I had a feeling, before I ever looked into it, that the Ishams were "heighty" folk, because I kept running into people with "Isham" as a first name. Giving the mother's last name to one of the sons was fairly standard practice among a certain segment of society - but .usually only if the mother's family was one to be proud of. Phoebe Isham married Robert Belcher in 1669 and there are sooo many Isham Belchers from then on that it gets really confusing.
I have seen what looks like an excellent genealogy for the Ishams which goes back to 1402 - Robert Isham, who lived at Pytchley, Northhamptonshire, England - here is the link. (This is by John Marshall; last changes made to it on 29 May 2000.)
Another interesting site, with basically the same information, but starting in 1552 is called"Thomas Jefferson's and Other Famous American's Family Trees." This is available here.
Yes, Thomas Jefferson was/is related to the Ishams. His mother was a Randolph and her mother (I think - it could have been her grandmother, I didn't copy it all down) was an Isham.
And, as usual with our foremothers, it is difficult to say who Phoebe's parents were. The Belchers say her parents were Henry Isham and Katherine Banks - but she is not included in the list of Henry and Katherine's children on the sites cited above. Katherine Banks (whose first husband was Joseph Royall) left a will in 1686 and apparently did not mention Phoebe. John Marshall says: that the known children of Capt. Henry Isham and Katherine Banks were . . . Henry Isham d. 1678 at sea, unmarried; Anne Isham, who married Col. Francis Eppes; and Mary Isham, who married Col. William Randolph.
So.
This is not a question I am qualified to discuss, so I won't.
At any rate, it seems to be generally agreed upon that Phoebe Isham married Robert Belcher in Henrico County in 1669, and that they had at least one son, John b~1670.
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contact me at: lee@leesgenes.com
Page last updated 27 August 2004