Preface

Many of the Triplett families in America trace their ancestry to colonial Virginia, most of them descended from the English immigrant Francis Triplett and his wife Abigail, who lived in the late 1600's in Old Rappahannock County (in an area that is now within King George County) along the north side of the Rappahannock River in Virginia's Northern Neck. (Many African-Americans took this surname when they were emancipated after the U. S. Civil War. Some of them with that surname may trace their direct paternal lineage to the immigrant Francis Triplett. This can be determined through Y-chromosome DNA testing. See below.)

Numerous family trees for this Triplett family have been published and posted online, but they badly conflict with one another and most of them are highly inaccurate. The purpose of this web site is to take an evidence-based approach to genealogy (with primary documentary sources and DNA analysis) to accurately portray the relationships of the various branches of this family of colonial Virginia, and to provide a strong evidence trail to link them back their immigrant ancestor, Francis. The name Triplett most likely originated in England. In the 1841 census of England, the name had its highest frequency in the southwestern England counties of Cornwall and Devon, so an origin in that region is likely. Any published genealogy that purports to identify the point of origin for Francis Triplett in the British Isles should be viewed with careful skepticism unless they can clearly provide compelling evidence from primary documentary sources to prove that contention.

The best way to separate fact from fiction and to resolve conflicting information is to go back to the primary sources (see Documenting Your Genealogy Research - Guide to Citing Sources). These include records of marriages, births and baptisms, deaths and burials, census listings, tax lists, probate and land records, court minutes, etc. The information in the descendant listings on this web site will include documentation of the primary sources as much as possible, and transcriptions of many of those sources will be presented in links below. (For example, look at my abstracts of original documents that mention Tripletts in Virginia. Alongside most of the references will be a Descendant ID (e.g., #312) that maps that individual to the listings of descendants further down this web page. See also the numbering system described in Explanation of Format of Descendant Listings.) This is a working document; it will be modified and (hopefully) improved as more researchers provide input and, most importantly, evidence.

To begin, I will focus on records relating to Tripletts in Virginia in the late 1600's and in the 1700's to construct a working structure of the family through the first three generations or so. This will be based on what can be found in primary documentary sources, many of which are now available on sites like FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com. For some of the branches (including my own), I have carried my research into the 1800's as the various family groups left Virginia for the frontier, including the Carolinas, Kentucky, Ohio, and beyond.

Historical Narrative

Francis first appeared in a 1660 deed (VA, Old Rappahannock Co., Deeds, Wills & Settlements of Estates, Vol. 2 (1656-1664), pp. 153-154) in Old Rappahannock County, in which he purchased a parcel of land in Sittenbourne Parish along the Rappahannock River from Samuel Nicholls and wife Abigail for 3,250 pounds of "good tobacco" (the then-current standard of currency in Virginia). This land was at "the head of a valley neer the Beaver Damb" alongside a "line of marked trees which formerly belonged to William Underwood . . . the said land being part of [238] acres of land which the said Samuel Nicholls purchased of the said Maj. William Underwood". Old Rappahannock County no longer exists; Richmond County was formed from it in 1692. (A different Rappahannock County was created in another part of Virginia in 1833.) Counties in Virginia were continually being broken apart with new counties being formed (and boundaries changing), so it is a challenge figuring out where a tract of land is located today. King George County was formed from the northern part of Richmond County in 1720, so this particular land is now located in Hanover Parish at the southeastern corner of King George County. (Hanover Parish was formed from Sittenbourne Parish in 1732.)

left: Google Maps, right: DeLorme Virginia Atlas & Gazeteer (1995), pp. 70-71

Samuel Nicholls died in 1662 and his widow Abigail remarried to Francis Triplett. We see them as husband and wife in a deed dated 10 October 1664, selling their land. (Francis Triplett signed as grantor, followed by Abigail's relinquishment of dower. This is the copy recorded in the deed book, not their original signatures.)

