The NEALE family of ANNE NEALE descended from Lieutenant DANIEL NEALE-1 and his wife, ELLEN [or HELEN/ELEANOR], the immigrant ancestors, who came from Ireland, bringing their children with them. Lieutenant DANIEL NEALE-1 served in many community positions and was Constable, High Sheriff, Burgess, and vestryman. He had fought on the side of King Charles against Cromwell during the Civil War in England. His estates were forfeited for his participation in the war and he was among those listed as transported to Northumberland County, Virginia, about 1653/4. [Burke’s Landed Gentry, 1939, pg. 2840.]
Persons who were transported for crimes, or for being on the wrong side of a rebellion, were frequently able to gain their freedom after transportation by simply out-bidding others for their services. In case the person was not able to do so, then they had to serve a period of hard labor as an indentured servant. Even if they managed to purchase their freedom, however, they were not allowed, upon penalty of death, to return to England until after their time had expired.
Once prisoners of war could be labeled as “rebels” they became fair game for transportation, and it was only a short and logical step then to bracket them with any political opponents of the regime, idlers, beggars, and other shiftless nuisances. In short order transportation became the convenient method of disposing of all manner of undesirables and non-partisans, even prisoners who had not been formally convicted. In 1653 Richard Netherway of Bristol was licensed to ship 100 “Tories” from Ireland to be sold as slaves in Virginia. [Coldham, Emigrants In Chains, pg. 48.]
If a person to be transported had funds left, or if he had friends who would pay for his passage, he might have reasonable accommodations on the journey, and upon arrival, “buy” himself out of slavery in the colonies. However, if he had no funds, nor friends to pay, then he might be forced to be a slave for seven years. We don’t know all of DANIEL’s circumstances, though his estates in Ireland were forfeit, but possibly he had friends to redeem him and was able to establish himself and his family in the colonies with a reasonable amount of comfort. He almost immediately became an upstanding and influential member of the community, holding public offices, so apparently his problems with the government at home did not adversely effect his standing in the community in the colony.
The depository of power for the Virginia yeomanry was the House of Burgesses, of which DANIEL became a member. It was elected by the votes of the freeholders and faithfully represented the interests of the freeholders. The common men usually elected the leading men of each county, men of education and wealth.
Lt. Daniel Neale-1
An article from Colonial Families of the Southern States of America, page 395, says that the name Niall, O’Neil, Neal, Neil, Neale, and even Nigel, was inter-woven with the history of Ireland for several centuries.
The progenitor of the Virginia Neales was Lieutenant DANIEL NEALE, an Irish Protestant …..was a forfeiting proprietor during the wars of the Commonwealth and on a list of persons transported A.D. 1653-4, and just below his name [on the list] is the name of Ellinor Neale.”[Colonial Families of the Southern States of America, page 395, which quotes “O’Hart’s Anglo-Irish Landed Gentry.”]
The “Irish Protestants” were almost to a man the descendants of those Lowland Scots and English border people transported into Ireland by King James after 1609 to supplant the Celtic Irish Catholics. They may have been of British or Lowland Scots blood, but seldom, if ever, were they descended from the Celtic Irish.
DANIEL NEALE-1 was born in Ireland about 1620. His son, CHRISTOPHER-2 had been born about 1644 and they came to Virginia about 1653/4. Several deeds mention DANIEL-1’s wife as “Hellen” or “Ellen.” Her name was listed as “ELINOR” right after his in the list of those transported. Helen, Ellen, and Elinor are synonyms.
Lieutenant DANIEL NEALE-1 and his wife, HELEN or ELLEN, were settled into the colony by December 1, 1656, when he purchased 250 acres of land from Thomas Garrard. In 1669, DANIEL-1 and “my wife Helen” sold it to James Robinson. Later in 1669, CHRISTOPHER NEALE-2 witnessed a power-of-attorney for a deed with his parents. DANIEL-1 was listed as “of Fairfield par.”
