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- Zachariah Moorman was born on the Isle of Wight in 1619. At 19 years of age (1639), he joined the British Army and became a captain under Cromwell in the invasion of Ireland. After the subjugation on Ireland, he lived there for a few years, probably in the Belfast area. He married Mary Candler, daughter of William Candler, a native of Northhampton County, England and a colonel in Cromwell's army. He was awarded landed estate in Ireland and settled there.
He returned to the Isle of Wight to live for a few years, but being a sympathizer of Charles I, he became an enemy of Cromwell when he had the king beheaded and thus was exiled from the British Isles. In the spring of 1669, Zachariah, with his children: Thomas, Charles, and daughter Sallie Ann (wife of Micajah Clark, Sr.); and Michael and Margaret Clark and their sons, embarked at Southhampton, England on the ship GLASGOW and sailed to Barbados, West Indies. Michael and Margaret Clark and most of their sons settled on the island where they owned land and slaves.
In early 1670 Zachariah and his family, including Micajah and Sallie Ann Clark, joined immigrants on their way to South Carolina, where they established the first permanent colony in that state. During the same year the Moorman and Clark families proceeded to Virginia and settled at Somerton, Nansemond County.
In the fall of 1672, George Fox, organizer of the Society of Friends, while preaching and traveling in America on his way southward, stayed at the home of Zachariah Moorman and on his return from North Carolina, a few weeks later, stayed with them and held a meeting. Zachariah's wife was already of this belief, and Thomas, his son, was so impressed and became committed with the Faith of Friends. Thomas was Vestryman in the Episcopal Church at that time, but converted to their belief then.
Alternatively, others believe Zachariah Moorman left the Isle of Wight in 1669 with his family (his daughter, son-in-law, and three sons) to escape the persecution they suffered as Quakers. A few years later, the Moormans moved to Somerton, Nansemond County, Virginia, in order to be near a Quaker Meeting. The Records of St. Peter's Parish prove that Thomas Moorman was in St. Peter's Parish and was a processioner in 1689.
from Louisa County Historical Magazine, Vol. 11, Number 1, Summer 1979, p. 20.
There is no record of Zachariah's wife Mary Candler accompanying him to Virginia, thus, it is assumed she died in 1670, after landing in South Carolina, before the family traveled to Virginia.
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1619 - Aft 1670 (> 52 years)
