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by Woodie B. Parrott
retyped by April Heath (paperheath@aol.com)
| The surname of Estes was derived from a colony near Rome, Italy, which was called Ateste or Este. The Marquis of Este was the title assumed by the Marquis of Liquria in the beginning of the fourteenth century, and thus his descendants assumed the surname d'Este or Estes. (The foregoing based on Estes Genealogies, by Charles Estes of Warren, R.I., pub. 1894, page vii).***
As with most surnames, there were probably many nationalities in which the name of Estes may be found. However, the foregoing is apparently the origin of the Estes of this locality, supported by the belief that the lineages hereafter discussed are of the same categorial family as the d'Este family of Orange. |
In reverting back to the family of William Estes Sr., we pick up the lineage from Merriam Estes. Merriam (Merry) Estes lived on a portion of the land grant to his grandfather, Samuel Estes. The house in which Merriam lived is fallen with only the chimney remaining. The children of Merriam and Sara Elizabeth Wood Estes were: Agnes Estes, who married Marshall Estes in 1834 and migrated to Missouri; Lively Estes, who married Frances Wood on Nov. 18, 1839; Frances Estes, who is thought to have married a Clark; Sidna Estes, who married Thomas Clark on Feb. 9, 1832; Littleton E. Estes, who married Cornelia Frances Kiester on Sept 10, 1857, Cornelia being the daughter of Peter and Frances Wood Kiester; Robert Edgar Estes; and William Sanford Estes, who married Sarah A.E. Wood on Oct. 13, 1859, daughter of Amanson and V. Cox Wood. William Sanford and Sarah A. E. Wood Estes had the following issue: Willie Estes, Ella Estes; Frances Estes, who married James Alexander Bruce, by whom she had three children including Upshire, Clarence Bruce of Earlysville, and Mary Ellen Bruce Collier of Charlottesville; Edgar Estes; Andrew Jackson Estes, who by his first marriage to Walton, had a daughter named Gila, who secondly married E.D. Deane and now reside in Charlottesville; Andrew J. secondly married Sally Wood, daughter of Eley and Fannie Norris Wood, by who he had a daughter named Shiella Estes Via of Charlottesville; Lively Estes married Maggie Lawson on March 10, 1898; Mary Estes; Martha J., twin of Mary, married E.O. Wood on Nov. 26, 1896, and Susie Estes. Littleton E. Estes, son of Merriam Estes had the following children by his first marriage to (cut off) Ann Verinda (Mollie) Wood on Jan 7, 1880, the daughter of Elijah A. and Ardenia Jane Wood. They lived on a farm also taken from the original Estes land grant near Celt. The children of Charles Lilton J., and Mary Ann Verinda (Mollie) Wood Estes were: 1. Lula Estes, who married Oddie (or Ottie) Wood on Dec 23, 1897, by whom she had a son, the late Layton Wood of Crozet. 2. Emmett Estes, who married Mae Shelton, whose children are Eloise, Douglas and Aubrey Estes, now of Pensylvania. 3. Susan Earna Estes, who married Elijah Yelpton Wood, the son of Eley and Fannie Norris Wood, and had the following issue: (a) Ray Elmer Wood, who married Margaret McLeane by whom he had issue; (b) Lesslie Ozelia Wood, who first married Eddie Mingee, secondly Robert J. Shifflett, and third Ralph W. Bowen; (c) Ann Eula Wood, who married Arthur L. Brown of Nebraska, and had two issue; Mrs. Brown and family now reside in Denver, Colorado; (d) Rev. Harry Elijah Wood, who married Mary Hiser (e) Russell Yelpton Wood, who married first Katherine Kaluski and secondly, Louise Haynes (f) Charles Elvin Wood who died young and unmarried; (g) Pearle Susan Wood, who first married Carl Kaloski and secondly married a Ragland; (h) Woodrow Eley Wood, who married Ester Drew Duling, by whom he had two daughters; (I) Mildred Earna Wood, who married Willard M. Chichestester, U.S.A.F. ret., no reside in Dover, Delaware and are parents of two daughters; (j) Stewart Estes Wood, single merchant and genealogist. 4. Lenora Estes, 1889-1959, married Clark Bickers, 1883-1959, by whom she had the following issue: Walter Lemuel, Mary Aretta, Neilly, Laura, Hoover, Jesse, and Dorris. 5. Effie Cornelia Estes, 1891-1968, married Forest Jacob Wood, son of Joseph Jackson and Susan Brady Wood, by whom there were four |
