John Whitsitt of Pennsylvania and North Carolina
John Whitsitt of Pennsylvania and North Carolina |
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GENERATION 3 |
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JOHN WHITSITT OF PENNSYLVANIA AND NORTH CAROLINA, IRISH ANCESTOR |
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John Whitsitt, AKA John Whiteside, John Whitsett, John Whitsite, etc., settled first in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania near today's city of Lebanon. He later sold his land and removed to Rowan County, North Carolina where he was involved in the government of the county. He was one of the men comissioned to lay out the town of Salisbury. John owned and operated a grist mill in Rowan County. About 1770 John and his son John, jr., along with the Thompson family obtained lots in the Quaker settlement in Wrightsboro, Georgia. They soon left Georgia because of Indian trouble and came to what was then Orange County, North Carolina. John, sr. died there in July 1786. John's wife Rachael is listed simply as the Widow Whitsett when John's estate was settled. He left Pennsylvania in 1752 and went to what was then Rowan County, North Carolina. He is likely the John Whitsett that is the source of the Whitsett family legend of John that "went south" and was never heard of again. It appears that he was a surveyor for a time in Rowan Co. In 1754 he was one of the men who set off lots for sale in the village of Sallisbury. John operated a grist mill or Grant's Creek until 1768. In that year he began selling off his land in Rowan County. By this time the Quakers in the settlement of Wrightsboro, Georgia began offering non-Quakers free land to help populate the region with white settlers. John Sr. and John jr. and wife Sarah Thompson, her father Lawrence Thompson, Richard Bird and others bought plots of 200-250 acres in Wrightsboro, but, their time in Georgia was short lived. The Indians did not take kindly to white settlers encroaching on their tribal lands. Their fierce attacks soon ended the desires of many whites to remain in Georgia. A number of these settlers simply abandoned their lands and returned to North Carolina. In May 1771, John Whitsett Sr. is on a list of those that had left the province of Wrightsboro due to Indian troubles. The following year the younger John and wife Sarah (Thompson) Whitsett sold their Wrightsboro lot of 250 acres; afterwards they may have first gone to Caswell county, N.C. a 1777 tax list for the Glouchester District, Caswell County, North Carolina lists a John Whitsett. The entire family seems to have removed to Orange County, NC, by 1779. Several deeds and lists of tax payers are evidence that John jr. and Sarah left Orange County for Middle Tennessee around that time. John and Sarah were the grandparents of Sarah Childress Polk, the wife of President James K. Polk. |
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| Name | 4. | WHITSETT, John (William2, Samuel1) |
| Sex | Male | |
| Father | 2. | WHITSETT, William |
| Mother | Unknown | |
| Spouse | Rachael | |
| Birth | Probably abt. 1712, in Ireland, probably County Antrim | |
| Death | July, 1786, in Orange County, North Carolina; estate sale for Widow Whitsett.43 | |
| Marriage | Unknown | |
| Children | John Whitsett had at least six children | |
| 8.i. | WHITSETT, John b. 1743 Pennsylvania; d. 1819 Alabama, m. Sarah Thompson, daughter of Lawrence Thompson. 26,43 | |
| 9.ii. | WHITSETT, James b. Abt. 1747, Penn.; d. 1788, N. C., m. Mary Moore.43,44,45 | |
| 10.iii. | WHITSETT, Samuel b. 1752; d. 1832 N. C., m. Mary Stockard.43 | |
| 11.iv. | WHITSETT, William b. Abt. 1755; d. Abt. 1820 Ky., m. Mary Thompson, daughter of Lawrence Thompson, 1 Aug. 1783 in Orange Co.43 | |
| v. | WHITSITT, Sarah; may be the Sarah who m. Richard Cope, 17 Sep. 1795 in Orange Co.43,45 | |
| vi. | WHITSETT, Mary; may be the Mary Whiteside who married Adam Sharp in Orange Co., 15 Oct. 1789.43,45 | |
