Category Archives: Saunders

Saunders

Will of John Hyde Saunders, Cumberland County, VA, 1768

Leave a comment

As I move through Cumberland County records leaving no stone unturned in my quest for clues to the parents of Judith Saunders or Saunderson who married William Williams in 1788, I came across the will of John Hyde Saunders, written on 2 February 1768 and proved in court several weeks later on 29 March 1768.

Cumberland County, VA Will Book 1:340-341

In the name of God amen I John Hyde Saunders of Cumberland county being of sound sense and memory do make and constitute this my last will and testament in manner and form following.

Imprimis my will and desire is that all my debts be first paid before any part whatsoever of my estate be distributed.

I lend unto my loveing wife in lieu of all her dower during her widowhood all my estate whatsoever upon this tract and confidence that she properly maintain and educate my children provide she give each their respective parts as soon as they come of any or marry as herein after shall be directed but if she marries I lend her only three negros namely Jammy Belle and Nancy also my riding chair my mare Jenny and side saddle and bridle also one feather bed bedstead and furniture and at her decease all the estate hereby lent to my said wife during her life is to decend to my son Samuel Hyde Sanders and his heirs forever also all the residue of my estate not herein after disposed of to him and his
heirs forever provided he pays unto his two brothers Robert and Chancly Hyde each the sum of one hundred and fifty pounds in cash as soon as they come of age Further my will and desire is that after my son Samuel Hyde comes of age he shall posess half of the land and plantation whereon I now live together with half the profits of all the buildings and every other thing or things appertaining or belonging to said land and plantation as also all my household and kitchen furniture to him and his heirs forever. Further my will and desire is that if my son Samuel Hyde die without issue the land whereon I now live to be equally divided between his two brothers Robert Hyde and Chanceler Hyde.

I give unto my sons Jesse and John Hyde and their heirs forever all my estate on little Deep creek which is now in their respective possessions.

I lend to my son Peter Saunders the one hundred and ninety five acres of land where he now lives in the county of Pitsylvania and one negro fellow named Humphrey and one feather bed and furniture a pair of hand mill stones two iron pott and one frying fan I lend to him during his life and after his decease I desire it to decend to the heirs of his body forever.

I give unto my son Samuel Hyde and his heirs forever two negros namely Jack and Dilce. I also give unto my son Robert Hyde and his heirs forever two negros namely Jolly and Billey also one feather bed and furniture.

I give unto my son Chanceller Sanders and his heirs forever two negros named Phill and [Sisco?] and one feather bed and furniture.

I give unto my daughter Rebeccah Sanders and her heirs lawfully begotten of her body as soon as she comes of age or marrys two negros named Wigg and Jenny also one feather bed and furniture.

I give unto my daughter Patty Sanders and her heirs lawfully begotten of her body two negro name Doll and Betty also one feather bed and furni-
ture to her and her heirs lawfully begotten of her body forever.

I give unto my daughter Mariana Sanders and to her heirs lawfully begotten of her body forever two negros named Sharlotte and Dorcas also one feather bed and furniture.

I appoint my friends William Fleming and Archibald Buchanan and my son John Hyde Sanders my executor of this my last will and testament,

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal to this my last will and testament in the year of our lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty eight and on the second day of February in the aforesaid year.

John Hyde Saunders SS

Signed sealed & delivered in presence of
James Taylor Balt Stovall junr
Daniel (x) Johnson John (X) Frankling

Proved in court on 29 March 1768, Cumberland County, Virginia

Given that my Judith Saunders was born c1767 and John makes no mention of the possibility of his wife being pregnant AND there are no Saunders to be found in the Personal Property Tax Lists in the 1780s, I have to conclude that Judith probably wasn’t a child of John Hyde Saunders and his unnamed wife.

However, and this will take more digging, there is a tree on FamilySearch that claims Peter Hyde Saunders had a daughter Judith, born 20 January 1771, who married William Williams in 1788 in Cumberland County. There is no proof presented proving Peter’s children, just the claim and that Peter reportedly died in 1813. In 1810, there was a Peter Saunders enumerated in Franklin County, Virginia. I’d love to know how someone made the link from Peter Hyde Saunders to William Williams!

Whether or not this can be proven or disproved may depend on whether the Library of Virginia can locate the original marriage bond of William Williams and Judith Saunders/Saunderson so her surname can be proven with a primary document. My request is in for the marriage bond. If it can be found, the archivist will email me a PDF.

Saunders, Williams

Rabbit Hole #2: Judith (Saunders or Saunderson???) Williams (1767-1850+)

1 Comment

Today’s rabbit hole burrows back to Cumberland County, Virginia, home to many of my husband’s Williams ancestors until they migrated en masse to eastern Tennessee before 1805.

Yesterday’s rabbit hole left me with just as many questions about Hepsabeth (Davidson) Williams when I was done as I had when I began.

Today’s rabbit hole has taken a surprising turn that I really didn’t expect.

Judith Saunders’ marriage bond with William Williams was filed in an undated box in the Cumberland County Courthouse, but identified the governor in office, so married before 12 November 1788 and likely during the fall of 1788.

Note that I have never seen an image of this marriage bond, but it has been published in the marriages of Cumberland County, Virginia with the additional detail that it was signed by William and Mathias Williams.

As I jumped down the rabbit hole, I began to question whether Judith’s surname was Saunders or actually a variation – Saunderson.

Here’s my reasoning. There are digital images of Cumberland County’s Personal property tax lists from 1782 onward. Thee is not a single Saunders or Sanders mentioned in any list up to 1790, which is where I stopped reading. However, there are FOUR Saundersons – William, William Jr., Ann and John before 1784 and then from 1785 and later, there are still two William Saundersons. That is significant because the William Sr. on the 1782 and 1783 lists died in 1784.

William Sr. left a will naming many children, but there was no Judith among them. Ann Saunderson was named as the widow of William Sr., but since there was an Ann Saunderson with him on the 1782 and 1783 lists, it appears that there was a second Ann Saunderson, who was widowed by 1782. She left a will in 1812, but left her entire estate to her son, Robert.

The lack of details about each family certainly leaves room for Judith, wife of William Williams, to fit in there somewhere.

I decided to look for an image of their 1788 marriage bond to determine for myself whether Judith might actually be a Saunderson. [Note that the name evolved by c1800 to the modern spelling of Sanderson.]

I haven’t been successful locating an image of the 1788 record, but there are multiple volumes of abstracts of early Cumberland County marriage records that have been filmed and can be viewed online. Look at what I found:

The year is noted as 17–, but the groom is Wm. Williams and the security on the bond is Mathew Williams (poor Mathias is often mistaken for Mathew) and the bride is Judith Sanderson!

This is turning into a seriously deep dive down the rabbit hole. Cumberland County, Virginia records are quite complete back to its formation in 1749. Will court, land and probate records reveal more information and possibly prove Judith’s parentage?

It appears that no one has seriously documented the Saunderson family in early Cumberland County, so future posts will contain abstracts/transcriptions of whatever family information I am able to put together. I am so hoping that Judith’s parents can now be properly identified, but for that time period, it’s a coin toss.