From a James Asbury who posted information on the internet

The following information relates to research to determine the Asbury family ancestry beyond Henry Asbury (1650-1707) of Westmoreland County, Virginia.

Sources of Reference Used by Carl Asbury to determine father of Henry Asbury (1650-1707)

THE GENEALOGY OF THE HOLTZCLAW FAMILY BY DR. B.C. HOLTZCLAW, JR.

SEE ALSO, HOLTZCLAW'S WORKS PUBLISHED IN THE VIRGINIA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY BULLETINS IN 1967-68

EARLY SETTLERS TO MARYLAND BY GUST SKORDAS ARCHIVES OF MARYLAND, VOL.17, P.91

MARYLAND CALENDAR OF WILLS, VOL.1, P.182 (by Baldwin?)

Early Arrivals from England:

John Asbury - Arrived from England by sailing ship in 1661 in the Province of Maryland and according to the Maryland Hall of Records received a land patent for 50 acres of land which he, along with many others, gave to Nathaniel Wye, a merchant, for their transportation to America. Year 1661, Vol. 4, page 576.

Francis Asbury - Arrived from England by sailing ship in 1665 in the Province of Maryland and according to the Maryland Hall of Records received a land patent for "one right" (50 acres) in Kent County for his services. He and others signed over their one right to Richard Fitz Allen, February 5, 1665. This is document 79657, patents dated 1665, Vol. 9, page 191.

William Asbury - Arrived from England by sailing ship in 1670 in the Province of Maryland and according to the Maryland Hall of Records received a land patent for "one right" for 100 acres of land which he signed over to Alice Durant in the presence of Edward Roco, Robert Ridgely and Thomas R TO Obgood. Dated May 16, 1670.Document Patent date of record 1670, Vol. 12, page 548.

Thomas Asbury - Arrived from England by sailing ship in 1676. He, along with several others, were transported to America by a merchant, Samuel Lead Beater, who received 2,650 acres of land for transporting 53 persons. Date January 6, 1676. Hall of Maryland Records patents year 1676, Vol. 15, page 300.

There is no information as to how many there were with each of these gentlemen but it is believed that Francis had at least 2 sons, Francis and Henry. Henry later moved into Virginia. No record has been found concerning what happened to some of these early settlers except that Francis Asbury was granted land in Kent County in 1681 and he was accidently drowned there in 1682. His wife, Mary and daughter, Mary, are briefly mentioned in the Maryland records (Warrant C.B. No. 2, Vol. 375, Maryland land office); Kent County Bonds, Box 1, Folder 55, Archives;

A Francis Asbury who died in Kent County, Maryland in 1703 was probably a son of the first Francis (Kent County Accounts, Box 1, folder 27, Maryland Department of Archives), and it is possible that Henry Asbury was another son though he appears in St. Mary's County, not Kent County, Maryland.

Henry Asbury (1650-1 707)( I) - First appeared in the records of Westmoreland County, VA, February 27,1678 (Order Book 1675/76 – 1688/89 p. 151). The tradition in the Asbury family is that he came originally from Maryland and this is confirmed by his mention in a suit before the Maryland Provincial Court, June 18, 1678 by John Palmer against Thomas Robinson, late of St. Mary's County in which a promissory note from Robinson to Henry Asbury was in question (Archives of Maryland, Vol. 67, pp. 377-78).

I gathered the following information from the sources listed below:

Passenger and Immigration Lists Index

Ashbury, Francis Maryland 1665
Ashbury, Francis Maryland 1681
Ashbury, John Maryland 1661
Ashbury, Thomas Maryland 1676
**Ashbury, Robert Virginia 4/26/1637
on the ship Tristan and Jane from London, England

Some of the above referenced in:

The Early Settlers of Maryland: An Index to Names of Immigrants Compiled from Records of Land Patents, 1633-1680, in the Hall of Records, Annapolis Maryland (8510) by Gust Skordas on page 13, Baltimore Genealogical Publishing Company, 1968.

