John Stith
Encyclopedia
John Stith was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and the progenitor of the Stith family, one of the first families of Virginia
.
Stith ancestors were likely from the area of Kirkham
in Lancashire
, England
. Stith settled in Charles City County, Virginia
sometime after coming to the colony sometime before 1656. He was a merchant
, an attorney
, and a justice of the peace
, and served in the militia
as a lieutenant
(1656), a captain (1676), and a major
(1680). In 1691, Stith was the high sheriff
of Charles City County. During Bacon's Rebellion
of 1676, Stith was a supporter of Sir William Berkeley.
Stith married Jane Parsons, the widow of Joseph Parsons, and had at least three children:
First Families of Virginia
First Families of Virginia were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They originated with colonists from England who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsburg, and along the James River and other navigable waters...
.
Stith ancestors were likely from the area of Kirkham
Kirkham
-Places:* Kirkham, Lancashire, England* Kirkham, North Yorkshire, England* Kirkham, New South Wales, Australia* Kirkham , a prison in Lancashire, England-People:*Don Kirkham, American soil scientist*Frances Kirkham, British Judge...
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Stith settled in Charles City County, Virginia
Charles City County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,926 people, 2,670 households, and 1,975 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile . There were 2,895 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...
sometime after coming to the colony sometime before 1656. He was a merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
, an attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, and a justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
, and served in the militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
as a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
(1656), a captain (1676), and a major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
(1680). In 1691, Stith was the high sheriff
High Sheriff
A high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...
of Charles City County. During Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was an uprising in 1676 in the Virginia Colony in North America, led by a 29-year-old planter, Nathaniel Bacon.About a thousand Virginians rose because they resented Virginia Governor William Berkeley's friendly policies towards the Native Americans...
of 1676, Stith was a supporter of Sir William Berkeley.
Stith married Jane Parsons, the widow of Joseph Parsons, and had at least three children:
- John Stith2 married Mary Randolph, the daughter of William RandolphWilliam RandolphWilliam Randolph was a colonist and land owner who played an important role in the history and government of the Commonwealth of Virginia. He moved to Virginia sometime between 1669 and 1673, and married Mary Isham a few years later...
, and had three children: William, John3, and Mary. William StithWilliam StithWilliam Stith was an early American historian. He is the author of one of the earliest histories of Virginia, The History of the First Discovery and Settlement of Virginia: being an Essay towards a General History of this Colony, published in Williamsburg by William Parks in 1747...
married Judith Randolph, his first cousin and the daughter of Thomas Randolph (of Tuckahoe), and was the third president of The College of William & Mary. John Stith3 was the great-great-grandfather of Brigadier GeneralBrigadier general (United States)A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
of the Confederate States ArmyConfederate States ArmyThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
Junius DanielJunius DanielJunius Daniel was a planter and career military officer, serving in the United States Army, then in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, as a brigadier general. His troops were instrumental in the Confederates' success at the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg...
and the great-great-great-grandfather of Armistead C. GordonArmistead C. GordonArmistead Churchill Gordon was a Virginia lawyer and a prolific writer of prose and poetry.-Background:Gordon was the son of George Loyall and Mary Long Gordon, as well as the grandson and biographer of William F. Gordon...
. Mary Stith married William DawsonWilliam Dawson (college president)Reverend William Dawson was the second president of The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. A graduate of the Queen's College at Oxford University, Dawson ran the College from 1743–1752...
, the second president of The College of William & Mary, and had two children including John Dawson, the father of Congressman William Johnston Dawson. - Drury Stith married Susannah Bathurst and had at least two children.
- Anne Stith married Robert BollingRobert BollingColonel Robert Bolling was a wealthy early American settler planter and merchant.- Ancestry and Early Life :...
(whose first wife, Jane RolfeJane RolfeJane Rolfe was the granddaughter of Pocahontas and the English colonist John Rolfe, ....
, was the granddaughter of PocahontasPocahontasPocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
) in 1681 and had at least seven children.