Born in Covington, Huntingdomshire England, 65 miles north of London. Nehe
miah
was an indentured servant. He belonged to one of the nonconforming churche
s
banned by the official Church of England. The various illegal assemblies f
or
worship were called Conventicles. Persecution drove many of the dissenters
,
including the members of the Mayflower company in 1620, to flee first to t
he
Netherlands and then to America. This movement eventually evolved into the
Independents, now known as the Congregatonalists.
He was known as a Quaker and died at his "Great Monie" plantation in Somer
set
county, MD.
It is probable that he first immigrated to Northampton-Accomack County, Vi
rginia, in 1647 (headright to patent to Horsey and Waddelow). He was befo
re court and fined for "incontinency before marriage", in March 1652/
3. In April 1653 he was again in court in VA regarding some trouble wi
th a man to whom he was most probably indentured. He immigrated to Maryla
nd in 1662 with wife Mary and six children; he settled 300 acres kno
wn as "Covington's Vineyard" on the north side of Great Monie Creek. On No
vember 27, 1666, he was sworn in as a Constable in Somerset Co., MD. Nehem
iah and wife Anne deeded "Covington's Vineyard" to sons John and Nehemia
h, Jr. on 20 January 1679. Several online sources suggest that Nehemiah m
ay have had a third wife, a Miss Servants. There was a Thomas Covingt
on in the Monie section of Maryland in June 1666; he married Susanna (Bray
field) Cooper in 1668 and they had Samuel (1669), Sarah (1670), Rachel (16
71), Jacob (1672/3), Rebecca (1674), Isaac (1675), Amy (1676), Thomas (168
7), Abraham, and Susanna who married Daniel Jones. The relationship betwe
en Nehemiah Covington and Thomas, if any, is unknown at this time.