We have the following records from Northumberland County, Virginia [1] which clearly indicate that there was an Anne/Nancy Conway who was the daughter of George Conway and her mother was Elizabeth. This George Conway is a descendant of the Dennis Conway line of the Northern Neck. There is a Northumberland marriage record showing the marriage between George Conway and Elizabeth Smith on Jan. 15, 1763 - please keep this in mind when reviewing the records below. Also, see the book "Chasing Conways"[2] where the authors have provided an extensive study of the Conway family [3] which includes both the Edwin and Dennis Conway lines.
- Nancy Conway an infant daughter of George Conway came into court and made choice of Elizabeth Conway her mother for her guardian who thereafter entered into bond with security according to law. January 1781, Northumberland Order Book, 1773-1783, page 441.
- On the motion of Elizabeth Conway guardian of Nancy Conway ordered that John Hobson Fallin, George Ball, John Christopher and George Hurst or any three of them so protect(?) the said Elizabeth Conway with the said Orphan Estate in the hands of Thomas Conway, Exer of Dennis Conway, dec'd and make report thereof to the Court. January 1781, Northumberland Order Book, 1773-1783, page 445.
- On the motion of Elizabeth Conway guardian to Nancy Conway a daughter of George Conway. Ordered that the Sheriff summon Thomas Conway ex'er of Dennis Conway dec'd to appear here at the next court to be held for the said County on the second Monday in May next then and there to show cause why he detains the estate of the said Nancy Conway in his hands. Present Samuel Blackwell, Gen't. April 1781, Northumberland Order Book, 1773-1783, page 457.
- Eliz. Conway guardian to Nancy Conway VS Thomas Conway exe'r of Dennis Conway. On a Summons to show cause why he detains the estate of the said Nancy Conway. On the motion of the plaintiff by her counsel .. ordered that an attachment .. against the defendant to cause him to appear at the next court to show cause (if any he has) why he detains the said estate. Present John Gaskins, gent. May 1781, Northumberland Order Book, 1773-1783, page 460.
- Elizabeth Conway guardian to Nancy Conway VS Thomas Conway Exec. of Dennis Conway dec'd. On a summons to show why he detains the estate of the said Nancy Conway. By consent of the parties all matters in difference between them are referred to the settlement and final determination of William Nutt, William Eskridge, and Bridgar Haynie, gent. and agree that their award thereupon should be made the judgement of the court. June 1781, Northumberland Order Book, 1773-1783, page 462.
- Elizabeth Conway guardian to Nancy Conway VS Thomas Conway Exec. of Dennis Conway dec'd. On an attachment for not appearing to ... the complaint of the said Eliz. for detaining the estate of Nancy. The parties having by a rule of court submitted all matters in difference between them on the ... to the final determination of William Eskridge William Nutt and Bridgar Haynie and agreed that their award upon the ... in ... words to wit Pursuant to an order of Northumberland County Court dated the 11 day of June 1781 and agreeable to the mutual consent of Thomas Conway exec of William Thomas decd and Elizabeth Conway guardian to her daughter Anne Conway appointing us the subscribers to determine a ... depending on the said court concerning three negroes given by the will of the said William Thomas to his grand daughter Chloe Conway and the by the death of the said Chloe descended to her brother George Conway or his heir the said Anne Conway. Viz Peters, Bett and child Rachel and upon perusing the will of the said William Thomas we are of opinion that the said Thomas Conway shall immediately deliver up the said negroes to the said Elizabeth Conway for the use of the said Anne Conway and also that the said Thomas Conway pay unto the said Elizabeth Conway for the aforesaid use one thousand four hundred and fifty pounds of crop tobacco on or before the first day of January next. Given under our hands the day & year above written. William Eskridge, William Nutt, Bridgar Haynie.
