More information on Kent Island

The Facebook Group Penelope Stout Descendants is having a vigorous discussion of Kent Island and indentured servant Penelope Prince (who may or may not be famous Penelope of Sandy Hook), who was transported by Captain Robert Vaughan in 1644, who sold her contract to William Cox. She ran away in 1646.

From the following source, I have extracted detailed information about William Clayborne, Robert Vaughan and William Cox. This reference doesn't shed much light about the Times of Troubles on Kent Island around 1646-48, but does provide other background information.  

George A. Hanson. The Eastern Shore of Maryland: Notes Illustrative of the Most Ancient Records of Kent County, Maryland. Baltimore, 1876.

(http://www.archive.org/stream/oldkenteasterns00hansgoog/oldkenteasterns00hansgoog_djvu.txt )

Timeline

1627-29: The governor of Virginia authorized William Clayborne, “the Secretary of State of this Kingdom,” to explore the Chesapeake Bay.

During 1627-1630: Clayborne established a trading post and brought in settlers as a part of Virginia.

May 1631: King Charles I gave Clayborne a license to trade in the Chesapeake Bay area.

June 20, 1632: King Charles I granted a charter for Maryland to Cecilius Calvert (Lord Baltimore).

July 1633: King Charles rejected the complaints of Clayborne and Virginia that Kent Island was part of Virginia.

March 27, 1634: An expedition led by Leonard Calvert (Lord Baltimore’s brother) founded a settlement at St. Mary's. Until 1650 the whole of the Western Shore was called "St. Mary's," to distinguish it from the Eastern Shore, or Kent. 

Sept 1634: Maryland established jurisdiction over Kent Island and confiscated Clayborne’s properties. Clayborne fled to Virginia and then to England.

 

December 30, 1637: Governor Calvert appointed his "good friend Captain George

Evelyn to be “Commander” of Kent Island.

April 22, 1638: Governor Calvert appointed William Brainthwayte to be Commander.

April 1638: King Charles re-affirmed Maryland’s jurisdiction over Kent Island

February 25, 1638/9: Two delegates, representing the 24 male heads of families of Kent Island, were accepted into the Maryland assembly. This implies a population of about 120 residents.

1639: Maryland refused Clayborne’s request for restitution.

February 3, 1639/40: Capt. Giles Brent became Commander.

August 14, 1640: William Brainthwayte became Commander again.

July 10, 1641: Governor proclaims it lawful to kill any Indians found on Kent Island.

1642: King Charles appointed Clayborne Treasurer of Virginia.

December 16, 1642: Giles Brent became Commander and chief captain in all matters of warfare. Robert Vaughan was appointed one of 3 commissioners.

1 Dec 1644: Governor Calvert proclaimed William Clayborne and Richard Thompson enemies of the Maryland for attempting to stir up the Indians.

Jan 1, 1644/5: William Brainthwayte became Commander again. Robert Vaughan and William Cox were commissioners.

1644: Clayborne persuaded the Indians to make war on Maryland. Then Clayborne occupied Kent Island while his associate Richard Ingle militarily drove Governor Calvert from Maryland and took over the western shore.

April 16, 1647: The inhabitants of Kent Island either fled or swore loyalty to Maryland.

April 18, 1647: Robert Vaughan became Commander. William Cox became a commissioner.

April 20, 1647: Governor Calvert ordered property of “late rebels” to be taken into protective custody.

June 9, 1647: Leonard Calvert died at St. Mary’s.

Jan 30, 1648/9: The puritans beheaded King Charles I.

1649: Capt. Robert Vaughan was Kent Island representative to Maryland legislature

Sept 1651: Lord Protector Cromwell authorizes Clayborne to conquer Maryland.

March 1651/2: Clayborne with help of English warships conquers Maryland.

July 1652: Clayborne allowed Governor Stone to have the western shore while Clayborne kept the eastern shore.

August 1652: Thomas Ward was arrested upon “suspicion of felony.” A servant had run away several times. Mrs. Ward whipped her with a peach tree rod and afterwards salted her. The court fined the Wards 300 pounds of tobacco for "unreasonable and unchristian-like punishment … considering her weak estate of body” but didn’t find them guilty of the maid’s death.

Edward Coppedge was fined 600 pounds of tobacco for "living in" with Elizabeth Kisby, who received 15 lashes.

Capt. Robert Vaughan was fined for insulting the “Puritan” court.

April 1, 1653: Robert Vaughan apologized and his fines were remitted.

