NameThomas Prickett [Pritchard] I ![](../img/i_tree.png)
Birthabt 1590, England
Deathaft Apr 1623, Gloucester Co., Virginia
Alias/AKAPritchard/Prichett
Notes for Thomas Prickett [Pritchard] I
Hi Craig,
As I was researching Walter Iden Pritchard on line, I was thrilled to discover your father's book.I tried to order it, but the webside would not acknowledge my email address. Furthermore, my printer refused to copy the order form. Please let me know where I should send the check.
It was a wonderful surprise to see your wife's blog about your trip to West Virginia, Buchannon, and even a stop to photograph the stone house Thomas Pritchard built in Leesburg. I hope you had time to visit the Loudoun County courthouse two blocks away to see all the Pritchard and Davis family records.
When I published the Pritchard Family History, I was not aware that Walter Icen and Jessie Lee Jordan were divorced, although it seemed curious that he remained in West Virginia while she went West with her children. I imagine the poor woman was worn out raising that enormous family. Denzil Pritchard, son of Bushrod Washington Pritchard, is in his 90s and told me several years ago that Walter Icen was very much admired. I hope he did not spend his final years alone.
Please be aware that Dr. Jerry O'Connell of Washington, DC, descendant of John Prichard, oldest son of Thomas, Sr. of Leesburg, recently located records in the UK indicating that our immigrant ancestor, Thomas Pritchard, landed at Jamestown in 1610 with his brothers Miles and William. Their surname was spelled Prickett. Miles helped set up the salt mines. then went back to Canterbury, Kent, while Thomas and William purchased considerable land and remained in James City County and Warwick County. Thomas had a "wellborn" son in Jamestown in 1618. His wife may have been Margery Prickett (Prichett/ Pritchard) who was living in Elizabeth City on February 16, 1624. We do not know her maiden name. Thomas died at Warrasqueak some time after April 1623, but before Feb. 16, 1624. The "wellborn" son was Thomas Pritchard of Westmoreland County who died before 1670. His widow married a neighbor, John Brooks, who later committed suicide (was she a shrew?). His son was Christopher (Pritchett/Pritchard) I. Please cross out all references to Thomas Pritchard who arrived on The Abigail in 1620. Jerry proves that was another Thomas Pritchard.
Many thanks for sending me the address where I can purchase the book.
Best regards.
Emily Pritchard Cary
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July 2,2014
Dear Craig,
My Family Tree Maker DNA file connected your family tree with mine and of course I was thrilled because Walter Icen and his descendants are the branch of the family that I know the least about. This led me to your father's book which I tried to order on line, but the website would not accept my email address. In addition, my printer would not copy the order blank. Nothing like quirky electronics. This morning, I had better luck accessing the order form and am sending it together with my check. I'm amazed to learn that he was a superintendent in Prince William County Schools in Manassas. I taught gifted and talented in Fairfax County Public Schools from 1979 to 1993, so perhaps our paths crossed without my knowing. My husband worked for the government in Washington during that time, after which we retired to Arizona to avoid shoveling snow and slipping on ice.
Yesterday, I tried to email you to advise of new discoveries about our early Pritchard (Prickett) line by Dr. Jerry O'Connell, a descendent of John Prichard, eldest son of Thomas Pritchard, Sr. of Loudoun County. Thomas Prickett/Pritchett/Pritchard (all spellings that appear in early records) and his brothers Miles and William of Canterbury, Kent, England were sent to Jamestown by the London Company in 1610, just as Minnie Lowther states in her history of Ritchie County, West Virginia. Miles was in charge of setting up salt mines. All three brothers purchased considerable land. Miles returned to Canterbury where his obituary identifies him as a baker. Thomas had a "wellborn son" in 1618, indicating that the family had stature. Thomas died in 1623, leaving that son, who died in Westmoreland County before Nov, 9, 1670, when his widow married a neighbor who lived on what later became the George Washington Birthplace estate. We do not know the maiden name of the immigrant Thomas's wife, but she may have been the Margery Pritchett/Pritchard who was living in Elizabeth City in 1624. Let me know if you did not receive that email; should that be the case, I will send Jerry's findings in another letter. Zap all information you have about Thomas Pritchard who arrived on the "Abigail" in 1620. An early researcher was certain that he was our Thomas, but Jerry proves that he was not. I trust that you are also aware that William Prichard who married Hannah
Meredith was the youngest son of Thomas, Sr. of Leesburg. Years ago, a genealogist from Fairmont, Marion County, WV was so eager to get her clients into the DAR that she fudged data and invented a mysterious William Pritchard whom she stated was the son of Christopher, brother of Thomas, Sr. The DAR Pritchard records were a mess for many years, but they are now straightened out and nobody is again permitted to enter on the bogus Christopher Pritchard line.
It's rewarding to know that several in your family became educators, as did my father, Ernest Markwood Pritchard, before he joined AT&T in Pittsburgh. We later moved to Philadelphia and lived in Swarthmore, a wonderful Quaker town that thrives in education. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and have done considerable graduate work in archaeology, music, history, ecology, and education. I relate to your life in music. My first teaching job was vocal music in Pittsford, New York.
Our sons studied music and the older one attended the University of Miami on a music scholarship.
Best regards,
Emily Pritchard Cary