Eleventh Generation

1794. Captain Thomas BLOUNT^{133,134,135,136,137,138,139} was born about 1650 in England. He first appears in records in 1680 in North Carolina. "Albemarl. These are in the name of his Excel ye. Palat. & rest of the true and absolute Lords proprietor. to will & require you to Survey & lay out for Tho. Blount of this county five hundred acres of land ...English measure wch. is due to him for the transportacon of ten psons into this County whose names are under written and make returne of this warrant to ye. Secretary office wth. ye. Suvey fail not as you will answer the Contrary Given under our hands and the Seal of the County this 29th. day of March 1680. Jno Jenkins, Wm. Craford, Antho. Slocu_, Rbt. Holden. __ye _ 1. Survr or his deputy _ames Blount, Visula Rodgers, James Blount jur., (torn)__iz his wife, Jno Blount, Jno. Currier, Edw. Rowe his (torn) ___e Nightingale & two Children not baptized."


Appearing with these 1680 warrants were the following records of rights proven and certificates issued:

"Albemarl. SS: Att a Pal. Court holden at ye. house of Jno. Harris ye. 20th. of 7br. 1692 Tho. Blount proved Seven rights viz: Tho. Blount, Christian Blount, Joshua Hepworth, Eliabeth Green & three Negros. Test: wm. Glovr: Clk, Counsell."

"These are to certify that Mr. Tho. Blount did at a Court holden for the Precinct of Chowan ye. 12th. day of ffebr. 1693 prove three rights Humphrey Leg & two Negroes. as certifyed. P: Hendrson Walker Clk."

"These are to certify that James Cooper did at a Court holden for the precinct of Chowan ye. 12th. dayof ffebr. 1693 prove ffour rights viz: himselfe, Christian Elizabeth & Jane Cooper as certufted, P: Hendrson Walker Clk. I ye. Subscriber doe hereby assigne unto Mr. Tho. Blount ye. four above written rights Witness my hand this 2d. of April Ano Dm 1694. Test: Henderson Walker, W. Glover."


"Chowan pcinct. Ss: These may certify yt. at a Court holden for ye. Precinct __of Chowan ye. first Munday in Aprill at ye. house of Cap. Henderson Walk__ Ano. Dm. 1694. Psent. Thomas Blount Esqr. psident, Jno Porter Junr., Tho. Luten, James Long, Cotton Robison, Justices."


These Rights following was Proved and Certificates ordered by this Court, viz:...

"James Blount three Rights viz: James Blount, Jno. Blount, Elizabeth Blount_, One put into his Wart. ye. other two assigned to Mr. Thomas Blount...."

"Tho. Green his own right proved And assigned to Mr. Tho. Bloun__(torn)"

He owned 256 acres on 5 Mar 1697 in Beaufort County, Virginia.
The first recorded land grant in Beaufort County, upon which entry was made, was issued by Governor Harvey on 5 Mar 1697 to Captain Thomas Blount. This grant was for 266 acres on the north bank of the Pamlico and west of Mallard Creek, on what is now known as Ragged Point. Blount made entry upon this land on 21 May 1701 Captain Thomas Blount received his grant to land on Ragged Point for transporting persons to the Pamlico. Apparently two of them were either indentured servants or slaves. Two of the persons transported by Blount were William Hancock and his wife, Elizabeth.
He signed a will on 3 Sep 1701 in Aberlemarle County, North Carolina.¹⁴⁰
"IN YE NAME OF GOD AMEN. I, Thomas Blount, being in perfect health and sound Memory, Do make this my last will & testiment, thereby Revoke all former Wills & testements wtever in manr. & form following, viz:

Impr. I Do give & Bequeath my soul to God yt gave it, Hopeing throw yr mercy & Merett of our Ld. & Saviour Jesus Christ, to receive a full & Genl. pardon of all my Sins; and my body to ye earth, there to be Desently Intered, acording to ye rits of ye Church of Engl., by my Execr. hereafter Named.

