These genealogical notes were requested and posted by Andrew Lancaster, as part of an effort to gather more information about the early roots (for example before 1750) of Lancaster families around the world. For Andrew's main page see http://users.skynet.be/lancaster/. Anyone with an interest in this family or other Lancaster families, please contact us. Another important part of this effort is the Lancaster Surname DNA Project.
Considerations on his Origin
This is an effort to survey briefly the state of research on John Lancaster, progenitor of the Henrico County, VA, family, with particular emphasis on his identity and origin. It is a snapshot, not an exhaustive study. It relies predominantly on the research of Nancy L. Mathews of Tennessee and includes information she has collected on John Lancaster of Hanover County, a contemporary of John of Henrico. It lists some of the reasons why some have suggested these two may have been the same person. First, we present a summary of facts for the two Johns; then a brief discussion.
John Lancaster of Henrico County, VA.
The identity and origin of John Lancaster, whose birth date is estimated to have been a few years before or after 1700, is a matter on which consensus has not been reached. Some researchers have been convinced that John, his wife, and some of his children were born in England and came by ship to Virginia, perhaps in the 1720s. According to some, John was a factor for a London firm, Hyndman & Lancaster, who came to Virginia as the firm’s representative, lived in Henrico County for many years, and may have returned to England after 1769 (the last year for which records containing his name have been found). Other researchers believe John was born in Virginia, and some have raised the possibility that he descends from the Gowan Lancaster family out of York/New Kent, Virginia. The fundamental problem in resolving these issues is, of course, the lack of adequate records. With ingenuity and persistence, researchers continue to chip away at the problem.
At the moment, the most likely scenario seems to be that John Lancaster of Henrico was American-born. Efforts to confirm the Hyndman & Lancaster theory have come up short. We now know that the Lancaster who was a partner in that company was a Richard Lancaster, and no connection has yet been found between him and John Lancaster of Henrico. Nor has any documentation been discovered to link John Lancaster of Henrico with the Hyndman & Lancaster firm.
Nancy Mathews, one of the leading Lancaster family researchers for many years, shows John Lancaster's birth in her records published on Genforum as taking place before 1703 and his death occurring after 1770 in Henrico County, VA. She has John's wife, Frances Allen, as born about 1708 perhaps in England and her death occurring before 1769 in Henrico County, VA.
Nancy’s records for John Lancaster of Henrico County, VA, place him in that County for the period 1742 through February 1769. Many of these records have his name spelled "Lankester." He signed his name with a mark, which is described as consisting of three parallel vertical lines with one horizontal line crossing the vertical lines. The earliest documents (1742) were deeds for land acquired by John Lankester. This could signify that he had only just come into the county and was in the process of establishing himself there. In some 1742 documents a Mary Lancaster, believed by some to be his daughter, but possibly his wife, is mentioned. Fifteen years later, in 1757, a deed conveying land from John Lancaster to his son Nathaniel was witnessed by John Lankester and Francis (x) Lankester. Perhaps Mary was a first wife, and Francis was a second wife? Or were they the same?
As for children, in addition to John's son, Nathaniel, these records contain direct references to William Allen Lankester, and there is also mention by implication of a son, John Lancaster. A 1768 deed describes a property line adjoining the property of John Lancaster, Sr., so there must logically have been a John Lancaster, Jr. No daughters are mentioned, but Nathaniel Lankester's wife, Hope, is recorded as signatory to a sale of land by her husband.
Nancy Mathews lists the following children of John and Frances (Allen) Lancaster 1st
(1) Mary Lancaster (1724-1806 Smith Co., TN) never married
(2) John Lancaster Jr. (1730-1800) married Anne Cottrell
(3) Nathaniel Lancaster (1734-1809) married Hope Walker
(4) William Allen Lancaster (1738-1779/80) married Judith Williamson
(5) Anne Lancaster (b. bef. 1739) married Philemon Williams 1757
(6) Elizabeth Lancaster (there might be a possible daughter, named)
John Lancaster of Hanover County, VA
Nancy's research shows this John Lancaster (b. bef. 1705) as a son of Robert Lancaster, Jr., who was the son of Robert Lancaster, Sr., who was the son of Gowen Lancaster. So this John Lancaster was in the 4th generation of the Gowen Lancaster line of York/New Kent County, VA. John’s wife was named Mary, and they had a daughter named Joyce.
