Gleanings on the Cutburth Phelpe/Phelps of Maryland
Doug Phelps, 7/2007
Hopefully the following tidbits will be of help to researchers of this line which clearly moved from Maryland to NC, likely to Tyrrell Co, NC:
"Cudbeard Phelpe demanded rights of land for transporting himself his wife Mary Phelps, and Cudbeard and Darby Phelp his children, in the year 1654 into this province, which is 200 acres." Kent Co Court Proceedings 1647-1676 Kent Co court held at Thomas Bradnox house on 11/15/1658 This is also seen in the Kent CO Md Courtl land records 1648-1675, and refers to book B page 45. Bill Freeman reports you could get the headrights for coming to a colony regardless of where you came from...another country, or simply another colony.
Births: Kent Co Court Proceedings 1648-1656:
Darby Phelpe b 11 Feb 1656
Edward Phelpe b. 8 Jan 1658
1690 "Letter of attorney was proved. Knowing all men by these presents that I Archbald Grier of Albermarle County of NC [this area included several later counties] being the true and lawful attorney of Cuthbart Phelps I have received this 16th day of June 1690 of Robert Grundy merchant of Talbott County and Debora Grundy his wife being the executrix of the last will and testament of Thomas Impey deceased the full and just sum of 30391 lbs. of neat tobacco..." Talbot Co Judgement Records abstracts
1672 to 1696 A Cutbert is named several times in the Administrative Accounts of the Prerogative Court of Maryland. The abstracts are listed in several books. A Cutbeth Philips and a James Philips (of interest to the line in Caswell co) are also listed. Unfortunately the Philips name is used quite often in this area, and given names are duplicated in the two clearly different lines....some with the names of our Phelps line. This Cutberth may well be the Jr.. as named in Freeman's report. "Cuthbert Phelps Jr. (abt 1654/5 - ??) marr <unknown> = poss. Tyrrell land 1700, 1704"
In 2009 I visited the Perquimman's courthouse. Three deeds caught my eye. This would be during the time that the families of Nicholas and Hannah Phelps, quakers, were there. Has this line been reported in Perquimmans before?
Grantor Bartholomew Phelps 1704 to Anthony Alexander, 382 acres, book A, page 271. It named his wife Elizabeth.
Grantor Edward Felps (in the Phelps index) 1707 to Wm Stevens 264 A. book A p 271. It named his father Cuthbert
Grantor Edward Felps (in the Phelps index) 1707 to James Fox Power of Attorney book A p 272.
I was then shown the light by Cathy Roberts who cleared it all up.
Albemarle County was divided into several precincts - one of which was named Perquimans Precinct. Later, some of the area that was covered by Perquimans Precinct ended up in Chowan Precinct and then some of that area is what became Tyrrell County in 1729 (it was formed out of what was then Chowan, Bertie, Currituck and Pasquotank counties. Later, Martin County would be formed out of Tyrrell and Halifax Counties, and then in 1799, Washington County was fully formed out of Tyrrell County, with Tyrrell also ceding more land to Washington County in 1801. Based on the way Albemarle County was set up, then divided and the way Perquimans and Chowan Counites were formed, you can now select a section of land in present day Washington County, and be able to find court records on that piece of land in Washington County, Tyrrell County, Chowan County, and Perquimans County (from when it was all a part of the Perquimans Precinct of Albemarle County. Anthony Alexander was one of the men assigned to appraise the estate of Cuthbert Phelps in 1704. His name comes up several times in connection with the Phelps family, and Bartholemew Phelps sold him land (about 382 acres) that was located on the south side of the sound, and in the area of the Scuppernong River - this was in 1703. I'm not familiar with William Stevens, but James Fox is a very familiar name to me. Phyllis and Thomas Crowder, in the article "The Cuthbert Phelps Family of Maryland and North Carolina", Volume 23, No. 1, Spring 2002 of "The Genealogist", propose that Edward Batchelor was the husband of Priscilla Phelps, a sister to Edward and Bartholomew. James Fox was the step-father of Edward Batchelor, having married his mother, Ann Bigg, back in Lower Norfolk County. Ann, her husband James Fox, a brother-in-law Mathew Caswell, her nephew John Hassell and several other members of the Bigg family migrated south into North Carolina. Mathew Caswell and his wife Rebecca (no relation to Ann Bigg), were administrators of the estate of Edward Phelps as evidenced by a lawsuit brought against them in 1722 by a man who had been owed money by Edward Phelps.
Cathy Roberts
The James Fox (also spelled Fewox and I've even seen it as Falk and Faux) who is mentioned in the Perquimans deeds of Edward Phelps, had married Ann Bigg Batchelor Shaw by Sept of 1688 in Lower Norfolk County, VA. By 1694, he and the others of the extended Bigg family had migrated down into North Carolina. This also included George and Elizabeth Whidby, who end up somehow being connected with the Phelps family by marriage - the will of his son, George Whidbe of Albermarle County,dated Aug 21, 1722, left livestock to the sons of Seth Phelps. Later, in 1735, Richard Whidbe (another son of George), mentions his 'cossen Darby Philps' and also mentions 'Cudbath Philps' and 'cosen George Philps. Elizbeth Whidbe/Whidby was another daughter of John Bigg of Lower Norfolk County, VA.In their article on Cuthbert Phelps, the Crowders take on the topic of just who was Seth Phelps - they explore several possibilities, including one that he was a son of Darby Phelps, son of the Cuthbert Phelps who immigrated to Maryland. The Crowders theorize that the immigrant Cuthbert Phelps is NOT the one who migrated to North Carolina in the late 1600s - but that the Cuthbert who went to North Carolina is one of his sons. There is no direct evidence to support that theory, nor is there any direct evidence to support the theory that the Cuthbert who migrated to North Carolina is the same as the Cuthbert who immigrated into Maryland around 1654.Going back to James Fox, while I've seen his name quite a bit while doing other research, I've not yet done any research into him, so I don't know where he was prior to his marriage to Ann Bigg Batchelor Shaw. I'm descended from John Bigg through his daughter Johannah Bigg, who first married Edward Hassell, had a son by him - John and then when Edward died, married Mathew Caswell, had numerous children and then died. Mathew then remarried and took his family to North Carolina. Edward Hassell had been married prior to the marriage with Johannah, and this was in North Carolina, but there aren't many details known about the first wife, except that she was a widow. It is interesting to note that John Bigg was in trouble with the authorities several times due to being a Quaker - he spent time in jail for not having his children baptized. It is not known if his children kept with the Quaker faith as they grew older and married.
Cathy Roberts