William Whitsitt and Elizabeth Dawson of Ireland and Pennsylvania
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GENERATION 3

WILLIAM WHITSITT & ELIZABETH DAWSON
AKA William Whiteside, William Whitesite, William Whitsitt, etc. Published in the "Annals of a Scotch-Irish Family: The Whitsitt's of Nashville, Tennessee", AMERICAN HISTORICAL MAGAZINE, Vol IX, 1904; Dr. William Heth Whitsitt, Richmond College, Richmond, Virginia wrote, "William Whitsitt, the son of William Whitsitt, the son of Samuel Whitsitt (all of Ireland), married Elizabeth Dawson, of Ireland. William Whitsitt, son of the aforesaid William, married Miss Ellen Menees, daughter of James Menees, who married the widow of Ranney Breathitt, formerly Miss Ellen Cardwell; died at the residence of his son, the Rev. James Whitsitt, in the vicinity of Nashville, Tennessee, July 14, 1811. Ellen Menees Whitsitt, his wife was born -------, and died at Rural Choice, Kentucky, the home of her son-in-law, George Blakey, September 13, 1818." Dr. Whitsitt's article was based on records kept by Margaret Whitsitt-Blakey (1767-1859) and the Blakey family. Margaret was the daughter of William Whitsitt and Ellen (Eleanor) Menees and the grandaughter of the immigrant William Whiteside/Whitsett.
William came to Philidelphia, Pennsylvania from Northern Ireland about 1730-31 with whom we believe were his siblings, but at least close relatives, John, Ralph, James and Elizabeth. James McNees (later changed the spelling to Menees) appears in the Lebanon Township, Lancaster Co. records with the Whitsetts. William may have obtained land in Lebanon Township, but I have not been able to identify a survey that was definitely the William whose wife was Elizabeth Dawson. We know from numberous records that this Whitsett/Whitsitt was closely associated with the James McNeese/Menees family, and the fact that William's son William III married Elinor McNees in Lancaster County is the best evidence that the family first came to that area early. It is certain that William, his son William and probably the James Menees family left Pennsylvania for Amherst County, Virginia before 1761.
NAME 3. WHITSETT, William (William2,Samuel1) 7
SEX   Male
FATHER 2. WHITSETT, William 7
MOTHER   Unknown
SPOUSE   DAWSON, Elizabeth b. probably Ireland, d. unknown possibly on the voyage to America, she is not mentioned in any of the Pennsylvania documents.7
BIRTH   Abt. 1710 in County Antrim, Ireland 7
DEATH   Unknown, probably about 1770, in Amherst County, Virginia 7
MARRIAGE   Ireland, probably about 1729
Children:   William Whitsitt and Elizabeth Dawson had only one son that we can identify, William.
  7.i. WHITSITT, William b. 20 Aug. 1731, Ireland; d. 13 Sep. 1818, Rural Choice, Kentucky, m. 30 May 1764 in Bethel Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Eleanor Menees, daughter of James McNees/Menees) 6,7
     
NOTES abt. 1731 Came from Ireland to Lancaster County, "William Whitsitt the second was the immigrant, and shortly after the year 1731 he came over the sea with his wife, Elizabeth (Dawson) Whitsitt, and their son, William Whitsitt the third, who had been born in their Irish home on the 20th of August, 1731." 7
  5 June 1737 Henry McKnees, son of James McKnees born in Opequon Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania; this was largely a Quaker settlement; we have no way of knowing if this is the James McNeese of Lancaster County.17
  1738 John Whiteside receives a warrant on Mill Creek in Lebanon Township, Lancaster County; bordering his land is Ralph Whiteside (1746) and Robert Varner/Verner (1745).15
  4 Oct. 1739 James Meneice obtains a warrant for 50 acres, Lebanon Township.15
  15 Mar. 1741 A Grant on Mechum's River, in Goochland Co., Va., for William Whitside, recorded in the land Office at Richmond at page 162 of Book 20 for 400 acres; this is the William Whiteside who married Elizabeth STOCKTON. All the records mentioning Ivy Creek and Mechum's River in Albemarle Co. pertain to them, not our William and Elizabeth (Dawson) WHITSITT.
  4 Sep. 1741

James McNeess, son of James McNeess, born in Lebanon township, Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania; baptised in July 1742, sponsors Anastasius Uhler and wife Dorothea.17
  22 Oct. 1748 James McNees obtains a warrant for about 180 acres straddling upper and lower branches of Quittapahilla Creek (near todays town of Lebanon).9,15
  24 Apr. 1750 Land Warrant to William Whiteside for 100 acres in Allen Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. By 1803 this was increased to over 200 acres, which were subdivided into several lots in 1803. Multiple surveys were done in 1803 of these lots. Plot maps of the surveys locate the area between Carlisle and Mechanicsburg, with the north boundary halfway between today's Trindle Rd. and Rt. 11 and the south boundary on Yellow Breeches Creek (Book A-14, pg. 4); this is probably the son of Ralph Whitsett.9,15
  1751

