Parson John Waugh was a notorious Protestant Whig in Stafford County, Virginia, in the late 1600s.  He incited Catholic-Protestant violence, officiated men’s marriages to preteen girls, and connived his way into free acreage from at least one rich woman.

Edward Maddox willed about 500 acres in King George County, Virginia, to the parson and we’ve always wondered at the circumstances.  Edward, as a Stafford justice of the peace, personally ruled against the parson for one of his preteen marriages and must have understood his character.  So why would he give land to Waugh?  We know that Edward was politically aligned with the Waughs and their Mason allies, but the 500 acre conveyance seems unusual.

Today we discovered that John Waugh not only received 500 acres from Edward’s estate, but also was appointed to directly administer Edward’s estate (Westmoreland County Order Book 1690-1698, Part Three (1694-1698), p. 178-179).  No conflict of interests there, right?  Something stinks.