WV State Archives call no. 929.3752 s628e

Ashbury, Francis - Transported 1665. Servant. Service 1672.
Ashbury, John - Transported 1661
Ashbury, Thomas - Transported 1676

Certain words that recur frequently in the "remarks" column have a special meaning as used in this index. "Immigrated", means the individual furnished his own transportation to Maryland, while "transported", means that someone other than the person indexed paid for his passage. Quite often a person "transported" is also described as a "servant", which means that he had contracted to repay the cost of his transportation by agreeing to act as a servant for a period of years. Under certain of the Conditions of Plantation, a servant was entitled to claim 50 acres of land upon completing his period of servitudesatisfactorily. Such claims are indicated by the word "service".

- Gust Skordas, Assistant Archivist, State of Maryland, Annapolis, Maryland, February1968.

**Above Robert Ashbury referenced in:

Immigrants to America before 1750; An Alphabetical List of Immigrants to the Colonies before 1750, Compiled from Official and Other Records; Surnames A through Bat. (9450) by Frederick A. Virkus, editor. Baltimore Genealogical Publishing Company, 1965. Robert Ashbury also referenced in (720, pg. 74) (9143, pg. 89) arid (3090, pg. 430.

The following information contains my personal thoughts and hypotheses about the father of Henry Asbury (1650-1707), by James E. Asbury II:

Francis Asbury Timeline according to Carl Asbury's book:

1665 - Arrived from England - Received land in Kent County, MD. - signed over to Richard Fitz Allen

1672 - Presumably finished time as indentured servant and should have received own land.

1681 - Granted land in Kent County, MD.*

1682 - Died by drowning in Kent County, MD.*

* I think this reference to Francis refers to a second Francis Asbury who, according to Gust Skordas, arrived in Maryland in 1681. The Francis who arrived in 1665, likely, by 1681, would already have been settled and would not be receiving additional land.

Further, information states that a Francis died in Kent County, MD in 1703. This person could be one of three Francis Asburys:

1. The original 1665 Francis – presumed to be the father of our Henry Asbury

2. The 1681 Francis

3. Francis, one of two sons (along with Henry) of the original 1665 Francis, who exists according to Carl Asbury's research as stated above.

The 1682 death of a Francis Asbury, mentioned above, could be the original Francis' death or the sons death. There are inconsistencies in the story, since the original 1665 Francis' sons appeared in different counties (Francis' 1703 death and Henry's appearance in St. Mary's County, MD). The possibility that the 1681 Francis could account for the 1703 death, would make it just as plausible that the sons of the 1665 Francis, were indeed both in St. Mary's County. Not that that would necessarily matter; but it lends credibility to the fact that if families stayed together and the two sons of the 1665 Francis went to St. Mary's County together.

With that being said, I will play devil's advocate and suggest that Francis Asbury was not the father of our Henry Asbury. Carl Asbury's research suggests that it is believed that the 1665 Francis Asbury had two sons. No one has been able to put forward any proof of this fact.

In fact to backtrack a bit, in the above notes by Carl Asbury the following assertion is made:

"…Francis Asbury was granted land in Kent County in 1681 and he was accidentally drowned there in 1682. His wife, Mary and daughter, Mary, are briefly mentioned in the Maryland records…"

If this is the father of Henry and Francis, why are they not mentioned in the will? I think this lends further credence to the fact that the 1682 death of Francis was the Francis who immigrated in 1681, and has no direct bearing on our research.

Another hypothesis of mine is that our Henry's father was an Asbury other than Francis. Carl's list (based on B.C. Holtzclaw's research) of Asbury immigrants and Gust Skordas' compilation of Asburys listed above, provide several possibilities for our Asbury ancestor. Assuming this list of Asburys is nearly complete and using what little information has been gleaned lets review the possibilities after the two source lists have been combined:

Ashbury, Francis - Maryland 1665
Ashbury, Francis - Maryland 1681
Ashbury, John - Maryland 1661
Ashbury, Robert - Virginia 4-26-1637
Ashbury, Thomas - Maryland 1676
Asbury, William - Maryland 1670

Without knowing any definitive information, we could suggest that any one of these Asburys is the father of our Henry Asbury.

Hypothesis 1:

We think Henry was born about 1650-55, which would mean he was born in England unless his father was Robert Asbury who came to Virginia in 1637. In that case, Henry would have been born in America. He could have later went to Maryland where he appeared in records and then came back to Virginia later on. I don't have much enthusiasm about this notion, but it is possible. In the English church records I have checked, there was no Henry Asbury born/christened during the early 1650's, but I doubt I have the complete list of English Asbury records. If you have information that would clearly rule this hypothesis out, please let me know.