Tax list, Middleton, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, (both Wm. Sr. and are Wm. Jr. listed).8

Assessment List, Bethel Township, Lancaster County lists James Macnees and Casper Stover Jr.16
  20 Dec. 1752 James McNeese of Bethel Township and Margaretha Allen of Lebanon are married by the Rev. John Casper Stoever.6
  26 Aug. 1760 Else Whitside and Thomas McKee married by Rev. John Casper Stoever at Yellow Breeches [Creek].6
  1762 Tax List, Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania; William Whiteside; this is probably the son of Ralph.
  5 Sep. 1763 Deed for 200 acres on north side of Davis' Creek, Amherst Co., Va. from John and Elizabeth Wade to William Whitsitt, for 40 pounds (may be William III); Deed Book A, pg. 129.18
  30 May 1764 William Whitside and Eleanore McNees married by Rev. Stoever in Bethel Township.6,17
  7 Sep. 1767

Deed for 300 acres from James Menees (Sr.) to William Whitsitt on a branch of Rutledges Creek, Amherst County, Virginia; borders property of Jas. Menees, Jr., witnesses David Woodrood, Isaac Wright; Margaret, wife of Jas. Menees Sr. consents to the sale; Margaret was James Menees Sr. 2nd wife.18

Deed for 300 acres for 5 shillings, from Jas. Menees of Amherst Co., Va. to Benj. Menees of Amherst; land borders Wm. Whitsitt, witnesses David Woodrood and Isaac Wright; Mararet, wife of Jas. Menees consents to the sale.18
  4 June 1770 Deed, 200 acres on the north fork of Davises Creek, a branch of the Rockfish, Amherst County, Virginia; Son William Whiteside III and Elinor, his wife, to William Martin, 200 acres.18
  1 Nov. 1779 1779 November 01, deed, Amherst County, Virginia; Benjamin Menees [son of James] and wife Ann, of Pittsylvania County,Va. to William Whitsitt of Amherst Co., 300 acres for 700 pounds; Deed Book E, pg 197.18
  29 Dec. 1803 1803 December 29, land survey in Allen Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania; 245 acres re-surveyed from original warrant to William Whiteside dated April 24, 1750; the land was being subdivided to be patented by several individuals in 1803 an indication that William was no longer in Cumberland Co.This William Whiteside/Whitsett was probably the son of Ralph.15
     
Sources 6. Records of Rev. John Casper Stoever Baptismal And Marriage 1730-1779, Harrisburg Publishing Company, Harrisburg, PA, (1896)
 

7.

 William Heth Whitsitt, Annals of a Scotch-Irish Family: The Whitsitt's of Nashville, Tenn., American Historical Magazine And Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. IX, pub. A.V. And W.H. Goodpasture, Nashville, Tennessee, (1904); available free through Google Books.
 

8.

 William R. Whiteside, Cottage Hillz, IL, Research Notes (2007): WHITESETT-WHITESIDE POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS PA-NC; History of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
 

9.

 Records of the Land Office, WARRANT REGISTERS, 1733-1957 (Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau of Archives and History, Pennsylvania State Archives; RG-17 [series #17.88]), Cumberland County Warrants, pg. 190.
 

10.

 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).
 

13.

 William R. Whiteside, William R. Whiteside Research Notes (Cottage Hills, Illinois, August 2007).
 

14.

 Davis, Rev. Bailey Fulton, The Deeds of Amherst County, Virginia 1761-1807 and Albemarle County, Virginia 1748-1763 (Bailey Fulton Davis, Amherst County, VA, 1970. Reprinted 1979 by The Rev. Silas Emmett Lucas, Jr. Publisher: Southern Historical Press, 1970).
  15. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau of Archives and History, Pennsylvania State Archives; RG-17, Records of the Land Office, COPIED SURVEYS 1681-1912 [series #17.114], (http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/)
  16. I. Daniel Rupp, History of the Counties of Berks and Lebanon; 1751 Assessment List, Bethel Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; Lancaster County Genealogy Project.
  17. Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Lutheran Baptisms and Marriages [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000. Original data: Early Lutheran Baptisms and Marriages in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, PA, USA: n.p., 1896.
  18. Davis, Rev. Bailey Fulton. The Deeds of Amherst County, Virginia 1761-1807 and Albemarle County, Virginia 1748-1763. Publisher: Bailey Fulton Davis, Amherst County, VA, 1970. Reprinted 1979 by The Rev. Silas Emmett Lucas, Jr. Publisher: Southern Historical Press, c/o The Rev. S. Emmett Lucas, Jr., P. O. Box 1738, Easley, SC 29640
     
Ronald N. Wall
MODIFIED:  29 July 2022