Deja Vu

        

Grandpa's Scot Arms Tavern in Tappahannock

About 270 years before my husband and I met at the University of Missouri our ancestors worked together in Colonial Virginia.
         Sounds like the makings of one of those meant-to-be romances, doesn't it? Except my marriage lasted only a dozen years and we've been divorced more than twice that long. Still, his ancestors are my son's ancestors so I have included them in my current research project.
          My husband was a Wallace, descended from the Craig Family, major land holders in the Missouri county where he grew up. The Craig family goes back to Toliver or Taliaferro Craig, a frontiersman born in 1705, either on a ship from Scotland to the Colonies or after arrival in Spotsylvannia County, Va. The details, and the exact parentage, are a little fuzzy. According to the writings of some of his descendants, Toliver was illegitimate, possibly the son of Jane Craig and an unnamed member of the Taliaferro family which was well known in Colonial Virginia. Or, possibly Jane Taliaferro and John Craig.
         Some of the trees on Ancestry.com show Jane Taliaferro as a daughter of Col. John "The Ranger" Taliaferro. He has quite a string of colonial accomplishments. He was named a member of the House of Burgesses for Essex County on  April 17, 1699, and a few months later on June 19  he was named sheriff of Essex County. On July 8, 1702 he was named Justice of Essex County. 
         Wait a minute! These accomplishments sound vaguely familiar. 
          Oh, yeah. My ancestor Robert Coleman served on the Essex County Court from 1700 to 1710 and was named sheriff of Essex County in 1710. You think maybe they knew each other? Shared a pint in great-grandpa Robbie's tavern? Ya think? 
         I don't know if Toliver/Taliaferro Craig is descended from "The Ranger" but I'm quite certain "The Ranger" knew ggggggreat grandpa Robbie. What a small world it is!