Samuel Jordan, Early Jamestown Settler
I recently became interested in my Jordan line. This line starts with my second great grandmother, Louisa Ellen Jordan (1827-1876), who married Joseph David Hurt (1822-1864) of Tennessee. Ellen’s parents were William Jordan (1792-1863) and Medy Boyd (1795-bef.1833). William’s parents were William Jordan (1748-1822) and Sarah “Sallie” Wood (1753-1843). This William was born in Virginia and served as a corporal in the Revolutionary War. After the war, he moved to Tennessee. William’s parents were Edward Jordan (1720-1791) and Elizabeth Washington (1720-1794) of Halifax and Lunenburg Counties, Virginia. Edward’s parents were William Jordan (?-1779) and Mary Stokes (1678-1789). William’s parents were Colonel Samuel Jordan (1679-1718) and Elizabeth Fleming (1687-1763). (This Fleming line supposedly goes back to the Kings of Scotland and on to Charlemagne. I have followed it back but don’t have much documentation for it.) Samuel’s parents were Thomas Jordan (1634-1699) and Margaret Brassieur (1642-1708). Thomas is the son of Major Thomas Jordan (1600-1685) and Lucy Corker (1604-1700). Thomas is supposed by many to be the son of Samuel Jordan (1578-1632), an early Jamestown settler.
The information here was given to me by a distant cousin and I don’t have any sources for anything beyond William Jordan and Medy Boyd. Because the idea that I had an ancestor at Jamestown intrigued me, I decided to ignore all the rules of genealogy (i.e., start with the known and work back) and jump straight in to some research on Samuel Jordan. I discovered that he has an exciting story. He sailed from England in 1609 on the Sea Venture but was shipwrecked on Bermuda. The survivors remained on the island through the winter, building two smaller ships and then sailing to Jamestown in spring of 1610. Samuel survived the disease and Indian attacks prevalent in the new colony and established a plantation along the James River called “Jordan’s Journey.” He died before 1623. Much more biographical information about him can be found on the web – just search for his name and pages and bios will come up. Unfortunately, they seem to repeat the same facts without providing much in the way of source material.
One of the most important questions to genealogists is how many children did Samuel have. Any number of children have been attributed to him, including my Thomas, above. However, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of any children other than those by his second wife, Cicely. Samuel was married in England to a first wife whose name is unknown. She evidently died around 1609, just before he sailed. No children have been found from this marriage. Samuel married Cicely in 1620 and they had two daughters: Mary and Margery.
I hope to do some more work on this line and would like to start gathering primary source documents so I can make my own determination about the parentage of Thomas.
March 29, 2008 @ 8:26 am
I am William Scott Jordan and my father William Garner Jordan and my grandfather William Jordan. According to my father, he had relatives on his father’s side of some sort in Tennessee that would come to visit. I would be interested to know about William Jordan’s (1792-1863) other children. My father and grandfather have passed away and I have very little information.
January 29, 2009 @ 9:33 am
May I suggest using Family Tree Maker World Family Tree for Jordan, I have two volumes, 3 and 23, unfortunately my computer broke down and in changing computers, I didn’t re install the Family Tree Maker so I can’t look it up for you. We branch off from William Jordan and Sarah Woods to three Benjamin Jordans, Benjamin Franklin Jordan I and B. F. Jordan II and III…II and III being in Camden Arkansas. My grandmother was a Lillian Elvira Jordan daughter of B. F. Jordan III. I have been looking for more info. on the Seaventure, Jamestown.
March 21, 2009 @ 1:21 pm
I am Nancy Brown and my Grandmother was Mildred Alice Jordan Field. born 1895 Camden, Arkansas, her father was James G Jordan born 1862 Camden Arkansas, William Harrison Jordan 1840 TN., Benjamin F. Jordan 1807 married Elvira Byler. I’ve just started looking at my Jordan lines. Wish me luck..
April 19, 2009 @ 1:10 pm
In looking at this genealogy I have the same problems with dates that I have in my own file. The William Jordan/Mary Stokes (1678-1789 – makes her over 111 years old). I have DAR lineage proven to William Jordan/Sallie Wood and to Sallie’s father, Stephen Wood. I would like, also, to join the Jamestowne Society but find that the dates are really screwy — If anyone can help, I would appreciate it. I descend from William/Sallie’s son, Benjamin Jordan and wife, Elizabeth Johnston.
June 28, 2009 @ 9:15 am
my father in law antoine jordan wrote a family genealogy that goes back to the crusades and the river jordan, i personally know a lot about the Parisians huguenots and the jordans,madame de maintenon married louis 14th.the king of france. she was a merle d’aubigne a huguenot and my children’s great great greatgrandmother.org maybe aunt. charles jordan a famous mathematician is listed in the french dictionary.
josette
August 24, 2009 @ 11:07 am
I have my Jordan line back to a Joshua Jordan, born 1755 in ? – died 1830 in Brown Co. Ohio. He had a son, Joshua born in Washington? Pa in 1790 and died in Jennings Co. Indiana. I am trying to link this line to Samuel Jordan in Jamestown, Va. I have been told by Jordans in the same line after Joshua 2 that there is a link, but have not been able to confirm this, But have been told that our Jordans came to Virginia (Jamestown) from England in the very early 1600′s.
