A commenter, Terri, a lush obviously, has rattled my cage in search of a very olde pharte of hers… She asks:

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Terri Rice just commented on early_iow_3_dec16.These maps are awesome, but I’m coming up short on my relative. Thomas Jordan (1600-1644) lived at The Maine on the Governor’s Land in James City, where he stayed when first coming to the colony as one of Yeardley’s men in 1623. He moved south of the James River in the area with Bennett, Lawnes, and Basset as part of the Puritan congregation that put him in the House of Burgesses in 1629 and again in 1632, so he had land somewhere near that riverfront with the other folks.His patent for bring[ing] 18 people to the colony in 1635 gave him 900 acres near the head of the Warrasquinoke River. It is west of the old Indian town at the “Great Indian Field Neck”, supposedly a mile into the woods down to Cross Creek. The family homestead is supposed to be on what is now the Gwaltney property on Moonlight Road, and a Jordan Cemetery is there, but the old headstones have since disappeared so that what was a large field of graves currently only has markings for 8.In 1637, Thomas was part of the folks who made the Puritan trek to Nansemond, where he purchased 200 acres. Don’t know where that is either, but his son, Thomas of Chuckatuck’s land is between Chuckatuck Creek and Nansemond River, just off the main highway in Chuckatuck across the street from the water treatment plant. I visited this area recently from Florida and met with the historical societies who had no clue about the location of either man’s land, so this has had me reaching for the zinfandel as well. Alas, I will not fib, it was margaritas. Any help will be a life saver as I am writing a book for my nieces and nephews about our family roots and Robert Jordan needs an X marks the spot in it.

I took up this quest after a trip to my local Winn Dixie here in Florida, where Beringer’s has been on sale. To my good fortune, that particular cheap, rotgut wine tickles my fancy. On the other hand, my commenter seems to be under the spell of the late Jimmy Buffet (R.I.P.) who I can only hope has finally found his lost shaker of salt.

But back to Terri’s dilemma… while I have not specifically identified the land of Thomas Jordan, this seems to be perhaps a son or grandson… perhaps this is the X marks the spot in question?

Chuckatuck, Nansemond, Virginia

Terri should note the adjoining patent next to the Grist Mill that I was obsessing about in the above article. As I recall from my research, this particular area was the purported home grounds of the Nansemond Indians, who are mentioned in connection with her particular research.

I hate to be secretive, but this is a snippit quote from a source I cannot reveal because it is still theoretical, I assume, or they want to publish it. In any event I and some friends have gotten into the weeds in our research of the BRYANS of IOW/Nansemond and hence, my interest in this…

“…Quakers of the Chuckatuck MM? And, who was the “Mary Bryan” witness to the Quaker Chuckatuck marriage of John Jordan, son of Thomas Jordan of Chuckatuck …”ye Ninth day of ye twelfe month in ye year: 1688?” Mary Bryan was also a witness, “ye ninth day of ye twelft month in ye yeare 1687” to the marriage of “Robart Jordan the son of Tho: Jordan of Chucatuck in ye county of Nanzemund and Christian: Oudeland ye daughter of Tho: Taberer of the Isleaweight county”.

The Bryans, at this time, were but a few miles Southwesterly of the above patent on Indian Creek.

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Well now that I have had my fun with Terri, I suppose I should show the real problems with locating the early Thomas Jordan. This map shows a patent of Richard Young (1643) on what will become known as New Town Haven River… that seems to be the earliest reference I have noted. Other references show him or his descendants within a few miles of this general area. Of particular interest for me is the later Quaker references to “Elizabeth Oudelant” . This property must have a story behind it as it involves Moore Fantleroy and others somehow connected to the Jordans. I am a simple map maker and leave those details to you folks. Hopefully these clues can help the quest.

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…an update… Apparently all this talk of drinking, er… Jordans, has caught the interest of Jennifer from California and she has chimed in with some tidbits, to wit:

U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935

Chuckatuck, Nansemond, Western Branch, Somerton

Minutes, 1673-1756

Virginia Yearly Meeting Minutes, 1684-1717

Are Outland and Oudeland spelling variations?

Chuckatuck MM

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another update… lest anyone think that I indeed know anything even closely resembling a location of any of these folks (my standard is to walk around with a metal detector and find silver spoons with their name on it)… here is my unsuccessful attempt to find the Preacher’s house… to wit:

Click to access preachers-house-1.pdf

However… I am getting close. And to keep things in perspective… one of Thomas Jordan’s properties was within easy walking distance of the Preacher’s house… I think.

…some more clues

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Click to access davis-t-1644.pdf