Burgess Samuel Jordan^{[1, 2, 3, 4]}

Est 1575 - 1623  (~ 48 years)

• Name	Samuel Jordan
  Title	Burgess
  Born	Est 1575	Prob. England
  Gender	Male
  Died	1623	Jordan's Journey, Jordan's Point, Henrico Co., Virginia Colony
  Person ID	I5485	My Reynolds Line
  Last Modified	20 Oct 2020

  
  

  Family	Cecily Phippen Reynolds,   b. Abt 1600, England ,   d. 12 Sep 1660, Charles City, Virginia Colony  (Age ~ 60 years)
  Married	Bef Dec 1620	Virginia Colony
  Children	1. Mary Jordan,   b. Abt 1621, Beggar's Bush, Virginia Colony ,   d. Yes, date unknown, Jordan's Journey, Jordan's Point, Virginia Colony   2. Margaret Jordan,   b. 1623, Beggar's Bush, Virginia Colony ,   d. Yes, date unknown, Jordan'sJourney, Jordan's Point, Virginia Colony   3. Samuel Jordan,   b. Est 1630, Henrico Co., Virginia Colony ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	20 Oct 2020
  Family ID	F2045	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Historical Marker, Samuel Jordan 5485Samuel Jordan.jpg

  
  

  Documents

  Quaker Record for Samuel Jordan qr5485SamlJordan.jpg

  
  

  Histories

  Cicily Phippen Saga cicily-reynolds.pdf

  
  

• Sources

  [S32] Find-A-Grave.com, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=110334139. Cicily Reynolds, Bailey, Jordan, Farrar Birth: 1600, England Death: 1637, Henrico County, Virginia, USA Intellectual dishonesty frequently rears its ugly head in the case of the parentage of Cecily Jordan Farrar. Stating theory as fact doesn't make it so but it misleads the uninformed who will further propagate it. Ten year old Cecily _______ (absolutely no record of her maiden name, the names of her shipboard chaperones or the names of her parents or guardians in Virginia exists but there are many unprovable theories stated as fact) arrived from London at Jamestown aboard the "Swan" in late August 1610. The "Swan" was one of a fleet of three ships under command of Lord De La Warr (Thomas West) which along with the "Tryall" and the "Noah" carried 250 passengers and a year's worth of provisions for 400 colonists. The winter/ spring/summer of 1609/10 is known as the dreadful "starving time" when the infant colony was reduced from about 500 souls to "a haggard remnant of 60 all told; men, women and children scarcely able to totter about the ruined village". This rescue fleet arrived in the nick of time to prevent the colony from being totally abandoned. The only surviving record of the passengers on the "Swan" is in the Virginia Muster of early 1624/25 taken 14 years after the voyage which lists "Sisley Jordan" and ten other persons. One can envision Cecily being a playmate of Pocahontas, who was about 5 years her senior and even possibly attending Pocahontas' wedding to John Rolfe in 1614. Circumstantial evidence indicates she married a man named Bailey at the age of about 16/17. There is no direct evidence Cecily married Bailey but a six year old Temperance Bailey is listed as living at Jordan's Journey in Charles City, 1623/24 (home of Samuel Jordan and his wife, Cicely) and is also listed there in the muster (1624/25) of William Farrar and the widowed Cicely Jordan. Since Temperance was a land owner at the age of three, it is evident that her father was dead and, as there is no record of a guardian to manage the estate, the probability is that she was the daughter of Cecily by a previous marriage. Thus, it is generally accepted that Cecily married Mr. Bailey (given name unknown) circa 1616 resulting in a child born in 1617 named Temperance Bailey. Mr. Bailey possibly died of malaria in 1619, making Cecily a widow for the first time and leaving his 200 acres to his 3 year old daughter, Temperance, making her a wealthy child. Her land was located adjacent to Samuel Jordan's land (see attached map for location of Temperance Bailey's land). As Temperance Bailey Browne (her first husband was John Browne), she later became the first wife of Richard Cocke and her descendants are well documented (see attached historical marker). Cecily was said to have introduced the art of flirting into Virginia; she was the original southern belle and no doubt enchanting and beautiful for she won the hearts of some of the colony's outstanding citizens. Secondly, she married Samuel Jordan, a much older (by 25 years) and richer man, in 1620. They were living at Beggar's Bush (later known as Jordan's Journey) the alliteratively named fortified home of Samuel Jordan in 1623 (see accompanying map for the location of Samuel Jordan's residence). This marriage produced two daughters, Mary (b. 1621) and Margaret (b. 1623 after her father's death), whose lineages can't be traced presently (see accompanying historical marker). Cecily met William Farrar as a refugee from his destroyed house after the Powhatan Indian surprise attack on 22 March 1622 (see map for approximate location of his plantation). He had fled to her husband's fortified house to save his life and that of the other survivors from his household. Fortunate circumstances prevented him from leaving this refuge before the death of his host, Samuel Jordan, in 1623. (A court on 7-8 Aug 1625, presided over by Governor Sir George Yardley and six other important colonists including Mr. William Farrar ordered "no planter shall remove from ye plantation whereupon he is seated, without penalty.... and to be returned to his former plantation only if the Governor and Council permit...."). In the very early period of the colony, the grief of a widow was of short duration, for a suitor usually stood at her doorstep almost as the funeral procession ended. The Rev. Greville Pooley (46 year old minister of Parish Fleur-Dieu Hundred, near Jordan's Journey) who oversaw the burial of her husband, Samuel Jordan, proposed marriage shortly (3-4 days) afterward. Cecily was pregnant and one version of the story states she accepted on the conditions he wait until she delivered her baby and not brag publically about his good fortune by her acceptance of his proposal. He couldn't resist bragging, so being somewhat fickle, Cecily also accepted the marriage proposal of William Farrar. Pooley accused her of what became known as "Breach of Promise", the first such suit in the Americas. He laid his claim before the governor and council, "June 4, 1623 they examined witnesses Capt. Isaac and Mary Maddison and Serj. John Harris touching the supposed contract of