issue: (a) Ruby Wood, who died in early childhood; (b) Delmar Jacob Wood, who by his third wife, Theresa, has one daughter, and live in Baltimore, Md; (c) Hazel G. Wood, who married William Brown Parrott, by whom there were three children; (d) Helen Marie Wood, who married Elmer H. Deane, now residing near Charlottesville; Mr. and Mrs. Deane have four children. 6. Pearle Estes, married James Henry Carter, and were the parents of Ollie Carter, who secondly married L.E. Lee, by whom there are nine children; This family now resides in Durham, North Carolina. 7. Elija Estes, 1894-1944, was a merchant and died unmarried. 8. Orlena K. Estes, who married Edwin (Lee) Riner on November 1, 1921, by which marriage there were three children: Curtis, Bernice Riner Foxx of Silver Springs, Md., and Cecil Runer, Orlena Estes Riner secondly married a McFarland. (cut off) cour Estes married Mary A. Booten in Green County on December 16 1886, Mary A. Booten was the daughter of E. and J. Booten. The children of Quintius Barbour and Mary Ann Booten Estes were: Victoria E. Estes Fietcher: Judy E. Estes, Ora Estes, who married H. Ed Melone; Edwin Booten Estes; Quintus Irby who married Alice R. Taylor; Barbour; Wiley, who married Pearle E. Jarrell; and Williard Estes. (Not necessarily in chronological order of birth.) Quintus Barbour Estes is thought to have had at least one sister, Rosa S. Estes, who at the age of 21 married James May on Dec 24, 1872, according to Green County Public Record. Yet another Estes family is that of the late Angus C. Estes. His father was Isaiah Estes and his mother Mary Rucker Durrer Estes. Angus C. had at least three brothers, Fitz Allen, Yates Allen, and two sisters, Mary and Mattie Lou. Angus Clinton Estes married Minta A. Deane on June 12 1901, an are the parents of the following, although they're not necessarily listed in chronological order: Harold II. Estes, who has been active in agriculture and agricultural education; Angus C. Estes; Bruce A.; Zirkle Estes; Guy Estes, Kendall Estes; Ernly Estes, a former owner of Estes store at Ruckersville and a school board member; Claude Estes, Kathleen Estes Donnally; and Marjorie Estes Parrott of Ruckersville. Probably one of the most prominent members of this family today is Mr. Lee Smith Estes. He is the son of Willie Lee Estes and Lutie F. Fray; his mother being the daughter of Abraham and Nettie Wood Fray. Lee is married to the former Nora Ward, and resides just south of Ruckersville. Mr. Lee Estes is employed by State Farm Mutual Insurance; Co-owner of Ryan-Estes Funeral Home; "Tie Breaker" for the board of supervisors; and an active citizen of Green County. While this article gives a comprehensive view of the Estes family of this locality, it should be noted that there were other descendants whose ancestral lines have not been completed, and are therefore omitted. Of the ten families discussed to this point in this series, only the Estes family apparently has roots which extend not only back to England, but also to the Mediterrannean Coast. (This article is a collaboration of research by Mr. Stewart Wood and I with contributions from Mrs. Robert Estes of Orange; Mrs. O.J. Parrott of Ruckersville; Mrs. Ora Melone of Standardsville; Mr. Clarence Bruce of Earlysville; and Mrs. Mary Ellen Bruce Collier of Charlottesville) (If you are of related to or descended from either the Estes or Wood families, Mr. Stewart Estes Wood, 108 Luray Drive, Richmond Va, 23227, cordially invites you to contribute in (cut off). |
County Record. Thursday June 17, 1976 Greene County Patriot Ancestors Chapter 4 -
by Woodie Parrott
(retyped by April Heath-paperheath@aol.com)
The Estes family has been associated with the history of our locality for more than two and one-half centuries. Early progenitors of the Estes surname resided on Roach River (alternately known as Buffalo River) not only prior to the formation of Greene County from Orange, but also prior to the formation of Orange County in 1734 from Spotsylvania County.
