History of Patriot Henry Eidson of Virginia
Fifth (5th) Great Grandfather
b. 1740 Richmond, VA; d. Feb. 8, 1819 Campbell Co., VA
The surname Eidson is primarily English, most likely of Norwegian origin. As a hereditary surname, the only records of the name Eidson have been found in England. One Eidson is known to have been born in Ireland, Edward Eidson (our 7th great grandfather, born Oct. 1680 in Dublin, Ireland.) Edward was the son of Dennis Edeson and Hannah Boyce (our 8th great grandparents). This Edward Eidson is the emigrant who brought the Eidson name to the American Colonies (Richmond County in the Tidewater area of Virginia). While Edward was born in Dublin, his father, as well as all of Edward’s siblings, were born in Leeds Parish, York, England.
From “It’s Spelled E-I-D-SON”
by Wanda Carroll Eidson
Published by Gregath Publishing Co.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 95-79144
Dennis Edeson/Eidson (our 8th great grandfather) was probably the youngest child of Edward and Elizabeth Smith Edeson and born about 1635/1636 before his father died in 1637. On September 12, 1659, Dennis, of Millhill, married (by Mr. Wales) Hannah Boyes (later Boyce) of Lydgate, the daughter of Matthew Boyes. Lydgate was located in the northwest corner of the town of Leeds. Interestingly, Hannah had been born 16 April 1642 in Rowley, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony of America. Dennis and Hannah lived on Millhill, in Briggate, and on Borelaine. Dennis and Hannah Edeson are our 8th great grandparents.
The number of people living in Leeds in the late seventeenth century was between seven and nine thousand, of whom about two-thirds lived in the central area (or in-township) and the remainder in the out-townships. The Hearth Tax returns of 1664 and 1672 provide some evidence of the distribution of wealth in the township. Leeds, unlike York, seems to have had few complete paupers, but about two-fifths of the householders, taxed on only one hearth, lived close to the level of bare subsistence; these were probably the humbler craftsman and dependent laborers. A further two-fifths of the householders, taxed on two or three hearths, enjoyed greater comfort and no doubt comprised the wealthier craftsmen and shopkeepers. Dennis was taxed on two hearths. Only the remaining fifth–substantial clothiers, retailers, merchants, resident gentry and professional men—were assessed at a higher rate and had attained a range of wealth rising to considerable affluence.
The Hearth Tax, voted to the Crown by Parliament in 1663 and commonly known as “chimney money”, was in the amount of two shillings on every hearth or stove in houses paying to the church and the poor, and from the survey it appears that there were 1,431 inhabitants (households) and 2,845 hearths or stoves in the borough. The 14th of July 1663, “Dennis Edeson, by the writing under his own hand, is taxed under two hearths.” This entry is entered under Leeds Briggate. By 1662 Dennis and Hannah had begun attending St. John’s church where the last record of them is found in 1666. His name was not found on the tax rolls of 1672.
Weaving was introduced into West Yorkshire in the reign of Edward III and Cistercian Monks were certainly engaged in sheep farming. Records show the organized trading of cloth on the bridge over the Aire, at the foot of Briggate, at specified times and under set conditions. The traded woolen cloth was predominantly of home manufacture, produced in the villages and settlements surrounding Leeds. There was, however, a fulling mill at Leeds by 1400, and cloth dying may also have been an early centralized activity. By the early 1720’s, cloth trading outstripped the capacity of the bridge, and moved instead to trestle tables in up to two rows on each side of Briggate. At this time Leeds traders went all over the country, selling cloth on credit terms. An export trade existed.
From Wanda Carroll Eidson:
During the Reformation, the city of Dublin, Ireland became Protestant and, in the English Civil War, its Royalist defenders surrendered the city to Oliver Cromwell’s English parliamentary army in 1649. By the end of the Cromwell era (1658) Dublin was a town of only 9,000 inhabitants. The turreted city wall with its eight gates was a shambles, the two cathedrals tottered, and the dilapidated castle was, as Cromwell himself put it, “the worst in Christendom.
When Charles II was restored to the throne in England in 1660, Protestants in Ireland rendered him every possible assistance and made it impossible for him to upset the protestant hold established by Cromwell. The cloth industry was establishing itself in Ireland and Englishmen were urged to take up residence there. The cloth industry made this especially appealing to those workmen in the Leeds area who were weary of various troubles and willing to look for greener pastures. Exactly when Dennis moved his family to Dublin, Ireland, is unknown, presumably after 1666, but the baptism of Edward in 1680 is the only Dennis Edeson-Eidson record found in Ireland.
