"Old" New Kent--No Ordinary Virginia County
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"Old" New Kent County, Virginia, was created from York and a portion of Gloucester counties in 1654, and it was itself the parent county of King & Queen and King William counties. (To put it in contemporary terms, "Old" New Kent County included the present-day counties of New Kent, King & Queen, King William, Hanover, Louisa, and parts of Spotsylvania and Caroline.) History buffs will know that Martha Dandridge Custis Washington and Letitia Christian Tyler, the wives of the U.S. Presidents of the same surnames, were born in New Kent County. New Kent was also a focal point of Bacon's Rebellion in the 17th century.
The majority of Old New Kent County records were destroyed in fires in 1787 and 1864. In fact, prior to 1865, there are virtually no official records for New Kent and King & Queen counties and mere fragments for King William County. Anyone hoping to produce a history of this region and genealogies of its families would have to do so from other sources. This, of course, was precisely the challenge accepted by the late Dr. Malcolm H. Harris.
The scope and arrangement of Old New Kent County [Virginia] are both entertaining and extraordinarily informative. Because the author's objective was to aid researchers in locating the sites and inhabitants of the region during the colonial period, a pleasing narrative--supported by numerous photographs--links New Kent's plantations, ancestral homes, landmarks, tombstones, and artifacts with its ancestors and their descendants. The work is arranged by county and thereunder according to the Episcopal parishes that comprised each county--Blisland and St. Peter's in New Kent; Stratton Major, St. Stephen's, and Drysdale in King & Queen; and St. John's and St. David's in King William. Besides the local and family histories, the work boasts an inventory of extant records at each county clerk's office, a number of lists of landowners (including a comprehensive list of King William County land tax assessments for 1782), marriage or other source records, and a comprehensive name index.
Dr. Harris gathered much of his information from tombstones, Bibles, and other resources found at sites described in the work--sites he visited during his medical rounds as a country doctor. Many of his patients were, in fact, direct descendants of original settlers of Old New Kent County. The good doctor was also careful to document his findings in great detail; in fact, Old New Kent County [Virginia] is far ahead of its time as a bona fide piece of scholarship.
Of greatest interest to genealogists, of course, are the genealogies and sketches of Old New Kent families. In all, researchers will find nearly 200 genealogies, and many thousands of family members are identified in the index. Researchers can find the names of these families and/or purchase a copy of this superlative work HERE.
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Also by Dr. Malcom Harris . . .
Malcolm Harris’s History of Louisa County, Virginia features a cornucopia of information for genealogists and historians alike; however, this country doctor’s primary aim was to highlight the contributions of Louisa people. To be sure the author organized the first half of the book around five institutional themes: politics, military history, country roads, churches and parishes, and education. In this way we observe the milestones of settlement and jurisprudence, turning points in wars from 1756 to 1919, location of venerable homes and other structures, a who’s who of the religious establishment, and the foundation of schools, newspapers and the professions. Even within these chapters, Dr. Harris introduces lists of the individuals who were there when the history was being made: land patentees, brides and grooms, Revolutionary and Civil War veterans, teachers and their students, and so on. The second half of the volume, misleadingly labeled "Appendix," hits full stride genealogically. Following a list of Louisa marriage bonds from 1767-1800, Dr. Harris treats the genealogist to 150 pages of family sketches of pioneering Louisa families. View Book Details
Other titles pertaining to Old New Kent County and Louisa Counties . . .
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3600 Clipper Mill Road, Suite 229
Baltimore, Maryland 21211
(800) 296-6687
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