Individual Details
William Logsdon
(Bef 13 Sep 1663 - Aft 1730)
[flager.FTW]
Melchbourne is located in the northern protion of Bedfordshire County, England. There is some controvery re. who this William's parents actually were. Betty Ollar does not support the idea that William is a son of James Logsdon and Jane James in email of 27 Oct 2001. Joel Logsdon suggests that William was born November 11, 1652 in Blunham, England. He was a tobacco farmer in Maryland. William died before 1742 in Carroll Co., MD. Beverly Johnson Sweeney suggests that William's father was James, his grandfather was William and that his great grandfather may have been a Charles Loggsdon b. ca 1594-95 and d. ca. 1619 in Keysoe, Bedfordshire, England; and that William's great grandmother may have been Ann ? who may have been born ca. 1596. Debbie Raque's homepage suggests that Williams parents were Susan Bromshell and Thomas Logsdon based on the book "Logsdon The Amazing Family". She goes onto suggest that Thomas was the son of Anthony Logsdon and Ellen Mee. Debbie also suggests that William was born 11 NOV 1650, in Blunham, England. Another candidate for William the immigrant is William of Blunham, son of William of John of Edmund of Edward of John. This William was married to Alice Kennert and would have been alive at the time; however his wife was not listed as a passenger on the ship that carried William. No death record in England exists for Alice. She would have to have died, either in England or America, to allow William to remarry Honora O'Flynn. William would have been very old for the time to have remarried and started a family in America. This makes him a less than prime candidate for William the immigrant. (See the notes of William of John of Edmund for more information on this issue).
There is controversy that this William is the first Logsdon ancestor to immigrate from England. One source indicates that William of Thomas Logsden was the immigrant but this could not be for there is a burial record for William of Thomas.
Another source indicates that the William who married Honora O'Flynn was in fact the son of William the immigrant due to the fact that 1. He would have waited a long time to marry, despite the gender imbalance of more males to females in America at that time, 2. a record of Williams trip to America, 3. the land Captain Smith was to receive was 300 acres in Somerset County, Maryland, 4. William Laxtone was recorded as entitled to 50 acres for coming to America, 5. the will of William Langsden in 1709, with mention of his wife Izabell and son William existed. It is this William, it is suggested, that moved to Baltimore and married Honora O'Flynn. None of this has been proven.
It is William of John of Edmund of Edward who was probably William the laborer who died and was buried at St. John's.
Family legend has it that William Logsdon was picked up as a lad of 10 (in 1673) on the coast of England and brought to America as an indentured servant. The ship was headed for VA but a storm changed its course and it sailed into Baltimore Harbor instead. Records show that a William Logsdon was transported to America in 1673 ( Bk. 18, Folio 38, Vol. 21), p.293 of "The Early Settlers of Maryland'. Index to Names of Immigrants Compiled from Records of Land Patents 1633-1680 in the Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland," Gust. Skordas, editor, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore MD 1968).
In the Hall of Records, Patent of Land Records, in Annapolis, MD, Vol. 15, p.34, we find, 16 Jan 1674: "Captain Samuel Smith of Virginia, proved his right to 300 acres of land, by Hanna, his wife, and Attorney, for transporting Robert Dewsberry, William Belcher, Thomas Humphries, William Logsdon, George Young, Jesiah Blackwell, and William Golden, to this Province to inhabit." The term, "indentured servant," refers to a person who did not have money to pay their passage so the Captain of the ship sold their services. In this case, William Logsdon was indentured to a tobacco planter who promised to release him when he worked out the right amount.
A statement from the Land Commissioner of MD. at Annapolis gives us a location for Smith's land: "We beg to advise that the tract of land based on proof of rights, and recorded Liber 18, folio 38, was applied to Second Choice, 300 acres surveyed for Samuel Smith of Virginia, 4 (Apr), 23, 1675 and patented to 1 (Jan), 10, 79 (1679). Lying in Somerset County at the head of the main branch of the Wicomice River, on north side of said branch, in the neighborhood of Salisbury." Smith lived in Kings Neck, as he had land in Northumberland Co., VA on the mouth of the Potomac River.
