Visiting the Land of Colonial Emigrant Ancestor: Thomas Royston (1610-1699)

Have you had the chance to stand on the ground that your colonial emigrant ancestor may have also traversed? Tracing a family line to the original emigrant during Colonial America can be one of the most difficult research tasks. Record loss, poor record keeping, and people of the same name are all challenges that, with some ancestors, make it impossible to make a positive identification. For my Royston line, the unique surname, original Virginia land grants, and a surviving parish vestry book combine to allow Royston researchers to connect to Thomas Royston of England. A recent trip to Gloucester County, Virginia, found me standing on land that could have been part of the thousands of acres granted to Thomas. In this article, I’ll share what I’ve gleaned from the records and the history of this early colonial ancestor.

Virginia Colonial History

First, what was the background behind the monumental task of settling the New World? Spain and France had already begun sending settlers to North America, and King James 1 was interested in the benefits that come from colonization as well. The land was rich with natural resources and if populated, could provide a market for English goods. With population density becoming a problem in England’s largest cities, sending colonists to America would solve that issue as well. ¹

King James 1 entered into a partnership with the London Company to establish the colony, and in 1607, the first ships landed at Jamestown. By 1618, the London Company had found a way to fund itself and offered land to settlers through the headright system.

“For the purpose of stimulating immigration and the settlement of the Colony the London Company ordained that any person who paid his own way to Virginia should be assigned 50 acres of land for his own personal adventure and if he transported at his own cost one or more persons he should, for each person whose passage he paid, be awarded fifty acres of land.” ²

Thomas Royston would benefit from this law, as did many other Virginia settlers. In the 1676 map of Virginia and Maryland shown below, Gloucester County is shown just above the Chesapeake Bay on the Virginia side, to the right of the York River. ³

Virginia Land Grants

Thomas Royston received six separate land grants from 1662-1693 totaling approximately 17,097 acres of land. Some grants were given to more than one man, so Thomas’s own land holdings would have been less. He is listed as transporting himself, as well as many others, in the 1669 grant and again in 1673, leading one to believe that he made the journey from Virginia to England at least twice after his initial immigration.

18 March 1662 Gloucester 270 acres, transported six persons ⁴

2 Feb 1667 Gloucester 608 acres, transported twelve persons ⁵

12 Oct 1669 Gloucester 1000 acres to Thomas Buckner and Thomas Royston, transported twenty persons ⁶

2 May 1671 Rappahannock, 2000 acres ⁷

19 Sep 1671 Rappahannock, 3553 acres to John Buckner, Robert Bryan, and Thomas Royston  ⁸

25 Feb 1673 New Kent, 10,050 acres to Lt Col. John Smith, John Buckner, Phill. Lightfoot, Thomas Royston, and John Lewis transported 201 persons ⁹

29 Apr 1693 Gloucester 1616 acres ¹⁰

Nathan Bacon’s Rebellion

Nathaniel Bacon’s Rebellion took place in Virginia from 1675-1676. Indian uprisings and the colonists’ subsequent actions caused an uproar. Many of the plantation owners fought with Bacon against the Indians without the English governor’s consent, the English Governor being very concerned with keeping peace with the Indians. The colonists suffered much during this time, both from fear of the Indians and fear of reprisal from the English government for their actions. Thomas Royston, along with Richard Whitehead, Edmond Gwynne, and Dr. Cumes, is listed as having suffered from plundering and imprisonment during this time period.¹¹

When Thomas Royston originally emigrated to Virginia is uncertain at this point. Because he is not listed in the 1662 land grant as a person being transported, it seems likely that he was already in the colony of Virginia. A Thomas Royston is listed as a passenger on 1 August 1635, age 25.

Theis under written names are to be transported to Virginea imbarqued in the Elizabeth de Lo (London) Christopher Brown Master examined by the Minister of Gravesend touching their conformities to the order and discipline of the Church of England the men have taken Oaths of Allege & Supremace.¹²

Emigration

Whether this Thomas Royston is the same man who received the land grants has yet to be proved. If it were the same man, Thomas would have worked for 27 years before he had acquired enough wealth to pay for the transport of multiple people. He would have been 52 years old and continued transporting people until 1693, the date of his last land grant.

Thomas Royston is listed numerous times in the Vestry Book of Petsworth Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia, from 1677 to 1698, his death presumably occurring about 1699. If he is the same Thomas Royston who emigrated in 1635, this would put him at approximately age 90 when he died.¹³

Visiting the Land

Although I haven’t mapped the deeds granted to Thomas Royston so I could stand on his land, I did visit Gloucester County, Virginia, where his original land was granted. The area was heavily forested in areas that hadn’t been cleared for planting. I imagine when he first viewed the land, it was hard to imagine how much he had acquired. The land was passed down through the Royston family, and his son, John Royston, also has various records also showing his involvement in Petsworth Parish as a vestryman and paying taxes on the Gloucester and Essex County land.

