John Culpeper son of Thomas & Katherine1

Male, #8997, (1633 - circa 1675)

Parent*Thomas Culpeper of the Middle Temple (s 1602 - s 1652)
Parent*Katherine St. Leger (c 1602 - 1658)
John Culpeper son of Thomas & Katherine|b. 1633\nd. circa 1675|p8997.htm|Thomas Culpeper of the Middle Temple|b. say 1602\nd. say 1652|p8470.htm|Katherine St. Leger|b. circa 1602\nd. 1658|p8473.htm|John Culpeper of Astwood in Feckenham, co. Worcs.|b. 1565\nd. circa 16 Dec 1635|p8385.htm|Ursula Woodcock|b. before 27 Jan 1566\nd. before 2 Jun 1612|p8455.htm|Sir Warham St. Leger|b. 1579\nd. 11 Oct 1631|p8838.htm|Mary Hayward|b. circa 1580\nd. 1662|p36800.htm|

Name Variation  John Culpeper son of Thomas & Katherine was also known as Colepeper son of Thomas & Katherine. 
Name Variation  John Culpeper son of Thomas & Katherine was also known as Culpepper son of Thomas & Katherine. 
Birth*1633 John was born at Hollingbourne, co. Kent, England, in 1633. 
Baptism1633 He was baptized at Hollingbourne, co. Kent, England, in 1633.  
 He was the son of Thomas Culpeper of the Middle Temple and Katherine St. Leger. 
Marriage* He married Mary Green at Virginia. 
Death*circa 1675 He died circa 1675.2 
Biography* This John was baptised in Hollingbourne, April 4, 1633, as 'John, sonne of Thomas Culpeper, esq.' No other certain record for him has been found in England, according to Fairfax Harrison, suggesting that he may have lived abroad. Fairfax Harrions, writing in the 1920's, thought that this John must have been the John Culpeper of Culpeper's Rebellion in early Albemarle, NC.

But the identity of this John Culpeper has been called into doubt in recent years. If his own deposition can be believed, then John Culpeper, 'the Rebel' of Albemarle was born between November 1641 and August 1648. This critical fact can be found in the Master's Thesis of William S. Smith, Jr., "Culpeper's Rebellion, New Data and Old Problems, page 19:

"... while both [Fairfax] Harrison and others list John Culpeper's birthdate as about 1633, a transcript of Albemarle John Culpeper's deposition for the trial of Thomas Miller for blasphemous utterings lists John Culpeper's age as thirty one. Unfortunately, no specific date is given for this deposition although it must have been between November 1673 when the alleged offense occurred and August 1679 when Miller's final trial for these alleged offenses occurred. Reading of a photocopy of the original manuscript of the deposition from which William L. Saunders' Colonial Records data was taken shows that Culpeper's age was correctly transcribed."

Thus, it does NOT seem likely, unless the above statement can be disproved, that John Culpeper of Albemarle was John, son of Thomas Culpeper and Katherine St. Leger, as their son John was known to have been born in 1633. This directly contradicts the long held belief that John of Albemarle was in fact their son. Fairfax Harrison suggested this possibility in the 1920's, but did not have the above mentioned deposition at his disposal at the time.

So if this John, born in 1633, son of Thomas Culpeper and Katherine St. Leger, was not John Culpeper, the Rebel, of Albemarle, NC, then who was he?

Fairfax Harrison mentions that a son of Thomas Culpeper and wife Katherine was known to have been a "gentleman" in Virginia. This was probably a reference to this John. The work of Fairfax Harrison can be found in the Historical Section of the Culpepper Connections Web Site (see "Northern Neck").

William Berkeley, Governor of Virginia, whose wife was Frances Culpeper, apparently refers to this John, his brother-in-law, in a letter to the Commissioners of Surry County, VA, dated 29 April 1673:

"Gentlemen: There is a despute between my brother Culpeper and Colonel Swann of the damage my brother Culpeper may sustaine by the lease was lett by Captain Graves to George Domingoe. I therefore desire that for the friendly ending of itt there may be a jury impanelled to give theire judgments what the damages may be by a just estimation. Your friend and Sarvt: William Berkeley. Recorded 9 May 1673." (From LDS microfilm 034098, Surry County Records 1671 -- 1684, page 23)

Surry County is on the south side of the James River. At that time, it was just west of Isle of Wight County, which was just west of Nansemond County, which was just west of Lower Norfolk County, all of which are on the south side of the James River. Nansemond County is now Suffolk (City), and western Lower Norfolk County is now Chesapeake (City).

It has been suggested that this John was the one who was a sheriff in Northampton Co, VA, and who died there in 1674. This is certainly a possibility, but further evidence is needed to prove the connection.

Arguments in favor of this idea include:

1) this John was around 40 years old in the early 1670's, a good age to have been a sheriff. The other possibility for the job, John Culpeper born in 1606, was in his mid 60's by this time.

2) The estate of John the sheriff mentioned no descendants, and no descendants are currently known for the John born in 1633. He was about the same age as the Henry Culpepper of Norfolk County, and so might have been either his brother, or his first cousin. He could not have been Henry's father.

3) Mary, the wife of John Culpeper, the sheriff of Northampton County, VA, was known to have been a relatively young woman, since she married twice after John's death, and had additional children. This would suggest that her husband John Culpeper might have been a relatively young man as well.

For additional information on the various early John Culpeppers, see the Historical Section of the Culpepper Connections Web Site:
http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/theories/default.htm#Johns

As mentioned, John Culpeper of Northampton and wife Mary seem to have left no descendants. His land in Northampton County, VA was escheated back to the state of Virginia and re-sold. According to Webster's Dictionary, escheat means 1) the reversion of lands in English feudal law to the lord of the fee upon the failure of heirs capable of inheriting under the origianl grant, 2) the reversion of property to the crown in England or to the state in the U. S. by failure of persons legally entitled to hold the property.

From Cavaliers and Pioneers, Vol. III, p. 55: "[to] John Custis, 100 acres in Northampton County, 24 October 1701, p. 414 [of Patent Book 9]. Escheated from John Culpeper, dec'd, by inquisition under John Custis, Esquire, Escheater etc."

From The Papers of William Berkeley (page 475), at Jamestown on 17 Jun 1675, "Mary Culpeper, Relict and Administratrix of the estate of Mr. Jno. Culpeper, deceased" petitioned the court for 50 pounds sterling, so John died shortly before this date.3,4 

Family

Mary Green (say 1633 - )

Charts Charlemagne's Descendants, Part 2: William Malet to Henry Culpeper of Lower Norfolk
Descendants of William Culpeper of Hunton and Wigsell, from 1509: 7 generations
Last Edited 11 Sep 2007

Citations

  1. Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII, 47-81, (1904) http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
  2. Warren M. Billings, compiler, The Papers of Sir William Berkeley, 1605-1677, Richmond, Virginia: Library of Virginia, 2007.
    At Jamestown on 17 Jun 1675, "Mary Culpeper, Relict and Administratrix of the estate of Mr. Jno. Culpeper, deceased" petitioned the court for 50 pounds sterling.
  3. Fairfax Harrison, The Proprietors of the Northern Neck - Chapters of Culpepper Genealogy, Richmond, VA: The Old Dominion Press (Privately printed), 1926, Repository: LDS Family History Library - Salt Lake City, Call No. US/CAN Film #929429. Transcription available online at: http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/nneck/default.htm.
  4. Warren M. Billings, compiler, The Papers of Sir William Berkeley, 1605-1677, Richmond, Virginia: Library of Virginia, 2007.