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Note: Note: See History of Clayton Co GA, starting on page 519, compiled byJoseph H Moore. The Waldrop family is of Scottish origin, tracing from Fifeshire andMidlothian (Edinburg). The name was derived from the office of keeper ofthe royal wardrobe, which included, aside from articles of clothing,furniture not in active use nd rare imported spices as well as otherarticles deemed valuable by the royal family. The name has appeared inmany variations, including deWarderob in 1210, deWardroba in 1270, and deWarderoba in 1278. In 1296, Alisaundre de la Garderobe of Edinburghshireand David de la Garderobe of Fife rendered homage to the crown ofEngland, an unhappy act which was forced upon the Scots at that time.Various branches of the Wardrope family were early established in severalareas of Scotland, including the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow.
SIR WILLIAM WARDROPE
The ancestor of the Wardrope family of VA, and of the Waldrops of theCarolinas and Georgia, is stated by all family historians to have beenSir William Wardrope of Scotland. He is referred to as a "merchant noble"and it is said that he owned ships which carried on trade between theAmerican colonies and Great Britain. What appears to be the earliestreference to his family in America is found in York Co VA, 25 Jan 1678,when one William Waldrop was granted 2500 pounds of tobacco. Whether thisreferred to Sir William himself or to one of his sons is not known.
A kinsman of Sir William Waldrope was James Wardrope of Ampthill,Chesterfield Co VA, who m. Letitia Lee, dau of Phillip Lee who was theancestor of three governors of VA, this James Wardrope settled in UpperMarlboro MD, where he was a merchant. He d. in New York City in 1750,leaving the bulk of his estate to his widow. To his nephew, Robert Bull,son of Robert Bull of Leith, Scotland, he left his father's dwellinghouse in Wardrop's Court, Lawn Market, Edinburgh. A smaller bequest wentto John Bowles, son of Mary Bowles. There were no male heirs. It appearsthat this James Waldrope, through his business and planting interests andthrough his connections with colonial VA, aristrocracy, was influentialin the affairs of the descendants of Sir William Wardrope, given below.
Whether James Wardrope, who m. Letitia Lee, was a son of Sir WilliamWardrope is not known, but two sons of Sir William are given as MichaelWardrope of VA, and Thomas Wardrope (or Wardropper), who was SurveyorGeneral of Lands for the colony of NC, and who was appointed by HisMajesty George II to serve on the King's Council for NC, in 1735. He wasthe ancestor of the Waldrop family of Wake Co NC.
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