Revised and updated 25 December 2021. Genealogy can change rapidly, as new information is found, forcing reevaluations of previous information. Check back for updates before using any of this information. If you cite any of this work, please include the date of last revision.

Robert Parrott:
Robert (ca 1770 -) is the earliest known ancestor of a group of Parrotts that traces back to Mathews county (formerly Kingston parish of Gloucester county), Virginia. Based on Y-DNA, this group is part of a larger family that originated from a Lawrence Perrott who settled in Kingston parish, Gloucester county, in the late 1600s and started the lineage. How Robert was connected to this larger group remains unknown.

Robert's birth year can be inferred from the the 1850 census, which was the first census to list all family members, the state of their birth, and their ages. Robert is listed as being 81 years old and born in Virginia. Combined with the Y-DNA information, Robert is most likely the Robert, son of George Parrott, who appears in the 1790s Mathews county tax lists. So Robert could be the son of George & Lucy Longest, but his age in 1850 census, assuming it was reported correctly, precedes their marriage. Also, Richard & Susannah Flippin Parrott had a son, Robert, b 03 Nov 1771. This could be this Robert, who was most probably, a great grandson of the Lawrence, the immigrant family founder.

The 1850 also names Sally, his wife, who is 20 years younger, so she may not have been his first wife. The children listed for Robert and Sally also warrant examination. Inasmuch as there is 54 years difference between Robert and the eldest child listed, the list of children in the census is almost certainly of his grandchildren, meaning his son and daughter-in-law were dead by 1850; their names remain unknown.

Robert served in the Virginia Militia in 1794 in Benn's Battalion (Campbell's Regiment) as a private. He served again in the 61st Regiment (Gayle's) Virginia Militia, during the War of 1812, and was promoted to sergeant. After that, records are few. Other than tax lists and census records, there are no known records, such as deeds or wills, to assist with the reconstruction of the early history of this line. The 1820 census has him living in Franklin county, North Carolina. To wit, several of the grandchildren were born in North Carolina. The family must have moved there ca 1825, as John F, b 1826, is the first of the grandchildren to be born in North Carolina rather than Virginia. By 1840, Robert and family are in Madison county Tennessee, and are still there in 1850, specifically, in the 10th district, which is immediately northwest of Jackson, Tennessee.

Based on the 1850 census, we know Robert had four grandsons and three granddaughters. These appear to have moved as a group to Jackson county, Arkansas, near Tuckerman. Robert's great-grandchildren start being born in Arkansas after 1855, which is when the move would have taken place. Presumably, the death of Robert and Sally triggered the move.

Today, many descendants are still in Jackson county. The main exception comes from children of the eldest grandson (Jesse W), who moved to Oklahoma and Texas, where their descendants are today.

Note: Besides the overall lack of records, an additional complication is that there was a second Robert Parrott, b ca 1772 in Gloucester county. He had the rank of Captain, and married Sarah Read on 02 April 1799. Hence, it is easy to confuse this second Robert with the one who ended up in Madison county. However, Captain Robert moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he died in 1833, seven years after the death of his wife, Sarah, also in Fredericksburg: