Who Did Col. David O’Sheal marry?
What was the maiden name of the wife of Col. David O’Sheal or O’Shields?
Possibility # 1
Surname…..CONNER
Was Unknown CONNER the first wife or only wife of David O’Sheal?
1704 “Lewis CONNER, Jr. was granted 90 acres of land in Nansemond County, Virginia, on Loosing Swamp (near John Powell).” (Powell History, Silas Emmett Lucas, 1961)
“Lewis CONNER of Norfolk County, Virginia, to John O’SHEAL(son of David). 90 acres on Loosing Swamp, formerly part of Nansemond County, Virginia,Test, David O’Sheal, March 19, 1720.
NINETEEN (19) YEARS LATER
Virginia Gazette, April 13, 1739
To be SOLD, very reasonably,A Tract of Land, containing 10,000 Acres, lying on the North Branches of Nuse (Nansemond) River, in North-Carolina; and another Tract of 5000 Acres, lying on the same Branches, at a Place call’d Catacta Fort, being purchas’d Land, by Virtue of old purchas’d Warrants, and paying but Six Pence per Hundred Acres annually, Quit-Rent. Any Person inclinable to purchase both or either of the said Tracts, may apply to Col. Benjamin Hill, in Bertie County, or to the Subscriber, the Proprietor of the said Land, at Sewell’s Point, in Norfolk County, and know the Terms of Sale.Also another Tract of Land, containing 750 Acres, at Sewell’s-Point, whereon the Subscriber now lives, with a good Dwelling-house, Kitchen, Barn, Stable, and all other necessary and convenient Out-houses, the Plantation and Houses being in good Repair. Any Person inclinable to purchase it, may apply to the Subscriber at his House, and treat for the same.Lewis Conner.
1739: “To John Osheals, 5,000 acres in Nansemond on the Dismal Swamp beginning at a pine about two miles east of a place called Cat Neck…”(Executive Council of Virginia)
This 5,000 acres of land was the same land Lewis Conner advertised in the Virginia Gazette.April 13, 1739
Questions: Why did John O’Sheal, son of David O’Sheal, receive 90 acres from Lewis CONNER? John O’Sheal was a young child in 1720. We know this is true because David O’Sheal arrived at the Colony of Virginia in 1714. David probably married not long after arriving, and no doubt John O’Sheal was born sometime between 1715-1717. I believe the reason the land was not granted to John O’Sheal prior to 1720 was due to the high mortality rate of children during this period of time, and as strange as that might seem to us nowadays, parents during this period of time waited until a child was about three years of age before they believed the child might live.
Lewis Conner could easily have been the father or the brother of David O’Sheal’s wife. I have long wondered if John O’Sheal’s mother died, and the CONNER family wanted to make sure John O’Sheal received property from his mother’s family, which would have been willed to John O’Sheal’s mother at the death of her father, Lewis Conner, in 1697, and this would explain the need for a gift of land to a young male child.
Why did John O’Sheal purchase 5,000 acres from Lewis Conner in 1739? Why did the O’Sheal and Conner family maintain a close relationship? What familial connection did they share?
Possibility # 2
Surname…..BEASON
Did Unknown BEASON marry David O’Sheal?
Reasons for my belief are these:David O’Sheal and John Beason jointly owned 396 acres in Nansemond County, Virginia.
My last trip to Suffolk, Virginia, was June 2011. During this trip I found in the community of Driver a section named Beason. This section of land lies between the Nansemond River and the main highway which runs between Suffolk and Portsmouth. When traveling North, Beason lies on the left side of the highway, and to the left of Beason lies the Nansemond River. The following description seems to coincide with my description of David O’Sheal’s property in Suffolk County.
Source: Trent Family Bible Records, Library of Virginia“David O’Sheal’s plantation was “in Nansemond County, on the river of the same name, abt. five miles below the town of Suffolk in said county.”
