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 Marriages of Francis and Benjamin Pace in Fluvanna County, VA

Thanks to Rosanna Bencoach 1817 Seddon Rd, Richmond, VA 23227-4333
e-mail: rosieb@sprynet.com

The following three documents were taken from microfilm of Fluvanna County, Virginia records in the Library of Virginia (transcribed below):

1. Fluvanna County Marriage Bonds, LVA. These are loose documents, that were microfilmed roughly in date order. Extant consent forms were generally filmed with the pertinent marriage bond. A consent form indicates that the person for whom the consent must be given is not yet 21. The absence of a consent form implies that the party was probably over 21 (the paper may have been lost or misfiled).

[Because superscript letters will not produce well in e-mail or some other formats, I have indicated the raised letter in the abbreviation by preceding it with an apostrophe.

TRANSCRIPT OF MARRIAGE BOND OF FRANCIS PACE:

Know all men by these presents that we Francis Pace and John Pace Jun'r are held and firmly bound to his Excellency Patrick Henry Esq. Governor or chief magistrate of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the Sum of fifty pounds to be paid to the Governor or to his Successors in office for the use of the s'd Commonwealth To the payment whereof well and truly to be made we bind ourselves our Heirs, Executors, and Administrators Together[?] and Severally formerly by these presents Sealed with our Seals and dated this 10th Day of Oct Anno Domino 1785.

The Condition of the above Obligation is such that whereas there is a Marriage shortly intended to be had and solemnized between the above bound Francis Pace and Elizabeth Roberson now if there is no lawful cause to obstruct the said marriage then this obligation to be void and also to remain in full force and Virtue.

                                           His
Sealed and delivered Francis X Pace Seal
                                          mark

In presence of           His
Jn' Timberlake    John X Pace
Jun'r Seal                 mark

2. On the next page of microfilm: CONSENT FOR FRANCIS PACE:

This is to Certify you that I Consent that My Son Francis Pace Shall marry Elisebeath Roberson Daughter of John Roberson given under my Hand this 9 day of October 1784

To M'r John Pace seal

John Timberlake

Test

Benj'n Pace

John Roberson

3. Fluvanna County (VA) Certificates of Marriage 1781-1849; page 10

(Microfilm at LVA), MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE OF FRANCIS PACE:

Fluvanna Sc't[state?court] Certifies that about the 10th day of October 1785 a marriage was solemnized between Francis Pace and Elizabeth Robinson by me

Phillip Webber

Registered in the Clerk's Office of Fluvanna County

Teste Jn' Timberlake C.C. [Clerk of Court]

Summary:

Francis Pace (no "X" middle initial; the X was his mark) is the son of John Pace (Sr), and Elizabeth Robinson/Roberson is the daughter of John Roberson. The consent document for Francis Pace fixes his birth date, at the earliest, as late in the year 1764. Elizabeth is apparently of age, placing her estimated date of birth as 1764 or earlier.

Most of the parties are together on October 9 when John Pace (Sr) writes out his son's consent document, and it is witnessed by Benjamin Pace and John Roberson (NOT Benjamin Pace and Benjamin Robinson has some transcriptions have incorrectly stated). We cannot be certain that the John Roberson who witnesses John Pace Sr.'s signature is the father of Elizabeth, and not another John Roberson. However, the marriage bond gives some additional clues.

On the following day, October 10, Francis Pace and John Pace Jr. go to the courthouse to swear out the marriage bond. Note that John Pace Jr. is serving in the role usually played by the father (or widowed mother) of the bride.

It appears that none of the parents is able to travel to the courthouse. It may be that they are elderly or infirm. Or they may just be too busy. Note the time of year. On October 10 on a central Virginia farm, everyone would be busy with the end of the last harvest, storing supplies for the winter, and in short getting everything done before the frosts and freezes begin. This is about the time that the first frost can be expected in central Virginia.

The John Pace Jr. who co-signs Francis' bond is NOT the same has Francis' father John Pace.

Francis' father signs his full name. Francis and John Jr. both sign with their mark. This is probably one of Francis' brothers (or even a cousin). The use of "Jr" at this time did not necessarily signify that a man had father of the same name, but that he was the younger person of that name in the area. [I'll have to look back at the Pace history to check that line.]

Phillip Webber, pastor at Lyle's Church (Baptist) in Fluvanna (and William Baskett's immediate predecessor), certifies that the marriage was performed "about 10 Oct 1785." That is the same date shown on the bond, so either they were in a hurry to get married, or Webber used that day because he couldn't quite recall which day he'd married them. Rev. Douglas' register simply gives the day of the marriage as 10 Oct 1785, but he was notoriously bad about making up marriage dates after the fact (to show for the Official Church's record that the parents were married when the first child was born). And he didn't perform the wedding.

COMPARISON OF FRANCIS' AND BENJAMIN'S MARRIAGE DOCUMENTS:

To review, John Roberson/Robinson does co-sign (with his signature, not his mark) Benjamin Pace's marriage bond in Fluvanna on 30 September 1784. This is the traditional role for the father of the bride, if available, though there is nothing else to indicate that Anne is his daughter. The signatures of John Roberson on the two documents are similar enough that they could have been signed by the same person. The main differences are that the consent document is written with a much blunter quill and thicker ink, which gives the signature a bolder appearance. Also, when signing the bond it appears that John runs out of ink after the broad top sweep of the R and when he continues picks up with the last downward stroke of the letter. This gives the two Rs in the consent and bond a different appearance, but I believe they could have been made with the same hand.

Also of note: Benjamin Pace signs the 1784 document with his mark, but a year later signs with an abbreviated signature. [Topic to be explored later...]

So, from these documents we have

John Pace

-- known son Francis Pace (born after 9 Oct. 1764)

-- John Pace Jr. (Brother of Francis?)

John Roberson/Robinson

-- known daughter Elizabeth Roberson (probably born before 9 Oct 1764)

-- probable daughter Ann Robinson

Ann Roberson/Robinson married Benjamin Pace -- relationship to other Paces cannot be determined from these documents alone.

Unfortunately, we're back to square one on the Roberson/Robinson question. I'm not going to worry too much about this, knowing from experienced Robinson researchers that variations on that family name were being used interchangeably in this era.

Best regards,

Rosanna Bencoach 1817 Seddon Rd, Richmond, VA 23227-4333

e-mail: rosiebNOSPAM@sprynet.com (Remove the NOSPAM before mailing. This is to foil spammers.

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