Cobb(s) and Bruton Parish Church

Robert Cobb(s), 1627-1682, son of Ambrose Cobbs and Ann White, arrived in the United States with his family when he was 8 years old. As a young man, he settled in Marston Parish, York County, Virginia where he served as church warden of Marston Parish from 1658 until 1674, when Marston Parish and Middletown parish were absorbed into Bruton Parish. Then he became one of the first vestrymen of the Bruton Parish Church.

A tile I found at an antique shop features the present day Bruton Parish Church.

In 1677 the vestry decided that instead of repairing the existing churches in the parish, they wanted to build a new one out of brick to serve the entire consolidated area. An agreement was signed in 1681 that would require the payment of  "L150 and sixty pounds of good, sound, merchantable, sweet-scented tobacco. to be leveyed of each tytheable in the parish for three years together" in order to build the church. The land for the church and churchyard was given as a gift forever by the wealthy colonist, John Page. It was in what was then known as Middle Plantation, but in 1699 it was renamed Williamsburg when it became the colonial capital.

A plaque commemorating those involved in the building of the first brick church
at Bruton Parish includes the name of Robert Cobb.

Robert Cobb(s) died in December of 1682, midway through the construction of the church. A new, larger church was built in the same location in 1715, when Robert's son Ambrose was a member of the vestry, and still stands in Williamsburg. 

A plaque commemorating the 1710-1715 vestry, when the present church was built,
includes the name Ambrose Cobb(s), son of Robert Cobb(s).

Robert Cobb(s) was my 9th Great-Grandfather, his son Ambrose, my 8th Great-Grandfather. These men were in the midst of the beginnings of this country and knew all the important players in colonial Virginia. They were strong Christian leaders in the community and I'm proud to have them as ancestors.

The first Ambrose Cobb

Generation 1: Ambrose, an oft-repeated name in the Cobb family in America, started with Ambrose Cobbs, born circa 1565 in Eastleigh Court, Lyminge, Kent, England and died between 1605-1607 in Petham, Kent, England. He was my 11th Great-Grandfather. His son Ambrose (1603-1655/56) was the first American immigrant in my Cobb line, arriving in Virginia in the early 1630s.

All Saint's Church, Petham, Kent, England
The burial place of Ambrose Cobbs (1565-1605/7).

Generation 2: Ambrose the Immigrant was the second son of Ambrose and Angelica Hunt, so he wasn't likely to inherit land in England. He had two uncles, his mother's brothers, who were some of the first Jamestown settlers. Perhaps it was their encouragement, coupled with his "second son" status, that led to his decision to leave England. He and his wife, Ann White, with their young son Robert and daughter Margaret, arrived in Virginia about 1634. They had at least two more children after they settled, Ambrose in 1635 and Thomas in 1637.

Generation 3: Robert Cobbs, son of Ambrose and Ann, married Elizabeth Thorpe in Bruton Parish (Williamsburg) about 1655. They had at least five children, one of them to be named Ambrose.

Generation 4: Ambrose Cobbs, son of Robert and Elizabeth, married Frances Elizabeth Pinkett in 1687 in Bruton Parish. Ambrose was one of the founding vestrymen of Bruton Parish Church, a building that still stands in Williamsburg. Ambrose and Frances had several children, one of them was a son named Ambrose. Their son Robert, though, was my direct line ancestor.

Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg, Virginia.

Generation 5: Robert Cobb, son of Ambrose and Frances, was born in 1687 in Bruton Parish, Virginia. He married Crosia Frith by 1725. Of their many children, a son named Ambrose is in my direct line.

Generation 6: Ambrose Cobb, son of Robert and Crosia, was born in 1729 in Bruton Parish. He married Sarah (last name may be Howell) and had at least eleven children. One of those was a son named Ambrose, but my ancestor was a younger son named James, born in 1770. Ambrose and Sarah moved to Lincoln County, North Carolina, where Ambrose died in 1797.

Generation 7: James Cobb, my 5th great-grandfather, is the one that broke the Ambrose tradition in my direct line. He had at least three sons, but none carried the family name as far as I can find. James married Sarah Beach in 1790 and died young, in 1805, leaving his widow with several young children to care for. Sarah died in 1823.

The name Ambrose continued, however, in other lines. Vintner, another son of Ambrose and Sarah, named a son Ambrose. Another of their sons, William, named a daughter Ambrosia. I haven't researched all of the family lines, but I would bet that I'd find another Ambrose somewhere along the way.

Note: I have done a lot of work researching the Cobb family from James to the present, but the research into the earlier lines is not my own. Credit goes to Cobb and Cobbs, the Kent Cobb Families, and research done by Robert S. Cobb, which is included now on the Cobb and Cobbs website in its entirety.