The original Parish of Kecoughtan, later renamed Elizabeth City Parish, was established 18 November 1618. The name Kecoughtan was also recorded as Kigquotan, Kichotan and Kiccowtan. The glebe land consisted of one hundred acres which The Virginia Company of London, part of The London Company, set aside for a glebe in 1619. St. John's Church was built in that location during the period of 1620–1622 and was in use until 1667, when St. John's vestry was moved to the new church structure at Pembroke Plantation.
During the 1640s, Colonel William Claiborne (Treasurer of Virginia and Secretary of State) obtained a patent for his wife on Strawberry Banks, in Elizabeth City Parish, that conflicted with the patent obtained by Major Richard Moryson (brother-in-law of Lucius Cary, Lord Falkland). Several lawsuits culminated, many years later, in an Elizabeth City County suit between John Selden and Samuel Galt. Selden claimed under the patent of Major Richard Moryson and Galt under the patent of Colonel William Claiborne. These disputes eventually necessitated the creation of a survey plat of landowners.
Mary (Tackett) Brough Vincent Taylor confirmed that she had known Colonel William Claiborne and the Moryson family during a 1699 deposition for the Elizabeth City County Court. Robert Brough, Mary's first husband, was the clerk of the vestry at St. John's Church. The church was located on the Elizabeth City Parish glebe land adjoining John's Creek. Mary and Robert Brough were the grandparents of Robert Brough. Mary was a contemporary of William Roe who originally held property in the area known as Strawberry Banks and later transferred the land to his son Edward Roe. A patent dated 1703 placed land of Captain George Walker on John's Creek, adjoining the land of Edward Roe.
John's Creek has also been referred to as Hooke's Creek and Church Creek. Keep in mind that the name of a creek might change as landowners obtained and transferred property. Samuel Selden, the eldest son of Samuel and Rebecca (Yeo) Selden, was given the plantation known as Strawberry Banks by deed from his father on 10 September 1714. Samuel deeded the said plantation to his brother Bartholomew Selden in 1715. The term Strawberry Banks originally defined a region or area within the Elizabeth City Parish and later the same term designated a single plantation. These are only a few of the landowners mentioned in Elizabeth City County deeds and patents.
A Plat of a Survey made by John Lowry, surveyor, was ordered by the Elizabeth City County Court on 19 July 1725. The survey, exhibited here as the 1725 Walker Plat, included the bounds of lands in dispute. The plat displays adjoining landowners and the location of the Elizabeth City Parish glebe land.
Walker Plat Landowners
|Name of Landowner||Father||Mother||Spouse|
|Robert Brough||Coleman Brough||Elynor Corprew|
|Edward Roe||William Roe||Ann (--?--)|
|John Roe||Edward Roe||Ann (--?--)||Sarah Bond|
|Captain George Walker||George Walker||Elizabeth (--?--)||Anne Keith|
|James Servant||Bertrand 'Bertram' Servant|
|Bartholomew Selden||Samuel Selden||Rebecca Yeo||Achilly Achilly and Sarah Hilliard|