Allen line: Robert Booth of Maryland or Virginia or both

As you can probably tell from the title of this post, records are a little confusing, or missing for this man.  We know he was married in Prince George's County, Maryland, and we know his will was filed in Loudoun County, Virginia.  There are also records of a couple of land deals that someone else has found, and so far, that is it.  So, this will likely be a short post.

Speculation about Robert Booth's birthdate and parents are just that, speculation.  It is possible that his parents were Thomas and Mary Booth, but it's also possible that his parents were someone else.  I have seen that he was born in 1700, but I don't think that is accurate.  His first known child was born in 1718, so that puts his marriage in 1717, or possibly sooner.  His wife was Sarah Fillmore or Filmoore.  He may have had a second wife, because the church records of St John's or Piscataway Parish, Prince George's County, note only John and Jane as children of this couple.  Likely Robert moved, with or without Sarah, and other children were recorded elsewhere.  We know there were more children because they were mentioned in his will. 

Robert Booth owned land in Prince William County in 1729-1730, on Dutchman's Creek.  Prince William and Loudoun counties share a short common border, so perhaps Robert's land was near the border of the two counties.  Dutchman's Creek is clearly in Loudoun county now, so borders may have changed.  It appears that Robert stayed there most or all of his life, as he had the land surveyed in 1729/1730 and was still there when a neighbor sold land in 1740/41.

It's hard to tell how much land he owned.  I found a reference to him as a wealthy land owner.  In his will, he give son John 60 acres "where he settled", Jane Stump "my own plantation and 200 acres, Anne Chambers the plantation where MaCough now lives with 200 acres, and James Booth,  Price's place with the remainder of the land.  Alexis Jackson and his wife Henrietta were paying a yearly rent and weren't to be disturbed, but it's not clear whether his is part of James's land or something else.  (I think this Alexis Jackson was the son of another of our ancestors, John Jackson.)  So he clearly had at least 460 acres plus whatever was in James's parcel. The will was written September 20, 1759 and doesn't mention Sarah, so she must have died earlier.  The will was proven March 12, 1760, so Robert died probably sometime during that winter, aged at least 65.  His inventory is so small, valued at only a little over 16 pounds, that it is easy to draw the conclusion that he must have been living with a child at the time of his death.  He had no guns or ammunition, very little in the way of household goods (a cider cask was mentioned, and a broken pot), and just a few animals.  He had two books.  If he had been a wealthy land owner, he had certainly disposed of most of his movable estate prior to his death. 

I don't know if this much land qualifies him as a "wealthy land owner", but it does present the question "Did he own slaves?"  Given the location of his land, not far from the Potomac River, I would guess that the answer is yes but I'd like to document that.  Neither his will nor his inventory indicates slave holding, but that is not conclusive evidence.   

Robert and Sarah had the four children mentioned above.  I have also seen reference to Arthur, and to Eva Margaret.  I believe Eva Margaret was the daughter of a different Robert Booth, and I can't find any reference to Arthur.  Perhaps he died early. ( A sad side note: Robert's son, James Booth, who was married with 4 children, was killed by native Americans June 16, 1778 in what is now Marion County, West Virginia.  He is identified as being a Captain, so perhaps he was on a military expedition, or manning a fort, when he was killed.)

Robert was another ancestor who lived in interesting times and places.  I wonder whether he saw Baraddock's army as they left Virginia, or as they returned after their defeat.  Did he glimpse a young George Washington, who may have surveyed land around him?  Perhaps he even surveyed Robert's land, as Washington is known to have surveyed a lot of Virginia frontier land.  I wonder if this area ever felt threatened by native Americans, during his lifetime.  There are so many things to wonder about!

The line of descent is:

Robert Booth-Sarah Fillmore

Jane Booth-Thomas Stump

Elizabeth Stump-Henry Jackson

Alexis Jackson-Catherine Moore

Eleanor Jackson-Vincent McCoy

Nancy McCoy-George Allen

Edward Allen-Edith Knott

Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook

Their descendants