. Jonathan Weldon was probably born in South Carolina and he met and married Mary Hanks there. It may have been his second marriage, because he was about 42 at the time. The couple moved to "south of the Roanoke River" before finally heading West into Pittsylvania County shortly before it was formally incorporated. You'll also find several Hanks families that moved to Pittsylvania County about the same time.
Thomas L. Hooker has written a book on the Weldons. He wrote elegantly about Jonathan's family: "The Weldons most likely were similar to thousands of other poor yet hardy people who moved away from the Atlantic coast in hopes of creating a living out of the wilderness. Arriving in the area, the Weldons, found a bountiful land of rolling hills covered by open woods, sparkling streams and broad sweeps of rich meadows. Wild game was plentiful with large numbers of bear. Buffalo still roamed the hills of Pittsylvania County as late as the 1730s."
Governor Thomas Jefferson issued a grant to Jonathan on June 14th 1780. He paid 80 shillings for this grant. He had 250 acres in the southeastern corner of the county (located between Kentuck and Laurel Grove.)
The couple raised 9 children on this farm: Susannah, Isaac, Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah, Jonathan Jr., Lida, Frances, and William Dale.
Some say that Jonathan fought in the Revolutionary War and that he fought for the patriots at Yorktown. However - the battle was just two months before his death, so it was unlikely that this was him. (He would have been 58, too.) His son Isaac may have participated in the War.
Here is Jonathan's Will (probated October 15, 1782, Pittsylvania County, VA): :
" I lend unto my wife Mary Weldon the plantation whereon I now live and the stock of all kind and one bed and furniture during her lifetime.
To my son: Jonathan Weldon, 100 acres at the upper end of my land
To my son Isack Weldon: 100 acres of land joining Jonathan's
To my son: William Dale Weldon: 50 acres of land where I now live, after the decease of my wife, and ten pounds cash.
To my daughter Susanah Weldon, one feather bed and furniture.
To my four youngest daughters: Elizabeth Weldon, Sarah Weldon, Mary Weldon, and Lida Weldon, all my moveable estate that my wife is possessed of at her death with the exception of the ten pounds that is to be paid to my son William Dale Weldon.
I appoint my wife, with Moses Hanks and John Wller, executors.
Witnesses: John Creel (pastor of the oldest Baptist Church still active), James Addams, John (X) Pond, Fortan Dodson., and James Adams security for Mary Weldon."
After Jonathan died, Mary married William Pearman (in 1785), and after he died, she moved to the Abbeville District of South Carolina with, at least, her youngest Weldon son (William Dale. (You'll find that William Dale, the youngest child, named many of his children after his step-father, Pearman.) (Lida may have moved to the area with her mother.)
Oaths of Allegiance - 1777 Pitssylvania County, VA: Jonathan Weldon (Appears on Charles Kennon's list)
See FT 1800690: From notes originally prepared by Jacqueline Kimberlin Higdon:
The parents of Jonathan Weldon are unknown at this time. Jonathan and his wife Mary Elizabeth were early Virginia settlers in what is now Pittsylvania County.
The Weldons most likely were similar to thousands of other poor yet hardy people who moved away from the Atlantic coast in hopes of creating a living out of the wilderness. Arriving in the area, the Weldons, found a bountiful land of rolling hills covered by open woods, sparkling streams and broad sweeps of rich meadows. Wild game was plentiful with large numbers of bear. Buffalo still roamed the hills of Pittsylvania County as late as the 1730s.
Although no records document the exact year Jonathan came into this county, his first recorded land acquisition involved a grant of 804 acres on the waters of Lower Double Creek. Jonathan Weldon's grant in the southeast corner of the county was first surveyed for Nathaniel Hughes on 12th Feb 1766. Whatever interest Hughes had in the property was assigned to Jonathan Weldon through a grant issued by Governor Thomas Jefferson on 14th Jun 1780. Weldon paid 80 shillings to the Commonwealth for this grant. Adjoining property was owned by Thomas Walkins, Charles Weatherford and Henry Tally. The farm was located between Kentuck and Laurel Grove. His land was toward the end of present Highway 711, also called Slayton Road, off of Route 729.
Once the land was obtained the Weldons likely cleared the land of forests for planting. Life must have been difficult in those early days, in part because Indian raids had been a threat in the recent past. During the period of the French and Indian War (1750s) several forts were built nearby to protect the settlers.
The 1903 family history by William Gray Welden, "Sketch of the Welden Family', states that all of Jonathan Welden's (Weldon's) children were born in Pittsylvania County, and that he had three sons; Isaac, Beverly and Jonathan(II), the latter son was born in 1776 and being the one from which Donna Carpenter, a fellow researcher, descends. This history indicates there were at least three daughters; Susan, Sallie(Sarah) and Frances, and that during the Revolutionary War the two oldest sons left home; Beverly Welden moving to a northern state and Isaac Welden moving further south.
