Descendants of William Newsom

Generation No. 5

7. George⁵ Newsom (John⁴, George³, John², William¹) was born Abt. 1537 in Newsom Hall, Lancashire, England, and died Abt. 1585 in Newsom Hall, Lancashire, England. He married (1) Elizabeth Elston Bef. 1553 in Newsom Hall, Lancashire, England, daughter of Rafe Elston. She was born in Brockholes, Lancashire. He married (2) Catherine Colville Abt. 1553 in Lancashire, England, daughter of Thomas Colville. She was born Abt. 1538 in Lancashire, England, and died Unknown in Lancashire, England.

Notes for George Newsom:

Land records of the time record that George Newsom was paying some 17 shillings rent for Newsom Hall. He was likely not, therefore, a "free" man.

Child of George Newsom and Elizabeth Elston is:

Children of George Newsom and Catherine Colville are:

Generation No. 6

10. Robert⁶ Newsom (George⁵, John⁴, George³, John², William¹) was born 1553 in Newsom Hall, Lancashire, England, and died February 1624 in Bispham, Lancashire, England. He married Elizabeth Sherbourne Abt. 1578 in Newsom Hall, Lancashire, England, daughter of Richard Sherbourne and Matilda Bolde. She was born Abt. 1553 in Mitton, Lancashire, England, and died Unknown in Lancashire, England.

More About Robert Newsom:

Burial: February 09, 1624, Bispham, Lancashire. Bispham is located on the Irish Sea coast of Lancashire, England, a few miles north of present day Blackpool.

Notes for Elizabeth Sherbourne:

Right: The tomb of Sir Richard Sherbourne and Matilda (Maude) Bolde, parents of Elizabeth Sherbourne. It is the original tomb in the original location: the Sherbourne Chapel in All Hallows Church, Mitton, Lancashire near Garstang (click on photo for larger view). Elizabeth Sherbourne is said to have lived in Greenhalgh Castle, Lancashire. The lonely and beautiful ruins of the Castle still stand on a grassy knoll overlooking the River Wyre, one kilometer east of the hamlet of Garstang (picture below — click for larger view). A Newsome Family Legend tells of Elizabeth's marriage to Robert Newsom of Newsom Hall which was "not far" away. This union marks the uniting of two old and venerable Lancashire families - the Newshams and the Sherbournes. Both lines abound with individuals of accomplishment and repute, a pattern which continued into the subsequent emigration to the New World in the early 1600's (see notes for William Newsom, Jr.). Of the Sherbournes, Burke's Peerage says, "The family of Sherbourne was of great antiquity and distinction in the county of Lancaster, and possessed Stonyhurst from the time of the early Plantagenets. Under Edward I, Robert Sherburn was Seneschal of Wiswall and Blackburnshire, and in the marshall reign of the third Edward, Sir John Sherburn, attending his royal master in his French wars, served at the siege of Calais..."

There is strong circumstantial evidence, but no proof yet, to support the view that Elizabeth Sherbourne was a daughter (or possibly a niece) of Sir Richard Sherbourne of Stonyhurst and therefore sister to Richard Sherbourne the younger who was "Master Forester of Bowland, Steward of the Manor of Slaidburn, Captain of the Isle of Man and one of Her Majesty's (Elizabeth I) Deputy Lieutenants..." (Burke's Peerage). Key points are that Sir Richard essentially controlled much of the area around Greenhalgh Castle where Elizabeth lived, virtually all Sherbournes in the moderately populated vicinity must have been related, the birth and death dates of all of the individuals concerned are appropriate, and there are land records dating from 1586 which confirm, "Robert Newsom sold lands in Thornton and Wheatley to Sir Richard Shireburn..." (Lancashire Life Magazine, August 1974). Elizabeth Sherbourne's pedigree has tentatively been drawn to reflect this relationship.

Greenhalgh Castle was built in 1490 by Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, and was one of the last - perhaps the last - Royalist strongholds in Lancashire resisting the radical Commonwealth/Parliamentary movement of Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War. The castle took its name from the local village of Greenhalgh which pre-dated its construction. It was never actually owned or controlled by any member of the Greenhalgh family, though there was strong alliance between John Greenhalgh (then Governor of the Isle of Man), much of his family, and the royal Stanleys against Cromwell. Interestingly, the Stanleys were Protestant - not Catholic like most of the opponents of Cromwell. Yet they steadfastly maintained their loyalty to Catholic King Charles I. One of John Greenhalgh's brothers administered the Last Rights to Lord Derby at his execution for treason by Cromwell. King Charles I himself was executed on January 30, 1649. Presumably, Lord Derby's death took place at about the same time.

Also in 1649, Greenhalgh Castle was razed on the personal order of the vindictive Cromwell. Local farmers were invited to dismantle the walls and utilize the fieldstones for buildings on their farms, an invitation many among them accepted. Only one of the original four towers remain.

Evidence of Newsome (Newsham) involvement in the political affairs of the time may be found in a list of "Lands and Estates of several other persons forfeited for Treason, to be sold... 20th Day of May, 1642." An Andrew and a Nicholas Newsham, both of Plumpton (modern Woodplumpton near Newsham), Lancashire, and almost certainly relatives of the Newshams of Newsham Hall, appear prominently on the list. Isle of Man Governor John Greenhalgh appears on the same list. So it is virtually certain that Newsome ancestors were strong Royalist Catholics, fought against Cromwell alongside the great Lancashire families of the day - the Greenhalghs, Stanleys Kighleys, Fleetwoods, Molyneuxs and Sherbournes - and forfeited lands as a consequence.

