James and Anne Hawley had 5 children before Ann Hawley died about 1656: two before they came to this country around 1641 and three after. The two oldest children were Alice and Francis Anne. If James’ wife Anne was born in 1615 she was 26 when she came to Virginia in 1641. Assuming she had the girls between the time she was 16 and 26 that would make them under 10 when they came to this country. So the girls probably got married around the time the Hawley family moved to Northumberland County in the early 1650’s. Although we don’t know who Alice married (some say it was William Clayton, others Samuel Munns although there is no proof) we know that Francis Anne (Anne) married Peter Knight.
Alice Hawley
Although we don’t know who Alice married (some say it was William Clayton, others Samuel Munns). When Edward Hawley died in 1680 Jacob Lucas husband of Mary Hawley and Henry Hawley were listed of next of kindred to Edward Hawley. If Alice’s husband was alive I think her husband would also have been listed as next of kindred although Samuel Munns who some think was her husband was to appraise the estate.
William and Mary Quarterly, 2nd Ser., Vol. 23, No. 4 (Oct., 1943), pp. 525-532, July 28, 1680, “Upon the petition of Jacob Lucas and Henry Hawley as next of kindred of Edward Hawley, dec’d., admn. is granted on the estate of sd Hawley with will annext. Mr. John Crabb and Samuel Munns securities for Jacob Lucas and Henry Hawley. Mr. Patrick Spence, Edward Franklyn, John Crabb and Samuel Munns to appraise the 30th of July next.”
Francis Anne Hawley married Peter Knight and they had five children: Anne, James, Leonard, Elizabeth and Mary. From Peter’s will we know the children abstract of his will, “Mr. Peter Knight. Will. d 28 No v 1702. p 18 July 1705. of Wicco: par Gent. To son Leonord Knight land near Mr. Mayes path, adj. Richd Nutt, Mr. Peter Preslyes. To son James , he exor. Daus Eliz and Mary. [etc.] Re-rec. by Jno Coppedge 16 July 1712.?
Anne Knight was born in 1656 in Northumberland County, Virginia. When she was a child her Grandfather James Hawley gave her a cow. This must have been an important present since it was recorded in the Northumberland County Record Books.
Northumberland County, Virginia Record Book 1658-1662, P. 80 – p. 56 5 February 160, Knowe all men by these presents that I James Hawley for & in consideration of my love & affection I doe give unto my Grand Child Elizabeth Knight one Cowe Calf cropped on both ears a staple underneath the left ear & over keeled under the right ear & a slit, the sd. Elizabeth Knight to enjoy the sd. Cowe Calf with her increase to her & Her heirs forever; Witness my hand this 15th day of February 1660. Test Edward Hawley, his mark /w/ James Hawley. 26th February 1660. This Deed of Gift was acknowledged in Court by Abraham Bryam. Attorney of the sd. James Hawley and is recorded. Knowe all men by these presents that I James Hawley doe make my loving Friend, Abraham Byram, my true & lawfull Attorney to acknowledge this Bill of Sale in Court; Witness my hand this 5th of February 1660. Witness Richard Robards /s/ James Hawley. 20th Febr: 1660. This Letter of Attor: was recorded.
She maried William Coppedge who was born about 1646 in Chelworth, Berkshire, England. they had five children of which four were boys. Their children were William 1678 – 9.16.1782, John 1682-1727 (Elizabeth Basye), James 1685-bef. 7.13.1741, Anne 1686 – ?, and Charles 1687-8.13.1750. Anne died in 1687 at the age of 31. Did she die giving birth to Charles? After Anne died William married Jane Fforest of a prominent family. When William died on Dec. 18, 1700 at the age of 54 he named all five of his children in his will and they were all under the age of 21. Charles, the oldest was 13. Although William died young he was very wealthy – to each son he left a seperate plantation.
Leonard Knight was born about 1666. We know he was a son to Peter and Anne Knight because “Peter Knight received a patent to “Basse’s Choice” in 1638. In that same year he also received by assignment from Captain Thomas Burbage 400 acres on the east side of the Nasemond River. He moved to Northumberland County and his son Leonard, of Lancaster, sold land in Isle of Wight in 1706.”
