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| Birth: | 1616 in James City, VA |
| Death: | Jun 1691 in Surry, Isle of Wight County, Va. |
| Sex: | M |
| Father: | John Baynhum b. 1590 in England |
| Mother: | |
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| Changed: 9 Sep 2001 20:30:04 |
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Individual:
BIOGRAPHY: Sources:
Title: Bynum and Baynham Families of America
Author: Robert William Baird
Publication: Gateway Press, Inc., Baltimore, MD 1983
Abbrev: Bynum and Baynham Families of America
Call Number: LC 83-82272
Text: "John Bynum seems to be one of the earliest immigrants to have left male
descendants and was the ancestor of the majority of Bymuns in America. It is
tempting to consider the possibility that he was related to the John Baynham
of Jamestown discussed in Chapter 1 (I do not have-KT), though we can find no
evidence of a relationship other than the similarity in names. Surry County
is located directly across the James River from James Island and, in fact,
was formed from James City County in 1652. John Bynum, who was in Surry
County by 1663, initially appeared in the vicinity of the "Tappahanna" patent
of the earlier John Baynham. Unfortunately, the mid-17th century records of
James City County are nearly nonexistent, though those of Surry are
marvelously well preserved. Thus the question of John Bynum's residence prior
to Surry's formation and (potentially) that of his relationship to John
Baynham of Jamestown may never be answered. The research recounted in Chapter
1 clearly indicates that they were not father and son, and were unlikely to
have been grandfather and grandson. They may well have been related in some
other way, however, a possibility made reasonably likely by the relative
uniqueness of the Baynham name..."
BIOGRAPHY: Source: Bynum and Baynham Families of America 1616-1850, Robert William Baird, Gat eway Press 1983, Lib. of Congress Card Number 83-82272.
BIOGRAPHY: *23 April, 1681 -John Bynum land patent in lower Surry County, Virginia. He receiv ed 215 acres for the transportation from England of five persons. His new land was adjacent to our ancestor, Richard Jordan, Jr. John Bynum sold this land three years later.
BIOGRAPHY: *May 1687 -John, age 70, petitioned Surry Court saying that he was too old to pa y church levies, bear arms, and clear roads.
BIOGRAPHY: *13 May 1687 -Final record of Rosamond. She proved noncupative will of - Jordan.
*****************
John Bynum seems to have been the ancestor of most American Bynums. While it is tempting t o consider
the possibility that he was related to the earlier John Bynum of Jamestown, there is no evide nce whatsoever
of a connection other than geography.
Surry County, Virginia was formed in 1652 from James City County, and lies on the southern b ank of the
James River opposite the original Jamestown settlement. Unfortunately, nearly all the earl y records of
James City County were destroyed, so we have available only the records of Surry. That mean s that the
question of John BynumâÇôs residence prior to his appearance in the Surry records may never b e answered.
He first appears in the Surry records in a deed dated 28 February 1663[1], in which the wido w of Henry
Meadow sold 100 acres to âÇúJohn BinhamâÇù to carry out an agreement made by her late husband[2] . On 5
December 1663, George and Margaret Blow recorded the sale of 200 acres on the Blackwater Rive r to âÇúJohn
BynamâÇù[3]. John Bynum does not appear again in the Surry records until the 1668 tithables li st, the first of
those lists in existence. However, from March 1665 through February 1671 a John Bynum appear s four
times as a witness in Old Rappahannock County[4]. I doubt this was the same person, but it i s possible.
But by 1668 he apparently was in Surry to stay. He was listed in the 1668 tithables list wit h Richard Smith,
a son-in-law of George Blow who had witnessed the Blow deed, and who owned adjoining land. J ohn
Bynum appeared in each subsequent tithables list[5]through 1691.
In late 1678 he was fined for not attending church[6]. Virginia law required all citizens t o attend the
Anglican church. The fine was one shilling. Although most Virginians of the period were und oubtedly
religious, most were not particularly sympathetic to the aggressive ecclesiastical style o f EnglandâÇôs church,
and this law (and often the fine) was frequently ignored. It is possible that Bynum was a Qu aker, one of
the more common reasons for these fines.
On 4 March 1679, the inventory of John Twyford was presented to the Surry court by Richard S mith, who
had married TwyfordâÇôs widow Mary. According to this record, a small neck of land belonging t o Twyford
was leased to John Bynum[7]. Later the same year, on 28 November, John Bynum sold to Richar d Jordan
Jr. the 200 acres he had purchased from George Blow in 1663[8]. The deed was signed by Joh n and Rosa
Bynum, thus giving us our first mention of his wife. Neither signed their name; both used di stinctive
marks. Both appeared in court on 6 January 1680 to acknowledge the sale, and the wifeâÇôs nam e was
recorded as Rose[9]. The implication of RosamondâÇôs relinquishment of dower is that they wer e married
when the land was originally purchased.
A land patent, dated 23 April 1681, was granted to John Bynum for transportation of five per sons[10].
