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The

CHERRY

FAMILIES

Of NORFOLK Co VIRGINIA

INTRODUCTION: The earlier (pre-1740) Cherry families of Norfolk Co VA descend from the immigrant John Cherry and his wife Elizabeth Faithful. Some of their descendants moved south across the VA-NC border to the present area of Bertie, Beaufort, Martin, Edgecombe, and Pitt Counties. After just three generations in one area, there were so many descendants that it became difficult to differentiate between people of similar names. Therefore, everyone descending from the immigrant John Cherry are shown alphabetically, and with an identification number [in brackets]. Information obtained from census, marriage, probate, and other standard genealogical record sources contributed by John E Young of Fresno, CA is shown following each person's biography in the alphabetical biographies. His sources of information are mostly identified from source codes beginning with numbers followed immediately by letters, and from books and other printed articles, such as newspapers, and from other individuals. An example would be (52,EP,9nqrpm). This source code says The Savannah Courier newspaper (source code 52), Ed Patterson (EP), and Hardin Co TN (source code 9) 1850, 1860, & 1870 census records (codes n, q, & r), probate records (code p), and marriage records (code m). All Source Codes are in the Source Codes File.
       Please be aware that, although persons are supposed to be listed alphabetically, sometimes we do not know a person's full name, and hence that person may not be where you would expect to find him. For example, if your ancestor was David Edward Byrd, but we have only found him as Ed Byrd, he will not be listed where you would expect to find him. Please update us with missing information where you can. Updates should be sent to my email address eazier1@sgcglobal.net or to
            John E Young
            PO Box 27045
            Fresno, CA 93729

NOTE: This is just an intermediate printing, and much still has to be entered in these notes. If an asterisk * follows some biographies, just before the children are shown, this indicates that the following children still need to be entered under their own names, in alphabetical order; also, this usually indicates that little is known of those children. Any lone asterisks, or an asterisk with a note just shows where work needs to yet be done. The codes in [brackets] following names are ID code numbers. ID code numbers were necessary since so many people often have the same names. Letters l and o are not used in the ID#s since they are easily confused with numbers 1 and 0. The letter-number codes in (parenthesis) following most biographies are the sources of information; the Cherry Source Code files will translate the sources. Please remember that in these biographies, almost all of the Source Codes referring to census, wills, court records, deed records, etc was done by John Young of Fresno; those sources are shown such as (1nqp). If someone sent John Young what that person had transcribed from reading a will, census, court record, etc, the source code will still say the source was the person sending that information to John. But if the sender made a Xerox of the actual record and sent it to John, then the source will show the actual record. In other words, a photograph, scan, or Xerox of the actual record is needed to cite that record as the source of information.

The CHERRY FAMILIES

Of NORFOLK Co VA

 

Virginia & Carolina In 1585 Queen Eliza-beth and Sir Walter Raleigh gave the name Virginia to the New World which consisted of all the eastern part of the future United States which had been explored and was claimed by the Crown. In 1606 “The Virginia Company Of London” established James-town. In 1619 Dutch traders brought the very first Blacks to Jamestown as slaves. In 1624, Virginia became a “Royal Colony” after King James I, revoking the Virginia Company Charter. In 1629 King Charles I of England granted his attorney general, Sir Robert Heath, the southern portion of the English claim in America. This included a strip of land containing what is now NC, SC, GA, etc and extended westward to infinity. The first permanent white settlers to Caro-lina came from Virginia around 1650 and settled around the Albemarle Sound region. In 1663 Charles II of England regranted Carolina to eight of his favorite nobles and made them Lord Proprietors of the Colony. These proprietors divided Carolina into three counties: Albermarle, in the northern part, next to VA; Clarendon, in the Cape Fear region; and Craven, that area now South Carolina. Clarendon was later abolished.
       In 1700 Virginia had a population of about 58,000. The North Carolina area was 7,000, of which 1/3 were slaves. In 1712 the North Carolina region became a separate colony, and in 1719 South Carolina was bought by the Crown from the Proprietors and became a Royal Colony. In 1729 all but one of the Proprietors sold their land back to England. (Lord Granville held onto the area called the Granville District until 1775. By then the population of NC was 250,000.) In 1730 King Charles I divided the Carolinas into two Royal Provinces; in 1732 the southern part of SC became the Colony of Georgia.
       Upper Norfolk County and Lower Norfolk County were created about 1637 from New Norfolk County. New Norfolk County was created in 1636 from Elizabeth City County. Both Nor-folk Counties are in the southeast cor-ner of Virginia. (PA)
John Cherry1 [C1] came from England to VA at the age of 16 in 1635. Patent book 1, part 2, page 487 shows an Oliver Sprye who received 300 acres in Upper Norfolk Co VA on 24 October 1637 for transporting six persons from England, by court order on 6 June 135: “James Hicks, John Longworthy, Tho. Bush, John Dawson, George Wilcock, John Cherry,” by order of the court on 6 June 1635. The above Oliver Sprye was a southeast VA Puritan, was justice of the Nansemond Co court in 1646, and was a tobacco viewer for Nansemond (then Upper Norfolk) Co in 1639. John Cherry was the ancestor of many of the Cherry families of AL, AR, KY, TN, TX, and other states. There is no evidence that he was English,2 although he apparently sailed from England (as did many of the Irish coming to America).

