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Connections between the English, Irish and colonial Poe Families
William Poe
2003
The
following summarizes findings in regard to possible connections between
the English, Irish and colonial Poe families. Data have been entered
into a separate database at Ancestry.com which reflects the evidence
as outlined below. This database is clearly labeled as "English
Irish American Poe Speculations." While every connection matches
existing historical records, assumptions are necessarily made, such
as accepting that the Edward Poe listed in the Ulster Muster Roll of
1630 is the same Edward Poe found later in Nottinghamshire baptizing
a son named Samuel Poe. Broader leaps than this are made when
attempting to connect Poe family members in late 17th century Pennsylvania
and early 18th century Virginia with people of the same name found in
England and Ireland. Still, short of a miraculous discovery of historical
documents, the arrangement I have made fits the extant data without
violating common sense.
Most of the data from England and Ireland were found in the book entitled
The Family of Poë or Poe by Sir Edmund Thomas Bewley, published
in 1905 (recently re-examined on microfilm at the Library of Congress).
Each record in the Ancestry.com charts states specific citations from
Bewley or other sources.
As a descendant of Simon Poe, Sr, found in the records of Caroline County,
Virginia as early as 1737, my long-time quest has been to demonstrate
that he is a son of the Samuel Poe who first makes an appearance in
the Quit Rent Rolls of Essex County Virginia for the year 1704 as owner
of 800 acres of rich tobacco farming land. A broader goal has been to
find out where Samuel Poe came from and how he had the resources to
acquire so much land, given that he was not of the gentry class. In
fact, he was quite the thorn in their side.
Samuel Poe and the other Poes who can be found in Essex County and Caroline
County, Virginia (Essex County was divided in 1732 and the Poe lands
became part of Caroline County) were constantly harassed by the upper
classes. Samuel Poe was accused of blasphemy and saddle thieving and
publicly whipped in 1720. Simon Poe, Sr was accused of violating tobacco
planting laws (tending seconds) and fined many thousands of pounds of
tobacco. This harassment ultimately played a role in driving Simon Poe's
family out of Virginia into North Carolina, Kentucky and elsewhere.
A remnant of the Poe family held onto 105 acres in Caroline County into
the nineteenth century.
For many years, I have been aware that Poe family members, allegedly
of Irish origin, settled in Pennsylvania by the early 18th Century.
Recent research demonstrates, however, that the Pennsylvania Poe family
was established in Chester/Delaware County by 1692, twelve years before
evidence reveals Samuel's presence in Virginia. It seemed to me that
that Samuel Poe must have been related to the Pennsylvania Poes. But
how? Researchers of the Chester/Delaware and Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Poe families felt sure their men were from Ulster, Northern Ireland.
Researchers of Samuel Poe's heritage felt, on no evidence frankly, that
he hailed from Nottinghamshire. Many have used the work of Edmund Bewley
to support their position.
It turns out that we were all correct. The Ulster Poes were not truly
Irish, not Celts. The Irish Poes were Englishmen taking advantage of
the drive by Charles II to settle Ulster with protestants. Already in
Ulster by 1630, three men, William, Anthony and Thomas, sons of Anthony
Poe of Papplewick, Nottinghamshire, England, took up arms to put down
the Ulster Rebellion of 1641. They became captains and lieutenants in
the Parliamentary Army, both in England and Ireland. Later, they were
rewarded with lands, but holding onto those lands proved complicated
for many reasons.
Two generations later, sons of Richard Poe of Belleen, County Tipperary,
who was a son of Lieutenant Thomas Poe of Cloghan, King's County, Ireland,
son of Anthony Poe of Papplewick, Nottinghamshire, appear to have left
Ireland for the New World. Some of these men are apparently found in
the records of Pennsylvania - William Poe, Thomas Poe and Essex County,
Virginia, Robert Poe. A cousin, Samuel Poe, baptized in St. Mary's Parish,
Nottinghamshire in 1659, son of Edward and Mary Poe and first cousin
of the brothers William, Anthony and Thomas appears to have migrated
with them. This is the Samuel Poe who died in Essex County in 1725.
Edward Poe
was living in Ulster in 1630 near Anthony Poe as evidenced by a Muster
Roll attributed to that year. This Anthony Poe was the son of Anthony
Poe of Papplewick. It appears that Edward Poe moved back to Nottinghamshire.
An Edward Poe was there in 1659 as evidence by the records of St. Mary’s
Parish, Nottingham (the baptism of son Samuel Poe and daughter Sarah).
Another reference to Edward Poe living in Nottinghamshire can be found
in court records from 1668. Simon Poe, senior (see the charts for where
he fits in), of the town and County of Nottingham, cordwainer (shoemaker)
filed a lawsuit. On P.5 Bewley states that, "The bill also sought
to recover a legacy left to the plaintiff by one George Poe, of Gedling,
son of Edward Poe, of Gedling, the plaintiff's near kinsman." George
Poe also fits into the charts.
The St. Mary's Nottingham register shows two baptisms of children by
Edward and Mary Poe (provided by a NottsGen researcher who examined
the original Records as well as the CD collection).
11 Jul 1654 Sarah d. of Edward
POE & Mary
26 Jun 1659 Samuell s. of Edwd. POE & Mary
The date of the baptism for Samuel fits well with Samuel Poe of Essex
County, Virginia who died in 1725. Samuel Poe would have known his relatives
who resided in Ulster and may have lived on their lands before coming
to Virginia. These were men of means, both in terms of cash and
land (as evidenced by the sums and lands bequeathed in their wills).
