Ann Kidley Chamberlayne.
The first child of the third generation of Chamberlaynes in Virginia was named Ann Kidley.  She may have been the daughter of Edward and Rebecca, but we have no tangible evidence of any children of this couple, and attribution of Ann's parentage to them reflects in part a lack of alternative candidates.  For reasons to be seen, it is virtually certain that she was not a daughter of Richard and Mary, and the chance that she has been overlooked by the various sources on Thomas and Wilhelmina seems slight. Her birth place has been recorded in family records of her descendants as Poplar Grove. ¹  This same source has Ann's birth about 1752.  If Ann was a child of Edward and Rebecca, then she may well have been brought up as a Quaker, or at least in a Quaker family.

Another, somewhat less likely, possibility regarding the origin of this Ann Kidley Chamberlayne arises from an item in the St. Peter's Parish registry for the year 1756, in which reference is made to the birth of "Kiddy Chamberlayne, bastard daughter of Elizabeth Austin," October 24, 1756. ²  It seems safe to assume that the name "Kiddy" bore some relationship to Kidley (and may have been just a misspelling), and that one or another of the young Chamberlayne brothers was involved.  Further, it is not difficult to believe that she might have been brought up respectably as Ann Kidley Chamberlayne, whether at her birth place, Poplar Grove, or elsewhere.  If this were the case, then only the year of birth in the existing account would have been in error (and that source included no substantial documentation of that date). 

The Cookes had two children before William's untimely passing in 1790 or 1791.  His death left Ann a widow with two children under three, destined to spend some 47 or 48 years as a widow before her passing in 1838, after having spent only half a dozen years or so as a married woman.

Ann's son, William Cooke, Jr.  was born in 1788, grew up at North Green, and married, in 1812, Rebecca Hayes, daughter of Robert Hayes, a merchant of Cumberland.  They had at least three children, two of whom were given names which resonate with the Chamberlayne legacy: Richard Pye Cooke (1813-1890), and William Chamberlayne Cooke (1815-1885).  The third son was given a name which would later appear in the Chamberlayne family as well: James Hartwell Cooke (1820-1870).  The family resided at North Green, the children's grandmother Ann still with them.  Rebecca Hayes Cooke died in 1821, leaving at least three young children without their mother, and her husband, William, Jr., died five years later, 1826, the year the three boys turned thirteen, eleven, and six.  The boys then remained with their grandmother Ann, according to New Kent historian Nellie Barham, and also in the household was their grandmother's daughter, their aunt, whose name was also Ann Kidley Cooke. This younger Ann turned eighteen in 1826.

Richard Pye Cooke, the first son of William and Rebecca Cooke, was educated at William and Mary College, rose to the rank of Colonel in the 53rd Militia Regiment, and was a farmer.  In 1840 he purchased "Chestnut Grove," the estate a short distance east of North Green, formerly the residence of the Dandridge family and the birthplace of Martha Dandridge Custis Washington.  (See "Chestnut Grove" on the map in Figure 4.) Second son William Chamberlayne Cooke lived at North Green and married twice, his first wife dying young, and his wives bearing ten children between them, five of whom lived to maturity.  William served in the same militia regiment as did his brother and rose to the rank of Major, and late in life he resided with his brother at Chestnut Grove where he died in 1885.  Last- born son James Hartwell Cooke, who was a year old when his mother died and only six when his father succumbed, leaving him an orphan, also was in the military and served in the Army of the Confederacy. 

Figure 5

The daughter of William and Ann Kidley Chamberlayne Cooke, also named Ann Kidley Cooke, was born in 1789 or 1790.  She grew up at North Green and when she was in her teens, about 1806 or 1807, married Daniel Binns (1767-1814) of New Kent, who was some 22 years older than she.  They had a daughter, Ann Kidley Cooke Binns, born in 1808, and Ann the mother died in childbirth or shortly thereafter. ⁵  The daughter, the third in a line of females given the name Ann Kidley, having lost her mother at birth, now lost her father, Daniel, when she was only six, in 1814. She then grew up in the home of Daniel's second wife, Martha Harman Binns, and two children of that marriage, Ann's half-brother and half-sister. 

