Lt Col Edward Douglas

[Henry Barraud Hunt, Jr.]

As my revisions are extensive I have decided to make use of a new blog post rather than edit an existing post.

Sir Thomas Dale was born in Surry County, England. We know this because when he was knighted June 19th 1606 by King James 1 at Richmond he was giving Sir Thomas' place of birth. At an early age he and his family moved to Middlesex Co. It is possible that his brother, Richard, and his sister, Isabella, were born in Middlesex County.

We do not know the exact date of birth of Sir Thomas but are able to provide an approximation. He was born about 1560 and he died 1619. Sir Thomas wrote his will before he began his assignment as an admiral in the distant waters off India. His brother, Richard, must have been with him as he, too, died in the Indian Ocean. Sir Thomas will is recorded in Middlesex County. Sir Thomas as well as his brother, Richard, and sister, now Isabella Gaynor, lived in Saint Switchin, near Stepney. In his will Sir Thomas mentioned his brother, Richard, as well as his sister, Isabella Gaynor. We can see that Isabella was married to a Gaynor several years before 1619. As we have a record of the birth of Edward Douglas, Senior, as 1590, Isabella could not have been the wife of Edward Douglas. I postulate that Isabella Gaynor and her husband ---Gaynor had a daughter who was named Isabella and became the wife of Edward Douglas. I have been reading a lot about astronomers discovering distant planets and stars by visualizing neighboring planets and stars. If they can do it so can I. I have no direct proof of the existence of an Isabella Gaynor, daughter of Isabella and an unknown Gaynor. Saint Switchen had a church and I feel certain that Isabella Ganor the daughter of ---Gaynor and Isabella Dale would have been baptized at this church. I do not know if baptismal records of this church are available.

We turn now to Dame Elizabeth (Throgmorton) Dale, widow of Sir Thomas Dale. Elizabeth never set foot in Virginia. She died in 1639 and her will was recorded in London, in 1640. Her father was a Throgmorton and her mother a Berkeley. Years ago I studied the family and found no Isabella given names. In her will she does not forget her Throgmorton relatives. Nor does she forget the Dales. Richard Hamby, of Westminster, Middlesex Co. and William Shrimpton, of Hampshire Co., near the border of Surrey Co where Sir Thomas was born. William Shrimpton lived in the hamlet of Whitechurch and less than a mile away we find 'Cheriton' a hamlet that reminds us of Cheriton right in the center of Dales Gift, probably the oldest hamlet in America. Richard Hamby was a second cousin to Sir Thomas. Both these persons were named executors in the will of Dame Dale. In August 1641 Hamby and Shrimpton gave a power of attorney to Samuel Chandler of London "who is now bound for Virginia' to receive from William Burdett or any others the assets of Lady Dale's estate. In March 1642 Samuel Chandler petitioned the Board of the Council of Virginia for any land granted by the old treasurer and company to Thomas Dale, Knight, long since deceased.

As a result of this petition the 1000 acre patent  to Shrimpton was issued to him in 1645. No patent was issued to Hamby as he died. 1649 a second patent was issued to Shrimpton for another 1000 acres. The two patents were then assigned by Shrimpton to Edward Douglas also in 1649. In 1643 Edward Douglas was made an overseer of Dale's Gift. It was in 1642 that Edward Douglas married Isabella Gaynor. Because Dame Dale wrote her will in 1639 and Edward was not yet married to Isabella Gaynor he had no right to the estate. I am certain that Dame Dale would have mentioned Edward Douglas in her will if Edward Douglas had married at this earlier date. We can see that the Virginia Council gave recognition to Edward Douglas once he had married Isabella Gaynor. The 'normal' way that one receives his patents was by paying for the passage of settlers to Virginia. In the case of Edward Douglas there was a steady flow of patents to Edward. There was no requirement for paying for the transportation of new settlers.This is my argument why I present Lt Col Edward Douglas as a nephew of Sir Thomas Dale.

[James David Douglas]

Henry your research on Lt Col Edward Douglas is the best researched and through invetigation of this line that I have found. As a fellow researcher of his line I follow your blog and have great interest in your most revent posts. Of particular interest is your recent post on Edward Douglas Jr.

[James David Douglas]

Thanks for the revisions Henry. Very interesting information !