Zalewski Family Genealogy

William TONEY[1]

Male 1727 - 1804  (77 years)


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  • Name William TONEY 
    Birth 1727  [2
    Gender Male 
    Occupation Farmer 
    Death 30 Dec 1804  Dillon Mills, Franklin County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Burial Dillon Mills, Franklin County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    Toney Cemetery 
    Person ID I2019  Zalewski Family
    Last Modified 31 Mar 2017 

    Family Margaret SUTHERLAND,   b. 1731, Kanawha, West Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Abt 1812, Dillon Mills, Franklin County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 81 years) 
    Marriage Abt 1759  Bedford County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Children 
     1. Carey TONEY,   b. 3 Oct 1763, Albemarle, Virginia, British America Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 6 Sep 1859, Dixon Twp, Eaton, Preble, Ohio, United States Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 95 years)  [Father: Stepchild]  [Mother: Stepchild]
     2. John TONEY,   b. Abt 1759, Bedford County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     3. William TONEY, Jr.,   b. Abt 1761, Bedford County, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     4. Edmund TONEY,   b. Abt 1762, Albemarle, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     5. Susannah Marion TONEY,   b. Abt 1762, Albemarle, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     6. Poindexter TONEY,   b. 3 Oct 1763, Albemarle, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     7. Harrison TONEY,   b. Abt 1764, Albemarle, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     8. Averilla Eva TONEY,   b. Abt 1765, Albemarle, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     9. Fannie TONEY,   b. Aft 1767, Albemarle, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     10. Jonathon TONEY,   b. Aft 1768, Albemarle, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     11. Mary TONEY,   b. Aft 1769, Albemarle, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     12. Jesse TONEY,   b. Abt 1770, Albemarle, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     13. Rebecca TONEY,   b. Abt 1774, Albemarle, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     14. Hannah TONEY,   b. Abt 1775, Albemarle, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
     15. James TONEY,   b. Abt 1776, Albemarle, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
    Family ID F640  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 9 Nov 2021 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - Abt 1759 - Bedford County, Virginia Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 30 Dec 1804 - Dillon Mills, Franklin County, Virginia Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - Address:
    Toney Cemetery - - Dillon Mills, Franklin County, Virginia
    Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Notes 
    • These notes found on http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=hagerj&id=I005603 collected by Joel Hager I received these on July 9, 2003



      Will probated Nov 8 1804 in Franklin County, Virginia. Listed in Virginia Revolutionary Public Claims, Volume 1 as contributing 500 lbs of beef, 4 diets, 2 pecks of corn and 1/4 bushel oats. The certificate is dated 4/22/1782 in Bedford County, Virginia.



      From Kith and Kin of Boone County, West Virginia, Volume VIII, published by the Boone County Genealogical Society. The Thompson Family of Boone County, W. VA. by Ida Mae Thompson and Sigfus Olafson.



      "His (William Thompson's) maternal grandfather, William Toney, Sr. was a daring frontiersman of Bedford County, Virginia, who in spite of the danger of Indian attacks, went far into what was then the wilderness to dig ginseng, whose root is so highly prized by the Chinese, and is said to have established a camp for this purpose on Mossy Creek in present Fayette County by the late 1770's. While the writers have seen no evidence of the Mossy Creek camp, there was no doubt about him having established such a camp on Clear Fork on Big Coal River in present Raleigh County by 1784, as it is mentioned in surveys made that year. In these surveys, Clear Fork is called Toney Fork. It is evident that William Toney, Sr. and his sons knew Big Coal River well at least as far down as present Racine, and it is presumed that they had side camps there and dug ginseng in the area.



      In 1787, a man named John Smith made land entries on Big Coal River that included practically all the larger areas of bottomland between present Whitesville and Racine, and had them surveyed. He sold on of these to John Toney, a son of the William Toney, Sr. mentioned above, and the rest to Gen. John Preston. John Toney applied for a patent on the entry he had bought, as did Gen. Preston for this purchases. The entry bought by John Toney began just above the mouth of Joes Branch and ran down Big Coal River nearby to Toneys Branch. It contained 384 acres. At That time, Montgomery County included all of West Virginia that lies south and west of Kanawha and New Rivers and these transactions were recorded in Blacksburg, Virginia, which was then the county seat of Montgomery County.



      John Toney appears to have retired from his ginseng digging soon after this and settled where East River enters New River, a short distance south of the Virginia-West Virginia border, where he became a prosperous farmer. Kanawha became a county in 1789, and although Indians still made occasional raids on this area, John Toney decided that a settlement should be made on his 384 acre tract and sent a Toney family there to occupy it. Several traditional accounts of this first attempt to make a settlement in what is now Boone County exist in the Toney family, but are not in agreement with each other. All say that the family was forced out of its home and took refuge in the Leonard Morris fort in present Marmet, because of Indian raids or the threat of Indian raids. These came to the Kanawha Valley but the family remained in the fort until they were over and then went to their Big Coal River home. They found that the Indians had burned their house and destroyed their crops, so they returned to present Virginia. The appearance of Daniel Toney in Kanawha County records in 1792 and his disappearance soon thereafter lends credence to this tradition. John Toney got his patent for the 384 acre tract in 1794 and sold the land in 1799.



