First Generation: Stephen and Agnes Hamlin
Emigration
“Stephen Hamlin was born in England and emigrated to Virginia circa 1637.” [i]
In 1637, he patented land in Middle Plantation, which later became Williamsburg. “He afterward patented lands in that part of Charles City County now known as Prince George.” [ii]
Stephen Hamlin was one of “the first residents of Middle Plantation.” [iii]
Land Ownership
“The English government was interested in colonizing Virginia as rapidly as possible, and it was offering fifty acres of land to each person who would settle there. It also offered fifty acres of land to anyone who would sponsor the transportation of another emigrant.” [iv]
Stephen Hamlin sponsored many people, and received huge amounts of land. He patented land at Middle Plantation (which later became Williamsburg). Here are the land grants that are recorded in the Virginia Patent Books: [v]
“A preliminary study of early patents reveals that between 1635 and 1650 a few individuals came into possession of 1,200 to 1,250 acre tracts near the palisade or the horse path that ran through Middle Plantation …. Others, such as Nicholas Sebrell, Stephen Hamblyn, Edward Whitakers, John Bates, and John Saines, patented lesser sized tracts, which they enlarged as time went on…. All of these people were obliged to use or lose their land.” [vi]
Stephen Hamlin’s Life
“Stephen Hamlyn became a substantial citizen of the colony, entering into its civil, political and religious life. He represented Charles City County in the House of Burgesses in 1654 and in 1663. He and his family probably belonged to the Merchants Hope Church (Episcopal), claimed by some to be the oldest protestant church building currently in use in English America. Stephen Hamlyn lived about twenty-seven years after arriving in America. He probably died in his late fifties or early sixties. Life span was not generally very long in those days. His death probably occurred in the summer of 1665 because his will is recorded on August 23 of that year. His place of burial is not known for certain, but is probably near the Merchants Hope Church. His wife's first name was Agnes. Her family name is unknown. Did she come to America as a young bride with Stephen? Or, was she born in Virginia from one of those marriages in 1619 when ninety young women were sent to become wives and establish families in the Virginia Colony? The answers to such questions are unknown, but it would be a fascinating adventure to search for the answers.” [vii]
In addition to serving in the House of Burgesses, Stephen Hamlin was also Charles City County’s Court Justice. [viii]
Family
Stephen and Agnes are believed to have had the following children:
1. Stephen Hamlin, Jr. – our ancestor, b. about 1635. Wife unknown.
2. Jane Hamlin. Born about 1637. Married Bridges Freeman II.
3. Charles Hamlin “died before December, 1687; his widow m. Isaac Williams.”
4. Thomas Hamlin “m. Mary Wynd the widow of Anthony Wynd.”
They may have also had a son named Abraham. It is not certain whether he was their son, or the son of Stephen Hamlin, Jr. [ix]
A few Legal Notes:
Life in Middle Plantation (Williamsburg)
"Middle Plantation in the Virginia Colony, was the unincorporated town established in 1632 that became Williamsburg in 1699. It was located on high ground about half-way across the Virginia Peninsula between the James River and York River. Middle Plantation represented the first major inland settlement for the colony. It was established by an Act of Assembly to provide a link between Jamestown and Chiskiack, a settlement located across the Peninsula on the York River.
"....As much of the lower peninsula to the east was becoming settled, this was a natural point for the English settlers who established Jamestown and the Virginia Colony beginning in 1607 to build a line of defense during early conflicts with the Native Americans.
"The idea of a palisade or fortification across the peninsula was discussed .… But, during the era of the marriage of colonist John Rolfe and Native Princess Pocahontas, who were married in 1614, there was a period of peaceful relations with the Natives. Nothing was immediately done to implement the suggestion.
"The idea of building a palisade was renewed around 1623, following the Indian Massacre of 1622. At that time, 73 of the settlers were slain...about 6 miles ...below Jamestown. The survivors were so alarmed and weakened that they temporarily abandoned the settlement….
"Middle Plantation patented Work on the palisade had commenced by March 1, 1633. [2] With this labor, palisades, six miles ... in length, were run from creek to creek, and, on the ridge between, a settlement to be called Middle Plantation was made.
"...The doctor would have certainly recognized the sanitary advantages of the country around Middle Plantation. As the ridge between the creeks was remarkably well drained, there were few mosquitoes. The deep ravines penetrating from the north and south made the place of much strategic value. Also, the only practical road down the Peninsula was over this ridge, and this road was easily defended...."
"...Royal Governor Sir Francis Nicholson described Middle Plantation as a place where "clear and crystal springs burst from the champagne soil."
"...in 1634, James City Shire was established by the House of Burgesses to include Middle Plantation and the surrounding area. James City Shire soon thereafter became James City County, the oldest county in the United States.
"1635-1693:…settlers moved into the region in considerable numbers, establishing homesteads…." [Our ancestor, Stephen Hamlin, arrived in 1637.]
"On April 27, 1644, the second major Indian massacre occurred in the Colony. At that time, the Chief of the Powhatan Confederacy, Opechancanough, was captured. ...this event was to represent the high-water mark of hostilities with the Natives...."