Upon the four descendants of William and Elizabeth who had carried the name of their English grandmother, the first Anne Kidley Chamberlayne, of Herefordshire, England, a great deal of hard luck had fallen thus far.  The first of them in Virginia, Anne Kidley Chamberlayne Bassett, died at age nineteen in childbirth.  The second, perhaps the daughter of Edward and Rebecca, lived a long life but lost her husband after only a few years, her daughter in (or following) childbirth in her teens, and her son some twelve years before her own passing.  The third Ann, as noted, died in her teens upon the birth of her child, and the fourth had a short, troubled, marriage and spent most of her adult years "legally separated," in lieu of a divorce. 

Three children are known to have been born to Richard and Mary, although there might have been more, and of the three, outlines are known of the lives of two, but the third remains unknown and may have died young.

Anne Kidley Chamberlayne.
Growing up at Poplar Grove a few years behind Ann Kidley, whether in the same or nearby houses, was the daughter of Richard and Mary, who was also named Anne Kidley.  Her date of birth has been placed by one source at 1760, but because of inadequate documentation of that claim, "about 1760" will have to suffice. Giving the same name to another daughter within the extended family seems odd in some respects but it might have reflected factors unknown to us. Whatever the circumstances for there being two Chamberlayne girls at (or near) Poplar Grove with the same name, the choice of the name itself almost surely was in honor of Richard's sister who had died about four years earlier in or following childbirth.  At her birth, this Anne Kidley, daughter of Richard and Mary, was the third of that name in Virginia and the fourth in the family dating back to the English mother of William the immigrant, and, as has been seen, there would be other Anne (or Ann) Kidleys to follow. 

At the White House plantation adjacent to Poplar Grove, the non-resident proprietor, General George Washington, in the early 1770s, hired a young man named John Price Posey to act as steward of the very substantial operation. ⁹  John was a son of Captain John Posey, of Faifax County, who earlier had been forced by indebtedness to sell his land in Fairfax, and the buyer had been his neighbor, George Washington, who had incorporated the Posey land into his expanding estate, Mount Vernon.  It is generally presumed that young Posey was hired in part, and possibly chiefly, because of his friendship with Martha Washington's son John Parke Custis ("Jacky"). 

Anne Kidley Chamberlayne, who logically appeared to Posey as the "girl next door," was at this time in her teens.  By some time prior to 1782, the two had become Mr. and Mrs. John Price Posey.  In the tradition of the dowry of the female, a substantial piece of the Poplar Grove land, totaling some 471 acres, was transferred to the couple in the name of Mr. Posey. ¹⁰  No evidence has been found of any children born to Anne, but, as will be seen, the marriage did not last long. 

Posey achieved some success in the New Kent community, serving as a magistrate and being elected at least once to the General Assembly. After the death of Jacky Custis in November 1781, Posey remained on the job as steward of White House for a few years, but erratic behavior on his part eventually led to his being removed from his position by the man in charge, Jacky's step-father, General Washington.  The general has been quoted as referring to him as "... that Superlative Villin, Posey." ¹¹  At least as early as 1783 Posey was apprehended several times for a series of misdemeanors, including theft from Jacky's son George Washington Parke Custis, for which the fines levied are said to have ranged from 5 to 200 pounds.

Finally, in the summer of 1787, Posey went over the line.  In some unknown context, he assaulted New Kent Sheriff Robert B. Armistead, who locked him up in the county jail.  Posey managed to escape from the jail, and three days later, on July 15, in concert with a Thomas Green and a young slave named Sawney, whose master was William Chamberlayne of Poplar Grove (son of Richard and Mary), he set fire to the jail and the attached clerk's office where all county records were stored.  The result was a total loss of the building and its contents. Virtually all New Kent County records prior to 1787 vanished that evening, leaving generations of genealogical researchers distraught.  Posey, Green, and Sawney were promptly captured. 

Needless to say, another Anne Kidley had run into some bad luck, although not nearly so much as had her husband.  Now the widowed Mrs. Posey faced the loss of her land because the law at the time specified that in such a circumstance the property would be forfeited to the state, rather than transferred to the wife or other family of the offender.  Officials of the county then petitioned the General Assembly to restore rights to the property to the aggrieved widow.  The legislature acted favorably on the petition, saying in the preamble to the Act "... that the property had come to Posey through his marriage and the family had suffered much and the land should be restored to its rightful owner." ¹³  Whether the "rightful owner" was Mrs. Posey or her brother William is not clear.

