Joice Whealton (ca. 1760-October 1816)

There are no birth records for Joice Whealton. In the 1800 U.S. Federal Census, her age was recorded in the 26–45 bracket, meaning she was born sometime between 1755 and 1774.[1]

Joice’s Parents

While there are no records directly identifying Joice’s parents, records suggest they were James and Rhoda Whealton. On September 9, 1772, James signed a will in Accomack County, Virginia, in which he bequeathed to his “daughter Joyce” an enslaved girl named Rhoda and a spinning wheel.[2] On October 30, 1809, his estate paid Joice and Sarah Payne for attending his wife during her illness.[3] This implies that their daughter Joice married a man with the Payne surname and is consistent with Joice having a daughter named Sarah Catherine. 

Also, Samuel Payne witnessed multiple legal documents in Accomack, Virginia, alongside Joice Whealton’s siblings, Arthur, William, and Scarburgh, indicating a close relationship between Samuel and the Whealton family.[4]

The Whealton surname is of English origin, likely derived from place names in Lancashire and Northamptonshire, and is connected to the Old English words hwēol, meaning wheel, and tūn, meaning enclosure or settlement, suggesting that the name may have originally referred to a settlement associated with a waterwheel or similar feature.[5]

It is unclear when James and Rhoda migrated to Virginia and who their parents were.

Marriage to Samuel Payne

There are no records of Joice’s marriage to Samuel Payne, but they were likely married around 1782, probably in Accomack, Virginia, where Joice lived. Samuel referred to a wife named Joice when he signed his will on January 8, 1799.[6] On June 17, 1799, the widow Joice Payne relinquished all benefits she might claim from Samuel’s will.[7]

On April 13, 1799, Joice paid personal property tax in Accomack County on a household that contained one enslaved person age sixteen or older and two horses, confirming that her husband Samuel died before that date.[8] The following year she appeared in the 1800 census in Accomack County as head of a household containing one female under age 10 (most likely Sarah Catherine) and one female between the ages of 26 and 45 (Joice).[9] This implies that her son, Levin, was no longer living at home.

Joice moved to Worcester County, Maryland, sometime after 1800, most likely when her daughter married James Henry Rowley around 1808. On January 1, 1808, James Rowley reported that two enslaved persons belonging to his wife Caty Payne had moved from Accomack County, Virginia, to Worcester County, Maryland.[10] On April 15, 1809, in Worcester County, Joice Payne freed an enslaved person named Shadrack, age 27, in exchange for $80.[11]

Joice’s Death

On September 3, 1816, Joice signed her will in Worcester County, Maryland. [12] She bequeathed her clothes to her daughter Sarah and furniture to her grandson John. She bequeathed to her son-in-law James the two enslaved men, Benjamin and Ephraim, who James had transferred to Maryland in 1808. Joice also arranged for the freedom of a man named Shadrack by paying James H. Rowley $20. It is unclear whether this is the same Shadrack who Joice had freed in 1809. 

Interestingly, Joice did not mention in her will Sarah’s other son, Coventon, who was mentioned in James Rowley’s will just a few months later.[13] She also did not bequeath anything to her son Levin’s widow and grandson James. Levin died sometime between December 5, 1812, when he sat on a jury[14] and April 8, 1815, when his widow remarried.[15]

Joice Payne died sometime between signing her will and December 10, 1816, when the will was probated.[16]

Footnotes

[1] 1800 U.S. Census, Accomack County, Virginia, p. 19, household of Joice Payne, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-B3RK-73BP.

[2] Virginia, Accomack. Wills & C, 1767–1772, pp. 116–117, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99P7-S9ML-Z.

[3] Virginia, Accomack. Wills & C, 1819–1821, p. 167, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89P7-3S4Q.

[4] Virginia, Accomack. Deeds 8, 1793-1797, pp. 220-221 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSYD-23ZG-K. Id., p. 239 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKW-J76T-Q. Virginia, Accomack. Minute Book 1795 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-23X9-X9SL-R. Virginia, Accomack. Orders 1793-1796, p. 379 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKW-J76D-2. 

[5] Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, 2022.

[6] Virginia, Accomack. Wills & C 1798–1800, p. 193, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89P7-SG2K. 

[7] Virginia, Accomack. Deeds 1797–1800, p. 312, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSYD-2ZX1.

[8] Virginia, Accomack. Personal Property 1799, p. 19, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQF-D9L8-5.

[9] 1800 U.S. Census, Accomack County, Virginia, p. 19, household of Joice Payne. 

[10] Maryland, Worcester. Land Records, Liber Z, 1807–1808, p. 229, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSG3-SS5G-D.

[11] Maryland, Worcester. Land Records, Liber A.A., 1808–1810, pp. 176–177, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSG3-SS59-M.

[12] Maryland, Worcester. Wills, Liber M.H., 1813–1822, pp. 230–231, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9TB2-PM.

[13] Ibid., pp. 241-242 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GTB2-BJ.

[14] Virginia, Accomack. Orders, 1809-1811, p. 100 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSY6-9DHJ.

[15] Virginia, Accomack. Marriage Record, No. 1, 1805-1850, p. 13 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9XF-C1PD.

[16] Maryland, Worcester. Wills, Liber M.H., 1813–1822, pp. 230–231.