Uncertain date: “In the year 1652, Mark Benton " petitioned against Robt. Vaughan for order from the Court for his freedom, with corne and clothes." The Court decided in his favor.”

Late 1654: Lord Baltimore claimed all of Maryland.

March 25, 1655: Clayborne defeated Governor Stone in battle.

1658: Governor Stone re-establishes permanent control of Kent Island.

genealogy notes: Major James Ringgold, of Huntingfield, " lord of the 

manor on Eastern Neck," son of Thomas Ringgold, was twice 

m. By his 1st wife he had one son, Thomas Ringgold. His 

2d wife was Mary Vaughan, dau. of Capt. Robert Vaughan, 

the Commander of Kent from 1647 to 1652,

January 26, 1668/9: Mrs. Mary Vaughan, the Relict of Capt. 

Robert Vaughan, brought a suit against John Muggison.

 

To the above, we can add from other sources that indentured servant Penelope Prince was transported to Kent Island in 1644 and ran away in 1646. The above reference doesn't shed much light about the Times of Troubles on Kent Island around 1648-48, but does provide other background information.

Documentation for Penelope Prince of Kent Island, Maryland colony

This week I just provide more documentation for Penelope Prince of Kent Island, Maryland colony. Still not sure what ot make of all this. 

Item 1
Archives of Maryland, LIV (vol 54), Proceedings of the County Courts of Kent (1648-1676), Talbot (1662-1674) and Somerset (1656-1668). Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 1937.
Robert Vaughan, adiminstrator of the estate of William Coxe in 1648 and of his wife Francis Coxe in 1656 prepared an inventory for the orphan Elizabeth Coxe

P 99
A True Acct of The Estate That belongeth to Elizabeth Cox The Daughter of Will Cox Deseased & francis Being now in The hands of Capt Robt Vaughan Taken The 24th of August 1656
Itt one Planttation with housing Vpon it: And one Thousand Acres
of land Belonging Vnto it With A Pattent
Itt an Indenture for 5 yeares serves Dew from Penellope Prince
That Rann Away from Mistiris Cox Anno: Dom 1646:
etc

 

Item 2

The Maryland Calendar of Wills: Wills from 1635 (earliest probated) to 1685

Page 21

Mees (or Mee), George                                      probated 6^th Aug 1662

To Joisas (Josiah?) Smith, house and ground

To John Vanheck, land on side of Deep Cr.

To wife (unnamed), residue of estate, real and personal during widowhood; if she marry, entire estate to John Vanheck, except dower rights. Caesar Prince to live with testator’s wife until he is 18 yrs. of age.

Exs: wife (unnamed) and John Vanheck

Test: Geo. Wilson and Thos. Ward.

Jim’s Note 1: Catherine was widow of Oliver van Heck of Virginia and mother of John van Heck, thus disposition of assets to widow’s son was typical

Jim’s Note 2: On page 16, Caesar Prince is “overseer” of will of William Martine, probated 4 Jul 1660. I think an overseer was a work foreman, implying that Caesar was probably a teenage in 1660 and thus near 18 in 1662.

Jim’s Note 3: Thus Caesar Prince was born likely between 1644 and 1646.

Item 3              

Provincial Court Proceedings, 1677/8.    Liber N N (Vol 66)  Pages 206 and 241

Lawsuit of  Edward Inglish   agt   Jno Stanesby Adr  and  Caesar Prince was settled. No details.

Item 4

Side-lights on Maryland history: with sketches of early Maryland families ...

“Eastern Neck” 200 acres surveyed October 24, 1692 for Caesar Prince and John Powell

Note: Archives of Maryland Online has very detailed biographies of Maryland legislators:  A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature 1635-1789 by Edward C. Papenfuse, et. al.  see http://aomol.net/000001/000426/html/am426--849.html for example

Penelope Prince, a runaway from Kent Island, Maryland?

