LowCountry Africana : Thomas Drayton, Jr. aka Thomas the Immigrant

First Generation: Thomas Drayton, Jr.

Name: Thomas Drayton, Jr. aka Thomas the Immigrant

Married: Ann Unknown, Before 1703

Died: ca. 1724

Place of Death: Charleston, SC

Family Group Sheet

1 Thomas Drayton d: ca. 1724 [1]

+ Ann Unknown d: ca. 1741 [2]

2 Mary Drayton [Fuller] b: ca. 1700-1704 [3] d: ca. 1751 [4]

2 Thomas Drayton b: ca. 1710 [5] d: 11 Nov 1760 [6]

2 Stephen Fox Drayton b: ca. 1713 [7] d: January 1733 [8]

2 John Drayton b: before 1716 [9] d: 1779 [10]

Thomas Drayton, Jr.: Biographical Information

Thomas Drayton, Jr., the likely progenitor of the Carolina Drayton family, was one of seven children of Thomas Drayton (1625-1702) of Warwickshire, England, who migrated to Barbados in 1675 on the ship Willing Wind, Thomas Masters, captain.

Thomas Drayton, Jr. migrated from Barbados to Carolina in March of 1679 on the ship Mary, Nicolas Lockwood, captain. Sailing on the same ship were Stephen and Phillis Fox. The Fox family, if not connected to the Drayton family in Barbados, forged ties to the Draytons of Carolina which endured well into the third generation. [11]

It was Thomas Fox who, on July 28, 1679, purchased the 402 acres on the south side of the Ashley River which would become the ancestral home of the Carolina Draytons. Fox conveyed the property, perhaps by will, to Thomas Drayton, who would develop the estate known as Magnolia Plantation. It is unclear whether Stephen Fox or Thomas Drayton built the first dwelling house on the property.

Thomas Drayton, Jr. married, sometime before 1703, one Ann, whose maiden name awaits discovery through further research. Credible researchers have speculated that Ann's maiden name was either Booth or Fox, but to date there is no clear consensus among historians concerning Ann's family origins.

Thomas and Ann Drayton bore four children who survived to adulthood. Thomas died ca. 1724. His will was recorded June 17, 1724. [12]

Inheritance, Acquisitions, Bequests

Acquired:

Thomas Drayton, Jr.’s estate consisted of some three thousand acres of land and more than one hundred enslaved people of African and Native American descent. He received, during his lifetime, the following land grants:

146 acres on the north side of S. Edisto River, May 17, 1701 [13]
154 acres on the north side of S. Edisto River, May 17, 1701 [14]
710 acres in Colleton County (Bob’s Savannah), Sept. 18, 1703 [15]
600 acres in Colleton County (Horse Shoe Savannah), Sept. 18, 1703 [16]
100 acres in Colleton County (Kakea), Sept. 18, 1703 [17]
127 acres in Colleton County, May 5, 1704 [18]
500 acres in Colleton County, May 5, 1704 [19]
100 acres in Colleton County, May 5, 1704 [20]