According to John Buckingham in a message number 88 of February 01, 1999 at Family Tree Maker at the Durbin Message board. " In 1702, while working his farm, William Logsdon spotted a British ship anchored in the river, and decided to inspect its "cargo", where he met Honora. Honora was born in 1678 in Kerry County, Ireland" Another source reported "About 24 years later a shipload of young girls was gathered from the Irish Coast and brought over to be wives of American settlers. One Irish lass was named Honora O'Flynn (from County Kerry, Ireland). Several documents state that Honora O'Flynn was kidnapped from Ireland and later was married to William in 1702 by a missionary priest from Fort Tobacco, MD.". It is believed that William may have been mentioned in the will of Thomas Sissell in St. Mary's County, Maryland.
William's residences included tracts called "Brotherly Love", "Bedford 100 acres on 10 October 1707" - Ref: Settlers of Maryland 1701 - 1739 by Peter Wilson Coldham, p. 99 - DD 5 / 430, "Logsdon's Addition 250 acres on 8 December 1722" - Ref: Settlers of Maryland 1701 - 1739 by Peter Wilson Coldham, p. 99 - PL 5 / 49, and "Pleasant Green". On 9/22/1730, William and Honora sold Bedford. See Rent Rolls of Baltimore Co., MD: "William Loftin is charged with rent for a tract called "Brotherly Love" on 28 Aug 1687." Records indicate that William was a free man and property owner by the time he met and married Honora in 1702. From the Hall of Records: Lib. DD-5, p. 430: "On 12 May 1707 William Logsdon purchased 100 acres that had been assigned earlier to Gregory Davis of Baltimore County, and called "Bedford" - situated on the north side of the Patapsco River and on north side of Middle Branch thereof...." This was located in what is now Carroll Co., MD and is about 8 miles S.E. of Westminster. Carroll Co. was formed in 1836 from a part of Baltimore and Frederick Counties.
"By virtue of assignment of 100 acres, warrant assigned by Gregory Davis of Baltimore Co. on the 19th of April last, unto William Logsdon of the said County, part of a warrent for 100 acres granted said Gregory Davis on the 17th day of April last, I, John Israel, deputy surveyor under Mr. Clement Hill, Jr., have laid out to the aforesaid William Logsdon that tract and parcel of land called Bedford, lying in Baltimore County on the north side of the Potassco River...."
William Logsdon must have been a tobacco planter for on 31 Mar 1709 he sued Thomas Gwynn for breach of contract. Gwynn had signed a contract to build a 40-foot tobacco shed on the Island in Baltimore Co. (150-acre tract on Gunpowder River).
Liber IS-N, p. 336 (or 330): "I, William Logsdon, Baltimore County ... to my beloved daughter, Ann Durbin ... tract of land called Pleasant Green, being part of a tract called "Logsdon's Addition ... being 97-1/2 acres more or less ... the houses, outhouses, barns, stables, tobacco houses, orchards, etc. ... and after the death of her husband, Samuel Durbin, the land to return freely and quietly to the heirs of William Logsdon. Dated 19 September 1726, signed William [his mark] Logsdon." Honor Logsdon, his wife, released her dower rights to the property.
William probably died between 1730 and 1742, [see Patent of Land Records, Annapolis, Lib. AM-1, p.148] for on 22 Sep 1730 he and his wife, Honora, sold all that tract of land called "Bedford." "... 100 acres ... and a part of Logsdon's Addition ... 150 acres ... one line of the boundary is parallel to the line of Ann Durbin. Signed: William Logsdon."
And, on 3 Mar 1742 (Liber TB-C, p. 183), there is a "deed from William Logsdon II, John Logsdon, and Edward Logsdon, planters of Prince George's Co. who convey to George Conti of Little Conewage, a tract called "Brotherly Love" of 300 acres ... Logsdon, the mother: Ann, Sarah, and Margaret, wives of said William, John, and Edward release their dower rights."
Other children included: John, Ann, Honora, and Prudence
He was married to Honora O'FLYNN in 1702 in Baltimore Co., MD.26 She and William were married by a missionary priest from Fort Tobacco, MD. He would have been 39 years of age, and she was 21.
From Tracy Logsdon: http://one-eleven.net/~tracydai/researc2.html
Young William Logsdon: Our Ancestor?
How reliable are the records that maintain that an eleven year old lad left the safety and security of his England home to venture forth to an unknown future in a faraway land? This question has troubled researchers for years. Some of them have solved the problem by inventing another senior Logsdon of about 60 years of age, then also giving him a son named William of about 28 years of age, then having him be the one to marry Honora O'Flynn. Unfortunately, after a careful look at the Maryland records, there is only one William Logsden mentioned in the 1680 to 1704 period. Others have been suggested, such as a William Langsden of Somerset County, Maryland. After checking in the book "The settlers of old Somerset County, Maryland" we found that William Langsden died in 1745, also leaving a will naming his survivors. All of which he located still in Somerset County. Then we came to the facts. When all else is ruled out, what remains must be our answer.
1. Only one William Logsden is listed on any early Maryland tax rolls.
2. William named his estate here in America, Bedford, after his home in England. (Not Melchbourne, Roxton or Eaton Socon)
3. At age 10, in the 1600's, a young man was deemed "of working age" and could be indentured out as an apprentice or laborer.
4. After looking at the waterway system, the rive Ouse flows through Bedford and then directly into the Thames river, which in turn flows to the ocean and to a river port. This journey would take only a few
days.
5. William's father, James, was a rope maker, and could have and probably did have connections to the boatmen on the river.
6. Reviewing the records of St. John's parish of Bedford, home church of the James Logsden family, we find no mention of a William, son of James, being married or otherwise, but his other children are mentioned.
7. Then there is the terrible plague that gripped the area in the 1600-1700 era. Is it any wonder that a father would want to send his son as far away as possible?
8. After reviewing the other William Logsden's of that time, in and around Bedford, all have been ruled out, with the exception of one William who was born in 1639, who married in 1668. Unless his young wife died, and there is no record of this event, the William who came to America was single, and accompanied by other men.
9. It is my view that a William from, say, the town of Roxton, would not have named his home here in America, "Bedford".
We shall probably never prove who our ancestor William was, but I'll put my money on young William of Bedford. Tracy Logsdon
Melchbourne is located in the northern protion of Bedfordshire County, England. There is some controvery re. who this William's parents actually were. Betty Ollar does not support the idea that William is a son of James Logsdon and Jane James in email of 27 Oct 2001. Joel Logsdon suggests that William was born November 11, 1652 in Blunham, England. He was a tobacco farmer in Maryland. William died before 1742 in Carroll Co., MD. Beverly Johnson Sweeney suggests that William's father was James, his grandfather was William and that his great grandfather may have been a Charles Loggsdon b. ca 1594-95 and d. ca. 1619 in Keysoe, Bedfordshire, England; and that William's great grandmother may have been Ann ? who may have been born ca. 1596. Debbie Raque's homepage suggests that Williams parents were Susan Bromshell and Thomas Logsdon based on the book "Logsdon The Amazing Family". She goes onto suggest that Thomas was the son of Anthony Logsdon and Ellen Mee. Debbie also suggests that William was born 11 NOV 1650, in Blunham, England. Another candidate for William the immigrant is William of Blunham, son of William of John of Edmund of Edward of John. This William was married to Alice Kennert and would have been alive at the time; however his wife was not listed as a passenger on the ship that carried William. No death record in England exists for Alice. She would have to have died, either in England or America, to allow William to remarry Honora O'Flynn. William would have been very old for the time to have remarried and started a family in America. This makes him a less than prime candidate for William the immigrant. (See the notes of William of John of Edmund for more information on this issue).
There is controversy that this William is the first Logsdon ancestor to immigrate from England. One source indicates that William of Thomas Logsden was the immigrant but this could not be for there is a burial record for William of Thomas.
Another source indicates that the William who married Honora O'Flynn was in fact the son of William the immigrant due to the fact that 1. He would have waited a long time to marry, despite the gender imbalance of more males to females in America at that time, 2. a record of Williams trip to America, 3. the land Captain Smith was to receive was 300 acres in Somerset County, Maryland, 4. William Laxtone was recorded as entitled to 50 acres for coming to America, 5. the will of William Langsden in 1709, with mention of his wife Izabell and son William existed. It is this William, it is suggested, that moved to Baltimore and married Honora O'Flynn. None of this has been proven.
It is William of John of Edmund of Edward who was probably William the laborer who died and was buried at St. John's.
