John Hord

notes

In Arnold Harris Hord's first book he writes " Baptized, Jan. 19th, 1664, John Hord(89), son of Edmund Hord (88). John (89), born Dec. 29th. He came to Virginia, 1685, and was the ancestor of the Hords of America."

Assuming this is accurate, then his birth date is 12 29 1663.

Preface: Robert Hord (1795-1845), a Hord family historian, stated in his "Manuscript History of the Hord Family" (1838), that anyone in America with the surname Hord is descended from John Hord I, Gentleman (1664-1749) and Elizabeth Jane Redd Hord (unk-c1747). [sic: Jane MNU.] They were the parents of the first American Hord family.

John Hord I, Gentleman (1664-1749) and his wife, Elizabeth Jane Redd Hord and their son, Thomas Hord, Gentleman emigrated from Ewell, Surrey, England to the Colony of Virginia about 1702. They settled in Middlesex, Virginia where they became members of Christ Church Parish. It is highly likely, but unverified, that they occupied a plantation called Queenhithe that was purchased by John Hord I's grandfather, Edmund Hord, in 1649. John Hord I inherited this plantation from his father, Edward Hord in 1691. Here John Hord I and his wife had four more children, two sons and two daughters. Their baptism records at Christ Church reveals the order of their births.

On October 15,1717, John Hord I purchased 200 acres of land in Essex County known as "Booker's Plantation". He renamed this property, Shady Grove and moved his family there; here they became members of Saint Ann's Parish in Essex County.

Eventually, they added five more children, four boys and one girl. Unfortunately, there are no birth or baptism records for these children. Although the dates and order of these childbirths is unknown, it is fairly certain that they all occurred in Essex County, Virginia which later became Caroline County. In his Will, John Hord I listed his sons in the following order: Thomas Hord I (1701-1766), John Hord II (1708-1783), James Hord (1713-1785), Peter Hord I (c1715-1787), William Hord (c1717-1777), and Ambrose Hord (c1719-1781). Mordecai Hord (c1721-1789), who was thought to be the last son was not listed or mentioned in the Will. However, there are several very credible records which claim that John Hord I and Elizabeth Hord had a son named Mordecai. Because the first three sons for whom birth records exist are listed in the order of their births in John Hord I's Will, it is reasonable to assume that the last three sons are listed in the order of their births. The daughters, Elizabeth (1703- ) and Susanna (1706- ), were the second and third children of John Hord I and Elizabeth Hord; their last daughter, Jane (c1723- ) was either their ninth or tenth child.

The early Hord Family historian, Robert Hord and later Reverend Arnold Harris Hord in his first Hord Genealogy book provided no help in determining the order of births of the children as their listings of the children in these publications were entirely wrong. By the time he published his last book in 1915, Reverend Hord had found the birth records for the first five children. In this book he listed the sons in accordance with the Will of John Hord I. He assumed that Mordecai and Jane were the last two children however, he was not certain who came first.

John Hord I, Gentleman was a very successful plantation owner. It is reported that he expanded the Shady Grove plantation from 200 acres to more than 2000 acres during his life most of which remained located in Essex County after the creation of Caroline County in 1727 where the family home was located. Moreover, the Hord family owned an estate known as "Liberty Hill" in nearby Portobago Bay where they spent winter months.

John Hord I, Gentleman died in late November, 1749 at the Shady Grove plantation; he was paralyzed by an horse related accident three years earlier. His wife, Elizabeth predeceased him; the date of her death is unknown but is estimated to be about 1747. Undoubtedly, they were both interred in the Hord Family Cemetery at Shady Grove.

In his Will, John Hord I bequeathed 1000 acres equally among his sons, Thomas Hord I, Gentleman; James Hord, Gentleman; Peter Hord I; and William Hord. The Shady Grove plantation was bequeathed to his son, Ambrose Hord. Unfortunately, The Will of Ambrose and Caroline County land records were destroyed during the Civil War. Ambrose had no children so some of the Shady Grove plantation was bequeathed to his brothers and the remainder was bequeathed to his nephew, John Hord, son of William Hord.

In 1760, ten years after his father died, William Hord sold his share of the land he inherited in King George County to his brother, James Hord and moved to Caroline County. He lived on a large plantation near Shady Grove suggesting that his brother Ambrose Hord may have sold him part of Shady Grove. The Hord family's ownership of Shady Grove continued for three generations until 1821 when it was sold by Robert Hord (1795-1946). By the time the US Army forcible purchased the Shady Grove and surrounding property in 1941 to build an Artillery Training Base, Fort AP Hill, Shady Grove consisted of only 368 acres however, the original house was still occupied but the US Army soon destroyed it.

Notes by Phil Hord Mullen, 9/14/2015:

Available historical records were gathered and closely examined in an effort to find answers to questions pertaining to the first American Hord Family. These records included, “ A History of the Hord Family” (1838) by Robert Hord; the three Hord Family genealogy books published by Reverend Arnold Harris Hord between 1898 and 1915; Mila Bernethy's Hord on-line data base; the Will of John Hord I (1664-1749); various historical and legal records and documents from Virginia; and information retrieved from several Internet Genealogy services. While many questions remain unanswered hopefully the attached comments provide a clearer understanding of the first American Hord family. Caution, any opinions, suggestions or conclusions made based on this information should not be considered factual.

References

• http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=134813743
• https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I3203...
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hore-212