The deeds in December 1726 firmly establish that Patrick married Margaret Ingles. REF: December 17, 1726 a through December 17, 1726 c  Sem Cox’s deed to Robert Ingles establishes that Margaret was still single as of October 1709. REF: October 10, 1709 Based on Margaret’s age, this timeframe for Patrick’s and Margaret’s marriage is very likely.

 

During this period, couples could either obtain a marriage license or they could publicly post their intention to marry. Richmond County records contain a list of all marriage licenses issued by the Clerk between February 1709/10 and April 1716; Patrick and Margaret are not listed. (Richmond County Deed Book 6, 1711 – 1714. p.274.) If a couple utilized the public posting method (which was very common), the notice had to be posted three times. This public proclamation of the intended marriage was commonly referred to as "marriage banns". Whether a license was issued or banns were utilized, the Parish minister was required to keep a record of the day and year of the marriage. With few exceptions, couples during this period were married at the bride’s home. (Albert Alan Rogers. Family Life in Eighteenth Century Virginia. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia, 1939. pp. 151-169.) In 1710, Margaret’s home was within the bounds of St. Mary’s Parish. By 1718, the latest probable date for their marriage, the location of Margaret’s home was in Hanover Parish (formed in 1713). Based on Margaret’s age and the fact that most girls married by the age of nineteen, (Thad W. Tate and David L. Ammerman. The Chesapeake in the Seventeenth Century: Essays on Anglo-American Society. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1979. p.128. AND Albert Alan Rogers. Family Life in Eighteenth Century Virginia. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia, 1939. pp. 83, 111, 124, 165, & 260-261.) the record of Patrick’s and Margaret’s marriage is most likely to be found in the St. Mary’s Parish Register sometime during the period 1710 to 1712. Unfortunately, neither the St. Mary’s Parish Register nor the Hanover Parish Register is known to have survived. (Virginia State Library Archivist, August 1997. AND Joan Poland, Epsicopal Diocese Historian for King George County, October 1997. SEE ALSO: Jewell T. Clark and Elizabeth Terry Long. A Guide To Church Records. Richmond: The Virginia State Library, 1981. p.98. AND G. MacLaren Brydon. A Sketch of the Colonial History of Saint Paul’s, Hanover, and Brunswick Parishes, King George County, Virginia. Richmond: The Virginia State Library, 1916. p. 2.)

 

There is, however, one glimmer of hope that a record of Patrick’s and Margaret’s marriage might still exist. (If it does, the same source might also shed additional light on the births of Patrick’s and Margaret’s children.) The nearest church in the area (only a few miles from Dogue Run) was Muddy Creek Church, which was in use as of 1710. (The church still exists on Route 694, ½ mile north of Route 3, on Lamb’s Creek, and is now known as Lamb’s Creek Church.

 

According to a monument located in front of the church, the current brick structure was re-erected at its current location—a couple miles east of its original location—during the period 1769 - 1770.) During the Civil War, the church was used as a stable by the Union cavalry. For a period after the war, Baptist services were held in the church. (The church is again within the Episcopal Diocese, although services are held there only once per year.) The ministry records from the colonial period were purportedly taken by an unidentified Baptist minister sometime after the Civil War, when the minister moved to Essex County (James Scott Rawlings. Virginia’s Colonial Churches: An Architectural Guide. Richmond: Garrett & Massey, 1963. p.i227. AND Brydon. p. 32 footnote.)—perhaps these records still exist and can, someday, be located.

 

Also of very interesting note is the fact that Brunswick Parish—established in the area in 1732—still owns the Vinegar edition (1716) Bible that was used as the pulpit Bible at Muddy Creek Church (as well as a 1739 Prayer Book). The Bible may well be the only physical object that has survived to this day that was directly known to Patrick and Margaret. (They had probably left the area before the Prayer Book was in use.) Even more interesting is the fact that the Bible was acquired by the church based on a bequest from Sem Cox, (Brydon. p. 18.) who was most likely Margaret's grandfather. REF: October 10, 1709 comments