- Having thoroughly researched the information set forth by Rogers Dey Whichard in his monograph "Whichard (Wichard-Wishard-Wishart) 1654 - 1954, A Genealogical History", I believe it incumbent upon me to comment on the information presented therein.
During the 1950's and before, it was quite acceptable when compiling a genealogy to use phrases such as "it must therefore be assumed" and "there could be no other conclusion" to cover gray areas for which the compiler had no actual source to cite as evidence or even enough peripheral data to cite as a preponderance of evidence. Such skating around gray areas was routinely accepted by the official genealogists of societies that required vetted family trees as a prerequisite of membership.
Today, a serious genealogist makes no assumptions. If the document is not there to back up a link between individuals or at the very least a preponderance of evidence, the connection can not be made. It does not matter how much the genealogist would like it to be so. Rogers Whichard fell into a couple of traps while dealing with the John Wishart and the John Wishard of Princess Anne County whom he "assumed" were father and son.
The first trap was that he very much wanted to find a link between his North Carolina Whichard family and the Virginia Wishart/Wishard family. When he found no primary evidence to establish that link, he skated over the gray areas with "must be assumed". The second trap was an assumption based on a false premise; the meaning of the suffix "Jr". Rogers Whichard was either unaware of the meaning of this suffix during Colonial times, or he chose to ignore the implications in order to establish his North Carolina - Virginia link.
The December 1997 issue of The Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter describes the Jr/Sr trap. "Junior meant "younger" not "son of" and Senior meant "elder" not "father of". Today, if a person is named at birth with a suffix such as Jr., he remains a Jr. all his life. In times past, these suffixes were used more to differentiate a person as he was related age-wise to another person of the same name who was involved in a particular event (e.g., muster roll, tax list, etc.) and had absolutely no bearing on any family relationship. Jr and Sr were even used on occasion to distinguish between two females with the same name. Suffixes for a particular individual can flip-flop. A person recorded as a Jr at one point in time could be recorded as a Sr at a later time. You may also thus find that a Sr who has died later
"appearing" to be alive because a previous Jr had them become a Sr."
The John Wishart and John Wishard of Princess Anne County, Virginia, erroneously assumed by the author to be father and son, were utilized in his monograph to create the link to the North Carolina Whichards.
A search of the Colonial records of Princess Anne County, Virginia establishes that John Wishart, husband of Joyce Langley Thelaball Wishart, died in Princess Anne County between 27 Aug 1740 and 7 Jan 1740/1. John Wishard, husband of Frances Hancock, died before 16 December 1646. The two Johns were first cousins, not father and son. The use of the suffix "Jr." to distinguish the younger from the elder in Princess Anne County records was an accepted form of differentiation, not a sign of familial connection.
The names Wishart and Wishard [Scottish origin] appear in Virginia Colony records from 1654 onward, the names Whichard and Witchard [Anglicized, Germanic origin] first appear in Princess Anne County records about 1752. The 1752 date approximates the date noted in The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina notes as the immigration date of John and Lydia Whichard and their sons, Solomon, Anthony and John to the Virginia Colony. According to this book, the family then migrated to North Carolina. These are the more likely progenitors of the North Carolina Whichards.
So until, and unless, primary records come to light proving a connection between the North Carolina Whichard family and the Virginia Wishart/Wishard family keep in mind these words from Rogers Dey Whichard. He stated toward the end of his work that it included "many gaps and minor problems which have not been solved".
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