The text below is a letter written by Nora James (please identify yourself) to the website WeRelate, where people work to "build a unified family tree containing the best information from all contributors." See  http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person_talk:Penelope_Kent_(1)

"After many years (approximately 10) of obsessive research about the identity of the person known in legend as Penelope Van Princis/Van Princess/Kent and Thomson before deciding that I needed to get on with actual life on this here Earth, it is my strong opinion that her name was Penelope Prince; that she was English, that she came to Kent Island (note, "Kent" Island) in the Chesapeake under indenture by Robert Vaughan (note the similarily in pronunciation to the "Van" in one version of the legends about her; that she was the same Penelope Prince whom Robert Vaughan testified in court records in about 1656 and who ran away from her indenture in 1646-7 or so during the time of troubles on Kent Island; that she was working out her indenture in the service of William Cox and his wife Frances on Kent Island and that they lived near Richard Thompson/Thomson (note the "Thompson/Thomson" in some versions of her name) on Kent Island who was involved in a big old major way in the "Time of Troubles" that led to her running away; that another version of her surname that pops up in some versions is "Lent" and there was a man named "Lent" living on Kent Island and who figured in that "Time of Troubles." It is also very possible (though by no means proven) that she was the Penelope Prince who was born in 1629 in Stepney and baptized at St. Dunstan's.

"Penelope Prince ran away from Kent Island in 1646-7 (according to the testimony of Robert Vaughan); the Penelope who marries Richard Stout appears in the historical record as "Penelope Prince" in 1648 on Gravesend in Long Island. It is an educated guess on my part, and based on extraordinarily strong circumstantial evidence contained in the legends about her, that the Penelope Prince who married Richard Stout is the same person who was the Penelope Prince living on Kent Island from 1644-6.

"Take this and run with it or ignore it, I don't much care at this point, but anyone who wants to see this for themselves can look at Filby's at the entry for Penelope Prince which references the court testimony of Robert Vaughan in 1656, and read about the history of Kent Island during the time of troubles with William Claiborne, and read the various versions of the legends of Penelope Van Princess in all of those old histories of New Jersey, and consider how it is that legends take shape over time and names become misunderstood, and begin to understand how it might be that those who wrote down the stories of Penelope Prince many years after her death might have misunderstood how a young English girl on "Kent" Island in the 1640's, who was brought to the island by Robert "Vaughan," and who ran away during a war in which her neighbor Richard "Thompson" figured prominently as did her neighbor "_____ Lent," and might have merged all of these names into hers in print, making it almost impossible to determine her identity without careful consideration.

"At another time I will try to explain all of this and source it better, including why I believe there is a strong chance that she was the same Penelope Prince born in England, but at least for now I offer you Filby's for Penelope Prince and the Gravesend Town Records for someone of the same name. And for whatever it's worth, the records of St. Dunstan's in the East where Penelope Prince was baptized in 1629, the child of Mary Kilburn and Lawrence Prince."

unsigned User:Norajames
posted at WeRelate by administrator Jennifer JBS66 19 April 2011

On another page http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Penelope_Prince_(2) of the same website is written:

"Penelope Prince was born in Stepney, in what is now the east end of London, in 1629. Her mother, Mary Kilburn, was a widow when she married Lawrence Prince, a tailor, at St. Dunstan's in the East on 17 May 1629. Penelope was baptized at St. Dunstan's three months later, on 20 Sep 1629. Lawrence died in 1630 and was buried at St. Dunstan's in February of that year. See the records of St. Dunstan's church for the records of all of these, which can be viewed on microfilm at a Family History Center....

"Penelope Prince was an indentured servant at home of William and Frances Cox on Kent Island from 1644 to 1646. The Coxes had a tobacco plantation on Kent Island, and two small children. Penelope ran away during the "time of troubles" on that island, in 1646. See Filby's for the reference to a record of a court proceeding in 1656 wherein Robert Vaughan testifies that Penelope ran away in that year. "

This is Jim writing now. I don't know what to make of this but if an indentured servant were fleeing Kent Island in 1646-7, the logical path would be northeast to the Swedish settlement of Fort Christina (now Wilmington, DE) on the Delaware River, about 40 miles as the crow flies. The economies of both Maryland and Virginia were built on indentured servitude at that time and the authorities in those colonies were sure to enforce the law by returning runaways to the master. New Sweden was a foreign country and, as far as I know, didn't have indentured servants.

I am intrigued because of Nicholas Stillwell, another ancestor of mine. Virginia Protestants settled Kent Island in Cheaspeake Bay, east of Annapolis, and did not take kindly to their king re-assigning their home to Catholic Maryland in the 1630s . The political squabbles and armed assaults led by William Claiborne resulted in Nicholas Stillwell (among others) being banished from both Maryland and Virginia. Stillwell settled in Manhattan and joined the Gravesend group in the original settlement of 1643, did not rejoin in 1645 resettlement but purchased a lot in 1648 and was elected magitrate in 1649.

In my novel Nicholas Stillwell and his wife are major characters who help Penelope.

If anyone has more to contribute to this subject, please let me know.