The original Petsworth Church no longer stands, but a memorial on FindaGrave includes a photo of the site of the Poplar Spring Church.¹⁴ The sign reads:

Poplar Spring Church

This is the site of Poplar Spring Church of Petwsworth Parish. In 1694, old Petsworth Church was abandoned in favor of this church. It was considered the finest church of colonial Viringia. In 1678, the followers of Bacon, the rebel, interred here a casket supposed to contain his remains but in reality filled with stones. The body was buried secretly.

Y-DNA

Researching Thomas Royston and his posterity was one of my earliest research projects and involved joining a Y-DNA Royston surname project which proved my Royston’s line connection to this Thomas Royston. Years after the original Y-DNA testing with Sorenson Labs, I recreated the kits and the projects. Read more at Recreating a Y-DNA Surname Project at mitoYDNA.org

Returning to this research, I found that many of the original books I used at the Family Search Library are now digitized, and the Library of Virginia has images of the original land grants. It truly is a wonderful time to research our ancestors!

 

1. “Virginia Company of London,” Encyclopedia Virginia (https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/virginia-company-of-london/ : accessed 30 June 2023).
2. Nell Marion Nugent, Cavaliers and Pioneers, Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants 1623-1666 (Baltimore : Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc,  1963, introduction.
3. John Speed, “A Map of Virginia and Maryland, 1676”, David Rumsey Map Collection (https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~285392~90058065:A-Map-of-Virginia-and-Maryland- : accessed 1 July 2023).
4. Virginia, Colonial Land Office, Thos. Royston, Land Grant 18 March 1662, Gloucester County, 270 acres; digital images, Library of Virginia (https://lva-virginia.libguides.com/land-grants : accessed 22 June 2023); citing Library of Virginia, Land office Patents, No. 5,1661-1662 (v.1 & 2 p.1-369), p. 84 (Reel 5).
5. Virginia, Colonial Land Office, Thos. Royston, Land Grant 6 February 1667, Gloucester County, 608 acres; digital images, Library of Virginia (https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990008166860205756 : accessed 22 June 2023); citing Library of Virginia, Land office Patents, No. 6, 1666-1679 (pt.1 & 2 p.1-692), p. 145 (Reel 6).
6. Virginia, Colonial Land Office, Thos. Royston, Land Grant 12 October 1669, Gloucester County, 1000 acres; digital images, Library of Virginia (https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990008166870205756 : accessed 22 June 2023); citing Library of Virginia, Land office Patents, No. 6,1666-1679 (pt.1 & 2 p.1-692), p. 240 (Reel 6).
7. Virginia, Colonial Land Office, Thos. Royston, Land Grant, 2 May 1671, Rappahannock County, 2000 acres; digital images, Library of Virginia (Virginia, Colonial Land Office, Thos. Royston, Land Grant 19 September 1671, Rappahannock County, 3553 1/2 acres; digital images, Library of Virginia (https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990008166870205756 : accessed 22 June 2023); citing Library of Virginia, Land office Patents, No. 6,1666-1679 (pt.1 & 2 p.1-692), p. 518 (Reel 6). : accessed 22 June 2023); citing Library of Virginia, Land office Patents, No. 6,1666-1679 (pt.1 & 2 p.1-692), p. 343 (Reel 6).
8. Virginia, Colonial Land Office, Thos. Royston, Land Grant 19 September 1671, Rappahannock County, 3553 1/2 acres; digital images, Library of Virginia (https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990008166870205756 : accessed 22 June 2023); citing Library of Virginia, Land office Patents, No. 6,1666-1679 (pt.1 & 2 p.1-692), p. 518 (Reel 6).
9. Virginia, Colonial Land Office, Thos. Royston, Land Grant 25 February 1673/74, New Kent County, 3553 1/2 acres; digital images, Library of Virginia (https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990007849860205756 : accessed 22 June 2023); citing Library of Virginia, Land office Patents, No. 6,1666-1679 (pt.1 & 2 p.1-692), p. 517 (Reel 6).
10. Nell Marion Nugent, Cavaliers and Pioneers Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants V.2 1666-1695 (Richmond : Genealogical Publishing Co., 1963),  p. 149.
11. Louis des Cognets, Jr. English Duplicates of Lost Virginia Records (Baltimore : Genealogical Publishing Co., 1958), 236.
12. James Camden Hotten, The Original Lists of Persons of Quality; Emigratns, Religious Exiles; Political Rebels; Serving Men Sold for a Term of Years; Apprentices; Children Stolen; Maidens Pressed; and Others Who Went From Great Britain to the American Plantation 1600-1700 (Baltimore : Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983), 117.
13. C.G. Chamberlayne, transcriber, The Vestry Book of Petsworth Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia, 1677-1793 (Richmond : The Library Board, 1933).
14. “Petsworth Parish Episcopal Church Cemetery,” FindaGrave (https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2332073/petsworth-parish-episcopal-church-cemetery : accessed 1 July 2023).