Friday, July 7, 2023

Edward Fitz Randolph Died by 1677 NOT 1684 or 85

 

Edward Fitz Randolph Died by 1677 NOT 1684 or 85

Elizabeth (Blossom) Fitz Randolph: a Widow on 21 March 1676/77

By Jean M. Hoffman, CG

 Edward’s death date is a point of contention as evidenced by his profile at WikiTree: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Fitz_Randolph-42. He clearly died prior to his widow’s remarriage on 30 June 1685,[1] but how long before? Land records reveal his wife Elizabeth as a widow years earlier.

 The New Jersey State Archives provide many searchable databases online (https://wwwnet-dos.state.nj.us/DOS_ArchivesDBPortal/index.aspx ). The one of interest here, under the heading “Land, Probate & Court Records,” is Early Land Records, ca. 1650-1900s. This database currently indexes over 74,857 land records held by the New Jersey State Archives. The earliest existing deeds and surveys in over 120 record books are included. Many index entries link to images of the original records.

 A search for Elizabeth Fitz Randolph in Middlesex County returns four results. They are for the warrant, survey, and patent of her land and a listing as an adjoining landowner in another person’s survey. The warrant is the earliest record, dated 21 March 1676/77. It is for 300 acres in Piscataway, Middlesex County, East Jersey, going to Widow Mrs. Elizabeth Fitz Randolph "in Right of her self her husband and three sons John, Joseph, and Thomas".[2] This is the widow of Edward Fitz Randolph as the sons listed are their known sons and this is the place where the family then lived.

 Search Results:

 The entries list the location of the document and in this case allow access to a digital image of each of the documents. Here is the recording of the warrant, one of many on the page:

For Elizabeth to be termed a widow and proceed with this land transaction, her husband, Edward Fitz Randolph was already deceased by the date of the warrant, 21 March 1676/77.



[1] Louise Aymar Christian and Howard Stelle Fitz Randolph, The Descendants of Edward Fitz Randolph and Elizabeth Blossom, 1630 - 1950 (n.p.: n.pub., 1950), 5; citing note 7, Piscataway, N. J. Vital Records; digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/descendantsofedw00chri/page/n385/mode/2up : viewed 7 July 2023).

[2] General Board of Proprietors of the Eastern Division of New Jersey, Surveys and Warrants (1675-1997), Liber 2, Part B (1675-1738), folio 52.



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