The growth of Dublin, situated on the Liffey River, began toward the end of the 1600’s when thousands of French Hugenot weavers from Europe settled in Protestant Dublin after the Edict of Nantes in 1685 curtailed their privileges. Flemish weavers followed, and soon the cloth trades, spearheaded earlier by weavers from England, were flourishing. Row houses, with high-gables, predominantly of red brick and with corner fireplaces, surrounded Weavers’ Square.
Dennis Edeson, also a weaver, moved his family from England to Ireland prior to 1680. Why? We’ll never know for sure but there are some clues. First, Edward’s mother, Hannah Boyce, had a brother, Joseph Boyce, who was the Presbyterian Minister of the influential and affluent Wood Street Congregation in Dublin, Ireland. (He became an important figure in the history of the Church of Ireland during a very turbulent time). The Eidson’s may have simply gone to Dublin to visit Hannah’s famous brother when Edward was born.
Another possible reason Dennis Edeson left England for Ireland was to escape the historical events of the time. In 1665 there was plague in Leeds which killed a great number of people. Thus, it could be that Dennis Eidson, seeking a better life, had moved his family to Dublin where he could follow his trade.
From Wanda Carroll Eidson:
“Other than the records found in the correspondence of Joseph Boyce, the only record of the Dennis Eidson family found in Dublin was the baptism of the son Edward Eidson on October 17, 1680 at St. Catherine’s Church. It is quite possible the Dennis Eidson family later returned to England.
Of interest, St. Catherine’s was and is located on the corner of streets now called James and Eckland east down the street from the “old gate” toward the Guinness Brewery. On John Speed’s original map, surveyed in 1610, this location, on St. James St., was facing St. Thomas Court and was a part of the Liberty of St. Thomas Court, otherwise called the Earl of Meath’s Liberty, a “liberty” being a self-governing, independent barony or manor, sometimes raised from an Abby territory, which was exempt from the jurisdiction of the city. St. Catherine’s, originally built as a parish church by the monks of St. Thomas’ Abbey about 1180, was so named and dedicated to St. Catherine who was apparently the patron saint of successful voyages. The medieval church was demolished in 1765 and the present church, designed by John Smith, was completed in 1769. St. Catherine’s barely survived a sad fate in 1971 when the Dublin Corporation widened Thomas Street.
Edward Eidson (our 7th great grandfather) was born in 1680 to Dennis and Hannah Eidson in Dublin, Ireland. He was baptized at St. Catherine’s Church on October 17, 1680.
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 Kelly?) 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
Edward Eidson, Jr. (our 6th great grandfather) was born about 1711 in Richmond County, Virginia and died Richmond County, Virginia in 1770. He married Mary “Milly” Penelope Wilson about 1736. Edward and Milly had three children: Joseph Eidson born 1737 in Richmond County, Edward Eidson III born @ 1738 and died 1795 in Edgefield, South Carolina, and Henry Eidson (our 5th great grandfather) born @ 1740 Richmond County Virginia. Edward Eidson, Jr. was a farmer and held a good bit of land in Virginia, inherited from his father.
It appears that Edward Jr. had intended to move from Virginia to South Carolina. A land grant was made to Edward Eidson Jr. for 200 acres in the Colleton district of South Carolina, (southwestern coastal portion of the state near the Combahee River) 12 Apr 1770. (South Carolina Colonial Plats, Vol. 21, p. 294) This grant was not taken up and 3 Apr 1775 it was ordered for William Walton. It seems likely that Edward may have died before he could move to South Carolina, because another grant was made in 1772 in the same area to another Edward Eidson who was, in all probability, Edward Eidson, III.
Patriot Henry Eidson, one of our five Patriot grandfathers (and our 5th great grandfather), was born 1740 in Richmond County, Virginia. During his life Virginia’s population expanded for three reasons: the natural increase of the existing colonial population, immigration, and the allure of new settlements where there was greater opportunity for advancement of fortunes. The tobacco economy was also a factor, with planters looking westward for fresh, fertile land after soil depletion became a problem in the Tidewater region. Henry Eidson was a farmer, as his father before him.
We don’t know the exact date, but seeking better land and farming opportunities, Henry left Richmond County, Virginia and moved southwest to Bedford County in the Piedmont area of Virginia.
