Princess Anne County history: where we fit in

Long time Virginia Beach City Councilwoman Barbara Henley gave a two-hour talk to the ILR this morning about the history of Pungo. It was fascinating, but I quickly realized that my family is not quite as deeply rooted in old Princess Anne County as I thought. Blucher Fletcher did not live at the property on Blackwater Road until about 1880. Before then, according to an old map, it was a 1500 acre estate owned by a man named Augustus C. Smith. The Fletcher family's migration northward from North Carolina was typical of the way that the southern part of county was populated.

My 2X great grandfather Eley Bryant bought the farm at Blackwater and Head of River Road around 1885. Eley died in 1895 so he was definitely not a long term resident of the county. Margaret lived there until around 1900, and shortly thereafter, the Fletchers moved to Ocean View. So, all in all, my family claimed citizenship in Princess Anne County for less than 20 years. 

UPDATE 9/20/21: I discovered that we had the incorrect location for the Bryant farm. Looking at the old handwritten map above - the Bryants purchased the land owned by Johnston Forbes. You can see his name hand written on the map at Head of River Road. Also, I learned that the Fletchers did not own the land on Pungo Ferry Road all the way back to the North Landing River. They owned the land along Blackwater Road on both sides of Pungo ferry Road, shown in the gray area on the map. Their property extended south to the mill.

There are many families "down county" whose roots go back to the 1600's.

The Bryant farm was where "John D. Lewis" 
is shown, next to the Cox farm at the corner of 
Blackwater and Head of River Roads.

The length of Blackwater Rd showing the area
of both family farms.

Family Tree - paternal grandmother (5 generations)

My little red-headed grandma "Jack" Abbott has an intriguing genealogy.  The Abbott family of New Jersey were well-known piano makers from England.  John Abbott married into the Whitfield/Godfrey family, who were descendants of some important first settlers in New England including Roger Williams of Rhode Island. My grandmother's maternal ancestors were original land grant holders in Southhampton County, Virginia.  Owens, Bryant, Cobb, Underwood, Chandler, and Edwards are still common names in that area. Eley Bryant was a Civil War POW at Point Lookout, Maryland.  

I still have many questions about this branch of the family tree.  Ida Rene Bryant was the subject of more than one previous post and there are many curiosities about her life. I'd like to know exactly where Eley and Margaret Bryant lived when they moved to Princess Anne County near the end of their lives. I know it was in the Blackwater/Land of Promise area, but have no idea how to find the property.  I'd be willing to bet the house is still there! I'd like to know how the Bryant family originally connected with the Abbott family in New Jersey... Ida Rene's brother Charles Bryant moved from Southhampton County to New Jersey and became a piano dealer.  Another brother, WilliamThomas Bryant, married Rebecca Abbott, George Abbott's sister. William and Bonnie lived in Princess Anne County until his mother Margaret died and then they moved to New Jersey.  Ida Rene later married George Abbott who was 14 years younger than she.  Strange that a family in New Jersey would have so many close ties to a family so deeply rooted in Virginia.