Joseph Alvey, Sr

By Robert Lee Alvey Sr - Alvey Family of England, Maryland & KY (KY Ancestors-Winter 2002- Vol.38 - No.2)

Joseph was a respectable, hard-working family man with a sizeable tobacco plantation.

Joseph arrived in St Mary's County, maryland, in 1657 as an indentured servant of Robert Cole. Cole and his wife Rebecca had been in Maryland for five years, growing tobacco and corn on an average scale for the time.

Joseph married Elizabeth (Unknown), who was indentified as another indentured servant of Robert Cole. In 1667, the couple applied for the 100 acres due them by law at the conclusion of their service. They are both mentioned in the book Robert cole's World, Joseph as a positive example of the indentured servant system.

Sometime about 1656, Joseph Alvey, a young man residing in Knotting, Bedfordshire, England, decided that enough was enough. His family had endured 20 years of scorn & rejection since his grandfather Arthur Alvey- Then rector of St. Margaret of Antioch, the Knotting coummunity's parish church- was cited for permitting cockfighting in the chancel on Shrove Tuesday in 1634, 1635, & 1636. the charges state that Arthur & some of his sons were present during the events, which cost the rector his position and apparently his standing in the community. Nevertheless, Alvey appears to have remained at Knotting until William Burt was instituted as rector.

Baptishal records show that joseph Alvey & his brothers & sisters were baptized at St. Margaret in the early 1600s. Sometime during 1656/57 Joseph boarded a ship for the newly established colonies across the Atlantic. It is unknown if he was accompanied by friends, relatives or even a wife. We only know he arrived in the New World sometime in 1657 as an indentured servant and that his brother arrived in 1670 as a freeman . Joseph Alvey is responsible for thousands of descenants in all 50 of the United States today.

Joseph's grandfather, Arthur Alvey (b.about 1561, Huntingdonshire, England)was a graduate of Oxford University and a member of Trinity College, Who Married Alice Archdale, a daughter of Bernard Archdale & Anne Fearne. Their children- all of whom were born in Knotting, Bedfordshire, England

It is not known exactly where Joseph is buried but this St Joseph Cemetery is a likely possibility as is his burial on his farm nearby on St Clement's Bay. No marker or burial record has been found.

Father, Pope Alvey Sr. Mother, Mary Archdale

Grandfather, Arthur Alvey Grandmother, Alice Archdale

Will of Joseph Alvey of St Mary's Co, MD Taken from abstract as published in Vol I of "The Maryland Calendar of Wills" compiled and edited by Jane Baldwin. Wills from 1635 to 1685. Page 212 Joseph Alvey, St Mary's Co Written 26th Mar 1679 Probated 21st May 1679 To wife Eliza:, personalty To eld. son Arthur and 2nd son Joseph and hrs., all lands, 300 A., belongsing to estate, equally. To rest of child. (unnamed), personalty. Exs.: Wife Eliza: afsd. and brother Pope Alvey Test: Henry Fenerley, Edward Cole Libor 10 Folio 17

=====

"Joseph ALVEY was transported to St. Mary's County as an indenture in 1657 and his brother emigrated in 1670. The court records of Bedfordshire contain misdemeanors by the ALVEY family for not conforming to the Established Church of England. Ancient orthography was Alway as it appeared in early Bedfordshire Visitations. Joseph ALVEY named his plantation "Knotting", a parish on the northern borders of Bedfordshire and another plantation "Rome". The family was thus associated with the Roman Catholic community." ("To Maryland From Overseas," by Harry Wright Newman, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1985, p. 13; REF: Patents, Liber Q, folio 18; Liber 12, folio 550; Original manuscripts, British Museum)

=

Notes by Robert Lee Alvey on Joseph Alvey 6/13/1997. Sometime in the year 1656/1657 a young man residing in Knotting, Bedfordshire, England decided that enough was enough. His family had surely endured a quarter of a century of scorn and rejection since his grandfather's removal as the Rector of St. Margaret of Antioch, the parish church for the Knotting community. The little church had been around for 600 years and is still the location for the areas worshipers today. The church in 1997 was visited by Warren Phillips, an Alvey descendant and he reports the church is standing and being used, but in dire need of major repairs. The little village of Knotting Greens, consists of less than a dozen houses and one horse breeding establishment. Baptismal records show that Joseph Alvey and his brothers and sisters were baptized there in the early 1600's. Sometime during that year he boarded a ship for the newly established colonies across the Atlantic. It is unknown if he was accompanied by friends, relatives or a wife. We only know he arrived in the new country sometime in 1657 and is responsible for thousands of descendants in the United States today.

