Nicholas Gassaway
Encyclopedia
Colonel Nicholas Gassaway (Baptized 11 March 1634, died 1 October 1691) was a colonial military and political leader and justice in early Maryland
. He is also notable for having originated the family name Gassaway (also spelled Gasaway, Gasway and Gazaway), as a variant of his father Thomas Gaswaie’s family name. He is the progenitor of the some five and a half thousand Americans who bear the family name in the 2000 census.
. He emigrated to the colony as a professional plantation manager around 1650 and settled south of Londontowne
, a southerly district of Annapolis Maryland
today. Within a decade he was the owner of a sizable tobacco
plantation
exporting to his Gaswaie family back in England
from his dock at the neck of the South River
on Chesapeake Bay
. He served as an officer in the Maryland Provincial military rising rapidly to the rank of Major
during skirmishes with local Indigenous peoples. He died one of the largest landholders in the Maryland colony.
Nicholas Gassaway was a politician and jurist in addition to his military role in the colony. He was named a Gentleman Justice of the Quorum
while still a Major. He was promoted to Colonel
in 1672 and was named as a Commissioner of Londontowne in 1683. He became a Commissioner of the Peace in 1686 and was appointed one of the Committee of Twenty who governed the Maryland Colony pending the arrival of a Royal Governor
from late 1689 to 1691. Additionally, he sat as a Justice of the Provincial Court in his final years.
Nicholas’ son Captain Thomas Gassaway, who provided Gassaway land for the Old South River Club
and All Hallows Church, would carry on the family tradition of both military and civilian leadership serving as Lord High Sherriff for Anne Arundel
County from 1711 through 1714. His son, Captain John Gassaway, in turn served as High Sherriff of Annapolis.
, England, 11 March 1634. Gassaway, Henry Griffith Jr., Gassaway: a history and genealogy of the descendants of Col Nicholas Gassaway, Birmingham, MI 1935 He was the son of Thomas Gaswaie and Ann Collingwood, who were married there 6 January 1631. He emigrated to North America
arriving around 1650.
Nicholas Gassaway married the daughter of Captain Thomas Besson, Anne, in 1672. She was 18 and he was 42 at the time.Siefert, Linda & Dodd, Katy, In Pursuit of Freedom, Xlibris Corp, USA, 2011, p.38 They had 5 children including Ann (1670-1737), Captain Nicholas (1668-1699), Captain John (1674-1697), and Jane (1680-1736). Upon the death of Anne, who died in childbirth in 1680 following a bout with depression after the death of her father, he remarried to Anne’s sister Hester. They had at least 3 children including Captain Thomas (1683-1739), Margaret (1680-1724), and Hester (1676- before 1735). All of those holding rank followed Colonel Nicholas as officers in the Maryland Provincial Forces.
Three of Colonel Nicholas Gassaway’s great grandchildren continued the tradition of colonial military service as officers in the Maryland Line
of the Continental Army
. They were Lieutenant
Henry Gassaway, Lieutenant Nicholas Gassaway and Captain John Gassaway. Great-great grandson Colonel Gassaway Watkins of Morgan’s riflemen also gained distinction in the revolution
and served as President of the Maryland chapter of the prestigious Society of the Cincinnati
in which the most direct descendant of each of the four is eligible for membership.
One of many notable descendants of Colonel Nicholas Gassaway is Henry Gassaway Davis
, a railroad tycoon from West Virginia
who served as Senator
from that state (1871-83) and ran for Vice President of the United States
in 1904.The town of Gassaway, West Virginia
is named after the late Senator.
As of the Census of 2000, there were 5599 persons in the United States
named Gassaway, Gasaway, Gasway or Gazaway. Of those roughly 79% were identified as white, 16% African-American, 1% Hispanic and less than 1% Asian-American. While slaves routinely adopted the name of the slaveholding family, there is some indication that some African-Americans descended from Gassaway slaves may also be descended from the Colonel genetically.