Samuel easily could have inherited money from any number of his Irish
relatives, or even from James Poe, son of Dr. Leonard Poe, who was quite
wealthy, but left no male descendants. James Poe seems to have been
among the overseers of William Poe’s will (son of Anthony of Papplewick,
indicating the strong family connections between Ulster, Nottinghamshire
and London).
Samuel may simply have shared in the family wealth as a laborer on the
farms and cattle ranches that the Poes owned in Ulster. At any rate,
Samuel was wealthy enough to have acquired 800 acres of prime tobacco
farming land in Virginia by 1704. Until now it has been a mystery by
what means Samuel Poe could have garnered the resources to purchase
such lands. Samuel Poe was not of the gentry class, but seems to be
from the social strata of well-to-do yeomen occupied by the Poe family
in Nottinghamshire and Ulster (Anthony Poe of Papplewick and the Ulster
Poes were referred to as yeoman – or farmer. Thomas Poe of Ulster
raised cattle for export).
It should be noted that historical records show that the Poe families
changed residency between Ulster and their homeland of Nottinghamshire
rather frequently during the mid-1600s, partly due to legal and family
issues and partly due to the unrest caused by the settlement policies
of Charles II. The Poes became captains and lieutenants in the parliamentary
forces charged by Cromwell to put down insurrections such as the Ulster
Rebellion of 1641. The families of William Poe, Anthony Poe and Thomas
Poe, sons of Anthony Poe of Papplewick, were all effected by the political
turmoil.
From the summary of Irish history between 1607 and 1704, It becomes
clear why Englishmen who had acquired land in Ireland might have decided
to seek their fortune elsewhere by the later 1600s.
1607 Flight of the Earls; leading Ulster families go into exile.
1610 Policy of plantation by colonisation begins in Ulster.
1641 Charles I's policies cause insurrection in Ulster and Civil War
in England.
1642 Confederation of Kilkenny formed.
1646 Duke of Ormonde surrenders Dublin to parliamentary forces.
1649 Cromwell invades Ireland. Irish resistance crushed by 1652.
1653 England, Scotland and Ireland unified as a single Commonwealth.
Under the Act of Settlement Cromwell's opponents stripped of land. Irish
lands granted to soldiers and creditors of the Commonwealth.
1660 Restoration of the monarchy and dissolution of the Commonwealth.
1662 Act of Settlement allows Protestants loyal to the monarchy to recover
lands lost under the Commonwealth.
1665 Act of Explanation forces Cromwellian settlers to surrender one-third
of their grants to partially compensate Catholics for losses under the
Commonwealth.
1689-90 Deposed James II flees to Ireland; defeated at the Battle of
the Boyne by William of Orange and flees to France.
1691 Defeat of Jacobite army at Aughrim and surrender at Limerick.
1704 Penal Laws enacted; Catholics barred from voting, education and
the military. Test Act effectively limits civic offices to members of
the Church of Ireland.
Bewley could not find references in England or Ireland for several of
the known children of Richard Poe, son of Thomas Poe, son of Anthony
Poe of Papplewick – namely, Thomas, Robert, William, John, Richard
and John.
As suggested above, some of these men may have traveled to the colonies.
A Robert Poe died in Essex County, Virginia in 1722. This Robert Poe
does not appear to have lived on the Samuel Poe estate, which by that
time has grown to 905 acres – or else he rented land from Samuel.
No one was named executor of Robert's estate, which implies that he
was either estranged from or not closely related to Samuel Poe such
as brother or son (or even father). Robert Poe died with a small estate
of his own, but no mention of heirs has been found. A Katherine Poe,
who appears in the court records around the same time may be his widow.
There seems to be a William Poe (spelled "Poes" in the record)
in the Bucks county tax records for1693 – 1778, listing him as
resident there in 1693.
A Thomas Poe appears in the records of Chester County, Pennsylvania
records as early as 19 November 1692.
Chester Court ye 19th day of ye 11th month 1692
Wee the Grand Inquest by ye Kings Authority in ye name of ye Propriatery
doe present Thomas Poe and Sarah Buller for Comitting fornication.
And a two months later:
At a Courtt held at Chester the 14th 15th & 16th days of the first
month 1693. William Jenkin p'sident. Justices p'sent: John Simcocke,
John Bristow, George Maris, John Blunston, Samuell Levis. Caleb Pusey
Sheriff, Joshua ffearne, Clerke. Thomas Pow Exhibited a petition to
this Courtt The said Thomas pow & Sarah his wife was called to the
bar to Answer to a presentment of ye Grand Jury for Comiting fornication
who submited themselves to the Court And the Court gave Judgment That
the said Thomas & Sarah doe stand at the Comon whiping post and
for the officer to declare theire offence to the People.
And also fines them Twenty shillings and pay ye Courts Charges
It appears that Patrick Poe, Innkeeper, and his son Edward Poe, tailor,
who married Abigail Day, all of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and mentioned
frequently in those records, likely are descended from the above-mentioned
Thomas Poe (the William Poe(s) mentioned above never again shows up
in the historical record of the area, so Thomas remains the only known
candidate).
Of the men that Bewley could not account for in Ireland, the above records
may reveal what became of William, Robert and Thomas. The others, Richard
and John may have come to the colonies, but have yet turned up in the
historical record. We also have evidence that Samuel Poe who died in
Essex County, Virginia in 1725 is the Samuel Poe baptized at St. Mary's
Parish in Nottingham in 1659 by Edward and Mary Poe. And finally, many
of the English, Irish and colonial Poe families appear to be closely
connected, all descending from Richard Poe of Poesfeld, Derbyshire,
England. We may possibly trace the ancestry as far back as William Poe
of Hoveringham who died in
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