Anyone In Virginia? Help With Some Research

nechesh · 4th May 2006, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick

Hi B.I. following the timeline given he would have been 15-20 years old when he left the States .
Possibly his entire family left the country .

Not much time to accomplish much of note over here .
Most likely he joined the RN as a Mid with his family's influence .

I think you're in for a tough search .

Rick points more directly to what i was implying in my post. Some sites list his birth as late as 1767. If he joined the British navy in the Revolutionary War it sounds like he entered quite young so i highly doubt he had any time to distinguigh himself all that much on American soil, unless it was for an "A" in spelling class at school.

dennee · 4th May 2006, 04:02 PM

I suggest you might first try Prince George County, Virginia. There is a 1766 ad for a runaway slave published for John Laforey at "Maycox" in Prince George. Maycox was an estate on the James River---although it was associated with the John Ravenscroft and David Meade families. The following is a link to folks interested in the Laforey name there and in the Caribbean:

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/s...e+George+Board

You may find some information about the family, but you will be hard-pressed to find anything personal about a young man. Church records seem like the only possibility (apparently, the Laforeys were Huguenots; but who knows what church? You might try Chamberlayne's "Births from the Bristol Parish Register of Henrico, Prince George & Dinwiddie Counties, Virginia, 1720-1798."). Among government records, you may find land transactions ot trusts, but they would presumably relate to Laforey's father. Real and personal property and capitation taxes would almost certainly name only the head of household.

dennee · 4th May 2006, 09:03 PM

I checked the Library of Virginia site to see what they have regarding Prince George County. With regard to those counties whose courthouses were burned or otherwise destroyed during the Civil War, it says:

"Several Virginia counties, most of them in the eastern part of the state, have suffered tremendous loss of their early records during the intense military activity that occurred during the Civil War, and others lost records in fires. At some point, almost everyone conducting genealogical or historical research will face the problem of finding information from a so-called "Burned Record county." Burned record counties might be grouped into three basic categories: Hopeless, Almost Hopeless, and Difficult. Included in the Hopeless category are James City, New Kent, Buckingham, Nansemond, Dinwiddie (before 1782), Appomattox, Buchanan, King and Queen, Warwick, and Henrico (before 1677). Almost Hopeless are Hanover, Prince George, Elizabeth City, and Gloucester."

Mark · 5th May 2006, 03:40 PM

This might be more complicated, but could be less complicated. One of those pieces of information says that his father owned several plantations in Antigua and served on Antigua's Council, etc. There is no Antigua in Virginia, so perhaps (and likely) the reference is to the island of Antigua, a British possession in the Caribbean. In that case, he probably grew up on Antigua, and not in Virginia. It also easily explains why he joined the British Navy and not the Revolutionary army (only one ship in the "Navy"

), though it is possible that his family were Loyalists in the colonies.

By coincidence, Lord Nelson came to Antigua in 1784 to develop Naval facilities on the island: http://www.antigua-barbuda.org/Aghis01.htm. The American Revolution officially ended on January 14, 1784, but perhaps Nelson picked up this young sailor when he left Antigua?

Assuming his family lived first in Virginia, then moved to Antigua, and not the reverse, I suggest extending the search to Antigua. Finding out the exact place of his birth in Virginia will probably not be possible with such scant information, especially if the family moved to Antigua afterwards.

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4th May 2006, 04:02 PM	#2
dennee Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: College Park, MD Posts: 186	I suggest you might first try Prince George County, Virginia. There is a 1766 ad for a runaway slave published for John Laforey at "Maycox" in Prince George. Maycox was an estate on the James River---although it was associated with the John Ravenscroft and David Meade families. The following is a link to folks interested in the Laforey name there and in the Caribbean: http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/s...e+George+Board You may find some information about the family, but you will be hard-pressed to find anything personal about a young man. Church records seem like the only possibility (apparently, the Laforeys were Huguenots; but who knows what church? You might try Chamberlayne's "Births from the Bristol Parish Register of Henrico, Prince George & Dinwiddie Counties, Virginia, 1720-1798."). Among government records, you may find land transactions ot trusts, but they would presumably relate to Laforey's father. Real and personal property and capitation taxes would almost certainly name only the head of household.

4th May 2006, 09:03 PM	#3
dennee Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: College Park, MD Posts: 186	I checked the Library of Virginia site to see what they have regarding Prince George County. With regard to those counties whose courthouses were burned or otherwise destroyed during the Civil War, it says: "Several Virginia counties, most of them in the eastern part of the state, have suffered tremendous loss of their early records during the intense military activity that occurred during the Civil War, and others lost records in fires. At some point, almost everyone conducting genealogical or historical research will face the problem of finding information from a so-called "Burned Record county." Burned record counties might be grouped into three basic categories: Hopeless, Almost Hopeless, and Difficult. Included in the Hopeless category are James City, New Kent, Buckingham, Nansemond, Dinwiddie (before 1782), Appomattox, Buchanan, King and Queen, Warwick, and Henrico (before 1677). Almost Hopeless are Hanover, Prince George, Elizabeth City, and Gloucester."

5th May 2006, 03:40 PM	#4
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	This might be more complicated, but could be less complicated. One of those pieces of information says that his father owned several plantations in Antigua and served on Antigua's Council, etc. There is no Antigua in Virginia, so perhaps (and likely) the reference is to the island of Antigua, a British possession in the Caribbean. In that case, he probably grew up on Antigua, and not in Virginia. It also easily explains why he joined the British Navy and not the Revolutionary army (only one ship in the "Navy" ), though it is possible that his family were Loyalists in the colonies. By coincidence, Lord Nelson came to Antigua in 1784 to develop Naval facilities on the island: http://www.antigua-barbuda.org/Aghis01.htm. The American Revolution officially ended on January 14, 1784, but perhaps Nelson picked up this young sailor when he left Antigua? Assuming his family lived first in Virginia, then moved to Antigua, and not the reverse, I suggest extending the search to Antigua. Finding out the exact place of his birth in Virginia will probably not be possible with such scant information, especially if the family moved to Antigua afterwards.