The land, 215 acres, was located adjacent Richard Jordan âÇúdown the Mill Branch near Mr. Warre n.âÇù Later
that year, on 1 October, John and âÇúwife RosamondâÇù Bynum sold 100 acres of this land âÇúon the w est side of
the branch John now lives on.âÇù[11] Both John and Rosamond acknowledged the sale in court thr ee years
later, on 12 October 1684, when the land was described as the whole 215 acres[12].
Earlier, on 1 March 1687 âÇúJno BinamâÇù was listed among the debtors of the estate of Thomas Jo rdan[13].
At about the same time he brought suit against one Joseph Wall for killing a yearling cow. T he court
records show that âÇúâǦJno. Byneham Senr. setting forth to this court that Joseph Wall had kille d a yearling or
young beast of his whereby he was damaged four hundred pounds of tobaccoâǦto which the sd Wall
appeared and pleaded not guilty.âÇù A jury was formed, found for Bynum, and awarded him thre e hundred
pounds of tobacco in damages. Wall evidently failed to make good on this judgment, for a lat er court
record shows he âÇúwas returned arrested to this court at the suit of Jno. Byneham.âÇù This time , Wall was
ordered to pay four hundred pounds of tobacco[14]. He was placed in the SheriffâÇôs custody an d, we
assume made good. The loss of the cow was probably a serious one for John Bynum. When he di ed a few
years later, the bulk of his estate consisted of one calf and two cows, one of which was barr en.
John BynumâÇôs birth year is roughly established by a subsequent court record. In May 1687 h e petitioned
the Surry Court: âÇúâǦthat he is seaventy years of age and thereby too disabled he is hardly abl e to keep
himselfe from [unreadable] charge, and therefore humbly prayed that he might be exempted fro m paying
levies, bearing of arms, and clearing of high ways and it appearing that he is very aged & po ore, he is
exempted for the futureâǦâÇù[15] This is particularly interesting, because it suggests that h e was in his late
forties when he first showed up in the Surry County records, and was well into middle age whe n he married
and had children. It was typical of the times, however, that people who couldnâÇôt read or wri te were often
only vaguely aware of their own ages. Though he was probably close to seventy, we canâÇôt real ly be sure
that this was a precise statement of his age.
This is our final record for John Bynum. The final mention of Rosamond Bynum is dated the s ame year.
She witnessed the nuncupative (oral) will of Alice Jordan, probably the widow of Richard Jord an, on 13 May
1687[16].
John Bynum evidently died in June 1691. He appears in the Surry tithables list taken abou t 10 June along
with his two sons, but was deceased by 7 July when âÇúJohn BynehamâÇù Jr. was posted bond for the
administration of his fatherâÇôs estate[17]. The GovernorâÇôs letter to the court granting the a dministration says
âÇúâǦwhereas John Bynham, late of this colony dyeing and leaving an estate in divers goods, wher eof his son
John Bynham is granted administrationâǦâÇù[18] An inventory was ordered, but on 1 September 16 92 John
Bynum Jr. âÇúcame into Court and declared that the appraisement of the said deceds Estate was b urnt the last
night in his house which by some accident with all that he had in it was burnt[19].âÇù The inv entory finally
produced a year later by John Bynum Jr. âÇúof ye estate of John Bynham decdâÇù included 2,460 pou nds of
tobacco and âÇúone cow & calf, one barron cow, one yearling heipher, one old feather bed wit h a canvas
ticking, old ragged bkt, two old guns, one iron pott & pott hooks, one brass morter & pestl e & brass ladle,
one brass spoon, some old bowles & trays, one grubbing hoeâÇù and a few other household goods[2 0].
There was no mention of Rosamond, which suggests that she died prior to 1691.
Rosamond is assumed to have been the mother of the two known children. It appears she and J ohn
Bynum were married at least by 1663. There are no clues as to her age. Nor are there signif icant clues as
to her maiden name. The DAR accepted an application many years ago which stated she was Rosa mond
Blow, but gave no proof. An old published genealogy made the same claim[21]. As a result, i t has been
widely thought by some compilers of Bynum genealogies that Rosamond was the daughter of Georg e and
Margaret Blow. The basis, I suppose, is the 1663 indenture between John Bynum and the Blow s as well as
the association between their respective children. Whether that is true is unknown. We kno w from Surry
deed records that George and Margaret Blow had at least three children: Richard, George an d Elizabeth, the
wife of Richard Smith. Whether Rosamond was another daughter, or perhaps a sister, is comple tely
unknown. I might note that, if she was a sister of these three, she would have been signific antly the eldest.
It is fairly obvious that John Bynum, like most residents of Surry County, was a farmer, pro bably of
tobacco. When a marketable tobacco strain was imported from Trinidad about 1611, native toba cco was
rapidly plowed under and the plant became the economic salvation of Virginia. During most o f the 17th
century, this part of Virginia was mainly given over to cultivating VirginiaâÇôs only importan t export. If he was
typical, he probably planted a fraction of his lands, owing to the labor requirements of th e crop. Tobacco is
a labor-intensive crop. During this period, most of the work was done by indentured servant s and family.
