Notes for Hodges COUNCILL

Notes for Hodges COUNCILL

LAND PATENTS & TRANSACTIONS

Council, Hodges - Patent 20 Mar 1677/8 - IoW VA - 941 Ac. (Digital 006_0642 & 0643, Card 61 under Couch) [ not in map ]

To All v; Whereas v; Now know ye that I the said Robert (??????) Ye Governor
Give and Grant unto Hodges Councill nine hundred forty one acres of Land being on the
Isle of Wight County on the heads of the branches of Beaver Dam Joining to Robt.
Lawrence his Land. Beginning at the side of the Beaver Dam at a marked (?ringo) being his
old Corner, thence running N. by E. 320 pole to a a pine being a Corner Tree in his old
Land then E. by S. 320 pole to a pine; then S. by W. 440 pole to a pine one of Wm. Collins
his marked line; then W. 300 pole by Collins his line to a pine; then N. Ľ E. 170 pole
to the first station. The said Land being due by and for the Transportation of nineteen persons
into this Colony. To have & to hold & to be held ????? Yeilding & paying as ordered.
Dated &c this 20th Day of March 1677/8
William Russell Tho. Willis? Ja? Manning Alexandr Mulhens? Chrif: Eison
Ann Green Arth: Spon?? Geo. Martin Kath. Thomas Tho: Davis
Edw. Thomas Arla Davis Hodges Council Jno. Bake Law. Blandett
Jno. Gibbs Ann Cooke Wm. Clark Rebecca Field

[ NOTE: It appears that Hodges Council claims a headright on himself. Apparently, this is the first indication of him being in the Colony.]

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Later transactions involving this parcel:

9 Aug 1699 - Will of Hodges Council - Item. I give unto my daughter Christian, the wife of Edward Briand 200 acres on the S. W. side of the branch of my house & to that neck of land between the two branches...I give unto my daughter Lucy Councill 200 acres beginning at the corner tree...unto her & the heirs of her body & for want of such heirs unto my son Hardy Councill & his heirs forever.

26 December 1723 - John Briant, Yeoman of Barty Co in NC to James Briant, Yeoman, of the lower parish of isle of W, 60 barrell of good merchantable tarr - 200 acs in IOW on the SW side of Hodges Council, being part of tract containing 941 acres formerly granted to Hodges Councel the Elder by patten date 1677/8 and by sd Hodges Councill the Elder given by will to his dau Christian Bryant the wife of Edward Bryant WIT Hodges Councill, Thomas Walton, and Charles Fullgham
[[NOTE: later in the deed, John Briant is referred to on two occasions as John Bryant Junr. He signs his full name as John Bryant.]]

20 April 1731 - James Bryan, Yeoman, of the lower Parish and wife Joan Bryan to Walter Bryan, Yeoman, of the same..200 acres adj Hodges Councill (being part of a patent dated 1677 which was granted to Mr. Hodges Council Sr as 941 acres on 9 August 1699 he willed 200 acs of the patent to his daughter Christiana Bryan the wife of Edward Bryan and her heir John Bryan Sr. Willed it to the said James Bryan WIT John Bretten, John Taylor, James (x) Bryan

19 Nov 1736 - Walter Bryan of IOW for divers causes and for the natural love I have for my brother Samuel Bryant of same, give my brother a parcel of land and plantation being part of a patent dated 1677 which was formerly granted to Hodges Council Sr for 941 acs, be it the same plantation of 200 acs given by said Hodges Council Sr by his will to his daughter Christian the wife of Edward Bryant and the said land was conveyed by Jno Bryant son and heir of said Christian Bryant to James Bryant and this James Bryant to me Walter Bryant. To have and to hold the said Samuel Bryan and his heirs lawfully begotten of his body and in case such heirs should be wanting then the land to return to me signed with Mark - WIT Augustin Simon, Joseph Horten, John Lee

Isle of Wight Deeds, Book 5, p. 65; 19 Nov. 1736; Walter Bryan of the Lower Parish of Isle of Wight, to my brother Samuel of same, plantation formerly granted Hodges Council in 1677 and given by will to his daughter Christian Bryan, wife of Edward Bryan and the said land conveyed by John Bryan son and heir of said Christian Bryan to James Bryant and by James Bryant to me and by me to Samuel, 19 Nov. 1736

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Council, Hodges - patent 20 Apr 1682 - IoW VA - 320 Ac (card 62 from Couch - PB7 pg 133)

