Cicely Jordan Farrar
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Cicely Jordan Farrar
Cicely Jordan Ferrar was an early settler and Ancient Planter
of colonial Jamestown
. She came to the colony as a child, in 1611. Nothing is known of her origins, or who she traveled with. She married three times, and died sometime after 1631.
, proving that the child had ownership of her land by the time she was three years old, and therefore must have been the sole heir of her (deceased) father. Since she lived with Cicely, and no guardian's record has been found, the conclusion is that Temperance was probably Cicely's daughter by a first marriage to the unknown Baley.
On the tract of 388 acres mentioned in the patent ("...towards land of Temperance Baley, W. upon Capt. Woodlief..."), Samuel Jordan established a plantation known as "Jordan's Journey". The two censuses show that two children were born from Cicely's marriage to Samuel Jordan: Mary, born around 1621, and Margaret, born in 1623, after her father's death.
Jordan died before April 1623. In November 1623, administration of his estate was granted to fellow-colonist William Farrar, a relative of Nicholas Ferrar
, a leading member of the Virginia Company
.
On 4 June 1633, the Council called Isaac Maddeson, Pooley's reluctant go-between, to testify as to whether Mrs Jordan had contracted herself to Rev Pooley:
The case was referred to London, with the following note:
This note spells out very clearly the confusion as to whether marriage disputes were to be resolved under canon or civil law, and seems to confirm Stone's assertion in The Road to Divorce that "Marriage law as it operated in England from the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries was a mess."
Cicely Jordan's was not the only case of its kind in Virginia in this period. In June 1624 the Council in Virginia ordered that:
Eventually, in January 1625, Pooley withdrew his claim. Cicely Jordan then married William Farrar. She died after 1631 (when she was mentioned in a deed); her exact year of death is unknown.
It has been suggested that Cicely Farrar might have outlived her third husband and gone on to marry as a fourth husband Isaac Hutchins (whose will of 1658 mentioned his wife Cicely), and as a fifth husband Henry Sherman (who is proved to have married Isaac Hutchins's widow Cicely.) However, the evidence appears to make this unlikely. Sherman and his wife Cicely, who married after 1658, had at least four children; yet by 1658 Cicely Farrar, if still alive, would have been in her late 50s and unlikely to be still bearing children.
Alternatively, it has been suggested that Cicely Farrar might have married, as her fourth husband and his second wife, Peter Montague of Lancaster County, VA, whose 1659 will mentioned a wife named Cicely. No evidence has emerged to substantiate this theory. John Frederick Dorman suggests it is "More likely, but unproved, that ... [Cicely Montague] was Cicely, widow of Robert Jadwin, who later married Nicholas Jernew and left will dated 30 Jan. 1667/8 (Westmoreland Co. Deeds, Patents &c 1665-77,pp.32-32a) naming her Jadwin children, including son John [who married Peter Montague's daughter Anne] and grandson Bartholomew Jadwin [son of John Jadwin and Anne Montague]."
Cicely Jordan Ferrar was an early settler and Ancient Planter
Ancient planter
"Ancient planter" was a term applied to colonists who migrated to the Colony of Virginia "before the coming away of Sir Thomas Dale" and who remained in the colony for at least three years. Under the terms of the "Instructions to Governor Yeardley" , these colonists received the first land grants...
of colonial Jamestown
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
. She came to the colony as a child, in 1611. Nothing is known of her origins, or who she traveled with. She married three times, and died sometime after 1631.
First Marriage
Cicely Jordan Ferrar's first marriage is inferred from circumstantial evidence. In the census taken in 1623, and also in the 1624/5 Muster, a child, Temperance Baley, is shown living with Cicely Jordan and her family. The 1624 muster provides the additional information that the child was "borne in Virginia" in 1617. Temperance Baley is mentioned as an adjacent landholder in the 1620 patent of Cicely's husband Samuel JordanSamuel Jordan
Samuel Jordan was an early settler and Ancient Planter of colonial Jamestown, and one of the first colonial legislatorsJordan traveled to Virginia in 1610, according to his 1620 patent:...
, proving that the child had ownership of her land by the time she was three years old, and therefore must have been the sole heir of her (deceased) father. Since she lived with Cicely, and no guardian's record has been found, the conclusion is that Temperance was probably Cicely's daughter by a first marriage to the unknown Baley.
Second Marriage
By 1620, Cicely was married to Samuel Jordan, as shown by the wording of his patent (dated September 10, 1620):On the tract of 388 acres mentioned in the patent ("...towards land of Temperance Baley, W. upon Capt. Woodlief..."), Samuel Jordan established a plantation known as "Jordan's Journey". The two censuses show that two children were born from Cicely's marriage to Samuel Jordan: Mary, born around 1621, and Margaret, born in 1623, after her father's death.
Jordan died before April 1623. In November 1623, administration of his estate was granted to fellow-colonist William Farrar, a relative of Nicholas Ferrar
Nicholas Ferrar
Nicholas Ferrar was an English scholar, courtier, businessman and man of religion. Ordained deacon in the Church of England, he retreated with his extended family to the manor of Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire, where he lived the rest of his life.-Early life:Nicholas Ferrar was born in London,...
, a leading member of the Virginia Company
Virginia Company
The Virginia Company refers collectively to a pair of English joint stock companies chartered by James I on 10 April1606 with the purposes of establishing settlements on the coast of North America...
.
Dispute with Rev. Greville Pooley
Immediately following the death of Samuel Jordan, Greville Pooley made a proposal of marriage to the widow. His advances were apparently not welcomed by Cecily Jordan, who was then pregnant with her deceased husband's younger child. Pooley claimed however that his offer had been accepted, and complained to the court, seeking to hold her to what he claimed was her promise. The ensuing case provides an interesting insight into changing attitudes toward marriage in English law and society in the early modern period.On 4 June 1633, the Council called Isaac Maddeson, Pooley's reluctant go-between, to testify as to whether Mrs Jordan had contracted herself to Rev Pooley:
The case was referred to London, with the following note:
This note spells out very clearly the confusion as to whether marriage disputes were to be resolved under canon or civil law, and seems to confirm Stone's assertion in The Road to Divorce that "Marriage law as it operated in England from the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries was a mess."
Cicely Jordan's was not the only case of its kind in Virginia in this period. In June 1624 the Council in Virginia ordered that:
Eventually, in January 1625, Pooley withdrew his claim. Cicely Jordan then married William Farrar. She died after 1631 (when she was mentioned in a deed); her exact year of death is unknown.
It has been suggested that Cicely Farrar might have outlived her third husband and gone on to marry as a fourth husband Isaac Hutchins (whose will of 1658 mentioned his wife Cicely), and as a fifth husband Henry Sherman (who is proved to have married Isaac Hutchins's widow Cicely.) However, the evidence appears to make this unlikely. Sherman and his wife Cicely, who married after 1658, had at least four children; yet by 1658 Cicely Farrar, if still alive, would have been in her late 50s and unlikely to be still bearing children.
Alternatively, it has been suggested that Cicely Farrar might have married, as her fourth husband and his second wife, Peter Montague of Lancaster County, VA, whose 1659 will mentioned a wife named Cicely. No evidence has emerged to substantiate this theory. John Frederick Dorman suggests it is "More likely, but unproved, that ... [Cicely Montague] was Cicely, widow of Robert Jadwin, who later married Nicholas Jernew and left will dated 30 Jan. 1667/8 (Westmoreland Co. Deeds, Patents &c 1665-77,pp.32-32a) naming her Jadwin children, including son John [who married Peter Montague's daughter Anne] and grandson Bartholomew Jadwin [son of John Jadwin and Anne Montague]."