Arthur Alvey, Joseph's grandfather was a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford University. He was born sometime around 1560 in the same general community that the family appears to have lived for years. He married Alice Archdale, daughter of another local family, and for many years was the Rector of the local parish church. A simple family of which very little is known. Bit and pieces only have been found but the best recorded information is the Baptismal and Marriage Registers of the St. Margaret of Antioch church. They show that Arthur had a sizable family that remained in the area.

Most notable from the perspective of the descendants of Joseph Alvey is Pope Alvey. Pope was the third son of Arthur and Alice Archdale. He married a cousin of his mother Mary Archdale. Almost nothing is known of these two but based on the rural countryside, he was more than likely a farmer. With his father's disgrace in the Church, no record of Pope's having attended Trinity College can be found or of his activity in the church other than to have to be married there and to have his children baptized there. Pope is probably named for the founder of Trinity College, Thomas Pope. Pope and Mary were blessed with many children and Joseph Alvey and his brother Pope represent the beginning of a long Alvey presence in the United States that contiues today.

Joseph Alvey Sr.'s brother, Pope Alvey Jr., came to the new county around 1670 as a paid passenger and settled in the St. Clement's Bay section of St. Mary's Co., MD. This area today is well known for its passengers who arrived upon the two ships, the Ark and the Dove, much earlier than Joseph's arrival. It became a haven for Catholics in its early years but it didn't take long for the prejudices of Europe to infect the new country. Pope married the widow Ann Hammond and they had no children of there own. From the sketchy records that have survived three major military conflicts, numerous fires and weather related disasters, Pope seems to have led a turbulent and sometimes violent life. He was convicted of killing a slave, of stealing his neighbors precious cow and for his transgressions was once sentenced to execution but amongst a strange set of circumstances ended up being the hangman of St. Mary's Co. and his first execution was the man who once accused him of stealing. Pope died in early 1679 and his property was the subject of probate in 1680.

From what has survived the wrath of time in this area, little is mentioned of Joseph Alvey. We know that he arrived in St. Mary's Co., MD in 1657. He was brought here by Robert Cole as an indentures servant. Little is known other than he worked for Robert Cole who owned and operated tobacco plantations in the area. Joseph is mentioned in the publication "Robert Cole's World" as an example of the success of the indenture program and that Joseph personally was a fine example. In 1657, Joseph and his wife Elizabeth applied for the 100 acres that they were entitled to at the conclusion of their service according to the laws of the time. Elizabeth is mention in the Cole book as a former indentured servant herself and it would appear that is true since each person was entitled to 50 acres No record can be found of the parents of Elizabeth or if she came to America with Joseph, her parents or alone. We can only guess if Joseph and Elizabeth were married while under the service of Robert Cole and if Elizabeth gave birth to any of their children. Considering the extreme hardships of the time and the penalties for having children during a service period, it would seem unlikely. Joseph died 12 years after receiving his first 100 acres and when he died his children are still minors leaving me to believe that they married after 1667. Maybe one day some new information will appear but for the present I have seen nothing that will provide anything more definite.

Pope Alvey was surely a scoundrel even by the standards of the time and it would have been best had he remained on the other side of "the pond"!!. While he outlived his brother Joseph by a few years, his life as we know it was much more turbulent. Joseph seems a quiet farmer with wife and children.

In 1657, one Joseph ALVEY is a servant in St. Mary's Co MD (ibid., sc J); and that same year, "Robert COLE demandeth 450 acres of land for these servants, Robert GATES 1655, John JOHNSON Mary MILES and Joseph ALVEY 1657, by special warrant from his Lordship 100 acres and 100 more by assignment from John WHEELER (ibid., Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD)

In 1667 Joseph ALVEY & his wife Elizabeth claimed 50 acres of land for completing his service in St. Mary's Cnty, MD (ibid., sc J) In 1670 a Pope ALVEY claimed 50 acres of land as a fare paid immigrant to St. Mary's Co MD (ibid., sc J)

28 Mar 1668/9 (Undated St. Mary's Co MD Rent Rolls, St. Clements Hundred, p. 35) Tract: Knotting. 100 Acres. £0.2.0 Annual Rent. Surveyed 28 Mar 1668/9 for Joseph ALVEY at a bound tree of Batchellors Rest. Possessor: Edward FIELD (St. Mary's County, MD, Rent Rolls, 1639-1771, TLC Genealogy, Miami Beach, 1993, p. 47, Original at MD State Archives)

=

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Mar 7 2018, 1:23:53 UTC