Name:

Misc. Notes

Following from Ancestry.com, “Kith & Kin: McKinzie, Blythe, Branch, & Bartlett”:

From the files of Robert W. Baird:

Hance (or Hans) Hendrick appears to have arrived in Virginia in the early or mid 1680s. As 'Hance Hendrick' he received a headright patent dated 25 April 1701 for 594 acres in Pamunkey Neck of King and Queen County, Virginia. The patent was for transportation of himself, 'his wife Jane', and ten others. The land was bounded by the Mattapony River, Fox Trap branch and Deep Bottom Branch and adjoined the land of William Morris, 'the ridge road by the Schoole House', and 'Fox Trapp Bridge'. The land description shows he owned land in the area earlier, as the grant refers to the 'old corner between Hance Hendrick and John Oakes'.

A second patent, of 175 nearby acres for the transportation of four persons, was recorded on 28 October 1702. Although no county is mentioned in the patent, the land was on the Mattapony River and appears to adjoin the earlier patent, which by this time was in newly-formed King William County. The land description refers to 'a corner white Oake in sight of Hance’s old plantation', again suggesting a missing earlier land entry. The 1704 quit rents of Virginia list 'Hans Hendrick' with 700 acres subject to quit rent in King William County. He is the only Hendrick in Virginia.

These two patents clearly refer to the presence of Hance Hendrick earlier than 1701. An explanation exists, but requires a brief digression. The Pamunkey Neck was originally Indian land, in which white settlement was forbidden by a 1625 treaty with the Pamunkey King. That didn’t stop settlers from occupying the land, nor did it stop the Indians from retaliating. Bacon’s Rebellion of 1676, was partly an attempt to defend these settlers from Indian attacks. Eventually, the Pamunkey Indians leased land to a few whites, who then sold their rights in smaller parcels to other settlers. Since the Colony received no income from these lands, a committee formed in 1699 looked into the question of land grants in Pamunkey Neck. It reported Ralph Yarborough, an Indian interpreter and trader, to be among those who held a 99-year lease with the Pamunkeys. This lease was evidently obtained in 1679. The committee also reported that 'Thomas Hendrick' claimed 370 acres purchased from Yarborough and John Ascough. It is uncertain when this land was sold to Hendrick, only that he claimed a right to it in 1699. The Governor recognized this title. (This same committee recommended, and the Governor implemented in 1699, the acquisition of land by 'treasury right' as an alternative to acquisition by headrights. For five shillings per 50 acres, any English subject could acquire new land. All land, however acquired, was subject to the annual quit rents.)

It seems highly likely that 'Thomas Hendrick' and 'Hance Hendrick' were the same person. Whether 'Thomas' was an error in transcription by des Cognets or whether his name was, in the Dutch style, 'Thomas Hans Hendrick' is unclear. In either event, analysis of other early patents to Yarborough’s assignees makes it clear that the land of 'Thomas Hendrick' was the same land described in the 1701 and 1702 patents as Hance Hendrick’s 'old plantation'. In addition, William Morris’s land adjoined both Hance Hendrick and Ralph Yarborough. William Hurt, who had patented land in New Kent as early as 1654, was another assignee, and had had settled on land next to Hance Hendrick by 1699. His son John Hurt, purchased land in the Neck in 1691, suggesting the father had been there several years earlier.

When Hance Hendrick arrived in Virginia, and from where, is unclear. Headrights were unrestricted with regard to the place of origin - that is, he could have come into Virginia from any of the other colonies as well as from Europe. The fact that he did not claim any children among his sixteen headrights suggests that all his children were born subsequent to his arrival in Virginia, and we have evidence that at least one child was born by about 1685. He is unlikely to have arrived in Virginia before June 1680, since naturalization before that date required an act of the Assembly and no Hendrick naturalization is noted in Henning’s Statutes. After June 1680, naturalization was handled by the Governor, and would have been recorded elsewhere, usually in the Orders of Council which are mostly incomplete. He was clearly a British citizen by 1699 when his claim was recognized by the Governor, as foreigners who had not taken the oath were not permitted to own land. There are two possibilities. He may have immigrated from Britain or Holland - the name suggests he was Dutch, but plenty of people named Hendrick were also living in England in the early 1600s. The second possibility is that he immigrated from one of the colonies north of Virginia. Ralph Yarborough apparently promoted his land in both Britain and New York, and perhaps elsewhere. Hence, Hance Hendrick could have been naturalized in New York or Britain prior to his arrival in Virginia. Either would have been an acceptable origin for headright purposes.

