John Pleasants ³⁶

  General Notes:

[work 31.FTW]

[Genealogy.com WFT Vol. 47, Ed. 1, Tree #1375, Date of Import: Jun 5, 2002]

WILL OF JOHN PLEASANTS, 1662.
Extracted from the District Registry at Norwich.

In the name of God Amen I John Pleasants in the p'ish of St. Savors in
the citty of Norwich Worsted Weaver being in p'fect minde & memorie but
weake in body doe make this my last Will & Testament this 18 day of July
1662 as followeth First I give my soule into the hands of God & my body
to be buried decently by mine Excet'x hereafter mentioned I give &
bequeath unto Katherine my loveing wife all y't my lands & houses &
tenements gardens orchyards lying & being in the p'ish of St. Saviours
aforesaid which John Pleasants my late father left & gave me by his last
will and Testament to her & her heirs for ever desireing, her so to
dispose of it as shee shall think best for the good & benefit of all my
children Allso I give & bequeath unto the said Katherine my wife all my
goods wares & household stuffe & debts due to me shee paying all my just
debts y't I doe owe I doe allso make no'iat & appoint the said Katherine
my wife sole Executrix of this my last Will & Testament. In wittness
wh'reof I have set my hand & seale the 18 day Of July 1662 as above.
Sealed & delivered in the pr'sence of us. John Hasbart Robert Pleasants
Mary Rust.
JOHN PLEASANTS.
Proved in the Archdeaconry Court of Norwich 26th August 1662.
*****************
Note: The following information is concerning John, the immirant to
America, son of this John.

THE ENGLISH DESCENT OF JOHN PLEASANTS (1645-1668),
OF HENRICO COUNTY, VIRGINIA.

By J. HALL PLEASANTS, Baltimore, Md.

The descendants of John Pleasants, the emigrant, who settled in Virginia
about 1665, are sufficiently numerous to make the unravelling of his
English descent a matter of some little interest. In tracing this
descent in England two factors have been of great help; a knowledge of
the birth place of the emigrant and the fact that the name is
sufficiently uncommon to readily establish the question of identity.

We are indebted to the Quaker " memorials " of John Pleasants and his
wife, Jane Pleasants, for many facts in regard to their lives. About
thirty years ago these " memorials " were published in " The Friend," and
the numerous references to the emigrant which have since appeared in
various published Virginia genealogies apparently owe their origin to
these. Here we find the statement that John Pleasants was born in
Norwich, England, settled in Virginia in i665, when about twenty-one
years of age. and established himself at Curles, Henrico county. He
married Jane, the widow of Capt. Samuel Tucker, of Bristol. He is said
to have become converted to Quakerism after he came to Virginia.
Although bearing every evidence of truth, it has been a matter of
considerable difficulty to trace the origin and authenticity of these "
memorials." They were not to be found among the records of the Baltimore
yearly meetings where the original Virginia Quaker records are
deposited. They were finally traced to Philadelphia, where they were
found in the Ridgway Library among the original "Smith Manuscripts,"
bearing the date 1747 to 1760. They agree in all respects with later
published versions, except that in the original the age of the emigrant
is not given. We are concerned here, however, less with the emigrant
than with his English ancestry, so only a brief reference will be made to
a few important facts in his life. The earliest land patent to John
Pleasants is dated Oct. 1, 1679 (Book 7, P. 12), and is for " 548 acres
lying in Henrico Co., north side of James River and Four Mile Creek
adjoining land of Capt. Matthews." In Feb., 1682 (Henrico Co. Court
Records 1682, P. 135 O.B.), complaint was entered against "John Pleasants
and Jane Tucker als. Larcome als Pleasants (quakers) defend'ts have
shewed that the sd. two p'sons doe unlawfully accompany themselves
together as man and wife without legall marriage, and also that they have
made a breach of three penall lawes of this Country Viz't..... absence
from the Church . . . . refuseing to have their children Baptized. . . .
for haveing and suffering a Conventicle at or near their house . . and as
being pr'sent and members of the sd- Conventicle." judgment in their
favor was entered on the first charge of not being legally married, but
they were found guilty of the last three charges and fined. An appeal
was entered, and we learn later that the question was carried to England
and brought before the Lords of Trade and Plantations, In the "Calendar
of State Papers, America and West Indies," 1681-1685, p. 497, a letter
from Lord Culpepper, dated Sep. 20, 1683, states that "Pursuant to
instructions for liberty of conscience I stopped execution against a
Quaker John Plaisance who was indicted ' for not attending church,
pending signification of the Kings pleasure." In the journal of Lords of
Trade and Plantations, under date of Sep. 22, i683 (Ibid, P. 503), we
find " an instruction to be added for further respite of sentence on
John. Plaisants," and later "Additional instructions to Lord Howard of
Effingham to continue to stay execution against the Quaker, John
Pleasants already stayed by Lord Culpeper."

It is unnecessary to add that persecution of the Quakers in Virginia was
at its height about this time. The Quaker marriage ceremony was an
especial object of attack, but even the prejudiced provincial courts
refused to countenance these attempts to upset its validity.

John Pleasants died in 1698. His will, dated "27th Of 7'ber 1690," was
filed in the Henrico county court by the testator in person, Oct. 3,
1690. The will is a lengthy one, but we are interested here with a few
of its provisions. Bequests are made to " my Brother Sam'el Pleasants
and to his heirs for ever and for each of such Issue unto my Brother
Benjam'n Pleasants and to the heirs of his Body for Ever, and for each of
such Issue unto my Brother Thomas Pleasants." Further reference is made
to "my 4rothers and Sisters in England," and a bequest of twenty pounds
is given to "my Dear and Loving mother-if living. " A codicil dated May
xi, i697, and recorded by "the prayer of Mrs. Jane Pleasants June 1
1698," indicates that John Pleasants probably died about the latter date.

Jane Pleasants, the widow, died in 1708-9. Her will, dated Jan. 2, 1708,
and proved in -, 1709, is also recorded in Henrico county. John and Jane
Pleasants left three children: (i) John, who married Dorothy Cary,
daughter of Thomas Cary; (2) Joseph, who married - Cocke; (3) Elizabeth,
who married James Cocke.

For investigating the descent of John Pleasants in England the following
established facts in regard to the emigrant were available: that he was
born in Norwich, England, about 1645; that he had at least three brothers
living in 1690 - Samuel, Benjamin and Thomas; that these and certain
unmarried sisters, as well as his mother, were living in England in
1690. With these data the pedigree of the emigrant for four preceding
generations was satisfactorily worked out from the following Norwich
wills, parish registers and deeds.

  Events

• He has conflicting birth information of Alt. Birth and 11 Nov 1618. ³⁶

• He has conflicting death information of Alt. Death and 1662. ³⁶

John married Katherine WFT Est 1636-1656.³⁶ (Katherine was born about 1620 in England ³⁶ and died WFT Est 1648-1714 ³⁶.)