| SPOUSE | CHILDREN | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Susanna ?Bolen m. Sep 3, 1767 ?Northhampton Co. NC b. 1750? ?West Feliciana Parish d. 1819 West Feliciana Parish LA |
Patience b. 1766 d. 1829? West Feliciana Parish LA |
Sarah b. 1771? d. before 1792 West Feliciana Parish LA |
William b. 1774/6? d. before 1840 |
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Susanna b. Oct 10, 1782 d. 1829? West Feliciana Parish LA |
Steven b. 1784? d. Feb 26, 1819 ?West Feliciana Parish LA |
Pharoah b. 1794 ?West Feliciana Parish LA d. Aug 16, 1814 ?West Feliciana Parish LA |
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Arthur was the son of Joseph and Catherine Cobb of Southhampton Co. VA. His
older brother William was born there but after fighting for the American
Revolution, moved his family inland to North Carolina. |
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Southhampton Co. VA was created in 1749 from Isle of Wight Co. which bordered the
south shore of the James River. Southhampton included the eastern side of the
Blackwater River
(see Present day map
for location of both counties at bottom of map). |
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Northhampton Co. was created in 1741 from Bertie Co.
(see Present day Mmap
for location). |
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Several Cobb family members arrived in Natchez by 1782, including brothers Arthur
and Frederick, and possibly Arthur's son William. |
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On Jun 19, 1782, William Dewitt bought a small
tract of enclosed, cultivated land on St. Catherine's Creek in the Natchez District
from Joseph Duncan [McBee, Natchez Court Records, p. 14-15].
He had also lent a horse to Joseph Duncan so that William Brocus could go in
pursuit of some rebels. Brocus was sued for payment for the horse on Jan 16, 1784.
On Feb 3, 1784, this Duncan was defendant in a suit by Russell Jones over [Joseph]
Duncan's treatment of [Russell] Jones in regard to "partnership between them for
sundry horses they bought from the Indians and the said Duncan having put the whole
proceeds in his own pocket and made use of the goods of the firm for his wife and
family". The constable was ordered to bring Joseph Duncan to the fort without delay.
[McBee, Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805, p. 319-20]. |
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On Jul 17, 1783 William Dewitt and a William
Rawlings gave a declaration that a horse
race was fixed, that is, "two of the Calvits Sons in Law to Higdon Did Bett on
[Arthur] Cobbs horse which horse Higdon who was Father in Law to the two Calvitts & one
of the Judge's gave the race in favour of Cobb's horse" [MDAH Microfilm roll no.
5618 p. 3.65]. A Russell Jones also filed a suit against the same Arthur Cobb,
objecting to the judges of the race who were "Messr. Brocus and Higdon" [McBee,
p. 309-10]. The judge would be Daniel Higdon
who about 1762 had married a widow Mary Dean Calvit,
and the son-in-laws would be two of her four sons, possibly Joseph and Frederick
Calvit who lived in the St. Catherine's Creek area about that time. Higdon died
in Mar 1785 and Frederick Calvit died by 1791. |
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Present in the Spanish Census of 1784 in the sub-district of Santa Catalina
(St. Catherine Creek) are the families of brothers Joseph Calvit, Frederick Calvit,
Thomas Calvit and William Calvit. |
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On Aug 31, 1784 the Natchez Court appointed appraisers to value
William Dewitt's whole estate to protect
creditors in case of William's "meditated flight". On Dec 23,
1784 the estate was valued at $4,319. It included 600 arpents on St. Catherine's Creek
with cabins, 400 arpents (about 336 acres) on the Mississippi River with dwelling
house and cabins, and 10 slaves. By Feb 20, 1786, after his conviction for
"intention to leave [Natchez] District without passport to evade payment", the
entire estate was put up for public sale and the proceeds distributed to the
creditors [Natchez Court Records, Book A, p. 207-11]. |
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On Sep 22, 1784 William Dewitt and Russell
Jones faced confinement in the
Fort of Natchez "for attempting to leave the country without passports", which
were required going in and out of the Spanish Territory at that time [Potter,
Passports of Southeastern Pioneers 1770-1823, p. 342]. |
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William Dewitt was the subject of a deposition
made in the Natchez District on
Jan 31, 1785. The deposition
was regarding a transfer of slaves and debts owed by William. Members of the White
family were witness to events in Washington Co. NC [now part of TN] where the
Dewitts and White brothers were living with their families in latter part of 1781.
