Maj. John Alexander Lillington

Emigrated from Barbados to Albemarle co. Va. moved to Cape Fear where he built Lillington Hall.

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Seventeenth Century Colonial Ancestors of members of the National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century 1915-1975 compiled by Mary Louise Marshall Hutton, notes birth/death years NC, spouse noted as Elizabeth (Cooke) Cooper; Deputy Governor, President of Council Hereditary Order of Descendants of Colonial Governors, 2004: R. Christine A. Fortenberry, #833-B.2, Gov Alexander Lillington- gives death date as 9 Nov 1697, gives wedding date to Elizabeth Cook as 13 Jun 1677

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Lillington, Alexander

by James M. Clifton, 1991 https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/lillington-alexander

1643–September 1697

Alexander Lillington, lawyer, planter, legislator, justice of the peace, and executive law officer, was one of the most distinguished citizens of seventeenth-century Albemarle County. Born in Great Britain, he migrated with two brothers to Massachusetts, then to Barbados, and eventually to the Albemarle Sound area before 1668. On 11 June 1668 he married Sarah James, by whom he had two sons, James and Alexander. On 13 June 1675 he was married a second time, to the widow Elizabeth Cooke; they had four daughters and a son, among whom were Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, and John. A third marriage on 19 Mar. 1695 to the widow Ann Steward produced no issue.

Initially engaged in shipbuilding, Lillington quickly turned to planting and ultimately acquired several plantations, as noted in his will of 9 Sept. 1697. His main efforts, however, were devoted to law and public service. He participed in Culpeper's Rebellion during which George Durant and his associates opposed the collection of taxes on tobacco shipped to England. Elected a member of the "free parliament" of the period, he gave his full support to the rebels. Following the appointment of John Harvey as governor in 1679, Lillington was made a justice of the peace; in this position, he presided over the court of Perquimans Precinct for the remainder of his life.

During the 1680s and 1690s Lillington was involved in almost every aspect of public and legal service in Albemarle County. At various times he was a member of the Council; an assemblyman; sheriff of Albemarle County (an office provided for in the Fundamental Constitutions issued by the Lords Proprietors), by which he was executive officer of the courts held by the Council and tax collector of the county; and provost marshal of Perquimans Precinct. As a lawyer, he represented clients in numerous cases in the various courts of the colony.

It was in the role of chief judge of the County Court of Albemarle, which held four sessions in 1693 and 1694, that Lillington performed perhaps his greatest service. This court for all of Albemarle County, as the whole colony was then known, was also one provided for in the Fundamental Constitutions and was first organized in 1693. Lillington, Caleb Calloway, John Barrow, and Thomas Lepper, all from Perquimans, and Henry White from Pasquotank Precinct, composed the court. While most of the court's business pertained to residents of or land in Perquimans, a number of cases related to Chowan Precinct. The jurors came from all four precincts of Albemarle County.

The marriage of Lillington's daughters to such prominent leaders as Samuel Swann, Henderson Walker, John Porter, and Edward Moseley, involved the family in the political and legal affairs of the colony for many years after his death. Following her husband's death, Mrs. Swann married Maurice Moore, principal promoter of the Cape Fear settlement and founder of Brunswick Town. Lillington's son, John, married into the distinguished Porter family. Descendants of Alexander Lillington played significant roles in North Carolina and the nation for more than three centuries. One was a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and another was attorney general of the Confederacy.

References:

Samuel A. Ashe, ed., Biographical History of North Carolina, vol. 1 (1905).

James M. Clifton, "The Evolution of the Superior Court in North Carolina before 1868" (master's thesis, Duke University, 1957).

J. Bryan Grimes, ed., North Carolina Wills and Inventories (1912).

J. R. B. Hathaway, ed., North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register, vols. 1–3 (1900–1903).

Mattie Erma E. Parker, ed., North Carolina Higher-Court Records, vols. 2–3 (1968, 1971).

William L. Saunders, ed., Colonial Records of North Carolina, vol. 1 (1886).

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Alexander Lillington BIRTH 1643 DEATH 1697 (aged 53–54) North Carolina, USA BURIAL Lillington Plantation Cemetery Rocky Point, Pender County, North Carolina, USA MEMORIAL ID 185740462 · View Source

MEMORIAL PHOTOS 4 FLOWERS 1 Alexander married 3 times. His first wife was Sarah James 6/11/1668. They had sons James and Alexander. Secondly, Elizabeth Cooper Cook/e 8/3/1677... she is mentioned as the "widow Cooke" in at least one reference of the family heritage books. They had 6 children: Ann, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, George & John. After her passing, he married Ann Stewart... name surfaces in some records as "Steward". Both would be correct.

