Elizabeth married John JAY on 4 Mar 1773 in Bush River M.M., Newberry, SC, USA. John (son of William JAY, * and Mary Elizabeth VESTAL, *) was born on 26 Oct 1752 in , Frederick, Virginia, USA; died on 23 Apr 1829 in , Miami, OH, USA; was buried in Apr 1829 in , Miami, OH, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Jesse JAY was born on 8 Dec 1773 in , Newberry, SC, USA; died on 25 Sep 1840 in , Miami, OH, USA.
2. Thomas JAY was born on 18 Jun 1775 in , Newberry, SC, USA; died on 8 Jul 1815 in Montgomery, Hamilton, Ohio, USA.
3. Mary JAY was born on 11 Jan 1777 in , Newberry, SC, USA; died on 27 Aug 1811.
4. Ann JAY was born on 17 Dec 1778 in , Newberry, SC, USA; died on 9 Jan 1849 in , Warren, OH, USA.
5. John JAY was born on 22 Feb 1782 in , Newberry, SC, USA; died on 1 Sep 1844 in , Wayne, OH, USA.
6. Samuel JAY was born on 12 Jan 1784 in , Newberry, SC, USA; died on 14 Dec 1859 in Jonesboro, Grant, IN, USA.
7. Walter Denny JAY was born on 15 Jul 1786 in , Newberry, SC, USA; died on 8 Jul 1865 in , Miami, OH, USA.
8. William JAY was born on 19 Jun 1788 in , Newberry, SC, USA; died on 9 Aug 1845 in Pleasant Hill, Miami, Ohio, USA.
9. James JAY was born on 6 Nov 1791 in , Newberry, SC, USA; died on 22 Oct 1845 in , Miami, OH, USA.
10. Lydia JAY was born on 18 Mar 1793 in Bush River, Newberry, SC; died on 20 Mar 1830 in , Miami, OH, USA.
11. Jane JAY was born on 16 Sep 1795 in , Newberry, SC, USA; died on 22 Dec 1871 in , Miami, OH, USA.

Thomas married Anne WRIGHT in 1753 in Hopewell (Pughtown), Frederick, VA, USA. Anne (daughter of James WRIGHT, * and Mary BOWATER or DAVIS, *) was born in 29th da 1st mo 1724/5 in Mongoguisie, Cecil, MD; died on 27 Apr 1801 in Hopewell, Frederick, VA, USA; was buried in Tipp City, Miami County, Ohio, United States of America. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

He was named in his father's will as one of two sons. "Jesse was the founder and leader of the Quaker settlement in Back Creek Valley," in Frederick County, Virginia. (C-961)

Jesse married Alice MALIN. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

It is not known with any certainty whom James Wright's father is. The group I think he is in is haplogroup I-M253, group 1 at the Wright YDNA group. That is a guestimate and not proven.

As for the current theories from research, here are the ones I have found without good support for any of them currently.

1. Tradition says that there were five Wright brothers that settled on the Eastern Shore of Maryland during the Colonial period as professed by several aged persons in THE WRIGHT ANCESTRY by Capt. Charles W. Wright, 1907.

2. Two other brothers settled in Baltimore Co, Maryland according to one of these ancients. Maryland's southern border is on the Atlantic Ocean. The additional 2 brothers that settled in Baltimore would have entered Chesapeake Bay and gone north to Baltimore. Baltimore is about 55 miles south by water from where our James Wright can first be verified as living in East Nottingham, Chester Co., PA (now of Cecil Co., MD) via the same bay that comes in from the southeastern side of Maryland on the Atlantic Ocean.

3. James's father according to Don Wright in the "Footprints Database" is John Wright of Pennsylvania. This probably refers to 13 volumes microfiched and available through Salt Lake City's library: "Footprints of Our Past : Our Ancestors and their Descendants" by Don P. Wright. He edited this publication through 1992 under that name and his main interest was researching the Wright surname.

