Stith Family
Robert Bolling and Anne Stith
In 1681, widower Robert Bolling married Anne Stith, the
daughter of Major John Stith. The couple had five sons and two daughters:
Robert, Stith, Edward, Anne, Drury, Thomas, and Agnes.
After 28 years of marriage, Robert Boiling died on July 17,
1709, following a lengthy illness.
The Bolling brothers
had their father's landholdings legally partitioned and then swapped land among
them. Drury (b. June 21, 1695) inherited the family seat at Kippax. Under his
ownership, the plantation extended to over 500 acres. Drury died in 1726,
leaving his wife Elizabeth and daughter Frances (b. 1724) to reside on the
plantation.
A probate inventory of his possessions, taken in January
1726, indicates that Drury left an estate worth estimated 543 pounds sterling,
including 12 African-American slaves. This inventory, while not room by room,
suggests at least two structures on the property in 1726, a main dwelling house
and quarter. The presence of at least four bedsteads, quantities of imported bed
linen and cloth, and an extensive collection of ceramics, furniture, and books
suggest that the Bolling’s lived a relatively affluent and comfortable
lifestyle. Drury's inventory also lists several items commonly associated with
the Indian trade. Interspersed among the listing of his furnishings, livestock,
and slaves are
“one Indian basket, a
parcel old metal buttons, teaspoons, two pairs of small still yards, artificial
flowers and beads ... 1 ½ gross new
pipes”.
The buttons, buckles, bells, artificial flowers, and other
"trifles" reflect objects mentioned by many 17th-century traders.
Whether these items remained from his father's business activities or were the
result of Drury's participation in trade with Native Americans is unclear.
Archaeological excavation of a 7-foot-square brick-lined
cellar, filled between 1730 and 1750, provides possible physical evidence of
Drury's role as a merchant/trader.
A wide range of
domestic artifacts were recovered from the cellar fill, including an early
18th-century antler handle knife, a folding knife, a trade gun side plate,
buttons, buckles, straight pins, and a bottle seal marked DB (Drury Bolling
[?]).
Analysis of the artifacts indicates that the cellar was
filled over a relatively short period. The majority of the artifacts were
recovered from the dark organic level just above the clay floor. The date of
deposition and the DB bottle seal suggest that the artifacts may represent the
change in households that occurred following the death of Drury Bolling in 1726,
or changes following the marriage of his daughter Frances to Theodorick Bland
in 1739.
Perhaps the most interesting artifact group recovered from within
the cellar fill is the 1,775 glass trade beads. These beads are probably of
Dutch or Italian manufacture and date to the 17th century. The red, blue, and white colors have
significance in Native-American cosmology; blue and white are representative of
knowledge and light, and red represents fire and the rejuvenative aspects of
fruit and berries. Most of the beads were recovered during screening of the
soil; however, one strand of beads was discovered intact during excavation.
These imported beads represent the Bolling’s participation in
trade with the Native-American population.
Some Chesapeake archaeologists have suggested that glass
trade beads only occur in any quantity on sites during the first half of the
17th century when Native-American trade peaked. They have concluded that the
appearance of a few trade beads on colonial sites after the mid-17th century
suggests usage primarily by colonists. The large quantity of beads recovered at
Kippax, while of later date, suggests continued trade activities with Native
Americans and subsequent use by African-American slaves rather than primary
usage by colonists.
The two most significant items at Kippax that can be firmly
connected to the fur trade are the beads and the steelyards listed in Drury’s
inventory.
Steelyards are unequal arm balances, a type of scale that
utilizes levers and weights. Steelyards were carried by traders and used to
weigh furs and powder.
The other Native-American trade item found in both the 1726
inventory and in the excavations at Kippax is beads.
Documentation suggests that glass beads were a highly prized
commodity that imitated traditional wampum beads. In the early years of
settlement, glass beads were so valuable that the
Virginia Colony
stated that “the Comoditie of Beads was
like to prove the verie Coyne of that Country.”
As William Byrd II learned from experience, “the want of beads or some other trifles
[is] often times a great prejudice to success.”
Linebaugh, Donald W. Kippax Plantation: Traders, Merchants, and Planters. An Exhibit Celebrating the Families
of Pocahontas. Center for Archaeological Research, the College of William
and Mary, Historic Hopewell Foundation, Inc. The City of Hopewell (1995).
Robert Bolling Bowling was born on 26 Dec 1646 in Tower City, London, England. He died on 17 Jul 1678 in Kippax,Charles City, Virginia.
Robert married (1) Anne Meriweather Stith. Anne was born in 1665 in James City, Virginia.
Robert and Anne had the following children:
[Notes]
Robert married (1) Anne Meriweather Stith. Anne was born in 1665 in James City, Virginia.
[Notes]
Robert and Anne had the following children:
+ 2 M i Robert Bolling Bowling II was born on 25 Jan 1681/1682. He died in 1749. 3 M ii Stith Bolling Bowling was born on 28 Mar 1686. He died WFT Est 1687-1776. 4 M iii Edward Bolling Bowling was born on 3 Oct 1687. He died WFT Est 1688-1777. 5 F iv Anne Bolling Bowling was born on 22 Jul 1690. She died WFT Est 1691-1784. 6 M v Thomas Bolling Bowling was born on 20 Mar 1696/1697. He died WFT Est 1698-1787. + 7 F vi Agnes Bolling Bowling was born on 30 Nov 1700. She died in 1762. + 8 F vii Mary "Mollie" Bolling Bowling was born in Oct 1706. She died after 1776. 9 M viii Benjamin Bowling.