| vii. | WHITESIDE, Martha, m. Joseph Hamilton in Orange Co, 18 Aug. 1781; I am unable to determine with any degree of assurance that Martha was indeed the daughter of John. The surnames of Whiteside and Whitsitt were used interchangeably in the eighteenth century.45 | |
| Notes | 21 Oct. 1738 | Land Warrant: Lebanon Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; Survey for 200 acres. 19 |
| 4 Apr. 1750 | 1750 April 04, Lebanon Twp., Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania; survey for Conrad Brown adjacent John Whiteside.20 | |
| Abt. 1752 | Removed from Lancaster Co., Pa. to Anson (now Rowan) Co., N. C. | |
| 12 June 1752 | In the list of 16 men who were appointed as Justices of the Peace is Lawrence Thompson Esq.22 | |
| 1753 | Rowan County, North Carolina formed from Anson County; county seat in Salisbury. | |
| June 1753 | Rowan County, North Carolina court records: 22,25,26,27 |
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| 18 Sep. 1753 | Rowan Co., NC; John Whitsett security for license to Jeremiah Bailey for a ferry over the Yadkin River.25 | |
| Mar. 1754 | Rowan Co., NC; John Whitsitt operating a public mill on or near Grants Creek .28 | |
| 12 July 1754 | John Whitsitt appointed treasurer of group to lay off lots and streets in Salisbury.27 | |
| 3 Dec. 1754 | Land survey in Lebanon Township, Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania, Robert Varner survey shows John Whiteside's tract is now in the possession of Conrad Brown.21 | |
| 25 May 1757 | Salisburn, Rowan Co., John Whitsitt and Abigail Gamble witness the deed from James Carter and Hugh Foster to James Bower jr.; Deeds Book 2, pp. 238-239.26 | |
| 23 Oct. 1757 | Rowan Co., NC; John Long to replace John Witsits as commissioner because of Whitsitt's being occupied by the business of his mill.25,27 | |
| 20 Oct. 1758 | Salisbury, Rowan Co., NC; John Long commissioner in place of John Whitsite for the district from town to the Yadkin ford.25,27 | |
| 15 May 1759 | Pvt. James Whitsett listed on Pay Roll of Capt. Aventon Felps' Scouts, Rowan County, probably the son of John.44 | |
| 28 Aug. 1759 | Rowan Co., NC, deed to James Carn for 656 acres on Grants Creek adjacent to land of John Whitesides.26,31 | |
| 22 Oct. 1760 | Rowan Co., NC, Deed: James and Hanna Carr sell to John Biggs 656 acres on Grants Creek adjacent to Alexander McCulloh and John Whitsitt. This is the last record of John Whitsitt in Rowan County, North Carolina.26,30 | |
| 10 Nov. 1761 | Orange Co., NC, Deed: John Whitsett sells to Henry Grace 100 acres.32 | |
| 1762 | Mecklenburg Co., NC formed from the western part of Anson County, borders Rowan County on the south. | |
| 20 Oct. 1762 | Rowan Co., NC, deed from John Braley to Abram Whitesid for 60 pounds Virginia money, 596 acres on a branch of Reedy Fork of the Haw River, adjacent to James McCuiston; deed is witnessed by Mathew Long and Wm. Denny; Rowan County Deeds, book 4, pg. 931; Guilford County, N.C. Historical Documentation Map: "Between 1762 and 1763, Abraham Whiteside located near the confluence of the Long Branch creek and Reedy Fork, Rowan County, N.C." [became Orange then Guilford Co.].26 |
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| 1 Apr. 1775 | Mecklenburg Co., NC, John Whitsett and Rachel his wife sell 215 acres of land to Thomas Nealy jr.49 | |
| 12 Aug. 1766 | Orange Co. court held in Childsburg - Lawrence Thompson (and others) present; Thomas Hart and Lawrence Thompson among those who returned their lists of taxables for the current year.39 | |
| 19 Sep. 1767 | Mecklenburg Co., NC, Moses Ferguson of Mecklenburg Co. sells to Samuel Bigham sr. 500 acres of land on Steel Creek adjacent to the land of Samuel Knox, deed witnessed by Samuel Bigham and John Whitesitt.48 | |
| 25 Oct. 1768 | Orange Co., NC, deeds: John Whitsett sells to Benj. Stone 100 acres, deed proved on the oath of Laurence Thompson; Laurence Thompson jr. to Moses Embrie 150 acres of land, proved by Robert Forest.26,33 | |
