John Heath Sr. was the grandson of Thomas Heath Sr., the English immigrant. On August 13, 1753, John Heath (son of Thomas Jr.) and Joseph Pope were sworn lieutenants of the Troop and Foot; July 8, 1754, John Heath was captain of Foot in Wicomico Parish.

John Heath was married at least four times. He first married his cousin, Mary Waddy (the daughter of Thomas Waddy and Winifred Jones’s sister.) By his first wife, he had three sons, on of whom was John Heath, Jr. for whom Heathsville was named. November 8, 1762 John Heath and Mary his wife made a deed to Travers Downman.

John’s second wife was Ann Dameron. But hardly a year passed before she was dead, leaving an infant daughter bearing the name of Ann Dameron Heath (who was the mother of Rev. William Heath Kirk, the well-known Baptist minister.)

On January 12, 1756, John Heath inherited his wife’s personal estate in the hands of James Mott who intermarried with Jane Waddy, executor of Benjamin Waddy. Benjamin Waddy was the son of one of the executors of Thomas Waddy, a legatee of Barholomew Schreever Jr. (husband to Thomas Heath Sr.’s widow: Mary Lee.)

February 12, 1759, John Heath Sr. Was a vestryman in Wicomico Parish. In July 1768, John Heath Sr. married Judith Glascock. July 9, 1775, there was a deed made by Joseph Ball and John Heath and Judith, John’s wife, to Henry Hurst.

Three years later, again a widower, John Heath married Chloe Hughlett Glascock (daughter of John Hughlett who owned Hughlett’s Tavern and widow of William Glascock.) October 14, 1776, John Heath Sr., Gentleman, was appointed captain of the Minute Company whereof William Lee was formerly captain and at the time of his death, in 1783, he was a Justice of the Peace.

By the time of his fourth marriage, John Heath Sr. who owned a store and lived in Wicomico Parrish, was in his late fifties or early sixties. At that time, that was an advanced age for a man. Captain Heath engaged in merchandising in Northumberland County on an extensive scale.

There was some relationship between Capt. Heath and George Dameron that has not yet been determined. The mother of George Dameron was the widow of Capt. Heath’s uncle William Heath who died about 1719.

It will be remembered that Ann, relict of William Heath, was granted administration on her husband’s estate in 1719. She married about 1729 to Thomas Dameron and their son, George Dameron, was sued by John Heath on July 10, 1764. For several years after, George Dameron seems to have been the financial backer of John Heath.

On March 14, 1768, Thomas Newton and Son brought suit against John Heath. George Dameron posted special bail.

On May 8, 1769, John Bland (merchant) vs. John Heath. George Dameron posted special bail.

On August 13, 1770, James Gregorie vs. John Heath and Travers Downman. George Dameron posted special bail for defendents.

On June 10, 1771, Bacon and Company vs. John Heath and Travers Downman. George Dameron posted special bail for John Heath.

On June 14, 1773, George Dameron and John Heath on a bond for Richard Pope. (Richard Pope was George Dameron’s step-brother.)

On March 14, 1774, Thomas Gaskins and Kendall Lee vs. George Dameron, John Lawson, Thomas Waddy, and John Heath.

On July 13, 1778, Nicholas Floods, executors vs. John Heath, George Dameron, Thomas Waddy, and John Hughlett.

By December of 1783, John Heath Sr. had died after living a very full life. He left his wife Chloe with an infant daughter, Elizabeth C. Heath (who married James Claughton and was the mother of John Heath Claughton.)

The will of Captain John Heath, dated September, 1782, was probated on December 8, 1873, and in it he mentions his wife Chloe, daughter Ann Heath, sons John and Robert (Jones) Heath and his cousin Winifred Heath.

Captain John Heath had three children: Ann Heath, John Heath Jr., and Robert Jones Heath.

Ann Dameron Heath (daughter of John Heath Sr.) married William Kirk. February 14, 1785, it is recorded that William Kirk, who intermarried with Ann, daughter of John Heath, Gent., decd., was to be possessed with his wife’s estate in the hands of John Heath Jr. and Robert Jones Heath.

John Heath Jr. (son of John Heath Sr.) was a member of the Executive Council of Virginia, and married Sarah Ewell. He was born May 8, 1758. By 1775, he was attending William and Mary College where he was an outstanding student. While there, on December 5, 1776, he helped organize the Phi Beta Kappa Society (the first Greek letter fraternity in America) and was its first president. A sketch of him can be found in Phi Beta Kappa Key, Vol. II, Nos. 7 and 8. He had already begun, at the age of eighteen, to make a name for himself.

When young John Jr. completed his education he served for a time in the Revolutionary army before returning home to Northumberland County where, in 1781, he was appointed Commonwealth’s Attorney for Northumberland on December 10, 1781. That same autumn, at the age of twenty-three, he was elected to the State House of Delegates. In 1785, his wedding to Miss Sally Ewell, of Prince William County, took place.

In 1791, John and Anne Gordon sold their Black Point property to John Heath, Jr. (John Mottrom’s early grant.) In this deed, they called the tract of land "Springfield." They indicated that the entire tract comprised of 649 acres, and was made up of 3 separate parcels:

1. 50 acres - purchased by Gordon from William Thomas.
2. 349 acres - which Ann Gordon had from her father, Spencer Hack.
3. 200 acres - purchased by Gordon from William Keene.

There appears to be at least two mistakes in this record. First, the acreage of the 3 tracts given totals only 599 acres rather than 649. And, secondly, the records of the deeds reveal only 2 purchase by Gordon from Keene. One for 100 acres, and the other for 10 acres. So it appears that a mistake was made, but whether in adding or in transcribing cannot be determined. There are several deeds which show that John Heath, Jr. was afterwards a resident of Richmond City, Virginia.

In 1792, John Heath, Jr. was elected to Congress. Small wonder that when the town at Northumberland Courthouse was officially organized, with part of the town land to come from Heath’s property, it would be named for the young man who had distinguished himself in public service while he dwelt "in the shadow of the Chicacoan Oak."

These next items have some historical interest, as they relate to the laying out of the county seat of Heathville.

February 8, 1796. Deed from Thomas Downing, Thomas Dameron Downing and Betsy (his wife) to John Heath.

November 24, 1798. This Indenture between Thomas Gaskins, Walter Jones, John Heath Jr., Catesby Jones, John Cralle, Thomas Winter Hughlett, and Thomas Dameron Downing, trustee of the town of Heathsville.

On November 19, 1803, John Heath describing himself as "of Richmond City at present of Northumberland County," deed of trust to John Miller Jr., of _________________ County, on seven hundred acres of land called Springfield, together with storehouses etc. now in possession of Capt. James DeSheilds.

In 1803, John Heath evidently was in financial difficulty, as he mortgaged Springfield. April 3, 1804, John Heath of Richmond City deed to Thomas Dameron Downing for 649 acres of land in Northumberland County, called "Springfield."

Robert Jones Heath (son of John Heath Jr.) lived in Wicomico Parrish, Lancaster County, and on April 11, 1791, he gave a deed to David Ball, Jr. of Wicomico Parrish, Northumberland County, for a hundred acres of land called Garlington Tract.