The war with the Tuscarora Indians had begun in 1711 at about the time that Jones and his neighbors had appealed to Virginia for aid, and it was not to end until 1713 when the greater part of the defeated tribe moved north to New York to become the sixth part of the Iroquois Confederation. In October 1712 Jones' plantation was attacked; but in a letter from the president of the council, Pollock, to the Governor of South Carolina, it was stated that the attackers were "... beat off, none killed of our people."[83] Although there was no loss of life, it would appear that the effect on Jones' plantation was considerable.
In the Journal of the House of Burgesses at Williamsburg it was recorded that on November 5, 1712, "Frederick Jones, who some years ago removed two slaves out of this colony into North Carolina, his plantation having been totally ruined by the hostilities there; asks permission to bring his said negroes back again without paying duty."[84] Although the petition was granted, there is no indication that Jones did, in fact, return. The important phrase in this notice of petition is the "who some years ago," for it seems probable that this refers to the time when Jones left James City County to settle in North Carolina. Working on the assumption that "some years ago" would be unlikely to refer to a period of time short of three or four years, it can be construed that the date of removal fell in 1708 or 1709 at the latest.
However the evidence is interpreted, it still remains curious that Jones should have purchased the 100 acres of "Lutties Neck" in 1711 and that he should sell a 300-acre tract known as "Tutties Neck" to Judith Bray, when in fact he appears to have possessed a total of 400 acres in James City County, only one of which is known to bear a name resembling Tutter's or Tutties' Neck. The only reasonable construction must be that Mathew Brown's escheated acres adjoined 300 acres that already constituted Tutter's Neck. But even then there remains the problem of why only "by estimation, three hundred acres, more or less"[85] were sold to Mrs. Bray. No evidence has been found to show what became of the remaining 100 acres, and the only Virginia property mentioned in Frederick Jones' will of April 9, 1722, was described as "lying in King William County in Virginia, commonly called Horns Quarter."[86]
It is unfortunate that the direst gap in the documentary evidence spans much the same period as does the archeological data. However, the genealogy of the Bray family is of some assistance, providing clues even if it cannot offer direct answers. When Thomas Bray died on August 2, 1751, he was described as "Col. Thomas Bray, of 'Little Town,' next to 'Kingsmill,' on James River."[87] That property, lying to the east of the Kingsmill tract, can be traced back as far as 1636, and it is known to have been owned by the Pettus family in the latter part of the 17th century.[88] In about 1697 James Bray, son of James Bray, Sr., of Middle Plantation (later Williamsburg) married Mourning, widow of Thomas Pettus, Jr., and so acquired the "Little Town," or "Littletown," tract.[89] This James Bray had three children, of whom Thomas was the eldest and thus became heir to his father's estate.
James Bray, Jr., had two brothers (as well as a sister). The eldest son, Thomas, died intestate. David, the youngest of the three, married Judith (b. 1679, d. Oct. 26, 1720), by whom he had one son, David, Jr.,[90] who married Elizabeth Page (b. 1702, d. 1734) and had no heir. The previously discussed transaction of 1732 following the death of David Bray, Jr., whereby Thomas Bray obtained the "Tuttie's Neck" acres that had been purchased at an unspecified date by Judith Bray,[91] would suggest that Frederick Jones retained the title until 1717. This may be deduced on the grounds that Mrs. Bray would have been unlikely to have purchased land while her husband, David Bray, Sr., was still alive. Thus Jones would seem to have sold Tutter's Neck between 1717 and 1720 when Judith Bray died.
Thomas Bray, as stated above, lived at Littletown, and there is no likelihood that he ever resided at Tutter's Neck. He married Elizabeth Meriwether and by her had one child, a daughter named Elizabeth who married Col. Philip Johnson.[92] The daughter died in 1765, and when her husband followed her in 1769 "six hundred acres, with the appurtenances, called and known by the name of Tutty's neck" were offered at auction.[93] It was presumably at this time that the Tutter's Neck land was added to the neighboring Kingsmill plantation of Lewis Burwell. William Allen, of Surry County, purchased Littletown in 1796, and in 1801 he added Kingsmill to his holdings along, one supposes, with Tutter's Neck; for in the inventory made at Allen's death in 1832 the latter property was listed as comprising 923 acres and valued at $2,330.00.[94]
As the archeological site under consideration was not occupied beyond the colonial period, there is no need to pursue its history through the 19th century. It is enough to note that Tutter's Neck is included in parcel no. 4 of the Kingsmill Tract now owned by Williamsburg Restoration, Inc. Part of this parcel is leased to the Chesapeake Corporation through whose courtesy excavation was made possible.
Captain Roger Jones and
Frederick Jones
The discovery of the Tutter's Neck site and its artifacts associated with Frederick Jones arouses interest in the man himself and his place in colonial America. While those facets of his career directly relating to Tutter's Neck have been outlined above, a few additional facts may serve to round out our picture of the man.
In 1680 Capt. Roger Jones of London came to Virginia with Lord Culpeper and was given the task of suppressing piracy in Chesapeake Bay. His efforts in this direction resulted in considerable personal gain and he was able to amass extensive Virginia property. Eventually Roger Jones' activities caused so many complaints that he relinquished his office and returned to London. In 1692 a letter of petition from the Council of Virginia to the Earl of Nottingham, King William's principal Secretary of State, complained bitterly about the ravages by pirates to ships carrying supplies to the colony and in particular about the conduct of Roger Jones. This petition, signed by Francis Nicholson and others of the Council, contained the following enlightening passage: