Thomas Jefferson I and II

When Thomas Jefferson and his son Thomas lived in Henrico County, they were living on the edges of a vast Forest inhabited by Indians and bold adventurers.  It is true that Thomas Jefferson I married well.  Thomas Jefferson I married Mary Branch, the granddaughter of Christopher Branch who was a large landowner of over 1,300 acres and a member of the House of Burgesses. At Christopher Branch's death, he acquired one fifth of his estate.  In 1682 He purchased 167 acres near the Falls of the James and he was a skilled hunter receiving bounty for killing wolves.  In colonial days wolves were a terrible problem to the farmers killing livestock and threatening the lives of the settlers so the colonial government paid bounties for killing the wolves.  He also learned how to survey and was hired to survey highways for the local area.  In previous blogs I had written that Thomas Jefferson I had three children Thomas Jefferson II, Martha and Mary.  I can find no reference in several books that I have read about a child named Mary so I must admit that I may have read that wrong in another article.  So Thomas Jefferson I had two children Thomas Jefferson II and Martha.
Thomas Jefferson, husband, father, planter, surveyor and hunter was a trusted member of the community.  He is on record as having served on juries and serving as an executor of wills.  Thomas Jefferson never was referred to as an esquire, just mister,but he began his families fortunes on the Falls of the James. I wander sometimes if they ever knew that in hundreds of years to come the name of Jefferson would never be forgotten.

His children

Martha Jefferson married a Winn.  In her brother's will he states, "I desire my sister Martha Winn to take care of my daughter Martha.  It is spelled Winn in the will.

Thomas Jefferson II born 1677 married Mary Field daughter of daughter of Major Peter Field and Judith Soane.  They were married October 20, 1697.

His Wife

Three years after the death of her husband Thomas, she married Joseph Mattocks (Mattox) on November 16, 1700.


Early Virginia Families Along the James River : Their Deep Roots and Tangled Branches, Volume 3 : James City County & Surry County, Virginia
The James River Guide
Plantation Homes of the James River
The River Where America Began: A Journey Along the James
http://jrnh.net/james-river-park
Jefferson the Virginia by Dumas Malone
A Life Thomas Jefferson by Willard Sterne Randall