marriage between Mr. Greville Pooley and Mrs. Cecily Jordan 3 or 4 days after her husband's death". It was too knotty a question for the Virginia court so they referred it to the Virginia Company's "Council in London" and on 24 Apr 1624 it was laid on their table, and after reading same, the court "entreated the Rev. Samuel Purchas to confer with some civilians, and advise what answer was fit to be returned in such a case". In the end, they declined to pass upon "so delicate a matter" but their indecisive response to the colony was made moot by Rev. Pooley giving up his claim and marrying someone else. Tragically, in 1629 he and his entire family were massacred by Indians. The career of the fascinating Cecily as a heart breaker caused the General Assembly to pass a law for the protection of Virginia bachelors, thus giving her a place in jurisprudence history. Ultimately, it was decided that a woman promising herself to two men at the same time was against ecclesiastical law and notification of promises must be given to the Council or the local parish. William Farrar (age 42) and Cecily (age 25) finally married on 02 May 1625 in Henrico County amid the scandal of William residing in her household during the settlement of the civil suit (Breach of Promise). As the cohabitation of an unmarried heterosexual couple was illegal, their living arrangements had attracted the attention of their neighbors and ultimately, the authorities. On 02 Jan 1625, Nathaniel Causey (then a resident of Jordan's Journey) testified that "he had never seen Mrs. Jordan and Mr. Farrar indulge in unfitting behavior but he had seen them kiss". Her marriage to William Farrar I produced three children; William II, John and Cicely. When William Farrar I died in 1637, Cecily was probably still alive but there is no record of her after 1631 when she is mentioned in a deed. If she survived her husband, one would think she was still a youthful, flirtatious woman. Many people assume she married for the fourth and fifth times but there is no proof that she did. Women of the era generally didn't have the option of staying unmarried after the deaths of their husbands unless they were wealthy as Cecily was. Again, many unproven assumptions abound about the final years of this fascinating woman's life including the theories that she had marriages to Peter Montague of Lancaster County, VA and Thomas Parker of Macclesfield, Isle of Wight Co., VA so the exact date of her death is an arbitrary figure. Marriages to either or both of these two men have been discounted by documentation and are not accepted by genealogists or hereditary societies. Cecily has the designation of "Ancient Planter" and through my efforts is now recognized and accepted for membership by the "Jamestowne Society" as also the wife of William Farrar I. Originally, they only recognized her as the wife of Samuel Jordan. Cecily also is accepted for membership in the prestigious "Order of Descendants of Ancient Planters". Cecily lived her final years on Farrar's Island, Henrico Co., VA and was probably buried there in a presently unknown grave (see attached map and sign). Sources: 1) "The Farrars" by William B. and Ethel Farrar, 1964, p14. 2) "John Pankey of Manakin Town, Virginia, and His Descendants", by George Edward Pankey, Vol. I, 1969, p418. 3) "The Farrar's Island Family" by Alvahn Holmes, 1972, pp122-124. 4) "Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1607-1624/5" by John Frederick Dorman, Vol. I, 4th Ed., 2004, pp927-928. 5) "Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635" by Martha W. McCartney, 2007, pp433-434 6) "Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families" by Douglas Richardson, 2004, p303. 7) "Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families" by Douglas Richardson, 2005. p316. Bio by Gresham Farrar. Spouse: Samuel Jordan (1575 - 1623) Children: Temperance Bailey Cocke (1617 - 1652) John Farrar (1631 - 1685) Find A Grave Memorial# 110334139 [S122] Genealogy. com, http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/m/a/y/Lyndall-J-Mayes/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0109.html. CECILY AND SAMUEL JORDAN As was the custom of the time it was an absolute necessity for the safety of the early female settlers to have a male protector. For this reason we frequently find widows marrying within a few weeks or months following the death of their husbands. Cecily 20, promptly married her much older neighbor Samuel Jordan 42, shortly before December 1620. Cecily was about a year younger than Samuel Jordan's eldest son. Samuel had been previously married in England with four known children, but after his first wife died he immigrated to America in 1609 aboard the "Seaventure" which was shipwrecked off Bermuda, not arriving in Virginia till May 1610. He was a member of the initial House of Burgesses of the Colony in 1619 where the first specific instance of genuine self-government emerged in the British Colonial Empire. Samuel and Cecily settled at "Beggar's Bush" later renamed "Jordans Journey" near the confluence of the Appomattox and James Rivers southside. One of Sir George Yeardley's first acts was to grant a patent of land at James City on Dec. 10, 1620 to Samuel