On 16 June 1727 John Lancaster obtained a land grant of 79 acres in Hanover County. Hanover County had previously been part of New Kent County.
On 6 March 1729/30 John Lancaster and his wife Mary had a daughter, Joyce, born or christened at St. Peter's Parish, New Kent County, VA, only a few miles from John Lancaster’s land grant of 16 June 1727.
On 9 January 1733 John Lancaster witnessed a deed in Hanover County, VA.
On 20 September 1768 the land patented by John Lancaster on 16 June 1727 is referenced in official documents as part of the property of Patrick Henry,
Discussion
So how did Patrick Henry get John’s property in Hanover County? Did John Lancaster die, or did he sell out and move elsewhere? Might he be the John Lancaster who arrived in Henrico County about this time?
Nancy Mathews has found no further records for this John Lancaster in Hanover County. His presence there is apparently not revealed in documents beyond 1733. Consider also that, whereas records ended for John of Hanover in 1733, they began for John of Henrico in 1742.
Note also that John of Hanover was about the same age as John of Henrico, Nancy's estimated birth date for John of Hanover County was 1705. Her estimated birth date for John of Henrico County was 1703. She worked on these families separately at different times, assuming the two Johns were different people.
It is clear that John of Hanover had a wife named Mary, and that John of Henrico may have had a wife named Mary. Or perhaps the wife mentioned in both Hanover and Henrico documents was actually “Mary Frances.” The wife question, which touches on the issue of the identity of John of Henrico, came up in a recent Lancaster Genforum discussion. PJ Sisseck in Genforum message #4075 of 13 May 2008 seems to accept that John Lancaster of Hanover and John Lancaster of Henrico were the same person and that the wife mentioned in Hanover County records (Mary) was the same woman referred to by other researchers as Francis Allen, wife of John Lancaster of Henrico.
PJ's opinion, more specifically, is that the wife of John Lancaster (b. ca. 1705) of Hanover County identified in documents as "Mary," was in fact Mary Frances Allen. PJ is convinced Mary Frances Allen "was the daughter of William Allen and Agnes Hudson, the granddaughter of Valentine Allen and MARY Page, and the great granddaughter of Thomas Page and FRANCES Allen (yes, Valentine Allen and Mary Page were cousins, and Thomas Page calls Valentine his "son" in the Will, probably because Thomas Jr. died young)."
PJ asks, moreover, why the supposed wife of John Lancaster in Henrico County would have signed the deed on 5 September 1757 for her husband's sale of land as a witness, rather than as a wife giving up her right of dower, and wonders whether the Francis Lancaster who witnessed the sale might have been a brother or other male relative. PJ goes on to question whether there is any proof "that John Lancaster ever had a wife named Francis?" So questions remain, not only about the identity of John Lancaster of Henrico, but about the identity of his wife.
Another point of some interest has to do with Joyce (b. 1729), the daughter of John of Hanover County and his wife, Mary. Joyce being a fairly uncommon name for the period and place, Nancy Mathews performed a word search by computer to see how many persons of that name would be found. The only result was for a Joyce Buchanan, wife of William Buchanan. This relates to a deed of sale from William and Joyce Buchanan to Peter Clark of Henrico County. (Henrico Co., VA, Deeds & Wills, Part 1, pg. 195 (1767-1774 ). Witnesses were Nathaniel Lancaster and John Lancaster. Might the two witnesses have been Joyce Buchanan’s brothers, or her father and brother? Does this imply a connection between the New Kent and Henrico County Lancasters?
For many, a key issue remains whether John of Henrico was English-born or American-born. In Genforum post #4078 of 15 May 2008, Nancy Mathews comments that the lack of a record of John and his family crossing the Atlantic by ship and the apparent absence of any headright claim for land on the basis of their importation casts further doubt on the thesis that John Lancaster, his English-born wife, and his English-born children came by ship from England to Virginia. Nancy concluded, "I think that because of the lack of these two items; that John Lancaster was born in Virginia, along with all his children."
We may soon have scientific help in resolving some of the questions surrounding John Lancaster of Henrico County, VA. DNA Y-chromosome tests are in progress that could give an indication of whether the Henrico and York/New Kent families are connected. Stand by.