Some years later, according to Harris, Anne Kidley Posey married again. Her second husband was William Overton Winston of the long established Winston family of Hanover County.  One son, William Chamberlayne Winston, was born to the couple in 1803, and Anne resided there until her death on July 4, 1812.  Her son William married Sarah S. Pollard about 1825, and both died in 1880.  Their only known children are four who all died young. ¹⁴

Details regarding the family of Richard and Mary Chamberlayne are surprisingly unclear.  Besides Anne Kidley, it is known at a minimum that two sons were born to the couple, William, in 1764 and Edward Pye, in 1768.  The latter's name was added to the mural tablet at St. Peter's Church, the only person named there other than the immediate family of William (the immigrant) and Elizabeth.  As only the names of Anne and William were included in the family pedigree papers which passed down and made their way into print, ¹⁵  it seems likely that this Edward Pye died young.  It may have been his early passing that inspired the inclusion of his name on the family tablet at St. Peter's, since it also included the daughters of William and Elizabeth who had died young in the 1720s.

Gen. William Chamberlayne of Poplar Grove.
Only eleven at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, William was too young for service at the beginning of the war but by its end he had joined the militia and begun a long and notable career in the militia.  He was made Captain in 1789 and in 1807 was elected Brigadier General. ¹⁶  It was in the War of 1812 that his military career achieved its zenith, as he was at various times in command of troops along the north bank of the James River (1813), the Norfolk Station (March, 1814), and the First Brigade of the First Division at Bottom's Bridge (Fall of 1814).  In April, 1815, General Chamberlayne submitted his resignation to the Governor, "...believing the war near its close and feeling the infirmities of age." ¹⁷

William married Margaret Wilkinson, known as "Peggy," in July, 1784, in Henrico County.  Peggy was born in 1759, a daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Willson Wilkinson of Amelia County, later of Henrico.  Nathaniel was a son of George and Margaret Wilkinson of New Kent, whose daughter Mary, Nathaniel's sister, was William's mother. ¹⁸  Thus, William and Peggy were first cousins.  Whether this fact had any bearing on their not having any children is unknown, and it is not clear that the present-day taboo on the marriage of first cousins would have been in force at that time.

PS.  Kiss the children for me, & remember me to the old folks.  W.C.

In addition to his military career, William Chamberlayne was also deeply involved in political affairs.  He served a total of thirty years in the General Assembly, part of the time in the House of Delegates and the remainder in the Senate. ²¹

The census of 1810 for New Kent County listed William with a female over 45 (Peggy), as well as eleven other whites and 78 slaves, the "free whites" including one female 26-45; one male and two females 16-25; three males and one female 10-15; and two males and one female under five.  A guess as to the identity of these people would be one or more caretakers and their families, since William may well have been too busy with his military, political, and assorted other interests, particularly his horses, to manage Poplar Grove without such assistance.  The absence of a male over 25, however, may weaken this idea somewhat, and also reduces the likelihood that it might have been William's younger brother Edward Pye, who would have been 42 at the time, unless Edward had died and these were the surviving members of his family.  Speculation aside, nothing is known about these eleven extra members of the household.

The 1820 census showed only a single male in the over-45 category, William, and one female, in the 26-45 bracket.  As was previously noted, Peggy Wilkinson was born in 1759, so she would have turned 61 that year, so either the female in the home was not Peggy or a mistake was made in the census.  Peggy is believed to have died in 1831, on the basis of a letter in the Virginia Historical Society collection dated that year, described in the guide as "possibly of Elizabeth (Wilkinson) Gregory [her sister]... to Elizabeth H. Barrett (of King William County, Virginia) concerning the death of Margaret (Wilkinson) Chamberlayne...." ²⁵  Presumably such a letter would have followed closely upon the sister's death.