In any case, this Wright family lived above Noris Ford on Marshy Hope Creek literally at the boundary of Maryland and Delaware. It is near 100 miles by land and across the Chesapeake Bay east of where our James Wright can be verified as living in East Nottingham (Now Cecil Co., MD.) in 1707. It is a creek that runs south into the Nanticoke River which runs into the Chesapeake Bay making it even further by water. John was a possible son of two brothers, William (b. bef. 1658 surmised from the fact that he had 5 sons who were born before he died in 1686) and a James Wright that settled in Dorchester Co., MD about 1682 above Noris Ford (Northwest Fork Ford) of Marshy
Hope Creek. That part of Dorchester Co., MD is now a part of Caroline Co., Maryland due to boundary changes. William and James possibly emigrated on the "Bristol Factor" in that same year with one of William Penn's colonies probably through Bristol, England. (C-951)

The two brothers were Quaker preachers and traveled extensively to preach to Quaker communities. Brother William died in Dorchester before June 5, 1686. He had sons William (who married Sarah Noble), Roger, Edward, Samuel and John. (This is likely the John that Don Wright's "Footprints Database" refers to. His sons Edward, Samuel and John supposedly moved west which at that point in time would have been east of the Allegheny Mountains.) His son, Roger, who lived in Dorchester and had several children including sons named Levin, William and *James.
Many of the Wrights in Maryland and Delaware descend from this William. No descendants lineages were apparently kept for James' children according to "The Wright Ancestry of Caroline, Dorchester, Somerset and Wicomico Counties, Maryland." The two brothers were known as Niccolite or Quaker Wrights because of their strict religious sect. The James Wright who came over with his brother William in 1682, might even be our James or William's grandson at a stretch might be our James.

The births of our James and Mary Wright are recorded with the Niccolite Births (Quaker Record Abstracts) in the Hall of Records at Annapolis, Anne Arundel Co., MD supporting this theory. Their particular group was known as the "Northwest Fork River Niccolite Friends." Of course, if one of these James is our James, it still doesn't tell us who his father is. It might be helpful to note that Dorchester Co., MD is 110 miles south from where we can verify that James Wright first lived which was East Nottingham, Chester Co., PA (Now in Cecil Co., Maryland) via the Chesapeake Bay. They and several generations of their descendants worshipped at the Niccolite Quaker Meeting House Branch near Federalsburg, Maryland and at Piney Grove Monthly after it moved locations.

Of all the theories I'm seeing presented, this one is the one with the greatest hope of including our James' ancestors and I will be studying it with a relish. "The Wright Ancestry of Caroline, Dorchester, Somerset and Wicomico Counties, Maryland" is currently available as a free Ebook on Google Books by the way. *It should be noted if this theory ends up being correct, Naomi Wright is supposed to have been a sister to the above brothers. She lived in Sussex Co., Delaware and married Joseph Atkins shortly after their 2nd declaration of intention to marry on Mar. 30, 1699. (C-258, 259)

However, there was at least one Naomi Wright whom is not the sister of William and James but the daughter of Arthur and Abigall Wright in Dorchester Co., Maryland at the time that possibly is this Naomi Wright. In 19 July 1679, An Account of Arthur Wright's estate is recorded, with payments to 147 people. Abigall Wright is listed as administratrix. (MD Accounts and Inventories Lib. 6 fol. 187) On 29 September 1679, Abigail Wright of Dorchester County, widow, gave to her children, Grace Wright, Absalom Wright, Edward Williams, Arthur Wright and Naomi Wright: Livestock. Witnesses Wm. Stephens, Thomas Taylor, William Smithson Acknowledged September 29, 1679. (Dorchester Land Record 4 old 6)*It should also be noted that I'm simply not finding persons whom are tracing their lineages back through anyone but William's son William whom married Sarah Noble - and their dating estimates are really throwing this lineage off.3. A very common ancestral line in public member trees at Ancestry says James was born in Chester Co., PA and was the son of Thomas Wright and Elizabeth Chittenden.

