Edward Eidson (our 7th great grandfather) was born in 1680 to Denys (Dennis) and Hannah Eidson in Dublin, Ireland. Below is his Baptismal Record, Oct. 17, 1680, from St. Catherine’s in Dublin
His paternal grandparents were Edward Eidson and Elizabeth Smith; his maternal grandparents were Matthew Boyes and Elizabeth Jackson. He had two brothers and three sisters: Matthew, John, Elizabeth, Hannah and Mary. He was the youngest of the six children. He died at the age of 52 on February 5, 1733 in Richmond County, Virginia. Edward Eidson, emigrated to the American Colonies around 1696. Again, why? One possibility relates to Edward’s mother, Hannah Boyce. Her father, Matthew Boyce, had been a member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1639. As noted, Hannah was born in Massachusetts on April 16, 1742. The Boyce’s returned to England in 1657. No doubt Edward grew up with stories of life and opportunity in the American Colonies, stories that had to be very tempting to a young man
From Wanda Carroll Eidson:
There are no emigration records from Ireland until the late 18th century. The possibility of Irish emigrants of the 1690s sailing from Cork was likely, as generally speaking, there was no organized emigration from Ireland proper until the next century. Ships from England en route to America were more likely to call at Cork on the southern coast than anywhere else and there take on any would-be emigrants either singly or as parties. To date, no emigration record has been found for Edward Eidson.
The conclusion of Eidson research is that all of the Eidsons in the United States are co-sanguineous–that is, all can be traced to the one common ancestor– Edward of Richmond County, Virginia. The first tax records of Edward are found in Lancaster County in the Northern Neck of Virginia in 1706. This area was part of the great Fairfax proprietorship, which was a vast domain of some five million acres lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers and stretching back through the wilderness to the first springs of these rivers–a vastness which was probably not envisioned by Charles II when it was granted.
By the end of the 17th century, the Northern Neck, the long, narrow estuarine peninsula sandwiched between the tidal Potomac River on the north, and the Rappahannock on the South was seated, for the most part, by people of purely English stock. It had three social classes: the upper class or gentry, who established themselves as “planters;” a middle class of small land owners known as “farmers”, of which Edward Eidson became a part although occasionally referred to as a planter; and the large class consisting of the indentured white servants which included political refugees, apprenticed artisans, kidnapped paupers and children (known as “kids”) and convicts. The Indians had been largely expelled from the Northern Neck by the end of the 17th century, but the Negro slave, first brought to the colony in 1619 by Dutch traders and legalized in 1661, had begun to constitute a sizable part of the population. Tobacco had become the primary staple, and its extensive cultivation supported slavery and the plantation system for more than a hundred years. In 1700 the population of tidewater Virginia was more than 80,000; 20,000 more had come by 1717 and by 1754 the population was near 284,000. In the late 18th century about half of the population were slaves.
Having been the birthplace of Washington, Richard Henry Lee, James Madison, James Monroe, Robert E. Lee, and even Lincoln’s forebears (the Hanks in Richmond County), there has developed a special pride in families who share their roots with these great Americans, in the same soil of the Northern Neck of Virginia.
As noted earlier, the first record found of Edward Eidson in America is in Lancaster County, Virginia, in the southwestern part of the Neck. This county was settled in 1640, formed in 1652, and named after Lancaster County in England, the county adjacent to Yorkshire on the west. It was the home of the Col. Joseph Ball family of Epping Forest whose daughter Mary became the second wife of Augustine Washington and the mother of George.
Found in Lancaster County are the tithes dated 4 Dec 1706 and on that list is Edward Edson. The second earliest record of Edward, to date, is also found in Lancaster County where, 21 May 1708, he witnessed the will of Mrs. Amy Nash. The witness was signed by his own hand and spelled Edward EIDson. What with all the variant spellings, the Eidson family is fortunate and must feel grateful that their emigrant was literate! This will was recorded 14 Mar 1710.
Edward Eidson married Penelope (last name unknown) around 1710 probably in Cople Parish in Westmoreland County, Virginia, where the Rev. James Breechin served as rector from 1709 thru 1721. Penelope was born about 1683.
Examples of early homes in the Tidewater Area of Virginia:
Edward and Penelope had seven children: Edward Eidson Jr., Sarah Eidson, Joseph Eidson, Sr., John Eidson, Elizabeth Eidson, Boyce Eidson and Hannah Eidson.
From Wanda Carroll Eidson:
In May of 1715, “Edward Idson of Cople Parish, bought 210 acres of land from John and Rester Gower for 9,000 lbs. of good tobacco. This property was located in Sittenbourne Parish in Richmond County.”
Edward Eidson died February 5, 1733. He was just over 52 years old. Will: http://mv.ancestry.com/viewer/28cfe7f7-1c19-4aad-8684-c25680c929d1/87320376/220043286136?_phsrc=UUZ669&usePUBJs=true. In the will we see that Edward owned a plantation and considerable property. The land and much of his personal property went to his widow Penelope and to his sons, Joseph, John and Edward, Jr. He also had money in England which he left to his three daughters for their use in buying servants.
The custom of the times was for a widow to remarry very soon after the death of her husband. The same applied to widowers who usually were left with children to be cared for. Therefore, three or four marriages were quite common. Penelope had not remarried by 8 Aug 1734 when Edward Eidson’s estate was presented by Penelope and Edward Eidson (Jr.) for division by Richard Barnes, William Jordan and James Willson. (Richmond County Order Book. 10, 1732-1739, page 74,203 and 204.) However, living on the property adjoining the Eidsons was Elias Fennell whom Penelope probably married after Edward’s death. His will was written 26 Oct 1739 and probated 7 Jan 1739/40. (Richmond County Will Book. 5, page 340.) Of his estate he left: “…. to my loving wife Penelope Feniel all my lands on this side the main road I now live on and all that land on that side the Coach road joining to Richard Barnes during her natural life.
At an unknown date, Penelope married Captain Alexander Newman–one might guess about 1741, after the death of Elias in 1739-40. In 1744, sons John and Edward Jr. requested a division of the property left to them by their father. Proof of Penelope’s marriage is found in the suit filed in 1745 in Chancery Court by George Willson and wife Betty against Alex Newman and Penelope, his wife, and Edward Eidson (Jr), administrators of Edward Eidson. (Richmond County, Order Book 12, page 740.)
Alex and Penelope’s union was apparently not a harmonious union because in 1744 Penelope filed suit against Alexander who was ordered to award “1,000 Ibs. of crop tobacco each year by 1 May for her (Penelope’s) maintenance and sustenance whilst separated.” (Richmond County, Order Book 12, page 4, 13, 21, 391, 435.) We don’t know what finally happened to Penelope.
The division of the property left by Edward to his sons, Edward Jr., our 6th great grandfather, and John, in 1744 and recorded 3 March 1745, pinpoints the exact locations of the original Eidson homesteads. It seems that Edward Jr. had in mind to sell his property which may have been the reason for the survey to be made. This survey was drawn out in Richmond County Account Book 1, page 226. 23 Sept 1745
The area in which all the Eidsons lived in Richmond County is called Newland in the Stonewall District of the county and is located 12 miles northwest of the county seat, Warsaw, on Secondary Highway Route 624 and 638 which leads to what is now called Jones Landing on the Rappahannock River