Randolph Holt I

Vital Information

Field	Value	Source
Full Name	Randolph (Randall) Holt I	Muster of Doctor Potts
Born	~1607, Cheshire, England	WikiTree Holt-1037; Cameron Allen in American Genealogist XXXVII
Died	Between July 1639 and August 1643, likely Hogg Island, Surry, Virginia	Adventurers of Purse and Person: "He was still alive in July 1639 and may have predeceased his wife, who died prior to August 1, 1643"
Immigration	1620-1621, ship George (sailed 1617), with the Sir Francis Wyatt party	Muster of Doctor Potts; Cameron Allen suggests the George came with the Wyatt party
Master	Dr. John Pott, physician general to the colony, later Governor of Virginia	Muster of Doctor Potts; Adventurers of Purse and Person
Released from servitude	Court order 20 Mar 1625/6: to serve until Christmas, then freed with "one suit of aparell from head to foote and three barrells of Corne"	MCGC, p. 98
Wife	Mary Bailey (c.1609-bef. Aug 1643), sole heir of John Bailey	Adventurers of Purse and Person
Married	~1629, Hogg Island, Surry, Virginia	Adventurers of Purse and Person; Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers
Son	Randall Holt Jr. (c.1629-1679)
Jamestowne Society	Qualifying ancestor A4003	Jamestowne Society records

Muster Record (1624/5)

From the Muster of Doctor Potts, transcribed in Hotten (1874):

"men in the MAINE: to James' Citty THOMAS LEISTER, aged 33 years ROGER STANLEY, aged 27 THOMAS PRITCHARD, aged 28 HENRY CROCKER, aged 34; Came in the ABIGAILE, 1620. THOMAS CROSSE, aged 22 JOHN TRYE, aged 20 WALTER BEARE, aged 28 RANDALL HOLT, aged 13 years, in the GEORGE, which sailed 1617."

On February 16, 1625, he was a servant in Pott's household in urban Jamestown. By January 30, 1625, he had moved to Pott's leasehold in the Governor's Land, described as an 18 year old servant.

General Court Order (20 March 1625/6)

"Randall Holte upon his Peticone prefered in Courte shall serve and remaine with Doctor Pott his M[aste]r until Christmas next com twelve moneth. And then Doctor Pott ... to deliver up his Indentures and make him free and to give one suit of aparell from head to foote and three barrells of Corne."

Source: MCGC, p. 98.

Land Records

Date	Description	Source
18 Sep 1636	Patent for 400 acres at head of Lower Chippokes Creek, near Hog Island (transportation due for 8 persons including Thomas Read and John Harris)	Patent Bk. 1, p. 386
20 Jul 1639	Repatented the 400-acre Chippokes tract; headrights included one Francis Holt (possible relative)	Patent Bk. 1, p. 656
Jul 1639	Acquired 490 acres on Hog Island, along with 400 acres his late wife had inherited there	Adventurers of Purse and Person
Before 9 Mar 1640	Sold two Africans to merchant George Menefie of Jamestown/Charles City	Patent to Menefie (Bk. 1, p. 704) noting "two Negroes bought of Randall Holt" as headrights

Biography

Randolph Holt I arrived in Virginia around 1620-1621 as a thirteen year old indentured servant aboard the ship George, which had sailed from England in 1617. Cameron Allen has suggested Holt may have been a relative of Dr. John Pott, and that the George came with the party of Sir Francis Wyatt, newly appointed Governor of Virginia (American Genealogist, XXXVII, p. 89).

Holt served Dr. Pott, who was physician general to the colony and later served as Governor (1628/9-1629/30). The 1624/5 Muster lists him among "Doctor Pott's Men in the Maine" at James City. On 20 March 1625/6, the General Court ordered that Holt serve until Christmas, after which Pott was to deliver his indentures and provide a suit of apparel and three barrels of corn.

Around 1629, Holt married Mary Bailey (Bayly, Baile), the daughter and sole heir of John Bailey, who had inherited the whole of Hog Island (490 to 500 acres) as an orphan on 20 February 1619/20. Mary's guardians were Robert Evers and Richard Bailey (Bailey's surrogate: Edward Grindon). Through this marriage and subsequent patents, Holt accumulated substantial landholdings in what became Surry County: 400 acres at Lower Chippokes Creek (1636), the Hog Island inheritance, and additional acreage, making a plantation of over 1,300 acres.

Sometime prior to March 9, 1640, Holt sold two Africans to merchant George Menefie, who owned a lot in urban Jamestown and a plantation in Charles City. This transaction appears in Menefie's land patent, which lists "two Negroes bought of Randall Holt" as headrights.

Holt was still alive in July 1639 but may have predeceased his wife Mary, who died before August 1, 1643. On that date, a patent for 710 acres was issued to his son Randall Holt Jr. as "sonn and Lawfull heire of Mary Bayley, sole daughter and heire of John Bayly of the said Island." Some online sources give a death date of ~1650, but the scholarly sources in Adventurers of Purse and Person place his death between 1639 and 1643.

Note on identity: A separate entry in Adventurers of Purse and Person for "Randolph Holt" notes that he came to Virginia at Dr. Pott's expense and was used as a headright when Pott patented land on September 1, 1632. The text states he "probably was the same individual identified as Randall Holt I" (PB 1 Pt. 1:113).

Confidence Notes

Claim	Confidence	Note
Birth ~1607 in Cheshire, England	Moderate Signal	Cameron Allen article; Muster age of 13 in 1620 supports birth year
Death between 1639-1643	Strong Signal	Adventurers of Purse and Person analysis of patent records
Death ~1650	Speculative	WikiTree/online sources; contradicted by scholarly analysis
Marriage ~1629	Strong Signal	Consistent across Adventurers and Virginia Immigrants
Prestbury, Cheshire origin	Speculative	Some online sources; not confirmed by Cameron Allen article

Document Sources

Document	Type	Status
Muster of Doctor Potts (1624-1625)	Colonial muster roll	Published; cited in Hotten (1874)
MCGC, p. 98 (General Court order, 20 Mar 1625/6)	Colonial court records	Published
Virginia Land Patent Book 1, p. 386 (18 Sep 1636)	Land patent	Held at Library of Virginia; digitized on FamilySearch
Virginia Land Patent Book 1, p. 656 (20 Jul 1639)	Land patent repatent	Held at Library of Virginia
Virginia Land Patent Book 1, p. 704 (Menefie patent, 9 Mar 1639/40)	Land patent	Reference to sale of two Africans
Adventurers of Purse and Person, 4th ed., vol. II	Published scholarly compilation	Consulted (pp. 311-312)
Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers 1607-1635	Published immigration records	Consulted (p. 398)
Hotten, Original Lists of Persons of Quality (1874)	Published compilation of colonial records	Available on Archive.org
Cameron Allen, "The English Origin of Randall Holt," American Genealogist, XXXVII, p. 89	Published genealogy article	Referenced in Adventurers
American Genealogist, Vol. 7 (1961), pp. 69-94	Published genealogy article	Not yet directly consulted