| 7 Feb. 1769 | Petitions for lots in Wrightsboro, GA; John Whitsett, John Whitsett, Jr., Laurence Thompson, Hugh Tinnen, Richard Bird, James, Thomas, Samuel and Peter Hart. Quakers from Orange County established the Wrightsboro colony in Georgia about 1768. 23,24 | |
| 4 May 1769 | Mecklenburg Co., NC, John Whitsitt land grant on waters of Steel Creek, adjacent to Mathew Knox's land; when the land was sold by John Whitsett to Thomas Nealy jr. in April 1775 the deed was signed by John Whitsett and Rachel Whitsett [is this our John?]; vol. 6, pp. 266-268.48 | |
| 1 Nov. 1769 | Orange Co., NC, James Whitsett witnesses the will of John Logue.26 | |
| 3 July 1770 | Land Grants in Wrightsboro, Georgia issued to John Whitsett 200a. and John Whitsett, Jr. 250a.23,24 | |
| May 1771 | John Whitsett [Sr.] and L. Thompson are on the list of those that have left the province of Wrightsboro due to Indian troubles. Others leaving were Richard Bird, Thomas Hart, Hugh Tinnen; these names appear in later documents in Orange County.23,24 |
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| 1772 | Wrightsboro, Georgia, John Whitsett [Jr.] and wife Sarah sell their lot of 250 acres.23,24 | |
| 1 Apr. 1775 | Mecklenburg Co., NC, John Whitsitt of Mecklenburg to Thomas Nealy jr. of same county, land granted 4 May 1769 on waters of Steel Creek, adjacent to Mathew Knox's land, signed John Whitsett and Rachel Whitsett [is this our John?]; vol. 6, pp. 266-268.48,49 |
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| 26 Mar. 1776 | Mecklenburg Co., NC, Samuel Bigham sr. of Mecklenburg Co. sells to John Bigham of the same county 200 acres of land adjacent the land of Ambrose McKees, deed witnessed by James Whitsett and Robert Irwin.48 | |
| 1777 | Tax List, Glouchester District, Caswell County, North Carolina lists a John Whitsett.34 | |
| 13 Feb. 1777 | Mechlenburg Co., NC, Robert Patterson and wife Margaret of Mecklenburg Co. sell to William Whitsitt, blacksmith, 200 acres of land on the waters of Paw Creek and Beaver Dam that was first granted to Robt. Patterson on 4 March 1775.48 | |
| 2 Oct. 1777 | Mecklenburg Co., NC, William Sawyer of Londonderry Township in Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania, sells to James Sawyer of Mecklenburg Co., land on the waters of Steel Creek, witnesses William Whiteside and Moses Swan.48 | |
| 1778 | Mecklenburg Co., NC, John Whitside is security for Alice McGee, widow of Thomas McGee, as administratrix of his estate.49 | |
| 17 Nov. 1778 | Orange Co., NC, deed to John Whitsett for 200 acres on both sides of Back Creek, a branch of the Haw River, bounded on the north by a great road leading to Hillsborough and on the south by the lands of Thomas Hart and John Logue; witnessed by Jno. Logue, Saml Whitesett and Thos. Mulhollan [photocopy].26,37 | |
| 1779 | Mecklenburg Co., NC, "John Whiteside having the lawful right of administration on part of the estate of the widow Ann Giles, deceased, came into open court and relnquished his right and upon motion ordered that letters of adm. on said estate issue to Robert Patterson, his security, William Whitside, bound in the sum of 500 pounds.49 | |
| 1779 | Orange Co., NC, John Whitsett is taxed on 655 acres.35 | |
| 8 Apr. 1779 | Rowan Co., NC, marriage of Laurence Thompson [jr.] and Eleanor Thomson, bond by Lawrence Thompson [sr.].47 | |
| 9 Nov. 1779 | Orange Co., NC, order from John Butler, Entry Officer for claims for lands to the Orange Co. surveyor to survey for Samuel Whitsitt of 50 acres on Stags Creek, [photo copy].26 | |
| 28 Feb. 1780 | Orange Co., NC, John Whitsett petitions the Orange County court to redirect a road running through his plantation.38,38 | |
| Sep. 1780 | Tax List in Orange Co., NC, lists Jno. Whitesett.36 | |
| 18 Aug. 1781 | Orange Co., NC, Martha Whiteside and Joseph Hamilton are married, William Bradford posted the bond; I am uncertain of her relationship to John Whitsitt sr.45 | |
| 1782 | Tax List: Orange Dist., Orange Co., NC, John Whitside, 200 acres.40 | |