September 3, 2009 @ 3:00 pm
William Jordan and Sarah (Sallie) Wood lived in Williamson County, TN. There is great documentation about their family at the Williamson County Archives. His land is still owned by his descendants. You can find deeds, court records,and marriage certificates there about William Jordan and his sons. Also, there is a fabulous family history by Barry Lamb. I found it at the library in Murfreesboro TN. There are lots of old pictures also. William Jordan’s son Benjamin is my line.
December 3, 2009 @ 8:28 pm
I’m still trying to figure out if Samuel Jordan had a daughter named Joane Jordan. She was born in 1597 and came to Virginia in 1621 with 3 children and was married to Thomas Palmer (my lineage). Funny thing is they came to Charles Cittie and Cittie Pointe and Jordan’s Journey in 1621. Too many coincidences. And some geneology sites say she is a daughter. Others do not list her at all.
December 20, 2009 @ 5:35 pm
I am a descendant of your Jordan family through Margaret Jordan who married John Pleasants, 5th.
I recently did genome testing at 23andMe and found that I share a significant segment of Chromosome 15 with a fellow named Simmon, who descends from Edward Eason, who was on the Sea Venture of the Third Supply to Jamestown, shipwrecked in Bermuda. 23andMe predicts we are 3rd to 6th cousins and I’m trying to figure out the relationship. The Easons left Virginia for NC and the west in about 1700 so I figure the connection must be before 1700.
Got any Easons in your Jordan genealogy?
Joe Fox, Lafayette, CA
December 31, 2009 @ 6:24 pm
I’m having problems with my Jordan line also. I have a g-g-grandfather, Samuel Jordan, of Brown County, Ohio. Born in 1828 in Brown Co, died at the Battle of Fisher’s Hill, VA in 1864 (First Sgt of Co. B, 34th Ohio Volunteer Infantry at the time, killed in action). He was well-documented in his adult years. He was first married to a Frances Devers and had several children with her, and then in the early 1860′s, married a woman named Mary, and had 2 children with her: Samuel, and Maggie B (my g-grandmother, born 1864 or 65, a few months after he went back to war). I cannot find anything to indicate who his parents were, so my Jordan line ends at him so far. One genealogy poster has his a Samuel as his father, but that Samuel died 10 years before he was born. He HAS to be born of one of the Brown/Clermont County Jordans, right?
January 25, 2010 @ 5:21 pm
I am a decendant of Samuel Jordan that landed in Surry Virginia in the 1600′s i have a lot of research done my tree is listed on ancestry.com under Jordan family tree u are welcome to contact me by email or either fill free to look at the ancestry site for any help.
February 3, 2010 @ 8:49 pm
My Mother is a Jordan. Her Great Grandfather was Samuel Jordan b. 1813 d.?
He married Lucy Ann (Smith) Jordan b. 1826 d. 1892. I do not know when they married or when Samuel died, but am working on this information. My Mother has been visiting San Augustine and Nacogdoches Counties in TX as well as the Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches TX archives. There are several papers in their archives that were saved by a 16 yr. old boy (somewhere around 1935) when the old courthouse was being torn down. The records had been thrown around town in ditches and abandoned buildings. Luckily he found them! He became a professor of History (what else?) and donated the papers to the State Archives..some are in Austin, some are Stephen F. Austin Univ. The 16 yr. old boy, became a professor at Abilene Christian College. His name is either Peter or Thomas Smith. Thank God he gave them over. We would know nothing about my Great Great Grandfather if it had not been for his determination to gather up all the papers he found lying in the ditch that day!
I am looking for information going further back than my Samuel Jordan, but have some of the same information you all have posted–going back to Jamestown, etc.. At any rate. If any of you have any information regarding my Samuel Jordan, I’d be thrilled and very appreciative!
Thanks!
Jennifer Bell
jenbelltx@yahoo.com
May 25, 2010 @ 3:05 pm
Edward Jordan is my ancestor. I descend from his daughter Ann Eliza who married John Coleman Green in 1826 in Lunnenburg Va. M.E.
July 10, 2010 @ 4:49 pm
I am looking for information on Burton Jordan, son of William and brother of Benjamin. He married Ellen Dean and their daughter Elizabeth married William C. Love. I have information about the Loves and their daughter, but cannot make the connection between Burton and his daughter Elizabeth. I would like references to birth certificates, wills, baptisms or church records. I am going to check Williamson Co. I know Benjamin was married to an Elizabeth, this would be his neice.
