The Early Fly Family of Virginia: Part II |
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After the filing of Jeremiah Fly's will for probate in 1736, mention of the Fly names in the records of Isle of Wight and Southampton was rare. The statement that they were Quakers has appeared in some of the Fly family stories, but it appears to be unfounded. At this point, it might be useful to state that Rev. Norman Flythe has searched Quaker records for this area and no mention of the Fly family has been found. Indeed, Celia Fly was a member of the established Church of England in Newport Parish, Isle of Wight Co. She was granted financial support for her child by the vestry in 17561. Court records show that Jeremiah, John, Elisha, Jesse, Celia, Saphera, Winney and Sally Fly were all in the area between 1756 and 1791. Each will be described based on the order of their first appearance in the record books. These appearances also give us rough estimates of birth dates and these birth estimates hint at a family grouping. William is included because although he does not appear in Southside Virginia, he is also thought to be a son of John and grandson of Jeremiah. Research experience, common sense and the original documents seem to indicate that these are the children of John Fly, son of Jeremiah, but firm proof is lacking.
4. John Fly (b.ca. 1712- ?) A. Celia Fly (b. bef. 1735-1791 Southampton Co., Va.)
Celia Fly is the one female member of the family to be mentioned in both Isle of Wight and Southampton Counties. Her name is rendered Celea, Calia, Celah, & Selah in the records.
Celia was probably born about 1735 because in 1756, the vestry book of Newport Parish, Isle of Wight County records a payment to Celia Fly for "keeping her child". All parishes were required to provide for the needy and destitute and surviving parish vestry books regularly record these payments. The parish also fined her in 1756, but no reason was given.2 She was most likely a daughter of John Fly, son of Jeremiah who both lived in Newport Parish. In 1787, Robert Williamson of Southampton County makes his will and mentions his wife Celah.3 An account of Calia Williamson's estate was filed in the court in December of 17914. It states that Sally Fly and Winnie Fly were paid their part of the estate. They were Celia's only heirs. If any of the Fly males had a right to her estate they did not make a claim. Several were living not far away in Northampton County at the time of her death. Celia's two daughters Sally and Winney were probably illegitimate, but their fate is not known. On Feb. 12, 1778, a Saphera Fly along with John Purcell and Ledbetter Lowe witnessed the will of James Wright.5 Her identity is a complete mystery. If she was Celia, then Celia's marriage to Robert Williamson occurred after 1778. The name Saphera is extremely rare in this area and considering the difficulties of interpreting old handwriting, the possibility that she was Celia cannot be dismissed completely. B. Jeremiah Fly (b. bef. 1738- d.aft.1759) Jeremiah (Jessimian or Jessimiar) appears once in the records of Isle of Wight County and no where else. The name written by the clerk is difficult to read, but again it indicates that Jeremiah was probably born before 1738. He witnessed a deed dated May 30, 1759 in which William Seagraves and wife Sarah were selling land to William Pass6. The land of William Eley, Edward Westray and Matthew Westray among others bordered this land. It should be noted that William Eley was involved in two documents also associated with Fly, this land sale in 1759 and a 1762 lease witnessed by John Fly. In addition, the Westray name is associated with Elisha Fly in Isle of Wight County. These were possibly neighbors or friends of the Fly family. Study of the land may make it to possible to pinpoint the area in which John and Jeremiah lived. Although some Fly family genealogies state that he is the same person who fought in the Revolution from the state of Georgia, once again there is no record available to prove that. C. William Fly (b.bef.1741- ca.1795 Northampton Co., N.C.) William first appears in the records of Granville, North Carolina in 1762 and not at all in Virginia. He was most likely born before 1741. He is described at length in Part III.
