Person:Christopher Reynolds (8)

Sybil Reynolds Taylor, "Christopher Reynolds of Virginia," Reynolds Family Association Centennial Collection: 100

Years of Historical and Genealogical Material Collected by the Reynolds Family Association, 1992. Compiled and

Edited by Susan Rogers Clement, RFA Executive Secretary and Archivist (Reynolds Family Association. Printed and

Bound by The Gregath Company, Cullman, Alabama). pp417-424. Library of Congress CS71.R464 1992:

"One of the major Southern Reynolds families is that of Christopher Reynolds of Virginia. Colonel Stephen F. Tillman

focused a great deal of his life's research tracing Christopher's descendants, with the results of his research published in

two books, The Rennolds-Reynolds of Virginia and.Enqland.1530.- 1948; and The Rennolds-Reynolds family Roster

1530-1959. When new Southern Reynolds family historians begin their search, probably the first compilations of

Reynolds family information they discover are these two books by Col. Tillman. These books are of enormous assistance

to tracing southern families. We are fortunate to have them. What is unfortunate is that Col. Tillman provided very little

source documentation in either book. Therefore it is crucial that Reynolds researchers seek documentation for family

connections proposed by Col. Tillman, and not rely solely on his statements.

"In an effort to begin this important work, the RFA has initiated the Tillman Project. The goal of the project is to search

records and gather documentation of all Reynoldses included in the two books compiled and published by Col. Tillman.

The initial efforts of the project have focused on the earliest Reynolds immigrants. The results of the search for data on

Christopher Reynolds and his family has produced the following information. A discussion of the ancestry of

Christopher Reynolds of Virginia can be found in the article "Christopher Reynolds of Kent County, England, 1530".

"CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS OF VIRGINIA

"TI-433 CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS, of George (2), and Thomasyn (Church) Reynolds, b 1611 Gravesend, England,

and d 1654 Isle of Wight Co. VA. He m. Elizabeth -. Data is from his will. They came to Warwick Co. VA 1622 aboard

the "Francis and John," where they settled on 450 acres, patent to which was dated 9-15-1636. Issue: Richard b 1641 [TI-

434]; Christopher b 1642 [TI-1135]; John b 1644, who d. unm. 3-11-1668; Abbasha b 1646; Elizabeth b 1648 [T1-1569]

Jane b 1650; and Thomas b 1655 [T1-1284].

"T2-6292 Christopher Reynolds, of (1894 George), b 1611 Gravesend, England, d 1654

Isle of Wight Co. VA, m. Elizabeth - . Data from his will. They arrived in Warwick Co. VA 1622 aboard the "Francis

and John", and settled there on 450 acres patent to which was made 15 Sep 1636. Issue: Richard b 1641 [T2-6293];

Christopher b 1642 [T2-7471]; John b 1644 and d 11 Mar 1668; Abbasha b 1646; Elizabeth b 1648; Jane b 1650; and

Thomas b 1655 [T2-7899]. [T2 designates S. F. Tillman, Reynolds Family 1530-1959 (Chevy Chase, MD, 1959), pp290-

291.]

"We have no conclusive proof of the parents of Christopher, and at least two other writers disagreed with Col. Tillman. J.

R.B. Hathaway, in 1901, stated in The North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol II, No 4, Oct 1901

[Repr Balto: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1979, ppl35-136] "Parker Family," that Christopher was the brother of Cecily,

and the son of Thomas Reynolds: "The grandfather of Cicely Reynolds was Thomas Jordan, of Dorsetshire, England,

grand daughter (sic), the mother of Cicely married a Reynolds. Her mother's maiden name was Cicely Fitzpen or

Phippen, and she was the daughter of Robert Phippen and his wife Cicely or Cicellie Jordan. Robert Phippen was the

son of one Joseph Phippen, whose mother was Alice Pierce, and thus Ciceley Reynolds was related to Capt. William

Pierce and his wife Joane... Twelve years later, her brother, Christopher Reynolds, arrived on the 'John and Francis'.... "

"In 1978, William Glasgow Reynolds privately published Reynolds History Annotated (1475-1977), in which be sided

with Judge Ray. Reynolds identified the father of Christopher as Thomas Reynolds b ca 1594 who m Cecily Phippen b

1575 in Dorsetshire, England. "Christopher Reynolds was the son of Thomas Reynolds [Ray Index, pl35] born 1604 in

Dorsetshire England, and died 1654 (Isle of Wight) VA; married [p418] "1639 Mrs. Elizabeth (Matthews) Rivers relict

of Geo. Rivers and dau of Anthony Matthews. Worth S. Ray, in Index to Hathaway's NC Historical & Genealogical

Register, pl35, states "Christopher Reynolds was born in Dorsetshire, England, although Tillman takes a contrary

position that it was County Kent, England. Boddie in Historical Southern Families, Vol II, 'Reynolds of Isle of Wight,'

p20l, seems to agree with Judge Ray.'

