Richard Hawkins, of Westmoreland County

None of Sir Richard Hawkins' children settled in America - they remained closely tied to Devon. Claims to the contrary are trading on a similarity of name ("Hawkins" is actually very common) to create a Fictitious Pedigree.

This is NOT Richard Hawkins of Pryvitt, second son of Admiral Sir Richard Hawkins. (The possibility that he is a cousin at some remove is not to be counted out without conclusive Y-DNA information.)

Evidence of who he really was: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=mercer_jo... and http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=mercer_jo...

From http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=mercer%5F...

9 Oct 1656 Westmoreland Co, VA, Rich Hawkins appraised the estate of Tho Bacon" See Kenneth H. Cook, We Are Who They Were, http://www.khcook.net/images/Cook-Irwin.pdf, pp. 35-37 (accessed 3/18/10).

From: LouMurphy Subject: [HAWKINS] The Real Skinny on RICHARD HAWKINS of VA Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2002 15:52:32 EDT

"To the descendants of RICHARD HAWKINS & his daughter ELIZABETH, who married HUMPHREY POPE SR -- .

""In 1999, a group of 5 experienced researchers with a personal interest in Richard Hawkins & Humphrey Pope SR began a 3-year investigation on both of them. We were concerned about the lack of documentation & the inconsistencies found in "Humphrey Pope & His Descendants" (Wm & Mary Quarterly); "Paynes of VA" by Brooke Payne, and "The Quisenberry Family". by A.C. Quisenberry. A thorough search was made in the records of old Northumberland & WestmorelandCounties.

Here's a summary of what we learned about Richard Hawkins:

"By his own deposition 20 Jul 1656, Richard Hawkins was "age 28 or thereabouts", so he was born about 1628, probably in England. (W'moreland Deeds, Wills & Patents, 1653-59) He was an illiterate planter who signed his legal documents with his "mark". His parentage is unknown. He was not the son of Sir Richard of England, who died in 1622.

"There were two "Richard Hawkins" living near each other in VA Some researchers have confused the two, or assumed (wrongly) that they were the same person. "The other Richard Hawkins lived in old Rappahannock Co. On 24 Jan 1662, his wife MARY, "widow & relict of Richard Hawkins" deeded a heifer to her son John (Old Rapp. Co Deeds, Wills & Estate Settlements, 1656-1664). Another record dated 8 May 1702 proves that this son, John Hawkins, "died without issue."

"Our Richard Hawkins first appears in VA on 30 Jan 1650, when he received a patent for 100 acres on the south side of the Potomac River in old Northumberland Co. for "transporting" two persons. On 20 Feb 1650, he received another 250 acres for "transporting" himself & 4 others -- 50 acres for himself, & 50 acres for the 4 persons he "transported." ((Northumberland Record Book A:17; also see "Cavaliers & Pioneers", Patent Book 2, by Nell M. Nugent). On 6 Sep 1654, he patented 500 acres in Westmoreland Co for transporting 10 persons, including himself. (Cavaliers & Pioneers, Patent Book 3, by Nell M. Nugent)

"(NOTE: The word "transported" doesn't always mean that the persons named had just stepped off the boat. Many "transportees" were already living in VA. Their names reappear on different grants in different years, so they were "transported" more than once, probably to obtain more land for the person who "transported" them.)

"Richard was married by 17 Sep 1652, when his good friend, Edward Thompson, "age 36" made a deposition in Northumberland Court that mentions "Richard Hawkins' wife" -- but failed to state her name. (Northumberland Deeds & Wills, 1650-55)

"Thirty (30) documents on Richard Hawkins were found in Northumberland & Westmoreland Cos, including a deed dated 18 Nov 1658 in which he gave power of attorney to convey land "with his wife's consent". This deed was signed by the marks ("R" and "K") of Richard & Katherine "Hawkings" (sic). This suggests (but doesn't prove) that the "Katherine Willoughbye" Richard "transported" in his grant of 20 Feb 1650 might have become his wife.

"The last record of Katherine Hawkins is dated 15 Jul 1659, when she witnessed a deed (W'moreland Deeds & Wills #1, 1653-1671) On 16 Oct 1660, a "Katherine THOMPSON" witnessed a deed in W'moreland Co. So -- did Richard's best friend, Edward Thompson, marry Richard's widow? We may never know. Edward Thompson & his wife were both dead by 27 Apr 1664. ( see "Westmoreland Co Records, 1661-64", by John Frederick Dorman). . . "Richard evidently died after 18 Nov 1658, the date he last appears in W'moreland records or anywhere else in VA. No will or estate record has been found for him, but the 30 Jul 1719 deed of Humphrey Pope JUNIOR, in which he identified his mother as "ELIZABETH, daughter & heir at law of RICHARD HAWKINS", proves the lineage. (W'moreland Deeds& Wills, 1716-20)

"Richard's only known & proven child, Elizabeth, was probably born ca 1650-55, since her eldest son, HUMPHREY POPE JR, was born ca 1673/4, & her eldest daughter, ELIZABETH, was born June 1677. (Sources: Humphrey JR. was "33 or thereabouts" when he deposed in W'moreland court 30 Jan 1707/8. Elizabeth Pope's DOB is confirmed from an existing fragment of her original ledger (tombstone) in Yeocomico Churchyard, W'moreland Co. She md. Wm. Payne,& Daniel McCarty).... "