The Three Sons---Generation Three

By the third generation, we have gone from one Gwaltney family to three. The eldest of William Gwaltney's son was born sometime around 1670, but had died by 1728. I'm sure he was named in honor of his grandfather, the first Gwaltney to America. This Thomas had at least two sons, John and Thomas, Jr. John lived approximately from 1710-1779, while his brother Thomas lived from 1712-1782. It also appears that Thomas may have had sons William and Robert. William and Robert both moved into Brunswick Co. VA and Robert's line then moved on down into southern North Carolina and South Carolina.

We don't know a lot about this Thomas. Surely, he was a farmer. We do know he lived in the Lawnes Creek Parish area of Surry County and that in 1727, shortly before his death, he purchased 100 acres from Cornelius Cargill that was along the Third Swamp of the Blackwater. When he died, both of his sons were administrators for the estate.

Just for your general information, it is from this son Thomas' line that Gwaltneys will eventually migrate into the Brunswick/Mecklenberg counties of Virginia; Alexander (Brushy Mountains area) county of North Carolina; Pitt County of North Carolina; Boteourt (Roanoke) County, Virginia; Obion County, Tennesse, and even into Georgia and Mississippi. And for most of you Gwaltneys in southwest Indiana and southeastern Illinois, this is the line from which you descend.

I can betcha that John was a farmer. Surely he ended up with part of his father's 400 acre plantation after his sisters Mary and Martha passed on or else married (they gave up their rights to the plantation once they married); he also was the recipient of one half, about 225 acres, of the 450 total acres that his grandfather Robert Flake deeded to him and brother William.

I don't know much about him, but he did have several children:

1.Joseph (c. 1709- November 1750)
2.John ??? (1710-1748)
3.Thomas (c. 1711-Jan. 23, 1798)
4.Elizabeth (born 1714)
5. Martha (born 1716)
6.William (c. 1718- before 1752)
7.Benjamin (c. 1720-1760)
8.James (1725-Dec. 7, 1780)

In his will that was probated in 1752 in Surry County, his sons Benjamin, Thomas, and James and daughters Elizabeth and Martha are named. This means sons Joseph, William, and John had probably already died. Father John must have either sold off some of his ground or split some of it up among the boys, because at his death, he only had 175 acres. The greatest benefactor of the will, in my opinion, would be the son James who received the 175 acres of his father's land.

Again, for your information, it is from this line that many of the Virginia Gwaltney's descend. I guess that is because this line tended to stay in Virginia instead of migrating all over the country. Of course, there are a couple of Gwaltneys with "itchy feet" in this line. For it is from this group that some Gwaltneys will make it into Smith County, Tennessee, and into Ohio.

The line of William is a bit harder to trace as this line has apparently fizzled out quite a bit. There are some descendents of this line still alive in Virginia, but overall, this line was not as prolific as of the sons Thomas and John.  I know William must have been a farmer as he received part of his grandfather Robert Flake's acreage plus additonal acreage from his own father. Thus he surely was a fairly substantial farmer.