I believe David O’Sheal’s plantation was located North of the town of Suffolk in the community of Driver where the Glebe Church is located. Driver is also across the Nansemond River from the Chuckatuck community and near the Sleepy Hole Golf Course. The following advertisement appeared in the Virginia Gazette:
The Virginia Gazette (issue of January 4-11, 1738) “Lost on the 1st of December last, riding from Major Osheall’s Plantation in Nansemond, through the SWAMP to Mr. Turner’s, Inspector, at Sleepy Hole, thence to Mr. Thomas Brickle’s at Sleepy Hole, and from thence back to Major Osheal’s, a Silver Tumbler of a Seal, engraved on one side a Lyon Rampant, Or, in a Field Vert, the Motto, Deus noblis hae fecit; on another Side, a Crest, a Hand an Arm armed, holding a Man’s Head by the Hair; on the third Side, the Letters I O in Cypher….“ David O’Sheal
Notice in the advertisement, David O’Sheal said he rode “through the swamp.” This statement is not referring to the Great Dismal Swamp. The entire Suffolk area has many swamps which are by no means the size of the Great Dismal Swamp. David O’Sheal could not have gone through the Great Dismal Swamp on horseback due to its size as well as many other factors. Therefore, the swamp he wrote of was but one of the many small swamps in the area where he lived. After David O’Sheal traveled through a swamp, he went to Sleepy Hole. Today, Sleepy Hole is an area with a golf course, and it is not far from Driver in Suffolk County (previously Nansemond County).
Possibility # 3
Surname…..LOCKHART
Did Unknown LOCKHART marry David O’Sheal?
Item # 1
(Colonial Bertie County North Carolina Deed Books A-H, 1720-1725, abstracted by Mary Best Bell, 2nd Ed., Southern Historical Press)
Elizabeth Lockhart of Virginia to John Beverly of Ahoskey, November 1727, Two negro women for 500A. One woman named Betty; one named Nann. Land on Ahoskey Swamp “as by patent” Wit: Henry Baker, Benjamin Hill, DAVID O’SHEAL. N.C. Court April 1, 1729, C. Gale, C.J., Test: Ed. Mashborne D.C/C.
Elizabeth Lockhart to John Beverly, Nov. 14, 1727. “two cows and calves and their increase…the same I received from Beverly on a former bargain…” Wit: Benjamin Hill, Major DAVID O’SHEAL. N.C. Court, April 1, 1729. C. Gale, C.J.
Item # 2
(SOURCE: Website by John William Lockhart and Isabella S. Lockhart—Their website www.lockharts.com contains photos taken by them in Suffolk County, Virginia. The following quote is copied from their website.)
Their description pertains to the property of Capt. James Lockhart:
“The property is located near the City of Driver in Suffolk County. The Glebe Church, which was established as part of a parish in the early 17th century, was our first stop. Nearby we met retired Judge William W. Jones who pointed us to the site of an old mill, which was mentioned in a land patent involving the sons of Captain James Lockhart. After a long conversation, the Judge brought out a map that pinpointed the lands acquired by Captain James Lockhart. The area is now a peanut field, site of a school, and a new housing development. The lands are about one mile east of the City of Driver and about three-quarters of a mile from the Glebe Church. Captain James chose the site well–the mill was nearby, as was Bennett’s Creek, which at that time could be traversed by ships. His land included a small creek. The map was made by Alice Granberry Walter and is entitled, “The Lower Parish of Nansemond County, Virginia with Adjoining Portions of Norfolk County.” It was published in 1964 and is copyrighted by Ms. Walter. [Bill and Isabelle Lockhart, Florida.]”
The description of the Lockhart property appears to be the exact area where Col. David O’Sheal lived in Suffolk County, Virginia. Again, I refer you to the advertisement placed in the Virginia Gazette 1738.
Did Col. David O’Sheal marry unknown Conner, unknown Beason, and/or unknown Lockhart?
I welcome any and all suggestions.