Person:Robert Culpepper (1)

Biography*: Robert Culpepper's ancestry is the subject of speculation. Hewas probably born around 1664 but it is not known if he was born in England or in Virginia.

    Robert may have been the son of Henry and Elizabeth Culpepper.
    Robert Culpepper probably married his wife Sarah around 1690. Her maiden name is not known. She was probably a daughter of one of the neighboring families along the West Branch of the Elizabeth River in Norfolk Co., VA. She and Robert had sons named Joseph and Benjamin, and Robert, Jr. Robert, Jr. was obviously named after his father.
    But the names Joseph and Benjamin were not used by Robert, Sr.'s brother, Henry, and so might be clues to the identity of Robert's wife. These were family names in the local Richardson, Powell, Hodges, and Hollowell families, among others, all of whom lived nearby. According to "The Hollowells," by Lucy E. Hollowell, the Hollowells were Quakers, and none of the Hollowell daughters from this time period is known to have married a Culpepper.
    Robert finally emerges in Norfolk County records in 1692 when he bought 50 acres from Thomas and Elizabeth Green, for 2,000 pounds of tobacc
    Records on the Culpepper family in Norfolk County in the early 1700's are scarce.
    12 Feb 1710 -- THOMAS GREEN of the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River Parish and heir at law to THOMAS GREEN late of the same parish to RICHARD BUNTING, weaver, of the same place for 2,250 pounds of tobacco, and also in consideration of the vast expense and charge that hath bin in a suite of law between the said RICHARD BUNTING and JOHN WILLIS, guardian to the said Green, about a certain tract and dividend of land, wherefore the said Green being come to age to avoid further charge about the land doth give and confer to the said Bunting this indenture of lease and release -- 200 acres on the south side of the West Brand of the Elizabeth River known by the name of Fishey Neck, being that land which PETER SMITH late of this county, deceased, patented and after sold and conferred to the said Bunting which said land was and is within the bounds of the said Green and his patent, bounded ... etc.

Witnesses: ROBERT CULPEPPER, James Sabord(?), John Portlock

    In 1713, Robert Culpepper and Eleazer Tart witnessed the will of Robert's uncle, Richard Bunting (Norfolk Co DB 9, p. 269). There were two Eleazer Tarts, father and son. This Eleazer Tart was probably the son of Eleazer Tart, Sr. Eleazer Tart, Jr, married Robert Culpepper's daughter, Mar
    In 1716, Robert Culpepper and Edward Lewelling witnessed the will of William Dale. (Richard Dale later witnessed Robert Culpepper's will.)
    In 1727, Robert Culpepper bought 50 acres on the West Branch of the Elizabeth River from his cousin Jonas Winfield, for Ð10. (See will of Jeane Green, Robert's grandmother).
    Robert Culpepper died in 1743. He must have been about 80 years old, which was well above average for his day and age.
    Robert's will, written in 1739 and proven in 1743, is important, as he and his brother Henry are the ancestors of most of the American Culpeppers. It is necessary to look at a copy of the actual document and not the abstract, to note that Robert had a son, Robert, Jr., to whom he gave his great Bible, his "lancets, horse flemes, and other instruments of iron for the use of horses." A fleam was a surgical knife, as was a lancet.
    Robert gave five Shillings each to his sons Joseph and Benjamin Culpepper, who by this time were in Edgecombe County, NC.
    He gave half a Crown each to his daughters Rachel Wilder and Ann Wilder. These small gifts of money indicate that Rachel and Ann had moved away from Norfolk County, and had probably already had some help along the way from Robert.
    He gave his daughter Elizabeth Ward, wife of John Ward, an ewe and a lamb, suggesting that she still lived nearby in 1743.
    And daughter Mury Green must have been nearby in 1743, as she received an ewe as well. Mury's husband may have been Henry Green (see below). At the moment, descendants of Mury Green are unidentified. However, there were folks named Green in early Edgecombe County, NC records.
    Robert Culpepper made a point of mentioning his grandson, William Culpepper, in his will. William got a cow and calf, and an ewe and lamb. Robert must have been particularly fond of William, since William got more live stock than Robert's daughters, Elizabeth Ward, and Mury Green. This was probably his grandson William, son of Robert Culpepper, Jr.
    Robert gave all his land in Norfolk County to "his loving daughter Mary Tart," and appointed her husband, Eleazer Tart, as his sole executor. Henry Green, John Joyce, and Richard Dale witnessed the will.
    One could suspect that Robert's daughter Mary was the one who was looking after him in his old age, and so she was the one who was rewarded with Robert's land.

1.   The information on this page and the page for his father, Henry, was copyrighted in 1998 by Culpepper Connections (Warren Culpepper and Lew Griffin) and has been copied to this page by an unknown person without permission and without attribution. Please know that Culpepper Connections is in a continual process of updating and revising its content and theories and the current content on this page is out of date.