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Volume 1 & II - 1979-1980 - Fugate, Fugit, Fugett, Frigate Newsletter
Editor: Mrs. Denis Pat Gaines, Rt 1 Box 318 A, Mission, Texas 78572
The first issue of the Fugate Family Newsletter.
On of the earliest records on the Fugates is the WILL of JOSIAS FUGATE recorded in King George Co., Virginia, WILL BOOK I, pages 62-63. It was written the 18th of March 1757 and received for probate on June 2, 1757. In 1961 Mr. Douglas B. Fugate did research in the Virginia State Library and says this about the will; "Other county records indicate that substantial transfers of property had been made previously to the chidren who received only a schilling, so Josias was not so hardhearted as the WILL would make him appear. (In other words they inherited large sums of property way before their father's death).
WILL: In the Name of God Amen. I Josias Fugate of Brunswick Parish in the County of King George being in perfect sences in memory to make & ordain this my last Will & Testament first I Recommend my Soul to the Mercy of Almight God hoping for Salvation through the Merits of my Saviour Jesus Christ, I my Body I commit to the Earth to be Decently buired at the Descretion of my Executors hereafter named as to my worldly Estate I give (Dispose Whereof as followeth afterall my just Debt in are ___Item I give to my son John Fugate one Shilling Sterling Item I give to my son Josias Fugate one Shilling Sterling Item I give to my son Randolph Fugate One Shilling Sterling Item I give to my son Martin Fugate One Shilling Sterling Item I give to my daughter Ann Swillavant one Shilling Sterling item I give to my wife Mary Fugate all my whole Estate during her life & as her Death when I give I shall to my son Francis Fugate to him & his heirs Governer lastly I do hereby Nominate & appoint my son Francis Fugate Exceutor of this my Last Will & Testament in Testamony whereof I have hereunto set my Hand & Seal this 18 Day, March 1757.
Signed, Sealed, Published & Delivered by the said Josias Fugate to be his ___Will & Testament.
SIGNED Josias (his mark) Fugate (SEAL)
His Francis (his mark) Martin
Edward Porcher (his mark)
and W A.B. Brown (his mark)
"The Fugate Family of Russell County, Virginia" by Dr. David Faris, Published 1986 by Gateway Press, Baltimore, Maryland. Reference - Pg. 3, JOSIAS FUGATE The early settlement of Virginia was concentrated in the (tidewater area) along the larger navigable rivers with easy access by water between settled areas and to the West Indies and England. As new settlers and younger sons sought unoccupied land, the settlements, progressed westward along the river valleys. (The first known Ancestor of the FUGATES of Moccasin Valley, JOSIAS FUGATE), resided in the (Peninsula of Virginia) land lying between the (Rappanhannock and Potomac Rivers) extending from the (Chesapeake Bay) back to the sources of the rivers in the mountains of Western Virginia. The land was called the NORTHERN NECK OF VIRGINIA.
Pg. 3, Josias Fugate, resided in Brunswick Parish, King George County, Virginia, had been before 1692 part of Old Rappanhannock County, and then part of Richmond County until 1720. Josias Will, dated March 18, 1757 and proved June 2, 1757, which divided one shilling each to his sons, John, Josias, Randolph, Martin, and daughter Ann Swillavant, and the remainder of his estate to his wife Mary and on her death to his son Francis Fugate (King George Will Book 1:62)
THE FUGATE LINE - Some Fugate researchers have made assumptions and concluded that the father of Josias was Peter Fugate who came to America from France. Almost every Fugate family claims to be descendants of French Huguenots. This just can’t be proven. It was rumored on my father’s side of my Great-Grand Father Martin that he was of French Origin, and that they were the Black Fugate’s, (possible the Fugate’s who settled in Africa (Boars) and fought the war with England) this is strictly an educated guess on my part based on new data I have learned and applying it to the verbal information I was handed down from my Fugate branch. There is some documentation on this Peter Fugate, just not on his children. It has been said he was born 1650 Normandy, France. About the same time Peter appeared on the scene, there was another Fugate who came over from England. This was James Fugate. Some researchers want to believe that Peter and James were related. This may not be probable. While Peter called his plantation “Frenchman’s Land”, James claimed to be the son of James and Eme of Ould England. Records in England have been found for these individuals. Some English spellings of the name are Fugett and Foucat. A record has popped up about a Peter Foucat, Christened July 19, 1636 in Westminster, St Martin (London), whose parents were Richard and Hestor. So now some researchers are making leaps again and saying Peter and James are related and English. As one can see the waters are very muddy and unclear concerning the first Fugate, but we should still continue to try to piece the puzzle together. The name Fugate has been spelled at least 29 or more different way.
HUGUENOTS - Since almost the entire Fugate clan claim to be of this origin lets look at the Huguenots. They were French Protestants who were members of the reformed Church established in France by John Calvin in about 1555, and who, due to religious persecution, were forced to flee France to other countries in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Since the Huguenots of France were in large part artisans, craftsmen, and professional people, they were usually well received in the countries to which they fled for refuge. Most of them went initially to Germany, the Netherlands, and England, although some found their way eventually to places as remote as South Africa. Considerable numbers of Huguenots migrated to British North America, especially to the Carolinas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York. Why do I mention the Huguenots, follow their entry into North America and you will find they followed the same or similar paths that the Fugate’s in America followed. Also, my Great Grandfather Martin Fugate born 1820 Claiborne Co TN, married Elizabeth Smith, stated to my father that he was of French origin. Although this French origin cannot be validated, I assure you to be of French origin in early Kentucky would not have won you any friends. I see no reason that Martin would have for telling an untruth about the French origin. It was said that Martin bragged frequently about being French. I have heard since early childhood that Martin and Levi Fugate his father have stated that they were of (Black Dutch origin), this being one of the branches of the Huguenots that went to Holland from Germany. The origin of the word “Huguenot” is uncertain, but it appears to have come from the word aignos, derived from the German Eldgenosen (confederates bound together by oath), which used to describe between 1520 and 1524, the patriots of Geneva hostile to the Duke of Savoy. The exact origin of the word Huguenot is unknown, but many consider it to be a combination of Flemish and German. Protestants who met to study the Bible in secret were called Huis Genooten, meaning” House Fellows. Josias is the earliest confirmed Fugate in America. He resided in the Northern Neck of Virginia in the Brunswick Parish of King George County. In Josiah’s will dated March 18, 1757, he mentions his sons: Francis, John, Josias Jr., Randolph, Martin, and daughter Ann Swillavant, as well as his wife Mary (presumed to be) Martin. Josias is possibly the son of Peter Fugate and Jane Lawton and brother of James by the same parents. This is based on circumstantial evidence only. Peter Fugate and wife Jane Lawton were in the same or nearby area, in a time frame that makes this possible. Perhaps the first Fugate in America was James Fugate, s/o James Fugett and Emaline Lamb of Ltegay, London. James Fugett married Martha Poel (Poole) in Henrico County, VA. in 1694. The Co was established in 1611, just four years after Jamestown. It extended on both sides of the James River from the junction of the James and Appomattox Rivers to the Blue Ridge Mountains. There is no proof that Josias is a son of Peter and Frances Mould. It is only an educated guess. It could be that he is another immigrant.
From The Fugate Family of Russell Co., VA by David Farris, Gateway Press 1986
From: GENI
Peter is not the brother of James. There is a birth record of James. He only had one brother. William, who died as an infant. Peter was French but James and his parents were English.
Where is the record that shows that Peter was married to Jane Lawton?
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1688 - 1757 (69 years)
