William Hunt Sr. (abt. 1599 - 1676)

Born about 1599 in Heathfield, Sussex, England

Husband of Judith (Burton) Parker — married 1655 in Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight County, Colony of Virginia

Descendants

Died 11 Nov 1676 at about age 77 in Isle of Wight, Charles City County, Colony of Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile managers: US Southern Colonies Project WikiTree [send private message], Merilee Burton [send private message], Matthew Hutson [send private message], Kim Coers [send private message], Bernard Hunt [send private message], and Frank Gay [send private message]

William Hunt Sr. resided in the Southern Colonies in North America before 1776. Join: US Southern Colonies Project Discuss: southern_colonies

Biography

William Hunt I was born about 1599 in Heathfield, Sussex, England (FindaGrave has Hoath, City of Canterbury, Kent, England). He sailed from London to Virginia on the ship, Abraham with her Master John Barker and 51 passengers in 1635.^[1] He was a planter, wheelwright, merchant, and factor in Charles City County, Virginia.^[2]

William was accused of being a "principal ayder and abetter of" Nathaniel Bacon during Bacon's Rebellion. However, his widow Ann disputed his involvement after his death and she was evidently successful in convincing the Governor and Council of his innocence, as his estate was eventually returned to the family.^[3]

William was the father of three sons:^[4]

1. Major William Hunt, d. 1715
2. John Hunt, d. 1731
3. George Hunt, m. Martha Wynd.

William died 11 Nov 1676 (aged 76–77) in Kennon, Charles City County, Virginia, and was buried at Hunt Cemetery in Kennon, Charles City County, Virginia. The inscription on his headstone reads: Here Lyeth Interred ye Body of William Hunt Senr, who Departed this life Novemb ye 11th Ano Dmi 1676 Aged 77 Yeares. ^[5]

Hunt cemetery is located on a hill on the land William Hunt, Sr., resided. Bachelors Point is an area located on a bank of the James River, near Kennon's Creek which was originally known as David Jones Creek, as well as Swans Neck Creek. Between 1642 and 1724, Bachelors Point was part of James City County and within Wallingford Parish, later becoming part of Charles City County and Westover Parish.^{[6][7] [8]}

Research Notes

Disputed Parents

It appears that there was a William Hunt, son of Robert Hunt, who was baptized on 23 Jul 1598 in Kirton in Holland, Lincolnshire, England.^[9] If this baptism record actually exists, this William Hunt would have been around the same age as the immigrant to Virginia. However, there is currently no way of knowing whether the two William Hunts were one and the same, and "William Hunt" was, of course, a rather common name. Since the baptism didn't take place in Reculver, Kent or Heathfield, Sussex--the Rev. Robert Hunt was vicar at both places--then it would appear that the baptized William Hunt was not the son of Rev. Robert Hunt, the minister to the earliest settlers at Jamestown, Virginia). Furthermore, if William Hunt was the son of Rev. Robert Hunt, this means that Rev. Robert Hunt didn't mention this ten-year-old son in the will he made just before leaving England in 1608. In this problematic situation with ambiguous and sketchy derivative sources, wikitree policy is for the speculative parents to be detached, with an embedded link added for ease of reference.

Disputed/Conflated Spouses

William is believed to have been married to Sarah Ann Harris, but no records or sources have been located to confirm. A prior version of this profile claimed that he married first Sarah Ann Harris, citing only the Ancestry Yates "U.S. & International Marriage Records" database, which is not considered a reliable source for Southern Colonies Project profiles.^[10] This claim conflicts with the peer-reviewed research published in The Virginia Genealogist, although Sarah Ann Harris may be a conflation of Ann (___), who remarried to William Harris after William Hunt's death.

There is another William Huntt (with two t's) that married a "Judith" who gets mixed up with this William Hunt. Someone assigned Judith's LNAB as "Burton" but there is record of her maiden name at all. We only know her name is Judith. (Judith (Unknown) Parker (-1779)) Judith's first husband William Huntt died intestate in 1668. The administration of his estate was requested on 1 May 1668, Isle of Wight County, Virginia by her new husband Richard Parker (abt.1620-bef.1677) who married Judith, widow of William Huntt that same year. (Name: Richard Parker; Date: 1 May 1668; Location: Isle of Wight; Description: Administrator; Book: 2-15; Prove Date: 20 Aug 1668; William Huntt. Dying intestate, administration requested by Richard Parker, who married Judith the relict of the said Huntt) ^[11]

Findagrave assigned Barabann (a Hunt desdendent) maintenance duties of Hunt pages when Georgia Girl no longer responded to email. Barabann has not altered any Hunt records created by Georgia Girl. In her research, Barabann has not found proof that Robert Hunt had a son named William Hunt. If anyone has this proof, please contact Barabann. <http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Hunt&GSfn=Wil...

