Nash Ancestry

(Includes Etheridge, Herbert, Harwood and Gilbert)

Sources:

Much thanks to Clyde Ratcliffe for providing information to complete this part of the tree accurately.

According to Three hundred colonial ancestors and war service: their part in making American history from 495 to 1934 by their lineal descendant Mrs. (Oscar Herbert) Elizabeth M. Leach Rixford, p. 220, "NASH ANCESTRY Crest: Six Arms: Nash, 2: Nashe: Escutcheon, meeting under the head. The name Nash is of Saxon origin." And though this book deals with a different Nash family than the one below, it offers some related insight.

Thomas and Eleanor Nash came to Virginia in 1661 with "three children and four white servants. He settled in Norfolk County prior to 1665. Jointly with Richard Taylor, he received a Land Grant for 446 Acres in Lower Norfolk County on the 6th of November 1665, near the head of Julian's Creek. ... He was a planter and shipbuilder" (source: Some Old Norfolk Families and others by H. Clarkson Meredith, BA, p. 268)

Early Norfolk County, VA, (now Chesapeake City) showing the southern branch of the Elizabeth River

Julian Creek Patents

Much appreciation to Clyde Radcliffe for providing these resources!

Thomas Nash I
b. ca. 1638
Monmouthshire, Wales
d. 1673
Norfolk Co., VA

m. Eleanor
(maiden name unknown)
in Wales
  William Esteridge
b. ca. 1637
d. ca. 1716

m.

Ann Nash, daughter of Dorcas Nash
  Excerpts from The Elizabeth River by Amy Waters Yarsinske detailing some of the Nash history: p. 204   p. 205
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    Thomas Nash II   Ann Etheridge    

"It was a Thomas Nash [my Thomas Nash II], a native of Wales, who was the first of this family in Virginia; with his wife, Anne, he settled in Lower Norfolk County, in 1665. The name was transmitted with filial respect, and his grandson, Thomas Nash, was for many years a vestryman of St. Bride's Parish, Norfolk County, a position in the Colony of Virginia held by gentlemen only, and, including as it did, the functions of a magistrate, it was one of responsibility" (Stewart, p. 523).

b. 18 March 1667
England (though Stewart's book indicates Wales; see note to the left)
d. ca. 1735
Norfolk Co., VA
m. ca. 1688
in Norfolk Co., VA
b. ca. 1670
d. ca. 1730
Norfolk Co., VA
   
             
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      Thomas Nash III   Dinah Etheridge    
      b. ca. 1705
Norfolk Co., VA
d. ca. 1783
Norfolk Co., VA
will probated
February 1783,
Norfolk Co., VA
Burial and Estate Info
(Thanks to Clyde Radcliffe)
m. ca. 1725
Norfolk Co., VA
b. ?
d. 1791?
Norfolk Co., VA
will probated
19 September 1791,
Norfolk Co., VA
   
               
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J. Arthur Herbert
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Thomas Nash (to the right) "was for many years a vestryman of St. Bride's Parish, Norfolk County, a position in the Colony of Virginia held by gentlemen only, and, including as it did, the functions of a magistrate, it was one of responsibility" (Stewart, p. 523).

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Timeline for Thomas Nash IV (Lt. Col. Thomas Nash) a.k.a. Thomas Nash, Jr., in Stewart's book

  • 1750s: "The following appear as vestrymen at different periods between 1749 and 1761. ...Thomas Nash was clerk of Great Bridge Chapel , and the Southern Branch Chapel..." (Stewart, p. 198).
  • 1760: "Some of the colonial military officers: ... Lieut. Thomas Nash, Jr., qualified March 20, 1760" (Stewart, p. 34).
  • 1761: "St. Bride's Parish ... Thomas Nash, Jr.....249 [votes] ... As provided in the Act of General Assembly dividing Elizabeth River Parish into three, division thereof between the three, Henry Herbert, William Smith, John Portlock, Thomas Nash, Jr., James Wilson, Joshua Corprew and John Wilson, vestrymen of St. Bride's Parish, sold the glebe land at public auction to John Tucker for three pounds and six pence per acre, 172 acres, amounting to 520 pounds and six shillings, --their deed is dated October 20, 1761 (Stewart, p. 191).
  • 1764: "In 1764, Thomas Nash and Samuel Happer were churchwardens for St. Bride's Parish..." (Stewart, p. 192).
  • 1773: Thomas Nash, Jr., is listed on the "Committee of Safety for Norfolk County, July 20, 1773" (Stewart, p. 35).
  • 1775: "...the fourth Thomas in descent, took part in the battle of Great Bridge (10 miles from Norfolk) December 9, 1775, and was severely wounded. This battle, in which the troops of North Carolina and Virginia, under Colonel Woodford, repulsed the British troops of Lord Dunmore, slaying the commander of the attacking force, Captain Fordyce, and killing and wounding between 100 and 200 men, was the first decisive battle of the war, compared to which the affairs at Concord and Lexington were insignificant" (Stewart, p. 523).
  • 1777: Thomas Nash, Jr., is listed as "a Justice of the Peace in 1777" (Stewart, p. 282).

Lt. Col. Thomas Nash is mentioned for military service in 1777 as part of the Norfolk Militia in "United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG2M-7S28 : 1 March 2021), Thomas Nash, 1777; citing Military Service, , Citing various published state rosters, United States; FHL microfilm 101711079.

