick Henley and subsequently Matthew Pritchard. One of Culpeper's children probably was Sarah Culpeper, who married Benjamin Pritchard, brother of Matthew, in 1704. Sarah and the Pritchard family were Quakers.

comments

From Geni member James Arthur Johnson Dec 2015:

Harlow is a fictitious middle name. I did research on my Culpeper ancestry, which includes John Culpeper, the Rebel of Ablemarle, NC. My information on him is here:

http://family.beacondeacon.com/culpeper.htm#jhc

notes

• "Calendar Of State Papers". 2017. Google Books. Accessed April 12 2017. page 462

1246. Representation to the Lords Proprietors of Carolina concerning the rebellion in that country. The rebellion was deliberately contrived, the chief promoters being influenced by ambition or disloyalty towards the Government. Captain Valentine Bird took up arms when he heard that a new collector of His Majesty's customs was coming out to take his place, he having been guilty of fraud in that department. George Durant was always a. discontented man and was the most active of the rebels. Captains William Crawford, John Willoughby, Thomas Cullum, Lieutenant-Colonel John Jenkins, John Culpeper, Patrick White, Captain James Blount, Bonner, Slocum, and others took an active part in the rebellion. 8% pp. Endorsed, To be made use of in further examinations [of John Culpeper?]. [C'aL Papers, Vol. XLIIL, N 0. 182.]

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Culpepper Rebellion - http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/rebellion/2-background2.htm : Fairfax Harrison published in April 1925 the pedigree chart of the Wigsell Culpepers with an accompanying narrative which provides some evidence that John Culpeper may have been the brother of Frances Culpeper. Frances married three men who were or became colonial governors - Samuel Stephens of Albemarle County, Sir William Berkeley of Virginia, and Philip Ludwell of North Carolina. Frances's marriage would have created a close tie between either her uncle or her brother, John Culpeper, and Sir William Berkeley, who was at that time governor of Virginia and one of the eight original Lords Proprietors of Carolina.