Another John Bishop (? – 1696) of Surry County, Virginia

This John Bishop appears to have been both childless and unrelated to any other Bishops in the vicinity.

He first appears on the Surry County tithables list of June 1674, when he was tithable to William Gray in Lawnes Creek parish (the other John Bishop being tithable in Southwarke parish.)1.  He was tithable in the same parish to John Dunford the following year.  The other John Bishop died in early 1676 and this John Bishop was the only Bishop in the county for the next few decades.

This John Bishop was not a landowner, and the pattern of being tithable to others suggests that he was probably a laborer of some sort.  He was tithable to James Griffin in 1677, to Richard Drew in 1678, and to Thomas Edwards in 1679.  In 1681 he was tithable for himself and one Edward Walebanck, but was later again tithable to others. He was a tithable of Walter Bartlett in 1682, of Richard Monck.in 1683, and of Augustine Hunicutt in 1684.  He was tithable to himself in 1685 but was a tithable of John Page in 1686 and of Thomas Blunt in 1687.

Married Joannah Charles

In January 1685/6 Edmund Palmer was granted a judgment against “John Bishop who married Joannah Charles.”2. Although that record raises the possibility that Joannah Charles may have been a widow, there were no men named Charles in Surry County at that time.  She may have been from outside the county.

On 1 March 1686/7 John Bishop was ordered to appear in court “to answer the grand jury’s presentm’t against him.” 3. Although there is no further mention of that indictment, the grand jury indicted “john Bishop for not going to Church” three months later on 24 June 1687.4

He was subsequently listed as a single tithable in Lawnes Creek parish in 1689 through 1695,  John Bishop was alive as late as 1 February 1695/6, when Walter Batlett wrote his will leaving his wife Alice my houses orchard and lands I now dwell in with the plantation John Bishop dwells in…”  (((Surry County, Virginia Deeds & Wills etc., Book 5, p179.)).

Died in early 1696

He was dead within a matter of months, as the June 1696 tithables listed “Widdow Bishop p(er) Ed. Burges.”  It isn’t clear why she was taxed or who Burges was, as  he was not mentioned again in Surry County records.  Joannah Bishop was alive two years later when on 4 May 1698 a suit against her was dismissed, but she was not mentioned again.5. There were no further references to Bishops in Surry County records for another 18 years, when the unrelated family of Bishops of Prince George County began migrating into Surry County..

This John Bishop appeared in just two other records, both inconsequential.6  It seems clear that he left no issue.

 

  1. The Surry County tihables lists for 1668-1670, 1673-1675, and 1677-1703 are transcribed from the deed books in the Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Volumes 22-24. [↩]
  2. Surry County, Virginia Order Book 1671-1691, p505 [↩]
  3. Idem., p560. [↩]
  4. Surry County, Virginia, Deeds Wills Etc. Book 3, p83.. [↩]
  5. Surry County, Virginia Order Book 1691-1713, p208. [↩]
  6. He was a witness for Nicholas Johnson in a 1682 suit. (Surry County, Virginia Order Book 1671-1691, p377) and an estate accounting in 1694 of John Collins shows a debit of 10 lbs of tobacco due to “Jo. Bishop”. Surry County, Virginia Deeds & Wills etc., Book 5, p83.) [↩]