Item. Whereas, by a former Will I have given Half my moveable Estate, & two plantations, known by ye names of Midle plantation, & yt whereon I now live at ye mouth of [K]endricks Creek, to my ever loving wife, Mary Blount, & her issue (provided it be to ye children Begotten of her body by me Thomas Blount), after her Death, I Do confirm and make good ye same unto her, by this my will, in man'r. as is above expresst.

Item. As to ye part of my Estate, both real and personal, I give and bequeath as following: unto my son, James Blount, his Chare of two negroes out of ye other halfe of my sd Estate, and my shoope of smith tooles, with ye anvell, belows, & all other tools thereunto belonging, wt. the Iron & Steel & filles, and half ye tract of land Called C[a]bbin Necke, yt is to say, ye Northerly part of ye plantation, to be included in ye part belonging to him & ye boye Bonner.

Item. I do give & bequeath all my whole stocke of Cattle, to be equally Devided between all my children begotting of sd. Mary Blount, my daughter, Billah, who has maryed to kellem tyler, to be excepted out of this gift, she having received her portion allready.
Item. I give and bequeath to my daughter, Billah, aforesd. one silver spoon.
Item. As to ye rest of my Estate, tis my will & Desire yt it should be brought to an apprismt & out of it pay unto my three daughters, Sarah Peirce, Christian Ludford, & Ann Wilson, these sums hereafter named, yt is to say, unto my Sarah tenne pound Sterl. to be paid in Country Commodity; to my daughter, Christian, twenty Pounds Sterl. to be pd. as aforesd. & to my daughter, Ann, twenty Pounds Sterl. to be paid in like manner: and in case of the death of any of my aforesd daughters, ye same to be paid to either of their heirs: & to each of them one silver spoon: & further I Do give unto either of my two daughters last named, being Christian, & Ann, two yews and a Ram, to each of them, and in case my sd Estate so appraised, after the things before giving away, do not amounted to ye sd sumes of money, by me giveing them, my said daughters, to be paid proportionable out of w't it is apraised to: but if it shall amount to more then it my further will & Desire yt my two sones, John and Thomas, shall have each of them a negro, & for want of negroes to have ech of them five & twenty Pounds Sterl. apeace, to be pd in Country Comodity.
Item. I do give and bequeath ye other half or Moitye of ye tract of land, called C[a]bbin Necke, unto my son, John, and his heirs; & for want of heirs, it to come to my sone, James, & his heir; and if my son, James shall dye w'tout heirs, his part to com to my son John & his heirs.
Item. As to ye rest of my Estate, after my wife's half paid and Delivered her, and my Above Legacys being paid as herein expressed, I Doe give and bequeath unto my son, James Blount, & his heirs forever, whom I make my full and sole Execucter of this my last will and Testiment, Declaring & Publishing this to be soe: as,

Witness my hand and seal, this third Day of September, in ye year of our Lord, Seventeen hundred & one, & in ye 13th. year of ye reign of our Soveraign L'd. William ye 3rd, King of England, &c.

Thomas Blount (Seal)"

"A Codicil to my Will: This is my futher will & pleasure, yt ye legacys within my said Will giving & exprest, shall be pd. w'thin eighteen months after my decease. as, witness my hand & seal ye year and day abovesd.

Thomas Blount (Seal)

Signed & seald in presence of
Wm. Wilkison. [or Willson]
John Blount.
Thomas Green"

"March 28th 1706.
The within will was proved before me the Honble: Thos. Cary, Esqr., D: Gov:, by ye oathes of Tho: Green & John Blount, who upon their oahtes Say that they did see ye withinTho: Blount, Sign, Seal, & acknowledge ye within written, to be his last Will & Testamt.

Thomas Cary"


Thomas Blount left two wills. The first was dated 4 Aug 1701. In the will, Thomas Blount of Kendricks Creek in Albemarle County granted to his wife, Mary, 640 acres and 640 acres, etc., "provided that my children shall inherit." See Will of Thomas Blount, North Carolina State Archives. The will was presented to the General Court for recording by Thomas Blount on his last day as a member of the Court, 30 Oct 1701. See North Carolina Higher-Court Records 1697-1701, 460-461.