In 1670, DANIEL-1 witnessed the will of Henry Lambert. By March 28, 1671, DANIEL NEALE-1 is referred to as “DANIEL NEALE, Senior,” which indicates that Daniel, Jr.-2, was of age to be conducting business in the county. [Family Tree Maker, Virginia Colonial Abstracts, Volume I, Northumbria Collectamen, 1645-1720, M-Z. Broderbund Software, Inc. 1998, pg. 582.]
In the spring of 1671, Mister Edward Cole apparently lost his mind and accused “Granny Neale,” the wife of DANIEL NEALE-1, of “bewitching” his wife. There are several references to this and depositions taken concerning this event. This may be the same Edward Cole who appeared as a head-right in 1642, and was entering patents for 900 acres by 1655. [The Planters of Colonial Virginia, page 77.]
Edward Le Breton, who was a merchant of the Island of Jersey, gave a power of attorney to Thomas Matthew of Cherry Point, in Northumberland County, concerning some business. CHRISTOPHER NEALE-2 witnessed this document. This is the same Thomas Matthew to whom William Presley wrote. Edward Le Breton also mentioned that he had heard Edward Cole say that Mrs. NEALE, the wife of DANIEL-1, had bewitched his wife. Thomas Matthew of Cherry Point was a very prominent member of the community.
A deposition, taken in May of 1671, also mentioned that Edward Cole had accused “Granny Neale” of being a witch. In July of that same year, another deposition, this time from Mary Saunders, wife of Captain Edward Saunders, said:
the Monday after the 12th” Mr. Edward Coles came to her house and she asked him how his wife was. He replied that she was dead and then when Mary Saunders told him she was sorry, he said that his wife wasn’t dead at all but bewitched and that Mrs. Neal was the one he suspected. [Family Tree Maker, Virginia Colonial Abstracts, Volume I, Northumbria Collectamen, 1645-1720, M-Z. Broderbund Software, Inc. 1998, pg. 582.]
What the outcome of this accusation was is unclear, but several years later, what appears to be this same Edward Cole, holds offices of responsibility in the community. The accusation was probably not taken lightly by the NEALE family, however, since at this time, “witchcraft” was believed in by many in the community and the church. It is interesting that HELEN NEALE was called “Granny Neale” when she was probably only about 50 years old. Today, most women aged 50 still think of themselves as “middle aged,” but in that period, 50 years old was ancient.
“No person was ever executed in Virginia for that offense. Instead, the courts actively punished false accusations of witchcraft, often assessing heavy fines and costs against those who denounced their neighbors as minions of the Devil.” [Fischer,Albion’sSeed.pg.340.]
One example of a witchcraft trial in Virginia was held in 1705, 34 years after the episode where “Granny Neale” was accused of witchcraft. In Princess Anne County, Grace Sherwood was long suspected of witchcraft, and a jury of women was brought in to search her body and they returned that there were at least two things [besides her breasts] on her body that resembled “titts.” Her house was searched and no evidence was found, but it was eventually decided to “try” the woman by ducking, when no jury of women could be found to examine her body a second time. The day of the ducking, however, the weather was bad and the ducking was delayed in order not to injure her health. What the ultimate outcome of that trial was is unknown to this author.
“Ducking” an accused consisted of tying them into a chair at the end of a long pole. They were ducked in a pool as punishment which could progress to drowning. At some times, they were ducked to see if they were indeed a witch. The theory was that an innocent woman would drown and a witch would float, so therefore if the woman drowned, she was “innocent.” If she didn’t drown, she was guilty, and therefore a witch, so she was burned. That doesn’t seem to be the case here, and the interest they seemed to have in not letting the woman’s health be harmed by a cold ducking seems to indicate that they did not intend to drown her. Common “scolds,” or women who were nags, were ducked as punishment.
In 1691, CHRISTOPHER NEALE-2, Phil Shapleigh, and PETER PRESLEY, Sr., were appointed trustees to lay out a town.
