Thomas Haydon II, Colonial Virginia Planter, 1698-1782

Thomas Haydon II was the son of Thomas Haydon of Somerset shire, England who migrated to Virginia in 1657 and ultimately established a Northumberland County plantation. Thomas Haydon II was a younger son of his father and eventually migrated near Fredericksburg in Spotsylvania County, Virginia in 1742 in search of his own plantation land. Thomas Haydon II became wealthy in Spotsylvania County through his plantation products and his wagon-hire business. He married at least twice and produced eleven children who lived to maturity. He was an ardent supporter of the Revolutionary War and was among an elite group from his county contributing foods and services to the war effort. Several family members served in the war and several other family members including a widowed daughter, also provided foods and service to the war effort. He died in 1782, the year following the climatic Revolutionary War battle at Yorktown. He had attained an unusually long life for the period, dying at age eight-four. He left his children in good financial positions with legacies of land, slaves and other possessions. He died as Kentucky was opening for development and most of his children left Virginia for the new frontier. Many of his descendants are identified in a separate section of the book. This biography provides historical glimpses of the events impacting the life of Thomas Haydon II and others of his era. It covers the time frame represented by what has been called "The Golden Age of Virginia" when Virginia's plantation owners enjoyed one of the highest standards of living in the world.