In a will signed by Jonathan Weldon, on 18th Dec 1781, and still on file at the Pittsylvania County Court House, shows that the three sons were Isaac, Jonathan(II), and William Dale Weldon. Six daughters were named; Susannah, Frances, Elizabeth, Sarah (Sallie), Mary and Lida(Lydia). Also, Jonathan Weldon did not reach Pittsylvania County until after his marriage to Mary Elizabeth Hanks, therefore some of their elder children may have been born elsewhere. Jonathan's will was witnessed by four of his neighbors, which included John Creel (who was the pastor of the oldest Baptist Church (Kentuck) that is still active in this Virginia county), and John Henry (a cousin to Patrick Henry).
In William Gray Welden's book he states Jonathan Welden (he spells it with an "e") fought for the patriots at Yorktown. There are no records at the National Archives to support this, though it is known many are not recorded. The Battle of Yorktown occurred just two months before Jonathan's death in 1781, at which time he stated he was "sick and weak of body", this makes it doubtful that he saw active service.
Following the death of her husband Jonathan's widow married a second time to William Pearman. After the death of her second husband Mary Elizabeth moved to the Abbeville District of South Carolina by 1806.
I write:
Jonathan's parents are unknown.
Many familiy trees trace his lineage as follows:
1. Gabriel Whelden (b. abt. 1590, Nottinhamshire, England, d. Abt. 1654 Malden, MA) (May have married daughter of a Wampanoag Sagamore, a younger brother of Massosoit")
2. John Whelden [b. abt. 1630, England, d. Yarmouth, MA] m. Mary Folland
3. John Whelden [b. abt. 1658, Mass., d. 1706 Charleston, SC], m. Mary. [The family was with group of people who fled from Salem, MA. They shipwrecked off of Cape Fear and were led to South Carolina. Set up the Wappetaw Congregation.
4. Jonathan Whelden {b. abt. 1689, Salem, MA, d. April 17, 1736, Charleston, SC], m. Elizabeth Dubose [b. 1691, Berkeley Parish, SC, d. 1736, Charleston, SC].
-- and, finally -- 5. Jonathan Whelden [b. 1735]- m. Mary Elizabeth Hanks.
(Note: the names are variously spelled: Whelden, Whilden, Wheldon, Whildon, Welden]
This lineage is plausible & it's certainly romantic - but the definitive link between the Pittsylvania County Jonathan Weldon and the child of Jonathan and Elizabeth Weldon in Charleston hasn't been found as of this writing. In fact, the only reference that I can find of a Jonathan Weldon before he arrived in Pittsylvania County is for a marriage record in Berkeley County, SC, and this was to a woman named Ann King (12/19/1749).
Another researcher traces the lineage as follows: (See Dent Family Tree, tracing William Dale Weldon Family):
1. Gabriel Whelden m. Margaret Weeks and Margaret (princess of Wampanoag Tribe).
2. John Whelden m. Mary Folland.
3. John Whelden [b. abt 1658 Essex County, MA, d. 5/11/1743 Charleston SC], m. Mercy Taylor
(this is different than other famly trees).
4. Jonathan Whelden (b. 1/13/1705/06, Yarmouth, MA), d. 4/17/1746, Christ Church Parish,SC; m. Mary Stevens 8/10/1732. [b. 2/21/1708/09 Stonington, CT, d. Aft. 3/4/1793.
5. Jonathan Weldon, b. 11/1/1733, Halifax County, VA (m. Mary Elizabeth Hanks)
Notes for Mary Elizabeth Hanks:
Mary Elizabeth Hanks' lineage is also in dispute -- and, in constructing this family tree, I became hopelessly confused! Her family has been extensively researched, primarily because Nancy Hanks married Abraham Lincoln, and many have strained to connect through to this family.
Most family trees speculate that Mary Elizabeth Hanks' father was Luke Hanks, bn Abt. 1715 Richmond County, VA, d. 1789 in Anderson County, SC. He married (1) Ann Harris in 1740 and (2) Nancy Dale. Luke farmed in Richmond County, then moved to Prince William County, where he inherited land from Nancy Dale's father, Thomas. The family moved to Anderson County, South Carolina sometime after 1784. Mary Elizabeth Hanks moved to a neighboring South Carolina county after her second husband died. In addition, the "Dale" name was passed down as a middle name within the Weldon families.
Luke Hanks' father was also named Luke Hanks (b. 1685 in Richmond County, VA). This Luke married Elizabeth Glascock in 1718, Richmond County, Virginia. Luke was the son of William Hanks and Sarah Woodbridge (daughter of Paul). William was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Lee. Thomas was born abt. 1625 in Shropshire England. They moved to the colonies sometime before 1653.