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m. Abt 1595
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m. 16 Jan 1620
Facts and Events
_P_CCINFO 1-21528
From Colonial Families of the Southern States of America, A History and Genealogy of Colonial Families who settled in the Colonies Prior to the Revolution, by Stella Pickett Hardy, Second Ed., Baltimore, Southern Book Co.,1958 John, the eldest son of the Rev. Richard and Jane Lightfoot, was admitted to Lincoln College at Oxford, May 5, 1615 (age 17 years) and was subsequently admitted to Gray's Inn, Middlesex [a prestigious Court Law School] in June 1617. After completing his studies and apprentice there, he was appointed a Fellow and Barrister of Gray's Inn, married Elizabeth Phillips (c1620), and took up residence at P.G.C. Fairfax, 3Somerset House in London, where he practiced law until his death. It is likely that all or most of his children were born there (in London). According to his will, he was an extensive landholder and left a considerable amount of property to his mother, who survived him, his wife's family, his brothers and sisters, and his own large family of 13 children. To each of his sons he left a "Ring of Seal with other property. He ordered his books and manuscripts to be sold and the money divided among his children. The eldest son (and our ancestor) John II and his younger brother Phillip migrated with their families to America c1670, long after the death of John Sr. In the case of the older brother this is somewhat odd given his status as first-born and heir. But he was apparently a seagoing adventurer whose exploits are only hinted at in the family records. The fourth son, William, appears to have followed in his father's footsteps also graduating from Gray's Inn in 1653 and pursuing a career as a barrister in England where he and his brother Robert secured and extended the family fortune. The descendants of brothers John and Phillip would eventually comprise the "Lightfoots of Virginia" whose family members served honorably in the State Legislature, the Church and the Militia. They frequently intermarried with the famous "Lee Family of Virginia" one such union produced Francis Lightfoot Lee, a member of the Continental Congress from Virginia and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Of the two sons who emigrated to The Colonies, Philip was by far the financially successful, building a mercantile empire that was subsequently taken over and further expanded by his son Philip who was also known as Philip of Sandy Point "The Merchant Prince". References
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