      Sporadic Indian raids on the Kanawha River settlements continued through 1793 and 1794, but in the latter year Gen. Anthony Wayne gained a great victory over the Indian tribes at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in Ohio. By the Treaty of Greenville, made in 1795, the Indians agreed to migrate to the West and they actually began that movement in 1796. No Indian raids were made thereafter on any part of West Virginia, but it took some time for people to realize that the Indians were actually gone and would not be back. Thereafter, people began settling in Boone, Logan and adjacent counties.



      Turning back to the Toney's, we learn that the Will of William Toney, Sr. was probated in Bedford County, Virginia, in 1804. From it and other sources, we learn that he was married three times and had 15 children. All of his children who are mentioned in this article are from his third marriage, which was to Margaret Sutherland.



      Bedford County records also tell of the marriage of Averilla Toney, daughter of Willaim, Sr. and Margaret (Sutherland) Toney, and William Thompson. Not much is known about this William Thompson except that he was a native of Fairfax County, Virginia, and he is said to have been a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Merle Rummel of Indiana and Elma Henning, Rt. 5, Box 441, Dayton, Tennessee 17321, have recently published a history of the Toney family, a very fine book from which much of the material in this article has been taken. They indicate that the above William Thompson died in Franklin County, Virginia in 1825 and that Averilla died in the same county in 1845. But , it is the opinion of the writers of this article that this William Thompson died by 1800, or soon thereafter, and that his widow Averilla, also known as "Eva" or "Avey", thereafter spent many years in Boone County, a possibility mentioned in the book referred to above.



      The writers do not know when the sons of William Toney, Sr. returned to Big Coal River, a stream familiar to at least some of them from their younger days when they were digging ginseng. At least three of them came to the Toney Branch vicinity, William Toney, Jr., Carey Toney and Pointdexter Toney. William, Jr. soon went on to Guyandot River, where he died in 1811 and left a number of descendants. Carey Toney went on to Ohio."



      The parish register of St. Peter's Parish, New Kent County, Virginia shows, "William Moss, Bastard son of Mary Toney" was born GEN: June 28, 1737.



      researcher this line --- Hollye Burgess -- fmrdsa@aol.com (1999)

      (looking for next generation back)

      Toneys were Viking originally who settled in Normandy, where they had title, (Lord of Tosny and Couches). Being related to William the Conqueror and fighting with him to conquer Britain, they were granted title and property (Lord of Flamstead) See-- Ben Toney book "The First Millennium"

      William received a land grant of 400acres on the headwaters of New River, Fayette Co., W.Va.

      He also received a land grant of 25 acres on Rich Creek in 1800

      Wm gave his twin sons Carey and Poindexter, 240 a of land -- 4-4-1795 "His duty as their father----

      Wm Toney (Sr) was a daring frontiersman of Bedford Co., Va who is spite of the danger of Indian attacks, went far into what was then the wilderness to dig ginseng, whose root is so highly prized by the Chinese, And is said to have established a camp for this purpose on Mossy Creek in present Fayette Co, by he late 1770's. There was no doubt about his having established camps on Clear Fork on Big Coal River in present day Raleigh Co by 1784, as it is mentioned in surveys made during that year. In those surveys Clear Fork is called Toney Fork. It is evident that William Toney and his sons knew Big Coal River well at least as far down as present day Racine. and it is presumed that they had side camps there and dug ginseng in that area.



      The will of Wm Toney was probated in Bedford Co,. Va in 1804. From it we learn that he was married 3 times and had 15 children His final marriage to Margaret Sutherland.

      Will Book 1 pg 245 -- Franklin co., Va.

      Dec 30, 1804

      "In the name of God, amen, I, William Toney of Franklin County and state of Va., being weak in body but of sound mind and memory. Blessed by God for his moneys do this 8th day of Nov in the year of 1804, do make and ordain this my last will and testament, in manner and form following my soul, I commend to Almighty God who gave it to me, and my body to the earth from whence it came in hopes of joyful resurrection through the merits of my God to help me with. I dispose thereof as follows:

      First of all, i give to my well beloved wife, Margaret Toney her maintenance out of my Estate, and one feather bed and furniture, 2 milch(milk) cows, 2 hogs, one chest and all the kitchen furniture. I give and bequeath unto my son Littleberry Toney, Marion Toney, now Marion Woodson, Elizabeth Toney now Elizabeth Bales, Avarilla Toney now Avarilla Thompson, Carey Toney my son, Poindexter my son, Edmund Toney my son, 8 dollars to be equally divided between them., I give and bequeath unto William Toney my son, and John Toney my son, 10 pounds to be equally divided between them. I give and bequeath unto Susannah Toney, my daughter. part of my land. beginning at John Webster's line, leaving this line to a path that courses onto a ridge road on the top of that ridge, so on the said road to the old line. I give to Susannah Toney my grand-daughter, one feather bed and cow and calf, to be raised out of my estate, to her heirs forever. I give to Mary Ferguson my grand-daughter , feather bed one cow and calf to be raised out of my estate to her heirs forever. I give and bequeath to Hannah Toney now Hannah Peters, one cow to her heirs forever. Item I give and bequeath to James Toney my son, Jesse Toney my son, the balance of my lands equally divided between them. my son James to have the upper end of my land and my son Jesse the lower end, to them, their heirs and assigns forever. I give the Balance of my goods and chattels to my son James Toney and my son Jesse to them, their heirs and assigns forever. lastly I do make and appoint James Toney my son, and Jesse Toney my son, executors of this my last will and testament, revoking all former wills by me made. I appoint this and no other to my last will and testament. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal the day and year above written

      Dec 39, 1804 -Franklin Co., Va.--X his mark



      1773 to Franklin co., Va North Fork of Blackwater River to South fork of Cahas Mountain (west of Boone's Mill, Va.)

      1774 - Survey of 2nd purchase --650 acres E NE from Dillons Mills up south face of Cahas Mountain. Cabin site by spring in the meadow, Family graveyard on finger ridge east of cabin in small group of trees. Unmarked field stones, included Negro slaves and modern descendants of William. (1917)

      Stream drains entire property through meadow, but is now dammed. Ancestry is undetermined due to destruction of area records. Lived adjacent to Toneys in Buckingham and Franklin counties who are known descendants of the immigrant William Toney. Chloe Niccum (1917) says he had a sister ( who married a Moss) and a brother who had migrated to Georgia. (Colonial Georgia claimed a wide area of adjacent SC), So they could have lived in Pendleton Co,.SC or in Franklin co., Georgia with other Toneys.



      From history of Toney family by Elma Henning

      William Toney lived in Franklin co., Va in 1760. I don't know whether he was born in Virginia or not, He had one brother and one sister who lived in Georgia. I don't know whether there was any more in the family or not. William was married 3 times. His first wife was mother of one son, Littleberry. I think he lived in Georgia. the second wife was the mother of 2 daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. One of them married a man named Dudley Street. I think they also lived in Georgia. The 3rd wife's name was Margaret Sutherland. She was the mother of 12 children, 8 sons and 4 daughters. One daughter's name was Eva, she married a man named William Thompson. They both died in Virginia. Rebecca married a Joshua Ferguson, they also died in Virginia. Susannah came to Union county, near the Ohio line in Indiana where she died. Hannah married Mathew Peters and came to Ohio, They both died of cholera in 1832. Their sons names were John, William, Poindexter and Carey (twins), Edmund, Harrison, James and Jesse. John went to Georgia and married his cousin , Mollie Toney and brought her back to Virginia where they lived in Giles county, they were wealthy. their only son's name was Johnathan. He married a girl named Caperton and they had several girls and one son named Washington. He had one daughter and she married a man named tanner and they lived at Huntington, W Va. I don't know what William wife's name was, I think there were several boys in the family and I don't know what county they lived in. Poindexter lived in Hanowa county and there was several children in his family. Carey, our grandfather, and his family came to Ohio in 1819. They had 9 sons and 1 daughter. One son died in Virginia, one went to Missouri. Edmund came to Ohio then moved to Northern Indiana. some of his family live in Michigan and some went on west to Iowa. Harrison died a young man. Jesse came into Ohio then moved to Northern Indiana. Some of his family live in Michigan some in Iowa. James lived on the old farm where his father raised the family. I think his children were all girls. I don't know if any of them are living or not (1979)



      The first Toney we have record of is William Toney, indentured servant to David Williamson, on the James River 1654. We have records of some of his descendants but as yet cannot connect them to our Toney line. By ages, he would be grandfather or great-grandfather of our William Toney. William Toney Sr, the first known ancestor of this family, was born about 1727, near the James River in the Piedmont area of Virginia, probably in that area now included in Powhatan or Buckingham county.

      Our records say that he had one sister who married a Moss and one brother, at least, both of whom may have followed the pioneer migration from Virginia to Georgia.



      Source: dates: Carrie Bias Hoffert

  • Sources 
    1. [S49] Family Data Collection - Individual Records.
      Birth year: 1741; Birth city: Bedford County; Birth state: VA.

    2. [S127] U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900.
      Source number: 4118.001; Source type: Family group sheet, FGSE, listed as parents