        John was born about 1619 (1616 per Source 133). He married Elizabeth Faithful (per Source 57), who was born about 1625. They settled in VA's southeast corner, in Lower Norfolk Co, and were the first Cherry family in Norfolk Co and VA (see Benjamin Cherry. John apparently also married Rebecca Mercer,3 a daughter of William Mercer and Elizabeth _____, and may have married Abigail _____ of Norfolk Co (per Source 133). Abigail was born about 1620. Thigpen gives ten children of John, although no evidence can be found for most of them. In fact, the death years given by Thigpen for most of these children shows many of them died in their seventies and eighties, highly unlikely for 250 years ago. The only child shown by Thigpen who was probably a child of immigrant John and Elizabeth was John Cherry Jr; there is no evidence for the rest of the Thigpen children. In fact, there has been no evidence found to show that any of immigrant John Cherry's grandchildren came from anyone but son John Cherry Jr. Therefore, the children shown by Thigpen who were children of immigrant John Cherry, but who didn't themselves have children or marry (per Thigpen) until they were in their forties or older, may be children of immigrant John's son John Cherry Jr.

        Exactly when John Sr died is not known, but if he were born in 1619 and if he had an average life span for a family man in the 17th Century, he would have been dead by 1670 at age 51. The 1670 inventory of the estate of John Cherry was listed in the Norfolk Co probate index, but the actual inventory has long been lost.4 There is a conflict of dates between the January 1699 will of John Cherry, used as evidence by many Cherry researchers, and the 1670 index of a John Cherry estate. Could this 1699 will be of immigrant John's son? Or could there have been two John Cherry immigrants, one who died about 1670 and one who died about 1699? If John died in 1670, then the will was for John Jr. There was an assignment in Norfolk Co from Andrew Etheridge and wife Ann to John Jr on 6 May 1699, so the 12 January 1699 will of a John Cherry, proven on 18 July 1699, could easily be John Jr's, son of John. The 1670 inventory index must have been of John Cherry, and the January 1699 will was of immigrant John's son John Jr, and the May 1699 assignment was for either John III, son of John Jr, or John Jr himself. By May 1699, with John dead, his son John Jr would be a "Sr" since he had a son, John III. By 1699, since John Jr was born about 1641, he could have easily had his son John III by the 1660s, and that John would have been an adult making business deals in May 1699. If this last idea is the correct way of thinking, some of the children shown below by Thigpen would be grandchildren of John, not children. Also, perhaps John Jr was the husband of Rebecca Mercer, and Thigpen's info that John Jr married Rebecca Maund is wrong.

        John had ten children (according to Thigpen), but other records show some of his children were likely grandchildren. John Cherry's children and grandchildren are briefly shown here, with the sources of information for each child. Details and further descendants are on following pages in alphabetical order-

a.     John Cherry Jr , b c1641, married Rebecca Maund (or Rebecca Mercer?) and had at least five. The 1799 will must have been John Jr's, thus naming a probable five children; other evidence showed there were about nine in all- (EG,77,133,57)

        1.   Sarah Cherry, b about 1666 in Lower Norfolk Co VA. She married Augustine Whiddon, and married Thomas Willson. (57,28p)

        2.   John Cherry III, b 1671, lived Norfolk Co VA, married Sarah Spring, and had seven children-(69,WD,NW)

              a.   John Cherry IV, b c1700

              b.   Spring Cherry, b c1705

              c.   Bethia Cherry, b c1708

              d.   Elizabeth Cherry, b c1711

              e.   Affia Cherry, b c1714

              f.   Aaron Cherry, b c1717

              g.   Samuel Cherry, b a1720

        3.   Rebecca Cherry, b 1672 (57)

        4.   Thomas Cherry, b c1675 in Lower Norfolk Co VA, married Sarah Willson. They had seven children-(WD,28p)

              a.   Sarah Cherry, b 1705

              b.   Jonas Cherry, b c1708

              c.   Mary Cherry, b 1710

              d.   Jeremiah Cherry, b c1712

              e.   Martha Cherry, b 1715

              f.   William Cherry, b c1720

              g.   Faith Cherry, b c1725

        5.   Faithful Cherry, b 1678, married Patience _____. They had six children-(EG,133)

              a.   Luke Cherry, b a1710 (28p)

              b.   Faithful Cherry Jr, b c1710 (28p)

              c.   Ruth Cherry, b c1713 (28p)

              d.   Patience Cherry, b c1715 (28p)

              e.   Job Cherry, b c1720 (28p)

              f.   Titus Cherry, b c1723 (28p) (77)