Stanard claims William married a second time but identifies the second wife only as "Miss Massie," and provides no documentation.  It is clear, however, that he did not get this information from the family papers of William Byrd Chamberlayne, since the note in the Virginia Historical Magazine said William "... was unmarried." Stanard also claims, again with no documentation (available to us, at least) that William had a son "... who died before his father."

Gen. William Chamberlayne died September 2, 1836, at the age of 72, his passing noted in the Richmond newspapers and in the Washington-based National Intelligencer. ²⁶  If he did marry a "Miss Massie," and if, in accordance with the standards and practices of the time, he remained married to Peggy until her death, then his second marriage must have come when he was in his sixties, apparently produced no offspring, and failed to catch much notice.  The idea probably should be taken as a remote possibility in need of substantiation before it can be taken seriously.  Nevertheless, there are elements to the story of William and Margaret which evoke a sense of mystery and of facts and circumstances waiting to be discovered.

William's long and full life was notable for his major accomplishments in the military, public service, and business, and for his dedication to the sporting pleasures of a "genial country squire," as well as for an element of romantic mystery.  He was the last of his line and the last Chamberlayne of Poplar Grove.

It is evident that both Byrd and Edward served long and admirably in the war for independence.  Having shared a disposition to the navy as their preferred mode of wartime service, the two brothers apparently also shared a disposition to daughters of the same family.  Some time after their return from service, Byrd married Elizabeth Dandridge, daughter of William and Agnes Dandridge of "Huntington," King William County, and Edward married her sister Agnes.  Marriage dates are unknown but most likely, for reasons drawn from scant information concerning the birth dates of their children, were in the range of about 1783 for Edward and Agnes and a bit later for Byrd and Elizabeth.  The Chamberlayne brothers were also second cousins of the Dandridge sisters, whose maternal grandmother was Susanna Littlepage, younger sister of Elizabeth Littlepage Chamberlayne. ³⁵

Byrd Chamberlayne and His Family.
Byrd and Elizabeth resided at Eglington, and Byrd was actively involved in the family agricultural enterprise on the Mattaponi, which, of course, included shipping and, for him, continued involvement in sailing.  Elizabeth, who was born in 1758, bore seven children within a span of about ten to twelve years.  Dates of birth for most of the children are not known, but approximations of the years of their deaths have been deduced in most cases.

Dates of death are clear for Byrd and one of his sons, thought to be the oldest, who was given the name Otway Byrd, reflecting once again the family ties to the Byrds. On December 12, 1800, the boy, then probably nine to twelve at most, was accompanying his father and a crew on the family-owned brig carrying a load of grain up the Chesapeake Bay toward Baltimore when a gale came up, taking the lives of the father and the son, and probably others of the crew as well. ³⁶   Byrd's death at the age of about forty-seven left his wife Elizabeth a widow with five young children. From the account of the death of Byrd and his son, it is apparent that the seafaring ways of the man, dating back at least to the war and probably earlier, never left him, regardless of his financial ability to forego the rigors of such journeys.

Of the five children left at Byrd's death, only one would survive past 1831, and none of the three males would have children who would survive. Thus, the surname would come to a close in this line.  Elizabeth, the mother, died in June, 1807, leaving the five children ranging from about seven to about nineteen years of age. ³⁷

The older of the two daughters, Evelyn Byrd, was born in 1790, married Robert Pollard, Jr., of "Zoar" in King William County, in 1809, had ten children (five of whom survived childhood), and died in 1863. ³⁸   Robert Pollard, Jr., known as Robin, succeeded his father as Clerk of Court of King William County, and was in turn succeeded by two of his sons, then by another member of the family, who is presumed to have been a nephew.  Thus, five men of the Pollard family served some seventy-five years in the office (1797-1872, interrupted only for a two-year period by a "carpetbagger" after the war. ³⁹

The other daughter, Mary Eleanor ("Ellen"), born about 1794, married John Camm Pollard, brother of her sister's husband.  Thus, the two Chamberlayne sisters married two brothers, just as had their parents and their respective siblings.  John and Mary Ellen had one child, Chamberlayne Pollard, born about 1817, before she died in 1818 in her 23rd year. ⁴⁰   Yet another child lost his mother at an early age.  Chamberlayne Pollard, according to Stewart, relocated to Georgia, married and had issue.

Much of what is known about the three male children of Byrd and Elizabeth derives from existing records pertaining to Revolutionary War land grant claims, and from records of the King William County Court pertaining to the heirs of Byrd and Elizabeth.  A land bounty warrant was issued in 1831 to Evelyn Byrd Pollard and to Chamberlayne Pollard, who were said to be the only surviving heirs of Byrd Chamberlayne. ⁴¹

William Dandridge Chamberlayne married Wilhimina (surname unknown) and, according to an 1839 record of the King William Court, "... died intestate leaving two infants of tender years." ⁴²  Hopkins, however, mentions a will dated October 2, 1809 and probated October 24, 1814, which suggests that William D. died in 1814 testate. ⁴³   Whether or not there was a will may not in itself hold much significance, but the fact that the alleged will is said to have left everything to a William H. Madison suggests the possibility that his wife may have been a Madison, although we have no evidence of that.

Spotswood D. Chamberlayne, according to the same 1839 court record, "...died testate but under 21," and his will, dated May 14, 1818 was probated August 24 of the same year, leaving everything to his brother and Executor, Thomas Delaware Chamberlayne. ⁴⁴   Thus, it is apparent that Spotswood was the youngest of the siblings, probably born in 1799 or 1800.  There is also the suggestion in this chain of events, although this is conjectural, that Spotswood may have been afflicted with a serious illness or that there may have been some other reason for his early death to have been expected, despite his young age.

Thus, with the exception of Evelyn, the children of Byrd and Elizabeth died at relatively young ages, some as early as their late teens, and only Mary Eleanor and Evelyn left any descendants.  Thus, the name Chamberlayne did not continue in this line.  In 1817, with Thomas Delaware settled elsewhere, and perhaps with knowledge of some fact concerning Spotswood of which we are not aware, Eglington, the family estate for the past two-thirds of a century, was put up for sale.  It later was destroyed by fire. ⁴⁸

Edward Pye Chamberlayne (1758-1806).
Edward Pye Chamberlayne and Agnes Dandridge married soon after the war, but it has not been possible to determine even the year of their marriage.  In 1786, Edward purchased an estate of modest dimensions, totaling 58 acres, formerly known as "Ruffin's Ferry." It was located near the Pamunkey River on the King William side, near the Ruffin residence, "Sweet Hall," ⁴⁹   a few miles east of Poplar Grove, on the opposite bank of the river.  (See Figure 6) Also nearby was the Claiborne Hall tract owned at this time by a William Chamberlayne. Most likely, this was William, the son of Richard and Mary, although he was only eighteen at the time, although it is possible that it was William, the son of Thomas and Wilhelmina. In either case, members of the New Kent and the King William branches of the family were living more closely together than before, with three separate parcels within a few miles of each other along the Pamunkey.

The Ruffin's Ferry parcel was a portion of a larger tract of land once owned by the Claiborne family and called by them "Windsor." Earlier, about mid-century, a Capt. William Dancie (or Dancey) had acquired Windsor and other properties through marriage, and upon the passing of his wife and his remarriage in the mid-1750s, which resulted in his relocation to another county, he had sold Windsor to a Robert Ruffin. ⁵⁰   Under the latter's proprietorship, a ferry established there by Dancie had become known as "Ruffin's Ferry." Upon the death of Robert Ruffin about 1777 the land was divided among his seven children, and it was from one of these heirs that Edward Pye and Agnes Chamberlayne purchased their 58-acre estate, a portion of Windsor, with the residence already constructed.  It is unclear whether the Chamberlaynes or the previous owners gave it the name "Windsor Shades." The home still exists as a private residence and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ⁵¹

It should be noted that there is potential for confusion here, since another place of the same name exists in New Kent County on the Chickahominy River, a few miles east of Providence Forge, near State Route 60.  The home of Edward Pye Chamberlayne and his family, however, was in King William County, along the north bank of the Pamunkey.  Harris carefully referred to the latter as "Windsor Shades on the Pamunkey," as if it was obvious to him that the place needed to be distinguished from the other, and originally better known Windsor Shades of New Kent.  He did not, however, mention the possible confusion over multiple use of the name and it is easy to see how mistakes could be made. ⁵²

Edward and Agnes had four children before her death in 1793, only one of whom survived childhood.  Her age at her passing is not known exactly but she was probably in her thirties, leaving her husband and a young son, William Byrd: yet another example of a child losing his mother at an early age.  She and her husband, of course, also had to bear the loss of three of their four children.

Within a few years Edward had married again, his second wife being Mary Bickerton Webb, of the Webb family of "Chemokins," in New Kent.  It has been stated in various sources, some of which probably were taken from one or more of the others, that Mary was the daughter of Lewis Webb and his wife, Mary Bickerton. ⁵³   There is, however, uncertainty in the matter of her parentage. 

The Webb Family of New Kent.
George Webb, son of Conrade Webb of London, a merchant, came to Virginia before 1728, and purchased land on the Pamunkey River where he established himself as a planter and merchant, and also operated a ferry across the Pamunkey which formerly had been known as Spencer's Ferry and later as Lide's Landing. ⁵⁵   In 1728 he married Lucy Foster Jones, and the couple had six children, four of whom survived childhood.  George was a vestryman of St. Peter's Parish for about twelve years, and he served as sheriff and as a Justice of the Peace of New Kent.  A remarkable parallel can be seen in the experiences of George Webb and William Chamberlayne, the immigrant of just a few years earlier.

Some time after Lucy's death in 1750, George Webb married again, his second wife being Anne Bickerton, daughter of Col. John Bickerton of Hanover County.  George and Anne had two children, one of whom, born in September, 1756, they named Mary.

Of the four surviving children of George and his first wife Lucy, the second oldest was Lewis Webb, who was born in 1731.  Lewis was educated at William and Mary, and after his father's death in 1758 became a vestryman at St. Peter's, and later was elected to the General Assembly.  He married Elizabeth Bickerton, daughter of Col. John Bickerton, and the sister of his father's second wife, Anne.  After George's death in 1758, his widow Anne was left with two young daughters in a household now headed by her stepson and brother-in- law, Lewis, who was about her own age.  Thus, Anne's daughter Mary (born in 1756) grew up in the household with her mother, her aunt, and her "half-brother-half-uncle" who most likely was, in effect, a father figure for her.  Harris identified four children of Lewis and Elizabeth, none of whom was named Mary, but he acknowledged that there has been some disagreement concerning the children of Lewis and Elizabeth (p.197).

If it was Mary, the daughter of George and Anne Bickerton Webb, who married Edward Pye Chamberlayne, she would have been about forty at the date of the marriage with four children ahead of her, and that seems unlikely.  Also, there is no evidence that this Mary had the middle name Bickerton, although it is certainly possible.  If, on the other hand, there was a daughter named Mary Bickerton born to Lewis and his wife, one not known to Harris, then it is only the attribution of Mary Bickerton as the mother of Mary Bickerton Webb that has been in error, as her name actually was Elizabeth (that is, if Harris got it right).  This scenario seems more feasible than the alternative, with Mary Bickerton being born probably about the mid-1760s or so, to put her at a comfortable age in the late 1790s to begin a sequence of four births.  Moreover, it is also possible that Elizabeth Bickerton was actually named Mary Elizabeth or Elizabeth Mary, or that Harris simply got the name wrong. 

Edward and Mary Chamberlayne are believed to have had seven children.  He died in June, 1806, leaving, as stated in a note in the Richmond Enquirer, a widow and eight children. ⁵⁶   The eighth would have been the oldest, William Byrd, the only surviving child of Edward's first wife, Agnes.  Three of the seven children of Edward and Mary are known to us only as names, with no dates or additional information of any kind, and their genders, all female, deduced from their names: Mary, Wilhelmina, Charlotte Clothilda, and Amanda.

William Byrd Chamberlayne was also a lawyer and he served in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1816, 1819, and 1820.

William and Nancy had at least five children, although his "family papers," which we presume he compiled, list only the three still surviving at the time.  The couple's first two children have in common that they died in early adulthood, and if either was married or had children it is unknown to us.  The oldest, Rebecca, was born in 1807 and died in 1829.  The next was William Mosby, who was born in 1809 and lived until 1838.

