| Notes |
- "ANNE ARUNDEL GENTRY--DORSEY FAMILY" by Harry Wright Newman "No
familY of early Anne Arundel is better known thruout the State than
the prolific Dorsey family. More descendants have qualified for
lineal-patriotic societies, especially the Colonial Dames, than any
other family in Maryland." "The family had its beginnings in
Virginia around Lower Norfolk and the emigrant Edward did not figure
to any marked degree in the public life of Virginia or even
Maryland..." "Amidst a strictly agricultural and fur-trading
economy, Edward Dorsey, a shipwright, was one of the early
industrialists and thus constucted much-needed watercrafts for the
early planters along the Bay and the several inlets on which he and
the first settlers established their plantations." "The persistent
belief has prevailed among all early historians of the family that the
name was at one-time D'Arcy, and the belief is not without merit. The
D'Arcy was an ancient family of Old England and was raised to peerage
in 1332...The name is derived from the Norman-French of 'de Adreci'
which is found in Britian by 1086..." "The Virginia records indicate
that sometime before Oct. 7, 1646, Edward Dorsey entered Virginia.
Edward Dorsey either left the colony and returned..." "Edward Dorsey
married in Virginia and his wife was undoubtedly Anne--who later
became convinced of the Quaker preachings....By Edward Dorsey arriving
in Maryland from Virginia with the early contingencies of the
non-conformists, his political beliefs coincided with those of the
Puritans, but during his 9 or more years in the Province, he was
inactive politically...his seat and shipyard was at 'Dorsey' on the
south side of the Severn. It formed a promontory between 'Freeman's'
or 'Norwood's Cove' and Dorsey Creek." "Ultimatley, Edward Dorsey and
his wife became 'convinced' of the Quaker doctrine. ...a letter of
Robert Clarkson of the Severn dated 14th of ye ...1657 '...and
likewise Ann Dorsey is a more larger measure, hir husband I hope
abideth faithfull in his measure.' ("Quakers in the Founding of Anne
Arundel Co". by J. Reany Kelly, pp. 15, 17) "Edward Dorsey with
others was drowned off the Isle of Kent during the summer of
1659....petition to court of Anne Arundel County Tues, 2 Aug 1659:
"Whereas Thomas Hinson hath petitioned this Court Shewing that hee
having taken up the Boate wherein Edward Darcy and some others were
drowned, neare the Isle of Kent, being desyred by the said Darcys
Overseer to take up the same Which he did deliuery the same Boate to
the cheife in Authority...." "No inventory or adm. of his personal
estate is recorded at Annapolis...On Aug. 20, 1664, the three sons of
Edward Dorsey were granted...a plantation on Cabin Neck Branch of the
south bank called 'Hockley-in-the-Hole' some distance from the
Severn."
"DORSEY" "The Dorseys of Maryland are a branch of the British family
of Darcy, which appears both in England and in Ireland. The first
Darcy in England was Sir Norman d'Areci, who was one of the Norman
knights who accompanied his cousin, William the Conqueror in the
conquest of England. English genealogists have traced Sir Norman
d'Areci back to Rollo, the Viking leader, who became the first duke of
Normandy. (Rollo d. 931, was known to his warriors as Rolf the Ganger
because he was so large a man that no horse could carry him. He
therefore led his troops on foot. His statue may be seen in Rouen.)
His son, called William Longspee (d. 942) was the second duke of
Normandy. Richard Sans Peur (d. 996) a grandson was the third duke.
His son Richard II, the fourth duke, was married several times. His
oldest son, Richard III, the fifth duke, died early and Robert, the
next son, became the sixth duke. Robert's son was William then
Conqueror. The son of Richard II, the fourth duke, by his third wife
Pavia, was William, who became Count of Arques. Among other titles
which he possessed was that of Count of Areci, a Norman town near
Dieppe, which title he passed to his son Norman. The latter became
known as Sir Norman d'Areci or Darcy. He was first cousin to William
the Conqueror." "After the conquest of Sir Norman d'Areci was
rewarded with vast possessions. He was lord of 33 manors in
Lincolnshire. The family became known as Darcy and spread into
Yorkshire and Essex. Hockley in Essex, where the Darcys were lords of
the manor, is generally believed to have been the source from which
the Dorseys of Maryland and Virginia are derived, as the first land
grant which Edward Dorsey, the founder received in Md. was called
Hockley...The Darcy coat of arms with its three cinquefoils also
appears at nearby St. Nicholas Church (in Essex, England)...Joshua
Dorsey, son of Edward Dorsey, affixed a seal to documents he signed
bearing the cinquefoil of the Darcys, thus indicating, prior to 1688,
the fact that he considered himself to be a descendant of the ancient
family of Darcy."
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Carl & Elaine (Grove) Rhodes' Genealogy Pages
1619 - 1659 (40 years)