"By the 1650s, Middle Plantation began to look both populated and wealthy…. By the third quarter of the seventeenth century, Middle Plantation began to look like a place of importance."
(Quoted sections from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Plantation. Accessed July 14, 2010.)
Not long after Stephen Hamlin’s death (about 1665), several momentous events occurred in Middle Plantation:
Sources:
[i] Hoffer, Mary Poor. Stephen Hamlin, Immigrant, and Descendants.1987.
[ii] “Burgesses and Other Prominent Persons.” Accessed July 14, 2010.
[iii] Gardiner, Lyon. Williamsburg, the Old Colonial Capital. Richmond, Virginia: Whittet and Shepperson, 1907. http://books.google.com/books. Accessed July 14, 2010.
[iv] Hamlin, Griffith Askew. “My Roots and Routes: An Autobiography.” 1987. www.thehamlins.org/roots/chap1.2.html. Accessed July 14, 2010.
[v] Hoffer.
[vi] http://research.history.org/Files/Archaeo/MajorStudies/City%20Map%20Project.pdf. (Referencing Nugent 1969-1979:I:95, 102, 106, 110, 316). Accessed July 14, 2010.
[vii] Hamlin, Griffith Askew. “My Roots and Routes: An Autobiography.” 1987. www.thehamlins.org/roots/chap1.2.html. Accessed July 14, 2010.
[viii] Hoffer.
[ix] Hoffer.
[x] http://alliedfamilies.wordpress.com/virginia-and-maryland-heath-families/heaths- of-northern-neck/. Accessed July 14, 2010.
[xi] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Plantation. Accessed July 14, 2010.
Emigration
“Stephen Hamlin was born in England and emigrated to Virginia circa 1637.” [i]
In 1637, he patented land in Middle Plantation, which later became Williamsburg. “He afterward patented lands in that part of Charles City County now known as Prince George.” [ii]
Stephen Hamlin was one of “the first residents of Middle Plantation.” [iii]
Land Ownership
“The English government was interested in colonizing Virginia as rapidly as possible, and it was offering fifty acres of land to each person who would settle there. It also offered fifty acres of land to anyone who would sponsor the transportation of another emigrant.” [iv]
Stephen Hamlin sponsored many people, and received huge amounts of land. He patented land at Middle Plantation (which later became Williamsburg). Here are the land grants that are recorded in the Virginia Patent Books: [v]
- February 25, 1638: Stephen Hamblyn was granted 250 acres on Queen’s Creek next to the land of Richard Popely for “personal adventure” as a result of transporting four people to Virginia. The land was located in Charles River County, Virginia, which later became York County.
- November 17, 1642: Four hundred acres in York County were granted to Stephen Hamblyn. This land was at Queen Creek’s head, west of Mill Swamp, and next to Captain Popeley’s property. Hamblyn had arranged for the transportation of eight people.
- October 26, 1650: Stephen Hamelin was given 1250 acres in Charles City County in return for transporting of 25 people. The acreage was located next to the land of Mr. Cantrell.
- March 29, 1666: Fourteen hundred acres in Charles City County were granted to the widow of the deceased Stephen Hamelyn.
“A preliminary study of early patents reveals that between 1635 and 1650 a few individuals came into possession of 1,200 to 1,250 acre tracts near the palisade or the horse path that ran through Middle Plantation …. Others, such as Nicholas Sebrell, Stephen Hamblyn, Edward Whitakers, John Bates, and John Saines, patented lesser sized tracts, which they enlarged as time went on…. All of these people were obliged to use or lose their land.” [vi]
Stephen Hamlin’s Life
“Stephen Hamlyn became a substantial citizen of the colony, entering into its civil, political and religious life. He represented Charles City County in the House of Burgesses in 1654 and in 1663. He and his family probably belonged to the Merchants Hope Church (Episcopal), claimed by some to be the oldest protestant church building currently in use in English America. Stephen Hamlyn lived about twenty-seven years after arriving in America. He probably died in his late fifties or early sixties. Life span was not generally very long in those days. His death probably occurred in the summer of 1665 because his will is recorded on August 23 of that year. His place of burial is not known for certain, but is probably near the Merchants Hope Church. His wife's first name was Agnes. Her family name is unknown. Did she come to America as a young bride with Stephen? Or, was she born in Virginia from one of those marriages in 1619 when ninety young women were sent to become wives and establish families in the Virginia Colony? The answers to such questions are unknown, but it would be a fascinating adventure to search for the answers.” [vii]
In addition to serving in the House of Burgesses, Stephen Hamlin was also Charles City County’s Court Justice. [viii]
Family
Stephen and Agnes are believed to have had the following children:
1. Stephen Hamlin, Jr. – our ancestor, b. about 1635. Wife unknown.
2. Jane Hamlin. Born about 1637. Married Bridges Freeman II.
3. Charles Hamlin “died before December, 1687; his widow m. Isaac Williams.”
4. Thomas Hamlin “m. Mary Wynd the widow of Anthony Wynd.”
They may have also had a son named Abraham. It is not certain whether he was their son, or the son of Stephen Hamlin, Jr. [ix]
A few Legal Notes:
- 1645: Thomas Heath “was noted as owing Stephen Hamlin a balance of 1050 lb. tobacco and 8 bbl. Corn, due 3 years previously. He was ordered to pay Henry Lee, attorney of Hamlin.”
