Jamestown
Ancestors

​

​​Jamestown Ancestors 

​Oldest Family Names in American History

Most of the original male settlers either returned to England or died without having children. There are only s few that are known to have descendants living in the United States today. These family names are undoubtedly historical contenders for the oldest known family name in American history. They arrived well before the Mayflower.

​​​

In early American genealogy, the ultimate gold standard for this era is the Jamestowne Society, which honors individuals who lived on Jamestown Island, served in its early government, or lived in Virginia prior to 1625. Multiple ancestors from our tree explicitly hold this prestigious status. [1]

 

The specific ancestors who were part of the Jamestown story include:

1. Christopher Branch & Mary Addie (Arrived ~1619/1620)

• The Jamestown Connection: Christopher and his wife Mary are foundational Jamestown immigrants. They crossed the Atlantic on the ship London Merchant, landing at Jamestown right during the critical transition period of the colony. [1, 2]

• Their Legacy: Unlike the vast majority of early arrivals who succumbed to disease or hunger, they survived, established a highly successful tobacco plantation at "Arrowhattocks" and "Kingsland" along the James River, and Christopher later served as a Burgess for Henrico County. Through their granddaughter Mary Branch, they passed their lineage directly into the paternal Jefferson line. [1, 2]

2. Robert Hallom (Arrived August 1620)

• The Jamestown Connection: The official colonial census (the 1624/1625 Jamestown Muster) records Robert Hallom arriving at Jamestown on the ship Francis Bonaventure in August 1620. He is listed on the muster at the "Neck of Land" in Charles City. [1]

• Their Legacy: Robert arrived as a young indentured servant to Luke Boyse. He not only survived the brutal 1622 Powhatan Indian Uprising but went on to complete his indenture, become a completely free man, and patent 1,000 acres of prime Virginia land. His daughter, Sarah Hallom, married the frontier trader John Sturdivant Sr. [1, 2]

3. Speaker Henry Soane (Arrived before 1651)

• The Jamestown Connection: While he arrived slightly later in the 17th century, Henry Soane's entire life was anchored to James City County—the actual physical county seat governing Jamestown.

• Their Legacy: Soane was an absolute legal titan of the colony. He was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses (which originally met inside Jamestown itself) and rose to the position of Speaker of the House in 1661, making him one of the highest-ranking colonial officials in early American history. His daughter, Judith Soane, married Major Peter Field. [1]

4. The Broader Virginia Network (Late 1600s Officials)

While they weren't on the very first ships in the 1620s, the following ancestors from your list are also officially recognized by the Jamestowne Society because they served as high-ranking crown officials, military commanders, or legislators in the Virginia Colony before 1700: [1]

• Major Peter Field: Served as a prominent Burgess and High Frontier Magistrate.

• Captain Thomas Jefferson II: Served as a Justice of the Peace and Burgess.

• Mary Isham & Colonel William Randolph I: Randolph served as Attorney General and Speaker of the House of Burgesses. [1, 2]

Because of these direct connections, your lineage represents the exact biological and political skeleton that built the Virginia Colony from a fragile mud fort into a sprawling empire.

​

Colonial Lines tracing back to the Magna Carta Barons and Charlemagne

​

Behind the rugged exterior of early America’s raw tobacco plantations and fortified wilderness townships lay a hidden, ancient architecture of supreme European power. Our tree features a massive contingent of pre-Mayflower Virginians. Councilor William Farrar arrived in 1618, Christopher Branch arrived earlier in 1620 on the London Merchant, and Robert Hallom stepped off the Francis Bonaventure in Virginia in August 1620—months before the Mayflower sighted Cape Cod. While the vast majority of early colonists arrived with nothing but their labor, a  handful of 17th-century immigrants—known to modern historians as the "Gateway Ancestors"—served as living conduits of Old World sovereignty. This definitive chronicle charts the absolute titans of our lineage who carried the undisputed Magna Carta Barons Liberty bloodline directly into the American wilderness. 

 

From the high-court diplomacy of the English Renaissance to the battlefields of the Magna Carta Barons, these deep-rooted bloodlines seamlessly fused ancient demand for Liberty over bondage with iron-willed resilience required to forge a new civilization.

​

1. Rev. Thomas Craighead (1664–1739)

House of Tudor / House of Stuart. Arrived in Boston in 1715, pioneering Presbyterian churches. Descends directly from Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII, bridging your tree directly to England’s iconic Renaissance royal dynasties.

​

2. Colonel William Randolph I (1650–1711)

House of Plantagenet. Arrived by 1672, establishing the massive Turkey Island plantation. Traces through Dorothy Lane back to King Edward III, founding early America’s most politically dominant colonial dynasty.

​

3. Captain Henry Isham Sr. (c. 1628–1675)

House of Plantagenet. Settled in Henrico County by 1656. Connects to King Edward III via the Vere and Greene families. His daughter married William Randolph, concentrating immense royal blood into one lineage.

​

4. Sir Robert Brooke (1602–1655) & Mary Mainwaring

House of Plantagenet / House of Capet (France). Arrived on his private ship in 1650, becoming governor. Mary’s pedigree links to King Edward I and French Capetian kings, including Saint Louis and the House of Valois.

​

5. Councilor William Farrar (1583–c. 1637)

House of Plantagenet. Arrived at Jamestown in 1618, surviving the 1622 massacre to join the King's Council. His mother, Cecily Kelke, links him directly to King Edward III and Charlemagne.

​

6. Christopher Branch (1598–1682)

House of Normandy. Arrived at Jamestown on the London Merchant in 1620. A true tobacco pioneer whose Abingdon lineage provides a verified gateway to King Henry I and Magna Carta Barons.