King George II of England granted a 900 acre parcel in Spotsylvania County (supposedly now in Greene) to Samuel Estes in 1728. As early as 1735, Abraham Estes Jr. was coowner with John Loach in a 500 acre plantation known as "Chestnut Spring" which property was described as being "at the Great Mountains". (Orange D.B. 1, pp. 218-219) Since the "Great Mountains" referred to the Blue Ridge, this parcel is thought to have also been in the present county of Greene.
The aforementioned Abraham Estes Jr. is thought to have married twice, having, among other children, a son named Samuel by his first marriage, and a son named Elisha by his second wife. Elisha, Samuel, and Samuel's son, William, were each supporters of the Colonists' cause in tho Revolutionary War.
Samuel Estes, thought to have been a son of Abraham Estes Jr. and nephew possibly of the Samuel who received the 1728 grant, resided in what is now Greene County on Roach (or Buffalo) River. Tradition has it that Samuel resided on the North side of thc present Rt. 648, but some distance off the road, and just west of the community known locally as Celt.
In Orange County Order Book 5, page 237, dated March 23, 1749, "Samuel Estis is by this Court appointed overseer of the Highway in the room of Francis Williams, who is discharged £rom that office." Thereafter, we find Samuel Estis awarded 75 lbs of tobacco for three days in court on behalf of John Williams against William Watkins. (Orange County Order Book 5, Page 245.)
On September 28, 1750, Samuel Estis of St. Thomas Parish, County of Orange, leased to John Murril a tract of land on the east side of Buffalo River for a term of 25 years, Murril was to pay one pound ten shillings per annum for the last twenty-two years of the lease, plant one hundred apple trees on the property, plant one hundred peach trees on the property, build a house 20'x 16', and to build a tobacco house 32'x 16~. The lease was witnessed by George Taylor, David Zachary and William Hamm. "Orange D.B. l2, page 511.)
August 23rd, 1754, Samuel Estis, William Monroe, William Boel, and Francis Williams, or any three, were appointed to appraise the estate of James Wodgill? deceased. (Orange Order Book 5, p.487.)
May 22 1760, Samuel Estes and Mary his wife sold a tract of 150 acres in Orange (now Greene, lying on both sides of Roach River to William Cox ".... it being the land which the said Cox now liveth on...." (Orange D.B. 13, p.73)
In August 27, 1762, Samuel Estes made deeds-of-gift to each of his three children by his first wife, Mary. To his daughter, Mary, and her husband, Bennett Creed, Estes gave 116 acres; to his daughter, Sarah, and her husband, Robert Golding, Estes gave a tract of 112 acres; to his son, William Estes of 90 acres on the East side of Buffalo River. (Orange D.B. 16, pp. 4,5,6)
Mary Estes, the first wife of Samuel, died sometime between 1760 and 1776. On July 22, 1776, Samuel Estes secondly married Winnifred Holliday, relict of Joseph Holliday of Orange. Winnifred may have been a Pulliam prior to her first marriage, but final verification has not been made. Winnifred's first husband, Joseph Holliday, died in 1771, his estate being appraised by Wm. Lucas, John Snell Sr., and May Burton. (Orange Will Book 2, p. 437)
On August 22, 1781, Samuel Estis and Winnifred his wife conceyed a parcel of 112 acres on Buffalo River to his son, William. (Orange Deed Book 18, p,39)
An Orange County Court Order dated April 1, 1752 "...for adjusting claims for property impressed or taken for public service" includes the name of Samuel Estes, who was awarded 200 lbs of beef under claim of Oct. 18, 1781. This is evidence that Samuel Estes either was awarded beef for his service in the revolution, or had contributed to the support of the army. (Orange Order Book 2, pp. 178-9)
On March 24th, 1785, Samuel and Winnifred Estes signed an agreement with John Holliday, Winnifred's son by her previous marriage, to release all of her dower interest in the estate of Joseph Holliday, deceased. (Orange D.B. 18, pp 360-1) Immediately following this transaction, a deed was recorded in which John Holliday conveyed the 166 acres of his father's estate to his step-father and mother, Samuel and Winnifred Holliday Estes. (Orange Deed Book 18, p. 363)
Samuel Estes wrote his will on November 11, 1784. Since Samuel previously made deeds-of-gift to the children of his first marriage, Mary Estes Creed, Sarah Estes Golding and William Estes, they were not named in the said will. His will legates to his wife, and at her death, to go to Samuel Jr. and Abraham. Provision was also made in his will for the education of his two adolescent sons. Capt. James Early and William Bell were appointed / executors.
