I want to express my gratitude to the Reynolds Family Association which awarded me a Life Membership in recognition of the research and genealogies offered below. This is one of the oldest family associations in the United States, operating continuously since 1892. I urge descendants of these or any Reynolds families to join this association and contribute to its research.
These genealogies explore the 17th century Reynolds immigrants who settled on the south side of the James River. Most of them have not been mentioned in any published genealogies. Christopher Reynolds, the most prominent of them, is the subject of several published genealogies that contain significant inaccuracies and omissions. These pages attempt to expand upon those publications, and to correct such errors as they contain. I hope these files will prove useful to the descendants of Christopher Reynolds and to those researching the other Reynolds families originating in the vicinity of Isle of Wight and Surry counties, Virginia.
These files deal mainly with the first few generations of descendants from Christopher Reynolds (? – c1654) who arrived in Virginia in 1622, settling in the area that later became Isle of Wight County. He left numerous descendants who remained in Isle of Wight County for more than a century. The use of the given names Christopher and Richard among the first few generations created a very confusing array of individuals who were not correctly sorted out in published genealogies of the family. In order to accurately identify the first few generations, a detailed chronology of Reynolds records was created, which is available in the files below.
I have also included files on another Reynolds family of neighboring Surry County, Virginia as well as a brief summary of several other Reynolds immigrants found in 17th century records in the same area.
Reynolds Chronicles
Christopher Reynolds (? – c1654) arrived in Virginia in 1622, settling in the area that later became Isle of Wight County. He left numerous descendants who remained in Isle of Wight County for more than a century. The use of the given names Christopher and Richard among the first few generations created a very confusing array of individuals who have not been correctly sorted out in published genealogies of the family. In order to accurately identify the first few generations, a detailed chronology of Reynolds records was created, consisting of about 90 pages presented in three parts:
- Reynolds Chronicles (Isle of WIght) 1622-1699
- Reynolds Chronicles (Isle of WIght) 1700-1750
- Reynolds Chronicles (Isle of WIght) Post-1750
Nicholas Reynolds (? – c1655) does not appear to be related to Christopher Reynolds, but he arrived in Virginia about the same time and settled In adjacent Surry County. Records of him and his family are presented in a separate document:
The sources for these records are both primary and secondary. A Note on Sources provides a bibliography of secondary sources.
Reynolds Genealogies
- Christopher Reynolds Family — A genealogy of the first five generations. This is mainly an attempt to correct and expand on published Reynolds genealogies.
- Nicholas Reynolds Family — of Surry County Virginia
Some “minor” Reynolds immigrants of the 17th century who appeared in the same general area of Virginia:
- Thomas Reynolds of Charles City County — another early 17th century immigrant whose children are unknown.
- Three Henry Reynolds — who appear in 17th and 18th century Surry and Isle of Wight records
- Two Thomas Reynolds — who appear in 17th century Lower Norfolk County
Other Reynolds FIles
- Some background on the Warrascoyack plantation where Christopher Reynolds first appears
- A correction to Hening’s Statutes at Large which incorrectly lists “Charles” Reynolds instead of “Christopher” Reynolds among the Burgesses of 1652
- The Husband of Elizabeth Reynolds — Christopher Reynolds’ daughter married Richard Jordan, but whether he was Senior or Junior is not clear to some genealogists.