[Continuing Barbara Vines Little's research on John Rector.]
On 17 October 1774, William Lodspik [Lotspeich] and Magdaline [Klug] his wife of Culpeper County sold John Rector 62 acres in Brumfield Parish in the great fork of the Rappahannock on head branch of Crooked Run corner to Charles Taylor and land formerly belonging to Thornton. On 4 May 1776 John Ructor and Rebeccy his wife of Culpeper sold 60 acres beginning at Thornton's corner at Littleton Taylor's spring. Both signed with a mark. This is the last record of John and Rebecca in either Fauquier or Culpeper County records.
On 4 March 1831 Benjamin Rector, Iredell County, North Carolina, filed an application for a Revolutionary War Pension. He stated in part "that he was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, in the year 1761 . . . [and] that he entered [1779] as a Substitute for his father John Rector in Surry County under Capt. Jacob Camplin."
It would appear that John Rector [Jr.], son of John Rector (died 1742), moved to Surry County sometime between 1776, when he sold his Culpeper land, and 1779 when his son Benjamin served as his substitute in a North Carolina regiment. No other children besides his son Benjamin have been identified to date. Benjamin moved to Iredell County ca. 1789 and died in Alexander County, North Carolina, on 11 February 1849. His second wife, Nancy Fendley/Finley, whom he married in Iredell County on 9 October 1806, survived him.
Why John moved to Culpeper and later North Carolina has not been determined. A closer look at his mother or the identification of his wife might provide clues to his migration.
B. C. Holtzclaw stated that John, Jr., had a second wife, Mary, that he left a will of 1815 recorded in Fauquier County, Virginia, and that he had nine children. These facts could not apply to the John, Jr., whose history, including his move to North Carolina, is detailed here. They must apply to another John Rector. John P. Alcock has identified this previously undetected and different John Rector [ Beyond Germanna , v.8, n.2, p.432].
Barbara Vines Little used many land records to trace the path of John Rector, Jr. In her article in Beyond Germanna , she cited eighteen references to fortify her research.
[This Thursday morning, Eleanor and I are starting for East Tennessee to be there on Saturday for the East Tennessee Germanna Reunion. It will be sometime next week before the Notes resume.]
(08 Sep 05)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.