Hance also owned land in adjacent New Kent County, south of Pamunkey Neck, as early as 1711, when it was processioned. By 1715 he had sold it, because it was referred to as 'the lands of Hance Hendrick, now belonging to Mr. Anthony Winston' when it was next processioned. The only colonial records that remain in New Kent are in the vestry books of three of its six parishes. There are only two references to a Hendrick in these records. Both 'Hance Hendrick Sr.' and 'Hance Hendrick Jun.' filed patents on 24 March 1725 for land in King William County. The land, 200 and 100 acres respectively, appears to be close (but not adjoining) as both patents were for land on or near Boot Swamp, a creek of the Mattapony which lies almost entirely within what later became Caroline County. This is a reasonable indication that Hans Hendrick Jr. was another son.

On 28 September 1728, Hans Hendrick, Adolphus Hendrick, and William Hendrick all filed patents for land in neighboring Spottsylvania County. 'Hance Hendrick of King William County' claimed 400 acres of new land. 'William Hendrick of King William County' claimed 400 acres in the same vicinity, and Adolphus Hendrick (see below) claimed 1,000 acres. None seem to have lived on their lands there. The lack of a modifier may indicate that Hance Hendrick Sr. was dead by this date. 'Jr.' and 'Sr.' applied to Hance were not seen again until 1740, despite numerous intervening references to Hance Hendrick. The destruction of the early records of King William, Hanover and Caroline counties prevent us from being more accurate as to his date of death or from finding records of his will or estate.

The children of Hance Hendrick, and presumably his wife Jane, seem to include at least the following. Hans and these presumed children are the only Hendricks found anywhere in Virginia records of the time, with the exception of a 'widow Hendricks' in 1696. There are no further records of Jane Hendrick although a series of 1738 court records concern a Jane Hendrick who had a bastard child, surely not Hance Hendrick’s widow.

Sources:

[1] Virginia Patent Book 9, p362

[2] The process for obtaining headright patents required one to first obtain a 'certificate of importation', after waiting at least three years after the importation itself. Thus the importation into Virginia had to have occurred 1698 or earlier.

[3] Virginia Patent Book 9, p482

[4] The Quit Rents of Virginia, 1704, Annie Laurie Wright Smith (1975), p43

[5] The Pamunkey Neck encompassed the area between the Mattapony and Pamunkey

Rivers, nowadays encompassing King William County, the southern part of

Caroline County, and southern Spottsylvania County. It was administratively

part of New Kent County until 1691 when it was part of King & Queen County.

When the Pamunkeys subjugated themselves to the King in 1701, it became King

William County.

[6] English Duplicates of Lost Virginia Records, Lewis des Cognets, Jr.,

(Genealogical Publishing Company, 1981), pp 57-66. Abstracts this committee

report.

[7] Virginia Patent Book 9, p441

[11] The Vestry Book of St. Paul’s Parish, Hanover County, Virginia 1706-1786,

C. G. Chamberlayne (1940), p227

[12] Ibid., p253

[13] Virginia Patent Book 12, p362

[14] Virginia Patent Book 12, p361

[15] Virginia Patent Book 14, p112

[16] Virginia Patent Book 14, p105

[17] A Thomas Harvie married the 'widow Hendrick' in Elizabeth City County in 1696 – she was apparently the Catharine Harvie who died in Charles City (York) County in 1701.