While I have not yet located a direct ancestor with the surname RASBURY/RASBERRY, the family certainly seems to have been deeply connected with my JONES family of Chowan/Bertie Co NC.
The first mention of JOHN RASBURY/RASBERRY & his wife BRIDGET BROWNE of Isle of Wight Co VA in Chowan/Bertie Co NC was in 1711:
1711 Chowan County, North Carolina Deeds, Book W : "Know all men by these presents that I John EARLY of North Carolina living in the County of Albermarle & in the Precinct of Chowan for and in consideration of the sum of half pound current money of Nor th Carolina to me in hand paid by JOHN RASBERRY, hatter, living in the above County & in the Precinct of Chowan at and before the sealing and delivery of these presents wherewith I confess myself to be fully satisfied contended and paid have bargained & sold and by these presents do fully clearly and absolutely bargain & deed unto the said JOHN RASBERRY a certain parcel of land containing two hundred acres of land plantation thereon houses orchard fencing & all that is belonging to the said two hundred acres of land lying upon Chowan River betwixt John Hales land and Thomas Daniel to have and to hold the above said two hundred acres of land all appurtenances belonging thereon to the above said JOHN RASBERRY his heirs ex'ors adm'trs or assigns to him & t hem forever from me my heirs ex'ors adm'trs or assigns and every one of us or whosoever shall come after me & against all people who shall and will warrant acquit and forever defend by these presents given from under my hand and seal the 16th day of April in the Reign of Sovereign Lady Queen Ann Anno Domi 1711. Signed sealed and Delivered in the presence of George Smith and John Hale. Signed (his mark) John Early."
CHARLES JONES Sr & SARAH unknown (his first wife) of Westmoreland Co VA was in Chowan/Bertie Co NC as early as 1713, according to a land deed to George Smithwick; he is also listed in a 1717 Chowan Co tax list. Parts of Chowan Co NC became Bertie Co NC in the 1720s.
In 1725, CHARLES JONES Sr gave 100 acres of land to BRIDGET RASBERRY, the daughter of JOHN RASBERRY & wife BRIDGET BROWNE.
April 23, 1725 CHARLES JONES to BRIGET RASBEARY (Rasberry or Rasbury):
"For love I do bare BRIGET RASBEARY, the daughter of JOHN RASBEARY and BRIDGET his wife.... 100 A at Hors(Horse) Swamp adj. James Howard, Peter West to Cow Hall (Haule). Wit. Thomas Bird, Stephen Williams. May 1725 Thomas Pollock C. Justice" Colonial Bertie County, Vol I, Abstracts, Deed Book A 1720-1725.
CHARLES JONES Sr married 2nd to KATHERINE unknown; he wrote his will in 1739 and it was probated in 1748 in Bertie Co NC. In the will he names CHRISTOPHER HOLLOMAN & WILLIAM RASBARRY (son of JOHN RASBERRY & wife BRIDGET) as overseers/executors of the will.
JOHN RASBERRY died the following year, 1749, but the only mention of CHARLES JONES in JOHN RASBERRY's will is in the location of JOHN's property (they owned adjoining property), which he bequeathed to his son-in-law ARTHUR PINNER.
So what exactly was the relationship between CHARLES JONES Sr & the RASBERRY family? Were they only close neighbors & nothing more?
I suspected at first that perhaps SARAH, the 1st wife of CHARLES JONES, was a daughter of JOHN RASBERRY of Bertie, but after finding JOHN's will, that appears NOT to be the case. Then I suspected that perhaps CHARLES JONES Sr's mother, the wife of JOHN JONES II of Westmoreland Co VA, may have been a RASBERRY. But that too has been unprovable.
That the two families were somehow intertwined seems indisputable. JOHN JONES b 1780-1790 who died after 1850 in Henderson Co TN & married BEATRICE "BEDA" PRESLAR/PRESLEY was a son of my ancestors NICHOLAS JONES & MARTHA "PATSY" MOORE, and great grandson of CHARLES JONES Sr & SARAH unknown. JOHN JONES named one of his sons RASBERRY JONES b 1828 in TN; another son ARCHIBALD JONES b 1818 named his son RASBERRY JONES also. And there were several more with the name in descending generations. So clearly there was some kind of connection...but what?
For more information on these families, and my documentation, please check out my Rootsweb online tree "Southern Ancestors of Minttie Mae Bruton".
And as always, your comments are appreciated!
Have a great day!
Betty
© Betty Tartas 2011
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