VA, Old Rappahannock Co., Deeds, Wills & Settlements of Estates, Vol. 2 (1656-1664), pp. 399-400

On 29 January 1666/7, Francis received a headright grant of 1,050 acres of land adjoining the land he had purchased from Samuel Nicholls in 1660. (Prior to 1752, the English colonies used the old Julian dating system. Under that system, the new year didn't start until 25 March, so dates between 1 January and 24 March were often written with both the old and new years, 1666 and 1667, in this case.) Under the headright system, a colonist who paid for the passage of other immigrants could receive a land grant of 50 acres per person whose travel they funded. In Francis's case, his grant was based on the import of 21 additional colonists. When exactly he (and they) came to America is not stated in the grant, but he probably arrived not long before he appeared on the 1660 deed. The others could have arrived as late as 1666. Those were tumultuous years in England. After the English Civil Wars and about 10 years of rule by Oliver Cromwell's government, Charles II became king in 1660 (the restoration of the monarchy). The year 1666 marked the Great Fire of London. What impact these events had on Francis Triplett's decision to leave England for America is not known, but Loyalists were more common in Virginia.

Here is the land grant. The names of the people whose passage he paid are listed at the bottom. Note that several are of the Jett family. Mary Jett (wife of Peter Jett) might have been a sister of Francis Triplett, according to several secondary sources. (This needs to be confirmed.) There is a good chance that Francis Triplett and these immigrants were from the same community in England. Finding them in English parish registers or some other primary source may help to determine Francis Triplett's place of origin.

VA, Land Patents, Vol. 6 (1666-1679), p. 29

By 1677, Francis and Abigail had sold off all that remained of the 1666/7 headright land grant. Note this deed states that Francis's occupation was a cooper (barrel maker). (Did this profession provide enough income in order for him to finance the travel of the 21 headrights, or did he have money from other sources while in England?) A deed in newly-formed Richmond County in 1692 (VA, Richmond Co., Deed Book 1 (1692-1693), pp. 5-6) shows that Francis purchased back these same 1,050 acres.

VA, Old Rappahannock Co., Deeds, Wills & Settlements of Estates, Vol. 6 (1676-1688), pp. 34-35

Five children were known to have been born to Francis and Abigail: three sons (Thomas, William, and Francis, Jr.) and two daughters (Elizabeth and Abigail). On 27 January 1678/9, Francis left a mare ("a sorrell . . . being about four years old and branded on the farr buttock") to his son Francis, Jr. In that same Deed of Gift, he stipulated that his daughter Elizabeth was to have "the first mare foale that shall come from his said mare". Another Deed of Gift (VA, Old Rappahannock Co., Deeds, Wills & Settlements of Estates, Vol. 7 (1682-1688), p. 31) dated 12 May 1683, gave to their daughter Abigail "one yearling heifer with all her increase both male and feamall, the said heifer being of a brown coullour and marked with a figure of 3 in each ear".

VA, Old Rappahannock Co., Deeds, Wills & Settlements of Estates, Vol. 6 (1676-1688), p. 59

In 1692, Richmond County was formed from the original Rappahannock County. In the records of Richmond County (until the formation of King George County in 1720), we find the family of Francis Triplett and his wife Abigail. They didn't move; the counties did (and were renamed).

Francis Triplett left a Will dated 20 November 1700, proved 4 March 1701/2. In this Will, Francis named several of his sons and grandsons. The daughter Abigail was not mentioned, but we have her name from the 1683 Deed of Gift. (She was probably an unmarried minor at the time of her father's death.) Their son Thomas predeceased Francis and Abigail (by 6 July 1698), but left two sons of his own (Francis and Thomas). Their son Francis, Jr. had not yet married (and died himself a couple of years later, leaving one son, also named Francis - my 8th-great-grandfather). Their other son William live until around 1732 and fathered at least nine children of his own. This Will reveals extensive land holdings in the area. (In-depth study of the deeds and maps of the area will be needed to define exactly where these tracts of land can be found today, as the names of many of the geographic features have since changed, and when they were sold off by the Triplett descendants.)

