Virginia Sams

Our Samses started out in Virginia (possibly).
Beck Sams thinks South Carolina is a possibility.
At any rate, our story (true or not) begins in Old Rappahannock County (part of which became Essex County in 1694), Virginia - 1686 - with James Sams.
James moved further west to Spotsylvania County between 1716 and 1723. He died there in 1726.
Next ancestor William moved further west to what is now Henry County (the property, near Martinsville, was originally in Lunenburg County (1746), then Halifax (1752), then Pittsylvania (1767), and finally Henry (1777). William died in Henry County in 1779.
Next ancestor William, b. 1755, moved still further west, to North Carolina (possibly), then Kentucky, then Illinois.

Henry County
Fothergill, Augusta B. and John Mark Naugle. Virginia tax payers, 1782-87, other than those published by the United States Census bureau.. ([Richmond? Va.] 1940).
     
name               poll tax?    slaves      county      earliest year
      Sams, William          1                     Henry           1782

Adams, Lela C. Henry County, Virginia, deed books I & II, 17 February 1776 through 22 July 1784 : including surveys made from March 1778 through June 10, 1783 (Bassett, Va. : Adams, c1975.)
p. 58 John Sams - survey made March 20 1778 - branches of Turkey Creek of Smith River
         William Sams - adjoining property s. side of Smith River
   list of surveys - Cascade (location) acr. 411, Wm Sams and someone else
        ditto - Matrimony Creek - 215 acres
Adams, Lela C Abstracts of deed books III & IV of Henry County, Virginia, August 1784 through June 1792 (Bassett, Va. : Adams, 1978.)

DB5 p. 318-9          26 Oct 1796 - PR 27 Feb 1797
    William Mills to Elijah Sams of Henry Co 100 pounds for ~300 acres on both sides of Matrimony Creek
Adams, Lela C. Henry County, Virginia will abstracts, vol. 1 & II, 1777-1820. (Easley, S.C. : Southern Historical Press, c1985.)
      I-17 LWT Merry Webb, sr, sick & weak ....6 Feb 1774
      Pr 15 Feb 1799        wife Elizabeth Webb, daughter Elizabeth Sams
Adams, Lela C. 1778-1780 tax lists of Henry County, Virginia (Bassett, Va. [1973])      
       1778 - Sams James, William, John, Edmund, William sr
       1779 - Samms William sr, jr, John
       1780 - Sams John William sr
Williams, Mike K.1820 Henry County VA census (Signal Mountain, Tenn. : Mountain Press, 1988.)
      Sams - Elijah      231301-10001
                 William    100100-00100
Murray, Nicholas Russell. Computer indexed marriage records of Henry County, Virginia. (Hammond, La. (P.O. Box 278, Hammond 70404) : Hunting for Bears, [1986-) [v.13] Henry County, Virginia, 1778-1849.
      1821 Jan 12 Sams John - Nancy Pratt
      1842 Jan 8 Elijah Samms - Caroline Watkins
      1843 June 26 Elijah Samms - Sally Nance
      1846 Aug 3 Sams Catherine - Charles Doland

Spotsylvania County
Fothergill, Augusta B. and John Mark Naugle. Virginia tax payers, 1782-87, other than those published by the United States Census bureau.. ([Richmond? Va.] 1940)..
      name             poll tax?          slaves          county             earliest year
      Sams, John                                             Spotsylvania     1782
                Joseph   1                    2                        ditto

Back to Sams Home page
Back to Home
To Virginia Home

contact me at: lee@leesgenes.com

page last updated 10 September 2004