- “In October 1648, is a notation that states 150 acres in Queens Creek was sold in March, 1645 by Thomas Heath to John Broche, Chyrugion, which Heath had been assigned by Stephen Hamlin, Hamlin having received it by patent February, 1638 from Sir John Harvey." [x]
Life in Middle Plantation (Williamsburg)
"Middle Plantation in the Virginia Colony, was the unincorporated town established in 1632 that became Williamsburg in 1699. It was located on high ground about half-way across the Virginia Peninsula between the James River and York River. Middle Plantation represented the first major inland settlement for the colony. It was established by an Act of Assembly to provide a link between Jamestown and Chiskiack, a settlement located across the Peninsula on the York River.
"....As much of the lower peninsula to the east was becoming settled, this was a natural point for the English settlers who established Jamestown and the Virginia Colony beginning in 1607 to build a line of defense during early conflicts with the Native Americans.
"The idea of a palisade or fortification across the peninsula was discussed .… But, during the era of the marriage of colonist John Rolfe and Native Princess Pocahontas, who were married in 1614, there was a period of peaceful relations with the Natives. Nothing was immediately done to implement the suggestion.
"The idea of building a palisade was renewed around 1623, following the Indian Massacre of 1622. At that time, 73 of the settlers were slain...about 6 miles ...below Jamestown. The survivors were so alarmed and weakened that they temporarily abandoned the settlement….
"Middle Plantation patented Work on the palisade had commenced by March 1, 1633. [2] With this labor, palisades, six miles ... in length, were run from creek to creek, and, on the ridge between, a settlement to be called Middle Plantation was made.
"...The doctor would have certainly recognized the sanitary advantages of the country around Middle Plantation. As the ridge between the creeks was remarkably well drained, there were few mosquitoes. The deep ravines penetrating from the north and south made the place of much strategic value. Also, the only practical road down the Peninsula was over this ridge, and this road was easily defended...."
"...Royal Governor Sir Francis Nicholson described Middle Plantation as a place where "clear and crystal springs burst from the champagne soil."
"...in 1634, James City Shire was established by the House of Burgesses to include Middle Plantation and the surrounding area. James City Shire soon thereafter became James City County, the oldest county in the United States.
"1635-1693:…settlers moved into the region in considerable numbers, establishing homesteads…." [Our ancestor, Stephen Hamlin, arrived in 1637.]
"On April 27, 1644, the second major Indian massacre occurred in the Colony. At that time, the Chief of the Powhatan Confederacy, Opechancanough, was captured. ...this event was to represent the high-water mark of hostilities with the Natives...."
"By the 1650s, Middle Plantation began to look both populated and wealthy…. By the third quarter of the seventeenth century, Middle Plantation began to look like a place of importance."
(Quoted sections from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Plantation. Accessed July 14, 2010.)
Not long after Stephen Hamlin’s death (about 1665), several momentous events occurred in Middle Plantation:
- Bacon’s Rebellion took place in 1675. “…Middle Plantation was second only to Jamestown as the center of the political upheaval….”
- In 1677, Virginia made peace with nearby Indian tribes.
- The College of William and Mary was formed in Middle Plantation in 1693.
- In 1699, the capital of the Virginia colony was moved from Jamestown to Middle Plantation. Middle Plantation was re-named Williamsburg "in honor of King William III of Great Britain." [xi]
Sources:
[i] Hoffer, Mary Poor. Stephen Hamlin, Immigrant, and Descendants.1987.
[ii] “Burgesses and Other Prominent Persons.” Accessed July 14, 2010.
[iii] Gardiner, Lyon. Williamsburg, the Old Colonial Capital. Richmond, Virginia: Whittet and Shepperson, 1907. http://books.google.com/books. Accessed July 14, 2010.
[iv] Hamlin, Griffith Askew. “My Roots and Routes: An Autobiography.” 1987. www.thehamlins.org/roots/chap1.2.html. Accessed July 14, 2010.
[v] Hoffer.
[vi] http://research.history.org/Files/Archaeo/MajorStudies/City%20Map%20Project.pdf. (Referencing Nugent 1969-1979:I:95, 102, 106, 110, 316). Accessed July 14, 2010.
[vii] Hamlin, Griffith Askew. “My Roots and Routes: An Autobiography.” 1987. www.thehamlins.org/roots/chap1.2.html. Accessed July 14, 2010.
[viii] Hoffer.
[ix] Hoffer.
[x] http://alliedfamilies.wordpress.com/virginia-and-maryland-heath-families/heaths- of-northern-neck/. Accessed July 14, 2010.
[xi] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Plantation. Accessed July 14, 2010.