“came to Virginia about 1662 and made a will dated 24 June 1698, proved 18 Dec 1700, styling himself “William Coppage, of the County of Northumberland, planter.” It is believed that his first wife was names Anne, as his will left clothes that were her mother’s to and only daughter of the same name. All 5 of the children were under 21 in 1698. He married Jane Fforest, relative of Alexander Fforest. She sold Wold Pitt Neck, formerly land of Charles Byram, who may have been grandfather or uncle to William’s children. William’s friendship with William and John Howson, one a Captain, grandsons of Col. Richard Lee, shows that William was acquainted in not allied with the highest stratum of society. To each of his sons he left a separate plantation. As early as 17 March 1679/80 he was assigned 300 acres of John Hughlett’s land.”
There is a lot known about Peter Knight. He was a very interesting bigger than life person as is outlined in the following article I got from Chris Knight.
THE KNIGHT FAMILY of VIRGINIA
An Account Gathered from various sources, including old. deeds, wills, letters, contracts, family Bibles, local traditions, etc. by Lucian Lamar Knight, L.L.D., State Historian of Georgia.
The Knights were among the very earliest settlers in the Colony of Virginia and were active in founding the first permanent English settlement in the new world. Peter Knight was the name of the pioneer immigrant; and he was undoubtedly the first of the family in America, for, while there were Knights in the other colonies, they must of necessity have Come at a subsequent period. The name is typically Cavalier; and, in keeping with its implications, those who bore it, in these pioneer days, were loyal followers of the King. The exact date of Peter Knight’s arrival in Virginia is unknown. It was not later, however, than 1638,and was doubtless much earlier. He was probably a very young man when he first came to America, as were most of the settlers in the Cavalier Colony of Virginia, which was not lacking in adventurous spirits. The references to him in the early records are quite numerous and cover a period of nearly five decades.
According to a number of entries, he held the rank of Captain, a title which he seems to have acquired in the Indian wars (William and Mary Magazine, VIII, p. 25). He began in 1638 to receive land grants from the Crown and continued for upwards of twenty years to procure extensive patents. These lands were scattered all over tidewater Virginia, but chiefly in the counties of Gloucester, Isle of Wight, New Kent, Accomac., Northumberland, and on the Potomac. It was in Isle of Wight County that his earliest lands were patented, and here in 1641 we find him one of the youngest commissioners (Virginia Historical Magazine V, p. 368).
In 1657, he appears for the first time in the House of Burgesses as a member from Northumberland. With John Haynie, Esq., he was the first burgess to represent this county at James City. He next appears as a member from Gloucester, which county he represented in the years 1659 and 1660.
Then we find him back in Northumberland. This county returned him for the years 1684 and 1685, when he must have been quite an elderly man. (Records of the Virginia House of Burgesses). He was justice of Northumberland in 1671 (William and Mary Magazine LXVII, p. 229)
At one time he was engaged in mercantile operations at Jamestown, for there is a reference in the records to “Peter Knight’s store”, at this place. The following entry appears in an old volume, entitled “Virginia Carolorum”, a work which treats of Virginia during the reigns of Charles I and II; we quote from page 203: “A public market was established in 1649 at Jamestown and the space allowed it was from Sandy Hollow) on the west, to Peter Knight’s store, on the east”.
He probably had a good trade in the Colony, which he kept supplied with articles received from England. He did nothing in a small way, and all of his enterprises were of a large character. He was directly instrumental in bringing over to Virginia some three hundred laborers or indented servants, which he distributed chiefly over three counties: Northumberland, Gloucester, and Isle of Wight; on his various tobacco plantations. In a work entitled: “Early Virginia Immigrants”, the name of Peter Knight appears on almost every page as the one by whom passage was defrayed.
In the celebrated uprising of indented servants, known as “the Servants’ Plot of 1663”, it was on one of Peter Knight’s plantations in Gloucester that a rendezvous of the-conspirators was discovered. For the reason that he employed labor on a some what extensive scale, he was doubtless marked for an early victim; but happily an insurrection which might have ended in wholesale murder was checked in its incipient stage, and no fatal results are recorded.