Family legend has it that William Logsdon was picked up as a lad of 10 (in 1673) on the coast of England and brought to America as an indentured servant. The ship was headed for VA but a storm changed its course and it sailed into Baltimore Harbor instead. Records show that a William Logsdon was transported to America in 1673 ( Bk. 18, Folio 38, Vol. 21), p.293 of "The Early Settlers of Maryland'. Index to Names of Immigrants Compiled from Records of Land Patents 1633-1680 in the Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland," Gust. Skordas, editor, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore MD 1968).
In the Hall of Records, Patent of Land Records, in Annapolis, MD, Vol. 15, p.34, we find, 16 Jan 1674: "Captain Samuel Smith of Virginia, proved his right to 300 acres of land, by Hanna, his wife, and Attorney, for transporting Robert Dewsberry, William Belcher, Thomas Humphries, William Logsdon, George Young, Jesiah Blackwell, and William Golden, to this Province to inhabit." The term, "indentured servant," refers to a person who did not have money to pay their passage so the Captain of the ship sold their services. In this case, William Logsdon was indentured to a tobacco planter who promised to release him when he worked out the right amount.
A statement from the Land Commissioner of MD. at Annapolis gives us a location for Smith's land: "We beg to advise that the tract of land based on proof of rights, and recorded Liber 18, folio 38, was applied to Second Choice, 300 acres surveyed for Samuel Smith of Virginia, 4 (Apr), 23, 1675 and patented to 1 (Jan), 10, 79 (1679). Lying in Somerset County at the head of the main branch of the Wicomice River, on north side of said branch, in the neighborhood of Salisbury." Smith lived in Kings Neck, as he had land in Northumberland Co., VA on the mouth of the Potomac River.
According to John Buckingham in a message number 88 of February 01, 1999 at Family Tree Maker at the Durbin Message board. " In 1702, while working his farm, William Logsdon spotted a British ship anchored in the river, and decided to inspect its "cargo", where he met Honora. Honora was born in 1678 in Kerry County, Ireland" Another source reported "About 24 years later a shipload of young girls was gathered from the Irish Coast and brought over to be wives of American settlers. One Irish lass was named Honora O'Flynn (from County Kerry, Ireland). Several documents state that Honora O'Flynn was kidnapped from Ireland and later was married to William in 1702 by a missionary priest from Fort Tobacco, MD.". It is believed that William may have been mentioned in the will of Thomas Sissell in St. Mary's County, Maryland.
William's residences included tracts called "Brotherly Love", "Bedford 100 acres on 10 October 1707" - Ref: Settlers of Maryland 1701 - 1739 by Peter Wilson Coldham, p. 99 - DD 5 / 430, "Logsdon's Addition 250 acres on 8 December 1722" - Ref: Settlers of Maryland 1701 - 1739 by Peter Wilson Coldham, p. 99 - PL 5 / 49, and "Pleasant Green". On 9/22/1730, William and Honora sold Bedford. See Rent Rolls of Baltimore Co., MD: "William Loftin is charged with rent for a tract called "Brotherly Love" on 28 Aug 1687." Records indicate that William was a free man and property owner by the time he met and married Honora in 1702. From the Hall of Records: Lib. DD-5, p. 430: "On 12 May 1707 William Logsdon purchased 100 acres that had been assigned earlier to Gregory Davis of Baltimore County, and called "Bedford" - situated on the north side of the Patapsco River and on north side of Middle Branch thereof...." This was located in what is now Carroll Co., MD and is about 8 miles S.E. of Westminster. Carroll Co. was formed in 1836 from a part of Baltimore and Frederick Counties.
"By virtue of assignment of 100 acres, warrant assigned by Gregory Davis of Baltimore Co. on the 19th of April last, unto William Logsdon of the said County, part of a warrent for 100 acres granted said Gregory Davis on the 17th day of April last, I, John Israel, deputy surveyor under Mr. Clement Hill, Jr., have laid out to the aforesaid William Logsdon that tract and parcel of land called Bedford, lying in Baltimore County on the north side of the Potassco River...."
William Logsdon must have been a tobacco planter for on 31 Mar 1709 he sued Thomas Gwynn for breach of contract. Gwynn had signed a contract to build a 40-foot tobacco shed on the Island in Baltimore Co. (150-acre tract on Gunpowder River).