"Unfortunatly, none of these writers provided sources for their information. It doesn't seem likely that Thomas and

Cecily could be the father of Christopher and Cecily. Please refer in this book to the article about "Cecily ?Reynolds? of

Virginia" for a discussion of this parentage. To date, no record has been found that clearly relates Christopher of Isle of

Wight to Christopher of County Kent, nor to Thomas and Cecily.

"Col. Tillman stated that Christopher was born in 1611, but this does not seem probable since he appeared as a witness

in court in 1625, when he would have been only 14 years of age. Before the General Court held at Jamestown 18 Mar

1625, "Christopher Reighnalls, sworne and examined sayeth that he did see and read Peter Collins indenture and the he

was bound to serve Mr. Bennett four years." It is shown in Edward Bennett's muster of 1625 that Peter Collins came

over on the "Adams" in 1621.

"There is no doubt about the Christopher Reynolds of Virginia. He is well documented in early Virginia (and English)

records. RFA member Robert A. Reynolds, Roselle NJ, provided much of the following information about Christopher.

"At Bennett's Plantation only 86 of the scheduled settlers had arrived at the time of the Waresquoack massacre (the

Good Friday massacre, 22 March 1621-22); 33 survivors managed to drive off the attackers [Boddie 17th Century Isle of

Wight County VA, p 35]. Robert Bennett and his new secretary, Christopher Reynolds was among them [W.G.

Reynolds].

"On 19 Apr 1622 Gov. Francis Wyatt ordered Capt. Ralph Hamor to bring the survivors to Jamestown Island for their

safety [Records of the VA Company of London, III, part ii, p50a]. On 7 Oct 1622 Edwin Bennett of the plantation of

Warascoake requested that his people might be returned thereto [Records of the VA Company v.II, pp104-5.]

"Christopher Reynolds' name appears on a post-massacre muster of living inhabitants at Waresquoack taken 16 Feb

1623. [List of names of persons living in VA 16 Feb 1623, set forth in Hotten Lists of Emigrants to America 16--1700, p

169 et seq. Christopher Reynolds name appears on page 181 as a survivor at Warwick Squrake [Records of the VA

Company of London, III, par ii, p50a]. Waresquoack Plantation was located in the vicinity of present day Smithfield VA]

.

"Christopher Reynolds' name also shows up at a similar muster taken on Feb 7, 1624, at the same place, heading the list

of Edward Bennett's servants. [Hotten, note especially p241]. A year later on 18 Mar 1625, he appeared in General

Court at Jamestown and swore that he, as secretary to Robert Bennett, had seen and read Peter Collins' indenture and

that it said that Collins was bound to serve Mr. Bennett for five years from 1621.

"Shortly after that, the VA Council dispatched Edward Bennett to London to seek a Colonial monopoly for VA in the

tobacco trade with ENG. Christopher accompanied him and remained as his secretary during the time it took Mr.

Bennett to secure the monopoly [W.G. Reynolds: Boddie, 17th Century Isle of Wight County VA, p 38].

"From Lawne's Creek to Warrascoyack Creek on the southward side of the river, being within the County of

Warrascoyak, in 1634, there were 522 persons, and 4,914 in VA. The county had an area about 350 square miles. It is in

this setting in the original Warrisquick Co. (renamed Isle of Wight in 1637)

[p419] that we find Christopher Reynolds, along with families of Jordan, Parker, Montague, Harrison, Pierce, Farrar,

and many others.

"It is not known when Christopher married. Robert A. Reynolds presented an interesting theory. "There was a second

arrival in Virginia of "Chri: Reinolds", aged 24, aboard the ship 'Speedwell' which departed from England 28 May 1635

(Hotten, p. 83; Boyer p67). I presume Christopher returned to England for a bride; his wife's name was Elizabeth and

there were two women of his age aboard the 'Speedwell' with that name."

"William Glasgow Reynolds stated that Christopher married as her 2d husband Elizabeth Matthews, whose first husband

had been George Rivers, by whom she had a son, George. By Christopher Elizabeth had daughters Abbasha, Jane, and

Elizabeth who later married Richard Jordan. She also had four additional sons: Christopher, John, Richard, and a

posthumous child whom Christopher referred to in his Will as "the child my beloved wife now goeth with." This son

was named Thomas.

