Descendants of PIERPOINT

On 30 Oct 1665, Henry Pierpoint entered head rights in the Land Office at Annapolis, Maryland, for himself, his wife Elizabeth, and his five children, Amos, Jabez, Elizabeth, Hannah, and Moses. A grant of 350 acres (50 acres per person) was granted to him on 1 Nov 1665 [1]. Henry and Elizabeth had five more children after coming to Maryland: John, Francis, Charles, Sarah, and Mary.

Kathryn Pierpoint Hedman thought that our Henry Pierpoint was Henry Perpoynt who sailed from England to the Isle of Wight County, Virginia, on the ship "Plaine Joan" in 1636. Hedman also thought that Elizabeth was Elizabeth Larkin, who was transported by John Upton to Wassaquinoake County in 1635 and to Isle of Wight County in 1637 [2].

A more plausible identification was set forth by Alpheus Beede Stickney. Stickney identified our Henry Pierpoint with Henry Pierpoint, the only child of Amos Pierpoint and Ellena Kirby, who was christened on 27 May 1629 in the village of Benington, Hertfordshire, England. Amos died in the spring of 1638, when Henry was only 9 years old. In his will, Amos asks his brother Moses to see to Henry's education. In November of the same year, Henry's mother married John Oakman [3].

By taking advantage of a woman's biological time clock, Henry's wife's age can be calculated to within a few years. One of Elizabeth's youngest daughters, Mary, married Thomas Davis. The oldest child, Richard, was born 19 Oct 1697, and the youngest child, Francis, was born 21 Jun 1722 [4]. If Mary had her first child when she was about age 19 and her last child at about age 44, then Mary was born about 1678. Likewise, if Elizabeth had Mary at age 44, then Elizabeth would have been born about 1634. This birth date rules out that our Elizabeth is Elizabeth Larkin, since John Upton was in the business of transporting indentured servants (rather than small children) into Virginia.

Four of the children born in Maryland are linked backed to Henry Pierpoint through the will of his son Jabez. In his will of 1720, Jabez leaves one pound to each of his sisters: Sidney Pierpoint, Elizabeth Day, Mary Davis, Sarah Warfield, and Elizabeth Pierpoint [5].

Sidney Pierpoint, nee Chew, was the wife of Charles Pierpoint.
Elizabeth Day, nee Pierpoint, was the wife of Francis Day. This was her second marriage, after her first husband Thomas Simpson died in 1709.
Mary Davis, nee Pierpoint, was the wife of Thomas Davis.
Sarah Warfield, nee Pierpoint, was the wife of Alexander Warfield.
Elizabeth Pierpoint, nee Mitchell, was the wife of Francis Pierpoint.

This leaves the fifth child born in Maryland, John Pierpoint, for whom there is not any historical documents that link him directly to Henry Pierpoint. However, based on his marriage to Mehitable Larkin Holland in 1703, John is about the right age and in the right location to be another son. Stickney thought that John was Henry's first cousin once removed, but Stickney apparently was not aware that cousin John Pierpoint married Elizabeth Dixon in England and raised a family there. Many ancestors descended from John and Henry resemble one another, which is another indication that John is Henry's son. For example, Isaac Everitt Steer Pierpoint (a descendant of Charles Pierpoint and Sidney Chew), wrote in a letter "In 1886 I met the Governor [Francis Harrison Pierpoint, a descendant of John Pierpoint and Mehitable Larkin Holland] on a street in Fairmont [WV], and looking so much like my father, I stopped him and asked if his name was Pierpoint, his reply was yes, and when I told him who I was, he said come with me to his home." [6]

The following three descendant trees are maintained separately because there are not any historical documents that directly link them. However the repeated use of the given names Amos, Moses, and John is circumstantial evidence that ties these trees together.

Descendants of George Pierpoint of Benington, England (txt file)
Descendants of Henry Pierpoint of Anne Arundel County, Maryland (txt file)
Descendants of John Pierpoint of Anne Arundel County, Maryland (txt file)

References:

Kathryn Pierpoint Hedman, "The Pierpoint-Pierpont Family of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia,", privately published, 1973, p. 31.
Ibid, p. 31.
A. B. Stickney, "The Pierpoints of Hertfordshire, England, and Ann Arundel County, Maryland," The American Genealogist, Oct 1957.
Church Records, 1685-1899, All Hallow's Parish, Davidsonville, Anne Arundel Co, MD, Episcopal, LDS Film 0013279.
Hedman, op cit, p. 36.
Ibid, p. 159.