The Backstory


Our Edwards family has lived in King William County, Virginia - old Pamunkey Neck - probably since the late 17th century. Much of our family history and genealogy was preserved in Peyton Neale Clarke’s Old King William Homes and Families (1897). Over twenty years ago my sister and I decided to try to fill in some blanks in Clarke’s book. She was to be the genealogist, I the historian. What started as a few simple questions has spiraled barely under control, as answers begged more questions. We now have a project on our hands, hopefully with some form of publication as the result.

Remarkably, unlike any other Virginia county I am aware of, King William has had no single volume history written of it. While portions of the county’s past have been recorded by talented and dedicated amateurs as Elizabeth Hawes Ryland, Alonzo Thomas Dill, and Dr. Malcolm Hart Harris, no one has rendered a comprehensive, inclusive, or scholarly retelling of the lives of its people. Why?

The home of the Pamunkey Indians, the most powerful of the Powhatans who challenged the invading English in 1607, Pamunkey Neck became a convenient refuge for native Americans displaced by these Europeans during the 17th century. Thus the patriarchs of Virginia’s great families were well-established elsewhere by the time the decline of the native population invited large scale settlement of the Neck by the English. Accessible only by water from the direction of English development, and lacking any natural resource not found in other parts of Virginia, the narrow peninsula of land was of minor economic importance to the colony for most of its first two centuries of white - and black - settlement. The lack of a convenient escape route made the Neck very unattractive to large bodies of soldiers, thus sparing it as a location for major military events. Finally, King William is a “Burned County;” its written official records have suffered multiple fires over the years. Thus the holy grail of historians, primary sources, are in short supply.

Thus deprived of documentation and the strong suits prized by historians - great men, wealth, or slaughter - Pamunkey Neck has been virtually hidden in plain sight, centrally isolated for centuries.

However, a closer reading reveals a fascinating story of a tri-racial community that took an active part in the development of both the colony and state of Virginia. My ancestors - and if you are taking the time to read this, probably yours - were part of that history, not just observers from the banks of the Pamunkey and Mattiponi Rivers. Bit by bit I am trying to recover their past, to write my family’s history. In doing so I will also be writing the history of their community, our state, and country.

Would you like to help?