Edwin Conway, II

   Another name for Edwin was Edwyn Conaway.

  Research Notes:

EDWIN CONWAY (1610-1675)
Came to America in about 1640. He apparently left his wife Martha (Eltonhead) in England; she didn't arrive until about 1652. He came from the county of Worcester in England. He was the third Clerk of Northampton County, Virginia.
Ancestors: Conway's ancestry goes back at least six generations to Sir Henry Conway who was knighted during the reign of Richard II. Edwin's father was Sir Edward Conway, knighted by Robert Earl of Essex and March, at the sacking of Cadiz in Spain in 1596 where he commanded a Regiment of Foot (reign of Queen Elizabeth I); he was advanced to the title of Lord Conway of Ragley and held various positions including Secretary of State, Lord President of His Majesty's Privy Council, and Embassador Extraordinary to Germany. Edwin's ancestry also includes Edward who served as Gentleman Usher to the Chamber of King Henry VIII.
Descendants: Edwin's great granddaughter Eleanor Rose married James Madison, Sr. and was the mother of James Madison, Jr., 4th President of the United States. James Jr.'s sister Nelly married Isaac Hite, Jr. of Belle Grove, near Middletown, Virginia. Portraits of Eleanor Rose Conway Madison and James Madison, Sr. are in the house at the Belle Grove Historic Site.
Descent: Edwin Conway (1610-1675) m. Martha Eltonhead
Edwin Conway (1640-1697/98) m. Elizabeth Thornton (1675/76-1732)
Francis Conway (1697-) m. Rebecca Catlett (abt. 1700-1760)

References (supplied by Gladys Morris Tate)
Some Prominent Virginia Families by Louise Pecquet du Bellet, p. 374
The Invincible Magazine, St. Louis, 1913, p. 25
Virginia Genealogies by Horace Hayden, p. 223
Lost Virginia Records by Louis des Cognets, Jr., pp. 25,44, 48.
Colonial Families of the United States by George Mackenzie, Vol. V,p. 136
Marriages of Richmond County Virginia 1668-1853 by George Harrison King, 1964,
p. 248
The Three Charters of the Virginia Company of London by Samuel M. Bemiss. 1957.
p. 29
Americans of Gentle Birth and Their Ancestors, Vol. II by Mrs. H. D. Pittman. 1907.
p. 52

  Notes and Events:

• Alt. Birth, 1616, Worcester, Worcestershire, England.

• Moved: to America, About 1640. Left wife in England until about 1652.

• Note. Edwin Conway was the third Clerk of Northampton County, Va.,
Henry Bagwell being the first, and Thomas Cooke the second Clerk.

• Deed: Northampton Co., VA. LANDED ESTATE EXCEEDED 10,000 ACRES

• Note, Jun 1642. He appears in Northampton county records June, 1642, as
Mr. Edwyn Conaway. Clarke of this Com. (probably Clerk of this Commonwealth), in
the Co. of Northampton.

• Note, 8 Oct 1644. In the first grant of land in his name, Oct., 1644, he is recorded as "Edwyn Connaway of Northampton, Clarke.

• Note, 26 Oct 1644. Be it known unto all men by these presents that I, Edwyn Connaway of Northampton, Clarke, do freely give, assign and sett all my right, title and interest of this within specified Land unto Mrs. Burdgett Charleton for the use of her child John Severne,(*) to be seated and possession to be delivered unto him, the said John Severne, when he shall come to the age of eighteen years, to have and to hold the said Land there forever.
Witnesses--Regnald Hawis, John Ellis

• Note. Edwin's great granddaughter Eleanor Rose married James Madison, Sr. and was the mother of James Madison, Jr., 4th President of the United States. James Jr.'s sister Nelly married Isaac Hite, Jr. of Belle Grove, near Middletown, Virginia. Portraits of Eleanor Rose Conway Madison and James Madison, Sr. are in the house at the Belle Grove Historic Site.

• Note: From VIRGINIA GENEALOGIES. A GENEALOGY OF THE GLASSELL FAMILY. Feb. 5, 1657, 1600 a. Lanc'r Co. to "Mr. Edwin Conaway" and Hannah Mountney, widow. (IV., 200.) In 1657 2500 acres Lanc'r Co. to "Edwin Conaway, Gentleman," of which 1250 was due by patent of 1654, and 1250 for 25 persons. (IV., 255.) Sep. 26, 1678, 1650 a. were granted to "Edwin Conway, son & heir of Mr. Edwin Conaway, dec'd," who had patented it in 1659. Also same day 400 a. in Essex Co. to Edwin Conway. In 1681, 1200 a. in Old Rappahannock Co. to Edwin Conway; also to same, 1681, 200 a. in Middlesex Co. In the will of this last Edwin he devises to his wife all the residue of his "Estate real and personal in Virginia, England and elsewhere."

• Note. The relationship of Edward Conway, 1st Viscount of Ragley, to Edwin Conway (a1610-1674) of Virginia is not clear. Edwin Conway appears in many genealogist's records as son of Edward Conway, 1st Viscount of Ragley, a single paragraph in the book by Rev Horace Edwin Hayden, "A Genealogy of the Glassell Family", discounts this as only a possibility, NOT fact. The paragraph reads:
"Collins in his Baronetage (I., 332), shows that Edward Conway, who m. Anne, dau. and heiress of Richard Burdet, of Bramcote, Co. Warwick, from whom the Lords Conway descended, held estates in Worcestershire, whence Edwin Conway of Va. came. In 1531 and 1533 Thomas Burdet sued Edward Conway and his wife Anne for part of the lands of which they were seized as heirs of Richard B. The arbitrators in the suits decided that Conway should have, among other property, "the Manors of Belne, Hoblench, Clodshall, Upton-Warryn, Upton upon Severn, with Breley and Elmbrigge in Co. Wigorn." Probably examination of Conway wills and deeds in Worcestershire would show the connexion of the Ragley and the Va. lines. A tradition told by Mr. Conway Nutt states that two brothers named Conway, related to the Marquis of Hertford, were exiled to America for political reasons and came to Va. Sir Edward Conway and Captain Thomas Conway were members Va. Co. of London, 1609-1620. (v. Brown's Genesis of the U. S.)"

Sadly, Burke, in his "Extinct Peerage," article "Conway," gives only the eldest succeeding son of each generation, omitting mention of younger sons, so the relationship may be difficult to ever prove.

As giddy as this possible ancestry seems to make some descendants, I prefer to wait until the pudding has been proofed. I too, have much information published on the Conway family, but only for information purposes. As yet, there is NO proven link!

•.

Edwin married Martha Eltonhead, daughter of Richard Eltonhead and Ann Sutton, about 1643 in England. (Martha Eltonhead was born on 26 Sep 1628 in Elton, Lancashire, England and died about 1652 in Virginia.)