The source for the "traitors list" is "An Index of the Names of the Royalists Whose Estates were Confiscated During the Commonwealth" compiled by Mabel G. W. Peacock, London, Longmans, Green & Company, 39 Paternoster Row, Hertford, Printed by Stevin Austin & Sons, 1878.

Children of Robert Newsom and Elizabeth Sherbourne are:

Generation No. 7

16. William⁷ Newsom, Sr. (Robert⁶, George⁵, John⁴, George³, John², William¹) was born 1584 in Newsom Hall, Lancashire, England, and died Unknown in England. He married Lucille Singleton Abt. 1605 in Newsom Hall, Lancashire, England.

Children of William Newsom and Lucille Singleton are:

Generation No. 8

26. William⁸ Newsom, Jr. (William⁷, Robert⁶, George⁵, John⁴, George³, John², William¹) was born 1614 in Newsom Hall, Lancashire, England, and died Abt. 1657 in Rich Neck, James City, Virginia. He married (1) Penelope Ramsey Abt. 1631 in Lancashire, England. She was born Abt. 1615 in Lancashire, England, and died Unknown in Surry County, Virginia. He married (2) Sarah Fisher Abt. 1633 in Lancashire, England. She was born in Lancashire, England, and died Unknown in Surry County, Virginia. He married (3) Elizabeth Wilson Abt. 1635 in Lancashire, England. She was born in Lancashire, England, and died Unknown in Surry County, Virginia. He married (4) Gertrude ? Abt. 1637 in Surry County, Virginia. She was born Abt. 1614 in Jamestown, Virginia, and died in Surry County, Virginia.

Notes for William Newsom, Jr.:

William Newsom, Jr., planter, of James City, later Surry Co., Virginia, was the son of William Newsom, Sr. of Newsom Hall, Lancashire, England. He is likely the "William Neesum" who came to Virginia aboard the "George" in 1635 (cf. Hotten's Emigrants p. 125) and (Passenger Lists, Public Record Office, Chancery Lane, London, England WC2A 1LR).

In 1636 he was granted 550 acres of land in the "County of James City toward Sunken Marsh for the transportation of 11 persons to Virginia" (Virginia Land Grants, Virginia Land Office, Grant Book 1, p. 338). This patent on the land was renewed Aug 26, 1643. Included among the "11 persons" William transported were three of his possibly four wives, Penelope Ramsey (the first), Sarah Fisher (the second) and Elizabeth Wilson (his third and then current wife). He probably married yet a fourth time to Gertrude ? (see main entry).

The records of William Newsom, Jr. are scant in the preserved documents of Surry County, Virginia. On September 6, 1653, a Henry Banister deeded to a William Batt land which had been left him by the last will of William Sheppard (we see here a relationship between the Newsoms and the Sheppards as soon as five years after the arrival of the Newsoms in 1635 - William's son William III married Anne Sheppard in 1669), and which was bought by William Newsom, Jr. in 1640 (Surry County, Virginia, D & W 1645-72, p. 30).

On January 22, 1658, William Batt sold this land and mentioned that it had been patented by William Newsom, Jr. in 1636 and was commonly called Rich Neck (ib., p. 127). This was only a part of the original patent, for William Newsom, Jr. still possessed the "Plantation in Rich Neck," which he left to his eldest son, William III (Surry County, Virginia, D & W, 1686-93, p. 226).

The last record of William Newsome, Jr. in Surry County appears November 1, 1657, when there is recorded a promissory note to John Flower from "William Newsome of Lower Chippoakes in James, Virginia, planter" (Surry County, Virginia, D & W 1645-72, p.111).

It is possible that William Newsom, Jr. had children other than William III and Alice. This is almost certain if he is identical with a William Newsom who was granted land in Lancaster County, Virginia after 1649 (Grant Book 2, p. 202, 203; Grant Book 5, p. 465; Grant Book 6, p. 264). A son of this William Newsom who was granted land in Lancaster County was probably Robert Newsom, whose will was dated December 20, 1693, and probated in Lancaster County July 10, 1695, and who left his property to his sons, William and Robert, and his daughter, Elizabeth. The son, William, died in Lancaster County in 1700 and left his land to his sons, William and Robert. His will is dated April 26, 1700, and probated October 10, 1700.

Another possible son of William Newsom, Jr. was Thomas Newsom (Nesham) who was granted land in James City County in 1696 (Grant Book 9, p. 51).

The generic source for much of the foregoing material is the work of B.C. Holtzclaw, Ph.D., University of Richmond, Virginia, the famous Newsom researcher of the first half of the twentieth century.

More About William Newsom, Jr.:

Emigration: August 21, 1635, on the "George" - signed ship's register as "William Neesum, farmer"

Notes for Penelope Ramsey:

We are not yet sure from available records which of William's four known wives bore children William and Alice. Penelope Ramsey was selected at random to maintain lineage continuity.

Children of William Newsom and Penelope Ramsey are:

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