Thomas Wingfield (abt. 1660 - 1720)

Born about 1660 in England

Husband of Mary (Unknown) Wingfield — married 1690 in New Kent, Virginia

Descendants

Died 19 Dec 1720 at about age 60 in St Peters Parish, New Kent, Colony of Virginia

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Thomas Wingfield resided in the Southern Colonies in North America before 1776. Join: US Southern Colonies Project Discuss: southern_colonies

Biography

This profile represents Thomas Wingfield, early immigrant to Kent County, Virginia.

Known Marriage & Children

Thomas' wife was Mary based on her own death record at St. Peter's on 31 Jan 1714/15 (listed as Mary "Winkfield", wife of Thomas).^[1] but her last name is not known. This profile originally suggested "Stegall" (without source); that name is associated with a Robert Wingfield who is also claimed, without source, to be a son of immigrant Thomas. When and where they were married is not known, presumably before 1691 when the first of Thomas' known children appeared in the parish register cited below.

The baptism of several of Thomas' daughters appear in the parish register of St. Peter's in New Kent County:^[2]

1. Ruth 18 Oct 1691 (p. 42)
2. Mary 25 Feb 1699/1700 (p. 43)
3. Elizabeth 12 Jul 1702 (p. 54)

Thomas also appeared in a 1704 "quit rents" document showing some of his commercial transactions being paid in tobacco, a common practice.^[3] He appeared in St. Peter's Vestry book (pages 163, 164) receiving small payments.^[1] and interestingly in this book, in 1701 and in 1702 he received payments for "keeping a bastard child" (p. 78, 85). Starting October 1695 he was keeping a child of Hannah Ross (whether this child was a bastard or an orphan or both was not specified, further parish register studies would probably make this more clear, pp. 46, 50 & 52).

Death & Estate

Thomas Winfield died 19 Dec 1720 at New Kent County, Virginia, as recorded in the St. Peter's Parish Register.^[2]

Research Notes

Disputed Origins

Thomas' parentage is not proven. The theory that he was a son of John Wingfield, Herald of York and Mary Owen was apparently first put forward by Merwyn Edward [Wingfield], Seventh Viscount Powerscourt in an 1894 publication,^[4] and then repeated by John Goodwin Herndon in his 1952 article "Thomas Wingfield (1670-1720) of York River, VA, His Ancestry and some of his Virginia and Georgia Descendants".^[5]

In neither case was a source for this relationship stated, it was simply asserted without proof. The excellent article "The Real 'Thomas Wingfield of York River' Dilemma" by Abigail Anne Young must be read to gain a full understanding of the state of both paper trail and DNA genealogy with respect to this family.^[3]

John Wingfield of York did have a son Thomas christened March 29, 1664 at St. Benets, Pauls Wharf, London.^[6] However, no proof has been uncovered that this Thomas was the emigrant to Virginia. Y-DNA testing, covered in Abigail Young's article cited here, indicates connections between descendants of 3 Wingfield Virginia immigrants, but DOES NOT prove descent of any of them directly from John Wingfield of York.

A birth date of 1660 is assigned to give him time to immigrate, marry and have a child by 1691. He obviously could have been older and would have been a well-established member of the community by 1695 in order to provide a foster house for bastard children by 1695 as is shown by St. Peter's church records cited below.

Disputed Children

Y-DNA testing of known (by paper trail) descendants of John, Thomas (NOT the immigrant but John & Thomas of Hanover County) and Robert was compared to a known descendant of Sir John, Herald of York. The testing has shown, in the words of Abigail Young: ...that the descendants of the three colonial ancestors are not as closely related to the descendant of Sir John as they are to one another... Note that this testing does not confirm that the three were brothers or half-brothers, it does not specify exactly what relationship they were, only that they are related.

Please do not add Information on them here.

• Thomas
• John
• Thomas
• Robert
• Francis
• Owen

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} The vestry book and register of St. Peter's Parish, New Kent and James City counties, Virginia, 1684-1786 transcribed and edited by C.G. Chamberlayne (Churchill Gibson), 1876-1939 p. 447
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} The parish register of Saint Peter's, New Kent county, Virginia from 1680 to 1787 by St. Peter's Parish (New Kent County, Va.); National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Virginia Publication date 1904 p. 72.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} The Real 'Thomas Wingfield of York River' Dilemma 2002 by Abigail Anne Young http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~young/genealogy/Thomas.wingfield.html
4. ↑ Merwyn Edward [Wingfield], Seventh Viscount Powerscourt, Muniments of the Ancient Saxon Family of Wingfield (London (privately printed), 1894), pp 10, 83.
5. ↑ John Goodwin Herndon. "Thomas Wingfield (1670-1720) of York River, Virginia His Ancestry and Some of His Virginia and Georgia Descendants." The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 60, no. 2 (1952): 305-22. Accessed August 1, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4245840.
6. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JQP1-P6R : 19 September 2020), Thomas Wingfield, 1664.

See also:

• The Hulls of Georgia
• Seventeenth Century Colonial Ancestors, Vol. I.

See also - other family trees:

• Find A Grave: Memorial #131672650 for Thomas Wingfield (1664–1720). [unsourced]