south of modern Annapolis, Maryland
. His lands abutted those of the Selby family, Called Selby's Marsh, a part of which was rented to family attourney John Gresham II who built what became known as Gresham
house. In 1690, Nicholas’ daughter Jane married the pirate William Cotter who came to own part of Selby's Marsh in 1693 including the rental parcel, but the it was not in the hands of any of Nicholas’ family at the time of his late 1691 death. Their plantation, renamed "Cotter's Desire", passed to their nephew Captain John's three sons and was later sold along with Gresham house to the family of Commodore Isaac Mayo
, for whom much of the area is today named. Colonel Nicholas left to his son Captain Nicholas the Love's Neck plantation and his residence there in 1691. Gresham house was owned by Greshams on rented land until sometime after 1723. The wife of Mayo's grandson Thomas Gaither Jr. relocated the gravestone of Captain Nicholas Gassaway (d.1699), found at Gresham house, to St. Anne's sometime before the house passed out of the Mayo family in 1915. In the 1960s, it was discovered that a footstep at Gresham was in fact the downturned grave marker of Colonel Nicholas Gassaway and it too was relocated to St. Anne’s Church in Annapolis. How Colonel Nicholas’ and his son's gravestones came to be at Gresham house and where their remains actually lie is a mystery.
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. He is also notable for having originated the family name Gassaway (also spelled Gasaway, Gasway and Gazaway), as a variant of his father Thomas Gaswaie’s family name. He is the progenitor of the some five and a half thousand Americans who bear the family name in the 2000 census.
Career
Nicholas Gaswaie was born to a Welsh merchant family belonging to St. Margaret’s Parish Westminster in London EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He emigrated to the colony as a professional plantation manager around 1650 and settled south of Londontowne
Londontowne, Maryland
Londontowne is a census-designated place in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 7,595 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, a southerly district of Annapolis Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
today. Within a decade he was the owner of a sizable tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
exporting to his Gaswaie family back in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
from his dock at the neck of the South River
South River (Maryland)
The South River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in Anne Arundel County, Maryland in the United States.The South River is located south of the Severn River, east of the Patuxent River, and north of the West River and Rhode River, and drains to the Chesapeake Bay.It has a watershed area of ,...
on Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
. He served as an officer in the Maryland Provincial military rising rapidly to the rank of Major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
during skirmishes with local Indigenous peoples. He died one of the largest landholders in the Maryland colony.
Nicholas Gassaway was a politician and jurist in addition to his military role in the colony. He was named a Gentleman Justice of the Quorum
The Quorum
The Quorum coffee house created a successful model for multicultural exchange in the politically and racially charged atmosphere of the 1960s. It became a frequent target of segregationist harassment in New Orleans after it opened to persons from all racial backgrounds in 1963...
while still a Major. He was promoted to Colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
in 1672 and was named as a Commissioner of Londontowne in 1683. He became a Commissioner of the Peace in 1686 and was appointed one of the Committee of Twenty who governed the Maryland Colony pending the arrival of a Royal Governor
Royal governor
Royal governor is an informal term used to refer to a colonial or provincial Governor, or by extension a Governor-General or similar gubernatorial official, appointed by a king or other monarch....
from late 1689 to 1691. Additionally, he sat as a Justice of the Provincial Court in his final years.
Nicholas’ son Captain Thomas Gassaway, who provided Gassaway land for the Old South River Club
South River Club
South River Club refers to both a social club and more recently, the historic building at South River, Anne Arundel County, Maryland where the club met.-The club:...
and All Hallows Church, would carry on the family tradition of both military and civilian leadership serving as Lord High Sherriff for Anne Arundel
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Anne Arundel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is named for Anne Arundell , a member of the ancient family of Arundells in Cornwall, England and the wife of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. Its county seat is Annapolis, which is also the capital of the state...
County from 1711 through 1714. His son, Captain John Gassaway, in turn served as High Sherriff of Annapolis.
Family
Colonel Nicholas Gassaway was baptized Nicholas Gaswaie at St. Margaret’s Parish Westminster, LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England, 11 March 1634. Gassaway, Henry Griffith Jr., Gassaway: a history and genealogy of the descendants of Col Nicholas Gassaway, Birmingham, MI 1935 He was the son of Thomas Gaswaie and Ann Collingwood, who were married there 6 January 1631. He emigrated to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
arriving around 1650.
