Ancestral Records and Portraits Chapter XVII Eppes
Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Eppes obtained a grant of land August 26, 1636, for the transportation of himself, his three sons and some thirty servants into the V irginia Colony, and in 1635 settled there on the south shore of the James River, near the mouth of the Appomattox. This river formed the boundary line between the southern halves of the counties of Henrico and Charles City which then lay on both sides of the James River; and as Colonel Eppes subsequently acquired very extensive estates in both counties, he was returned to the House of Burgesses indifferently from either. Some time previous to his death, which occurred 1655, he became a member of the Colonial Council. Four of his descendants in lineal succession, each bearing the name of "Francis" and three of them distinguished by the title of "Colonel" all county officials and members of the House of Burgesses, enjoyed in tail male the large landed estates the first Francis had secured in that part of the County of Henrico, which was subsequently erected into Chesterfield. The lands in and around City Point, which were granted in 1636, are still owned by the Eppes family, after a lapse of over 270 years. It is said that no other tract of land in America has been so long in unbroken possession of one family. Francis Eppes was Lt-Col of the County, member of the House of Burgesses, 1625 to 1632, Commissioner, 1631 to 1639, Member of the Council, April 30, 1652.
Francis Eppes, the first of his line in Virginia and in Henrico County,
was a member of the House of Burgesses, magistrate and in 1652 was elected
to the Governor's Council. His son John Eppes was a man of prominence in
Charles City County and his son Francis Eppes, the second (circa 1628-
1678) was for some years a magistrate in Henrico County and lieutenant
colonel of militia; he also engaged in merchandizing. The succeeding
generations of the Eppes family (residing in Henrico, Charles City,
Prince George and Chesterfield Counties) were prominent office holders
and people of substantial means(2).