Another son, Edwin Harvie, was born in 1816, married Sarah Madison Scott, was a merchant in Richmond, and lived until 1885.  Several children of Edwin and Sarah survived and had issue, of whom we know little other than some names and dates, which are included in the listing. ⁵⁹     Photo source

Lucy Williamson Chamberlayne married Efford Bolling Bentley and they had a number of children, some of whom also had families in turn.  Efford Bentley's 5G-grandparents were John Rolfe and Pocahontas. ⁶⁰     Photo source

The three children of William Byrd and Nancy Chamberlayne of whom anything is known, Edwin, Lucy, and Francis, had a total of twenty-six children, and many of them married and had issue themselves, resulting in a comparatively rapid growth branch of the family during this era, reaching well into the 20th century.  At least for the present, and because this is not the ancestral line of the author, no further effort has been made to pursue these descendancies.  Further research, which might already have been done without being known to us, could yield a great deal of information on these descendants of William Byrd and Ann Mosby Chamberlayne.

The Children of Edward and Mary, and their descendants.
Of the four surviving children of Edward and Mary (excluding the three girls of whom nothing is known), the birth order is not clear, but the first male child was given the name Lewis Webb, presumably in honor of Mary's Lewis Webb (whether her father or her half-brother father-figure).  Lewis Webb Chamberlayne, born in 1798, had a distinguished career as a physician in Richmond, and should also be cited for some notable accomplishments related to the unique circumstances of some of his children.  His story, and that of his descendants, is reserved for Part Three.

Lucy Parke Chamberlayne, who is thought to have been born in 1799 or 1800, married Robert Carter Williamson, of "Brook Hill," Henrico County, in 1818.  They had two children, Robert Carter, Jr., and Mary Amanda.  Lucy died in 1822, yielding another case of young children losing their mother at early ages.  The 1830 census showed her husband Robert C. Williamson, age 30-39, living alone in Henrico County, with no indication of where the children were at the time. 

Nothing further is known to us of the son, Robert Carter, Jr., but the 1850 census showed Mary Amanda, then age 29, and her husband, John Stewart, a native of Scotland, age 44, and their three young children, Mary Amanda, 6, Isobel, 3, and Marion, 10 months.  John was listed as a farmer and their estate, known as "Brook Hill," was valued at $25,000.  In time, the couple had a total of seven daughters.  The oldest, Mary Amanda, married a Thomas Pinckney, of Charleston, SC, and they named a child Charles Cotesworth Pinckney after Thomas' ancestor, the noted 18th Century political figure of the same name from South Carolina who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. ⁶³

Elizabeth Mary Chamberlayne, whose date of birth is unknown, married Sterling Ruffin of "Sweet Hall," along the Pamunkey River in King William County.  They had one son, James Edward Ruffin, who married Mary Cooke South, and died in 1841 without children. ⁶⁴   An item in Stewart's History of the Virginia Navy provides a clue as to the latest that Elizabeth could have been living: "In USP is the petition of Wm. Byrd Chamberlayne, Lewis W. Chamberlayne, James Edward Ruffin, sole heir of Eliz. B. Ruffin, and Robert and Mary A. Williamson, only heirs of Lucy Parke Williamson" (p.165).  No date was attached to this petition, but because James Edwin Ruffin died in 1841, and because he was still alive at this time while his mother was not, Elizabeth can be said to have died before 1841.

Byrd Chamberlayne was born, it is believed, in 1801, almost surely named for his uncle who had died at sea the previous December. In 1822 he married Mary Robertson Sully of Charleston, South Carolina, and they had at least six children. Two primary sources on the family named five of the children, and a sixth, Charles Edward, is known through a reference to his baptism in 1839. ⁶⁵   It is presumed that Charles died young, since he is not listed by the sources apparently following the tradition of naming the surviving children.

