Person:Thomas Burton (3)

Thomas Burton is our Colonial ancestor in Virginia. From the evidence itappears that the John Burton referred to above is the brother of ThomasBurton. However, in the sequence of deeds to follow, John does not appearas a grantor. Thus in May, 1656 Thomas Burton became the owner of"Cobbs". Subsequently he was known as Thomas Burton of Cobbs. John Burtonsettled 8-10 miles to the north on land patents north of the James Riverand his decendants form a long family of Burtons throughout the southsomewhat parallel to our own. John Burton's plantation was called"Longfield". By the time Thomas Burton became established at "Cobbs", the Colonialgovernment was functioning and the tobacco trade flourished.Increasingly, however, the colonist began to resist English taxation andrepression and by 1776 Bacon's Rebellion and the Mecklenburg Declarationevidenced the Revolutionary War to follow. "Cobbs" was located in an area strategic to both sides in the revolution.In 1781 both Lafayette and Cornwallis passed through or within a fewmiles of Cobbs, prior to the siege and surrender of British forces atYorktown. From 1636 to 1865, "Cobbs" was in the very center of Colonial expansionand the formation ofour nation. Indian massacres, revolution,Constitutional government, the War of 1812, and the War between theStates all occured at sites near or within the confines of the Estate.Within 25 miles lay the Jamestown Colony, Williamsburg, Yorktown, andRichmond. The owners and occupants of this remarkable Estate were a crosssection of pioneers, adventurers, merchants, planters, statesmen, huntersand war heroes; and not the least of these was our forefather, THOMASBURTON, OF " COBBS".

Thomas came to America in 1656 and lived at Cobbs, Chesterfield Co Va.His home was known as the Bolling home. Thomas left it to his son, John,who sold it to Bolling family in 1704.

He owned Cobbs Plantation, thus called "Thomas of Cobbs". Source: "A History of a Colonial Land Patent" 1639-1864 Ancestral Home ofThomas Burton from 1656-1685 In 1656, Robert Cobbs sold the same 350 acres to Michael Masters in turnsurrendered the 350 acres to Thomas & John Burton. (Will & Deed Books,Henrico Co., Va. / transcript) p 265 At Court at Fort Henry Jan 15, 1656 Present : Col. Abraham Wood, Mr Wm. Baugh. Mr Wm Walthall and me GeorgeWorsham, Commissioners I John, Knight, etc. grant to Ambrose Cobbs. 350 acres on AppomattoxRiver in Henrico, Co. bounded on south by the main river, west by land ofMr John Baugh, north by the main woods Signed : Thos Brerton "extracted from the records of Bristol Parrish by Nich. Dison. C. Cur." Recorded 1 Feb. 1683 at request of Thomas Burton.
Thomas Burton is our Colonial ancestor in Virginia. From the evidence itappears that the John Burton referred to above is the brother of ThomasBurton. However, in the sequence of deeds to follow, John does not appearas a grantor. Thus in May, 1656 Thomas Burton became the owner of"Cobbs". Subsequently he was known as Thomas Burton of Cobbs. John Burtonsettled 8-10 miles to the north on land patents north of the James Riverand his decendants form a long family of Burtons throughout the southsomewhat parallel to our own. John Burton's plantation was called"Longfield". By the time Thomas Burton became established at "Cobbs", the Colonialgovernment was functioning and the tobacco trade flourished.Increasingly, however, the colonist began to resist English taxation andrepression and by 1776 Bacon's Rebellion and the Mecklenburg Declarationevidenced the Revolutionary War to follow. "Cobbs" was located in an area strategic to both sides in the revolution.In 1781 both Lafayette and Cornwallis passed through or within a fewmiles of Cobbs, prior to the siege and surrender of British forces atYorktown. From 1636 to 1865, "Cobbs" was in the very center of Colonial expansionand the formation of our nation. Indian massacres, revolution,Constitutional government, the War of 1812, and the War between theStates all occured at sites near or within the confines of the Estate.Within 25 miles lay the Jamestown Colony, Williamsburg, Yorktown, andRichmond. The owners and occupants of this remarkable Estate were a crosssection of pioneers, adventurers, merchants, planters, statesmen, huntersand war heroes; and not the least of these was our forefather, THOMASBURTON, OF " COBBS".
In a will recorded 1 Feb, 1685, Thomas Burton leaves 100 acres each tohis sons, Thomas, John, Abraham and Issac. Note that the original 350acres has become 400 acres. We do not know if 50 acres were acquiredafter 1656 or if the descriptions were general in nature. In 1735, Issac Burton sold his 100 acres to Hohn Bolling, son of JohnBolling of Cobbs, and thus the last Burton in our family line left"Cobbs". John Bolling purchased "Cobbs" in Nov, 1704 from John Burton, the landconsisting of 300 acres. The descendants of John Bolling weredistinguished and active in Military, Commerce and the Politicaldevelopment of Virginia. John Bolling was born in 1676 and died in 1709.He was the great grandson of Rolfe & Pocahontas and carried on a livelytrade with the Indians. He was buried at Cobbs and his marker wassurrounded by a stone wall. John Bolling was born in 1676 and died in 1709. In 1622 a band of Indiansled by Chief Opechancanough led an uprising that massacred 347 colonist,one third of the settlers in Va. In addition to Jamestown to the south,Henricus, several miles to the north of "Cobbs" suffered a severe loss oflife. During the War of 1812, the French Navy controlled the Chesapeake Bayarea. From Feb 1813 to July 1815, there were few land engagements nearCobbs, but the French did carry out limited foraging expeditions alongthe banks of the James and Appomattox Rivers. During one of theseexpeditions the Cobbs Estate was overun. The outbuildings and grainstorage buildings were burned, but the Mansion and the family grave areaswere spared. The Burton decendants were moving west to Amelia County and Meckenburg asthe Civil War neared. Almost all Burtons were slave holders and caught upin the turmoil of the growing conflict over states's rights and slaveryand the call for secession from the Union. "Ochre", first used as war paint by the indians, was mined at Cobbs. Thiswas in trade by the subsequent owners of "Cobbs" until ca. 1900.