Nicholas Gassaway married the daughter of Captain Thomas Besson, Anne, in 1672. She was 18 and he was 42 at the time.Siefert, Linda & Dodd, Katy, In Pursuit of Freedom, Xlibris Corp, USA, 2011, p.38 They had 5 children including Ann (1670-1737), Captain Nicholas (1668-1699), Captain John (1674-1697), and Jane (1680-1736). Upon the death of Anne, who died in childbirth in 1680 following a bout with depression after the death of her father, he remarried to Anne’s sister Hester. They had at least 3 children including Captain Thomas (1683-1739), Margaret (1680-1724), and Hester (1676- before 1735). All of those holding rank followed Colonel Nicholas as officers in the Maryland Provincial Forces.
Three of Colonel Nicholas Gassaway’s great grandchildren continued the tradition of colonial military service as officers in the Maryland Line
Maryland Line
The Maryland Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "Maryland Line" referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to Maryland at various times by the Continental Congress. These, together with similar contingents from the other twelve states, formed the...
of the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
. They were Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Henry Gassaway, Lieutenant Nicholas Gassaway and Captain John Gassaway. Great-great grandson Colonel Gassaway Watkins of Morgan’s riflemen also gained distinction in the revolution
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
and served as President of the Maryland chapter of the prestigious Society of the Cincinnati
Society of the Cincinnati
The Society of the Cincinnati is a historical organization with branches in the United States and France founded in 1783 to preserve the ideals and fellowship of the American Revolutionary War officers and to pressure the government to honor pledges it had made to officers who fought for American...
in which the most direct descendant of each of the four is eligible for membership.
One of many notable descendants of Colonel Nicholas Gassaway is Henry Gassaway Davis
Henry G. Davis
Henry Gassaway Davis was a self-made millionaire and U.S. Senator from West Virginia. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1904. His brother was U.S...
, a railroad tycoon from West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
who served as Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from that state (1871-83) and ran for Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
in 1904.The town of Gassaway, West Virginia
Gassaway, West Virginia
Gassaway is a town in Braxton County, West Virginia, in the United States. The population was 901 at the 2000 census. Gassaway was incorporated in 1905 and named for Henry Gassaway Davis...
is named after the late Senator.
As of the Census of 2000, there were 5599 persons in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
named Gassaway, Gasaway, Gasway or Gazaway. Of those roughly 79% were identified as white, 16% African-American, 1% Hispanic and less than 1% Asian-American. While slaves routinely adopted the name of the slaveholding family, there is some indication that some African-Americans descended from Gassaway slaves may also be descended from the Colonel genetically.
Burial mystery
Colonel Nicholas Gassaway owned large tracts of land alongside Chesapeake BayChesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
south of modern Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
. His lands abutted those of the Selby family, Called Selby's Marsh, a part of which was rented to family attourney John Gresham II who built what became known as Gresham
Gresham (Edgewater, Maryland)
Gresham is a historic home near Edgewater, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. It is a large -story frame dwelling built by John Gresham II after 1686 on land owned by land-grant pioneer Captain Edward Selby....
house. In 1690, Nicholas’ daughter Jane married the pirate William Cotter who came to own part of Selby's Marsh in 1693 including the rental parcel, but the it was not in the hands of any of Nicholas’ family at the time of his late 1691 death. Their plantation, renamed "Cotter's Desire", passed to their nephew Captain John's three sons and was later sold along with Gresham house to the family of Commodore Isaac Mayo
Isaac Mayo
Commodore Isaac Mayo was a United States naval officer who served in the War of 1812, Second Seminole War, and Mexican War. He is credited with influencing the location of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis...
, for whom much of the area is today named. Colonel Nicholas left to his son Captain Nicholas the Love's Neck plantation and his residence there in 1691. Gresham house was owned by Greshams on rented land until sometime after 1723. The wife of Mayo's grandson Thomas Gaither Jr. relocated the gravestone of Captain Nicholas Gassaway (d.1699), found at Gresham house, to St. Anne's sometime before the house passed out of the Mayo family in 1915. In the 1960s, it was discovered that a footstep at Gresham was in fact the downturned grave marker of Colonel Nicholas Gassaway and it too was relocated to St. Anne’s Church in Annapolis. How Colonel Nicholas’ and his son's gravestones came to be at Gresham house and where their remains actually lie is a mystery.