The transfer of slaves was proved to be a forgery and his debts settled by the
Spanish Tribunal. [McBee, Natchez Court Records, Book E, p. 36]. |
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On Feb 4 and 5, 1785 depositions were made by Elizabeth
Stillee, her daughter Elizabeth Raby,
and her husband John Stillee, all certifying
that William Dewitt had never given anything
to his wife,
Catherine Dewitt, or his children. A month later,
a John Lovelace deposed that in Sep 1784 "Wm Dewitt sent for him to make Deed/Gift of
all his negroes to his wife and children, giving the name of Justice/Peace John Sumter,
desiring to antedate sd writing 1st January 1781, wich Lovelace did. Witnesses:
William Smith, James Armstrong, Esteven Minor" [Wells, p. 50-51]. |
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On Feb 19, 1785 Arthur Cobb and a Gibson Clark, "both of District", were the
appraisers for the sale of the plantation seized from
Joseph Ford [McBee, Book A, p. 30]. |
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On Mar 23, 1787, "two negro women and one negro girl" belonging to the indebted
John Stillee were guaranteed surety by
Natchez resident Arthur Cobb at the Fort of Natchez. These three slaves were
identified in the court records only as "Belinda" and "Dorinda" but would actually
be Bella, aged about 16, and
Dorinda, aged 14, and Lucinda, aged about 17,
who belonged to Elizabeth Holloway Stillee and
had been confiscated to pay the debts of her husband [McBee, Natchez Court Records,
p. 171]. |
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Two slaves belonging to John Stillee, husband of
Elizabeth Holloway Stillee, a
"mulatto named Frank" and another named "Bright" were sold at public auction to
John Vauchere (born 1742), a creditor and former partner of Stillee [McBee, p. 40].
He also purchased at least 400 acres of the Stillee land on St. Catherine's
Creek at the auction [McBee, p. 171]. |
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Arthur Cobb surveyed 500 arpents by 1787, and part of it was granted to his son,
William, who must have been old enough to own land then. The land was on St.
Catherine's and Second Creeks 6-8 miles SSE of the Fort of Natchez, and
William was helping produce the crops before Feb 1795 when he sued his father for
a "share of the crop" that was promised to him "some years ago" when his father
"was much indebted". William was married to a woman named Mary, also known as
"Polly", when they sold the land to two Natchez merchants on Mar 17, 1800
[McBee, pp. 155, 203, 431]. |
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On Feb 23, 1788, Arthur Cobb bought a slave "Thomas" aged 30, nat. of Africa,
for $600. On Jan 10, 1789 he bought four slaves for $1750 with "terms" [McBee,
Book B, pp. 50, 61] |
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On Aug 7, 1788 Arthur was the only member of the Cobb family listed as one
of the many outstanding debts of the estate of Richard Carpenter, merchant of
Natchez. One of the debtors was listed as "Wm. Dewitt (dead)" [McBee, Book B
page 124, pp. 55-6]. |
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William Dewitt's wife Cary had at least two
other marriages after William died. About 1788, she married Henry Milburn,
who was a head of household "Enrique Milburn"
in the Villa Gayoso division of Natchez in 1792, and gave birth to three children
by him. She married Elisha Forman on Aug 30, 1823 in St. Landry Parish LA. |
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On Jun 8, 1789 Arthur Cobb and son William sold to a Theophilus Phillips
"two tracts of land on Second Creek, one granted to Arthur Cobb, 400 arpents..."
