![]() Seventeenth in a series of biographical sketches on Burgesses whose descendants belong to the First Mississippi Company; in honor of the 400th anniversary of the July 30, 1619, meeting of the first representative governmental body in America at the 1617 Church on Jamestown Island. The Macon family were French Huguenots who left France and then established themselves in England for several generations. It is thought that the emigration took place soon after the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, 24 August 1572, and before the Edict of Nantes, which, in 1598, gave the Huguenots equal religious rights in France.
Gideon Macon was the son of William and Anne (Garland) Macon. In 1671, Gideon Macon was an attorney at law in York County. He was Secretary to Governor William Berkeley during his second administration from 1660 - 1677. He was an early Vestryman in Bruton Parish, where a brass tablet to his memory marks a pew in the church. In 1684 he was named church warden in St. Peter’s Parish and observed his church duties faithfully. He entertained the vestry at his home, and in the Vestry Book on 04 March 1702 he is referred to “as lately deceased.” Gideon Macon moved to New Kent County about 1680 and established his home on Macon’s Island. Soon after building his home, he married Martha, daughter of William Woodward, the Indian Interpreter to the Pamunkey tribe. He was given the title of Colonel as the Commander in Chief of the New Kent County Militia. He became prominent in the affairs of New Kent County and was elected to the General Assembly where he served as Burgess in 1693 and 1696 to 1703. On 10 October 1700 he wrote his will and named his wife, Martha, his Executor. Following his death, Martha married for her second husband Captain Nathaniel West. Gideon and Martha (Woodward) Macon had the following children: (1) Gideon Macon, Jr., born 20 January 1682 and probably died before his father; (2) Anne, born 15 December 1684 who married James Christian; (3) Martha, born in 1687 who married Orlando Jones; (4) Elizabeth, born in 1690; (5) William Macon, born 12 November 1693 who married Mary Hartwell; (6) John, born 17 December 1695 who married Anne Hunt; (7) A daughter born in 1698; and (8) James, born 22 October 1701 who married Elizabeth Moore. First Mississippi Company Descendant of Gideon Macon: Anita Lou Tribble Bove
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![]() Sixteenth in a series of biographical sketches on Burgesses whose descendants belong to the First Mississippi Company; in honor of the 400th anniversary of the July 30, 1619, meeting of the first representative governmental body in America at the 1617 Church on Jamestown Island. William Kendall was born in 1659 in Northampton County, Virginia, and was the son of Colonel William Kendall and Susannah Baker. He was a member of the House of Burgesses for Northampton County in 1688 and 1692-94. William married Anne Mason, daughter of Lemuel Mason of Lower Norfolk County. William’s father-in-law, Lemuel Mason, was also a member of the House of Burgesses. Kendall made out his will 29 January 1695, and it was proved 28 July 1696. In his will he named his wife Anne; two sons, William Kendall III and John; and three daughters. His name appears on the list of participants in Bacon’s Rebellion who were pardoned by Governor Berkeley in 1676. He died young in his thirties.
William Kendall’s father, also named William Kendall, was born in England about 1625 and emigrated to Jamestown in 1650 as an indentured servant. He had also become a Virginia politician, and was serving in 1685 as Speaker of the House of Burgesses when it was prorogued by Governor Howard. He had died by the time it reconvened in 1686. First Mississippi Company Descendant of William Kendall: Donna Lane ![]() Fifteenth in a series of biographical sketches on Burgesses whose descendants belong to the First Mississippi Company; in honor of the 400th anniversary of the July 30, 1619, meeting of the first representative governmental body in America at the 1617 Church on Jamestown Island. Little is known about the origins of Barnaby Kearney; neither his exact birth date, birth place nor identity of his parents. Whether he was born in Virginia or immigrated is unknown; no manifest from a passenger ship to America has been found that bears his name.
Kearney lived in Nansemond County; records show he owned 460 acres there. He served as a Justice in Nansemond in 1678 and was a Major in the Nansemond County, Militia in 1680. In 1684, he was elected to serve as the Burgess from Nansemond. He was still living in the county as late as 1697, when he authorized Captain Joseph Godwin to serve as his attorney. Since he was living in Nansemond as late as 1697, he probably died there. There was a close Kearney-Godwin connection, Thomas Godwin of Nansemond County and Barnaby Kearney were friends who had much in common. On 10 Jun 1779, Kearney and Godwin attended a Quaker wedding together when Thomas Jordan and Elizabeth Burgh married because the Godwins were Quakers. Like Kearney, Colonel Thomas Godwin also served in the Virginia Militia defending Nansemond from the Indians. Like Kearney, Godwin also served in the House of Burgesses from 1664-1665 and 1676. In 1676, Godwin was elected the Speaker of the House in the Assembly that met just before Bacon’s Rebellion began. Kearney was a participant in Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676, led by Nathaniel Bacon against the rule of Governor William Berkeley. Barnaby Kearney was definitely as odds with Governor William Berkeley before Bacon’s Rebellion, for Governor Berkeley sued Barnaby Kearney in 1672 for paying him with some invalid tobacco bills. When Barnaby appeared before the General Court on 21 Mar 1672, Barnaby claimed he had received the tobacco bills from Mr. James, probably Richard James I, a Jamestowne merchant. Mr. James had received the tobacco bills from John Everson. Kearney was ordered to pay William White of urban Jamestowne half of the freight charges associated with the transaction. In 1674 Kearney was summoned for jury duty and was fined 200 pounds of tobacco for not appearing. Although the name of Barnaby Kearney’s wife is unknown, he had two sons who have been proven: (1) Barnaby Kearney II, who married Elizabeth Godwin, the daughter of Thomas Godwin II, who also married Martha Bridger; and (2) Thomas Kearney, who married Sarah Alston. First Mississippi Company Descendant of Barnaby Kearney: Dr. Russell F. Kearney, Jr. |
To Our ContributorsWe welcome properly researched contributions of ancestor profiles, vignettes and comments from members that focus on their ancestors’ roles in Jamestown’s history, plus other aspects of their lives, events and experiences in the colony. PLEASE NOTE that all information must be documented and backed up by primary source documents, and not unverifiable information and family and urban legends. Submissions without this backup may be rejected. Please limit contributions and blog entries solely to the ancestors themselves, and do not include subsequent lineage information. Entries should be no more than 400 words. Archives
August 2022
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