Thanks,
Bonnie
September 10, 2010 @ 3:23 pm
I don’t know about the Jordans but I just wanted to say that my American ancestry also started with a crew member on the Sea Venture, the ship that was wrecked in Burmuda in 1609 during a hurricane. He also survived the hardships of Jamestown with John Rolfe. His name was Edward Eason. He and his wife were on the ship and even delivered a son during that time whom they named Burmudas. I find this history fascinating and wish you all the luck with your searches. I wouldn’t know anything about any of this if it weren’t for my cousin and all his hard work and I just happened upon this site when researching the name Eason.
Thanks,
Cheryl
September 19, 2010 @ 4:32 pm
The Chancery court records for Amelia Co. VA are available online. There is a case instituted by the executors of Samuel Jordan, deceased in 1761, against his son William Jordan, who died around 1781 in Amelia Co VA. William was married first to an Elizabeth Stokes, daughter of Henry Stokes of Henrico Co. Henry Stokes was born around 1700 and died around 1766 so his daughter probably was not born before around 1718 at the earliest. William was married in second in 1747 to Mary Ellis, daughter of John and Elizabeth Ellis. The only child of William and Elizabeth Stokes Jordan was Elizabeth Ann, who went to live with her grandfather in Henrico Co when her father remarried to Mary Ellis. There are deed records in Henrico to support this, and she is mentioned in her grandfather’s will. Her grandmother Ann Stokes became her guardian when her grandfather died with her father’s permission. She was under 15 years of age in 1762, so probably was a baby when her father remarried.
October 13, 2010 @ 10:45 am
Bin auf der suche nach Johann-Georg Jordan.1908-1910/ungefär/von Russland nach USA verreist.Habe Foto von im. Er ist Bruder von meinem Opa Jakob Jordan und hat noch Brüder-Konrad,Heinrich, Philipp,Fridrich.Schwester Emilia, Maria.Alle von der Wolga(Hussenbach)
October 28, 2010 @ 10:44 pm
I am a descendant of Samuel Jordan of Jamestown. My father James D. Jordan was a member of the James Town Society and we have a lot of the documents to support this as he needed to do so to become a member. Let me know if there is anything you need and I will see what I have. My father and I worked on a lot of this together so when he passed away I was left with all our research.
Martha
November 9, 2010 @ 9:30 pm
For more on the Ancient Lines of the Fleming Family see book now for sale
at amazon . com called Ancient Genealogy of the Fleming Family by Lawrence F. Fleming recently released this year.
He also has another book on the Irish Slane Flemings who were kin also to the
Flemings of Biggar, Wigtoun, Cumbernauld, Rydal Cumbria and Devonshire.
History in the Ancient Genealogy of the Fleming family takes us back to Flanders
and to Vicecomtis Erkenbald and his sons and grandsons who were branded
with the surname of Fleming aka Flemyng aka Flamingus aka Flandrensis in the UK.. settling in Devonshire and migrating to other parts when the Flemish were booted out of England by King Henry.
Both books are a treasure trove of Fleming surname info
I also have 4 sale the CD BOOK “FLEMISH INFLUENCE IN BRITAIN” by J Arnold Fleming of Glasgow Scotland over 800 pages of history for the Fleming surname and flemish people in general and the impact on UK from c1066 – 1900s
contact me via email jflemming@iprimus.com.au if interested
December 11, 2010 @ 2:51 pm
To Martha Jordan Burcham,
At the time of the Indian Massacre in March of 1622, Thomas Palmer and his wife Joane (maiden name was Jordan) were living there near Cittie Pointe near Samuel Jordan and his family. Do you know if Joane Jordan Palmer was any relation to Samuel Jordan? Some sites link them as father-daughter. Others do not. A good geneologist once told me there was no connection that could be found but did not discard the possibility anyway.
December 11, 2010 @ 2:56 pm
From what I remember during my geneologie study is that after the Viriginia Company was dissoved in 1624 or 1625, I don’t see any musters (census) that were done for many years. Looked like the geneology tracking gets real tough for a number of years. Could it be that people came or were born in the New World after 1625up until many years later are difficult to track? It appears so to me. Also, I’ve heard that many courhouses were burned down during the Civil War and census records lost.
June 7, 2011 @ 2:50 pm
I am a descendant of Rev. War patriot, William Jordan who moved to Williamson County, TN I need to know the name of his father and grandfather and THE PROOFS that go with them. I’ve seen the name of Edward Jordan listed as his father, and his grandfather is stated to be William Jordan. There is 4 years difference in their birth years and Mary Stoked lives to be over 100 years!! I strongly doubt this is correct.
Help out there!!! Please.
I would like to join the Jamestowne Society and also the Magna Charta if I can get this cleared up to prove the correct lineage. Thanks.