Cecil, John Sessell

Notes:

It has been assumed (and debated!) by over 200 years of genealogists that William's sons John and Phillip, given to the Duvalls in 1697/8, are the same men who appear in later PGC records. In the case of John Cecil of PGC, this is supported by several pieces of evidence:

John Cecil, a landowner in Prince George's County, married Elizabeth Sollars in Queen Ann's Parish, PGC in 1718.
Elizabeth's mother was presumably one Ann Sabrett Sullivan Sollars.
John and Elizabeth's children were probably Zephaniah, Samuel W., Sabrett and Thomas. (references for this not cited here).
They may have had sons William and James
Samuel Cecil was William's administrator, assisted by John (possibly William's son and Samuel's father?), Sabrett and Thomas.
Samuel W. Cecil was wed to Rebecca White, who was christened in Queen Ann's parish by Rev. Jacob Henderson, who wed the widow of Mareen Duvall the Immigrant, Mary Duvall Ridgely. It is assumed that Mareen's son, Mareen the Elder, was the one to whom William Cecil bound his children.
Obviously there was close association of all these people. It is possible that the William who died in 1749 was not John Cecil's father but another relative, such as an unknown son of William the widower of 1697/8...but this is speculation. Most genealogists accept that this William was John's father and Samuel's grandfather.

Phillip Cecil was also a landowner in PGC. He wed Elizabeth ?? (probably Gittings) around 1715, and died in March of 1733. According to the accounting of his estate, he left children Susannah, Mary, Elizabeth, John, William, Joshua and Phillip Jr. Phillip was probably the son of William Cecil and the younger brother of John Cecil. However, his widow Elizabeth stated in court that her dead husband had "...no relation to ye deceased in this Province," an assertion which has troubled genealogists for years.

If this was actually Elizabeth Gittings Cecil, she was the daughter of Phillip Gittings and Ann Sprigg, gentry of the area. Some genealogists have speculated that since she was the daughter of a gentleman, she might have been embarrassed by her husband's lowly relatives. However, John Cecil's wife Elizabeth Sollars was the daughter and sister of gentlemen, and John died with a respectable amount of property. William Cecil's estate of about 113 pounds puts him in the middle class of his time. Phillip Cecil's estate left nothing but debts and property which he had purchased from his brother in law. This speculation does not hold up.

However, other lines of evidence do converge to allow the assumption that Phillip and John Cecil were brothers. John's son Samuel and Phillip's daughter Elizabeth Cecil Whitten traveled in the same group to Western Virginia about 1767. The names of the Perre, Dent, Sprigg, Beall, Duvall and Pile families appear with those of Phillip and John Cecil too often for mere coincidence.
Penny Cecil Bloodhart
Twelve Generations Removed from William and Unknown
http://www.charweb.org/gen/whitten/cecil.synopsis.html
John CECIL
BIRTH: 24 DEC 1691, Queen Anne's Par., Prince George's Co., MD
DEATH: 28 JAN 1759, Queen Anne's Par., Prince George's Co., MD
BAPTISM: 31 DEC 1691, Queen Anne's Par., Prince George's Co., MD
Father: William CECIL
Mother: Mary

Family 1: Elizabeth SOLLERS
MARRIAGE: 1718, Queen Anne's Par., Prince George's Co., MD
Zephaniah CECIL
Samuel White CECIL
Elizabeth CECIL
Sabret CECIL
Thomas CECIL
John CECIL
William B. CECIL
James CECIL

Notes
Some genealogies show him as the son Thomas CECIL(d.1662), an engraver of London who came to MD to make maps, and was paid in land. He later returned to England where he died. Supposedly, he was the son of Thomas CECIL(1544-1622), Lord Burghley, who m.1564 Dorothy, dau John NEVILLE. This line is unproven, and the current consensus of Cecil researcher is that John was the son of William, q.v.
Also seen him as the descendent of a Henry CECIL (b.1577), grandson of Lord Burleigh (the Great Cecil).

