| Notes |
- [Emory_Anc.ged]
Thomas Durbin may be our immigrant ancestor. Thomas Durbin migrated,
perhaps by way of the West Indies from Avon County (now Somerset),
England, to Ann A rundel County, Maryland prior to 1676. In Bristol and
America: A Record of the First Settlers in the Colonies of North
America, 1654-1685, we find the names of more than 10,000 servants to
foreign plantations who sailed from the Port of Bristol to Virginia,
Maryland, and other parts of the Atlantic coast , and the West Indies.
On page 476 of Volume I (1654-63), we find Thomas Du rbin; destination,
Nevis. Although Thomas Durbin, gave his destination as Ne vis, British
West Indies, which is in the Caribbean, this does not mean that Nevis was
his ultimate destination, for at that time immigrants were coming i n
droves to Virginia and Maryland to raise tobacco which was very much in
d emand in England. Lord Baltimore's ships had begun to take a southerly
route to reach North America to avoid the stormy North Atlantic which
earlier ship s like the Mayflower had taken.
The first Durbin of record in Maryland was a m an named Thomas. One
researcher lists his birthplace as England 1626, and an other adds
Gloucester. His wife's birthdate is given as about 1628.
From th e Maryland Historical Magazine:
October 13, 1676, Walter Dickerson, Planter, o f Great Choptank, Talbot
County, Maryland for 2,500 pounds of tobacco, convey s to Thomas Durbin of
Severne, Ann Arundel County the 200 acres tract "Johnso n" on the east
side of Dickerson branch, on the east side of Welshmans Creek, on the
north side of the Patapsco River. Sarah Dickerson releases dower.
I n April 20, 1682 there were two additional land grants for land adjacent
to t he "Johnson" tract, called "Thomas Addition" and "Westminster."
Baltimore rent rolls dated 1700-1720, Thomas Durbin, Baltimore County
Hab-Nab-at-a-Venture 350 acres surveyed June 30, 1688 for Thomas Durbin,
lying on North side of Pa tapsco River and belonging to orphants of said
Durbin. This tract of land is the present site (1982) of the Druid Hill
Park near John Hopkins University and the Baltimore Zoo.
Thomas Durbin witnessed the will of Jane Long on May 19 , 1696. He died
in the first part of 1699 or the later part of 1698 for his inventory was
taken May 8, 1699, by Roger Newman, and totaled a substantial 1 3,158
pounds, with 60-02-8 due to the estate. Debts were paid out of the
e state to John Smith, Captain Deen Cock, Roger Newman, John Thomas, Major
Maxw ell, and John Hall. Of particular interest is the following:
To ye funerall c harges of Thomas Durbin and his wife
2 black walnutt coffins . . .
This show s that Thomas and his wife died at about the same time. It
seems likely that death was sudden and unexpected, for no will was made.
Perhaps it was the r esult of Indian problems.
Thomas Durbin left several children, and the Durbins who show up in the
Patapsco River area from 1699 to 1821 can reasonably be a ssumed to be his
children, for no other Durbins are know to exist in this are a -- or even
the Continental United States -- at this time. Further, the na me Thomas
is carried through several generations of his believed descendants.
Because the rent roll record speaks in the the plural "orphants" we can
b e sure of more than one minor child left at Thomas Durbin's death.
"There are interesting stories and traditions handed down in every
family, but one of th e most interesting heard concerning the Durbin
family is the connection of th e City of Baltimore, Maryland, with one of
the earliest Durbins. It seems a few years ago one of the Durbins was
doing research in Baltimore, and he ran across a document which indicated
that a Durbin had become angry with his chi ldren and did not want any of
them to have any of his estate. He leased all his lands to someone for
99 years with the stipulation that after that time t he land was to return
to his descendants, since
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1626 - Abt 1697 (71 years)
[1] 