4. Also often stated is that he is the son of John and Martha Wright of Connecticut and John was the son of the above Thomas Wright and Elizabeth Chittenden. A well researched Wright descendant has Thomas and Elizabeth Chittenden Wright listing totally different children and places of birth at http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~legends/wright.html. They descend through an unrelated Connecticut branch of Wrights that go back through Essex Co, England. Y-DNA supports the fact that the Thomas Wright and Elizabeth Chittenden group descends from the Essex Co., England group. It's a very clear match to that grouping with a haplo group of E-M78 and YDNA shows that match. https://www.familytreedna.com/public/wright/default.aspx?section=yresults4.

5. A book referred to as the "Wright Briscoe Pioneers" believed James's father to be one of three brothers, Joshua, Thomas or Samuel who came from Yorkshire, England to New Jersey in 1677. These were sons of Robert Wright and Alice Lawtie of East Riding, Yorkshire, England. We can rule out Joshua Wright and his wife, Elizabeth Empson. Their son was: Richard Wright 1651.

A clue to this family is where they lived. James and his wife died in Frederick Co., Virginia. People from Pennsylvania and Maryland had first settled it sometime between 1738 and 1743. All we know for certain is that they were there before 1759. From East Nottingham (Chester Co., PA, now Cecil Co., MD) they would possibly have come down the Chesapeake Bay to the Potomac River and then taken the old "Indian Trail" down the Opequon Creek basin 35 miles to the newly formed Frederick Co., Virginia. This trail later became known as the "Great Valley Road". It was a common route of passage for early migrantion into Frederick Co., VA.

James married Mary BOWATER or DAVIS, * on 26 Feb 1707 in East Nottingham, Chester, PA, USA. Mary (daughter of John BOWATER, * and Mary MAUNDER) was born on 2 Dec 1689 in London, City of London, Greater London, England; died before 6 Mar 1764 in , Frederick, Virginia, USA; was buried before 6 Mar 1764 in Clear Brook, Frederick County, Virginia, United States of America. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

We now know with certainty that Mary was a Bowater and not a Davis by maiden name. The often printed theory and incongruous lineage that she was Mary Davis in as reputable a source as Farmer, has now effectively been disproven by Stewart Baldwin in "The American Genealogist", July/Oct. 1997 issue. She was a Bowater based on multiple pieces of evidence. Mary Wright's birth date is listed in Feb. 12, 1689 in Hopewell Quaker records. This is off by a 10 days from being Mary Bowater's actual birth date in English records if the 1689 date is interpreted as 1688/1689.

As an orphaned young woman, Mary Bowater was received on certificate from England to live near her brother, Thomas in the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting records dated 28 4th month 1706. This is the only time she is mentioned in this country under her maiden name. She (as Mary Wright) and her husband, James Wright, sign their names to the Quaker marriage "certificate" in the close relatives right hand column of her sister, Elizabeth Bowater's marriage to William Pusey on the 5th day of the 9th month, 1707. James Wright would not even have been a relative of this couple unless his wife was a Bowater related to Elizabeth when this marriage took place. Later marriage records of Mary and James Wright's children include many Bowater relatives as witnesses and do not include any Davis relatives. Mary and James Wright were also listed in the relatives column for her brother, Thomas Bowater's daughter's marriage. Lastly, they have a grandson named Bowater. Stewart Baldwin's case that Mary is a Bowater is actually one of the finest pieces of genealogical analysis I've seen. Mary was a Bowater and NOT a DAVIS. (C-999)

