Thomas Woodward of Isle of Wight

biography

From NCPedia

Thomas Woodward, surveyor general of the Albemarle, was born in England. Assay master of the Mint under Charles I, he was dismissed from this position on 23 Oct. 1649 by John Bradshaw, president of the Council of State, because of his loyalty to the Crown. Woodward went to Virginia, publicly declaring never to see England again until the return of Charles II to the throne. In November 1661, after the Restoration, John Woodward, a son of Thomas who seems to have remained in England, petitioned the king; reciting the loyalty of his father, he requested that the house and office of assay master be put in his possession until his father's return or, if his father was dead, to have a grant of it himself. This request was granted, for when John Woodward died in 1665, King Charles II advised the warden of the Mint that the office of assay master was vacant by reason of the death of John Woodward and in the absence of Thomas Woodward, who, if alive, was at some plantation in Virginia. John Brattle was to exercise the office during Woodward's absence. Thomas Woodward, however, never returned to England.

Assuming a prominent role in Virginia, he served as clerk of court of Isle of Wight County from 1656 to 1662. On 25 Sept. 1663 Sir William Berkeley, governor of Virginia and himself one of the recently appointed Proprietors of Carolina, issued twenty-nine grants in the Albemarle region. These were the first grants of land made in what is now North Carolina. Thomas Woodward was the surveyor appointed to lay off these grants, and of the twenty-nine, three were made to Woodward and members of his family. These tracts, representing over 5,000 acres, lay on the Pasquotank River and on the western side of the Chowan.

Thomas Woodward seems to have remained in the Albemarle section for several years. On 2 June 1665 he sent an interesting report to John Colleton, one of the Lords Proprietors, concerning the new colony and acknowledged his official appointment as surveyor. The report revealed him to be a man of education, as he referred to Bacon's essay on plantations and quoted a proverb in Spanish. While in Carolina, he served as secretary for the colony and was a member of the governor's Council. He and Governor William Drummond were commissioners to treat with Maryland and Virginia for a cessation of tobacco planting for the year 1667. This conference, called in response to a sharp drop in the price of tobacco, was held at Jamestown on 12 July 1666.

Woodward returned to Isle of Wight, Va., where he died. In his will, dated 5 Oct. 1677 and probated the same year, he mentioned his wife, his son Thomas, and his daughters Katherine, Elizabeth, Mary, Rachel, and Philarite. Provision was made for the children, if any, of his deceased son John in England. The inventory of his estate listed a parcel of books. The surname of his wife Katherine is unknown; her will was probated in Isle of Wight in 1684.

will

The will of Thomas Woodward was dated October 5, 1677 and proven October 9, 1677, in Isle of Wight Co., Virginia. He named his wife- Katherine; daughters- Katherine, Elizabeth, Mary, Rachel, and Philarite; sons- Thomas and John; and provided: "if my Sonn John hath left any Children in England I do give them Two full pounds apiece." [Will Book No. 2, 1666-1719, p. 165] & [Blanche Adams Chapman. Wills and Administrations of Isle of Wight Co., Virginia, 1647-1800. p. 17].

Thomas Woodward; Additional inventory of his estate, presented by John Giles & Philarita his wife. R. DEC. 9, 1681. [Isle of Wight Co. Will & Deed Book 2, 1666-1719, p. 22] & [Chapman, ibid., p. 21].

Thomas Woodward, Sr.: Division of his estate by Thomas Green, James Tullaugh, Daniel Long, & Richard Wilkinson. Mrs. Katherine Woodward's part; the children's part; Mrs. Philarita Giles' part, & Thomas Woodward's. D. Dec. 9, 1681. R. Dec. 15, 1681. [Chapman, ibid., p. 22] & [Deed Book No. 2, 1666-1719, p. 226].

notes

From http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=sandersto...

From "The Woodward Family Tree - Thomas Woodward of England"...

Thomas Woodward, Sr. had only three known sons. One, Thomas Woodward, Jr., is known to have died without issue. The other two sons, both named John, may or may not have left descendants. None can be proven at this time. The elder John died in England, and even his father, Thomas Woodward, Sr., was not sure if he left any children. The younger son named John disappeared from records.

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• http://ncpedia.org/biography/woodward-thomas
  • John B. Boddie, Seventeenth-Century Isle of Wight County, Va. (1938). Isle of Wight County, Va., Wills, Isle of Wight.
  • John Kennedy, Colonial Transcripts, 1573–1772 (1905).
  • Nell Marion Nugent, Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, vol. 1 (1934).
  • William S. Powell, ed., Y e Countie of Albemarle in Carolina: A Collection of Documents, 1664–1675 (1958).
• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:3225791&...
  • Katherine Warden England Marriages, 1538–1973 Marriage: Nov 2 1618 - Saint Katherine By The Tower, London, London, England Husband: Thomas Woodward
• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=sandersto...
  • Virginia Genealogies & Biographies 1500-1900 - 55 Publication: Name: Disk 2: d. Some Prom' VA Fam' Vol I-II e. VA Hist' Gene' f. VA & Virginians Vol I-II, g. Valentine Papers, h. Old Churches Ministers & Fam', i. Col'nl VA & MD Relatives, j. MD & VA Colonials._________________________________________; Page: a. pg 363

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Christopher and Katherine [Audley] Woodward’s children:

http://oursoutherncousins.com/woodward3.html

1) THOMAS WOODWARD *(immigrant ancestor - abt 1649) (b.1600/1604-Lambeth,Surrey,England (probably) d.5 Oct 1677-Isle of Wight County,VA) married Katherine (see below)

THOMAS WOODWARD *(immigrant ancestor, abt 1649) (b.1600/1604-Lambeth,Surrey,England (probably) d.5 Oct 1677-Isle of Wight County,VA) married KATHERINE, and their children were:

• 1) PHILARITE WOODWARD * (b.1628) married JOHN GILES *-Burgess, Isle of Wight, VA (immigrant ancestor) (b.Abt 1624 d.1703-Isle of Wight County,Virginia) (our ancestors - see below)
• 2) John WOODWARD (died before his father, 1665) (d.by March 1665) spouse unknown. I believe it possible he had a son named John.
• 3) Thomas, Jr. WOODWARD (d.by March 1680)
• 4) Katherine WOODWARD
• 5) Elizabeth WOODWARD
• 6) Mary WOODWARD
• 7) Rachel WOODWARD
• 8) John "the Younger" WOODWARD
• 9) Henry WOODWARD (possible son? died without heirs 5 April 1662)

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The Thomas Woodward who was the surveyor in Virginia and Carolina in the 1650s and 1660s is believed by some researchers today to have possibly had an earlier wife than the one named in his 1677 will. There is at least one big reason why: Thomas Woodward the surveyor apparently had two separate sons named “John”: one who remained behind in England and successfully obtained his father’s old post of Assay Master of the Mint from Charles II in 1661 (upon the Restoration), later dying in 1665 (18), and a second one who apparently left descendants in Virginia and North Carolina and was alive in 1684, when he was mentioned in his mother Katherine Woodward’s will (19). If in fact Thomas Woodward the immigrant had had two separate wives—one left behind in England, and another remarried in the colonies, then this apparent fact of two separate sons named “John” would make perfect sense, and the possibility would then be opened that Thomas Woodward the immigrant could have been a Seventeenth-Century bigamist. One hesitates to make such a statement on so little evidence, but the evidence (as it is) at least leaves open this possibility, and (due to the paucity of evidence), this writer feels little else is left to do except speculate.