Three Henry Reynolds

There were three persons named Henry Reynolds who appear in the records of Surry County and Isle of Wight County.

Henry Reynolds (c1661 – c1685?) of Surry County

On 3 March 1674, Arthur Allen was awarded a headright certificate by the Surry County court for importation of forty persons, among them a Henry Reynolds.1  The same Henry Reynolds, along with other names from that same certificate, were later used as headrights in two separate patents of 1678 and 1687.2   Apparently the same Henry Reynolds, a servant to James Redduck, was adjudged to be 15 years old by the Surry County Court on 28 March 1676.3   He appears as a tithable of James Redduck from 1677 through 1684, and as a tithable of Charles Gutheridge in 1685.   He does not appear thereafter in any Surry or Isle of Wight records.   (Note that he cannot be the same person as the Henry Reynolds who left a will in neighboring Isle of Wight in 1679.)

Henry Reynolds (? – 1681) of Isle of Wight County

A different Henry Reynolds left a will dated 6 April 1679 and proved on 9 June 1681 in Isle of Wight County, naming his wife Joyce executrix, and mentioning children named Henry and Sarah.4  He had probably died at least a few months earlier, for his wife had already remarried by the time the will was proved.  The appraisal was dated the same day and presented by Joyce Page, formerly Joyce Reynolds.5  The will of Henry Clay, undated but recorded 10 January 1675/6, mentions “Mary the youngest daughter of Henry Reynolds”, perhaps the same person.6  The son Henry may have been the same person as below.

Henry Reynolds (? – 1729) of Isle of Wight County

36 years after the above will, another Henry Reynolds appears in Isle of Wight records.  On 13 November 1717 Roger Tarleton sold 100 acres south of the Blackwater River to Henry Reynolds, weaver.7   Interestingly, a witness to this deed was Christopher Reynolds, and both Henry Reynolds (signing with his mark) and Christopher Reynolds witnessed two other deeds by Tarleton within a few months.8  The will of Henry Reynolds was dated 11 February 1726 and proved on 28 April 1729.9   Legatees were his wife Elizabeth, son John, daughters Patience, Dorcas Bowin (wife of John Bowin), Elizabeth Johnson , and son-in-law John Weaid[Wade?].  The appraisal is dated 23 June 1729.10   The daughter Elizabeth Johnson was apparently the wife of John Johnson, for on 18 March 1746, half of the Henry Reynolds tract was sold by John Johnson Jr.11   Note that this Henry Reynolds was a weaver who could not sign his name, two circumstances which tend to separate him from the descendants of Christopher Reynolds.

 

 

  1. Surry County Court Orders 1671-91, p47. [↩]
  2. irginia Patent Book 6, p650 and Virginia Patent Book 7, p576.  We know this was the same Henry Reynolds because the four headrights claimed in the 1687 patent were identical to four names used for the 1678 patent.  In each case the four names were listed in the same sequence, matching the names and their sequence in the Arthur Allen certificate of 1674. [↩]
  3. Surry County Court Orders 1671-91, p117. [↩]
  4. Isle of Wight Will & Deed Book 2, p218. [↩]
  5. Isle of Wight Will & Deed Book 2, p219. [↩]
  6. Isle of Wight Will & Deed Book 2, p137. [↩]
  7. Isle of Wight “Great Book”, p121. [↩]
  8. Isle of Wight “Great Book”, p121 and p129. [↩]
  9. Isle of Wight Will Book 3, p155. [↩]
  10. Isle of Wight Will Book 3, p166. [↩]
  11. Isle of Wight Deed Book 7, p317. [↩]