Her will is as follows: "I, Mary Wright, of Frederick County in the Colony of Virginia, being aged and sickly but of a sound and well disposing mind and memory do make this my last will and testament hereby revoking and disanulling all other wills that have heretofore been made or done by me. First, my will is that my body be decently buried and that all my just debts and funeral charges that I leave to be defrayed at the discretion of my executors hereafter named. Secondly, I give and bequeath and demise to the proper use and behalf of him the said Thomas Wright his heirs and assigns forever. Thirdly, I give and bequeath all and singular of my wearing apparel unto my seven daughters, vis., Mary, Hannah, Martha, Elizabeth, Ann, Sarah, Lidia to be equally divided among them. Fourthly, I give and bequeath to my daughter Sarah Pickering, one brass mortar. Fifthly, I give and bequeath unto my son Thomas Wright all and singular of my stock and household goods. I also will that what money remains after my decease, from the land sold on Middlefork is to be equally divided among my ten children, vis. James, Isaac, Mary Hannah, Martha, Elizabeth, Ann, Sarah, Lydia and John. Lastly, I ordain and constitute my well beloved daughter, Mary Ballinger, Jesse Pugh and William Pickering sole executors of this my last will and testament as witness my hand and seal this 5th day of the 8th month, 1760. Signed, sealed and acknowledged by the said Mary Wright to be her last will and testament in presence of us. Signed: Mary Wright Witness: Elizabeth Powell, Elinor Rogers, Susanna Bevin. (This was proved March 6, 1764 in Frederick Co., VA) (C-696)

Notes:

The following will transcription is from Philadelphia Co, PA Wills: Pugh, Thomas. Philadelphia County. Mason. 3/3/1723. Brother Job Pugh alsonamed being absent. Sons Jesse and Roger. Executrix Wife Jane. Trusteesand Executors Robert Jones of Merion, Meredith Davis, Roberts Roger, Job Pugh and Ellis Roberts. (E)

Thomas married Jane Ann ROGERS. Jane died after 1723. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Jane was a Quaker.

Notes:

He arrived from England about 1630 probably in Watertown, Massachusetts. He removed to Westhersfield, CT in 1639 and was a respected citizen there.

Personally I suspect that he is the Thomas Wright who was transported to Virginia by Captain Moore Fauntleroy before May 22, 1650 along with 5 children, a wife and maid. It was the same ship that Thomas Underwood came over on, though the ship is not named in the deed records where their names are included. It appears that at that point in time, the ship's master who transported persons to Virginia received large amounts of land for their efforts and the persons they transported are therefore listed in the deed records of Old Rappahannock Co., VA. If so, he died in 1700 on the Isle of Wight. (C-2394)

There is a William Wright who came to America in 1682 aboard the "Bristol Factor" from Bristol, England. He died in Dorchester Co., MD before June 6, 1686. He had a son named Roger Wright. (C-917) There is a Captain Nathaniel Wright who emigrated to Maryland, and settled in Queen Anne's County, about 1673. He left a recorded Will in which he mentions his brothers, Surgeon and Justice Solomon Wright, 1655-1717 of Kent County, and Charles Wright. All three brothers were born in England. It is not known if any of these are Thomas' relatives or not. (C-708)

Thomas married Elizabeth CHITTENDEN?, * on 16 Jun 1657. Elizabeth (daughter of William CHITTENDEN, * Lieutenant or Major and Joanna SHEAFFE, *) was born in 1638 in Cranbrook, Tunbridge Wells Borough, Kent, England; died on 17 Feb 1676 in Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States of America; was buried in Wethersfield, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States of America. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

John and Mary were from Spitalfields, a town near London, England. John married twice. He was a Quaker who actually visited but did not settle in the American colonies. He and his second wife died when Mary was a young woman. He was listed as age 75 at his death. (C-1447) His parents might be Richard Bowater and Elizabeth Sadler instead. (Gedmatch)

John married Mary MAUNDER on 12 Nov 1685 in , Worcestershire, ENG. Mary (daughter of Edward MAUNDER and Marye PATTYE, of Tredington) was born in 1649 in London, Middlesex, ENG; died on 10 Feb 1704 in Spitalfields, Stepney Borough, London, ENG. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]