[1650-29 Apr]  OLDEST SURVIVING BRACEWELL RECORD ON THIS CONTINENT

"Articles of Agreement concluded & agreed Between AMBROSS BENNETT of the one partie & THOMAS WEBB of the other partie in manner & forme as followeth Imprimis it is agreed between the parties aforesd that the sd AMBROSS BENNETT doth give unto the aforesd THOMAS WEBB & his heires forever, one acre of Land, that he shall erect a Mill upon, & the priviledge of the Runn that the said Mill doth stand upon, and it is further agreed between the parties aforesd, that if in Case the afforesd THOMAS WEBB be att any tyme disposed to make sale of the aforesd Mill, or Acre of Land, that the sd THOMAS WEBB is to grind the aforesd AMBROSS BENNETTs Corne toll free, & his heires & all them that doo belong to his owne family for ever, And it is further agreed between the parties aforesd, that the sd AMBROSS BENNETT doth sett & lett unto the aforesd THOMAS WEBB Sixty Acres of Land for the terme of Thirty years complett & ended, bounded of the one side upon the path, that goeth to the Church bounded on the other side, as farr as the aforesd AMBROSS BENNETTs Land doth runne & soe over the Runn, & soe bounded upon the Land of Mr ROBERT BRACEWELL, and from his Land A Cross over the path that goeth to the Church It is agreed between the parties aforesd, that the sd THOMAS WEBB, is to give the aforesd AMBROSS BENNETT in Consideracon of the aforesd Land three thousand pounds of tobacco & Cask & one hogshead of ground meal, to be paid ready downe the Tobaccoe to be paid fifteen hundred in the year, of our Lord God One thousand Six hundred fifty & two, & for the true performance hereof wee have Enforechangeably sett our hands & seales the 29th of Aprill 1650.

The word heires incerted AMBROSS A BENNETT (seal)

in the first article was done

by the consent of AMBROSS THOMAS W WEBB (seal)

BENNETT being only his mark

forgotten att the first soe along

Teste ROBERT BRACEWELL

her mark

ANN A BENNETT

This was entered in the indyent

= water way . . . .

Signed Seal & delivered in the presence of

HENRY PRESTON 9th February I AMBROSE BENNETT

GEORGE RAWLEY

acknowledged the the within written Articles In open cort held for the Isle of Wight County & by him proved to be Recorded which is accordingly Ordered & done & Examined per me

Joseph Combe, Clerk Deputy. . ."

RECORD OF WILLS, DEEDS, ETC., VOL.1, 1662-1715, page 426

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Commentary. This document is important not only as the oldest surviving Braswell record on this continent--thus fixing the approximate arrival time of our Immigrant ancestor to these shores--but also provides a history of the grain mill later acquired by him and mentioned prominently in his 1668 will. { The present location of the old mill site is just south of Virginia Route 644 where it crosses Cypress Creek, on land owned by Eddie Bowman. The remains of the old mill dam are still visible, a few hundred yards south of the highway} It is probable that this agreement, as well as his will, were written by Rev. Robert Bracewell himself. Too much has already been made of ANN BENNETT’s signature just below and to the right of the Reverend’s, but it appears that she leaned familiarly over his right shoulder to "make her mark," the first of many Braswell enigmas.

Carey Bracewell