Revised and updated 15 March 2008. Genealogy can change rapidly, as new information is found, forcing reevaluations of previous information. Check back for updates before using any of this information.

One group of Parrotts, found primarily in central Kentucky and Virginia, trace their origin to Lawrence and Mary Parrot. Lawrence was born around 1670, perhaps in Virginia, and died intestate by 9 May 1946 in Northumberland Co., Virginia, when his estate was ordered appraised by the court. The inventory was submitted by Thomas Yerby, Chas. Copedge Jr., and Jessey Robinson, on 13 April 1747, and was witnessed by Mary Parrot (Northumberland Co. Record Book 1743-49, page 197) thusly:

"This is a true and perfect inventory of the estate of Lawrence Parrot dec'd as yet came to my hands the meal & corn barley sufficient for the family.

Lawrence and Mary had a son, William, who married Hannah Hughlett and gave birth to 5 sons and 2 daughters, who gave rise to the Parrotts of central Kentucky and Virginia. The link between Lawrence and William is established by Fillis, James, and Winney, slaves named in the property inventory of Lawrence. Phillis, James, and Winney later appear in the will of William Parrott, tying Lawrence to William. A son William is also named in the will of Mary Parrott, the putative widow of Lawrence.

How Lawrence and his descendants relate to other Parrotts is becoming apparent through a DNA project that has been started at
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~parrott/index.html. Previous and widely published assumptions that all the early Parrotts of Maryland and Virginia were related to each other cannot be substantiated based on current DNA results.

The parents of Lawrence remain unknown, although there are a few possibilities. The first of these is that Lawrence was the son or grandson of yet another Lawrence. This older Lawrence was transported to Maryland ~ 1662 by John Singleton who claimed a headright for him. This Lawrence has been reported to have later sold headrights in Maryland in the 1660's and owned land in Baltimore, but no documentation has been found to support these claims.

He did sell head rights in Virginia, receiving 137 acres adjoining the land of Col. Rich'd. Dudley, Capt. Armestead and Wm. Beards; in exchange for 4 headrights on 26 September 1678 (Mathews Co., Bk 6, p 660). He received 203 acres joining to Gwynns Ridge 23 October 1690, adjoining land of Col. John Armested and Mr. Roberts, for 5 headrights, bringing total acreage up to 340 (Mathews Co., Bk 8, p 98). He paid taxes accordingly in 1704.

Besides Lawrence of Northumberland, this elder Lawrence might have had other sons.
MichaeI Parratt obtained 110 acres adjoining the land of Lawrence Parrott, Captn. Todd, Captn. Knowles & Captn William Armistead, for 3 headrights on 20 October 1704. (Mathews Co. Bk 9, p 615). Richard Parrett received 43 acres beginning at a corner gum of Captn. Ambrose Dudley standing at the south end of the chesnut ridge. & adjoining Lawr. Parrott, George Burgis, and Charles Jones, for 1 headright on 16 June 1714 (Mathews Co. Bk 10, p 127).

The destruction of all Gloucester County records in an 1820 fire have made it very difficult to research Lawrence, though a few records survive from other counties. A Lawrence Parrott co-paid a £400 security bond 1704 in Richmond County on behalf of Margarett Bronaugh, widow of Richard Cary. These actions suggest Richard died intestate; given the widow was the executrix, Margarett, would have had to post a bond equal in value to the worth of the estate. Such bonds were normally provided by the widow's relatives, suggesting a Parrott-Bronaugh relationship.

There are records showing a Francis Parrott in Maryland in 1655 and 1658 (originally and erroneously reported as 1648). A Francis Parrott transported himself to Maryland in 1662. It is not clear if these are the same or different persons. A Francis died ca 1670, leaving an unborn child, and it is commonly claimed this child was the Francis Parrott who appeared in the Chowan precinct of Albemarle Co. (now Bertie co.) in 1691. Assuming the child was a male and he survived, it is much more likely that this unborn child was the Francis who died ca 1710 in Queen Anne's county Maryland, and not the one who appeared in North Carolina.