That might explain why he seemed not to feel it necessary to acquire large landholdings.
He probably had a daughter or two, but only two sons seem to be certain children.
1.John Bynum (1664/5 âÇô 1715) Note that his father was listed with two tithables in June 1 674; if the
second person was John Jr., he would have been born by 1658. However, John Bynum Sr. wa s listed
on the 10 June 1675 tithables as âÇúJno Bynam & JohnsonâÇù. This was written pretty clearl y as
âÇúJohnsonâÇù, but if this was meant to read âÇúJohn, sonâÇù then John Jr. would have been bor n about 1658
or 1659. However, John Bynum Jr. does not appear again in the tithables until 1681, whe n the list
included âÇúJno Byneham Senr & JunrâÇù. They were listed that way in 1682 and 1683, then Jo hn Jr. was
listed separately thereafter. Therefore, I conclude John Jr. turned 16 by June 1681 mak ing his birth
year 1664 or 1665. He was listed in the tithables lists with Richard Jordan Jr. in 168 4, with Richard
Blow in 1685 and 1686, with George Blow Jr. in 1687, and with Robert Grice in 1689 . I suspect he
married Ann Grice about 1689 or 1690.
In 1686 he appears in the Surry court records for the first time when he and Elizabet h Blow
witnessed a power of attorney from Hannah Hill âÇô we know this was John Bynum Jr. becaus e
his mark is distinctly different from his fatherâÇôs. In 1687 he bought land from Georg e Blow
Jr. As mentioned above he was administrator of his fatherâÇôs estate in 1691, but appare ntly
inherited no land. The 1704 quit rent roll shows him with the same 100 acres. He wa s given
permission by the Surry court to keep a tavern in 1713. In July 1715 his widow, Ann,
testified John Bynum had died intestate. Ann was probably Ann Grice, who outlived hi m by
several years and married Robert Warren shortly after his death. Robert GriceâÇôs 1720 w ill and
made a bequest of land to his âÇúwell beloved couzen John BynamâÇù âÇô probably meaning
âÇúnephewâÇù and referring to John and Ann BynumâÇôs son. John Bynum Jr. and Ann had two
sons: John and William. Both children stayed in Virginia. John (c1692 âÇô 1775) migrat ed
west, ending up in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. William (c1690 âÇô c1762) stayed close r to
home, dying in Southampton County. Their descendants produced many of the more famous
Bynums and ended up all over the southern United States over the next several generatio ns.
2.James Bynum (1665-6 âÇô c1723) He married Elizabeth, possibly the daughter of Luke Mizell , and
died in Surry County about 1723. See below.
[1] All dates are corrected for the present-day calendar. The Gregorian calendar used in Bri tain and its
colonies until 1752, had the year starting on March 25. Thus March 25, 1700 was followed b y March 26,
1701. In this case 28 February 1662 was the original date, which was actually 1663 in the pr esent-day
calendar.
[2] Surry County Deeds & Wills 1652-1672 Book 1, p?
[3] Surry County Deeds & Wills 1652-1672 Book 1, p232. This indenture gives the date as 165 3 in one
place and 1663 in another. However, Blow did not acquire the land until 3 August 1663, so th e 1653 date
is clearly a recording error. This error, which appears in some secondary sources, has lea d some people to
claim John Bynum was present in Surry at its formation.
[4] As âÇúJno BynamâÇù, Book 1663-8, p28 and 37; Book 1668-72, p117 and 532.
[5] The tithables consisted of all free males above the age of sixteen. There exist tithable s lists for Surry
County for the years 1668 through 1703, with 1671-3 and 1676 missing. All these lists are co ntained in
the Surry Deed Books. The law specified that the tithables be taken on or about June 10th ea ch year.
[6] Colonial Surry, John B. Boddie, 1974, p84-5
[7] Surry County Deeds & WIlls 1671-64 Book 2, p199
[8] Surry County Deeds & Will 1671-84 Book 2, p246
[9] Surry County Orders 1671-91, p268
[10] Surry County Orders 1671-91, p216
[11] Surry County Deeds & Wills 1671-84, p297
[12] Surry County Orders 1671-91, p. 458
[13] Surry County Book 3 Deeds and Wills, p?
[14] Surry County Orders 1671-91, p612 and pp633-4
[15] Surry County Orders 1671-91, p. 564
[16] Surry County Orders 1671-91, p565
[17] Surry County Orders 1691-1713, p2 and p4
[18] Surry County Orders 1691-1713, p19
[19] Surry County Orders 1691-1713, p10
[20] Surry County Deeds & Wills 1687-1695, Book 4, p268-9 (dated 17 May 1692)
[21] The Compendium of American Genealogy, (Virkus) p596, has the genealogy of LeRoy Kramer . It not
only claims Rosamond was a Blow, it also connects John to the John Bynum of Jamestown. Inte restingly,
KramerâÇôs genealogy in later generations was erroneous. He was not descended from these Bynu ms at all,
but from an unrelated immigrant. Nonetheless, I believe this was the source of the Bynum-Bl ow legend.
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