!SOURCES: 1. Main Archives 2. Ancestral File 3. 1997 Ordinance Index

[Susannah Hatcher 473.FTW]

[Br
THOMAS' WILL IS DATED 1686, BRISTOL PARISH, HENRICO CO., VA.
IN HENRICO CO., THE BURTONS LIVED "THE COBBS", BERMUDA HUNDRED, BRISTOLAND DALE PARISHES.
SOURCES: TENNESSEE COUSINS, BY RAY, PAGE 636.
HISTORY AND GENEALOGY OF THE JOHN BURTON FAMILY, BY KNOX.

Information obtained from www.ancestry.com.

TH0MAS BURTON WAS THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF "COBBS" ON THE NORTH BANK OF THE APPOMATTOX, AND JUST TO THE WEST OF BERMUDA HUNDRED.

THIS PROPERTY WAS LATER OWNED BY JOHN BOLLING, ONE OF HIS DESCENDANTSROBERT BOLLING MARRIED MARY BURTON  (JOHN WAS BORN 1738 DIED 1769. I DO NOT KNOWIF MARY BURTON WAS DESCENDED FROM THOMAS BURTON OR NOT.Q
ON 13 DEC 1681 THOMAS BURTON MADE GIFTS OF CATTLE AND SWINE TO HIS SONS,JOHN, AND ABRAHAM BURTON, AND ON 1 JAN 1685 HE MADE A DEED OF GIFT OF LAND TO HISFOUR SONS, THOMAS (ELDEST), JOHN , ISAAC, AND ABRAHAM.  WITHIN A MONTH HE WAS DEADANDHIS WIDOW, SUSANNAH, WAS GRANTED ADMINISTRATION OF HIS INTESTATE ESTATE ON 1FEB 1685 AND ESTATE INVENTORY WAS FILED 1 APR 1686.  ESTATE DEBTS WERE PAID BY 1DEC 1686.

According to the "Stovall Family Record", by Clarence Friend, former president of the LaRue County (Kentucky) Historical Society, the Burtons lived in Gobbs, Virginia. Carmae M. Smith's "The Stovall Family in America" states that the Burtons lived in Bermuda, Hundred, Bristol and Dale Parishes, in Henrico County, VA.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900. (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2004.Original data - This unique collection of records was extracted from a variety of sources including family group sheets and electronic databases. Originally, the information was deriv)
   Source number: 3114.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: MLC.

   Name: Thomas Burton
   Birth Date: 1634
   Birth Place: VA

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Glenn M. Turnell. Stovall Journal (excerpt) "Notes and Comments", page 136.
3. ↑ ^3.0 3.1 Lyle K. Williams, comp. The Stovall Family and Related Lines, Volume 1. (Unknown publisher, 1984).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} Carmae Massey Smith. The Stovall Family in America: Descendants of Bartholomew of Henrico County, Virginia 1684. (Houston, Texas: D. Amstrong Co. Inc, 1979; Library of Congress No. 79.84178).
5. ↑ prepared by Clarence Friend, former president of the LaRue County (Kentucky) Historical Society. Stovall Family Record (excerpt).