William & Nathaniel Eaton, Northampton Co., VA;1640
I made some copies from the book "The Formation of a Society on Virginia's Eastern Shore, 1615-1655" by James R. Perry.I believe I am descended from William Stone.Part of what I copied included:
"In The meantime, a second cleric appeared in the official record, Nathaniel Eaton, fleeing debt and an unsavory reputation in New England was first mentioned in late 1640.He may have known William Cotton already, because Eaton's father and Cotton's mother both were from Cheshire, England.After Cotton died, Eaton married his widow, Ann...But Eaton did not remain on the Eastern Shore for long.It is possible that his reputation finaly caught up with him.Or residents on the peninsula may have been shocked at Eaton's usurping his infant stepdaughter's landed inheritance and selling it.Although she eventually recovered her claim, Eaton's act probably alienated some of the most important people on the Eastern Shore.William Stone and William Rober, both commissioners on the court, were William Cotton's brothers-in-law and overseers of his will."
In the footnotes "Ann (Graves) Cotton either did not move to the Western Shore with her husband or she returned by ? very quickly.She subsequently married Francis Doughty, another Eastern Shore (minister?).Significantly, before entering into marriage with Ann, Francis had to sign an agreement disavowing any claims either to her estate or to the estate of her children."
Ann Graves was the sister of Verlinda Graves, who married William Stone.Both were daughters of Capt. Thomas Graves who was in Jamestown, VA, by 1608.I believe he returned to England for a short time, then went back to Virginia.