[McBee, p. 68]. |
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In a letter dated Mar 2, 1790, from
Carlos de Grand-Pré, Natchez to
Governor Don Estavan Miro, the amount of tobacco produced in 1790 was reported
by growers of Natchez. The "Arthur Cobb" plantation reported producing
3,800 pounds of tobacco that year [MS Dept of Archives & History, website]. |
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In 1790, a
survey
of 500 arpents of land in the Louisiana part of the Natchez District was done for
"Arturo Cobbs" bordering the lands of [Christian] Bingaman (east) and [Israel]
Smith (west), vacant land to the north and a fork of Bayou Sarah to the south [MDAH]. On Dec 17, 1819, the heirs of Arthur Cobb and of John Lintot transferred to John Baker [possibly brother Frederick's son-in-law] in the "parish of Feliciana 500 arpents of land by virtue of a complete Spanish patent dated April 9, 1790, in favor of Arthur Cobb..." [microfilm source in Price Genealogy Case Study Project, p. 6]. |
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On Sep 23, 1791, Thomas Calvit, as executor of his brother Frederick Calvit,
deceased, both sons of Mary Calvit Higdon,
sued Arthur because Frederick had lent him a horse "for the purpose of knowing
if he could run" and it was returned "in bad condition" and died a month afterward
[McBee, Book F, pp. 260-1]. |
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Bayou Sara no longer exists because the Mississippi River now runs through it.
In 1820 it was partly in Wilkinson Co. MS (formed in 1802 from a part of Adams Co.)
and a part of West Feliciana LA, south of the town of Natchez
(see present day map
for location of Wilkinson Co. and
present day map
for location of West Feliciana Parish. |
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The 1792 Census
of the Natchez District was translated from the Spanish handwritten records.
Located in the Second & Sandy Creek (Adams and Franklin Cos.) subdivision is
a household under the name "Arturo Cobb", with 1500 arpents of land with 5 white
persons and 13 slaves living there. |
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Daughter Patience married George Washington Kimball first and then James Smith
in 1828 about a year before she died. |
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Feliciana Parish was established in 1810. In 1824 West Feliciana Parish was created
from it. It is located just south of the southern Mississippi state line.
(see Map of Louisiana Parishes
for location). |
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On Apr 27, 1807 son Stephen married Sarah Bingaman (1788-1858). She was
a daughter of Christian Bingaman (1760-1825), brother of Adam Bingaman (1767-1819,
the second husband of Anne McIntosh Bingaman. |
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In the 1840 Census for West Feliciana Parish LA, there is a "Mrs. Mary Cobb" but
no other Cobbs. |
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Daughter Sarah Cobb Kneeland Thompson was involved in a Tennessee Supreme Court
case Kneeland vs. Ensley in 1838. |
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SOURCES: Adams Co. Mississippi Genealogy & History Network, "1792 Census for Natchez District (under Spanish Government control)", 2009, 1792 Census. Adams Co. MS Index to Deed Records, 1780-1798, on microfilm, A-105. Clark, Walter, State Records of North Carolina Vol XVII 1781-1785, Broadfoot Publishing, Wilmington NC, 1994, pp. 287-8, 294. McBee, May Wilson, Natchez Court Records 1767-1805, Abstract of Early Records, Greenwood MS, v. 2, 1953, Book A, pp. 30, 207-11, pp. 14-15, 27, 40-43, 68, 88-89, 155, 203, 309-10, Book B, pp. 50, 55, 61, Book D, p. 476, Book F, pp. 260-1. MS Dept. of Archives & History (MDAH), Jackson MS, rootsweb, Early Mississippians in Spanish Natchez. MS Dept. of Archives and History (MDAH), microfilm no. 5618, roll 3, various doc. Potter, Dorothy Williams, Passports of Southeastern Pioneers 1770-1823, Gateway Press, Baltimore MD, 1982, p. 342. Price Genealogy, Case Study - John Baker, Jun 22, 2019, within website, pricegen.com. U.S. 1840 Census, West Feliciana Parish LA, Index, USGenWeb, transcribed by Karen Sherman, 2002. Virginia Land Patents, Book 8, p. 16. Wells, Carol, Natchez Postscripts 1781-1798, Heritage Books, Bowie MD, 1992, pp. 50-52. 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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