John Westrays
Family
#1
John Westray
and Ann /?/ Westray
In John's will, dated 12-23-1755 we can see his wife was Ann, and he had
children John, Edmond, Benjamin, Martha, Mary and Ann Pierce. It seems Ann was
the only one married. We can assume that his son John was John Jr, at least
until John Sr died. (This John Jr must not be confused with John Jr, son of
Elizabeth Westray who died 1750). Edmond is a pretty easy one. He is the only Edmond
Westray that I have found thus far, so there is no confusing him with anyone
else. Unlike most, he had a unique name, it was his alone. And then there is
Benjamin. Although no William is mentioned in this will, it is my belief there
was a son named William, which I will explain shortly. For now, I'm leaving out
the daughters for obvious reasons. Here is how this family pans out:
John Jr died in November 1762. His will was
probated January 6, 1763. John Jr died only eight years after his father. The
fact that he died young is supported by guardianship records of his children.
All four, namely Exum, Martha, Daniel and James were assigned to his brothers
Edmond and Benjamin as orphans. John's will was administrated by Edmond and
witnessed by Benjamin and Benjamin Jr. It is my theory that this group of
children ended up in the Franklin Co, NC areas after the death of Edmond in
1795.
Benjamin died in 1781. In his will his children are
listed as Matthew, Chloe, Mills, Sally and John, his wife was Lucy. His will
also mentions a brother William, who was appointed as administrator. This is
the William I am speaking of above. If you look in the Isle of Wight
guardianship records, you will see a William, orphan of John, assigned to
Edmond, guardian. At first, I thought there were two Williams; one brother of
Benjamin; two son of John Jr 1762. Only after thinking on it for a long time,
do I beleive they are the same, and John Jr never had a son named William. It
is my theory that this group of children remained in the Isle of Wight and
Southampton Cos. in VA.
Edmond died in 1795. He was the last of John's
sons to pass. It is a good time to note that Edmond was a very busy man while
alive. He was witness to at least six wills that I have record of, and guardian
to at least six orphans, not including his brother's children. Edmond listed no
wife in his will, so it is most likely that she predeceased him. He does list
his children however as Jeremiah, Elias, Samuel, Joseph, Levi and Sophia Vick.
Jeremiah, Samuel, Joseph and Levi remained in Isle of Wight. If my theory
proves correct, Elias removed to Nash Co, NC in 1780 or thereabouts, and is the
Elias who is my 5th great-grandfather.
William I have not placed a date on yet. Since he
was so young when his father John Sr died, thus being bound to Edmond
thereafter, he could have died well past 1795 when Edmond died. I have three
possibilities right now, none confirmed. There are three Williams who all died
in Nash County NC in 1782, 1801 and 1804. The 1782 William can be counted out,
for the most part, for obvious reasons. The other two may be possibilities.....
Here is where fact and theory
collide. The fact is John Westray who died in 1755 had children John, Benjamin,
Edmond, William, Martha, Mary and Ann. My theory is that John's sons
Benjamin and John Jr were the Benjamin who died in 1781 and the John Jr that
died in 1762. Since Edmond is the only Edmond I have found, he was relatively
easy to place once I saw the will of John Sr. But please, please keep in mind
that this is only my THEORY. I have no basis as of yet to prove that these
specific people were indeed the children of John.
Family #2
John Westray
and Elizabeth Nelms(?) Westray
In the will of Elizabeth Westray,
02-07-1750, she lists her children as William, Robert, Benjamin, John Jr,
Martha and Eunice. Since her son John is shown as a Junior, we can assume
Elizabeth was the widow of a John who died prior to 1750. I have yet to find
this John Sr. In the accounts settled after the inventory of Elizabeth's will,
one of the persons paid was a Patience Westray whose relationship to Elizabeth
I have been unable to uncover at this time, but I am reasonable certain she was
the sister of the above mentioned John Sr. It is believed Elizabeth's parents
were John Mackmiall of Isle of Wight and Elizabeth Nelms of the same. Of her
children, I have put together this family as follows:
Robert died in 1790 in the Isle of Wight,
Virginia. His will can be found in the Isle of Wight Wills and Admins
1647-1800. Since the source of this will is "Abstracts of Early Records
of Nash County, NC" by Joseph W Watson, I am unsure of the exact book
and page number. In his will, Robert lists his wife, Polly; and his children
Benjamin, Sally, Matthew and Patsey Camp.
John Jr is unknown to me at this time, but I
believe he is the John that married Ann Exum in 1751.