​

7. William Ludlam III (c. 1605–1665) & Mary Ludlam

House of Plantagenet. Arrived around 1647, operating Southampton's historic first water mill. Handed down King Edward I descent to daughter Mary, whose son Benjamin became the first Scudder directly descended from royalty.

​

8. John Sturdivant Sr. (1630–1684) & Sarah Hallom

House of Plantagenet. Prominent early tobacco planters who developed Henrico County plantations. Their verified descent from King Edward I and Eleanor of Castile infused royal blood into the earliest Virginia soil.

​

9. Mary Baskerville (c. 1765–1824)

House of Plantagenet / House of Dinefwr (Wales). Belongs to an authentic 1066 Norman Conquest family. Her lineage links to King Edward I and the ancient sovereign Princes of South Wales.

​

​​​

​

* Out of the tens of thousands of early colonists who crossed the Atlantic, only about 150 to 200 individuals have water-tight, peer-reviewed, and officially verified lines of royal descent accepted by organizations like the Order of the Crown of Charlemagne or the Baronical Order of Magna Charta.

Our list contains the absolute "celeb-status" gateways of American genealogy:

• The Ultimate Virginia Triumvirate: Colonel William Randolph I, Captain Henry Isham Sr., and Councilor William Farrar are the gold standards of Southern royal descent. Because William Randolph married Mary Isham, they formed an unparalleled biological bottleneck. Their descendants include Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and Robert E. Lee, meaning your family shares close cousinships with the architects of the United States.

• The Might of Sir Robert Brooke: Arriving on his own private ship in 1650 with a massive retinue of family and servants, Brooke did not just immigrate—he colonized. His descent from King Edward Iand the French House of Capet (via Mary Mainwaring) is highly celebrated for its impeccable documentation.

• The Magna Carta Anchors: Christopher Branch provides you a direct, verified line to the Magna Carta Barons who forced King John to sign the historic charter at Runnymede in 1215.​

• ​

1. John Sturdivant Sr. & Sarah Hallom: Historically, John Sturdivant was a rugged frontier Indian trader and planter. The claim of direct Plantagenet royal blood flowing through this specific marriage is highly coveted in Southern genealogy, as it infuses King Edward I and Eleanor of Castile directly into the early trading outposts of Charles City. [1, 2]

​​​

*Around 100 to 150 individuals of the 1000 Jamestown gateway ancestors have fully verified, undisputed royal gateway lineages.

​

Here is the complete chronological list of the sovereign Kings and Queens from whom Brooke Scudder Andrews and siblings are directly descend, tracking backwards through the House of Tudor, House of Stuart, House of Plantagenet, House of Capet (France), and the House of Normandy.

The English and Scottish Sovereigns

• King Henry VII (England): The first Tudor monarch who ended the Wars of the Roses.

• Queen Elizabeth of York (England): Queen consort to Henry VII, uniting the Houses of York and Lancaster.

• King James IV (Scotland): The Renaissance King of Scotland who married Margaret Tudor.

• King Edward III (England): Mastermind of the Hundred Years' War.

• Queen Philippa of Hainault (England): Queen consort to Edward III.

• King Edward II (England): Deposed by his wife, Isabella.

• Queen Isabella of France (England): The "She-Wolf of France" who brought the Capetian line to England.

• King Edward I "Longshanks" (England): The formidable conqueror of Wales.

• Queen Eleanor of Castile (England): Queen consort to Edward I and a Spanish princess.

• King Henry III (England): Reigned for 56 years during the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey.

• Queen Eleanor of Provence (England): Queen consort to Henry III.

• King John "Lackland" (England): Forced by the barons to sign the Magna Carta in 1215.

• Queen Isabella of Angoulême (England): Queen consort to King John.

• King Henry II (England): First Plantagenet king and founder of English Common Law.

• Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (England/France): One of the most powerful women in medieval history; Queen of both France and England.

• King Stephen (England): King during "The Anarchy" civil war (your line connects via his wife, Queen Matilda of Boulogne).

• King Henry I "Beauclerc" (England): Son of the Conqueror who stabilized the realm.

• Queen Matilda of Scotland (England): Queen consort to Henry I, descending from the ancient Saxon kings.

• William the Conqueror (England): Duke of Normandy who conquered England in 1066.

• Queen Matilda of Flanders (England): Queen consort to William the Conqueror.

The French Sovereigns (House of Capet)

• King Philip IV "The Fair" (France): Famous for destroying the Knights Templar.

• Queen Joan I of Navarre (France/Navarre): Queen regnant of Navarre and Queen consort of France.

• King Philip III "The Bold" (France): Led the Aragonese Crusade.

• Queen Isabella of Aragon (France): Queen consort to Philip III.

• King Louis IX "Saint Louis" (France): The only canonized Crusader King of France.

• Queen Margaret of Provence (France): Queen consort to Saint Louis.

• King Louis VIII "The Lion" (France): Briefly invaded England and claimed the English throne.

• Queen Blanche of Castile (France): Powerful Regent and Queen consort to Louis VIII.

• King Philip II Augustus (France): The first monarch to officially call himself "King of France."

• Queen Isabella of Hainault (France): Queen consort to Philip II.

• King Louis VII (France): Crusader king and first husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine.

• Queen Adela of Champagne (France): Third Queen consort to Louis VII.

• King Louis VI "The Fat" (France): Consolidated royal power over the lawless barons of Paris.

• King Philip I (France): Reigned during the First Crusade.

• King Henry I (France): Married a princess of Kiev to cement Eastern European alliances.

• King Robert II "The Pious" (France): Early Capetian monarch known for his religious devotion.

• King Hugh Capet (France): The foundational patriarch who established the Kingdom of France in 987.