In 1691, PETER PRESLEY, Sr.-2, Phil Shapleigh, and CHRISTOPHER NEALE-2 were appointed trustees to lay out a town. [Fleet, Virginia Colonial Abstracts] ANNE NEALE’s father, PRESLEY NEALE-4, named a son Shapleigh Neale. Whether this denotes kinship or friendship is not proven at this point in time, but the giving of a surname as a given name usually denoted kinship. In Westward the American Shapleys, the author, Brian Berry, states on page 406, that Philip Shapley was a justice in Northumberland County and he was with Peter Presley as foeffes in trust for land laid out for a new town and was a bondsman for Colonel Presley in 1712.
On page 407, Mr. Berry says that Thomas Shapleigh was married to Hannah Neale, and their daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 1702. He names the source of this data as Duball’s Va. Colonial Abstracts. He further states, in a table on the same page, that the Hannah Neale married to Thomas Shapleigh was daughter of Daniel Neale and Elizabeth Holland born July, 1684. He states that she married John Haynie after the death of Thomas Shapleigh. John Shapley, the brother of the Thomas Shapley who was married to Hannah Neale, left his estate to his sister Hannah and his “cousins” including Shapleigh Neale, Richard Neale and Susannah Neale. [Westward the American Shapleys.]
Mr. Berry says that Shapleigh Neale was the son of an unknown Neale who was married to a Judith Shapley, the sister of Thomas and John Shapley. His sources cited are St. Stephen’s Parish and other Northumberland County records. We know that “our” Shapleigh Neale was the brother of ANNE NEALE who married HENRY WISHEART, as proven by our Shapleigh’s will, but there could also have been another man by the same name. It is also possible that Mr. Berry’s scenario is in error. More research should be done on these lines for those who depend on descent from that line. [Westward the American Shapleys.]
In 1702, CHRISTOPHER was the executor for the will of the local minister, the Reverend John Farnefold. Edward Cole was appointed in the Reverend’s will to be a pallbearer. One may wonder if this was the same Edward Cole who slandered “Granny Neale,” or if it was his son or nephew by the same name. Other executors for the Reverend’s will were Rodham Kenner, John Haynie, and Thomas Hobson.
In 1703, CHRISTOPHER was also a Justice of the county. In 1705, CHRISTOPHER witnessed the will of John Bowers, the elder. In 1706, he and HANNAH witnessed the will of Rodham Kenner, her nephew. He was referred to as “cozen” CHRISTOPHER NEALE in the will. Some of these names were passed on to future generations as evidenced by the signature of a later Rodham Kenner and an Edward Sanford on the Leedstown Resolves, which was a protest against the Stamp Act October 2, 1766.
Reverend John Farnefold was one of the clerks of Her Majesties Royall College of William and Mary in Virginia in 1702. He had come to the area about 1671 and served as minister of Mattapony Community, which was called St. Stephens after 1698. This college was named for William of Orange and his wife, Mary, the daughter of James II who had been deposed from the English throne by his daughter and son-in-law. Mary was the granddaughter of the beheaded Charles I.
Thomas Hobson was born in 1666, son of Thomas Hobson, Sr., and was clerk of Northumberland County from about 1710 to about 1716. His father, who had been born about 1635, was clerk from about 1664 to 1710. Thomas, Jr., was burgess in 1700-1702 and named one of his daughters “Clerk” Hobson.
Richard Kenner, the son of Rodham Kenner, was placed under the guardianship of CHRISTOPHER NEALE-2 and Richard’s uncle, Francis Kenner. Richard apparently didn’t like this, however, and he petitioned the court in 1715 to allow him to choose his own guardian. CHRISTOPHER-2 and Francis contested this because the will stated that they should be the guardians. The petition of Richard was granted in 1716 though. One may wonder just why Richard Kenner was anxious to get new guardians, or why CHRISTOPHER-2 and Francis protested the change. There was one notation in the same records that his father, Rodham Kenner, had thought about cutting Richard Kenner out of his will entirely, but had changed his mind at the last minute. Apparently, the young man was a “problem child” of some sort.
Children of Lieutenant Daniel Neale-1 and Ellen, born in Ireland
Daniel Neale-2, of Northumberland County, born 1642 and died about 1727, married as his first wife, Elizabeth Holland, daughter of Daniel and Joyce Holland. None of his four sons left offspring, but two daughters left heirs. The estates of his sons in Northumberland County detail his descendants.
