The Berry Family

Francis Berry 1721-1791             James Davis 1731-1808

Capt. Joseph Berry 1691-1749     Catherine SimCoxe d. after 1749

William Berry d. 1720                   Margaret Doughty

Henry Berry d. 1677                     Ann (Saunders ?)    

        Capt. Joseph and Catherine Simcock Berry were the parents of the following children

1. Frances Berry, born on November 11, 1721, in St. Paul's Parish, King George County, Virginia.  She married 3 times, the last to James Davis, and these 2 were my ancestors.
2. Joseph, born on April 27, 1723, and appears in court records of the county on December 23, 1758, when he and his wife Mary conveyed 150 acres of land to Colonel Charles Carter of "Cleve"...the deed states that it is  land left Joseph in his father, Capt. Joseph's will of 1759.  It appears that Joseph was moving from King George County to join his relations who were by this time moving to northern Virginia.
3. Benjamin Berry was born on Oct. 16, 1758, and his birth is recorded in the parish records.  Benjamin married Elizabeth Thornley, the daughter of John Thornley and wife Ann Woffendale, and had the following chilfren; Benjamin, who married Jane Bell, John Berry who married Elizabeth, Reuben Berry, who married Dinah, William Berry, Thomas Berry, Dullabella, who married James Benson and Sarah Berry who married John Humphreys.  Benjamin was a lieutenant in the Frederick co militia, in 1758 through at least 1761.  He also shopped at the same store in Winchester, as did his brother, and his purchases are recorded for the christmas season of 1761.His name appears in many land deals of the area, in personal property tax lists, and in 1792, Benjamin was sworn in as Deputy Sheriff .Benjamin laid out the town of Berryville, in Frederick (now Clarke) county, Virginia with a land purchase on 1798, and laid out a town covering 20 acres, lying on both sides of the great road leading from Snicker Gap to Winchester, and originally surveyed by George Washington.   His town was established by an Act of the General Assembly of Virginia, on January 1. 1798, and there is still one building in Berryville that was built by Benjamin
4. Margaret was born on June 14, 1726, and was the second little girl of that name born to Joseph and Catherine.   Joseph's mother's name had been Margaret and it seems that he wanted a child named for her, and when the first child died, he named the next girl Margaret, too.
5. Thomas appears to have been born in Hanover Parish, King George county, after his parents moved from Saint Paul's Parish.  He was apprenticed for 5 years to John Gregg, carptenter and house joiner. He married Frances Ann Kendall 1737-1818, daughter of Samuel Jr and Elizabeth Woffendall Kendall.  Thomas and wife Frances had the following children ; Margaret, who married Colonel Robert Rankin, Elizabeth, who married Lt. William Calmes, Winifred, Joseph, who married Peggy KErcheval, Jane, married John Kercheval, Sally who married William Kennan, William, Thomas, Samuel, who marred Sarah Kendall, and Catherine, who married Joseph Cole  Thomas and Francis moved to Frederick county, Va, and shopped n a store in Winchester, where portions of his accounts are still in existence, an interesting look into everyday life in the 1700s.  Thomas was a company commander during the Revolutionary War, with his company formed  in Winchester as part of the 8th Regt of the Virginia Contintinental Line..  The company was present in Philadelphia of 1777, fought  at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown and were present at Valley Forge, for the winter stay of '78.  After the war Capt Berry again resumed his life in Frederick co, Va, where he died in 1818, and his will was administered in Frederick co, Va and in Mason County,  Ky
6. Withers
7. Baldwin
8. Reuben, one of the younger sons of Capt. Joseph and Catherine, his wife, and was apprenticed on January 1, 1755, to John Gregg, who then lived in Stafford County, Va.  He married Margaret Martin, daughter of Francis Martin, who, in his will of King George county 1770, left her 1/4 of his estate.

    Joseph Berry was the eldest son and heir of his parents,  William and Margaret Doughty Berry.  He is described in contemporary literature as a "planter of Stafford County", and entries in the St. Paul's Parish Register show that he lived in that parish and later moved to King George County, where he also owned property.  His birth date is derived from a statement he made  in 1748 at the Fairfax court, in which he said he was then 57 years of age....it also contains the information that Joseph Berry lived "near King George Court House about 70 miles distant."  

