Re: Henry, d. 1777 in Loudoun, VA; had migrated from Hunterdon, NJ
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In reply to:
Henry, d. 1777 in Loudoun, VA; had migrated from Hunterdon, NJ
Duane Boggs 7/05/11
When Henry Oxley wrote his Will in 1776 in Loudoun County, Virginia, he made various bequests, including one to his "daughter Mary Howell".Who was Mary (Oxley) Howell's husband and when and where had they married?ASSUMING that Mary Oxley married Mr. Howell as early as 1744 in New Jersey, there there seem to be two possibilities:a John Howell or a James Howell.Both "guesses" are based on circumstantial evidence, as follows.
Did Mary Oxley marry John Howell?
This first guess is based on four items of evidence, including two deeds in Loudoun County, the Loudoun County tax lists, and a mortgage in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.
The first two pieces of evidence are the two Virginia deedsexecuted by Henry Oxley in January 1771, some five years before he wrote his Will.Both deeds can be found in a book entitled, "Index to Loudoun County, Virginia, Land Deed Books A-Z, 1757-1800", by Patricia B. Duncan, at page 103.
The first deed appears in Deed Book H, at page 171 and was dated January 6, 1771 (and recorded on June 12, 1771).In it, Henry transferred 221 acres to his son, Clare Oxley.The witnesses were James Stephens, John Oxley and John Howell.
The second deed appears in Deed Book H, at page 173 and was dated January 26, 1771 (and recorded on June 12, 1771).In it, Henry transferred 50 acres to Hannah Stephens (wife of James Stephens), and this Hannah was Henry's daughter.The witnesses were Clare Oxley, John Oxley and John Howell.
Analyzing these two deeds, the witnesses to the first deed were James Stephens (a son-in-law of Henry Oxley, married to Hannah Oxley), John Oxley (a son of Henry Oxley), and John Howell (whose relationship to Henry Oxley is the subject of this analysis).The witnesses to the second deed were Clare Oxley (a son of Henry Oxley), John Oxley (another son), and John Howell (subject of this analysis).
It would be reasonable to infer from this evidence that this John Howell was married to Mary Oxley, and so a son-in-law of Henry Oxley.This John Howell would "fit" with the other witnesses, having a similar "status" relative to Henry Oxley (i.e., the witnesses seem to have all been sons or sons-in-law of Henry Oxley).
The third piece of evidence is tax records.According to the Loudoun County tax lists, there was more than one John Howell in Loudoun County in the time frame of 1762 to 1777, but both seem to have been old enough to be a son-in-law of Henry Oxley.It seems likely that it was either the John Howell "Sr" or the John Howell "Jr" of the Shelburne Parish records (1770 and after) who was the witness.
The fourth piece of evidence is the New Jersey mortgage.It was signed on April 2, 1744, by Henry Oxley and James Howell, but noted that, excepted from the 150 acres Hunterdon County's Amwell Township were "two and a half acres sold to Thomas Howell, John Howell, John Evans, and Daniel Geano, Junr., and Hugh Howell."Source:Hunterdon Co., NJ Loan Office Records, #193.The John Howell who was in the buyer group MIGHT be the same John Howell who was later in Loudoun County, and who witnessed the 1771 Oxley deeds.
While the evidence above permits a reasonable inference that Mary Oxley had married John Howell, there is also evidence that Mary Oxley might have married James Howell.
Did Mary Oxley marry James Howell?
The second guess concerning the name of Mary Oxley's husband is based on two items of evidence, including the 1744 mortgage in Hunterdon County, New Jersey and the Loudoun County tax lists.
Analyzing the 1744 mortgage, it is reasonable to infer that Henry Oxley and James Howell were co-owners (or joint owners) of a tract of 150 acres.They then sold 2.5 acres of this tract to a group that included three Howell men, Thomas, John and Hugh.
In considering HOW Henry Oxley and James Howell might have been connected, there seem to be four possibilities, as follow:
1.Henry Oxley and James Howell could have been half brothers (sharing a mother, but with different fathers);
2.Henry Oxley and James Howell could have been brothers-in-law;
3.Henry Oxley and James Howell could have been cousins (e.g., first cousins); OR
4.Henry Oxley and James Howell could have been father-in-law and son-in-law.
I would like to break down the second possibility (brothers-in-law) further.There are three possibilities, as follow:
2.a.Henry Oxley could have married a sister of James Howell;
2.b.Henry Oxley's sister could have married James Howell; OR
2.c.Henry Oxley and James Howell could have married sisters.
As to possibility 2.a., it is almost certainly excluded or rejected, because it is well-accepted that Henry Oxley had married Mary Everitt (a/k/a Everett), and NOT a Miss Howell.As to possibility 2.c., Mary (Everitt) Oxley did have sisters, a Hannah and a Priscilla (and possibly others as yet undiscovered).Hannah Everitt had married a Van Gelder, however (as shown by Henry Oxley's acting as administrator for her estate in 1749 in Hunterdon County).The spouse of Priscilla Everitt (and any other yet-to-be discovered sisters) is unknown.Finally, as to possibility 2.b. (Henry Oxley having one or more sisters), there is only conjecture.There is no evidence that Henry Oxley had ANY siblings, but that seems unlikely.While there are no other Oxleys who would seem to be Henry's brothers or nephews, there might well have been Oxley sisters who married and changed to their husbands' surnames.
So, did Mary Oxley marry James Howell, and did Henry Oxley own these 150 acres with his son-in-law (rather than with any of Henry's sons)?Henry's sons were all still minors in 1744, but it is possible that Mary Oxley had only recently been married as of 1744, and so some people speculate that this joint ownership of land was some type of wedding gift.
Turning to the Loudoun County tax records, there was a James Howell on the lists in 1763 and 1765, but not thereafter, so this James either moved out of Loudoun or died soon after 1765.IF Mary Oxley married James Howell, then it would seem she was a widow in 1776 when Henry Oxley wrote his Will, but all she received was a pewter dish and a basin.And IF Mary had married James Howell, then who was the John Howell who witnessed the 1771 deeds for Henry Oxley?
Did Mary (Oxley) Howell have any children?When did she die?Did she leave a Will? (Widows sometimes left Wills, but married women with living husbands rarely did.)
If anyone has additional evidence of the identity of Mary Oxley's husband, please share by posting here.