With the new way of combining genealogy with DNA testing, it is beginning
to look as if John Medlock Sr. of New Kent Co VA. and William Matlack of
New Jersey are brothers who came to America from England and are the sons
of George Matlack. This being the case, records indicate that John Medlock
was christened on September 6th 1638,Cropwell Bishop, a small village in
Nottinghamshire England. We do not know who John married first. We do know
that his first wife was Anne and that she died in New Kent Co. Virginia on
March 23 1699/1700, and that John married a 2nd time on April 27 1701.
The History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Chapter 11, English Immigrants
Continue to Arrive on the Delaware, 1679-1681 from the discovery of the
Delaware to the present time, by W. W. H Davis, A.M., Democrat Book and
Job Office Print, Doylestown, PA 1876 states:
"
The first settlers for West New Jersey arrived
in the ship Griffith,
of
London, in 1675, after a long passage, and
landed near Salem. Among
the
passengers were John Fenwick, his two daughters
and several servants;
Edward Champness, Edward
Wade, Samuel Wade, John Smith and wife, Samuel
Nicholas, Richard Guy, Richard Noble, who
subsequently settled in this
county; Richard
Hancock, John Pledger, Hipolite Luperer, John
Matlock,
and
others with their families"
“The ship loaded at
London from June 16, 1675 to July 20. On October
3
(Gregorian
calendar) it anchored near the
mouth of Assamhocking River in
Delaware Bay and
then ascended the river (now called the Salem)
landing
on
October 5, at the present site of the city of
Salem on the south side
of
the river. This list is taken from Walter Lee
Sheppard, Jr. and Marion
R. Balderston "Early Shipping to the
Jersey Shore of the Delaware"
reprinted
in a compilation by Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr.,
Passengers and
Ships Prior to 1684 (Baltimore: Genealogical
Publishing Company,1970).”
It is obvious
that those aboard the Griffin were Quakers, We
have no
records
indicating that John Medlock was a Quaker. If by
chance this is
the
John Medlock,
who we refer to as Senior, we do not know where
he was
from
1675 to 1689. We have no records indicating who
John married nor how
many
children they may have had in those 14 years.
What we do know is that
the John Medlock that many of us believe we
descend
from, first appears in 1689 in New Kent County
Virginia.
John Medlock was in the list of
those whose land had to be remarked every
four
years on the precinct list in St. Peters Parish,
New Kent County,
Virginia.
The order was issued on February 28, 1689, and
the procession
(paying
taxes on land), and remarking the boundaries
were to take place in
May
and June. (pgs 19 and 21) (“Vestry Book and
Register of St. Peters
Parish,
New Kent and James City Counties, Virginia,
1684-1786”, Virginia
State
Library.) Note: Medlock was
spelled Menlook.
St.
Peter's Parish, where Totopotomoy Creek was located
at the time of
John Medlock settling there, was
formed in 1678 by division from Blisland
parish. It
encompassed the valley of the Pamunkey River and
its tributaries.
It
was bounded on the north-east by the
ridge between the Pamunkey and
the Mattaponi
rivers, and on the south-west by the ridge
between the
Pamunkey and Chickahominy rivers as shown in
Figure 1. There was no
boundary
established on the north-west side, the parish
theoretically
extending
in that direction indefinitely, although
practically speaking it
extended
only as far as to the farthest point of
settlement. This was not
far
beyond the fork
of the South Anna and North Anna Rivers.
The parish contained more than one church building during the first years
of its existence. The "Lower Church" was originally located several miles
downstream from Matadequin Creek along the Pamunkey River and was used
until 1703 when it was replaced by a new church that still stands today.
This church was the site of the marriage of George Washington in 1759, and
is the oldest parish church in the Diocese of Virginia (Gentry Family
Gazette & Genealogy", published by Richard H. Gentry, McLean, VA, vol 8,
p.3 (Sep 1991).
Also in 1689 in the New
Kent County Parish records a Thomas Matlocke was
mentioned where he was having a son William baptized on Oct 10 1689,
(Saint Peters Church of New Kent Co Parish Register, pg 21)
Thomas could
possibly be a brother to John, Or perhaps a son. We don’t
know. It may be possible that Thomas was the husband of Hester Watson that
so many
have listed as John Matlock Jr's wife.