His will is written on Sept 9, 1697 and probated on Oct 8, 1697. "Sons: John ("plantation whereon I now live and plantation that was formerly Stephen Hancocks and my silver hilted sword"), George ("my plantation at Yawpim River and plantation at Little River whereon Francis Penrie now lives"). Daughters: Ann Walker, Elizabeth Fendall, Mary Lillington, Sarah Lillington. Sons-in-law: Henderson Walker and John Fendall. Wife: Ann. Executors: Col. William Wilkison and Henderson Walker. Witnesses: Caleb Callaway, John Barrow, Robert Harman. Clerk of the Court: W. Glover. Coat of arms on seal".

Work in Progress...

https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/lillington-alexander

http://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I08682...

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433067286678;view=1up;...

Family Members Children Photo Elizabeth Lillington Moore 1679–1725

Photo Anne Lillington Moseley 1679–1732

Photo John Alexander Lillington 1687–1723

George Lillington 1693–1706

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/185740462/alexander-lillington

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https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/lillington-alexander

Alexander Lillington, lawyer, planter, legislator, justice of the peace, and executive law officer, was one of the most distinguished citizens of seventeenth-century Albemarle County. Born in Great Britain, he migrated with two brothers to Massachusetts, then to Barbados, and eventually to the Albemarle Sound area before 1668. On 11 June 1668 he married Sarah James, by whom he had two sons, James and Alexander. On 13 June 1675 he was married a second time, to the widow Elizabeth Cooke; they had four daughters and a son, among whom were Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, and John. A third marriage on 19 Mar. 1695 to the widow Ann Steward produced no issue.

Initially engaged in shipbuilding, Lillington quickly turned to planting and ultimately acquired several plantations, as noted in his will of 9 Sept. 1697. His main efforts, however, were devoted to law and public service. He participed in Culpeper's Rebellion during which George Durant and his associates opposed the collection of taxes on tobacco shipped to England. Elected a member of the "free parliament" of the period, he gave his full support to the rebels. Following the appointment of John Harvey as governor in 1679, Lillington was made a justice of the peace; in this position, he presided over the court of Perquimans Precinct for the remainder of his life.

During the 1680s and 1690s Lillington was involved in almost every aspect of public and legal service in Albemarle County. At various times he was a member of the Council; an assemblyman; sheriff of Albemarle County (an office provided for in the Fundamental Constitutions issued by the Lords Proprietors), by which he was executive officer of the courts held by the Council and tax collector of the county; and provost marshal of Perquimans Precinct. As a lawyer, he represented clients in numerous cases in the various courts of the colony.

It was in the role of chief judge of the County Court of Albemarle, which held four sessions in 1693 and 1694, that Lillington performed perhaps his greatest service. This court for all of Albemarle County, as the whole colony was then known, was also one provided for in the Fundamental Constitutions and was first organized in 1693. Lillington, Caleb Calloway, John Barrow, and Thomas Lepper, all from Perquimans, and Henry White from Pasquotank Precinct, composed the court. While most of the court's business pertained to residents of or land in Perquimans, a number of cases related to Chowan Precinct. The jurors came from all four precincts of Albemarle County.

The marriage of Lillington's daughters to such prominent leaders as Samuel Swann, Henderson Walker, John Porter, and Edward Moseley, involved the family in the political and legal affairs of the colony for many years after his death. Following her husband's death, Mrs. Swann married Maurice Moore, principal promoter of the Cape Fear settlement and founder of Brunswick Town. Lillington's son, John, married into the distinguished Porter family. Descendants of Alexander Lillington played significant roles in North Carolina and the nation for more than three centuries. One was a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and another was attorney general of the Confederacy.

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from https://archive.org/details/cu31924092215437/page/n361/mode/2up?vie... "A Biographical History of North Carolina: William Drummond."

Mrs. Drummond's daughter Sarah afterward became the wife of Colonel Sam Swann, who afterward moved to Albemarle and married for a second wife a daughter of Major Alexander Lillington. Colonel Thomas Swann of Albemarle was a descendant of Governor Drummond, but Speaker Sam Swann, of the next generation, was a grandson of Major Lillington.