At the trial which was held in Jamestown, then called James City, four witnesses testified that the plot was hatched at “Peter Knight’s little house in ye woods”. On September 16, 1663, the-House of Burgesses gave a reward to Birkenhead, the servant, who revealed the plot, while the date of the providential deliverance, September 13, was designated by the assemblage as Thanksgiving Day, to be perpetually observed in recognition of God’s mercy in preserving the country “from a desperate conspiracy entered into by certain mutinous villains”. (Virginia Historical Magazine, XV pp. 38-43). This attempted insurrection is the subject of Lary Johnston’s famous novel, “The Prisoners of Hope”.
That Captain Peter Knight was a conspicuous figure in the Colony of Virginia, during the early years which followed the landing at Jamestown and for at least half a century of active life, cannot be gainsaid. However, it is chiefly as a land-owner that he is mentioned in the records; and since he appears to have alienated only a small part of what he acquired, his holdings at the time of his death, extending over several counties, must have been little short of baronial. In the will of Arthur Smith, dated 1645, recorded in Isle of Wight, he is designated as one of the executors. (Virginia Magazine, VI p. 115). On May 17, 1657, he was “added to the quorum of Gloucester”. (Virginia Historical I, Magazine, VIII, p. 166). He sat at different times, for two separate counties, in the House of Burgesses, and served these constituencies for an aggregate period of six years; besides which he was a justice for Northumberland. Certainly a good record this, to survive the mutations of three hundred years, and it gives substantial credit to a pioneer whose biography has drifted down to us only in fragments.
He was a merchant and a Captain. He was a Northumberland County Commissioner. He obtained many acres of land by transporting people to Virginia. He transported many people from all walks of life to America. He was a Burgess and a Commissioner for many years. And, he was involved in many land dealing with James Hawley, his father-in-law. To see some of his land transactions go to his link. There is a lot of speculation and confusion about whether or not Peter Knight married Genevieve Basse and later married Anne Hawley. Usually these researchers put Peter Knight’s birth at 1585. If so, he would have been over 100 when he died, unless this Peter was his Father. Genevieve was born in 1624 about the same time as Peter Knight so she couldn’t have been married to his Father as I thought for awhile. She also was in the 1680’s and as will will shown below, in legal documents Peter Knight’s wife is Ann, not Genevieve.
Then I found the following correspondence on Ancestry.com from Chris Knight. Record for Peter Knight Mary Knight from Peoria, Illinois, sent me a large envelope of copies of books, census records, and FGS from Estella Morrison. No wife given. William was son of Capt. Peter Knight of Jamestowne, Va., and his wife, Anne Hawley, daughter of James Hawley. The Knight Name in New England, 1600’s. Copies sent by Mary Knight.
p 9 Grants of land in James City County were issued to Edward and Joseph Knight in 1650; in 1657 to John Knight; and in 1665 to William Knight, whose land was described as adjoining his brother Joseph’s. William Knight’s grant, dated September 14, 1665, was for 909 acres of land “beginning on the west side of old Rochohoe path to James City”. …… These were probably sons of Capt. Peter Knight.
There are several land transactions where Anne gives consent to the sale of land by her husband Peter Knight. James Hawley is usually a witness.
Northumberland County Record Book 1662 – 1666, p. 12 – p. 98, Bee it knowne unto all men by these presents that I Anne Knight for consent to the Sale of Land that my Husband, Peter Knight, sold unto Richard Feilding & doe renounce all my right & title of the said Land & doe make my loving Friend, Thomas Laine, my true & lawfull Attorney to acknowledge the sd: land in Court & what my sd: Attorney shall doe therein shall stand in as full force & virtue as if I were then present; As Witness my hand the 20th of April 1663. /s/ An Knight, Teste James Hawley, Richard Robards, 20th April 1663. This Writing was acknowledged in Northumberland County Court by Thomas Laine, Attorney: of Anne Knight & recorded.
Peter Knight was also a Captain in the Militia.
