Sir Robert Heath, MP Lord Chief Justice - Is William the son of Sir Robert

Sir Robert Heath,MP Lord Chief Justice i have his parents as Father Robert Heath Jr Esq b 1558 Tonbridge Kent UK and his mother is Anne Poser B 1555 Kent UK i think this is correct

Do you have anything on Sir Robert's children? We have the same parents for him that you said. I'm looking for a William, born 1621.

this is what i have William was the first Heath to patent land in Charles County (250 acres). On December 12, 1673, fourteen parishioners met in their Church of Lownes Creek Parish to 'declare they would not pay their public taxes.' This was a prelude to the 'Bacon Rebellion of 1676.' As a result of this Historic Tax Meeting, the Lownes Creek Church became known as the Birthplace of Freedom. Heath joined this group which was led by Nathaniel Bacon in an expedition against the Indians. He later fought alongside other colonists against the British governor Sir William Berkeley in what was knows as the Bacon Rebellion. (Source: William Hill - lethal_weapon@msn.com.

Judy, Yep I know that because I am the one that put it in the Geni tree. Still looking for verification that William the Immigrant was actually Sir Robert's child.

I don't have any problems with the proposition that William might have come from a gentry family. Bacon did, after all.

BUT:

So far as I can see (someone may like to check it) the Visitation of Kent (1619) ends with the names of Sir Robert's children born then. Burke's "Commoners" says that 3 out of six sons died during Sir Robert's lifetime - presumably in their childhood. The surviving sons were Edward Heath of Brasted, Sir John Heath of Brasted Hall (so Edward did not have children, presumably) and George Heath (nothing known).

It therefore seems to me unlikely that William the Immigrant was the son of Sir Robert. Additionally (although this is not very conclusive) people of 52 or 53 years old are not generally very inclined to take on authority in a public tax rebellion, and 52/3 must have been a ripe old age in 17th century Virginia.

It seems to me that the key here, which should be easily ascertainable, is the date of the patent granting 250 acres to William Heath. It's a biggish landholding, so my guess is that it is in the second half of the seventeenth century, and probably quite well into the second half. The issue then is whether the date of the patent fits the profile of someone allegedly born in 1621. Remember: people who went out to Virginia were very liable to die in the first couple of years; there were large amounts of money to be made out of tobacco for the survivors, but it was essentially a young man's game.

250 acres fits a patent given to a younger son of the gentry. But my guess is that, perhaps, William the Immigrant may have been the son of Robert Heath of Peddingoe (Sussex), son of a William Heath, who are thought to have been connected to Sir Robert Heath's family.

Not for me to say, but my advice would be to disconnect William the Immigrant until further evidence turns up.

Mark

Mark,

Per "The History of Brasted", a publication from Oxford on Sir Robert, and the plaque on his tomb, Anne, Robert, and Elizabeth preceded him in death. Mary, Edward, John, George, Robert, and Francis were still alive at the time of his death. The three that died before him did so without issue.

We agree with your advice and would also recommend that we disconnect William the immigrant until we can better review all the information on this issue.

Ramona & Paul Van Gent

I disconnected William Heath, of Lownes Creek Parish from parents and added notes to the profile

Erica,

Yesterday, Alison Pogue added Robert Heath and Margaret Miller as William the Immigrant's parents. I see no sources that would provide assurances that they are William's parents. Could you please delete them and contact Alison to see if she has some type of documentation that Robert and Margaret are indeed William the Immigrant's parents?

Ramona Van Gent (Heath)

Hello everyone, I'm new to this discussion.

I found an immigrants list which names William Heath and Amy Heath as arriving in 1650 and being sponsored by a John Brown of NorthHampton. You can see these records here:
http://www.evmedia.com/virginia/

I also found a PDF of legal records in a public member's record on Ancestory.com which lists the following: WM Heath 250 Acres Chas City Co, 5 March 1663/64 granted to him by a WM Lee who was granted a patent to the land 17 Feb. 1659.

Is this helpful?

Joan Kitterman

I just added the PDF to the sources tab. The paragraph at the top and at the very bottom refer to WM Heath.