F I N C H

H I S T O R Y

 

by John A. Sands, Jr

My maternal grandfather's name was John Shaw Finch. He was an outstanding person and this section of my book is dedicated to him.

The surname Finch is of English origin and is classified as a place name. The name Finch originated from the Manor of Finch in Kent, England and was adopted as a permanent surname for this family.

The Finch family has a very distinguished and illustrious ancestry. It commences in the early centuries of the Christian Era with the famous chieftain, Pippin of Landen and continues through Pippin of Heristal, Charles Martel, Charles the Great (Charlemagne), Pippin and Bernard, Kings of Italy who were all famous and suc­cessful warriors. It can further be traced through the Counts of Vermandois of France to Herbert Fitz Peter who was an ally of William of Normandy when he invaded England. Herbert Fitz Peter of Vermandois with his warriors joined William the Conqueror in the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and was rewarded by his King for valor and services with substantial grants of land in England. The family was held in such high esteem that members of three successive generations occupied the post of Chamberlain to their King.

A grandson of Herbert Fitz Peter became Archbishop of York and in the following century was Canonised by the Pope. During the reign of King John the family was among the Norman Barons that compelled the King to execute the Magna Charta at Runnymede in 1215. Two members of the family signed as witnesses of this document.

During the preceding period surnames were in their infancy. It was customary to distinguish a man as the son of his father by the prefix, "Fitz". Thus Herbert Fitz Peter was Herbert the son of Peter. Herbert's son Matthew would be named Matthew Fitz Herbert.

The Coat of Arms of the Finch family was adopted by Herbert Fitz Herbert a descendant of Herbert Fitz Peter when he became Lord of the Manor of Finch as a result of his marriage. The original coat of arms was: Gules, three lions rampant Or.

Many of these Finch descendants rose too eminence in England. Many became Lords and others were Knighted by the King. The first Earl of Winchelsea was Sir William Finch and the first Earl of Nott­ingham was Heanage Finch who died in 1682. The historic Rutland Home of the Finch family is Burley on the Hill, Oakham, Rutland near Leicester, England. Sir John Finch was Speaker of the House of Commons in England. There were several members of the Finch family in the early government of Virginia.

I have not been able to establish the exact line of descent from the English Finch family to my Finch forefathers in Virginia. Nevertheless I am confident that such a relationship does exist in view of the same given names in these families and the fact that most individuals migrating to Virginia were from England. I will make appropriate additions to this section if information establishing this relationship is developed in the future.

My information indicates that Thomas Finch came to New Kent Co., Virginia in 1663 and received land grants in that county the same year. In addition Francis Finch arrived in this county the same year and received land grants. Thomas and Francis Finch paid taxes on over 300 acres of land in. New Kent Co., Va. in 1664. Francis Finch may have been the brother of Thomas Finch or pos­sibly the name Francis was misspelled and it should have been Frances. If this is correct then I feel sure that Thomas and Frances Finch were husband and wife. Many of the New Kent Co. records have been destroyed and it appears impossible to estab­lish this relationship. For my purposes I will presume that they were husband and wife.

On Dec. 21, 1718 Edward Finch died in New Kent County, Virginia. His wife was named Martha. It would appear that he was the son of Thomas and Frances Finch of New Kent County, Va.

In Charles City Co., Virginia an Edward Finch died in 1746 and his wife Agnes died in 1771. I believe that he was probably the son of Edward and Martha Finch of New Kent County, Va. The records of Charles Cy. Co. Virginia are quite complete and indicate the fol­lowing:

The records of this county for the period 1766 - 1774 page 374 indicate that the will of Agnes Finch was dated Mar. 21, 1771 and probated on July 1, 1772. The estate of Agnes and Edward Finch was not settled until Dec. 25, 1792 according to the will book 1789 - 1808 page 130 for Charles City County, Virginia.