Adventurers of Purse and Person: Virginia 1607-1624/5: Families A-F Volume 4 [Hardcover]

John Frederick Dorman (Author, Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2004

The purpose of the book is to establish descents--through the sixth generation--of the approximately 150 individuals who can be identified as (1) Adventurers of Purse (i.e. stockholders in the Virginia Company of London) who either came to Virginia in the period 1607-1625 and had descendants or who did not come to Virginia within that period but whose grandchildren were residents there; or (2) Adventurers of Person, 1607-1625 (i.e. immigrants to Virginia) who left descendants. With roots deeply embedded in the social fabric of the United States, over 7,800 descendants resident in Virginia (or subsequently in other states) are identified. Family accounts are supported by 10,000 footnote citations to manuscripts or published records. The index contains 19,000 name, place, and subject entries, many with multiple page citations.

Far too large to be published in a single volume, the new fourth edition is to be published in three volumes, of which this is the first.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1278 pages
• Publisher: Genealogical Publishing Company; 4 edition (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806317442
• ISBN-13: 978-0806317441
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,056,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Publisher's Note for the 2005 edition by Genealogical Publishing:, July 26, 2007

By 

Watershed Books (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Adventurers of Purse and Person: Virginia 1607-1624/5: Families A-F Volume 4 (Hardcover)

Families
Far too large to be published in a single volume, the new fourth edition is to be published in three volumes (see Volume Two for families G-P). This first volume covers founding families alphabetically from A-F, and includes the following:
Andrews, Bagwell, Baley-Cocke, Barkham-Jenings, Barne, Bates, Bayly, Beheathland, Bennett (Edward), Bennett (Samuel), Bennett-Chapman, Bernard, Bibby, Bickley, Bland, Boyce, Boyle-Mountney, Branch, Buck, Burwell, Bush, Calthorpe, Calvert, Carsley, Carter, Chaplaine, Chew, Chisman, Claiborne, Clay, Clements, Cobb, Codrington, Cole, Cope, Cox, Crew, Croshaw, Crump, Curtis, Davis, Dawson, Delk, Digges, Edloe, Epes, Evelyn, Farrar, Fisher, Fleet, Flood, Freeman.

This is Volume One of the fourth edition of the most celebrated compendium of family histories in the entire field of Virginia genealogy. Prepared under the auspices of the Order of First Families of Virginia, 1607-1624/5 in anticipation of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, and edited by the foremost authority on Virginia genealogy, John Frederick Dorman, this new edition extends the lines of descent of the founding families of Virginia from four generations to six, bringing most families down to the Revolutionary or early Federal periods.

The purpose of the book is to establish descents--through the sixth generation--of the approximately 150 individuals who can be identified as (1) Adventurers of Purse (i.e. stockholders in the Virginia Company of London) who either came to Virginia in the period 1607-1625 and had descendants or who did not come to Virginia within that period but whose grandchildren were residents there; or (2) Adventurers of Person, 1607-1625 (i.e. immigrants to Virginia) who left descendants. With roots deeply embedded in the social fabric of the United States, descendants of these original settlers today number in the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, and like descendants of the Mayflower passengers, they claim an ancestry that is unique in American history.

The foundation for this work is the famous "Muster" of January-February 1624/25-- essentially a census taken by the Royal Commission which succeeded the Virginia Company to determine the extent and composition of the Jamestown settlements. In the Muster (which is reproduced in entirety here in Volume One), the name of each colonist appears with the location of his home and the number in his family, together with information about his stock of food, his supply of arms and ammunition, his boats, houses, and livestock. In all, about 1,200 persons are named in the Muster, of whom approximately 150 are shown here to have left descendants to the sixth generation. Most scholars agree that the total population of Jamestown between 1607 and 1625 was about 7,000, so by 1624/5 only about one-seventh of the colonists had survived the punishing conditions of the Virginia wilderness.

In addition to the Muster, this work builds on the investigations of dozens of scholars, correcting, revising, and supplementing the best genealogical scholarship of the past half century. New discoveries, newly available information, and a further reevaluation of evidence concerning previously accepted relationships have led, in some instances, to wholesale changes in the accepted genealogies. In consequence, this fourth edition brings together the results of all the most recent scholarship on these families, expanding the limits of what is presently known and opening up possibilities for research beyond the sixth generation.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Genealogist's Dream, October 10, 2007

By 

N. A. Grimmer "amateur genealogist" (Hatboro, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adventurers of Purse and Person: Virginia 1607-1624/5: Families A-F Volume 4 (Hardcover)

If you have (or think you have) ancestors who arrived in Virginia before 1624, this book is a "must-have". The research is impeccable, the footnotes are fascinating, and the indices list every ancestor. This three-volume series is an essential aid to any genealogist who is tracking down early Virginia ancestors. Because of a family Ahnentafel chart, I knew the names and relationships of the people I was looking for, but did not know any of their places or dates. Thanks to the indices at the back of each volume of this wonderful set of books, I now have all the dates and places back to 1610.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Informative Book!, February 25, 2006

By 

G. Rowsam (Troy, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Adventurers of Purse and Person: Virginia 1607-1624/5: Families A-F Volume 4 (Hardcover)

It's all there! The 1624/25 Muster, explanatory notes, and family listings (A-F only, though -- I'm eagerly awaiting the next volumes for the rest of the alphabet). This new edition is great to look at, and to hold. I especially liked the endpaper maps of the Jamestown settlements, the 1607 ones in the front and the later ones (1624?) in the back. Well worth the purchase price!