Elizabeth Cocke, 6th Great-grandmother

February 21, 2016 — 17 Comments

Malvern Hill

My 6th great-grandmother was born in Virginia in 1720 in the home where her father had been born.  The Cocke family came to Virginia in the 1600’s and played a significant part in the colony’s affairs.  She married into the Holt family, another prominent family in Williamsburg.  When I was a child my parents took me several times to vacation in Williamsburg.  I always looked forward to being there to be immersed in the history of the place.  We stayed at the Inn and walked around town to see the blacksmith, the candlestick maker, and many historical reenactments.  I have vivid memories of buying sealing wax, which I used on all my correspondence until I was about 18. I had a real thing for fancy stationery and sealing wax that began when I saw it in use at Williamsburg. Now that I know my ancestors lived there I am even more thrilled that my parents (who had no idea about the ancestry connection) gave me the gift of an early interest in history.

Elizabeth Cocke, probably b. 1720’s; m. Dibdale or Dibdall HOLT, son of David HOLT & Margaret DIBDALL of New Kent, Hanover, and Williamsburg, VA (b. 1720’s; d. aft. 1792). Dibdall probably met Brazure COCKE’s family in Williamsburg where the HOLTS were a prominent family. Dibdall’s brother John HOLT served as mayor of Williamsburg and later published newspapers in New York City and Norfolk VA. Dibdall is named in John HOLT’s will, dated Oct. 1, 1749, proved Oct. 30, 1784, in New York. Dibdall’s sister Jane HOLT was married to a famous Presbyterian minister, Rev. Samuel DAVIES (1724-1761), of Hanover Co., VA. Dibdall probably married Elizabeth COCKE roughly 1745 and moved to Amelia Co., VA, soon thereafter. He can be found in Amelia Co. as early as 1748 when he witnessed the will of William STONE (Amelia WB 1, p.55) and was still there in 1762 when he appeared on a tax list. He lived in Nottoway Parish, which later become Nottoway County. A deed dated Dec. 14, 1751, from Phillip STONE of Johnston Co., VA, to Charles CONNALLY & Robert TAYLOR of Nottoway Parish, describes 100 acres in Nottoway Parish adj. where Dibdall HOLT now lives, Charles CONNALLY, Joseph HARPER, Robert TAYLOR’s line by the county line, and William STONE’s line now Dibdall HOLT’s. (Amelia Co., VA, DB 4, p.338.) Robert CHEEK worked as Dibdall Holt’s overseer and lived with him in 1754 and 1755, according to the Amelia Co. tax lists & court records. Dibdall’s daughter may be the Elizabeth HOLT who m. Samuel BIRCH (or BURCH) on May 1, 1764, in Granville Co., NC, with Robert CHEEK as bondsman. Dibdall moved to the Natchez District of the Louisiana territory sometime in the 1770’s & settled in an area that later became Jefferson Co., MS. Dibdall’s name appears on a petition dated Oct. 4, 1779, “from the citizens of Natchez to Lieut. Col. Dickson, 16th Reg. commanding his Britannick Majesty’s Forces in the River Mississippi. . . .” He is also mentioned in his sister Sarah TRULY’s will dated Mar. 15, 1792 (Natchez Dist.) and in other Natchez records. Children may have included David HOLT (m. Rebecca BELK), John HOLT, and William HOLT (d. 1836 in Hinds Co., MS).

Elizabeth Cocke (1720 – 1773)
6th great-grandmother
Elizabeth Holt (1747 – 1811)
daughter of Elizabeth Cocke
Elizabeth Betsy Truly (1782 – 1851)
daughter of Elizabeth Holt
Minerva Truly Darden (1806 – 1837)
daughter of Elizabeth Betsy Truly
Sarah E Hughes (1829 – 1911)
daughter of Minerva Truly Darden
Lucinda Jane Armer (1847 – 1939)
daughter of Sarah E Hughes
George Harvey Taylor (1884 – 1941)
son of Lucinda Jane Armer
Ruby Lee Taylor (1922 – 2008)
daughter of George Harvey Taylor
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Ruby Lee Taylor

ruins of Malvern Hill House