In May of 1696, Daniel Neal-2 filed a suit against Edward Feilding, the executor of Thomas Jones, deceased, “who [Jones] in his life was indebted to Mrs. Patience Downing, the wife of the said [Daniel-2] Neale for 400 pounds of tobacco.” This indicates that his first wife, Elizabeth, was deceased and that he had remarried. We know from other estates, that this man’s sons mentioned their “mother-in-law,” [i.e. step-mother] Mrs. Patience Neale, in their estates. In 1700, Daniel Neal-3 [Daniel-2; Daniel-1] willed to younger brother, Ebenezer-3 Neale, 500 acres on Hull Creek, and to sister, Hannah Neale, and brother-in-law, John Cockrill. He mentioned his “couzin,” Christopher Neale, as one of the executors. The will was recorded in 1719. The term “mother-in-law” frequently meant “step-mother” and “Couzen” frequently meant “nephew” as we use the terms today. “Brother-in-law” frequently meant “step-brother.”
We know that this Daniel-2 had several sons who died without issue, and that he was survived only by two daughters who had children. The sons were Daniel-3, Ebenezer-3, Edward-3, and William-3. The surviving daughters were Lucretia, who married John Cockrell, and Hannah, who married a man surnamed Haynie. Birth records in the parish record some of the birth dates of these children of Daniel, Jr.-2 The births were between 1677 and 1684.
Brian Berry, the author of Westward the Americana Shapleys, indicates on page 407, that Hannah, the daughter of Daniel Neale-2, had first married Thomas Shapley, who had died about 1703, and then married John Haynie. He quotes Duvall’s Virginia Colonial Abstracts as the basis for this information. He also quotes the parish register for the birth of Elizabeth Shapley, born April 19, 1702, to Thomas Shapley and Hannah-3 Neale. Hannah Neale-3, Shapley Haynie’s brother, John Neal-3, left legacies to his “cousins” Elizabeth Allison, his sister Hannah, and his “cousins” Shapleigh Neale, Richard Neale, and Susannah Neale. He also indicates that Judith Shapley, a sister to Hannah and John, married an unknown man named Neale and had Shapley Neale, Richard Neale, and Susannah Neale. This might mean that there were two men named Shapleigh Neale, or it might be an error in “interpretation” and conclusion. Another record of interest in the “Shapleigh Neale” search is a birth of “Judith Niel” daughter of Shapleigh born October 4, 1743, and “Hannah Neil,” daughter of Shapleigh born June 5, 1746. [Virginia Colonial Abstracts, Northumberland County Records of Births 1661-1810. Pg. 466] Since we know that our Shapleigh’s will did not mention any children and, our Shapleigh Neale would not have been old enough to have sired these children [he was probably born in the 1730’s or 1740’s] then, there must have been two men by this name.
Another interesting piece of evidence for descendants of Daniel Neale-2, is contained in the estate of Ebenezer Neale-3, the son of Daniel Neale-2. Ebenezer’s estate was divided between Cockrell and Haynie, his sisters, and contained lands which descended from Daniel Holland. Daniel Holland was the man who served on the Indians’ murder trial jury. When Daniel Holland died, he left lands to his wife, Joyce, and to his daughter, Elizabeth, “wife of Daniel Neale.” Elizabeth Holland Neale died leaving four sons and two daughters, and it named the children [which we have already named.] Upon her death, Joyce Holland left her lands to Elizabeth, her daughter.
Robert Neale-2, of Northumberland County, born 1648, died 1675, or later.
Charles Neale-2, a Captain in Northumberland County, born about 1650, died 1718. He served as a Burgess and a vestryman of St. Stephen’s Parish, and his will was probated in Richmond County in 1718. His will refers to wife and offspring.
Captain CHRISTOPHER NEALE-2, born about 1644, died 1691, married HANNAH RODHAM, the daughter of MATTHEW RODHAM and his wife, ELIZABETH, about 1664. He served with distinction as a member of the House of Burgesses from Northumberland and as a Civil Officer between the years 1680 and 1685. He was a staunch liberal supporter of the Established Church.