Henry Awbrey

• Death Notes
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• General Notes
  • Belonging to a “family of great influence derived from the possession of both wealth and talents” (Philip Bruce, Institutional History of Virginia), Henry Awbrey was a younger son of the ancient Awbrey family of the Welsh marches (James B. Slaughter, Virginia Dictionary of Biography, 2007; Walton L. Awbrey, Awbrey/Aubrey of VA and KY; Jon Awbrey, Aubrey: Dominion and Decline, Lubbock: Action, 2007, pp. 149-174), a period when the Awbrey family of Wales was suffering a significant decline. Henry Awbrey, aged about forty, established himself in Virginia by at least 1663, when he witnessed a deed in Rappahannock County, although some historians place him in the colony as early as 1659 (Slaughter, VA Dictionary of Biography). Henry must have become rather financially stable soon after he arrived in Virginia, for he received 1,050 acres of land from Sir William Berkeley for transporting twenty-one colonists to Virginia in 1664 (N.M Nugent, Cavaliers and Pioneers, Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1963) He apparently was in partnership with Berkeley to transport colonists to Virginia, for both men shared in the profits from this particular endeavor. The original 1,050 acres were granted along the south side of Hoskins Creek in Rappahannock County, an area that would eventually be almost entirely under the ownership of Henry Awbrey. From 1664 to 1688, Henry Awbrey transported 157 colonists to Virginia and was given title to almost 17,000 acres in the vicinity of Tappahannock, the city he served as a founding trustee in 1682 (Thomas Warner, Old Rappahanock County, p. 174). Henry Awbrey’s most notable transport occurred in 1675, when he transported 102 colonists to Virginia in what was one of the largest mass transports of settlers in colonial history. By 1682, Henry Awbrey must have been well entrenched in the political affairs of the colony, because that year he received a quarter of the contraband items seized from the vessel Dolphin on behalf of the colony of Virginia. This generous gift was likely due to Henry Awbrey’s general adherence to the old Berkeley faction, which bestowed favors on a small oligarchy of cavalier elite. Henry Awbrey’s daily life was consumed with the duties of planter, merchant, land speculator, and public servant. In addition to these pursuits, Henry was an interpreter and great friend of the Rappahannock Indians, indicating that he probably did not support the aims of Bacon’s Rebellion to any large degree. He provided the Rappahannocks shelter on his plantation for a number of years after their own land was declared forfeit by the courts, and persuaded them to move upriver nearer related tribes during their persecution by the Susquehanna Indians (Warner, 174). The attempt to persuade the Rappahannocks to move upriver was not entirely for altruistic reasons, as any violent confrontation between the Rappahannocks and the Susquehannas would have occurred virtually on Henry’s doorstep. He served as Justice for Rappahannock County from 1682 to 1692. In 1692, Henry also served as Presiding Justice of Essex County and the first sheriff of that county after its formation from old Rappahannock County (Warner, 174). Henry’s most notable public role was as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1682, 1684, 1688, and 1691-1692. During his first four sessions, he represented Rappahannock County, but he was the first Burgess for the newly created county of Essex in 1692. While a member of the House of Burgesses, Henry sat on the Committee on Public Claims and the Committee on Elections and Privileges (Slaughter, Virginia Dictionary of Biography). In 1682, Henry Awbrey sat in the House with Isaac Allerton, William Hardwich, and William Fitzhugh. At the same time, Colonel Richard Lee was a member of the Council of Virginia, indicating an early connection between the substantial Potomac planters and the Awbrey family, a connection that may have facilitated involvement between Henry’s nephews Francis and John Awbrey, Jr., and the great Potomac planter families in the following generations. Henry Awbrey was paid for his service in the House of Burgesses from a public levy of tobacco. In 1692, he received 8,000 pounds from Essex County, Virginia for representing the county (Bruce, 444). In 1693, Henry Awbrey was appointed by the Essex County Court to select a site for the new Essex County courthouse, and was empowered to purchase the site for county use. The building was likely a simple affair, as it took only nine months to complete. Interestingly, one of the craftsmen that labored on the building was John Sorrell, a member of a family that would later play a significant role regarding the Awbrey family in Westmoreland County, Virginia (Bruce, 531-532). Henry probably married three times, although the identity of his first wife is entirely unknown. The name of his second wife was Sarah. He refers to her as his “now wife,” and married her shortly after arriving in Virginia, certainly implying he had been married before. Henry Awbrey’s second marriage, to Sarah, produced a known son, Richard Awbrey (Slaughter; Will of Henry Awbrey, Essex County, VA, 1694). Sarah is believed to have been Sarah Meador, widow of Thomas Meador, although she was never specifically named as such. The speculative evidence for this connection comes from a land transfer dated April 15, 1670, in which Sarah gives up rights to land formerly belonging to Thomas Meador. Further indications of her identity appear in the 1697 will of Henry and Sarah’s son, Richard Awbrey. In this document Richard names John Meador as his “brother,” indicating perhaps John Meador’s relationship as a half-brother (Will of Richard Awbrey, Essex County, VA, 1697). Henry’s third wife was named Mary, and it was to her that Henry bequeathed a large amount of his estate when he died in 1694. In his 1694 will, Henry referred to himself as a Gentleman, mentioned his wife Mary to whom he bequeathed his dwelling plantation, on which he described orchards, buildings, improvements, and land, plus 700 acres more that he bequeathed to his son Richard, who had apparently been living on it. He left another 400 acres, purchased from Colonel Edward Hill, to his nephew Francis Awbrey, “youngest son of my brother Jon. Awbrey, dec’d.”, and to Katherine Long, daughter of Alice Long. He mentioned slaves named Sam, Kate, Robin, Nero, Zobey, Price, Nanny, Will, Joons, and Jamy, and white servants Martha and Miles Dixon, the ownership of whom he divided between his wife Mary and son Richard. Henry also bequeathed six horses, among whom were Thourogood, Smoakes, Mush, and Nego, a herd of cattle, a flock of sheep, and a stock of hogs. Henry Awbrey was apparently well versed in the wool market, for he possessed at his death not only his sheep, but a large stock of wool and cloth of all kinds, including silks. He bequeathed his personal possessions and furniture including five feather beds, chairs, chests, desks, pewter, brass and iron pots, hats, stockings, clothing, two saddles, his boat, “ye cart and wheels,” his pistol, silver tankard, pendulum watch, French gold shoes, books, and a brass bell that he insisted be never removed from his plantation. He further directed all debts to be paid by drawing funds from Robert Bristow in England. Also, Henry Awbrey mentioned the fact that at his death, he was in the process of building a new plantation home, and from the language it appears that the structure was one that he was quite proud of. The slaves mentioned in Henry’s will are of particular interest, for it was in this generation that perpetual slavery became ensconced upon the American landscape. As a final description, the Washington family historian, Charles Arthur Hoppin, wrote the following of Henry Awbrey in 1932: “He was like a lord of a large manor, though the English system of manorial lordship did not prevail in Virginia” (Hoppin, The Washington Ancestry, New Haven: Yale, 1932).

Click here for details of Henry's family with Sarah Hoskins

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