| 27 July 1782 | Land in Orange Co., NC, 200 acres is surveyed for John Whitsett located on both sides of Back Creek (this is the same land described in the Nov. 1778 deed).41 | |
| 10 June 1783 | Hillsborough, NC, Samuel Whitsitt presents a claim (for goods or services to NC during the Revolution); the claim was allowed; type of serice or goods not explained.46 | |
| 1 Aug. 1783 | Orange Co., NC, William Whitsitt, son of John, and Mary Thompson, daughter of Lawrence Thompson, are married; Mary's brother Aseria (Azeria) Thompson posted bond for the wedding.45 | |
| 20 Aug. 1783 | Hillsborough, NC, James and John Whitesides present claims (for goods or services to NC during the Revolution); type of serice or goods not explained.46 | |
| 1784 | Orange Co., NC, marriage of Azariah Thompson and Catherine Allison, witness David Allison; exact date not given.47 | |
| 9 Nov. 1784 | Land Grant Orange Co., NC, Samuel Whitsett is granted a deed for 270 acres. on Back Creek adjacent James Whitsett; this is the same land that deeded to John Whitsett in 1778 and surveyed for him in 1782. This is good evidence that Samuel was the son of John.42 |
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| 1 Aug. 1785 | Orange Co., NC, marriage of William Whitsitt and Mary Thompson, Aseria Thompson posted the bond. This is the William and Mary Whitsett who went to Clark County, Kentucky.26,47 | |
| 1786 | The sale of the estate of John Whitsett, deceased, was recorded in Orange County. The return from the sale mentions the following Whitsett's: Widow Whitsett (no given name), Mary Whitsett, Sarah Whitsett, James Whitsett and Samuel Whitsett. Samuel paid rent for the mill and plantation for four years. Among other names listed on the return are John Stockart (Stockard); John Griffith; John Reaves; Alex. Minoway; Steven Hart; Robert Tinnen; Abraham Thompson, John Thompson. This estate sale is the only known source of information on possible children of John Whitsett of Orange County.43 | |
| 15 Oct. 1789 | Orange Co., Mary Whitesides and Adam Sharp are married, Benjamin Roney posted the bond; could be the daughter of John Whitsett.45 | |
| Sources | Records of the Land Office, WARRANT REGISTERS, 1733-1957, pg. 190, Cumberland County Warrants, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau of Archives and History, Pennsylvania State Archives; RG-17 [series #17.88] | |
| Records of the Land Office, COPIED SURVEYS 1681-1912 (Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau of Archives and History, Pennsylvania State Archives; RG-17 [series #17.114]), Cumberland County, Pennsylvania Copied Surveys, Book A14-4; resurvey dated 29 Dec. 1803 (for purposes of parceling and patenting the tract) | ||
| Records of the Land Office, COPIED SURVEYS 1681-1912, Lancaster County Survey, Book A78-132, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau of Archives and History, Pennsylvania State Archives; RG-17 [series #17.114] | ||
| 22. | A Colonial History of Rowan County, NC, BY Samuel James Ervin, Jr., The James Sprunt Historical Publications, THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, The North Carolina Historical Society; Edwards & Broughton Printing Company (1917) Date: 1753 SEP 18 Doc 140 | |
| Dorothy M. Jones, "Notes From Wrightsborough", Wrightsboro Quaker Community Foundation, Inc., Thomson, Georgia. | ||
| Pearl Baker, The Story of Wrightsboro 1768-1964, Wrightsboro Restoration Foundation, Thomsom, Georgia (1980) | ||
| McCubbins Collection of Extracts of Rowan County, N. C. Court Records to May 1770 (LDS Microfilm 019,88) | ||
| North Carolina research notes and photocopies from Mrs. Jane Gray Buchanan, 114 Berwick Dr., Oak Ridge, TN, April 1986, research for her book THOMAS THOMPSON AND ANN FINNEY OF COLONIAL PENNSYLVANIA AND NORTH CAROLINA, pub. June-July, 1987 | ||
| Rowan County, North Carolina Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions. | ||