A partial trail of the family of Byrd and Mary can be followed in various census documents.  The 1830 census shows Byrd and his family residing in the Monroe District of West Richmond, with two children, a male and a female, under five years of age.  The family's residence in the city may have had some bearing on Byrd's decision to sell his share of the Revolutionary War bounty land which was distributed to the heirs of his father in 1835. ⁶⁶   The census of 1860 for Henrico County, 2nd Ward of the City of Richmond, shows Byrd at age 59, with the occupation of clerk and with real estate valued at $200, along with his wife Mary, 55, and their two youngest sons, "R.C.M." (Richard Channing Moore), age 19 and a clerk, and Spotswood, age 16.  Both Richard and Spotswood, as well as their older brother James, served in the Army of the Confederacy.  Richard, who began as a private and rose to the rank of lieutenant, served in the 46th Virginia infantry, and the 1st Light Artillery Batallion. No trace of Richard has been found after the war. ⁶⁷  

Elsewhere in Richmond in the 1860 census was a James R. Chamberlayne, age 29, a bookkeeper, with $600 in real property, residing with his wife and three children, all under five years of age.  His wife Rosetta, age 23, although born in New Jersey, had lived in Richmond since about the age of ten. The 1870 census showed James and Rosetta and their four children living in the household headed by her father, Dr. George B. Plume, a physician.  Rosetta's younger brother Joseph, then age 22, was said to have been born in Virginia, while her sister Annie, 24, was born in Maryland, which suggests that the Plumes may have moved to Richmond some 22-24 years earlier, when Rosetta was about ten.

Some time before 1880 James and his son "Jamie," then twelve years old, relocated to Jersey City, NJ, as is evidenced in the 1880 census, but there is no indication of Rosetta or any other children being with with them, or whether the move was even permanent.

While it appears fairly clear that this was James Robertson Chamberlayne, the second son of Byrd and Mary, born about 1831, there remains some uncertainty due to the existence of another James R. Chamberlayne in the 1850 census. This "other" James R. was a son of Lucy and the late John Chamberlayne, whose place, if any, in the descendancy from William and Elizabeth of Poplar Grove is unknown at this time.  This James was said to be age 15, a "gardener" by occupation, with two older brothers, John (21) and Curtis (19), as well as a younger brother and sister. ⁶⁸   Both of these James R. Chamberlaynes served in the Army of the Confederacy during the Civil War, one as a Captain, the other as an enlisted man. ⁶⁹   No evidence is at hand to distinguish which James R. was of which rank.

Further complicating matters is that there were also two James R. Chamberlaynes in the succeeding generation, both born about 1867 or 1868.  Findings from the census of 1920 and the Richmond City Directory of 1889/90 (a best available proxy for the lost census of 1890 which was destroyed by fire) show multiple listings under this name. ⁷⁰   While there is fairly reliable evidence that one James R. Chamberlayne in each listing was the grandson of John and Lucy (and the son of their son John and his wife, also named Lucy), it is not clear who the other was, and there is no substantial evidence to conclude that it was "Jamie," the grandson of Byrd and Mary.  Further grappling with the available information on this puzzle remains for subsequent attention.

The youngest son of Byrd and Mary, Spotswood, appears in the censuses of 1870 and 1880 with a wife, Frances, and, by 1880, four children: Mary E. (14), Virginia T. (11), George S. (9), and Rettie B. M. (5).  Spotswood's occupation is listed there as a clerk in a store.  Listings of soldiers in the Confederate Army in the Civil War show an "S. D." Chamberlayne as a private in Company A of the 10th Virginia Cavalry, and a "Spot" Chamberlayne as a private in Company H of the 9th Virginia Cavalry. He also has been cited as a member of a group known as "Lee Rangers," although the source noting his presence there also listed him as "dead," apparently an error, at least if "S.D." was Spotswood, the son of Byrd and Mary. ⁷¹  

As for the two oldest of the children of the family, Mary Elizabeth is believed to have married Herman R. Baldwin in May, 1852, but nothing further is known of the couple. As for Lewis Webb, just enough of a trace has been found to suggest that he survived at least into adulthood. A Richmond City Directory listing for 1889/90 (used as a proxy for the 1890 census which was lost to fire) shows an Ann S. Chamberlayne, widow of Lewis Webb. ⁷²

The Chamberlayne residence during the era of Edward Pye and his two wives, "Windsor Shades," was sold in 1822 by his son Byrd and his daughter Elizabeth Ruffin.  The absence of his wife Mary from the list of persons involved in the transaction suggests that Mary had passed on by this date. ⁷³