John married in 1718 in Queen Anne's Parish, Prince George's Co., Maryland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Maureen (Mareen) Duvall was the one that the wife of William Cecil whose wife died March 1697/98 on her deathbed requested that Mireen (sic) Duvall take charge of her children of William Cecil.
(According to Elise Greenup Jourdan, nothing has been determined to date regarding this William Cecil's ancestors. He does appear to be connected to the Catholic Cissell's in SMC, MD. He had some education as he could write his name. He lived with Dr. Richard Pile in 1706/1707, a member of PGC, MD gentry. He was Protestant and bound his children to a Protestant family. There are no indications he owned land. He stated that it was his wife's deathbed request that the children be bound to Mr. Mareen Duvall-probably because his wife knew him to be unwilling or incapable of caring for the children. Duvall researchers have not come up with any blood or marriage link between the Cecil and Duvall families. It was said he was know to associate with disreputable character. Dr. Pile does not seem to be a very nice man either. William did have servants, a horse and nice things. By mid 1700's he appears to have been living with a grandchild in Frederick Co, MD William CECIL BIRTH: ABT 1665 DEATH: JUL 1749, Frederick Co., MD Family 1: Mary MARRIAGE: ABT 1688 John CECIL Phillip CECIL Susannah CECIL )According to Elise Greenup Jourdan, nothing has been determined to date regarding his ancestors. He does appear to be connected to the Catholic Cissell's in SMC, MD. He had some education as he could write his name. He lived with Dr. Richard Pile in 1706/1707, a member of PGC, MD gentry. He was Protestant and bound his children to a Protestant family. There are no indications he owned land. He stated that it was his wife's deathbed request that the children be bound to Mr. Mareen Duvall-probably because his wife knew him to be unwilling or incapable of caring for the children. Duvall researchers have not come up with any blood or marriage link between the Cecil and Duvall families. It was said he was know to associate with disreputable character. Dr. Pile does not seem to be a very nice man either. William did have servants, a horse and nice things. By mid 1700's he appears to have been living with a grandchild in Frederick Co, MD
William CECIL
[S23]

BIRTH: ABT 1665
DEATH: JUL 1749, Frederick Co., MD
Family 1: Mary
MARRIAGE: ABT 1688
John CECIL
Phillip CECIL
Susannah CECIL

Notes
from Elise Jourdan's book:
"Greenup Witten Cecil" (Gateway Press 1989) regarding our William:

"..There were at least two distinct lines of Maryland Cecils: The Catholic Cecils of St. Mary's County and the Protestant Cecils of Prince George's County. William Cecil, ancestor of at least part of the line which intermarried with the Witten and Greenup lines, was a Protestant. These Cecils all came from England where Cecil was not an unusual name and some Cecils were quite prominent and close to the crown. Sir Thomas Cecil, the London Engraver, was given a vast tract of land in Maryland for making the first map of the colony in 1638. His landholdings in St. Mary's County were managed by his son, John Cecil, who is believed to have married a Calvert..." From p. 224 of her book.

In March of 1697/98 as recorded in the annals of Prince George's County, a William Cecil (Sessell) "...by the request of my wife as she lay upon her deathbed" disposed of his children John, age 7, Phillip, age 5 and Susan, age 2, to Mareen Duval (the Elder) and his wife.

Proposed parents of William:

John CECIL(b.1620 d.6-Jun-1698) who m.c.1683 in VA Mary (______). This is unproven, and the William who was the son of John (b.1620) died c.1744, so the link to the Prince George's Cecils to the St. Mary's Cecil's is unlikely.
John CECIL(b.c.1635 d.6-Jun 1698) who m.c.1664 Mary SHIRCLIFF. This John was the son or Sir Thomas and Susan (Oxenbridge) CECIL. Is this the same John as the prior one?
Our William Cecil (or Sessell) appears in Prince George's County and later Frederick County (created from PGC) on several occasions from 1697 to 1749. This William was a witness in a trial in PGC in March of 1706, donated 50 pounds of tobacco to Queen Anne's Parish (Anglican) in 1708, and was involved in other court documents in 1710, 1714 and 1729. He witnessed wills in 1731 and 1732. His estate was probated in 1749, and grandchildren Thomas, Sabret and Samuel were administrators. These grandchildren are sons of John and Elizabeth (Sollars) Cecil.

Both William Cecil and William Cissell had sons named John. John Cecil married Elizabeth Sollars, who survived him at his death in 1759 per his will. John Cissell married an Elizabeth also, but this John died in 1742, and his widow married one Charles Neale.

We haven't a shred of evidence about who William Cecil married, what he did, or where he came from. (Lots of IDEAS but no proof!! :>).

http://www.charweb.org/gen/whitten/d0003/g0000032.htm#I2

William married , Mary about 1688 in Connecticut or Maryland. Mary was born about 1668 in Prince George's Co., Maryland; died in Mar 1697 in Prince George's Co., Maryland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

John CECIL
BIRTH: 24 DEC 1691, Queen Anne's Par., Prince George's Co., MD
DEATH: 28 JAN 1759, Queen Anne's Par., Prince George's Co., MD
BAPTISM: 31 DEC 1691, Queen Anne's Par., Prince George's Co., MD
Father: William CECIL
Mother: Mary

Family 1: Elizabeth SOLLERS
MARRIAGE: 1718, Queen Anne's Par., Prince George's Co., MD
Zephaniah CECIL
Samuel White CECIL
Elizabeth CECIL
Sabret CECIL
Thomas CECIL
John CECIL
William B. CECIL
James CECIL

Notes
Some genealogies show him as the son Thomas CECIL(d.1662), an engraver of London who came to MD to make maps, and was paid in land. He later returned to England where he died. Supposedly, he was the son of Thomas CECIL(1544-1622), Lord Burghley, who m.1564 Dorothy, dau John NEVILLE. This line is unproven, and the current consensus of Cecil researcher is that John was the son of William, q.v.
Also seen him as the descendent of a Henry CECIL (b.1577), grandson of Lord Burleigh (the Great Cecil).