        6.   William Cherry, b 1680, married Elizabeth _____, and died in 1737. His will named his wife and children-(EG,57,133)

              a.   Solomon Cherry (57)

              b.   Eleazer Cherry, bought land in Pitt Co NC in 1777. (57)

              c.   Willis Cherry, lived Norfolk Co in 1785. (57)

              d.   John Cherry (57)

              e.   Caleb Cherry (57)

        7.   Samuel Maund Cherry, b c1682, married Frances Ballentine. They had five children-(57,69,114,WD,28p)

              a.   Elizabeth Cherry, b c1710s

              b.   Patience Cherry, b c1710s

              c.   Frances Cherry, b 1710s?

              d.   Samuel Cherry, b c1721

              e.   Dunson Cherry, b 1721-1735

        8.   Lemuel Cherry, b 1685, married twice and had fifteen children- (57,86,89,WD,L, 4pt,5p)

              a.   Mary Courtney Cherry, b c1718

              b.   Rebecca Cherry, b c1721

              c.   John Cherry, b c1723

              d.   Courtney Cherry, b c1725

              e.   William Cherry, b c1728

              f.   Charles Cherry, b c1730

              g.   Elizabeth Cherry, b c1733

              h.   Cader Cherry, b c1735

              i.   Solomon Cherry, b 20 Oct 1736

              j.   Lemuel Cherry, b 20 Oct 1736

              k.   Samuel M Cherry, b 1739

              m. Abigail Cherry, b c1742

              n.   George Cherry, b c1746

              p.   Willis W Cherry, b c1748

              q.   Patience Cherry, b c1750

        9.   Solomon Cherry, b c1690. His apparent children were-(69,90,WD)

              a.   Paul Cherry, b c1720

              b.   Hillary Cherry, b c1724

              c.   Joseph Cherry, b 1720s?

              d.   John Cherry, b 1720s?

              e.   Thomas Cherry, b 1720s?

              f.   Solomon Cherry Jr, b 1720s? (WD)

b.     Edward Cherry, b c1643. No further info. (57)

c.     Elizabeth Cherry, b c1648, married Joseph Miller. Their children were- (57,69,L,NW, WD,28p)

        1.   Joseph Miller Jr, b c1668

        2.   William Miller, b c1670

        3.   Benjamin Miller, b c1673

        4.   Moses Miller, b c1675

        5.   Edward Miller, b c1678

d.     Solomon Cherry, b c1652 (EG,57)

e.     Samuel Cherry, b c1657, married a daughter of John Moye and _____ Wheeler of London. Sam had two sons, and died in 1733. (EG,133)

f.     Martha Cherry, b c1660 (69)

g.     Joseph Cherry, b 1668. He had children-(57)

        1.   Joseph Cherry Jr, b c1705 (90)

        2.   Matthew Cherry, b a1710 (90)

        3.   Martin Cherry, b a1715 (69,90)

        4.   John Cherry, b 1717 (90)

h.     James Cherry (133)


1)    Much of the early data on John Cherry and his descendants was from the manuscript The Thigpen Tribe, by Alice W Smith, and from the manuscript A Brief History Of The Cherry Family Of France, England, and America, 1967, by Sarah Conyers York Murray and Celia Weakley Hudson; Murray and Hudson got most of their early information from Thigpen. And it appears that Thigpen got its information on the earliest Cherry families and ancestors from the 1945 book Ancestry of My Three Children by John Cox Jr. Other sources of the early generations of the Cherry families was from the research of Edna Cook, and from the book Cavaliers & Pioneer Immigrants From 1623 to 1660, by George Cable Greer. There were a few glaring errors in Thigpen source. When conflicting information was found in these two sources, it was not used unless other sources could be used as support.

2)    Contributor Nell Sachse (Source NS) actually went to England to find possible ancestors of immigrant John Cherry, but after a week, found nothing. If anything, indications were that John must have come from Ireland.

3)    Mrs Edna Guilford Cook was a secretary in the U.S. Congress. During legislature recess she spent many hours researching her family. Her position in the senate opened many doors which helped to find data. She would visit the homes of relatives, gathering information from bible, court, graves, etc. Edna's research gave us the name of Rebecca Mercer, another wife of immigrant John Cherry. The name of the other wife, Elizabeth Faithful, was from Thigpen.

4)    Cavaliers & Pioneers and Cherry researcher William Cook Daniel (Source WD) both agree that immigrant John died about 1670 because of the Inventory Index, which Mr Daniel has seen; Thigpen and other sources state John died in 1699, ignoring the date on the index and the highly unlikely age span of 81 years for John in the 17th Century. The 1699 date probably refers to John Jr, son of immigrant John. (WD,JY,PA)

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