Hypothesis 2:

William Asbury who came to Maryland in 1670 could be the father of Henry. The time frame fits and there is mention that William signed over his right of land to Alice Durant. Our Henry was married to Mary Durrant, daughter of Henry and Sarah Durrant. Possible family connection? 1670 would have been about the time that Henry Asbury and Mary Durrant would have married, considering their first child Catherine was born in 1672. So theoretically, William Asbury's son, Henry is marrying Mary Durrant, whose relative Alice Durrant (possibly grandmother, aunt or sister) pays passage for the Asburys to America in exchange for the land right of William Asbury. Again, some imagination has to get involved, but a possibility none the less. If you can refute this theory, let me know.

So this is where we are in terms of continuing the search on back for our Asbury ancestors. If anyone has evidence of support or refutability for anything related to this issue, please e-mail me at jamesasbury@hotmail.com

FOUND ON GENFORUM POSTED BY CRAIG--

I have always wondered why people keep citing Francis Asbury and Mary Powell as being the parents of Henry Asbury that married Mary Durrant. Is this just taken from Carl Asbury's book (which is a copy of Dr Holtsclaw's research)? There is no proof what-so-ever in the book (or Holtzclaw research) that Henry was the son of Francis - it is all speculation. In fact, there are several indications that Henry Asbury was not the son of Francis Asbury.

In the book, ‘Asburys in America’, it clearly states: (While Carl E. Asbury's book, "Asburys in America" is a good research tool, too many people take it as the Asbury bible, even though there are known errors in it.)

(Page 10) …’it is believed that Francis had at least 2 sons, Francis and Henry.’

(Page 10) Francis Asbury … “it is possible that Henry Asbury was another son though he appears in St Marys County, not Kent County, Maryland”

(Page 12) Henry Asbury… ‘He was probably the son of Francis Asbury.’ ‘it is believed’, ‘it is possible’ and ‘probably’ are not proof

In regard to Francis Asbury (C1630-1682) as being the possible father of Henry Asbury (C1650-1705) that married Mary Durrant. I find it odd that no male descendant of Henry Asbury is named Francis for over 100 years after Francis’s death in 1682 and only after Francis Asbury, the bishop, had been in America when hundreds of people named their children after the Bishop.

On page 10 of the book, ‘Asburys in America’, there is a bio on William Asbury that states that he arrived in Maryland in 1670 and signed over his land rights to Alice Durrant. Is this Alice Durrant any relation to Mary Durrant that married Henry Asbury (ca 1650-1705)? This might suggest that Henry Asbury (C1650-1705) to having a connection to William instead of Francis.

On the top of page 78 of the book, in a letter from Henry Asbury (C1810-1896) of Quincy, Illinois, it states ‘…but how many children brothers and sisters of my grandfather and children of the original settler, whose name was, I believe, William Asbury….’ This also hints at a connection to William instead of Francis.

On page 77 of the book, at the bottom in the letter to Rev Samuel R Asbury from Henry Asbury (C1810-1896) of Quincy, Illinois, states in the first line of the second paragraph, ‘My great-grandfather and great-grandmother came from England, and settled in Virginia…’ In checking this Henry Asbury’s (1810-1896) chart (19)-6-C-1, it shows that Henry’s great-grandparents would be Henry Asbury (1680-1740) that married Hannah. (This Henry was the son of William Asbury and Mary Durrant.)

It further states on page 77, in the section above the letter, under the first 3 stars: ‘Henry Asbury… His great-grandfather and great-grandmother on his paternal side, were from England, settling in Virginia about 1700’

Nowhere does Henry Asbury of Quincy, Illinois even mention the name Francis Asbury (except in regard to the Bishop). While there is no proof here that Henry was not the son of Francis, there are definite indications that he wasn’t.

Does anyone have any proof of the Francis/Henry Asbury relationship?