Liber IS-N, p. 336 (or 330): "I, William Logsdon, Baltimore County ... to my beloved daughter, Ann Durbin ... tract of land called Pleasant Green, being part of a tract called "Logsdon's Addition ... being 97-1/2 acres more or less ... the houses, outhouses, barns, stables, tobacco houses, orchards, etc. ... and after the death of her husband, Samuel Durbin, the land to return freely and quietly to the heirs of William Logsdon. Dated 19 September 1726, signed William [his mark] Logsdon." Honor Logsdon, his wife, released her dower rights to the property.
William probably died between 1730 and 1742, [see Patent of Land Records, Annapolis, Lib. AM-1, p.148] for on 22 Sep 1730 he and his wife, Honora, sold all that tract of land called "Bedford." "... 100 acres ... and a part of Logsdon's Addition ... 150 acres ... one line of the boundary is parallel to the line of Ann Durbin. Signed: William Logsdon."
And, on 3 Mar 1742 (Liber TB-C, p. 183), there is a "deed from William Logsdon II, John Logsdon, and Edward Logsdon, planters of Prince George's Co. who convey to George Conti of Little Conewage, a tract called "Brotherly Love" of 300 acres ... Logsdon, the mother: Ann, Sarah, and Margaret, wives of said William, John, and Edward release their dower rights."
Other children included: John, Ann, Honora, and Prudence
He was married to Honora O'FLYNN in 1702 in Baltimore Co., MD.26 She and William were married by a missionary priest from Fort Tobacco, MD. He would have been 39 years of age, and she was 21.
From Tracy Logsdon: http://one-eleven.net/~tracydai/researc2.html
Young William Logsdon: Our Ancestor?
How reliable are the records that maintain that an eleven year old lad left the safety and security of his England home to venture forth to an unknown future in a faraway land? This question has troubled researchers for years. Some of them have solved the problem by inventing another senior Logsdon of about 60 years of age, then also giving him a son named William of about 28 years of age, then having him be the one to marry Honora O'Flynn. Unfortunately, after a careful look at the Maryland records, there is only one William Logsden mentioned in the 1680 to 1704 period. Others have been suggested, such as a William Langsden of Somerset County, Maryland. After checking in the book "The settlers of old Somerset County, Maryland" we found that William Langsden died in 1745, also leaving a will naming his survivors. All of which he located still in Somerset County. Then we came to the facts. When all else is ruled out, what remains must be our answer.
1. Only one William Logsden is listed on any early Maryland tax rolls.
2. William named his estate here in America, Bedford, after his home in England. (Not Melchbourne, Roxton or Eaton Socon)
3. At age 10, in the 1600's, a young man was deemed "of working age" and could be indentured out as an apprentice or laborer.
4. After looking at the waterway system, the rive Ouse flows through Bedford and then directly into the Thames river, which in turn flows to the ocean and to a river port. This journey would take only a few
days.
5. William's father, James, was a rope maker, and could have and probably did have connections to the boatmen on the river.
6. Reviewing the records of St. John's parish of Bedford, home church of the James Logsden family, we find no mention of a William, son of James, being married or otherwise, but his other children are mentioned.
7. Then there is the terrible plague that gripped the area in the 1600-1700 era. Is it any wonder that a father would want to send his son as far away as possible?
8. After reviewing the other William Logsden's of that time, in and around Bedford, all have been ruled out, with the exception of one William who was born in 1639, who married in 1668. Unless his young wife died, and there is no record of this event, the William who came to America was single, and accompanied by other men.
9. It is my view that a William from, say, the town of Roxton, would not have named his home here in America, "Bedford".
We shall probably never prove who our ancestor William was, but I'll put my money on young William of Bedford. Tracy Logsdon
Events
| Birth | Bef 13 Sep 1663 | Melchbourne, Bedfordshire, England | |||
| Christen | 13 Sep 1663 | Bedford, Bedfordshire, England - at St. Johns | |||
| Marriage | 19 Sep 1702 | Fort Tobacco, Baltimore County, Maryland - Mary Honora O'Flynn | |||
| Death | Aft 1730 | Carroll County |
Families
| Spouse | Mary Honora O'Flynn (1681 - 1741) |
| Child | Edward Logsdon (1709 - 1799) |
| Father | James Logsdon (1631 - 1683) |
| Mother | Jane James (1641 - 1702) |