The Mysterious
Cicely Reynolds-Jordan
At or about the same time, if not on the same vessel, in the year 1611, a ten year old girl named Cicely Reynolds, and a comparatively young widower, who had left his small sons behind him in England, arrived at Jamestown in the Colony of Virginia. The young widower was Samuel Jordan, who afterwards established a seat on the James River near its confluence with the Appomattox, which he called "Jorudan's Jorney".
Almost contemporaneously with the coming of these two, but perhaps a year earlier, Sir. Thomas Gates and his companions of the ill fated "Sea Venture" had landed, among them being Capt. William Pierce. This was followed by Joane Pierce, the Captain's wife on the "Blessinge". Capt. Pierce, was a relative in some degree of the young girl Cicely Reynolds, and doubtless the advance arrival of Cicely was known to both Captain Pierce and his wife. Besides, Samuel Jordan, was a near relative of Cicely and her mother's cousin, & still another cousin {of her mother} Silvester Jordain, came about the same time, so there was no lack of relatives to look after the ten year old child, who mother, still living in Dorsetshire, for some reason had consented to her coming.Twelve years later, her brother, Christopher Reynolds, arrived on the "John and Francis" and may have discovered for the first time that his sister was then married to her second husband Samuel Jordan and the mistress of Jordan's Jorney, with a six year old daughter by her first husband, named Temperance Bailey.
These sudden and swift transitions in the life of Cicely Reynolds were characteristic of one of such adventurous spirit as to undertake a long sea voyage into strange lands, even though accompanied by near relatives. She was ten years of age in 1611, and must have married her first husband Bailey when but about 14 years old, as in 1623-4 her daughter Temperance was seven years of age (Vol. 51 Va. Mag. of Hist. & Biog. pp. 384-385). The Christian name of her first husband has not been found, but it is a safe to say he was of the same family as the Samuel Bailey who is know to have married a grand-daughter of Capt. William Pierce, her relative. The grandfather of Cicely Reynolds,of Dorsetshire, England, grand daughter, the mother of Cicely married a Reynolds. Her mother's maiden name was Cicely Fitzpen or Phippen, and she was the daughter of Robert Phippen and his wife Cicely or Cicellie Jordan, Robert Phippen was the son of one Joseph Phippen, whose mother was Alice Pierce, and thus Ciceley Reynolds was related to Capt. William Pierce and his wife Joane. This last couple were the parents of Jane Pierce who married as his third wife another celebrated Virginia character - John Rolfe.
But to continue the story: Samuel Jordan, of Jordan's Jorney, became the second husband of this adventurous daughter of his first cousin Cicely Phippen, and at their home on the James he and his wife and their house hold survived the Indian uprising that occurred in 1622-3. But not long after that Samuel Jordan died. By his first marriage in England he is said to have had three sons Thomas (b.1600), Samuel and Robert Jordan (W. & M. 7, 121) and in all of the genealogical accounts of these Jordans, each of whom came to Virginia, there continual backs up the name of certain Richard Jordan whose parentage is unaccounted for. Incidentally he married before 1654, Elizabeth Reynolds, a daughter of Christopher Reynolds, of Isle of Wight County, VA.
Very shortly after the death of Samuel Jordan, of 'JORDAN'S JOURNEY', one of the legatees in the will of Abraham Persey, A certain Rev. Greville Pooly, vociferously "woed" the widow Cicely Jordan, who rejected his early advances on the ground that she was with child: but thereafter she married Capt. William Farrar, a prominent man of the Virginia council. Thereupon the parson brought what has been called by Alexander Brown "the first breach of promise suit in America". The astute third husband, being a lawyer, succeeded in quashing the proceedings, and Parson Pooly went on his way.
BUT THE CHILD WAS BORN. His name was Richard Jordan, and he married his first cousin (as they so often did in those days) Elizabeth, the daughter of Christopher Reynolds. (See Boddie's 17 Century Isle of Wight). Thus Cicely Reynolds had been married twice and was the mother of one child by each of her first two husbands. By Captain William Farrar, she became the mother of two sons Capt. William Farrar Jr. and Lieut. Colonel John Farrar, of Henrico County, who left no children and never married, so that the girl-emigrant thus became the ancestress of the numerous Farrars of Virginia, through her son William Farrar, Jr. Her third husband, Capt. (or Colonel) William Farrar died about 1635-6. But Cicely was not near through.
In 1621 Peter Montague, then a very young man, came to Jamestown in the "Charles" and was living in James City in 1624 aged 21 years. He was two years younger than Ciceley Farrar, the widow after 1636. He too, had been previously married and had two daughters, then very young, named Dorothy and Sarah. He married the widow Cicely as her fourth husband. His will in Lancaster County names seven children, all obviously her children, but obviously also, not all of his family, thus reflecting his previous marriage.
It was proven in 1659. Sarah Montague, one of the daughters of his first marriage married James Bagnall (6 Va. Mag. of Hist. & Biog. p. 420) and the same authority tells us that the widow of Peter Montague became the wife of Thomas Parker. As Cicely was born in 1601, she was 58 years old at the time of the death of Peter Montague, therefore it is patent that this latter marriage was one of convenience, and that no children resulted. But this alliance with Cicely Montague, alias Cicely Jordan, nee Cicely Reynolds readily suggests an explanation of the persistent intimacy which through the long years existed and continued to exist between the Jordans,Parkers and Reynolds families as reflected by these records (1-16), (1-8), (1-628), (2-619)and other items throughout the list. It is acclaimed by one writer (Boddie's 17 Century Isle of Wight p.239) that the Peter Montague of Lancaster (will 1659) and the one in Isle of Wight, whose un-named widow married Thomas Parker were different persons. This statement is refuted by our records. The author of the "Montague Genealogy" did confuse the parentage, but not the identity of his wife.
(This was taken from (Ray's Index and Digest to Hathaways's) North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register with Genealogical notes and Annotations (Compiled and Edited by Worth S. Ray Baltimore Southern Book Company 1956)
5 Mar 1998