(Has anyone tied any American Asbury line to the Bishop Asbury’s line back in England? A possible clue might be on page 78, in the letter from Henry Asbury of Quincy, Illinois. It states ‘… my father [William Asbury 1752-1824]…He informed me that the so-called Methodist Bishop Francis Asbury had visited him, and they traced back their kinship to about second or third cousin through their English ancestry….’)

I do not know the birthplace or year of Henry Asbury (BA 1650).

Below is a listing of some Asbury's (Asabury, Ashbury, etc) that came to America in the 17th century:

(Mainly from a compiled list from "A Guide to Published Arrival Records of Passengers Who Came to the United States and Canada in the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries" by P. William Filby)

Robert - MD - 1637
John - MD - 1661
Francis - MD - 1665
William - MD - 1670
Thomas - MD - 1676
Hannah - NJ - 1681
Francis - MD - 1681
John - MD - 1705

So unless Henry was the son of Robert Asbury that came here in 1637, Henry would have come from England (or wherever) and he would be the 'Patriarch' of his Asbury line in America as he was the last one born across the ocean.

What I am trying to do is to get people to post some supporting documentation for their claims. Although Henry's wife mentions her maiden name (Durrant) in a gift deed, it would be nice to find their marriage document.

GENFORUM POSTING BY ANN

First, regarding the early arrivals.... The Hannah ASBURY that you mentioned, could be the Hannah ASBURY, a Quaker, who came from Ireland as a servant in New Jersey. The year is about the same. There was also an Edward ASBURY in this same New Jersey area, and about the same time too... both are mentioned briefly in NJ records... so, this sorta busts the theory that all ASBURYs were related to one another before 1800.

The four choices... the four ASBURYS [probably brothers or cousins] from England who settled in Kent and St Mary?s County, Maryland were:

A. John ASBURY arrived from England in 1661 to the Province of Maryland and received a land patent for 50 acres, of which he gave to Nicholas WYE, a merchant, to pay for his transportation to America. [Year 1661,Vol. 4, pg 576].

B. Francis ASBURY, bc: 1620/30, arrived in early 1665 by ship from England to the Province of Maryland where he received a land patent for fifty acres in Kent County, Maryland of which he assigned to Richard Fitz Allen (FITZALLEN) on 05 FEB 1665. Francis worked as a servant from 1665 to 1672 repaying his debt of transportation. [Maryland Records, document #79657; patents dated 1665, Vol. 9, pg 191].

C. William ASBURY arrived in 1670 from England, and received a land patent for 100 acres of which he signed over to ALICE DUR(R)ANT, in the presence of Edward ROCO, Robert RIDGELY and Thomas R. OZGOOD, dated 16 MAY 1670, [Maryland Records, 1670, Vol. 12, pg 548].

D. Thomas ASBURY arrived in 1676; transported by merchant, Samuel Lead Beater [LEDBETTER] who received 2,650 acres for transporting 53 people. Dated 06 JAN 1676. [Maryland Records, 1676, Vol 15, pg 300].

I believe the above items came to the front by Dr. Benjamin HOLTZCLAW, and not Carl's research.

Below, isn't this the same "B" Francis ASBURY as above?

Francis ASBURY was granted land in 1681 Kent County, Maryland and drowned in 1682 ~ Married 25 APR 1645, Kent County, Maryland, to Mary POWELL. Mary, and daughter Mary, are briefly recorded in Maryland Records [Warrant C.B. No.2, Vol 375, Maryland Land Office Archives, Kent County Bonds, Box 1, Folder 5].

(CHAR'S NOTES: I think this Francis was probably the one who came over from England in 1681 and was granted land in Kent Co., MD and died by drowning in 1682).

Henry ASBURY, SR is mentioned in a court suit before the MARYLAND Provincial Court, dated 18 JUN 1678, in which John PALMER filed against Thomas ROBINSON, late of St Mary's County, MARYLAND and a promissory note from Thomas ROBINSON to Henry ASBURY was somehow in question. [Archives of Maryland, Vol 67, pgs 377 and 378.]

And, Henry ASBURY first appeared in the Westmoreland County, Virginia records as early as 27 FEB 1678/79 [OB 1675/76 ~ 1688/89, pg 151].

This was about the same time he married Mary DURRANT.

As to the parents of Henry ASBURY, SR, bc: 1650/57... who married Mary DURRANT... I would put my money on number "B" above, which would mean that Henry came to the Maryland shores from England as a child.