The second and final will was dated 3 Sept 1701.
He died before 28 Mar 1706 in Cabin Ridge Plantation, Kendricks Creek, Albermarle, North Carolina. He was a member of the Church of England.
Thomas married a second time to Mary Perry and they had the following children: Thomas Jr, Benjamin, Jacob, Essau, Zilpha, and John.

Blount (Blunt), Thomas, colonial official, was the son of Captain James Blount and his first wife, whose name is not known. The elder Blounts moved to Albemarle from Isle of Wight County, Virginia between 1660 and 1669. Apparently Thomas and a brother, James Jr, remained in Virginia for a time or returned there after their family's removal to Albemarle. Both Thomas and James Jr proved their own headrights and were granted land in Albemarle in 1680.

Like his father, Thomas Blount was called captain by his contemporaries, which presumably indicated rank in the militia of either Virginia or North Carolina, or both. Also, like his father, he held civil office, including a seat on the council, in North Carolina. Blount's first known office was justice of Chowan Precinct court, of which he was the presiding judge in 1694. The almost total loss of the seventeeenth-century records of that court renders it impossible to determine the length of his service.

In 1696 Blount was a member of the North Carolina council and was ex officio justice of the general court, then held by the council. From 1698 through 1701 he was justice of the general court by commission from the council but no longer a council member. In about 1696 and 1703 he was a member of the assembly, but the exact dates of his legislative service are not known. In 1699 he was member of a commission to investigate a charge of murder brought against a group of Indians, which was found to be false.

At some time subsequent to Oct 1701 the general court disqualified Blount from holding civil or military office in the colony during the remainder of his life. That action was taken because of the marriage of Blount's son James to Mary Tyler, sister of James's deceased wife, Katherine. Such a marriage, though admitttedly outside the jurisdiction of the court, was prohibited by the Anglican church. As both Blount and Nicholas Tyler, the father of the bride, were alleged to have promoted the marriage, the court barred them both from holding any office of trust in the colony. Although Blount's alleged offense was against the Anglican church, it seems not to have affected his standing in the church itself. He was on the vestry of St. Paul's Parish from the establishment of the parish, in 1701, until his death. Court record:

"Richard Plater Esqr. Attorney Generall Came here the 3d Day of the Generall Court and gives the Court here to Understand and be informed That James Blount of the County of Bath hath Unlawfully maried with Mary Daughter of Mr. Nich. Tylor haveing before [maried] with Katherine Daughter to the said Nicholas Tylor and sister to the said Mary And the said James blount and Mary being Called and upon Examination they Confess. And the Court haveing taken the premisses into theire serious Consideration Do from their hearts Detest and abhorr the action as abominble in the sight of god and prohibitted by the Lawes of the Church but are of opinion that is is not within the Jurisdiction of this Court to give finall Determination in that matter.
And whereas upon the first notice of theire purpose to Enter into the said unlawfull mariage the Honorable president Did Direct and send Letters to all persons who he thought might be Instrumentall in the matter which Letters was sent per W. Frayly [Frayly was Thomas Blount's step son-in-law] with speciall charge for the speedy Delivery thereof yet the said Frayly Delayed and neglected to Deliver the said Letters in Contempt of the aforesaid Charge by which means that unhappy mariage was made. Ordered that he be punished by Receiveing 10 stripes on his bare back well layd on Dureing the Courts sitting and stand bound with security for his good behaviour for one whole yeare.
Whereas Mr. Nich. Tylor hath been a great promoter and abettor of the aforesaid unlawfull mariage ordered that the marshall take the said Tylor into Costody and him to hold till he become bound with good security for his good behaviour forone whole yeare and be fo Ever Disabled from bearing any office or Trust in this Government Civill or military.
Wheras Capt. Tho. Blount hath been a very great promotter and Abettor of the aforesaid unlawfull Mariage Ordered that the marshall take into Costody untill he give bond with security for his good behaviour for one whole year and be for Ever Disabled from bearing any office or trust in this Government Either Civill or Military."


Blount lived in Chowan Precinct until about 1696, when he moved to Perquimans. Meetings of the assembly, council, general court, and court of chancery were held at his house in Perquimans in Feb 1696/67. He later resumed residence in Chowan and in Sept 1701 lived at the mouth of Kendrick's Creek in what is now Washington County. He made his home there for the remainder of his life.

