| SPOUSE | CHILDREN | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Ellen Douthel m. by 1738 Culpeper Co. VA b. 1720? VA d. by 1751? VA? |
William T. b. 1738? Fredericksburg VA d. Jul 18, 1813 Society Hill SC |
Sarah b. 1745? Fredericksburg VA d. 1792? |
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Mary Neal or Neale (widow) m. by 1751? VA b. 1722? ?Spotsylvania Co. VA d. SC? |
Thomas b. 1752 VA d. 1811 SC |
John Washington b. 1756 VA d. 1810 MS? |
Harris b. 1756? Culpeper Co. VA d. Dec 6, 1829 Cocke Co. TN |
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1725 English Map of
South Carolina Province showing location of Craven County and the Pee Dee
(Peede) River flowing into the Winyah Bay (spelled "Weenya Bay" above map's
identification). |
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Culpeper County Virginia was formed in 1748
(see present day map
for location), and was bounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west. The
Rappahannock River forms one of its eastern boundaries. |
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In 1744 a Martin Dewitt is granted guardianship of Charles Neale, orphan of William
Neale. Charles eventually received William's plantation, died in 1776. In 1751
Charles Neale and his wife Esther along with Martin Dewitt and his wife Mary
"of St. Thomas Parish of Culpeper County" deed land. Therefore, Martin's second
wife was likely the widow of William Neale who died by 1744. |
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By 1760 Martin and family, including sons William, Harris, Thomas and John,
emigrated from Fredericksburg VA to the lower part of Black Creek in what became
the Darlington District SC. Son Harris soon married Elizabeth Brockington and
later moved west. Thomas married but soon died. |
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Martin had a brother Thomas Dewitt also come to SC at
the same time, but lower down the Peedee in what is now Marion Co. SC. Dewitt's
Bluff in this area was named for the family. Thomas had sons Thomas, William, and
Charles. Charles was married to a Mercy McCall on Apr 23, 1771
by Rev. Evan Pugh when he "went to Jackson's" [Diary of Even Pugh, 1762-180x,
at SC Archives]. |
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The land granted in SC is in what was once Craven County, one of the three original
parts of the English colony of "Carolana". |
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Martin was a member of the Welch Neck Baptist Church on the Pee Dee. In 1769,
the newer church building was erected on a two acre site given by Daniel Devonald,
son William's father-in-law. When the Welch Neck Baptist church was to move to
Society Hill SC in 1798, the lot of two acres is said to have been given by son
William Dewitt, titles to the property being recorded in 1798 by Evander McIver. |
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1736 Surveyors Map
of Welch Grant in Craven Co. showing "Jafries Creek or River", where the
White family owned land in 1760. Also shows location of "Mars Bluff" along "Pedee" River
[Gregg, History of the Old Cheraws]. |
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Daughter Sarah married William Allen, eldest son of
Erasmus Withers Allen. In the
1790 Cheraw District Census [middle of the middle column] there is a
"William Allen" household with: 4 white males aged 16 or older, 2 white males under 16, 3 white females, and 5 slaves [Gregg, p. 49]. |
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Son William was a SC militiaman and during 1778-9 a Special Juror for the Cheraws
District. Sons Charles and John, and Thomas Powe, probably the grandson of
Samuel Poe, are also listed as jurors in the
SC Jury Lists 1778-1779. |
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Son Thomas married Susannah Allen, daughter of
Erasmus Withers Allen. They had at least 5 children by Oct 26, 1787, the date
they are mentioned in her father's will, probated in 1789 [Vineyard, p. 99]. |
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Son John Washington married Elizabeth Zimmerman and had a son Frederick W. born about 1774
and died in TN. |
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Son Harris married Elizabeth Brockington Nov 8, 1781 and moved about 1807 to TN.
They had a daughter Rebecca Elizabeth born Sep 9, 1784 in Cheraw District SC. |
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In the 1790 Cheraw District Census
there are two Dewitt households: "Charles Dewit", 3 white males aged 16 or older, 1 white male under 16, 4 white females, and 9 slaves. "Harris Dewitt", 2 white males aged 16 or older, 1 white male under 16, 6 white females, and 22 slaves. There is no head of family for sons William or John (both in MS?), though they were on the jury list there a decade earlier. Nearby the Dewitts is the family of Thomas Powe (1747-1817), grandson of Samuel Poe, with 3 other males, 3 females, and 34 slaves [Gregg, p. 49]. |
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| Son William and a grandson of Samuel Poe, Thomas Powe, Sr. (1747-1817), were granted 1,000 acres along the Pee Dee River in SC in 1804. According to the 1810 Census, Thomas Powe Sr. owned 100 slaves. He married Rachel Allen, the daughter of Erasmus Withers Allen (1712-1789?), and their first child was born Oct 22, 1766. Two of their sons, William (1768-1831) and Alexander Powe were early settlers (1811) of Wayne Co. MS, founded in Dec 1809. | ||||
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Modern Map of South Carolina
Counties showing the 18th Century Parishes. Welch Neck and Cashaway
Neck were in St. David Parish. Prince George Parish was to the South and included
the Pee Dee River basin from Lynches Creek down to Winyah Bay. Map taken from
DMK Heritage (website). |
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SOURCES: Genealogical Register, vol. VIII, No. 3, Sep 1961. Gregg, Alexander, History of the Old Cheraws, Geneal Publ. Co., Balt. MD, 1967, repr 1925 ed, pp. 49, 97. Hendrix, G.L.C., The Jury Lists of South Carolinians, 1778-1779, private printing, 1975, pp. 40-43, 88-89. McBee, Mary Wilson, Natchez Court Records 1767-1805, Abstract of Early Records, Greenwood MS, 1953. Northern Neck Grants, Virginia State Archives, Book G. Poe, Allan, "The Records, From Virginia to Old Burke Co. N.C.", publ. in Wm Wiseman & the Davenports, Pioneers Of Old Burke County, North Carolina, v.2, by M.L.Vineyard & E.M.Wiseman, Franklin NC, 1997, pp. 254-256. Pre-Revolutionary Plat Books, SC Archives Dept., vol. 21, pp 424-433. Virginia Land Patents, Book 8, p. 16. White, Gifford, "James White and John White", Wm Wiseman & the Davenports, Pioneers Of Old Burke County, North Carolina, v.2, by M.L.Vineyard & E.M.Wiseman, Franklin NC, 1997, pp. 86-96, 107-112. White, Gifford, James Taylor White of Virginia and some of his descendants into Texas, Austin, TX, April 1982. |
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