PARKER FAMILY
ORANGE CO, NC

The Introduction to the 1st volume of "Colonial Records of NC" by Parker
says that "The Chowan area was then considered part of VA, where the new
settlement was known as the 'southern plantation'."  And a little more
history can be found in the Prefatory Notes to the 1st Vol. of Saunder's
"The Colonial Records of NC"

Excellent, Gail.  I think that what you have written is very probable.  It
is also very possible that they are all the children of William and possibly
Martha Horn.  There are no large gaps of time between children.

What do you think of the following headright record from North Carolina
Headrights:  A List of Names, 1663-1744, comp. by Caroline B. Whitley, NC
Department of Archives and History, 2001, pp. 71-72:

p. 235
Thomas Bray, 516 a., Chowan Precinct, 15 Aug. 1715
Warrant (516 a.) To Wm. Predgen 4 Mar. 1799 [sic]
Survey for Wm. Predgen 9 Mar. 1699.
Rights
Wm. Fred. and Wm. Prigin Junior
Anne Eliza. Mary Catherine and Anne Prigin Junior Owen and
Sarah Carter Florence Marow

Pridgin,  Fra. 200 acres and 1taxable person
Evans, Ben.  O acres  and 1 taxable person
Kay

5-4-1719 MATHEW SELLERS witness deed from John Blackburn to Robert SHERED both of Albemarle Co. Land is on the south side of the Meherrin River on Great Creek.

1721 TAX LIST = MATTHEW SELLERS, 1 poll, 50a

1722 BERTIE COUNTY made from CHOWAN CO.

        From:
             "Carol P. Martoccia" <carolmartoccia@mail.earthlink.net>
 

I think I know how the Fleming name was attached to Mary, Wife of
Francis...I believe that was erroneously drawn from the 19 April 1715
Chowan Co. Deed Book #1 record which showed the dower rights James Fleming
proved Mary Fridgeon's sale of her dower rights to .....

Here the major flaw is the word dower (which is the wife's portion of her
husband's land) vs. Dowery (which is that property which a wife brings into
the marriage...Two different things.. I have no reason to believe that
Fleming was Mary Pridgeon's maiden name.

Carol
==

I was reading my new copy of the recently published North Carolina
Headrights: A List of Names, 1663-1744, and found the following
transcription on pages 71-72 of page 235 of the Secretary of State
Records, Land Grant Record Books, Volume 111-C, 1713-1716:

p. 235
Thomas Bray, 516 a., Chowan Precinct, 15 Aug. 1715.
    Warrant (516 a.) to Wm. Predgen 4 Mar. 1799 [sic]
    Survey for Wm. Predgen 9 Mar. 1699.
    Rights
    W. Fred. and Wm. Prigin Junior
    Anne Eliza. Mary Catherine and Ann Prigin Junior Owen and Sarah
    Carter Florence Marow

Possible interpretation:
   Thomas Bray is applying for his headrights for transporting
persons into the NC Colony.  Is it possible that he is applying for
land originally belonging to Wm. Predgen as early as 1699?  This was
land that William Predgen had received as his headrights for
transporting Fred. (Francis?) and Wm. Prigin Jr. (same as Wm. Pridgen
who d. ca. 1762 in Edgecombe County, NC?), Anne, Eliza., Mary,
Catherine, and Ann Prigin Jr., Owen and Sarah Carter, Florence Marow.
William Predgen is probably the same as Wm. Prigin named in Nugent's
Cavaliers and Pioneers as being transported by Matthew Strickland.
Wm. Predgen was probably dead when Thomas Bray was applying for Wm.'s
original land as his (Thomas's) headright.

Other interpretations, reactions?  Isn't this the break we've been
waiting for?!

Always,
Cousin Al

=====
Subject:
           [PRIDGEN-L] The transcription of the land grant

           Mon, 25 Jun 2001 21:20:57 -0400
      From:
           "Carol P. Martoccia" <carolmartoccia@earthlink.net>
 

Gloria Hendry has sent me her transcription of the land grant and I asked
her what exactly did it mean and she explained that also. What a wonderful
woman she is and she is so knowledgeable.

****************************************************************************
*******************
Below, you
will find the transcription of the Pridgen gift to Thoms Bray.  The Clerk
used his own system of abbreviations, and they are the worst.  However, this
one isn't nearly as difficult as ones a century earlier or so.  We've been
lucky!  (For your purposes I used modern American English and punctuation.)
_________________________________________________

North Carolina Land Grant
                                             By the Honorable the  (left
blank)
and Commander

To the Surveyor General or his Deputy:  Sir, you are requested per warrant
to lay
out unto Thomas Pridgen 516 acres of land being due etc., and
belonging to a plat etc.,given etc., March 4th, 1799 (this should have been
1699.).  By virtue of the within warrant, surveyed for William Pridgen, 516
acres of land, March 9th, 1699.  J.W. Warderford, Deputy
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________