To All v; Whereas v; Now know ye that I the said Sir Henry Chickaday Kn’t Deputy Governor Do with the advice and consent of the Council aforesaid accordingly Give and Grant unto Hodges Council of the Isle of Wight County three hundred and twenty acres of land situate on Chowan River in the County aforesaid beginning at a Cyprus in the mouth of a branch Thomas Mann’s corner tree, thence on his line East one hundred sixty poles to Two White Oaks, then the same Course one hundred and fifty pole more to a Pine, then South seaven Degrees Westerly (one?) hundred sixty two poles to a small Maple sappling a corner tree betwixt the said Council and Joseph (Rick?), thence west three hundred and twenty poles to the river side and on up the river to the first station. The sd land being due to the sd Council by and for Transportation of seven persons to have and to hold or to be held and Yeilding & paying & consideration. Dated the 20th day of April 1682.
(Names not mentioned)

Later transactions involving this parcel:

2 Aug 1724...Hodges Councill,the Younger, and wife Katherin Councill of the
lower parish of Isle of Wight Co. to William Edmondson of the upper parish
of Nansemond County...120 acres in the lower parish on Blackwater River
adjoining Richard Watters(?)(being part of a patent granted Hodges Council
the Elder on 20 Apr 1682 and who willed it to his grandson, the said Hodges
Council theYounger on 9 Aug 1699) Wit:Stephen Darden, William(X)Goling,
Hodges Councill, James Holland Rec.28 Sep 1724 Catherine(X)Councill (Isle of
Wight Deeds, Wills--Great Book Vol.2 1715-1726 pg.663

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Will of Hodges Councill

In ye Name of God Amen, I Hodges Councill of ye Isle of Wight County, planter, being in good health & Body & ye sound mind & memory, praised be therefore to Almighty God, do I make & ordain this my last will and testament in manner & form following.
First and principally I commend my soul unto ye hands of Almighty God, & hoping through ye merritts of my Savior Jesus Christ to have passion for all my sins & my body to ye earth to be decently Buried by ye hereafter named; & touching ye dispossing of all such temporall goods as it has pleased God to bestow upon me, I give and dispose of as follows:

Item. I will yt my debts & morall charges be first paid & discharded.

Item. I give unto my eldest Hodges Councill 200 acres of land out of ye Pattent of three hundred twenty; yt joins upon Blackwater, to him & heirs forever, & ye other 120 of forest tract or Pattent I give unto my Grandson Hodges Councill ye younger, unto him & his heirs forever.

Item. I give & bequeath unto my son Jno. Councill 150 acres being part of the land I bought of Robt. Lawrence & 50 acres more that joins that I last bought of said Lawrence, being all, 200 acres. I give to my son John & his heirs of his body & for want of such heirs unto my son Robt. Councill & his heirs forever.

Item. I give unto my daughter Christian, the wife of Edward Briand 200 acres on the S. W. side of the branch of my house & to that neck of land between the two branches...I give unto my daughter Lucy Councill 200 acres beginning at the corner tree... unto her & the heirs of her body & for want of such heirs unto my son Hardy Councill & his heirs forever.

Item. I give & bequeath unto son Robt. Council 200 acres unto him & his heirs of his body forever... to him & his heirs forever & and for want of such heirs unto my son Jno Councill & his heirs forever.

Item. I give & bequeath unto my son Hardy Councill all the rest of my land, Plantation I now live on being 290 acres, unto my son Hardy Councill & his heirs of his body begotten forever & for want of such heirs unto son Hodges Councill & his heirs forever. All the rest of my personal estate I leave to be
disposed of by deed of gift;

To my loving son Hardy Councill I do make & ordain to be my sole Executor of this my last Will & Testament. I do hereby revoke, and anull, and make void all former Will & Testaments by me heretofore made. In witness thereof I the said Hodges Councill to this my last will & testament being contained in two sides of a sheet of paper set my seal & hand the 9th day of Aug. in the year of our Lord 1699.

(Signed by his HC mark)
Hodges Councill Seal.

Published in open Court Will Book Volumn 2, page 419. Isle of Wight County, Virginia.

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Hodges Council made his will in Isle of Wight in 1699. He married Lucy, daughter of John Hardy, Justice of the County Court, about 1675. He was possibly a son of John Council who married, secondly, Mrs. Jeffries, the relict of Richard Jeffries, in 1666

Hardy Council, on of Hodges' sons, made his will in 1749 in which he stated he was near the age of 71 years, making his birth date 1678.

Hodges Council, in his will in 1699, mentions daughter Christian wife of Edward Bryan. An Edward Bryan, who made his will in Newbern, Craven County, N. C., in 1746, an ancestor of a distinguished North Carolina family, was evidently a grandson of the above Edward Bryan, for he mentions his brother Hardy Bryan in his will.

