EDWARD DARCY-DORSEY THE IMMIGRANT
The founder of this family in Maryland was Edward Darcy-Dorcey, who lived several years in Virginia before he came to Anne Arundel County in 1650. Various spellings of his name appear in the deeds and land patents of Lower Norfolk County, Virginia, between the years 1642 and 1648...
...Various spellings of the name - Dorsey - continue to appear on the records in Maryland, but the original signatures of the sons of the immigrant show the family spelled the name - Dorsey...
...By the year 1648, freedom of worship in Virginia had been prohibited and life there became less attractive. As a result, many settlers turned to the newly erected County of Anne Arundel in Maryland, where alluring inducements to obtain land were being offered, and where freedom of worship was said to be guaranteed. Among those who went, were Edward Dorsey, John Norwood, Matthew Howard, Thomas Todd, and Nicholas Wyatt...
...In 1658 the Quakers came into Maryland spreading their religion among the settlers, claiming as their converts Thomas Mears, Nicholas Wyatt, Edward Dorsey and Ann, his wife, and many others. That the Dorseys did embrace this faith is shown by a letter written by Robert Clarkson, a Quaker convert, to Elizabeth Harris, then in England, in which he said that Ann Dorsey had abundant grace, but he seemed doubtful that her husband would stick to the faith. (Ed. Fist. Mag. XXXII, 47)
Edward Darcy was drowned before August 2, 1659 off the Isle of Kent. This incident which is recorded in the Court Records...
...Ann Dorsey, wife of Edward is thought to have outlived her husband, and to have returned to their former home in Virginia, for no further record is found of her in Maryland. It seem reasonable to suppose that their children were born in Virginia.
Source: Excerpts from The Dorsey Family,
Descendants of Edward Darcy-Dorsey of VA & MD & ALLIED FAMILIES
by Maxwell J. Dorsey & Jean Muir Dorsey & Nannie Ball Dorsey 1949, pg 1-4.
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