03/08/2025
THIS FANTASY MUST BE DISCARDED!
It is such a shame that an old wives’ tale continues to be propagated as fact. This fantastic tale goes like this:
Lt. Paul Abney came to Virginia and settled there “evidently through his cousin, Sir Thomas Abney, Lord Mayor of London…” Of course, Lt. Paul’s ship was pirated “about a day’s sail from Virginia” and he stood trial. Before leaving on this “cruise,” as Hensell called it, he had become engaged to Mary Lee (his step-sister, daughter of Rev. Joseph Lee [his mother’s second husband] and Anna.). Dannett Abney (George Abney’s twin), Paul’s brother, brought Mary Lee to Virginia to marry Paul. They married, settled in Nansemond Co., VA and had George Abney. Lt. Paul Abney died and his widow, Mary Lee, married his brother, Dannett Abney Sr. and had children.
The problem with this story, is IT IS NOT TRUE! There are very few facts contained in this romantic story. I have been told there is a marriage certificate of Lt. Paul Abney and Mary Lee in Virginia. I have pressed people to show me. It is impossible to show me, because there is no such a marriage certificate, because the marriage did not happen, because Lt. Paul Abney “the Pirate” NEVER settled in Virginia, NEVER sired George Abney, and NEITHER died nor was buried there! EXCLAMATION POINT!
Perhaps the origin of the story would help. It is an old, poetic fantasy of cousin Agatha Abney Woodson (1859-1952). God bless her for trying, but much of her work with DAR has been debunked, dismissed and/or corrected. She passed this romantic delusion onto Cousin John Hensell who published it in his 1974 manuscript. After receiving many letters about the story’s errors, he changed it in his 1988 manuscript. (I corresponded and met with Cousin John Hensell in person. Although his manuscripts contain hundreds, if not thousands of factual and typographical errors, he was always willing to accept evidence and correct his work, which is what every genealogist should be willing to do.) Although he published a correction over 30 years ago, people still want to believe this beautiful, ridiculous love story that never happened. It is so full of holes and easy to dispute.
A) There is the fact that Sir Thomas Abney was a third cousin, once removed. Ask yourself, how many children of your third cousin from another part of the country do you know (before you began working on your family history)? That would be none. Our Abney branch had not been in Willesley for four generations (after George Abney, Lord Willesley, there was Edmund, who migrated to Leicester, Paul, George and finally our Dannett, and his elder brothers, Paul, Abraham, George). It is doubtful they were that familiar with each other.
B) Nobody would have needed to secure passage to Virginia by “knowing” someone. England very much encouraged colonists to go to the new world…and they provided several ways of getting there, including paying ones way and indentured servants. Dannett Abney Sr. came as an indentured servant. Lt. Paul Abney NEVER came.
C) Lt. Paul stood trial, yes, but in LONDON, NOT in Virginia! Again, there is no proof that he set foot in Virginia.
D) Dannett Abney was NOT George Abney’s twin! They were baptized two years apart! Why would their parents wait two years to baptize a twin? They didn’t. George (bapt.1657) was an elder brother of Dannett (bapt.1659), not a twin.
E) the record of the piracy wherein Lt. Paul’s ship was captured a day’s sail “from” Virginia is kind of confusing at first glance. But, when you know about the “Triangular Trade,” it becomes easier. England’s ships sailed to Africa to trade for slaves with the African locals. From there, they delivered those slaves to the Caribbean Islands. There they would load Cocoa. They would deliver the cocoa to the colonies (i.e. Virginia), pick up a load of To***co, and sail back to England. The fact that the pirated cargo was “coco” proves that the ship had not yet reached Virginia. It was still carrying Caribbean cargo. Therefore “a day’s sail from Virginia” meant “a day’s sail BEFORE reaching Virginia.” The ship, and Lt. Paul, had not yet reached Virginia to unlade her cargo of cocoa. After that, Lt. Paul, himself became a pirate. It is a very interesting subject I covered on page 23 of the Abney Book, vol.I.
F) There is zero evidence of Lt. Paul settling in Virginia. There is neither document nor mention of him. There is no marriage certificate. If there was one, someone would have shown me in the past 40 years, if nothing else, to shut me up. Why would anyone keep saying there’s a document, and fail to show it?
G) We have located the mention of Dannett Abney’s arrival in Virginia through a land grant of John Lee who received land in Nansemond Co., Virginia for the importation of 20 persons. Dannett Abney is included amongst these persons…but NOT a Mary Lee. (There is a Mary Emerson, but one would have to go off the deep end to tie her in as Paul’s wife, Dannett’s wife or even as a Lee.)
H) Mary Lee was NOT Lt. Paul Abney and Dannett Abney’s step-sister. Rev. Joseph Lee’s family is well-documented and there was no daughter named Mary. This author believes she was a daughter of the Reverand’s son, Nathaniel Lee, due to the name being used in four of Dannett’s and Mary’s children’s families (pg. 24 of the Abney Book). Therefore, she would have been (and most probably), at best, a step-niece.
I) I spent many years working out the Abney’s born in Generation One, and their proper birth order. (see Chapt. II of the Abney Book) The children of Dannett Abney Sr. and Mary Lee, in their proper birth order, are as follows:
1. Ursula (bapt.1693) of whom nothing further
2. Dannett Jr. (b.c.1695 – as eldest son/heir, he was summoned to court to see if he had any disagreement with his father’s will, as he received no inheritance) m. Mary Meredith (5 children)
3. George (b.c.1697) m. Unity (6 children)
4. Paul (bapt.1699) m. (n.n.) (4 children?)
5. Dr. Abraham (bapt.1702) m. Cassandra (whom some claim without documentation to have been sister of Mary Meredith) (5 children)
6. Martha (b.c.1705) m. William Spraggins (10 children)
7. Bathshua (b.c.1708) m. Thomas Hill (9 children)
8. Abner (b.c.1711) m. Anne (Key?) (3 children)
9. Mary (b.c.1714) m. John Bernard (6 children?)
To anyone who wishes to continue to propagate the falsehood that Lt. Paul m. Mary Lee, settled in VA and sired George, I challenge…as I have for almost 4 decades now, that person or persons to provide me with that alleged marriage certificate…or ANY one colonial document mentioning Lt. Paul (bapt.1653) living in Virginia.
There was once a belief that James Abney, the “ne’er-do-well” of Willesley also settled in Virginia. Again, this with zero documentation. Upon challenging the genealogists in the 1980’s and 1990’s to produce a document, Cousin Don Abney of Canada stepped up and said he had proof that James Abney and his wife, Margaret sold land to Dannett Abney (Sr.) and his wife Mary. I was very excited. At my request, Cousin Don sent me a copy of the deed. The deed read: James and Margaret HONEY to Isaac Hill, Matthew Lea and Dennet Abney. The deed, being so clear and easy to read, you would have to twist your mind to get ABNEY out of HONEY.
My mentor, and a great genealogist once told me, “Be happy if someone can prove me wrong; because then you’ll have absolute proof, and that’s what you are searching for in the first place.”
If you can prove me wrong, please do…with documentation. If you cannot, please dissuade from propagating this ridiculous fallacy.
RR (R. Robert Abney Jr.)
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