Thomas
Bernard
Born before in England
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of
Mary (Beheathland) Bernard
— married
1631 in Warwick County, Virginia
Descendants 
Father of
Beheathland (Bernard) Gilson
Died
after age 38
in Warwick County, Colony of Virginia
Profile managers:
US Southern Colonies Project WikiTree 
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[send private message], Mary Elizabeth Stewart [send private message], and Diane Hoffman [send private message]Profile last modified
| Created 20 Feb 2011
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| Thomas Bernard resided in the Southern Colonies in North America before 1776. Join: US Southern Colonies Project Discuss: southern_colonies |
The Birth Date is a rough estimate. See the text for details.
NOTE: His origins and several claimed relationships are disputed. Please review the Research Notes before editing this profile.
Contents |
Biography
Thomas Bernard was born in Northamptonshire, England.
Thomas Bernard is a Qualifying Ancestor of the Jamestowne Society
Based upon the estimated date of his arrival in Virginia, Thomas Bernard[1] was probably born before 1610 in England. The details of his origins are disputed.[2]
Thomas appears to have immigrated to the Virginia colony about 1631. He is listed as sponsored by John George in 1638 to Charles City in Early Virginia Immigrants, 1623-1666 by George Cabell Greer. An entry in Nugent records the grant of acreage to John George dated 25 July 1638 at Charles City; among those transported was Thomas Bernard.[3] Subsequent land grants record the grants of land to Thomas Bernard in 1637, 1641 and 1645. Included in the 1641 grant is a reference to a prior grant of 24 February 1631, which indicates an arrival date for Thomas in Virginia probably about 1630.
Capt. Thomas Bernard is listed as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses from Warwick County in 1642, 1644, 1645.[4]
Land Transactions
- 22 August 1637 – Thomas Bernard (Barnard), Gent., 500 acs. Warwick River Co., 22 August 1637, p. 464.…Trans. of 10 pers: ...[3]
- 16 December 1641 – Thomas Bernard, Gent., 1,050 acs. Warwicke River Co., Dec. 16, 1641, p. 761. At the mouth of the back creek, adj. Capt. Thomas Flint whereon stands dwelling howse of said Bernard. (Note: Record incomplete. Mention is made of Zachariah Cripp; the back creek dividing the land of Burdropp, formerly called Claybornes Neck, from land of said Bernard. Confirmation of former patents of 500 acs., & order of court for 200 acs. Feb 24, 1631. 350 acs. for trans. of 7 pers: ...[3]
- 24 September 1645 – Capt. Thomas Bernard, 300 acs. On the Southerly side of Warwick River, Sept. 24, 1645, Page 44. Abutting E. Upon Lieut. Gilbert Peppett, etc., towards the church there arrected & built, & bet. Colstones Is. & Cedar Is. Due for trans, of 6 pers. Formerly granted to Robert Poole but being deserted is now granted unto sd. Bernard according to the custom of the country.[3]
Marriages & Children
The only marriage for which there is documentation is that of Thomas Bernard to Mary Beheathland about 1631 in Warwick County, Virginia colony. Capt. Thomas Bernard is said to have married Mary Beheathland in Adventures of Purse and Person Virginia, 1607-1625 by Annie Jester. He is also said to have owned land in 1631 in the area which later became Warwick County. Thomas Bernard served as a member of the House of Burgesses from Warwick, 1644-45 and was deceased by 10 November 1651, the date of the nuncupative will of Robert Nickolson of London, merchant, who made a bequest to "Mrs. Mary Bernard of Warwick River widdowe and to her daughters" and mentioned "Mistress Beheathland Bernard daughter to Mrs. Mary Bernard of Warwick River widdow." [5]
One child Beheathland Bernard , born about 1635 in Warwick River County, and married to first Francis Dade and second Andrew Gilson, is attached to these parents. Based on the entry above, Thomas and Mary had more than one daughter, but we do not have the confirmed names of any additional children.
