Hugh's name appears in the court records of Northumberland County in the 1667 probate of John Parse's will, which states that Hugh will raise and educate John's two sons and daughter. Hugh was mentioned again in court records in late 1667 and at least twice in Jan 1669. There is a Sarah Statham listed in the 18 Feb 1679/80 claim filed by a Thomas Mathew, who petitioned for 3800 acres of land for transporting 76 people to the colony but it's not known how or whether she fits in with my Statham line. This court record from 19 Jan 1699 appears to be the fulfillment of an indenture. Hugh's land was referenced in a deed record of 1702 but it didn't mention that he was deceased as was common in such cases.
The area where Hugh settled is part of what is called Tidewater Virginia and also includes York County where Hugh's son, Edmund, was a resident in 1702.
According to The Descent of the Family of Statham (TDFS): Hugh was tutor to the orphans of John Pearsy and John Grimstead in Northumberland County (one wonders if this is just a misreading of the above will abstract). The Northumberland County Virginia Court Order Book, 1699-1713, shows that Hugh's will was proved 16 Oct 1700 "by the Oaths of Jonathan Palefry, Sarah Bashaw, Tieg[u]e Allen and Tieg[u]e Cannaday Witnesses to the said Will". The nuncupative will of his widow, Jane Statham, was proved in court by Manly Brown and John Hartley on 17 Mar 1702. I've not yet been able to find either of these wills or any court records.
TDFS has no mention of a son named Edmund Statham and shows Love Statham, Edmund's son, as the son and only issue of Hugh. Edmund Statham certainly existed and, unless Love's year of birth is inaccurate, Hugh couldn't be his father as Hugh died in 1700.
According to TDFS, Hugh was the great-great-grandson of William Statham(1) of Shottle, Derbyshire, England, who died before 1599 and had three sons, William, Richard and Thomas Statham. Hugh descended through Thomas, who lived at Haslewood and had a daughter Edith Statham born Jun 1600 and son John Statham born before then. I've not yet found any information on this John Statham or his son, Hugh's reputed father William Statham. TDFS says that William was born in 1633; however, since Hugh was reportedly born around 1638-40, some of this information is obviously wrong and the whole needs to be verified.
William Statham(1) was said to be a husbandman whose wife, Clemency, was buried 4 Oct 1619. He was the oldest of three sons of German and Dorothea Statham of Tansley and possibly Shottle in Derbyshire; German was already deceased when Dorothea was buried 25 Jan 1599 (Duffield Parish Register). German had brothers named Rowland and John.
TDFS doesn't conjecture where the Shottle and Colonial Virginia Stathams fit in, though the founder of the Derbyshire branch of Stathams is identified as Sir Ralph de Stathum, "companion in arms of some of the most noted soldiers of his day", two of whose sons fought at Agincourt (1415) with King Henry V. There's a J. Stathum who was High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests in 1445. The English Statham line reportedly descends from Richard I, Sire de Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, a Norman whose great-great-great-grandson Nigel IV participated in William the Conqueror's 1066 invasion of England.
- Edmund Statham, b. ca 1663
- Priscilla Statham, b. 20 Feb 1664
- Mary Statham, b. 12 Sep 1664
- Eliza Statham, b. 3 Sept 1666
- Rachel Statham, b. 29 Apr 1671
The names of Hugh's and Jane's children other than Edmund come from Virginia Colonial Abstracts, Vol. I, which shows the births of the children of one Hugh Stedham in Northumberland County, Virginia. It's presumed that this is Hugh Statham, who was known to have lived and died in that county. Priscilla's birth date is problematic, with Mary showing as having been born less than 7 months later, but that may be attributable to an error transcribing the date from Julian, Old Style to Gregorian, New Style.
