Thomas Mallory

From the files of The Mallory Surname DNA Study

Thomas Mallory (about 1674-1753) was among the first generation of Mallorys born in Colonial Virginia.

Early Life on Pamunkey Neck

Thomas Mallory was the son of the immigrant, Roger Mallory and Roger's wife, Jane. Thomas Mallory was born about 1674(1) in what was then New Kent County, Virginia Colony. New Kent County had been established twenty (20) years earlier from York County. Situated upriver on Virginia's middle penninsula, it later became King and Queen County. His birthplace was probably on his father's Sandy Point Plantation in the Pamunkey Neck area between the Mattaponi River on the northeast and the Pamunkey River on the southwest that became King William County. When he was born, the frontier was nearby and conflicts between settlers and native Americans were common.

Thomas Mallory's known siblings were also born in what is now King William County, Virginia:

Elizabeth Mallory was born about 1655.
John Mallory was born about 1655.
William Mallory was born about 1666.
Roger Mallory was born about 1667.
Charles Mallory was born in 1669.
Jane Mallory was born about 1673.

By 1674, Thomas Mallory's father, Roger Mallory owned vast tracts of fertile land and became one of the wealthiest men in the Colony(2).

Thomas Mallory's eldest sister, Elizabeth Mallory first married Richard Croshaw who died in 1667. She married Martin Palmer in 1675 (3).

During Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, Roger Mallory lost his patent to the 2,314 acres in King William County, Virgina including Sandy Point (4). In 1678, 1,200 Irish families sailed from Barbados to Virginia and the Carolinas.

06 June 1680, The Parish of St. John's was formed by an Act of the General Assembly in response to a petition from the inhabitants of Pamunkey Neck. Late in 1680 and early 1681 a great comet shown so birghtly, it was said to be visible in daylight.

06 February 1685 Charles II died and his brother became James II, King of England. Also that year,Thomas Mallory's sister, Jane Mallory married John Quarles in New Kent, later King and Queen, now King William County, Virginia.

Colonial Governor Francis Howard left Virginia 20 October 1688 to govern from England.

11 Jan 1689, Parliament declared King James II deposed. William III and Mary II were proclaimed co-rulers of England, Scotland and Ireland.

About 1690, the original chapel was built at Acquinton, northwest of Sandy Point.

In 1691, King and Queen County was formed from New Kent County, Virginia. That year, the House of Burgesses rejected a petition from inhabitants of King & Queen County requesting the legalization of titles and possession of lands that they acquired from the Indians in the Pamunkey Neck section of King and Queen County that became King William County.

Before 02 May 1693, Thomas Mallory's brother, William Mallory married Anne Wythe(1) . That year, a Royal Charter established The College of William and Mary.

28 December 1694, Queen Mary died of smallpox.

Thomas Mallory's father, Roger Mallory died after 22 Dec 1695, the date 6,160 acres was deeded to him by Chickamony Indians on Pamunkey Neck (5).

In 1697, John Buckner petitioned for 6,160 acres on Pamunkey Neck "having purchased right from Roger, Charles, and Thomas Mallory, sons of the decedent" (5).

After the third Statehouse in Jamestown, Virginia burned in 1698, burgesses decided to move the Colony's government to Middle Plantation, renamed Williamsburg where the General Assembly held its sessions in the Wren Building which had been built at William and Mary three (3) years earlier.

In 1699, "The General Assembly having taken into consideration settlement of the land on Pamunkey Neck gave preference to the above three sons of Roger Mallory bounded as by deed and computed at 2,000 acres because the said Mallory had been given other lands in exchange." H.B. 1695-1702, pp. 286-317 (5).

About 1700 his brother, John Mallory emigrated to England at the invitation of their uncle, John Mallory of London who had no heirs (6). That same year his brother, Roger Mallory, Jr. married Mary Holderby (2) .

Marriage and Children

About 1700, Thomas Mallory married Elizabeth Higgason (1). They were probably married in the portion of King and Queen that became King William County about that time. Elizabeth Higgason was born 1674 in King William County, Virginia. She was the daughter of John Davis Higgason and his wife Elizabeth (1). Apparently, they settled north of the Mattaponi in King and Queen County, Virginia where they resided for at least fifteen (15) years.

Thomas Mallory and Elizabeth had seven (7) children, all born in King and Queen County, Virginia:

About 1701, his first son, Thomas Mallory was born.
About 1705, his second and third sons, Henry Higgason Mallory and John Mallory were born.
About 1707, his first daughter, Elizabeth Mallory was born.
A son, Roger Mallory and a daughter, Jane Mallory died in infancy.
In 1715, his youngest son, Phillip Mallory was born.

In 1700, Thomas Mallory made the inventory of Mary Sellers' estate with co-administrator John Hampton and gave a Bond to the Court in King William County, Virginia (8) .

In 1702, Princess Anne Stuart became Queen upon the death of King William III.

20 February 1703 Thomas Mallory, John Quarles and Benjamin Quarles were witnesses to the recording of a land record in King William County, Virginia (9).

In 1704, Thomas Mallory paid quit rents on 150 acres in King William County, Virginia (10).

In 1705, construction of the first Capitol Building was completed in Williamsburg, Virginia.

His wife's mother, Elizabeth Higgason died about 1710 (1). His brother, Charles Mallory married Barbara Broche in King William County, Virginia.

In 1711, the Chickahomony Indians complained to Lt. Governor Spottswood that the Mallorys and others were trying to dispossess them (11).

In 1714, George I became King upon death of Queen Anne.

