A Patience Norfleet married a John Eley about 1728.

Numerous genealogies list Patience Norfleet‘s parents as:  John Joseph Norfleet LWT, 1699–after 1727, and Elizabeth Riddick, 1710–1781.

 These parents are not likely. 

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Most genealogies say Patience Norfleet was born in 1710, some say 1720. 

Birth in 1720 is not possible as she married in 1728 … and if 1710 is correct, which it probably is then there are major problems with correctly determining exactly who were her parents.

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Her often claimed father within genealogies is ‘John Joseph Norfleet‘, who would have been 10 years old (born 1699) at her birth. Patience’s claimed mother Elizabeth Riddick is believed to have been born 5 April 1710… so she would have been age 0 at the birth of her daughter Elizabeth. Some genealogies say that Elizabeth was born in 1697 — which is still just age 13 in 1710.

A critical technicality: John Joseph Norfleet and his Elizabeth Riddick married in 1727. All of their known children are born after 1728.

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There is no doubt that a Patience was born to a John Norfleet, and that he died in 1753, and that John’s wife was named Elizabeth. He left a last will and testament (LWT). He names his wife and his children, which includes a Patience.

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A 1710 birth year means that Patience Norfleet’s father would have to been born before 1690 (age 20 in 1710), and her mother before/about 1694 (age 16 in 1710). This would be a second generation American Norfleet as the first was Thomas Norfleet, born circa 1640-1645 and settling with a land grant in October 1666.

Most likely there were two sets of ‘John Norfleet and Elizabeth Riddick’ marriages, if Patience’s mother was a Riddick. The family name of the Elizabeth married to John that died in 1753 is unknown.

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ALTERNATIVE Theory: There were two Patience Norfleets, and the one mentioned in the LWT of John Norfleet who died in 1753 at Chowan County, NC, was born after 1728 — which makes her ineligible to have married Judge John Eley, born c1708 or 1718.

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Got info? Bill Golden — Norfolk1956@gmail.com — a Norfleet descendant.