The Assembly on 12 Nov 1701 apointed a vestry for Chowan Precinct consisting of 12 men, including Capt. Thomas Blount. They were all present at the first meeting, held at the home of Thomas Gillam on 15 Dec 1701. Vestry minutes from 24 Apr 1703 include the following entries:

"Information being made by Capt. Thomas Blount that Elinor Adams is of Infirmity and Indigence is great Danger of being lost for Want of ______
The same being taken into Consideration. Ordered that Capt. Thomas Blount treat with Docr. Godfrey Spruill in _____ to her Cure and that Doctor Godfrey Spruil be paid for his Physick and Care _____ the Church-Wardens five pounds, and Capt. Thomas Blount is requested ____ Vestry to endeavour to oblige the Said Elenor to Serve the Doctor for the _____ of his House and nursing....
There being Want of Some Letters for the Stamping the Weights and Measures for the Standard And Capt. Thomas Blount undertakes to ____ a Small letter C for Stamping the Styllyards and potts and Weights &c and a larger C for the half Bushell and Peck."


Matchmaking (and Consequences?): A fascinating deposition of William Hancock, 1701, May 1998:


Ye deposition of William Hancock of Pamplico taken October 23, 1701----On ye last of April, or ye 1rst of May, Mr. Thomas Blount desir'd William Barrow & myself to perswade his son James to go to Pamplico, with an Intent to break off ye Match with he Widdow Hooper, & to marry him before he came back again if it might be, whereupon William Barrow, & my self went over to Edmund Pearses, & perswaded him to go over to his Fathers, to go along with us to Pamplico, he showed some unwillingness to comply, but we had orders to tell him from his Father ye Great Inconvenience of marrying ye Widdow Hooper with so many children, to wch he presently reply'd, yt my father would have me Marry ye Widdow Durant for ye sake of a Little Money whom I cannot fancy, who hath 5 children, whereas ye Widdow Hooper hath but four children, & loves him entirely. On ye Friday night following we lay at Lionel Readings, when his Father desir'd me to discourse him privately, & to bring him answer what his son design'd to do, & to tell him of Mr. Tylers daughter, & of Mr Derehams daughter of Pamplico with whom he might have 100lt?, his Reply at last was not willing to refuse an Answer absolutely, yt if his Father was not willing yt he should have whom he lik'd then when He came back from Palmplico (he) swim his cattle over ye creek to Edmund Pearses & Travel, for if his Father & Mother were to perswade her with all ye south shoar to speak an ill word of him he had so much confidence in her yt he believ'd she woud not, & if he did not marry her whom He Lov'd He would not Marry whilst he liv'd, on ye Sunday morning at my House after we came in, he fell into a great disorder, wch I believe was upon ye occasion of what his Father & Mother had said to him, & upon his recovery out of his fit, he smote his Breast, & sd very often Ld me merciful to my soul, & was bordering to all appearances on distraction.

Witness my mark

Witnesses
Daniel Bret
Tho. Lepper William Hancock
his W mark



North Carolina. Ss


Know all men by these prsents yt we James Blount & Capt. Thos Blounte are holden & Firmly bound to his Excellency ye palatine and Lords Proprietors in ye Sum of Seaventy four pounds Sterl money of England for wch paymt Well & truly be made we bind of ourheirs Execrs Administas [sic] or Assigns Joyntly & Severally firmly by those presents Sealed with our Seals this 30th Day of Oct: 1701---

The Condition of this obligation is Such that whereas the above bounden James Blount By an Order of the Honle President & Councill is Ordered to pay to Johannah Hooper for ye mainteineng [sic] her Child when it Shall be born at ye Rate of Six Shillings and Eight Pence per Moneth to be paid att one Intire Paymt yearly ont he tenth Day of January Every yeare (as by ye Sd Order of Councill bearing Date with these prsents may apeare if therefore the above Sd James Blounte Shall Well & truly pay unto ye aforsd Johannah Hooper the aforsd Sum yearly & Every yeare on ye 19th Day of Janry as afrosd and shall Well & truly respect [?] the Sd order of Court in Every Article and Clause by himself his heirs Executors Administration or Assignes then this prsent Obligatn to be Boyd & of Nowe Effect other wayes to Stand in full force Power and Existnce [?]

