Starling of Accomack and Northampton Counties
William Starling was baptised on 23 May 1624 as the son of Thomas and Amye Starling in St. James Clerkenwell in London, England. He came to America and is on record as having leased 160 acres for 99 years from John Smith of Nuswattocks in 1658. The land was located in Northampton County near Cowpen Branch and was previously held by Jonathan Ellis. On 20 September 1660 he was a member of the Hungars Parish Register (Bridgetown, VIrginia in Northampton County where he was married to Margaret Sawtelle (anglcized to Short or Edwards). IN 1665 he purchased 120 acres of land from William and Anne Mellinge, and 200 acres from Henry Rosee in 1668. In 1672, he purchased 300 acres from Daniel Foxcroft of Elizabeth City County, wherein he was described as a cooper. William Starling was listed amng some of the early colonial leaders who addressed a long protest to the Act to the House of Burgess in the Colony during 1675 pertaining to the division of their county for the benefit of a few, lack of protection from the Indians, sale of liquor near the court house, and the exemption of some persons from paying their fair share of the taxes. This demand for freedom later gathered support in Bacon's Rebellion against Sir William Berkeley, the Colonial Governor of Virginia. After the death of Margaret, William was married to Mary Blaisdell Stowers on 19 December 1676 in Hungars Parish. He died in 1698 in Northampton County.
Issue by first wife:
- Richard Starling, born 1669 in Accomack County, died 1775. After he was married to Sarah , they removed to King and Queen County. A deposition of Richard Starling given by him in court in 1689 in Northampton County stated that he was "aged 20 years or thereabouts." Richard inherited the lands of his father, and in 1700 sold 150 acres to George Corbin, which was land originally purchased from Daniel Foxcroft. In 1707, Richard sold 10 acres of land, and two years later, the remainder of the land known as "Pigg Point.". Issue:
- Winifred Starling, born 1720 in Halifax County, Virginia, died 1761 in Culpeper County, Virginia.
The above parish church dates back to ca 1740. The land upon which it stands was patented by Rev. John Cotton who served as the second rector, from about 1632 to 1645. Upon the death of vestryman, Robert Vaughan, his estate provided tobacco for the construction of a church building which became known as Nussawattocks Church. Northampton County was organized into two parishes divided by King's Creek in 1642, and in 1663 Accomac Parish was split off from the northern part of Hungar's Parish. In 1653, another vestryman, Stephen Charlton, gave the land for a glebe to support the minister, and his will specified that the church would receive his estate should his daughters die. One of the daughters married young and died while giving birth. The result was litigation which resulted in the dis-establishment of the Epriscopal Church. The Glebe of Hungar's Parish remained the official residence of the ministers of the parish from 1745 until 1850. In 1679, a contract was entered into for the construction of a 40-foot-long wooden church at the Hungars site, but title to the land owned by Major William Spencer was not provided until 1684 . In 1690, Nassawattocks Parish was merged into Hungar's Parish, and Eastville became the seat of Northampton county. Meanwhile, a wooden church was built at what was then called Church Neck by Magothy Bay.
Sources:
Last Will and Testament of William Starling in Northampton County