Hester
Watson was the daughter of William Watson. William Watson Last Will
and Testament bearing the date April 15th 1689 “devised to
the sd Hester
Medlock and to her heirs forever” This Hester Watson became a widow, by or
before December of 1733 she was remarried to Mark Anthony.
1733 December 5 Mark
Anthony of St. Pauls Par.,Hanover Co., planter,
and
Hester
his wife to John Clayton of
Williamsburg, James City Co., Esqr.;
for twenty
shillings; 50 a on branches of Mattadequin Creek
in St. Pauls
Par., Hanover Co.; part of a tract
granted to one William Watson late of
James
City Co., dec'd., by patent 8 Oct 1672 whereby sd.
Watson by his Last
Will
and Testament bearing date 15 April 1689 devised to the sd.
Hester by
the
name of Hester Medlock
and to her heirs forever. Mark (x) Anthony
Hester
(x) Anthony Wit: Thos. Prosser, Ben
Walker, Jam. Power
The land in which was
patented on Oct 8 1672 was listed as: New Kent
Co
Pat
Book 6 Pg 411 Oct 8 1672 William Watson 750 acres upon
branches of
Mattadequm Creek adjacent David Craford near Westover Path
At this time, we have
not traced Mark and Hester Anthony, and have no
knowledge
of what became of them. As for the
William Matlocke, son of
Thomas,
we have no idea what became of him either. There
were no other
mentions
in the New Kent County Registers of either one
of them.
Moving on with John
Medlock, and viewing what the "Saint Peters
Church of
New
Kent County Parish Register"
indicates to us, is John Medlock’s wife
Anne
died March 23 1699/1700 (pg 64) and that on
April 27 1701 A John
Medlock married,
and unfortunately where his new brides name
would have
been,
it was blank (pg 48).
Senior nor
Junior followed the name John, so it’s not
certain really which
John married
in 1701. Many researchers have determined that
it was John SR
and that John
fathered a son with his new bride, who was named
William.
William was
baptized July 19 1702. (pg24).
Mentioning
of the Medlocks and Madox:
Saint Peters Church of New Kent Co Parish Register
Anne wife of Jno medlock dyed the 23 march 1699/1700.
Jno medlock and married the 27 April 1701.
George Son of John medlock Ju& baptiz ye. 8 June 1701.
William Son of Jno medlock baptiz the 19 July 1702.
Thomas Son of Jno medlock Ju& born 21 Nov 1703
Sarah Daugh of John Madox baptis. ye 27 Sept, 1702.
Robt _____ Maddox bapt. 24 Febry, 1704-5
Susanna Daughter of Jno Maddox bapt. 19th, 1707
William son of John Maddox Born January 11, 1719
John Madox Departed this Life Jany.ye 6, 1718.
Margaret
Madox Departed this Life Decembr ye 31st,1718.
We have not been able
to find any
records to
what happened to John Medlock
or his wife. John had either
died by 1704 when the Quit Rent Rolls came
out
or he had left the area. With the
Saint
Peters Parish records so well
recorded,
I doubt that John or his 2nd wife had died
there.
Virginia Quit Rent
Rolls New Kent County Rent Roll
“Virginia Magazine &
History & Biography Vol. 31”
Page
215-217
Rent Roll of the Lands
held of her Majste in the Parish of St. Peters &
St. Pauls
John MEDLOCK 350
Acres
John MADOX
300 Acres
There are researchers
of the past who believed John had left
Virginia, and
that
he may have been the John who shows up in Bath
and Beaufort County
North
Carolina as early as 1728. That John died Oct 12
1732 and left
a
will.
North Carolina Wills A
Testator Index 1665-1900 Thornton W Mitchell
Pg 243
John Mattocke Died 0ct 12
1732 Will dated Sept 4 1733 Daughters Ann
and
Elizabeth,
Wife Mary. Wit Ben Wheatley and William Owen
What the records have
left us with, is the possibility that John Medlock
Sr. had two sons, one was John Medlock
Jr. and the other was William.
Those
are the two men that we will be following.
Hopefully someday
pieces to the unanswered questions will be
discovered.
JOHN MEDLOCK
/MATLOCK....................................................... 
WILLIAM MEDLOCK/MATLOCK..................................................