    Joseph was the son of William Berry and his wife Margaret Doughty, who lived in Hanover Parish, Richmond County, soon to be King George County, and his will was the first will present in Will Book 1  for that county.  William was a large land owner in Essex and King George Counties and his name is frequently found in the county records of both.   William Married Margaret Doughty, of old Rappahannock County, daughter of Enoch Doughty, and this Doughty family will be discussed on their own page.

    William and Margaret settled on the north side of the Rappahannock River in what was then Richmond County, and was a large land owner, owning over 4000 acres in the area.  They had 4 children;

1. Joseph, who we have already discussed
2. Enoch, younger of the 2 son's of William and Margaret, was named for his maternal grandfather, Enoch Doughty.  He married on December 12, 1726, Ducabella Bunbury, and the marriage is on the St. Paul's Parish records.  Enoch inherited from his father the plantation in Hanover Parish, King George county, and he lived there till his death in October of 1763.
3. Margaret, eldest of the 2 daughters of William and Margaret, married Christopher Rogers who died testate in King George County in 1795.
4. Elizabeth married Robert Strother of King George County, who died, testate, in 1735 .  She married a second time, a William Wheeler of Westmoreland county, who died, testate, in 1762.

      William died in 1720, leaving a will.

    William Berry as the son of our original Va Berry emigrant, Henry Berry, who arrived as a headright in a land patent issued to Epharaditus Lawson, dated May 22, 1650.   Thus, Henry arrived, probably from England, and after paying Lawson the land allotted him from the Colony of Virginia to pay for his passage, started out his life a free man.  By 1656 he received a land patent for 140 acres, and from then on appears often in the records of old Rappahannock County.  He lived ont he south side of the Rappahannock River, in the county of what is now Esex, upon the Occupacia Creek.  His wife's name was Ann, perhaps Saunders, but that is unsure,  These 2 had the following children;

1. Henry Jr. who died in Richmond County, in 1696
2. William , of whom I have written
3. John
4. Richard

    Henry Sr. died in 1677, and his wife was alive at the time of his death, for she receives her "wives third" of his estate, in his will.  This will leaves several interesting and unanswered questions; mainly, who was the girl Jane Stowe and was there, perhaps,  something "wrong" with her?  Was she a ward,  child of a dead friend or neighbor?  And, why does "him that shall have the girle named Jane Stowe" have "2 cows more than the rest"?  Was she somehow handicapped, and Henry wanted to make sure she had a husband to care for her?  Why were his children cautioned to care for her "so long as she lives"? These are the little things one would LOVE to know, but probably never will!

will of Henry Berry King George County 1677 Old Rappahannock County book, 1677-1682 
    I will and bequeah my soule to God from whom I have my first breath, my body to the ground to be buryed in a decent manner . I will that my loveing friend Robert Peck by my sole executor that the said Peck may act in any case, as if I myselfe were in front. I will and bequeath to William Herton one hundred acres of land. I will that all the rest of my reall and personall estate be equaly divided amongst my children except my wives thirds. To him that shall have the girle named Jane Stowe to have 2 cows more than the rest. I will that John Rolt have one heiffer two yeares old. I will that all my children may have a great care of the keeping of the said Jane Stow soe long as she lives. That my sone Richard may have learning as well as the rest, as witness my hand this 30th of March 1672.

The background for this page is St. Paul's Parish Church, in King George County, where many of the Berrys belonged,  married, had their children christened, and are buried in the adjacent cemetery.

Click on image to enlarge it.  This is an original document of Thomas Berry, bought by a Berry family researcher and donated to the Archives in Richmond.

  This is Berry Plain, a beautiful home in VA built by the Berry family, in 1721.  It has only been owned by 3 families since the beginning; the Berrys, the Dickenson family, and the current owners, who have returned it to its former beauty.  The boxwood planted by the Berrys at Berry Plain  were sold to Colonial Williamsburg and their sale brought in enough money to "save the farm" for the Dickensons....it's exciting to visit Williamsburg and see some of their very large and very old boxwood, knowing that they had been started by your own family over 250 years ago.

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