The first Cherry to arrive in North America was John Cherry, Sr (b. 1610-1619, probably in England).
As best as we can determine, for several generations, all those Cherrys in Norfolk Co., Virginia and those Cherrys in the
northeast part of North Carolina were descended from that first emigrant, John Cherry [35](b. 1610-1619).
Norfolk County, Virginia in the early 1600s was known by its different areas: In particular, Upper and Lower Norfolk County.
John Cherry, Sr [35] (b. 1610-1619; d. before 1670) lived and had property in what was then referred
to as Lower Norfolk County. By the time he died, we think he had at least five or six children.
It appears that the next emigrant Cherry family to arrive in Virginia was Thomas Cherry, Sr (b. ca 1711-1715
Belfast, Ireland). They settled on or near the Opequon River (today is Berkeley County, West Virginia). It was rumored that
Thomas Cherry, Sr (b. 1711-1715) had a cousin named David Cherry (b. ca 1690 County Antrim,
Ireland) who settled in South Carolina. See below.
Virtually all of the Cherrys in the northeast part of North Carolina can be traced back to a few who moved from Norfolk
Co., VA, which is a short distance across the state border. There were only a few counties in this area of North Carolina
where we have found Cherrys in the Colonial and even post-Colonial era. These counties are Bertie, Beaufort, Edgecombe, Martin,
Pitt and Tyrrell.
Nearly all the Cherrys who lived in North Carolina from about 1700 to about as late as 1850 were descended from the few
Cherrys who moved from Norfolk Co., Virginia. Researchers will have a very difficult job trying to prove otherwise. Perhaps
there are a few exceptions; but, very few can be proven.
Another Irish Cherry branch settled in South Carolina in about 1750: David Cherry [1092] (b. ca 1690 County
Antrim, Ireland) settled in Chester County, South Carolina. David was a cousin of Thomas Cherry, Sr [50] (b. ca 1711-1715
Belfast, Ireland). It was reported by earlier researchers that David landed in America in Virginia at Berkeley County (now
West Virginia), as did his cousin, Thomas Cherry.
By the late 1700s most of the Cherrys who descended from the progenitor John Cherry, Sr [35]
(b. 1610-1619) of Norfolk Co., Virginia, were still in Virginia and North Carolina. Only a few had slipped down into Georgia
and South Carolina. It appears fewer yet had moved northwestward. But, in the first two decades of the 1800s, we will see
that a few Cherry families were joining the migration toward the west and northwest.
By 1800 there were already numerous Cherry families living in several counties of Tennessee. Some of these were the sons
and grandsons of Jesse Cherry, Esq. [339] and his wife, Elizabeth Gainer [340].
Aaron Cherry, Sr [53] was the first Cherry to arrive in Texas. In about 1820-1823 he and his family came
into Galveston Bay and, according to stories, went up the Trinity River for a short distance. They settled in that area presently
known as Liberty County, which is located in the southeast part of Texas.
The next group of Cherrys to come into Texas occurred in about 1830 (or shortly thereafter), and this time they apparently
entered on the eastern border between Texas and Louisiana. These Cherrys were the families of John V. Cherry
[64] (b. ca 1802 NC), his brother, David Cherry [1021] (b. 1801 SC) and a friend (or relative) Smith
R. Cherry [2801] (b. 1809 GA).
The first known Cherry to settle in New England was Henry Cherry [5] (b. 1631 England). According to earlier
Cherry researchers, Henry Cherry settled in Hartford, CT in about 1650.