Testator: Francis Triplett (of Richmond Co.)
Date written: 20 Nov 1700
Date proved: 4 Mar 1701/2
Executor(s): "my loveing wife" Abigail Triplett & "my son" Wm. Triplett
Witnesses: Jno. Deane, Tyler Malhoux [?], & Susan Commock
Description:
"I do give and bequeath unto my loveing wife Abigail my plantation whereon I now live, viz, from the first valley joyning to my plantation to ye second valley on the westward side of ye Rowling Path dureing her life, it being about [200] acres more or less, and after her decease, I do give and bequeath said land to my son Francis . . . If in case my son Francis should die without heire or heires, then I will ye said land to my son William Triplett . . .

I do give unto my wife Abigaile a tract of land being a part of a [1,050] acres I took up lying betweene the lines of Capt. Ball, James Scott, John Nicholls, and Samuel Bowen dureing her naturall life, and after her death I do will and give the samme unto my son Francis and his heires forever, and in case my son Francis should die with heire, the I do will and give the same tract of land to my son William . . .

I do give and bequeath unto my son William Triplitt . . . all my land lying on ye south side of Thacher's Creeke branches running over ye second valley from plantation to the line of Capt. Sam'l Blomefield.

I do give and bequeath unto my grandson Francis Triplitt son of my eldest son Thomas Triplitt . . . all ye rest of my land lying on ye eastward side of ye Rowling Path which goes to George Hailes 60 acres [?] more or less, and in case ye said Francis my grandson should dye without heire, then I do give and bequeath the land to my grandson Thomas Triplitt . . . and in case my two grandsons before mentioned should both die without heires, then I do give the said land which I gave unto them to my two sons Wm. and Francis equally to be divided betweene them . . .

I do give unto my wife Abigaile all my personall estate, except two mares, dureing her naturall life, but if my wife shall marry after my decease, the I do will and desire that she have but her third of my Estate and the other two parts I do give and bequeath unto my son William Triplitt and my son Francis . . .

I do give give unto Francis Jett, son of Jno. Jett and Eliz'a (his wife) one young mare and her increase fore ever.

I do give unto Francis Triplitt, son of Thomas Triplitt, dec'd, one young mare and her encrease for ever."

VA, Richmond Co., Will Book 1 (1699-1709), pp. 41-42

His wife Abigail died sometime after 1709. She appears as a party to several lawsuits in Richmond County between the time of her husband's death and her last appearance in the Court Minutes of that county (VA, Richmond Co., Court Minutes Book 5 (1708-1711/2), p. 39 (2 Jun 1709)). Some of the lawsuits involved land disputes with her grandson (from her first marriage) Samuel Nicholls; he filed a suit in Chancery Court demanding the release of land to which he felt he was entitled.

As new Virginia counties were formed throughout the 1700's to the north and west of Richmond County (including Caroline, Stafford, Prince William, Orange, Culpeper, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Fauquier Counties), successive generations of Triplett descendants would establish new land holdings and expand their presence throughout the region. One branch (mine) would leave for the Carolinas from Loudoun County in the mid-1760's. Starting after the end of the Revolutionary War in the 1780's, many would move on to settle in new counties along the Ohio River in western Virginia (later West Virginia), Kentucky, and Ohio. Using primary sources, I have attempted to research the various branches of this family (mostly male lines who retained the Triplett surname) through at least 1800. For some of the lines, particularly those who settled in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Kentucky, I have researched up to the 1850 census. The listing of descendants (in some cases) goes out to eight generations, those born in the middle 1800's.

[Note: To view the Adobe Acrobat files, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. This can be downloaded free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. You can download the files to your disk to view them, or use your web browser with the appropriate plug-ins.]

Descendant Listings

Children & Grandchildren of Francis Triplett & Abigail [Nicholls]

Descendants of Francis Triplett & Abigail [Nicholls]

Here is the GEDcom file of descendants through eight generations: GED-Triplett-0-8.ged. I have uploaded this as Public Member Tree to Ancestry.com, as well.

