William Shands, I

William Shands(2), we believe, was born 1685 because his name was among 34 others whose signatures were affixed in 1710 to a petition of the citizens of Charles City Co, VA, deploring conditions resulting from the partitioning in 1703 of Charles City County. (VA Mag of Hist and Biog XVIII, 1910, p. 398) His signature on that document establishes he had reached his majority by or before that time, 1710, which indicates the date of his birth to have been about the mid-to-late 1680's. William became a large, prosperous land owner, as indicated by his will, which was dated 4 Jan 1759. It was said that William patented land in 1722 in Surry County, VA, from King George and that he was given land in Prince George Co, VA, by his father. The original of a deed of land to William Shands in Surry County, signed by then-gov, William Gooch. William married Nazareth Robbards, daughter of John Robbards. They had 3 sons and 3 daughters. The sons were John, William, Jr., and Thomas; the daughters were Frances, Elizabeth, and Mary. Thomas died young. William, Sr., signed his will 4 Jan 1759, and it was proved 17 Aug 1759. His wife, Nazareth Robbards Shands died before 9 Oct 1764, the date will was proved. Both wills were in Sussex County, VA.

• Reference: WikiTree Genealogy - SmartCopy: Apr 22 2017, 23:05:32 UTC