I just posted this query to the Newbold Family message board on Ancestry.com. In order to give it the widest possible audience and chance of a response, I am duplicating it here on my blog.
I am researching the Henderson family of Somerset County MD and as part of that, am trying to clarify their connections with the 17th-century Newbold family.
Comfort, the daughter of John Henderson, is believed to have married Francis Newbold, s/o Thomas and Jane Newbold, as early as ca 1715. I have gathered from other posts on Ancestry and online that Thomas Newbold may have been a "Merchant of London" originally from Derbyshire or Leicestershire, who emigrated to Accomack County VA ca 1674. Many online sources give his wife's name as "Jane Layfield." I don't know what proof there is of her surname, but the Layfields were in proximity at the time, and were also connected to the Hendersons.
According to online genealogies, Thomas Newbold and Jane Layfield had at least two sons, John and Francis, both said to have been mariners. There is apparently a strong seafaring tradition in the family, and the children of both of these brothers were known to have traded along the eastern seaboard and into the Caribbean. This fact, combined with the Henderson's strong connections with Onslow County NC, makes me think that the Newbolds of Onslow County NC and possibly also of the Caribbean, may trace back to these two brothers?
The Francis Newbold I am working on is found living in the Somerset Co MD household of John Henderson in 1725 (although he is found as the head of his own household in Somerset until at least 1740, after which Somerset County split and tax lists from the new county, Worcester, are not available). Wife Comfort Henderson Newbold is mentioned in John Henderson's 1743 Worcester County MD will, so we know that she was still living as late as 1743, which would mean that some or all of Francis's children belonged to *Comfort Henderson Newbold,* not to the "Mary" he was married to at the time he wrote his 1777 Sussex Co DE will (again, assuming that the Francis Newbold who d in 1777 Sussex Co DE was the same as the one in earlier Somerset Co MD). Most online genealogies I have seen so far attribute all of Francis's children (possibly an incomplete list based on those living at the time of his will) solely to Mary.
It is possible that researchers are mixing two Francis Newbolds, but it seems unlikely, unless perhaps he had a same-name, same-generation cousin in the same county at the same time (always a possibility, as any researcher knows). I believe it more likely, however, that researchers are simply unaware of Francis's first wife, and assume Mary was his only wife. If I am wrong, I hope someone will please contact me and help me sort this out. Additionally, I would like to correspond with descendants of this couple who might also be interested in the Henderson side of the family.
If any interested descendants or researchers would care to work with me on this line to help me clarify the Newbolds, or to learn more about the 17th-century Hendersons of the Eastern Shore, please contact me at info.itsallrelative@gmail.com