His uncle and cousin (Boyce Eidson Sr. and Jr.) lived in this area so it was logical that Henry would seek out family when moving. Bedford’s early agricultural economy was dominated by tobacco like the Tidewater area where Henry grew up, so we assume that tobacco was Henry’s main crop. The first step in the establishment of a Bedford tobacco plantation was land clearance, typically carried out by a slave workforce under the supervision of an overseer. To avoid the laborious and time-consuming task of clearing the land, and to expedite harvests, farmers often planted their crops in “deadenings,” groves of trees that had been killed by girdling. The leafless branches allowed sufficient light to reach the ground for the plants to grow. Fire was also employed in a version of slash-and-burn agriculture which enhanced, at least in the short term, soil nutrients.
Rendering of a Bedford Co., VA colonial farm and the countryside:
Around 1765, Henry married Jane Arthur, the daughter of William and Ann Murry Arthur of Bedford County. While no marriage bond has been found of this marriage, William Arthur’s will written in 1777 names his son-in-law, Henry, as one of his executors. Henry and Jane had fifteen children: James, John, Barnet, Joseph, Edward, Henry Jr., William, Nancy, Sally, Polly, Mildred, Susan, Elizabeth, Jane and Jemima.
The Arthur family plays a strong role in the heritage of the Eidson family. According to the Arthur family association records, there’s much Arthur data, but little of the background and parentage of William (A.) Arthur (our 6th great grandfather and Patriot of the Revolutionary War). Henry Eidson’s cousin, Boyce Eidson, married Jane’s sister, Frances, and they were the parents of 13 children.
Henry’s wife, Jane, was a seamstress and not only clothed and supplied her own family but she is found in the wills of other Bedford County residents for sewing that she did for them. As an example:
Revolutionary War Times
Virginia held five Revolutionary Conventions between August 1774 and July 1776. The conventions selected and instructed the Virginia delegates to Congress, organized military preparation, arranged economic embargoes of British goods, and formed the Virginia Committee of Safety that between August 1775 and July 1776 governed Virginia in the absence of the royal governor (under duress, Lord Dunmore had fled Williamsburg).
The last of the Revolutionary Conventions met in the Capitol in Williamsburg from May 6 through July 5, 1776. On the morning of May 6, a few members of the House of Burgesses met there for the last time and let that body die. The members of the fifth Convention then began their meetings in the Capitol. Below is the Capitol, a meeting in the Capitol’s House of Burgesses, and Raleigh Tavern where the Burgesses adjourned to meet after British leadership dissolved the House of Burgesses:
Many of the delegates brought instructions from their localities to declare Virginia independent of Great Britain. Bedford County sent such directions. On May 14, the debate on independence began. There was no question that the ties between Virginia and Great Britain would be dissolved, but there were varying opinions on how best to preserve liberty and win the clash with British forces. Some of the delegates preferred to wait until foreign alliances could be negotiated, but on May 15 the delegates voted unanimously to instruct the colony’s representatives in Congress to introduce a motion for independence.
On June 7, 1776, the senior Virginia member of Congress, Richard Henry Lee, introduced a resolution stating, “That these United Colonies are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.” Congress adopted his motion on July 2, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
Bedford county at the time of the Revolution was still the Virginia frontier, an area of log cabins, primitive farming and home industry. It was a funnel county adjacent to the Blue Ridge pathway that led from the East into the lands of the West and South. The region was filled hostile Indians and during the War this was the greatest menace as the British used the Indians for their purposes. Defense was difficult as the region was thinly settled. From time to time during the years 1776-1790 various movements of the Bedford county militia are recorded in which they conducted marches, skirmishes, established fortifications, etc., to the north and west of Bedford county. This type of military activity was disruptive to the economy at home and the official correspondence gives continued evidence about the reluctance of Bedford farmers to leave their crops to go on these Indian-chasing expeditions, (even later to chase the British south of them). After all, they had their families to keep and their taxes to pay. Taxes were levied in kind and in money, both of which were in short supply.
Henry Eidson was recommended for the rank of Ensign (current day second lieutenant) in the Bedford County, VA Militia on September 24, 1781.
He both served in the Bedford Militia and he provided supplies to the continental army. During 1781, practically all of the available militia of Virginia were summoned into service, taking part in the Battle of Guilford Court House, serving with Lafayette and as the War approached Yorktown, hustling to the scene. This gave Washington impressive numbers of men during the Siege of Yorktown, even though the militia’s effectiveness was questionable.
The following link provides an interesting read on the details of the militia in Bedford County, Virginia during the Southern Campaign of the war: http://www.illinoisancestors.org/menard/fam/ho_8.html
After the war, Henry continued to farm and grow his plantation. He died February 8, 1819 in Campbell County (formerly part of Bedford County), Virginia.
