Aylett family of Virginia

The Aylett family of Virginia was a prominent family based chiefly in King William County during the colonial and early national periods. The family is associated with the development of Fairfield Plantation and with public, military, legal, and political life in Virginia. The name is also commemorated by Aylett, Virginia, although the available historical account notes that a firm documentary connection between the immigrant William Aylett and the later Colonel William Aylett of Fairfield Plantation has not been established. The family’s proposed ancestry reaches back to Thomas Aylett of Hovells in Coggeshall, Essex, England, who lived from approximately 1570 to 1650. His son William Aylett, born around 1607, became a London merchant. A later William Aylett, born around 1640, moved to Virginia and is identified as an early colonial member of the Virginia line. Another related figure was Captain John Aylett, an English Cavalier and member of the Ayloffe family. He left England during the religious and political conflicts surrounding the English Civil War, went first to Boston in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and subsequently relocated to Virginia. Colonel William Aylett Jr., born around 1667 and deceased in 1732, was one of the family’s most important early Virginia figures. He is described as the founder of Fairfield Plantation and probably lived there from about 1704. When King William County was established in 1702, he became the first clerk of its Council of Burgesses. His family connections helped establish the Ayletts within the network of influential colonial Virginia families. His children and stepfamily included several people who married into other established local families. Captain William Aylett III, born around 1703 and deceased in 1744, continued the family’s presence in the region. He married Ann Ashton and later Elizabeth Eskridge, who subsequently married William Steptoe. His daughters connected the Ayletts to the Washington family: one Anne Aylett married Augustine Washington Jr., George Washington’s half brother, while Elizabeth Aylett married Colonel William Booth and was associated with Nomini Plantation. These marriages linked the Ayletts to several prominent landowning and political families in colonial Virginia. Colonel William Aylett, born in 1743 and killed in 1781 at the Battle of Yorktown, inherited Fairfield from his father Philip Aylett. He represented King William County in the House of Burgesses during the assemblies of 1772–1774 and 1775–1776 and participated in the revolutionary conventions of 1774, 1775, and 1776. He resigned from the convention to accept a commission as deputy commissary general in Virginia. His eldest son, Philip Aylett, later married Elizabeth Henry, a daughter of Patrick Henry, further extending the family’s connections with Virginia’s revolutionary leadership. Members of later generations remained involved in public life. Colonel William Aylett represented King William County in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1801 to 1806. In the nineteenth century, Patrick Henry Aylett worked as a prosecutor and became United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. He also contributed editorial material to the Richmond Examiner. In 1859 he fought a duel with O. Jennings Wise over their opposing positions on congressional intervention in the question of slavery in the territories; both men survived. Patrick Henry Aylett died in the collapse of the Virginia State Capitol in 1870. William Roane Aylett, born in 1833 and deceased in 1900, lived at Montville Plantation and was a great-grandson of Patrick Henry. He practiced law and served as colonel of the 53rd Virginia Infantry Regiment in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was present at Pickett’s Charge and temporarily took command of the regiment during the assault. His correspondence is held by the Virginia Historical Society. Taken together, these records portray the Ayletts not as a commercial brand but as a historically prominent Virginia family whose identity developed through landholding, kinship, political office, law, military service, and participation in the institutions of colonial and nineteenth-century Virginia.

The Aylett family’s documented story is centered on Virginia, especially King William County. The family may have descended from Thomas Aylett of Hovells in Coggeshall, Essex, through his son William, a London merchant, and a later William Aylett who moved to Virginia. The precise relationship between that immigrant William and Colonel William Aylett of Fairfield Plantation remains uncertain in the historical account. Captain John Aylett provides another early connection between the Aylett name and Virginia. A Cavalier associated with the English Ayloffe family, he left England amid the political and religious persecution that followed the execution of Charles I. After spending time in Boston, he moved to Virginia. The colonial Virginia branch became particularly prominent through Colonel William Aylett Jr., who founded Fairfield Plantation and served as the first clerk of the Council of Burgesses when King William County was formed in 1702. William Aylett Jr.’s descendants expanded the family’s influence through landholding and marriage. Captain William Aylett III maintained the family’s standing, and his daughters married into the Washington and Booth families. One Anne Aylett married Augustine Washington Jr., George Washington’s half brother, while Elizabeth Aylett became associated with Nomini Plantation through her marriage to Colonel William Booth. Colonel William Aylett, who inherited Fairfield Plantation, was active in Virginia’s revolutionary political institutions. He represented King William County in the House of Burgesses and participated in the conventions that guided Virginia during the Revolutionary period. He later accepted military-administrative responsibilities as deputy commissary general and died at Yorktown in 1781. His son Philip’s marriage to Elizabeth Henry connected the family to Patrick Henry. The family’s public role continued after independence. Colonel William Aylett served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1801 to 1806. During the nineteenth century, Patrick Henry Aylett pursued a legal and prosecutorial career, served as United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and wrote for the Richmond Examiner. His 1859 duel with O. Jennings Wise reflected the era’s political conflict over slavery in the territories. He later died in the 1870 collapse of the Virginia State Capitol. William Roane Aylett, a lawyer and plantation resident at Montville, served as a Confederate colonel during the Civil War and was present at Pickett’s Charge. His surviving letters are preserved by the Virginia Historical Society. The family’s history therefore spans English ancestry claims, colonial migration, plantation society, revolutionary government, antebellum political conflict, and Civil War military service. The place-name Aylett, Virginia, commemorates the family, although the exact historical link between the place and the Fairfield Plantation line is not conclusively documented.

• 1870

  Death of Patrick Henry Aylett

  [1]Aylett family of Virginiaen.wikipedia.org

  Patrick Henry Aylett died in the collapse of the Virginia State Capitol.

• 1859

  Duel involving Patrick Henry Aylett

  [1]Aylett family of Virginiaen.wikipedia.org

  Patrick Henry Aylett and O. Jennings Wise fought a duel over opposing views concerning congressional intervention in slavery in the territories; both survived.

• 1801

  Service in the Virginia House of Delegates

  [1]Aylett family of Virginiaen.wikipedia.org

  A Colonel William Aylett represented King William County in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1801 through 1806.

• 1781

  Death at Yorktown

  [1]Aylett family of Virginiaen.wikipedia.org

  Colonel William Aylett died at the Battle of Yorktown while serving as deputy commissary general in Virginia.

• 1774

  Participation in Virginia revolutionary conventions

  [1]Aylett family of Virginiaen.wikipedia.org

  Colonel William Aylett participated in Virginia conventions held during 1774–1776 before accepting a military supply appointment.

• 1772

  William Aylett enters the House of Burgesses

  [1]Aylett family of Virginiaen.wikipedia.org

  Colonel William Aylett represented King William County in the Virginia House of Burgesses during the assemblies beginning in 1772.

• 1704

  Establishment of Fairfield Plantation

  [1]Aylett family of Virginiaen.wikipedia.org

  Colonel William Aylett Jr. probably began living at Fairfield Plantation around this time and is identified as its founder.

• 1702

  Formation of King William County

  [1]Aylett family of Virginiaen.wikipedia.org

  King William County was formed, and Colonel William Aylett Jr. became the first clerk of its Council of Burgesses.

A historic Virginia family identity associated with colonial settlement, plantation ownership, public office, military service, legal practice, and marriage alliances among prominent Virginia families.

1. 1Aylett family of Virginiaen.wikipedia.org