*Source: Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County Virginia, by John Bennett Boddie, genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore,1973. Originally published in 1938. pp.216

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It has been claimed that John Councill first married Elizabeth Drake of Springfield, Devonshire, England, and that she was a close relative of Sir Francis Drake, the first Englishman to encircle the earth. The writer has not seen a published reference to it. Hodges Councill acquire by grants from the Virginia Governors more than 1200 acres. From George Pierce he purchased 300 acres in 1674 (Deed Book 1, p.30). During Bacon’s Rebellion, William West headed a force marching to take a loyal fort. He was captured January 16, 1677. In October, Hodges Councill and others signed a petition to the Commissioners for his release. (Calendar of State Papers, Vol. 39, Folio 85). The public records of Isle of Wight County, VA contain many references to Hodges Councill and his descendants.
January 7, 1915 Kinchin Bascom Council wrote: “I am accumulating data that I hope will be of assistance to some brave soul who will undertake to rescue from oblivion our early history and traditions.” Much of the data contributed mentioned elsewhere was the result of research by the late Kinchin Bascom Council, 1864-1931, of Bladen Co., NC, a successful business man, civic leader and family genealogist... IN substance he wrote: I have spent much time investigating the record of our early settlers because of the satisfaction it gives. Bladen County records were burned in 1765 and again in 1893. Some records are still to be found, though I have not searched those of Robeson or Cumberland Counties. It would take a lot of time to list all my findings, but I will say that all seem to be descended from Hodges Council who came to VA about the time of Cromwell’s death, 1658. Hodges Council was a son of John Council and his wife Elizabeth Drake of Devonshire, England.

*Source: Hodges Council of Virginia and Descendants, Judson Council, Baltimore, MD, 1941, pg 18, 59

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Edgecombe Co., NC was formed in 1733 and was the mother of Halifax, Martin, Nash, Washington, etc. The later were formed before the first census of 1790. There were several families of Councils in this section. John, son of Hodges had descendants who had lived there but moved to the Cape Fear Section with their Va. kin between 1742 and 1770. The Virginia invasion occurred between 1740 and 1770 when hundreds of Virginians came down to NC because the Legislature passed a law requiring all non-residents to acquire ten acres for each head of stock ranging in the Colony or become citizens. Old John’s sons and grandsons had thousands of cattle and it was cheaper to moved into the Wilderness than to buy it. animosity existed between the stockmen and the authorities. The officials were grafters and sought to exploit the settlers. Occasionally there was a decent Governor before the Revolution. In 1726 John Council advised Sir Richard Everhard, then Governor, that certain of his henchmen were slaughtering great numbers of his cattle and gave notice that he would protect his property. The succeeding governor, Burrington, in 1728 paid the settlers this compliment, “the people of NC are neither to be cajoled or outwitted. Whenever a Governor attempts to do anything by this mean he will lose his labors and show his ignorance. The inhabitants are subtle and crafty, always behave, insolently to their governors; others they have driven from the colony and at other times set up a governor of their own choice by men under arms.” In 1728 the year the line was established between NC and VA Col. Wm. Byrd one of the boundary commissioners said the “borderers laid it to heart if their land was taken in VA. They chose, much rather to belong to NC where they paid no tribute to God or to Caesar.

*Source: Hodges Councill of Virginia and Descendants. Judson Council, Baltimore, MD 1941 pg 60-61

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Hodges Council “, received grants of 1200 acres from the Virginia Governors and purchased 300 acres. He left two Wills on file in Isle of Wight County, VA, each recorded the same day in 1699, with the same people mentioned in both, but with a different division of land between heirs.
*Source: Wurt’s Magna Charta, page 2137

The Councils all had magnificent estates. They were members of St. Lukes Church, near Smithfield, called the “Old Brick Church”, and served as vestrymen.

*Source: Wurt’s Magna Charta, John S. Wurts, Germantown, PA 1947, page 2137

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"Discovery in Pamlico County, North Carolina...[found]in the Scotttstown area near Goose Creek in Pamlico County...a 600 to 800 pound granite slab from an abandoned cemetery. [inscription reads] "Edward Bryan, Born in London 1663, Emigrated to Nansemond County, Virginia 1690, Moved to Craven County 1700. Died 1739. Christiana, his wife, daughter of Hodges Council died 1743."

*Source: North Carolina Genealogical Society "News" Vol. 17 #3, page 30

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20 Apr 1731...James Bryan, Yeoman, of the lower parish and wife Joan Bryan to Walter Bryan,Yeoman of the same...200 acres adjoining Hodges Council (being part of a patent dated 1677 which was granted to Mr. Hodges Council,Sr. as 941 acres...on 9 Aug 1699, he willed 200 acres of the patent to his daughter, Christina(Bryan)the wife of Edward Bryan and her heir,John Bryan,Sr. willed it to the said James Bryan). Wit:John Bretten, Edward(X)Taylor, James(X)Bryan, James(X)Bryan Rec 26 Apr 1731 Joan(X)Bryan

*Source: Isle of Wight Co.,Va Deeds 1720-1736 and 1741-1749 by Hopkins page 30
Isle of Wight Deed Book 4 1729-1736 page104

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COUNCIL, Hodges - attended Old St. Lukes Church, "Old Brick Church". near Smithfield, VA

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