As seen in his will, Henry left everything to his wife, Jane, for the remainder of her natural life. At the time of his decease, the estate included eighteen slaves, land and other personal property. Upon his death, his will was officially recorded in court and the named executors were approved. Between the time of Henry’s death in 1819 and early 1822, Jane had held all assets. However, it appears that her daughter, Jemima, who had married Isaac Thomas, had convinced her mother to sell some of the slaves and to give the proceeds to her children. Jane was willing but the executors and other heirs felt a court order would be required to do so and refused any sale until such order. So, Jemima as “Oratrix” (female petitioner) and her husband, Isaac Thomas as “Orator”, sued the estate.
At the time of the lawsuit (1822), eight of Henry’s children still resided in Virginia (Jemima, Elizabeth, Sally, William, Susanna, Jane, Mary and Henry, Jr.). Five (Joseph, Nancy, Mildred, Barnabas “Barnet” and Edward, our fourth great grandfather) had moved to Iredell County, NC where our Houston and Simonton relatives lived. All the Iredell County Eidson’s and their spouses lived in the same neighborhood. Two Eidson sons (John and James) had moved to Kentucky. Upon submission of the lawsuit, all children were ordered to appear before the Court of Chancery in Lynchburg, VA in March, 1822 or suffer a $400 fine. A Thomas Fox, as officer of the court, went to Iredell County to confirm the Eidson’s living there. He offered an affidavit to the court swearing that they could not appear as they no longer lived in the area. He also proved the residence of John and James in Kentucky.
Each of the children and widow, Jane, had to appear before a local court and individually answer Jemima’s complaint. All answered that her statements were true and that they simply wanted a court order to authorize the sale of any of Jane Eidson’s slaves. Interestingly, Robert Simonton, Clerk of the Court of Iredell County, NC certified the validity of the Justice of the Peace who took the five Iredell County Eidson’s answers. Robert was either the son or nephew (still to be investigated) of our Patriot Grandfather William Simonton!
The requested order for sale is issued by the court and an ad is placed in the Lynchburg, VA paper:
The proceeds were eventually dispersed as appropriate. However, the drama did not end there. When the widow, Jane, died in 1835, Jemima and Isaac again went to court to push brother William into quickly liquidating the rest of the estate. It does make one wonder whether the Thomas’s were in frequent need of funds. There were still considerable real and personal assets to be sold and divided. The process was complex and took time but, eventually, Henry’s estate was distributed per his will.
Edward (A.) Eidson, Henry’s son, was our fourth great grandfather. I have very little information on Edward A. Eidson at this point. He was born in 1777 in Bedford County, Virginia. He married his cousin, Elizabeth Eidson (Daughter of Boyce Eidson, Jr.) on March 12, 1800.
Edward and Elizabeth had nine children: William, Mary M., Sarah, Frances, George Washington, James, Wellington, Barnabus and Franklin Jarvis. In the first decade of the 1800’s, Edward and Elizabeth moved to Iredell County, North Carolina. It is here that they would come to know the Houston family.
While in Iredell County, Edward purchased a good bit of property and we assume he was farming as were most others in the area.
Edward lived to see the marriage of children and to become well established in the area. He died in August, 1843. His will was probated on August 8th, 1843.
Mary M. Eidson, Edward and Elizabeth’s eldest daughter, was born in 1808 in Iredell County, NC. She married our 3rd great grandfather, Franklin Houston, in 1827. They had three children: Sarah, Samuel Theodore and Edward J. (See history of our Houston ancestors). Franklin died in January, 1880 and Mary shortly thereafter. They are buried in the Harbin-Freeze Cemetery in Cherokee County. Unfortunately, their tombstones are gone. The only relative with a tombstone is Richard Freeze who married Franklin and Mary’s daughter Sarah. Franklin and Mary lived with Sarah in their final years. For more on Mary and Franklin, click on the Houston’s tab in the main menu of the website.
Lineage Summarized:
Dennis Eidson, 1635 – 1682, 8th great grandfather
Edward Eidson, Sr., 1680 – 1732, 7th great grandfather
Edward Eidson, Jr., 1711 – 1770, 6th great grandfather
Henry Eidson, 1740 – 1819, 5th great grandfather and Revolutionary War Patriot
Edward A. Eidson, 1770 – 1843, 4th great grandfather
Mary M. Eidson (Houston), 1808 – aft. 1880, 3rd great grandmother
Samuel Theodore Houston, 1836 – 1910, 2nd great grandfather
Laura Jane Houston (Griffin), 1862 – 1918, great grandmother
Minnie Lee Griffin (Rice), 1881 – 1963, grandmother
Harry Rice, 1915 – 1979, father