Individual Details
Sylvanus Stokes
(1637 - 1704)
Citation: Stokes: A Family History by Wilford Perry Stokes, Sr.; Portier Gorman Publishers, Thibodaux, LA, 1987.
Source text: Provides extensive research on Stokes ancestors and traces ten generations of a Stokes line from Christopher Stokes, immigrant, to John Arthur Stokes (1885-1983). It notes records for Christopher Stokes, b. Gloucestershire, England about 1590 - 1645 York, VA and names wife, Elizabeth, and sons, Christopher Jr, William, Lancelot, Henry, Robert, Francis, Thomas (the last two being the only ones born in Virginia). Focus is on the line of his son, William, (who inherited all of Christopher's lands due to earlier deaths of his brothers) and his five sons, John, Sylvanus, David, Thomas, William Jr. Also provides the DOBs for the children of William Jr & his brother, John, from the Abingdon Parish Register.
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Burial Details Unknown.
The first Sylvanus Stokes I, born around 1636. Son of William Stokes up around Warwick River County and unknown [maybe a Cheesman or Watson] mother.
Sylvanus I [this is the only one of the early Stokes to
be recorded in some original documents as SYLvanus] married Mary Bishop and the couple had two sons [he later re-married, but that's another line] in Charles City County,
Children with Mary:
1 John
2 Silvanus, Jr. or II, FaG 101269764 who later morphed into "Silvanus Stokes the Elder" in Surry Cty. Va, and married Susannah Jones.
That couple had, among other children, a son named Silvanus III who married Cecelia.
And Silvanus III & Cecelia had, among other children, a son named Silvanus IV who married Temperance Clark.
This is the most direct descent of the Syl/Silvanus name, but nearly all the branches down from the original Sylvanus named one son Silvanus -- so there are indeed a bunch of them!
Death and burial unknown
"Burial was probably on his plantation, many of those plantation owners, and later generations, was buried on their property.
It is said that "If you buy land in Virginia of at least 2 acres, most likely there is a burial ground on the land somewhere."
MOST NOTES FROM Carol Stokes:
I spent several years writing a notebook for my sons and cousins on our particular Stokes line, and by far the most difficult and longest chapter was the Swamp of Sylvanus.
As anyone who's spent much time on Virginia Stokes genealogy knows only too well, there were about a GAZILLION men named Sylvanus/Silvanus Stokes, and untangling the mess was no easy task. What follows are my conclusions -- based on all available evidence arranged logically, but no absolute proof. There are some who may disagree
with it.
Genealogical writers have generally confused and written Syl/Silvanus interchangeably, but I found no SYL in original documentations of the era except for the first Sylvanus Stokes in Charles City County, and even his name was written variously by different scribes. [Remember that all these guys were probably illiterate and just voiced their names to scribes for legal documents.]
Since you asked specifically about the parents of the first Sylvanus, I need to mention that some people believe they were John and Ann Stokes/Stoakes, who came over on the ship Warwick.
There are some motivations for claiming such lineage -- not the least of which is that a John Stokes signed the second charter of the London Company, and also it allows the northern Virginia Stokes to claim descent from Christopher, but my version also accepts that latter claim, and I believe my version better accommodates all the known facts.
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Source text: Provides extensive research on Stokes ancestors and traces ten generations of a Stokes line from Christopher Stokes, immigrant, to John Arthur Stokes (1885-1983). It notes records for Christopher Stokes, b. Gloucestershire, England about 1590 - 1645 York, VA and names wife, Elizabeth, and sons, Christopher Jr, William, Lancelot, Henry, Robert, Francis, Thomas (the last two being the only ones born in Virginia). Focus is on the line of his son, William, (who inherited all of Christopher's lands due to earlier deaths of his brothers) and his five sons, John, Sylvanus, David, Thomas, William Jr. Also provides the DOBs for the children of William Jr & his brother, John, from the Abingdon Parish Register.
-----------------------------
Burial Details Unknown.
The first Sylvanus Stokes I, born around 1636. Son of William Stokes up around Warwick River County and unknown [maybe a Cheesman or Watson] mother.
Sylvanus I [this is the only one of the early Stokes to
be recorded in some original documents as SYLvanus] married Mary Bishop and the couple had two sons [he later re-married, but that's another line] in Charles City County,
Children with Mary:
1 John
2 Silvanus, Jr. or II, FaG 101269764 who later morphed into "Silvanus Stokes the Elder" in Surry Cty. Va, and married Susannah Jones.
That couple had, among other children, a son named Silvanus III who married Cecelia.
And Silvanus III & Cecelia had, among other children, a son named Silvanus IV who married Temperance Clark.
This is the most direct descent of the Syl/Silvanus name, but nearly all the branches down from the original Sylvanus named one son Silvanus -- so there are indeed a bunch of them!
Death and burial unknown
"Burial was probably on his plantation, many of those plantation owners, and later generations, was buried on their property.
It is said that "If you buy land in Virginia of at least 2 acres, most likely there is a burial ground on the land somewhere."
MOST NOTES FROM Carol Stokes:
I spent several years writing a notebook for my sons and cousins on our particular Stokes line, and by far the most difficult and longest chapter was the Swamp of Sylvanus.
As anyone who's spent much time on Virginia Stokes genealogy knows only too well, there were about a GAZILLION men named Sylvanus/Silvanus Stokes, and untangling the mess was no easy task. What follows are my conclusions -- based on all available evidence arranged logically, but no absolute proof. There are some who may disagree
with it.
Genealogical writers have generally confused and written Syl/Silvanus interchangeably, but I found no SYL in original documentations of the era except for the first Sylvanus Stokes in Charles City County, and even his name was written variously by different scribes. [Remember that all these guys were probably illiterate and just voiced their names to scribes for legal documents.]
Since you asked specifically about the parents of the first Sylvanus, I need to mention that some people believe they were John and Ann Stokes/Stoakes, who came over on the ship Warwick.
There are some motivations for claiming such lineage -- not the least of which is that a John Stokes signed the second charter of the London Company, and also it allows the northern Virginia Stokes to claim descent from Christopher, but my version also accepts that latter claim, and I believe my version better accommodates all the known facts.
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Events
| Birth | 1637 | Charles City, Charles City County, Virginia | |||
| Marriage | 23 Sep 1658 | Virginia - Mary Bishop | |||
| Death | 1704 | Charles City County, Virginia |
Families
| Spouse | Mary Bishop (1637 - 1700) |
| Child | Sylvanus Stokes II (1654 - 1749) |
| Child | Richard Thomas Stokes (1660 - 1748) |
| Child | John Stokes (1660 - 1748) |
| Child | John Sylvanus Stokes (1663 - 1749) |
| Child | Elizabeth Stokes (1667 - 1757) |
| Child | David Stokes (1670 - ) |
| Child | Henry Stokes (1687 - 1766) |
| Father | William Stokes (1618 - 1699) |
| Mother | Ann Nottingham (1618 - 1650) |