Thomas Nash IV
(Lt. Col. Thomas Nash)

Revolutionary War Patriot: Lt. Col. in militia in 1775 and 1777.
Fought in battle of Great Bridge in 1775.
Member of the Committee of Safety for Norfolk county in 1775.
Commissioner of Princess Anne County in 1776.
He is referred to as Thomas Nash, Jr., in some parts of Stewart's book
  Mary Herbert

      ↑
← Herbert

"The Herberts settled in Lower Norfolk about 1650, and were generally men of affairs and extensive landowners" (Stewart, p. 523).

According to Barbara McMahon, descendant of Thomas Nash IV through his son Caleb Nash who married Betsy Boushell, Thomas (IV) and Mary (Herbert) Nash had two other sons, Richard and William. William then had 3 sons, William, James, John. James had a son Charles. Charles had a son Clifford who in turn had a son Charles, the father of Barbara. Stewart's book makes it clear that Lt. Col. Thomas Nash (Thomas Nash IV) had a son named Thomas who was Capt. Thomas Nash (b. 1758). "Captain Thomas Nash was captured in a hazardous enterprise toward the end of the war and was confined in a prison-ship until the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, when he was released. During the last war with Great Britain, 1812-1814, he [Capt. Thomas Nash, son of Lt. Col. Thomas Nash] constructed the gunboats that, with the U.S.S. 'Constellation' and the State troops on Craney Island, near the mouth of the Elizabeth River, signally defeated Admiral Cockburn's combined land and water attack upon that post, June 22, 1813. One of his sons, Abner Nash, served with the artillery in that action" (Stewart, p. 523).

b. ca. 1728
Norfolk Co., VA
d. ca. 1794
Norfolk Co., VA
m. b. ca. 1731
Norfolk Co., VA
d. ca. 1776
Norfolk Co., VA
 
             
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  Unsubtantiated ancestries of Abigail Herbert back to the middle ages according to Geni.com and FamilySearch
?
    John R. Harwood   Susanna H. Gilbert William Nash One FamilySearch tree lists her as Elizabeth Abigail Herbert, but has William's mother as Ann Portlock. Abigail Herbert
    b. 1790-1800
Norfolk Co.VA
d. before 1840?
Norfolk Co.VA
m. 1 Feb. 1811
Norfolk Co.VA
Source: Abstracts from Norfolk City Marriage Bonds (1797-1850) and Other Genealogical Data by Genealogical Publishing Com, 2001. On page 45, it has the following:
February 1, 1811--John R. Harwood and Miss Susanna H. Gilbert.
                                                Martin Fisk, security. 
    Note: The above couple were married the same day by Thomas T. Jones, a
    local Methodist elder.
b. 1790-1800
Norfolk Co.VA
d. 1842-1850
Norfolk Co.VA

According to U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930 for William Nash, William Nash achieved the rank of Colonel and was a Revolutionary War veteran. Since he was only 22 when the war ended, my guess is that he achieved the rank of Colonel either early or after war.

b. 1 October 1761
Norfolk Co., VA
d. 20 July 1820
Norfolk Co., VA
will (mentioning wife Abigail and son Joseph) probated
21 August 1820

(Source: Ancestry)
Birth and death years are per U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930 for William Nash and Ancestry Profile
m. 17 December 1795
Norfolk Co., VA
(source: p. 365, Virginia Marriage Records: From the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, the William and Mary College Quarterly, and Tyler's Quarterly by Elizabeth Petty Bentley)

I have a DNA match with whom I share William and Abigail as common ancestors. On 23andMe, there is my match Patrick Nash to whom I am 4th cousin, once removed.
b. ?
d. ca. 1834
Norfolk Co., VA
will probated
20 May 1834
Norfolk Co., VA
                 
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  Evelina Harwood The Nash family can be found in Norfolk, VA, in the 1850 and 1860 census.* Joseph Nash  
  b. 1821/22
d. 9 June 1859
Norfolk Co., VA
m. 17 Oct. 1842
Norfolk Co., VA
Evelina Harwood & Joseph Nash in the Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785-1940 - marriage date in 17 Oct. 1842 (Source: Virginia, U.S., Select Marriages, 1785-1940, p. 117).
b. 1817/18
Norfolk Co., VA
d. 23 Oct. 1879
though he isn't
in the 1870 census.
Buried at Elmwood, Norfolk, VA
 
         
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          descendants through son Wadsworth "Wads" H. Nash via his marriage to
Mary Frances Miller
     
      Thomas   
        Nash + 
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           Thomas   Dinah
             Nash + (unknown maiden name)
         d. 1783? |	d. 1791?
         Norfolk  |	Norfolk Co., VA
         Co., VA  |	
                  |	
                  |
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                Thomas   
                  Nash + 
              d. 1794? |							
              Norfolk  |							
              Co., VA  |							
                       |							
                       |
                    William   Abigail
                       Nash + Herbert 
                            |
                  +---------+----------+
                  |m. 17 December 1795 |
                  | Norfolk Co., VA    |
                  +---------+----------+
                  |d. 1820? | d. 1834? |
                  | Norfolk Co., VA    |
                  +---------+----------+
                            |
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                          Joseph + Evelina
                           Nash    Harwood