D. John Fly (b.bef.1741-d.Feb. 1804 Northampton Co., N.C.)
In 1762 in Isle of Wight Co., a John Fly witnessed a lease from William Eley, executor of Joel Cook, to John Grey7. This John was most likely born before 1741. In 1768 in Southampton County, a case in which Patience Jackson sued John Jackson for trespass was initiated.8 On May 13, 1769, John Jackson was found guilty and required to pay 6 pence damages to Patience Jackson! It was also ordered by the court that John Fly be paid one hundred and fifty pounds of neet tobacco for 6 days attendance as a witness for John Johnson.9 These are the only appearances of a John Fly in the records of Southside Va. in the middle to late 1700s. It is very important to keep in mind that it is impossible to prove that the John described here is either John, son of Jeremiah, or the John who died in 1804 in Northampton Co., N.C. Here he is thought to be John grandson of Jeremiah.
E. Elisha Fly (b.bef.1746- d.bef.1800 Northampton Co., N.C.)
Elisha first appears in a court document on June 4, 1767 in Isle of Wight Co., Va. when he obtained a judgment against Benjamin Westray.10 He last appears in Virginia in a document dated April 8, 1773.11 He was probably born before 1746. One of the 1773 documents lists Elisha Fly as a juror on a case of Edward Fisher vs. Anthony Calthorp. This is of some significance because only owners of real and personal property could be jurors in those days. It appears that Elisha may have owned land in Southampton Co., but the deed was never recorded. This land may have been near present day Courtland, the county seat where court was conducted. In another case in1772, Thomas Tyner and John Parker and Elisha Fly were witnesses for Edward Fulgham against William Ellis.12 Tyner and Parker were both to be paid for their services as witnesses and for traveling to the courthouse. Elisha Fly was to be paid, but no travel expenses were ordered! Unfortunately, no Fly land deeds at all were recorded in Southampton. He is probably another son of John of Isle of Wight.
F. Jesse Fly (b. bef. 1752-aft. 1773)
Jesse Fly appears in one record in Isle of Wight County on April 1, 1773 so was probably born before 1752.13 He took Ann Eley and Thomas King, executors of John Eley to court, but the case was dismissed because Jesse could not "obtain surety for court costs". The Rev. Norman Flythe suggests that it is possible that the clerk of court at the time wrote Fly instead of Eley in error, but there is no way to know. The Fly family seems to have lived near the Eley family in Isle of Wight. Assuming that the person was Jesse Fly, he may have been the father of the Jesse Fly born in 1789 in North Carolina and is probably another son of John, son of Jeremiah.
Charles Fly is another individual who is not mentioned in the records of Southside Virginia or in Northampton County, N.C. He may be connected to the South Carolina Fly family. We have the birthdates of some of the children and grandchildren of these men and looking at all of them indicates that William, John and Elisha were contemporaries. William and John began families at about the same time-the mid to late 1760s. Elisha was somewhat later i.e. the early 1780s. Therefore, it is difficult to see them as anything but brothers. Some family genealogies claim that William was the father of John who died in 1804 in Northampton and also Jeremiah, Elisha, Jesse, Charles and a William Fly but this requires a guess that William was born about 1726 and that John son of Jeremiah was born in 1706. It also creates other problems with the individuals in Northampton County. A descendancy chart for these individuals is to be found in the section on Migrations Patterns as Shown in Fly-Flythe Family Groups of Northampton Co., N.C.- 1700s & early 1800s. It includes their children. Footnotes1 Hopkins, William Lindsay Suffolk Parish Vestry Book 1749-1784 Nansemond County, Virginia and Newport Parish Vestry Book 1724-1772 Isle of Wight County, Virginia (Athens, Ga.: Iberian Publishing Co., 1993) pg. 148 3 Chapman, Blanche Adams Wills and Administrations of Southampton County, Virginia 1749-1800 (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1980), pg. 115 6 Isle of Wight County, Virginia Deed Book 10, (unpublished), pg. 161 7 Isle of Wight County, Virginia Deed Book 11 (unpublished), pg. 76 8 Southampton County, Virginia Order Book 1768-1772 (unpublished), pg. 94 10 Isle of Wight County, Virginia Order Book _____ (unpublished), pg. _____ 11 Southampton County, Virginia Order Book 1772-1777 (unpublished), pg. 162 13 Isle of Wight Virginia Order Book 1772-1780 (unpublished), pg. 109 |
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Bonnie Flythe
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