Research Notes
Disputed Origins
Some, without source, (including a previous version of this profile) have identified him the son of Francis Bernard and Alice Haselwood, born in about 1563 in Northamptonshire, England. This is very unlikely. If he was born in 1563 and immigrated to Virginia colony in 1630 or 1631, he would have been about 68 years old. The first record we have for Thomas is his 1631 arrival in Charles City County. He supposedly married and had one or more daughters in the early 1630s. Then he served as Burgess from Warwick County in 1644-45 and died just before 1651. He would have been 82 years old when he was elected Burgess and almost 100 years old when he supposedly died.
A duplicate profile for Thomas ([Barnard-2006]) identified his parents, again without source, as Francis and Mary. This also appears to be incorrect. Francis and Mary (Woolhouse) Bernard had four known sons, none of whom were Thomas.
Disputed Spouses
A previous version of this profile attached Sarah (Unknown) Bernard as an additional spouse, claiming they married in about 1611 in Northamptonshire, England. No source was cited and this marriage is unlikely for the reasons discussed in the Disputed Origins section above. This spouse has been detached from the profile.
A previous version of the profile also claimed a marriage to Sharon Buckner in about 1629 in Warwick County, Virginia. No documentation is provided with this marriage and there is no evidence that Thomas Bernard or Sharon Buckner were in Virginia in 1629. Research Notes on Sharon Buckner's profile indicate that she is probably a nonexistent person. This spouse has also been detached from the profile.
Disputed Child
A previous version of this profile also attached Mary Bernard (1620-1668) as a daughter of Thomas and Sharon. No source was cited, and the date of her alleged birth in 1620 in Buckinghamshire England is inconsistent with any known facts about this Thomas. That child has also been detached from the profile.
Sources
- ↑ Barnard, Thomas - A504; Warwick River: 1640 (Burgess). accessed 4 December 2021
- ↑ See Research Notes.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Nugent, Nell Marion, Abstracted and Indexed by. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1800. In Five Volumes. Richmond, VA.: Press of the Dietz Printing Co., 1935. Pages 93, 68, 127, 159
- ↑ Stanard, William G. and Mary Newton Stanard. The Colonial Virginia Register. Albany, N. Y.: Joel Munsell's Sons, Publishers. 1902. Pages 62-65
- ↑ Jester, Annie. Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1607-1625' (Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1956) Pages 87, 88
- Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 102-103.
See also:
These seem to be about the Beheathland family
- Gray, Violet Noland. Genealogical History of Robert Beheathland. Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, 1978.
- Dorman, John Frederick and Virginia M. Meyer. Adventurers of Purse and Person 1607-1624/5. 3rd edition. Richmond, VA: The Dietz Press, Inc., 1987.
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Two marriages linked to Thomas are undocumented and need to be removed: Sarah Unknown and Sharon Buckner, as well as an undocumented daughter, Mary Bernard.
It appears to me very unlikely that Thomas Bernard is the son of Francis Bernard and Alice Haselwood. If he was born in 1563 and immigrated to Virginia colony in 1630 or 1631, he would have been about 68 years old. The first record we have for Thomas is his 1631 arrival in Charles City County. He supposedly married and had one or more daughters in the early 1630s. Then he served as Burgess from Warwick County in 1644-45 and died just before 1651. He would have been 82 years old when he was elected Burgess and almost 100 years old when he supposedly died. I strongly suggest that the parents of Thomas Bernard should be re-examined and his birthdate adjusted to a more realistic timeline.
Barnard-2006 and Bernard-107 appear to represent the same person because: See Research Notes and comments on Barnard-2006. Bernard is usual spelling for this family. Please merge. Thanks!
Francis had four known sons... Thomas was not one of them. He had an uncle named Thomas. Would it be ok to disconnect this Thomas from Francis & Mary and merge him with Bernard-107?