In 1716, the "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe" expedition, sponsored by Governor Sir Alexander Spotswood, disembarked from Chelsea on the Mattaponi River.

By 1718, Thomas Mallory and his brothers had sold off their late father's estate between the two Herring Creeks plus a small tract of land he'd deeded to the Chickahomony Tribe. This caused the Chickahomony Indians make a complaint to Spottswood against Roger Mallory, Jr., Thomas Mallory and John Quarles of King William for trying to disposess them from their land (11).

In 1720, St. Margaret's Parish was formed from the western part of St. John's.

About 1721 Thomas Mallory's son, John Mallory married Anne Coyne and Thomas Mallory's first grandchild, Elizabeth D. Mallory was born the next year. John Mallory and Anne Coyne settled in Orange County, Virginia. In 1721, Spotsylvania County, Virginia was formed on the western frontier of Essex, King and Queen and King William Counties.

About 1725 his son, Thomas Mallory, Jr. married Lucy Richardson and settled in Hanover County, Virginia. About this time, the King William County Courthouse was built.

11 June 1727, Prince George became King George II of Great Britain.

About 1728, when Caroline County, Virginia was formed from the western part of Essex, King William, and King and Queen, Thomas Mallory's son, Henry Higgason Mallory married Sarah Holderby. That same year, Richard Maulding sold his interest in a Trading Post in St. Margaret's Parish to his former partner, Thomas Mallory (12) .

About 1730 his daughter, Elizabeth Mallory married William Dickinson in King and Queen County, Virginia.

About 1733 Thomas Mallory's son, Phillip Mallory married Lucinda Pynes.

In 1734, a church was completed in St. Johns Parish that still stands today. Another church was also built at Acquinton that year, possibly on the site of an earlier chapel. Thomas Mallory's brother in-law, John Quarles became indisposed in 1734.

About 1735, the Kings Highway was completed between Boston and Charleston through King William County, Virginia.

In 1737, the City of Richmond, Virginia was founded on the James River, west of the Mallory lands.

John Quarles died about 1739.

In 1743, Thomas Mallory's son, Henry Higgason Mallory died in Hanover County, Virginia, leaving a widow and five (5) children.

30 January 1747, the Capitol Building in Williamsburg burned. 23 May 1747, John Mallory's will bequeathed 1,200 Pounds to Thomas Mallory and Thomas' siblings (13) .

The Gregorian Calendar was adopted in 1752 for Great Britain and its colonies. The new year for the English-speaking world then became 01 January, and the seasonal discrepancy caused by the old calendar was resolved when Parliament declared 02 September 1752 was to be followed immediately by 14 September 1752 (14).

Death and Disposition of Property

Thomas Mallory was about 79 years of age when he died in 1753 in King William County, Virginia. His wife, Elizabeth Higgason Mallory died after 1756 in Hanover County, Virginia.

After Thomas Mallory died, his large tract of land was acquired by William Frazer, Jr. who in 1759 was issued a patent to 900 acres of land lying on the Mattaponi River below Madison's Creek, the patent for which was registered in the Secretary's Office in Williamsburg in Land Patent Book No 33 page 547 (15). By 1674, Frazer operated a ferry across the Mattaponi between his Ordinary at Wakema in King William and the opposite bank near King and Queen Courthouse. Later, Frazer built a warehouse at Wakema to inspect tobacco. In the summer of 1781, Frazer's shipyard on the Mattaponi built flatboats for General LaFayette for use in the American Revolution. In the 1860s, a private residence was built at Wakema that is still standing (16) .

In 2002, the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) purchased Sandy Point from The Nature Conservancy. The 2,043-acre Sandy Point state Forest is managed multiple-use purposes, including watershed protection, recreation, timber production, hunting, fishing, and applied forest research. The forest has approximately four miles of frontage on the Mattaponi River. Sandy Point State Forest includes180 acres of tidal wetlands and 288 acres of non-tidal wetlands. There are eight (8) miles of perrenial and intermittent streams associated with wetlands within the Forest. The Forest entrance is marked by a sign off State Route 30 at the end of Sandy Point Road, State Route 641.

Decendancy

12 September 1761 Betteridge King, age 68 gave a deposition in Hanover County, Virginia. "At the Ordinary of William Dudley" the widow King deposed that "she well knew Thomas Mallory, another son of the said Roger Mallory and brother of the said John Mallory the testator. ...that Thomas has been dead upwards of ten years and had seven children, namely John, Henry Higgason, Thomas, Philip, Elizabeth, Roger... (17)

Thomas Mallory, Jr. and Lucy Richardson had fifteen (15) children in Virginia between 1725 and 1755. Three (3) direct Mallory descendants donated their Ydna sample kits #37375, #78349 and #88426.

Henry Higgason Mallory and Sarah Holderby had five (5) children in King William County, Virginia between 1730 and 1738. A direct Mallory descendants donated their Ydna sample kits #33799, 34820, #97327, and #162065.

John Mallory and Anne Coyne had seven (7) children, most of which were born in Virginia between 1722 and 1743. A direct Mallory descendant donated his Ydna sample kit #92123.

William Dickinson and Elizabeth Mallory had six (6) children between 1730 and 1740.

Phillip Mallory and Lucinda Pynes had eleven (11) children in Virginia between 1730 and 1760. They migrated to Louisa, Fauquier and Grayson Counties in Virginia, Wilkes County in Georgia and Williamson County in Tennessee. A direct Mallory descendant donated his Ydna sample kit #39194.

Five (5) known generations are charted in part in an Outline Descendant Report for Thomas Mallory .