Prior to the advent of DNA testing, the picture of the early Parrott families of North America was simple, as exeplified in Links that Bind (1967) by Evalyn Parrott Scott. To this day, Links remains the best compilation of information on the Parrott families. Given they frequently crossed paths with each other, married into the same families and used similar names, Evalyn Parrott Scott declared them to be 'Kinsman all."

Under this scenario, one of the best documented early Parrotts, Richard of Middlesex Co., Virginia, was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, and a large landowner in Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. He was said to be descended from the Pembrokeshire Perrot family of Wales and England. Third-hand reports were that he used their coat of arms, though it has been impossible to verify these reports, and were in all likelihood, never true. Either way, it has been speculated that Francis was his son from his first wife.

However, there is no evidence to support the marriage of Richard to a 'first wife' -- one before Sarah Dale. In addition, a reading of Richard Sr.'s wills reveals he adhered to the principles of primogeniture. Had Francis been an older son of Richard's, he would have been mentioned in his will. DNA results have now confirmed beyond doubt that Francis of Bertie Co. and Richard of Middlesex were not related.

Given the prevalence of the name 'William' among the descendants of Lawrence Jr., another possibility is he was the son or relative of a William Parrott of Talbot and Calvert Co., Maryland. More recently, the results from one DNA test from a descendant of William of Talbot appear to rule out out a connection between William of Talbot and the other Parrott families. Another branch descended from William of Talbot still needs to be tested to confirm the results.

Francis Parrott of Calvert reportedly married Sarah Abraham, and William's second marriage was to her sister, Ann. However, there is no documentation to support that Ann and Sarah were sisters, as Sarah's maiden name has never been recorded. Nevertheless, Isaac Abraham provided a huge bond so Sarah could be the adminstratrix for her late husband's estate, thus suggesting some close connection.

It has been pointed out in Links that Parrott records are altogether absent in the records of St. Stephen's parish in Northumberland Co., suggesting that the Lawrence Parrott family may have been Quaker. However, the real reason is that Lawrence and his descendants did not live in St. Stephen's parish, but in the adjacent Wicomico parish. Lawrence appears in the vestry record for Wicomico Parish in Northumberland County on 2 August 1743, when it was ordered that Lawrence Parrott be one of the land processioners for the precinct. Two years later, Laurence Parrot was recorded as owing the parish £200 at a vestry meeting on 12 October 1745.

Another tentative connection is through a John Parrott, one of the earliest Parrotts in North America, having arrived onboard the Providence in 1623 and having obtained land along the Nansemond River by 1635 and called it 'Parraketo Point.' There is a lot of speculation that surrounds John of Nansemond, none of which can be corroborated or ruled out at this time. He has said to be the 3rd son of Sir John Perrott, lord deputy of Ireland. He has also been said to be John the Quaker.

A legend that has persisted in some branches of the family is that Lawrence Sr. was the son of a Robert Parrott. From there, it was assumed that this Robert was the same as the brother of Richard Perrott of Middlesex Co. Richard mentions his brother Robert in a deed dated 1672, and refers to Robert's two eldest sons, but the names of the sons are never given, leading to speculation that they might have been Lawrence or Francis. Given the current DNA data, if Francis and Lawrence were descended from a Robert, this Robert is not the brother of Richard. One version of the Robert-as-ancestor story dates back to the Civil War era, when the story was that Robert had helped steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. In fact, the list of prisoners in the Tower of London does show that a Robert Perrot was jailed there in 1671. Although the reason for his imprisonment is not recorded, an Edward Parrot was jailed at the same time, for helping Captain Thomas Blood steal the Crown Jewels. Edward and Captn Blood were released, but there is no record of Robert's fate, though he is thought to be the rebel by that name who was executed at Taunton, Somerset, in 1685, for participating in the Monmouth Rebellion.