Pg. 65-69. Gives Anne Hawley as wife of Capt. Peter Knight, instead of Peter’s son, William. (Text refers to Peter Knight and land records and grants, but I don’t know which Peter they mean.) Peter Knight born 1620 came to America 1635-38 with the Puritans, was a Wiccomico Parish gentleman, Northumberland Co, Va., making him about 84 years of age at death. Children mentioned in his will: Leonard, James, Elizabeth, and Mary. If he had but one wife, she was Anne Hawley, daughter of James Hawley (Hauley). She was still living on 19 April 1676 when she acknowledged a deed. THE KNIGHT FAMILY OF VIRGINIA AND GEORGIA Lucian Lamar Knight
In July 1675, some Doegs and Susquahannocks rowed over from Maryland and stole some hogs from a farmer living near Aquia. The Indians maintained that this Mr Mathews had cheated them in a deal and therefore, they were entitled to the hogs. The Indians were followed back to Maryland and the hogs were retrieved. A short time later, the Indians returned to Stafford and killed two of Mr. Mathews servants and his son.”
They Called Stafford Home – The Development of Stafford County, Virginia from 1600 until 1865 by Jerrilynn Eby, Heritage Books, Inc., page 6 & 7, “White-Native American relations deteriorated until, in September 1671, the Assembly at Jamestown authorized the building of a fort for defense against Indians at or near the home of John Mathews on the Potomac River. It is unknown exactly where this fort was located, but the Mathews grants followed Chopawamsic Creek and was bounded on the east by the Potomac River. Captain Peter Knight was to have been in charge of the fort with fifty-nine men.
Mention is made in the Virginia records of a certain John Knight who, in 1666, was living in Isle of Wight County and was then over seventy years of age. (William and Mary Mag., Vol. 19, p. 101). This was the county in which Captain Peter Knight first patented land. He also obtained a grant of 150 acres in this county, in 1640, at what is known as Bassets Choice. (ibid. Vol. 7. p. 214)
Prom this purchase, the supposition has arisen that possible he married one of Basse’s daughters. In 1655, he obtained an additional grant in Isle of Wight. If the John mentioned above, therefore, was not an elder brother of Captain Knight, he was more than likely his father, who may have joined him in America, after the way was paved by the success of his son, who was now one of the most important men in the young colony of Virginia. There is no other reference to this particular John in the records. There is mention, however, of ‘one Leonard Knight, of Lancaster county, who, in 1706, in Isle of Wight, sold land which was patented by his father, Peter Knight, in 1655.
We know that Francis Anne died sometime between 1663 and 1702. 1663 is the last legal document she witnesses and when Peter wrote out his will in 1702 he did not include her.
Abstract of Peter Knights Will, Peter Knight of Wiccocomoco Parish in the County of Northumberland Gent. Will Written 28 November 1702, Will probated 18 July 1705. Son Leon’d Knight a parcel of land bounding upon a branch of the Easter Neck wch branch is next to his spring branch and southerly Upon the swamp and northerly upon a line of marked trees up the branch unto a marked poplar at head of the sd branch and from thence northwesterly unto a marked white oak standing in a thicket and so along to a marked red oak standing nigh the road to my hour and nigh Mr Mayes path and so along his path to the head of the spring branch to Mr. Rich’d Nutts marked tree at the head of the branch and so along his marked trees southerly unto Mr Peter Presleys marked trees and so thence easterly along his line unto ye swamp and so along the swamp to the branch where it began to him and his heirs.
Son James Knight all the rest and remainder of my land to him and his heirs.
Daughter Eliza Knight shall have as much land as a couple of hands can tend during her life and not to be molested with land she now lives on.
Son Leon’d Knight my silver seals and one hundred pounds of tobacco
Daughter Elizabeth Knight one hundred pounds of tobacco to buy her a ring.
Daughter Mary Knight one hundred pounds of tobacco to buy her a ring.
Son James Knight my sole executor.
Son James Knight all my personal estate to him and his heirs.
Witness: mark of Robt R Nash, Patrick Maley PM his mark, Joan O Maley her mark
July 16th 1712. This original will was presented into Northumberland County Court by Jno Coppedge and the book of Records wherein the same was recorded being burnd with the office on the sd Coppedge motion. it is again admitted to Record.
Recorded in Northumberland County Virginia Record Book 1706-1720 pages 175-176