Disputed Children

In addition to the three sons identified above, the following children have been identified as children of William Hunt and his disputed wives:

Children of William Hunt and Sarah Ann Harris]] are said to include:

1. Mary Hunt, Isle of Wight Co., VA (m. 1st., Robert Edwards, 2nd., Owen Griffin and 3rd., William Boddie, II).

Children of William Hunt and Judith Burton include:

1. Judith Hunt, Isle of Wight and Surry Cos., VA (m. 1st. James Clark and 2nd., Richard Parker, III) This is the daughter child of a different William Huntt and a woman named Judith.
2. Godfrey Hunt, Isle of Wight and Nansemond Cos., VA (m. 1st., unk. Izzard and 2nd., Margaret Godwin/Goodwin)
3. Susannah Hunt, (m. 1st., Thomas Parham, Sr., and 2nd., Roger Tillman)

Possible Additional References

Given the potential confusion of multiple William Hunts, verification that these references are to the same person are needed:

In 1636, William Hunt patented lands on the western branch of the Nansemond River, using the headrights of Philip Thomas, Evan Thomas and Michael McKinnie.^{[citation needed]}

It was fourteen years after William Hunt, Sr. had used the names of Philip Thomas, Evan Thomas, his son, William Hunt, Jr. and his wife, Sarah Ann Harris Hunt, as headrights over south of the James River in the Isle of Wight County or Nansemond County, Virginia.^{[citation needed]}

NOTE:

William Hunt, Jr's aunt Angelica (Hunt) Cobbs, #102765930 (m. Ambrose Cobbs, #102766196, s/o Thomas and Christina (Young) Cobbs) had at least one brother, Stephen Hunt of Chislete, County Kent (m. Elizabeth MNU). However, it is reported she had at least two others; the Reverend Robert Hunt (William Hunt, Sr's father) who migrated to America on the original voyage to Jamestown, in 1607; and Thomas Hunt who arrived in Jamestown on the second supply ship in September 1608. Angelica married Ambrose Cobbs about 1584 in Kent County, England.

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/abraham.htm
2. ↑ Michael West Berry, "The Hunt Family of Charles City County, Virginia," The Virginia Genealogist 37 (1993): 117-29, at 118.
3. ↑ Berry, "Hunt Family of Charles City County," Virginia Genealogist at 37:119.
4. ↑ Berry, "Hunt Family of Charles City County," Virginia Genealogist at 37:120.
5. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34448375/william-hunt
6. ↑ Virginia Vital Records; Indexed by: Judith McGhan.
7. ↑ Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Extracted Vital Records, 1660-1923 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.
8. ↑ Lyon G. Tyler, “Old Tombstones in Charles City County," The William and Mary Quarterly 4 (1895): 122–125, at 124; images, JSTOR, (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1915056 : accessed 16 Aug. 2021)
9. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N55C-VVZ : 11 February 2018, William Hunt, 23 Jul 1598); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 94,062.
10. ↑ [U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900] (Source Citation: Source number: 1717.075; Source type: Family group sheet, FGSE, listed as parents; Number of Pages: 1)
11. ↑ Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Land, Marriage, and Probate Records, 1639-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2004.

See also:

• England, Select Bristol Parish Registers, 1538-1900 Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
• England & Wales Christening Records, 1530-1906 Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations Inc
• U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc
• Virginia, Wills and Probate Records, 1652-1983 Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
• Jamaica, Church of England Parish Register Transcripts, 1664-1879 Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
• POSSIBLE BAP (more research needed): "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N55C-VVZ : 18 September 2020), William Hunt, 1598.
• Family Search
• England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975 (ancestry.com database)
• U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
• [Virginia, Land, Marriage, and Probate Records, 1639-1850]
• Google Search
• Google Search
• MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS OF OTHER SOUTHERN VIRGINIA HUNTS; By Catherine Bond Gheesling (Mrs. Frank A.); 1987 (Interesting data, but nothing conclusive about this William Hunt)