Whereupon it is considered by the court that the plaintiff recover against the said defendant or that the defendant immediately deliver up to the plaintiff the said three negroe slaves in the award mentioned and that the plaintiff recover against the said defendant for the use of the said slaves the aforesaid sum of one thousand four hundred and fifty pounds of crop tobacco together with her cash by her .. behalf expanded to be levied. ..... June 1781, Northumberland Order Book, 1773-1783, page 462-463 - John Gordon is by the court appointed guardian to Nancy Conway the daughter of George Conway who thereupon entered into bond with security according to law. 1782, Northumberland Order Book, 1773-1783, page 475.
- The last will and testament of Edwin Conway dec'd was produced in court by John Christopher junior and the the being contested by John Gordon gent. on behalf of Nancy Conway his ward - and upon hearing the testimony of .. ..... the court was dismissed and the said will ordered to... 1785, Northumberland Order Book, 1783-1785, page 280.
- On the motion of John Gordon gent. by his attorney (as guardian to Nancy Conway) to have the will of Edwin Conway decd contested and redocketted. Ordered the same be redocketted accordingly and by consent is set for trial the second day of next court. July 1785, Northumberland Order Book, 1783-1785, page 360.
- A writing purporting to the be the last will and testament of Edwin Conway dec'd being produced and offered again to the court by John Christopher junior (which was ordered to be recontested at July court last) and ... ..... was sworn and examined and the matter fully heard and considered. This therefore the opinion of the court that the same is good and is ordered to be recorded. 1785, Northumberland Order Book, 1783-1785, page 380.
It is clear that this Anne/Nancy was a descendant of the Dennis Conway line and that she was the daughter of George Conway and his wife Elizabeth. Elizabeth was probably Elizabeth Smith. Based on the book "Chasing Conways" beginning on page 145, the Thomas Conway and Edwin Conway listed in the Order Books are likely her uncles (page 154). This would make this Anne/Nancy Conway the descendant of Dennis Conway III (1716-1780) which fits with the dates in the Order Books.
The other interesting fact about these records is that the birthdate of this Anne/Nancy Conway fits with the birthdate of the Nancy Conway that married James Robert Mayson. Her parents married in 1763 and we have her obituary from 1856 claiming that she was 89 years old which places her birth year of about 1767. This age also "fits" with her being an "Infant" as noted in the records above in 1781 when her mother was appointed her guardian (probably upon the death of her husband George). An "Infant" in 1781 did not have the same meaning as today.
There are no further records for this Anne/Nancy after 1785: No marriage, no change in guardianship, no land, slaves, etc.. This also "fits" the theory that she moved to South Carolina. With both parents dead, she may have moved with another family member or friend/family member of her guardian John Gordon.
As of today, I have not identified with any certainty the John Gordon who became her guardian in 1785. This John Gordon is not the son of Col. James Gordon. The son of Col. James Gordon was born in 1765 and he would have been too young to have been a guardian for this Anne/Nancy in 1785. The son of Col. James Gordon married Elizabeth Lee Ball and we have an extensive amount of research published about this John Gordon. I suspect that this John Gordon is the man who married Ann Hack, the daughter of Peter Spencer Hack. [4] This John Gordon died about 1803. I have not done research on this John Gordon to see how he fits into the family and if any of his descendants or allied families moved to South Carolina. Interestingly, this Hack family also has a Conway-Hack marriage on the Edwin Conway line whose descendant was the George Conway claimed by other researchers to have had the Anne/Nancy Conway that married James Robert Mason.[5]
My research continues ..............
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[1] Northumberland County Order Books are available online from Familysearch.com. The Northumberland County Historical Society also has physical copies in its library. The Northumberland County Courthouse has the originals.
[2] Chasing Conways by Doralyn Short, John T. Reese and Shelby Morris, 2012
[3] Note that the authors do not show Anne/Nancy as the daughter of George; However, it is clear from the Order Book records that she was his daughter and Elizabeth was her mother and she was a descendant of Dennis.
[4] See Tyler's Quarterly Volume 1.
[5] Col. Edwin Hack (1680-1763) married Anne Hack and their son George had son George who married Anne Downman. George Conway and Anne Downman are claimed by other researchers to be the parents of Anne/Nancy Conway who married James Robert Mayson which is unproven.
This page was created on 3/19/2024 and modified on 3/31/2024