William Massie
William Massie | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses representing New Kent County, Virginia | |
| In office 1748–1749 Serving with William Hockaday | |
| Preceded by | William Gray |
| Succeeded by | James Power |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 28, 1718 |
| Died | June 4, 1751 (aged 32–33) |
| Resting place | New Kent, Virginia |
| Spouse | Martha Lucy (Macon) Bland |
| Children | William Massie and Maj. Thomas Massie |
| Parent(s) | Thomas Massie, Mary Walker |
| Occupation | planter, legislator |
William Massie (1718-1751) was a colonial Virginia planter and politician who served in the Virginia House of Burgesses.[1] A descendant of the same name served a single term in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1839-1840, representing Nelson County considerably westward of this man's lands,
Early life
William Massie was born May 28, 1718[2] to Thomas Massie and Mary Massie (née Walker). His father, Thomas, had more than doubled the acreage acquired by his father, Peter Massie, who had emigrated from the Liverpool area of northwest England and begun the family's political contributions by serving as a road surveyor for New Kent County. Thomas served as a captain in the militia and member of the House of Burgesses from 1723 until 1729.[3]
Career
Like his father, William Massie served as a vestryman in the local church, and church warden after his father's death.[4]
Personal life
He married Martha Macon (1722-1759), daughter of Col. William Macon (b. 1694), who after his death married Burgess (and later prominent patriot) Richard Bland.[5][6] The Macons were Huguenots, and Col. Macon's father Gideon Macon had emigrated to the Virginia colony from France and established a New Kent County plantation known as Prospect Hill. Their son Thomas would rise to the rank of Major in the Continental Army, serving with distinction in campaigns in Pennsylvania and New Jersey early in the conflict, as well as during the Yorktown campaign near its end, and establish the family considerably upstream on the James River in the Tye River area that became Nelson County.
References
- ↑ Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography (1915) Vol. 5 p. 789
- ↑ "The parish register of Saint Peter's, New Kent county, Virginia from 1680 to 1787". Richmond, W. E. Jones, Printer. 29 December 1904 – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ Mcphail, K. S. (15 June 2013). "New Kent County History: New Kent's Members of the House of Burgesses".
- ↑ Tyler p. 789
- ↑ John Frederick Dorman, Adventures of Purse and Person (4th ed.) p. 333.
- ↑ Tyler p. 789 may indicate her mother was marry Mary Hartwell (1719-1773), probably confusing different generations of the family.