Lastly, there is a Symon Parrott, who first got transported to Middlesex in 1650, and later to Gloucester Co. in 1654. How the Lawrence Parrott lineage relates to other Parrott lineages not yet tested for DNA remains unknown. Besides the Middlesex Parrotts, there are records of several Parrotts in the mid to late 1700's in Gloucester Co., where Lawrence Sr. was from. These include George Nevil, George, Richard, Fanny, John, Elizabeth, Robert, Augustine, Joseph, and Lucy. These may have been descended from the other sons previously mentioned for Lawrence Sr., or perhaps from Symon.

In the end, the only thing that can be said with certainty is that a Francis and a Lawrence Parrott arrived in Maryland ca 1660, and nothing indicates a relationship between these two. Francis was most likely related to William and Gabriel Parrott of Talbot Co. Maryland

A generation later, a Lawrence Parrott appears in Northumberland Co., Virginia, and a Francis Parrott appears in the Chowan district of Albemarle Co., North Carolina in 1691. The DNA of their descendants shows this Francis and this Lawrence were related to each other, so Lawrence from Northumberland and Francis from Bertie could have been brothers or cousins, among other possibilities, but were not otherwise related to the Francis Parrott of Maryland. The exact nature of their relationship cannot be determined based on DNA alone.

DNA testing has also shown a third line of Parrotts to be related to the descendants of Lawrence and Francis, though the connection between them is unknown. The earliest known member of this third lineage is Benjamin, who appears in Guilford (later Rockingham) Co., North Carolina first on 18 August 1778 when he obtained a land grant for 500 acres on both sides of Wolf Island Creek. This grant is part of the land which Benjamin Parrott, Sr. sold to Abner (his son?) on 9 May 1789.

It is evident the descendants of Lawrence crossed paths with the descendants of Richard of Middlesex, even though they were not related. There were Parrotts in Lunenburg Co., around the same time period, including Samuel, William and John. The latter married Ruth, and moved to Halifax Co., around 1775. Rodham Parrott, son of William Parrott moved there about 10 years later. While in Lunenburg, this John was the overseer for the plantation of Elisha and Mary Ann Betts. Mary Ann was the daughter of Lawrence and Mary. She first married Richard Haynie, and secondly, Elisha Betts. Interestingly enough, Richard Haynie's grandfather, Richard Haney, transported Richard Perrott Jr., and and his younger brother, Henry. Hence, the Haynie/Haney family appears to have interacted with the Middlesex Parrotts as well.

Based on genetic genealogy, the descendants of Lawrence Parrott belong to what is known as an "I1a* haplogroup" or "Anglo-Saxon" type. This type of DNA is primarily found in the northern Germany/Denmark parts of Europe, and to a lesser extent, in Scandinavia. All in all, the DNA information suggests this lineage is descended from Anglo-Saxon or perhaps Viking migration to England. Vikings are simply the descendants of Anglo-Saxons who continued their northward migration.

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Land Patents 1628 ~ 1849

Virginia Land Office Patents and Grants/Northern Neck Grants and Surveys


Perrott, Lawrence 26 September 1678 137 acres adjoining the land of Col. Rich'd. Dudley, Capt. Armestead and Wm. Beards; in exchange for 4 headrights (Mathews Co., Bk 6, p 660)

Perrot, Lawrence 23 October 1690. 203 acres joining to Gwynns Ridge. Adjoining land of Col. John Armested and Mr. Roberts, for 5 headrights, bringing total acreage up to 340 (Mathews Co., Bk 8, p 98)

Parratt, MichaeI 20 October 1704. 110 acres adjoining the land of Lawrence Parrott, Captn. Todd, Captn. Knowles & Captn William Armistead, for 3 headrights (Mathews Co. Bk 9, p 615)

Parrett, Richard 16 June 1714. 43 acres beginning at a corner gum of Captn. Ambrose Dudley standing at the south end of the chesnut ridge. & adjoining Lawr. Parrott, George Burgis, and Charles Jones, for 1 headright (Mathews Co. Bk 10, p 127)
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• Married:
• Change Date: 10 Oct 2003

1. William Parrott b: Abt 1730 in Wicomico Parish, Northumberland Co., Virginia
2. Mary Ann Parrott b: 1722 in Northumberland Co., Virginia