William married about 1660. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

There is yet to be proof that this Thomas Cecil was the engraver who came to Maryland, nor that the Thomas Cecil who married Susan Oxenbridge fathered these children, it is still speculative.
Burke's Peerage does not give this 2nd marriage to Susan Oxenbridge, but the Oxenbridge family is very clear that the marriage, which is documented in London marriage records, was to Sir Thomas Cecil.
From: Adrian (Surrey, UK) AChanning@CompuServe.Com
"I am not to keen on the suggested connection Thomas Cecil (1542-1622/3) 2nd Lord Burghley and 1st Earl Exeter > Thomas (1578-) as being the Thomas Cecil engraver and map maker and shown as dying 1664 (can't remember the exact date). This makes him pretty old, and I have the Thomas (1578-) as member of the merchant tailors guild rather than anything to do with engraving. However I think it was a condition of trading in London to be a member of one of the recognized guilds and I don't think it always signifies the persons trade, although I think he would have had to have been apprenticed to a merchant tailor."

Notes from Salisbury Family Genealogy: Was an engraver in London. In 1635 he came to Maryland and made the first map for the state and was paid by the Crown in land. He returned to England where he died. He returned to England and died in 1662. In 1658 his son, John, came to Maryland to look after his interests. He settled in St. Mary's County.
In 1658 his son, John, came to Maryland t look after his interests. John settled in St. Mary's Co. There is some confusion on this Thomas Cecil's parents. But I can find no documentation to believe he is the same person as Thomas Cecil, the engraver. Elise Greenup Jourdan quotes a letter from a Mrs. Lynda Louise Cole, a notorized affidavit as a Cecil cousin, that the Thomas who was the son of the Earl of Exeter, drowned at sea with his only child, a daughter.

London: - Marriage Licences, 1520-1610
Burials.
Marriage Licences Granted by the Bishop of London.
1605.
County: London
Country: England
05 Jun 1605 Mr Thomas Cecill, Esq., about 24, son of Rt Hon. Thomas, Earl of Exeter, of the Savoy, & Mrs Anne Lee, Maiden, 18, dau. of Sir Robert Lee, Kt & Alderman of London, of St Andrew Undershaft, both fathers consenting; at St Andrew Undershaft aforesaid

Thomas married Oxenbridge, Susan about 1634. Susan (daughter of Oxenbridge, John and ) was born on 2 Dec 1617 in Burwash, Sussex, England; died between 1640 and 1678. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

According to "The Cecils of Hatfield House An English Ruling Family" by David Cecil, Houghton Mifflin 1973: He went abroad for a year at age 19. Thomas was "healthy, lazy, amiable with not much of a brain and intent on mainly girls and sport." Thomas did manage to settle down respectably and became Earl of Exeter.
It appears that the Cecil's who immigrated to America are mostly from this line. According to Jim Cissell in his Internet Page, most Cissell's are able to connect with John Cecil of Maryland who arrived in 1658. From 1607 until 1624 there are Cecil's listed in the Virginia colonies such as Robert, Thomas, William and General Cecill. I am alos looking to find descendents of these Cecil's. by the first congressional census in 1790 there are Cecil's in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New York and most predominately Maryland.

Signer, along with son Edward, of the Second Virginia Charter, May 23, 1609. According to Linda LSyselt@aol.com, as per Paul Tobler, the Meetings of the managers of the Virginia Company were sometimes held at his house in London, first known as Burleigh House, and later as Exeter House.
Other signers: It?s on the Second Virginia Charter, May 23, 1609, and it lists as signers, among many others, Sir Edward Cecill, Knight (Cecil), Sir Henrie Nevill, Knight (Nevil), Sir Robert Payne, Knight, Sir Dudley Diggs, Knight (Digges), Captaine Clakre, George Calvert, Esquire, William Oxenbridge, Esquire (could he perhaps be related to the Susan Oxenbridge who married Thomas Cecil the Engraver?); Christopher Nicholls, John Gardener (Gardiner); John Gilbert (could this also be Guilbert?), William Payne, and Christopher Nicholds (Christopher Holt).

Thomas married Neville, Dorothy in 1564 in England. Dorothy (daughter of Neville, John and Somerset, Lucy) was born in 1548 in Yorkshire, England; died on 23 Mar 1608 in London, Middlesex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married . [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]