Jordan of Charles City in Virginia. Gent. an ancient planter "who hath abode ten years Compleat in the Colony" and to "Cecily his wife an ancient planter also of nine years continuance." The land grants for being "Ancient Planters" were the rewards they had earned by their perseverance in establishing the first permanent beachhead of English colonization on American soil. Samuel Jordan later added large holdings on the south bank of the James at Jordan's Point. On the point jutting out into the James River, Samuel and Cecily developed alarge home plantation later renamed "Jordan's Journey," consisting of a palisaded fort enclosing 11 buildings. They were soon expanding their family too with the arrival of daughter Mary Jordan, born in 1621 or early 1622. Baby Mary Jordan probably had no memory of that fateful day of the vernal equinox, 22 March 1622, when the Great Indian Massacre fell on the colony like a thunderbolt from the sky. Powhattan's tribe tried to wipe out the entire English Colony in a concerted uprising on Good Friday. Fortunately for the Jordans they received a forewarning of the plot in sufficient time to fortify "Beggar's Bush" against attack. Early that morning Richard Pace had rowed with might and main three miles across the river from Paces Paines to Beggars Bush to warn Samuel Jordan of the impending blow. Without losing an instant, Samuel Jordan summoned his neighbours from far and near and gathered them all, men, women and children, within his home at Beggar's Bush, "where he fortified and lived in despight of the enemy." So resolutely was the place defended, that not a single life was lost there on that bloody day. They were also able to save their buildings and most of the livestock. The agony and terror of the women and children huddled together in the farthest corner of the little stronghold can only be imagined. The next day their neighbor Mr. William Farrar reached "Beggar's Bush" a few miles journey from his plantation on the Appomattox River. Ten victims had been slaughtered at his home and he himself had barely escaped to safety at the Jordan's where circumstances would force him and other survivors to remain for some time. About one third of Virginia colonists died during the Indian Massacre including Samuel's son Robert Jordan at Berkley Hundred in Charles City while trying to warn neighbors across the water of the impending Indian attack. In those days most people got around by boat and freely went from one side of the river to the other. Less than a year later in early 1623 Samuel Jordan passed away at the home he built later known as Jordan's Journey. Cecily was soon due to give birth to their second child. Samuel Jordan is known to have died prior to the February 16, 1623 census of Virginia colonists because his name is conspicuously missing from the list of inhabitants at Jordan's Journey and his and Cecily's second daughter Margaret had recently been born: From Persons of Quality: "A List of Names; of the Living in Virginia, February the 16, 1623" "Living At Jordan's Jorney Sislye Jordan Temperance Baylife Mary Jordan Margery Jordan William Farrar" (37 more names follow the above listed.) [S99] Quaker Records, https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2189/42483_1821100519_4136-00017?pid=1101906400&backurl=http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc%3DTkn114%26_phstart%3DsuccessSource%26usePUBJs%3Dtrue%26indiv%3D1%26db%3DQuakerMeetMins%26gss%3Dangs-d%26new%3D1%26msT%3D1%26gsfn%3Dhenry%26gsfn_x%3D0%26gsln%3Dwatkins%26gsln_x%3D0%26msrpn__ftp%3DHenrico%2520County,%2520Virginia,%2520USA%26msrpn%3D1346%26msrpn_PInfo%3D7-%257C0%257C1652393%257C0%257C2%257C0%257C49%257C0%257C1346%257C0%257C0%257C0%257C%26msypn__ftp%3Dvirginia%26mssng%3Dcatherine%26mssns%3Dpride%26MSAV%3D1%26MSV%3D0%26uidh%3Dhyh%26rank%3D1%26pcat%3D34%26fh%3D6%26h%3D1101906400%26recoff%3D28%252029%26ml_rpos%3D7&treeid=&personid=&hintid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=Tkn114&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true#?imageId=42483_1821100519_4136-00046. Marriage Record for Elizabeth Fleming, d/o Charles and Susannah Fleming of New Kent County. [S89] Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/groups/219540584747499/?multi_permalinks=3870793886288799. Maurice Fletcher Of my family, Giles Fletcher, poet, diplomat and Member of Parliament's wife Joan Sheafe's brother Edmund Sheafe, married Joan Jordon, daughter of Nicholas Jordon and Joan Croft, Nicholas Jordon is the son of John Ignatius Jordon, who is the brother of Thomas Jordon of Dorset. Thomas Jordon of Dorset is the grandfather of Samuel Jordon of Jordon's Journey, who first named his property " Beggars Bush " after the play by John Fletcher playwright, who followed William Shakespeare as playwright for the King's Men, John Fletcher playwright is the nephew of Giles Fletcher. Joan Sheafe and Edmund Sheafe are the children of Thomas Sheafe and Mary Harmon. When it comes to Samuel Jordan's family, there is more having to do with John Fletcher of Jamestown, Second Charter of May 23, 1609, plus the Palmer and Beach families and others. John Fletcher - Playwright https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fletcher_(playwright)