John Ingram

John Ingram (September 1621–November 1654) was associated with Great Wicocomocoe and Dividing Creek in Northumberland County, Virginia. Later family accounts place his migration from Great Britain to Virginia about the middle of the seventeenth century, although no specific birthplace or parents are identified in the supplied material. His 1654 will names his wife Jane and children Thomas, Elizabeth, and Jane. He is identified as David’s 8th great-grandfather in the supplied family tree.

John Ingram was born in September 1621, according to the supplied life dates. Later family accounts state that he migrated from Great Britain to the Colony of Virginia around the middle of the seventeenth century and settled in Northumberland County. The supplied records are said to imply an English origin, but they do not identify a particular English birthplace or his parents.

A land grant dated 10 April 1651 and recorded 20 September 1653 concerned 406 acres on Dividing Creek, adjoining the lands of William Vincent and John Waddy. The supplied account describes the grant as being to John Ingram and Richard Flint. Of the acreage, 250 acres had been granted to David Pole on 10 December 1638 and assigned to John Ingram; the remaining land was due for the transportation of persons into the colony.

On 13 April 1652, John Ingram signed the oath to the Commonwealth of England. Family notes further describe him as serving as a juryman and government agent in Northumberland County between 1651 and 1654. He was said to have owned substantial land and a boat and to have conducted transactions involving the boat. He described himself as “of Great Wicocomocoe,” and his land was identified as being on Dividing Creek.

John made his will on 8 April 1654 as “John Ingram of Great Wicocomocoe in the County of Northumberland.” He named his wife, Jane Ingram, as the beneficiary of the remainder of his estate. An extracted later account says that Jane was probably his second wife, but this is not established by the will itself.

The will called Thomas Ingram John’s oldest son and directed that Thomas be brought up to read and write. Thomas was to receive horses, cows, a bed, household goods, a saddle and bridle, an iron pestle, a servant for four or five years, and the land on which John then lived at Dividing Creek. This land excluded 100 acres occupied by Thomas Brewer, which was to go to Thomas Hopkins. John also named daughters Elizabeth Ingram and Jane Ingram. Elizabeth was to receive a bed and furniture and cattle when she reached age eighteen. Jane was to receive 330 acres, a bed, and additional goods.

John provided that Thomas Hopkins could continue to occupy one room in his house and receive meat, drink, washing, and lodging for life or as long as Hopkins wished, under the terms expressed in the will. John asked William Nash, Peter Knight, and Thomas Hopkins to see that his wishes were carried out. The will was witnessed by Ger Dodson, Robert Burell, and Thomas Brewer, who made his mark. It was proved on 20 November 1654.

John Ingram died in November 1654, according to the supplied life dates and the probate of his will. His estate was associated with Dividing Creek in the Great Wicomico area of Northumberland County, Virginia.

Historical context

The supplied notes identify Dividing Creek as a stream flowing about 3.5 miles into Chesapeake Bay and state that Wicocomico Parish was established by the General Assembly about 1648. They also note that Ingram Bay lies at the mouth of the Great Wicomico. These place descriptions provide context for the Great Wicocomocoe and Dividing Creek references in John Ingram’s records.

Sources & research

Ingram Family History, Mary Ruth Ingram Stultz.

My Ingram Family 1651-1925, Iona May Ingram Sowa.

Northumberland County, Virginia, Record Book, 1652-1658, pp. 48 and 48a.

Virginia Colonial Abstracts, Volume I, Northumberland County Records, 1652-1655, pp. 396-397.

The Waddy Family of Northumberland County, VA, by Mrs. O. A. Keach of Wichita, Kansas; published in Genealogies of Virginia Families, Vol. IV, pp. 312-325; also identified in the notes with William and Mary College Quarterly, Vol. 25, 1916-1917.

Genealogies of Virginia Families: Tyler’s Quarterly, Vol. I, pp. 464-480 and 796-798; William and Mary College Quarterly, Vol. II, pp. 401-405; and Vol. 25, pp. 312-325.

Place-Names of the Northern Neck of Virginia, Mary R. Miller (Virginia State Library, 1983).

Extracted ancestral-file material attributed to Gerry Watts, shared by “marjritter” on 16 July 2015; the extract cites Virginia Colonial Abstracts, Volume I, Northumberland County Records, 1652-1655, pp. 396-397.

VA Court Records VI, cited in the supplied notes for a Northumberland reference in 1761.

International Genealogical Index (IGI), cited in the supplied notes for the death date.

News article of unknown origin, cited for the proposed meaning of the Ingram name.