Identifying Gerrard Edwards of Fauquier County, Virginia
Until very recently, I believed Gerrard (bef.1738 - 1810) and John Edwards (c.1725 - c.1801) of Fauquier County, Virginia were sons of John Edwards Sr. and Jane Arrington. Gerrard's son, Elijah's estate was administered by a "Thompson Edwards" in 1838, and since Ignatius, son of John Sr., had a proven grandson named "Thomson Edwards" in the 1787 tithables of Stafford County, I figured that was enough of a connection. John Edwards of Prince William/Fauquier was called "orphan boy" in an order of 1744, which made sense if his father died in 1743. But alas, I was working with erroneous assumptions. The evidence suggests that Gerrard and John Edwards, though probably related, actually belong to a different family. Firstly, it seems clear these men are likely brothers. Gerrard Edwards appears in the Fauquier County tithables list of June 1759, with John Edwards appearing just four households away. Living with John Edwards are two tithables, James a...