| Robert W. Ramsey, Carolina Cradle: Settlement of the Northwest Carolina Frontier, 1747-1762,pp. 111-112; University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC, William R. Whiteside research, 19 Jan. 2008. | ||
| Rowan County, North Carolina Deeds, Deed Book 2-238,239; Jane Gray Buchanan, 114 Berwick Dr., Oak Ridge, TN, April 1986, THOMAS THOMPSON AND ANN FINNEY OF COLONIAL PENNSYLVANIA AND NORTH CAROLINA, pub. June-July, 1987 | ||
| Rowan County, North Carolina Deeds, DB 4-317, 318; Jane Gray Buchanan, 114 Berwick Dr., Oak Ridge, TN, April 1986, THOMAS THOMPSON AND ANN FINNEY OF COLONIAL PENNSYLVANIA AND NORTH CAROLINA, pub. June-July, 1987 | ||
| Rowan County, North Carolina Deeds, Deed Book 5-411Jane Gray Buchanan, 114 Berwick Dr., Oak Ridge, TN, April 1986, THOMAS THOMPSON AND ANN FINNEY OF COLONIAL PENNSYLVANIA AND NORTH CAROLINA, pub. June-July, 1987 | ||
| Orange County, North Carolina Register of Deeds, Library, Technical Institute of Alamance, Alamance Barbering Institute, 2260 S. Church St., Burlington, NC 27215. | ||
| North Carolina Entry Book (Papers of the North Carolina Land Grant Office), folio 2-155, Library, Technical Institute of Alamance, Alamance Barbering Institute, 2260 S. Church St., Burlington, NC 27215. | ||
| Caswell County, North Carolina Tax records, Glouchester Dist., Library, Technical Institute of Alamance, Alamance Barbering Institute, 2260 S. Church St., Burlington, NC 27215. | ||
| Orange County, North Carolina List of Taxables 1779-1783, Library, Technical Institute of Alamance, Alamance Barbering Institute, 2260 S. Church St., Burlington, NC 27215. | ||
| Orange County, North Carolina List of Taxables 1779-1783, Chatham District., pg. 324-330, Library, Technical Institute of Alamance, Alamance Barbering Institute, 2260 S. Church St., Burlington, NC 27215. | ||
| North Carolina Entry Book (Papers of the North Carolina Land Grant Office), Book 57-155, North Carolina Land Grants, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC [photocopies] | ||
| Orange County Court Minutes, 1777-1795, County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Hillsborough (North Carolina State Archives); Shields, Ruth Herndon, ABSTRACTS OF THE MINUTES OF THE COURT OF PLEAS AND QUARTER SESSIONS OF ORANGE COUNTY, Sept 1752 - Aug. 1766 | ||
| Ruth Herndon Shields, Abstracts Of The Minutes of The Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of Orange County in the Province of North Carolina September 1752 through August 1766, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. | ||
| Orange County, North Carolina List of Taxables 1779-1783, Orange District, pg. 422; Library, Technical Institute of Alamance, Alamance Barbering Institute, 2260 S. Church St., Burlington, NC 27215. | ||
| North Carolina Entry Book (Papers of the North Carolina Land Grant Office), no. 425. North Carolina Land Grants, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC [photocopies] | ||
| North Carolina Entry Book (Papers of the North Carolina Land Grant Office), Grant No. 708/806, North Carolina Land Grants, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC [photocopies] | ||
| Orange County, North Carolina Estate Records, CR-073, North Carolina Land Grants, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC [photocopies] | ||
| Clark, Murtie June, COLONIAL SOLDIERS OF THE SOUTH, 1732-1774, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD (1986) | ||
| 45. | North Carolina Marriage Bonds, Library, Technical Institute of Alamance, Alamance Barbering Institute, 2260 S. Church St., Burlington, NC 27215. | |
| 46. | North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC, Revolutionary War Claims [photocopies]. | |
| 47. | North Carolina Marriage Bonds, LDS, Salt Lake City, UT. | |
| 48. | Mecklenburg Co., N.C. Deed Abstracts; Mecklenburg Co., NC Court Minutes Book 1, 1774-1780; North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC. | |
| 49. | Mecklenburg Co., N.C. Court Minutes, 1774-1780; research notes from Jane Gray Buchanan, 114 Berwick Dr., Oak Ridge, TN, April 1986. | |
Ronald N. WallMODIFIED: 29 July 2022 |