His Excellency, the Right Honorble John, Lord Carteret,______
Proprietor (?) etc., and unto all to whom etc., ( we would say etc. & etc.),
know you etc., according to our
Great Deed of Grant, etc., I do hereby give and grant unto Thomas Bray 516
acres of land lying in Chowan  Precinct, on the West side of Chowan River,
beginning at a pine lying near Benson's Corner tree, thence up the river to
degrees 40, east 320 poles to the mouth of old Toris (?) Creek, thence up
the
creek southeast 6.2, south 272 poles to a maple called Thomas Pollock's
corner
bounded tree, thence along said Pollock's line;  south, southeast
320 poles
to a red oak, thence northwest 240 poles to a pine, thence northward 320
poles to the ferry station, which said  land was surveyed for William
Pridgen
and by him assigned unto Thomas Bray, as by the record thereof in Chowan
Precinct Court.  Thereby appearing due etc., and to have and to hold, etc.,
expressly to him the said Thomas Bray , his heirs and assigns forever, in at
large etc.,  yielding and paying unto us , our heirs etc., yearly etc., the
fee rent of one shilling for every fifty acres and to be holden etc.,
provided etc., and given etc.
August 15th  1715.  Witnesseth etc.

                                            Charles Eden
                                             Thomas Pollock
                                             Christopher Gale
___________________________________________________________
Rigby Wm. Fred and Wm. Pridgen, Jr.
Anne Eley with Mary Cawthorne and Anne
Origin, Jr., Owen and Sarah Carter
Florence Morris
****************************************************************************
***************
Query:Gloria,
"Thank you so much for the transcription. Now, can you explain what it
means! Is this the same land that belonged to William and is now being
surveyed for Thomas Pridgen or is this a separate piece of land. I am just
having difficulty understanding the reason for this document."
****************************************************************************
***************
ANSWER:

"Now, about the 516 acres.  That piece of land was surveyed for William
Pridgen in 1699.  In 1715, or sometime before that date, William Pridgen
gave the land to Thomas Bray.  Whenever a piece of real estate changes
hands, it must be re-surveyed and the surveyor's report recorded in the
county courthouse.  This was/is done for two reasons: first, everyone will
know exactly which piece of land belongs to whom (and another relative can
not come along later and claim it) and; secondly, the tax accessor will know
whom to bill and how much to bill for the annual real estate tax.  The
second survey, the one for Thomas Bray, was authorized 15th August 1715, as
I recall. "
Carol Pridgen Martoccia
LISTMANAGER FOR PRIDGEN ROOTSWEB LIST
Pridgen Home Page: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~pridgen/
Archives for the Pridgen discussion
group:http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl

       Date:
           Tue, 26 Jun 2001 18:05:05 EST
      From:
           "Plummer Alston Jones, Jr., PhD" <pajones@catawba.edu>

I think Pet has a good point.  Perhaps the Pridgens married into the
Bray family.

What do you all think?

Always,
Al

From:          Petpridgen@aol.com
Date:          Tue, 26 Jun 2001 18:05:26 EDT
Subject:       Re: [PRIDGEN-L] The transcription of the land grant

In a message dated 6/25/01 11:11:12 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
carolmartoccia@earthlink.net writes:
 

> ...why did Pridgen gift the land to
> Bray! Since when did the Pridgens ever give away land....perhaps it was a
>
 

Dowery????

Paulette

Gloria sent me an email in answer to my query about why would a Pridgen
give land to a Bray and she, too, thinks that it is possible that Bray was
a son-in-law or perhaps a brother-in-law or "someone of import to William
Pridgen.  My first choice would be the son-in-law, so that Wm. Pridgen's
land would eventually go to Wm. Pridgen's grandchildren."

Of course, until we can PROVE this by some records, then this is just
conjecture.
Carol

Ted,
As far as I know the first connection between Thomas Bray and Francis
Pridgen was:
 
 

1714  Chowan County, Deed Book B#1  Seller
Francis Prygeon of NC and Mary his wife to Thomas Bray of NC  12 Jan. 1714
40 pounds good and lawful money of NC. 540 acres called Pridgeon Point on
Chowan River at ye mouth of ye Indian Town Creek as by y Patent for ye
same. Witness. John Smith, John Hale, Lawrence Mague, James Fleming…

I learned in a seminar given by the foremost authority on NC Research
(Helen Leary) that the presence of 4 witnesses often indicate first
generation North Carolinians from Va. They followed the Virginia laws of
registering deeds and that is how Virginia did it.

Before that we have in Virginia the following information:
 

1674  Isle of Wight County      Richard Priden transported by Major
Nicholas Hill  of I.of W., Va in 1674 (Cavaliers and Pioneers)

1678 Isle of Wight County, Virginia William Prigin transported by Mathew
Strickland
of I. Of W., Va in 1678 (Cavaliers and Pioneers)

1702 Henrico Co, Va   Pidgen Land
James Cocke, 570 acs. Henrico Co. in Verina Parish, N. side of James River
beginning in the forke of White Oake SW, where the N. and S. brs. Meet, by
the Pidgeon Land, &c., 28 Oct. 1702, p. 491 . Source  "Early Families Along
the James River"  by Foley