"The name Matthews had significant ties to Christopher Reynolds [Samuel Matthews' Secretary on his crown mission to

VA was Peter Montague, who later became the fourth husband of Cecily Reynolds, Christopher (III)'s older sister. See

American Historical Magazine, Vol I, No 1, Jan 1896, pp 8, 19]. Christopher's will had been witnessed five years before

by Anthony Matthews, a relative of Samuels' in what is now Isle of Wight County VA. Anthony Matthews also was

Christopher's father-in-law. Christopher was the second husband of Elizabeth Matthews. Her first husband was George

Rivers, by whom she had a son George. By Christopher she had daughters Abbasba, Jane, and Elizabeth (Isle of Wight

County VA Wills, Vol. A). The last of these, Elizabeth, later married her first cousin, Richard Jordan, Aunt Cecily

(Reynolds) Jordan's posthumous child by Samuel Jordan. She also had four additional sons - Christopher, John, Richard

and a posthumous child who her husband had referred to in his will as "the child my beloved wife goeth with." She

eventually named this late arrival Thomas (III) [Tillman also identified the child as Thomas); [Ray, Index & Digest, p

135 says of Cecily's last Jordan offspring " ... the child was born. His name was Richard Jordan and he married his first

cousin (as they so often did in those days) Elizabeth, daughter of Christopher Reynolds." [W.G. Reynolds, Reynolds

History Annotated (1475- 1977)].

"Jester, in Adventurers of Purse and Person Virginia 1607-1625 (1956), makes an interesting statement in writing of

Christopher's will: "... to George Rivers (apparently a step-son) .... He apparently married (1) __ and (2) Elizabeth (__)

Rivers." There is nothing in the article to give a clue as to what brought her to this conclusion. No additional

information was provided in later editions of Adventurers.

"Christopher, along with his neighbor Richard Bennett, was elected to the House of Burgesses on 30 Apr 1652 from Isle

of Wight Co; Bennett was chosen to be Governor of VA. [Hening, V.1, pp 371-373; Register of Ancestors, National

Society of Colonial Dames of America in VA, pp. 77, 1979]

"Christopher Reynolds' will, dated 1 May 1654, was filed for Probate in the Office of the Clerk. A proven date is not

available for this will which is recorded in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, Will Book A. pp 46-48.

"In the name of God, Amen, on the first day of May 1654, I Christopher Reynolds of Isle of Wight County in Virginia,

plantor, and being healthful in body and sound in mind and memory Make this my last Will and Testament in manner

and form as followeth:

FIRST, I give and bequeath my Soul into the hands of God my Creator and Maker, and my Body to be Buried in sure

and certain Hope of Resurrection to Eternal Life through the only Merit and Satisfaction of Jesus my only Savior and

Redeemer.

[p420]

"IMPRIMIS, I give and Bequeath unto my son Christopher Reynolds all my Land on the Southerly side of freshet

swamp that Richard Jordan now liveth upon. And I give unto my son John all my land on the Northerly side of the said

freshet swamp and one cow; and he to enjoy the said land at Twenty one Years of Age. And, unto my son Richard I give

all my Land now I live upon and one Cow, and he to possess the Sd Land at Twenty one Years of Age.

AND, my daughter Abbasha I have given unto her a Portion already which was two cows and two calves. And, I give

unto my daughter Elizabeth one heifer of two years old besides the stock I gave her formerly; And, unto my daughter

Jane I give one Cow and one yearling heifer. And I give unto George Rivers one yearling heifer. And I give unto the

child my wife now goeth with, if it lives, two cows to enjoy them at three years old. And, if any of my children dye, my

will is that the other should succeed what Estate they leave.

"AND, unto Elizabeth my loving wife, I give all the rest of my Estate both goods and chattels, moveable and unmovable,

And Debts that are due to me from any person or persons whatsoever and my two servants, she paying all my Debts truly

and justly.

"AND, I do constitute and ordain Elizabeth, my loving wife my whole and sole Executrix. And, my will is that my wife

Elizabeth shall have the ordering and bringing up of John and Richard, my sons, until they be sixteen years of age and

Elizabeth and Jane until they be fifteen years of age.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I the Sd Christopher Reynolds have hereunto set my Hand and Seal the Day & Year first

above written. Sealed & Subscribed Christopher Reynolds (Seal). Sealed, Subscribed and Delivered in the presence of

Sylvester Bullen and Anthony Matthews."

Came to Virginia on he "Speedwell", 1635.

1.   Jackson Sterett Moorman. Ancestors of Mary Burr Moorman (Harpole), et al. (Louisville, KY, Nov. 15, 1945)
   p. 5, 30 Jul 2006.