Parentage of Frances Irvine

Edward Erwin resided in Augusta County, Virginia in the mid 1700's. He had a family of at least 5 sons, namely Edward, Andrew, Robert, John and Francis. These names were carried forward to the grandsons and great-grandsons of Edward Erwin. Further complicating the genealogy of Edward Erwin is the lack of records from this timeframe and the use of several variations of the Erwin surname, making it difficult to sort out the parentage of the Erwin descendants.

One such case is the parentage of the Francis Irvine who married Elizabeth Clements. Numerous sources show him as the son of Francis Erwin who married Jean Curry. Perhaps the primary source of this is a book by Margaret Logan Morris, "The Irvins, Doaks, Logans and McCampbells", published in 1916. This is an amazing collection of research, especially considering the time that it was written. However, court and land records from the period show that this Francis Irvine was the son of Andrew Erwin. Specifically:

Both of these clearly document Andrew Erwin as the father of Francis Erwin, and the grandfather of Jacob Clements and Andrew Erwin. Additionally, the chain of inheritance documented in the land patent further substantiate that Francis Erwin, father of Jacob Clements and Andrew Erwin, was the son of Andrew and Ann Erwin.

As testified in the court case brought by Jacob Clements and Andrew Erwin, their grandfather Andrew Erwin married Anne, the widow of James Patterson, about 1742. They had one son, Francis. Andrew died in 1765, and in his will left his property to his wife Anne and only son Francis. Francis married Elizabeth Clements, and they had at least 8 children, including Jacob Clements and Andrew. The land patent references Francis' will, which cites the land patents initially awarded to their grandfather Andrew Erwin and inherited by Francis upon the death of Andrew.

Bar

Note: The court case was originally brought to my attention by Laten Bechtel, another Erwin descendant who has done significant research in the early records of Edward Erwin's family. She also provided me with an initial transcription of the court case that was done by Lou Pellican. The land patent corroborated the information in the court case regarding the lineage of this Francis Irvine.