Then, there's "D" William ASBURY, who had dealings with an Alice DURRANT. But, if he came in 1670... ole Henry would soon marry a DURRANT... so, William "D" probably just somehow related... his uncle perhaps?

And, the Robert ASBURY arriving in Maryland circa 1637, I didn't know about him. Maybe the answer to ole grandpa Henry ASBURY's parents is back in England, or perhaps Maryland... but, wait a minute... wasn't Westmoreland County really Maryland during this time frame?

As to Mary DURRANT's birth year... I thought her father was born in 1638, and Mary DURRANT born circa 1658, with Catherine, her eldest, born in 1680 when Mary would have been about 22 years of age... and back then, getting long in the tooth.

Below is the closest actual date regarding her children that I have. Does any one have an older record besides the one below?

21 APR 1704... Using this date, Henry, JR, the second child, was born at least by when? What was the legal age he could have witnessed this deed?

NOTE: 21 APR 1704 ~ The first date Henry ASBURY, "JR" appears in the Westmoreland County records, when he witnessed a deed along with his father, Henry ASBURY, and his brother-in-law, William REMY [D&W 1701 ~ 1707, pg 322.]

FOUND ON GENFORUM POSTED BY REBECCA

Regarding Bishop Francis Asbury, years ago I had a book that contained a portion of the diaries he kept while he traveled his circuits through the Virginia and Maryland regions. At the beginning of the book, there was a short biography on the bishop. He only had a sister named Sarah (I believe) (CHAR'S NOTES: this sister died in 1749 when she was 5 years old), but his father had at least 10 siblings. If I remember correctly, either the bishop's father or grandfather was a coal miner. But I don't remember the where in England they lived.

FOUND ON GENFORUM POSTED BY ANNIE

Craig, I doubt seriously if anyone has bothered to verify beyond our shores at this point in time. Like you, I don't recall that Carl ASBURY, nor Dr. Benjamin HOLTZCLAW, made any definite statements. However, now that the records in England, beginning from mid-1500s, are available on CDs from Ancestry, maybe someone will be able to determine exactly what was what. If nothing else, exclude Henry as a son.

And, I too may be guilty of stating in the past that Francis ASBURY + Mary POWELL was our Henry's father, but ultimately realized it came simply from total confusion.

Page 28 of Carl's second book reads:

Shouldn't this eliminate our Henry by both marriage and arrival date? However, there is another source, below, which doesn't exactly match the above.

"Francis ASBURY arrived in 1665 by ship from England to the Province of Maryland where he received a land patent for fifty acres in Kent County,Maryland of which he assigned to Richard Fitz Allen (FITZALLEN) on 05 FEB 1665; Maryland records document #79657; patents dated 1665, Vol. 9, page 191. Francis worked as a servant from 1665 to 1672 repaying his debt of transportation."

A whole ten years difference in the two arrivals. So, were there actually two Francis ASBURYs who came in the late 1600s? Or, possibly a transcribing error in one of the two records?

Also, I had been under the impression that our ASBURY families were the only ones to arrive on these shores until the Reverend Francis came here about a hundred years later. But if one checks the New Jersey records, there was a Hannah ASBURY, servant, who arrived in the late 1600s from IRELAND.

Then, a very short few years later, mention is made of an Edward ASBURY being in this same New Jersey area. Where did he come from? Was he related to ours, or to Hannah ASBURY from IRELAND?

As to [apparently] no "Francis" names being used by descendants down the line ~ I wouldn't worry about that, it's minor... maybe during the early years those sons so named Francis merely died early and no recording made. Or, after coming to the colonies, and they could use two names... maybe Francis was a first name for some, and perhaps by choice the son became known by his second name only. This, especially after the arrival of Reverend Francis ASBURY, and the child not wanting to be confused with such a great man.

Well, after all this yammering, about the only thing I can offer is perhaps there's new hope someone will find something definitive in the English records because todate,it just isn't here.

One last thought: Has anyone ever worked the families of the other ASBURY men who came here about the same time in the 1600s... including Edward in New Jersey? Or, is everyone trying to blame poor Henry ASBURY and his DURANT/DURRANT lady for all the begots?