Explanation of Format of Descendant Listings

Documentary Sources

USA Federal Censuses:

1790
1800
1810
1820
1830
1840
1850
1860
1870
1880

USA Notes (Vital Records, Wills, Deeds, Tax Lists, Cemeteries, etc.):

Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Maryland
Missouri
North Carolina
Ohio
South Carolina
Tennessee
Virginia
West Virginia

DNA Research

A new tool in genealogical research is the use of genetic markers in DNA to establish family relationships. See Y Chromosome DNA Testing. The Y-chromosome is passed down from father to son to grandson to great-grandson, etc. along the male line (as are surnames in many modern western societies). Occasionally, due to random mutations, one or more of the genetic markers may change in an individual and be passed down to his son that way. Standard tests are available (based on a cheek swab) to identify 37, 111, or more markers on the Y-chromosome. (The more the markers, the more precise the identification; 37 or more markers should be tested, in order to be useful for genealogical purposes. Older tests at 12 and 25 markers are not useful and should be upgraded.) All direct male descendants of Francis Triplett would have a very similar, if not identical, set of markers (or haplotype). Someone with a surname of Triplett (or some variation), whether or not they had done in-depth genealogical research, could compare their haplotype to known Francis Triplett direct male descendants see if they were likely to be a direct male descendant of Francis Triplett. Likewise, the Francis Triplett haplotype could be compared to haplotypes of other families to see if these families were closely related. I would like to establish a confidential database of haplotypes of Francis Triplett's direct male descendants to give us a tool to identify Francis Triplett descendants and to find closely related Triplett families. Ideally, we would need several samples from direct male descendants of each of Francis Triplett's sons. The Family Tree DNA testing service is one of the most well-known and best suited for Y-DNA testing. If anyone is interested, please contact me by e-mail. The tests can be ordered from Family Tree DNA as a part of the Triplett DNA Project. In this project, please view both the Results and Patriarchs pages (https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/Triplett/about/results) to see how this Triplett family compares to others of the same surname.

To help defray the cost of the testing, there is a Triplett DNA Project fund that will allow those of us without the Triplett Y-chromosome (such as females born with the maiden name of Triplett) to jointly share in the cost of this project. If those interested in this avenue of research can contribute a little from time to time, it will greatly help to increase the level of participation by direct male descendants with the "right" DNA. If you would like to take advantage of the fund for your test, let the Project Administrator know. Those of us without the Triplett Y-DNA chromosome may help others out by contributing.

The Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup of Francis Triplett, E1b1b1a1b1a6a (M35+,V13+,Z16988+), is fairly uncommon in western Europe, which means it is easy to identify if someone with the Triplett surname is of this same family. According to this article on Wikipedia of the parent haplogroup (E-M35), the marker V13 (of which Z16988 is a downstream marker) dispersed from the Middle East into the Balkans sometime after 6750 BCE. The man who is the most recent common ancestor of those with the downstream marker Z16988 was born around 1100 BCE, and his descendants are most prevalent in Germany and England.

This DNA project is open to other Triplett families with British heritage, as well as African-Americans whose ancestors took the Triplett surname when they were emancipated. It will establish if there is any relationship between these families and ours prior to Francis Triplett's generation. In addition, it will help differentiate between the various Triplett families in the USA and elsewhere, especially where the documentary evidence is lacking. It is especially important to have Y-chromosome DNA testing done for those Triplett males (with the surname) whose family remained in the British Isles, as it will help to establish the possible points of origin for the surname and provide clues as to where Triplett ancestors may have lived before they immigrated to America and elsewhere.

Acknowledgements

This Triplett web page would not have been possible without the contribution of other researchers over many years. During my 55+ years of research, I have tried to carefully document the primary sources of each piece of information in my database in order to validate the extensive research done by myself and many others. I continue to be amazed and gratified at the sense of teamwork displayed by other genealogists I have met. Hopefully this compilation will help others now and in the future to carry on the work that has been done so far.

If you would like to comment on any information contained within, or wish to correspond with me about this family, please send me an e-mail message at: contact@arslanmb.org. Additions and corrections are greatly appreciated. I am especially interested in receiving information obtained from primary sources (parish registers, census listings, Bibles, cemeteries, vital records, probate and land records, etc.) and photographs and digital images relating to this branch of the Triplett family so that I can incorporate them into this page. Also, I would like to provide links to other pages on the Internet that deal with Triplett genealogy.