Signd Seald
and Delrd in Prsents)
James Blount

Na: Chevin
Samll Culson [Culton?] Thomas Blo[torn]

The Bay River Indians

First is a postcript from a letter of Virginia Governor Nicholson to North Carolina Governor Walker, dated James City, 8 Oct 1699:

"I am very sorry to hear that those Indians which murdered ye people and stole ye goods are like to come off without being brought to condigne punishment, and that it may be be a ill precedent to ye Indians in these parts and incourage them to do the like is ye hearty wishes of --- F.N. Francis Nicholson"


Governor Walker responded on 18 Nov 1699:

"Concerning ye Indians its very true that such report made to us that we generally did believe that these unhappy people were destroyed by them, and I with the advice of the Assembly sent the Hon. David Akehurst Esq. to inquire of the truth thereof and with him Capt. Thos. Blount who was a very great sharer in that loss, and was as strongly persuaded as any man that ye people in ye canoe were indeed murdered and himself and family was in as great danger as any in the Government. And upon their return, they made report to me and ye Councill that all ye Indians that could be suspected freely upon ye first summons surrendered themselves and gave so particular account of ye matter and with so many concurring circumstances that by all the inquiry that they could make they could see no cause to fix it upon any of them for ye evidences (witnesses) who at a distance seemed strong, when they came face to face with ye Indians could say nothing against them, so that they returned fully satisfied that the canoe was lost by extremity of wind and sea, which all know was very violent at that time and so continued for several days together. (signed) Henderson Walker."


There is record of an agreement reached between the Bay River Indians and the North Carolina government made by Thomas Blount and three others as well as Sothel, King of the Bear Creek Indians. According to the agreement, the Indians were obligated to turn over to the government any Indians accused of murdering the "King's Subjects." In addition, the Indians were to asist the "English in all trouble with all Indians" and to pay a tribute each year at General Court in July with "to pair of Skins as a tribute to the English Government."


A traditional story, related by Hon. Abraham Shepherd to John Gray Blount, tells of the experiences of Thomas Blount's sons in the Indians Wars:
"Four of these sons were engaged in the bloody war with the Tuscarora Indians in 1711 and 1712, who then inhabited the country watered by the Roanoke, Tar, and Neuse Rivers as high up as the falls. Essau was scalped and kllled by the Indians in the most barbarous manner in consequence of which, his twin brother Jacob swore revenge and kept his oath until he became a terror to the whole nation. Towards the close of the war when his feelings had become in some degree softened, he took in battle the son of the Indian King as prisoner, saved his life and kept him with himself until the conclusion of the war when he carried him to his father and delivered him up. This boy was so much pleased with and attached to his deliverer that he took the name of Blount and at his father's death became "King Blount" the last king of that nation so long as they remained in North Carolina".

Col. William Wilkinson, an associate and fellow vestryman of Thomas Blount, left in his will dated 24 Jul 1704, gold rings valued at twenty shillings apiece to Capt. Thomas Blount, John Blount, Capt. Thomas Luton and William Glover. It is doubtful that Thomas Blount ever received the bequest because their wills were probated only nine days apart in Mar 1706. Thomas Blount was one of the leaders of the North Carolina colony. He was a planter, carpenter, shipbuilder, blacksmith, metalworker, church leader and public official.

Captain Thomas BLOUNT and Unknown were married about 1670 in Virginia.

1795. Unknown died before May 1686. Children were:

	i.	JAMES BLOUNT was born in 1672 in Alebemarle County, North Carolina. He married Katherine Tyler, daughter of Nicholas Tyler. He married a second time to Mary Tyler, daughter of Nicholas and sister to his first wife Katherine.
473	ii.	Christian BLOUNT.
	iii.	Sarah BLOUNT.
	iv.	Living.
	v.	Living.