Samuel Estes died in Orange (Greene) County in 1791, and his will was submitted to probation September 26, 1791.
William Estes, son of Samuel and Mary Estes, was born in Orange (now Greene) ca. 1745, and he served in the Revolution. On April 26, 1782, William Estes was awarded 410 lbs of beef for his service by Timothy Conner, who had been appointed by Marquis Lafayette to impress provision for the army. (Orange Order Book 2, p. 291) Estes had filed his claim on October 18, 1781. William Estes is recognized as a Patriot by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
As previously noted, William Estes was deeded 202 acres by his father under two transactions. William purchased the estate of William Cox containing 150 acres, being apparently the same property which Cox had purchased from Samuel Estes on May 22, 1760. Other transactions by William Estes included his purchase of 132 acres from Cave and Morris located on Roach River, 163'4 acre purchase from the executors of Edward Ansell, Dec'd, and Estes sold 86 acres to William Cox Jr. (Orange D.B. 22, pp. 176, 181; D.B. 23, p.64; 28, pp. 134, 321; 38, p. 2l9) William Estes owned several hundred acres of land along Roach or Buffalo River in what is now Greene County.
William Estes married Frances Cox, daughter of William and Sarah Cox, who were neighbors to the Esteses. William and Frances Cox Estes had the following children: John Estes - married Sarah Cox December 26, 1799; Elizabeth Estes - married William Cox January 29, 1791; Lucy Estes - married Joab Cox January 3, 1803; Mary Estes married Peter Harris; Sally Estes - married James Harris; Merriam Estes married Elizabeth Wood February 19, 1812; Frances Estes - married Peter Gibson; Susan Estes married Levi Wood October 19, 1811; William Estes Jr. - married Polly Harvey October 23, 1804; Littleton Estes - married Frances Harvey February 23, 1818; Mildred Estes - married Loudon Bruce.
Although it seems unlikely that William would have had two daughters named Frances) such may have been the case. Frances Estes who married Barnet Simmons of Albemarle on January 13, 1795, may also have been a daughter of William. Barnet Simmons was awarded a part of William's estate.
"Ordered that George Bingham's hands and James White's be added to Wm. Estis's gang as overseers of the road," in 1790. (Orange Minute Book 3, p. 52) In 1795, "Ordered that James Early, George Bingham, J. White, and John Gibson or any three of them do view the intended way for a road leading from John Ogg's to Wm. Estis's, and make report to this court of the conveniences and inconveniences attending the same." (Orange Minute Book 3, p. 334) In 1818, William Estes was paid 1 pound, 5 shillings, 1 pence from the estate of Thomas Hodges. (Orango Will Book 5, pp. 361-2) Orange County's records contain numerous references to William Estes, and he was apparently a man of fair standing in his community.
William Estes died in Orange County (now Greene) in 1827. The Orange County Court appointed James Early, Charles Parrott, Rev. George Bingham, Joseph Huckstep, and George Stephens, or any three, to appraise the estate of William Estes, Dec'd, on January 29, 1828. Mr. Ira D. Brown of Browns Cove in Albemarle was appointed administrator; Ira was the son of Bernard Brown, Esqr., of "Walnut Level," a noted figure of the Revolution.
Yet another member of the Estes Family who reportedly served in the Colonial ranks was Elisha Estes Sr.
Elisha Estes married Elizabeth, surname unknown, and had the following children; Caty Estes; Jenny Estes - who married John McClammer; Frances Estes - married James Ancell; Nancy Estes - married Zachariah Wood from Albemarle; James Estes; Willis Estes; Elisha Estes Jr. - married Maria Bingham on August 5, 1815; John Estes - perhaps was the John who married Maria Daniel 1821; Edmund Estes - moved to Sumner County, Tennessee by 1835
Elisha Estes Sr. was serving in the Orange County Militia as late as 1801, at which time he was an ensign. Elisha, thought to have been a son of Abraham Jr. and half brother of Samuel Estes, died in Orange (now Greene) in or before 1816. His wife, Elizabeth Estes, died prior to August 27, 1835.
(The rest is missing)
***The d'Este lineage has been proven faulty, do not base any factual research on the first paragraph of the article.
