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Phoebe "Dewitt"
Born 1774? NC or SC
Died after 1820 ?Wilkinson Co., MS

SPOUSE	CHILDREN
?	? "Ogden" b. Oct? 1795 Natchez Dist., Miss. Terr.
During 1778-9, current or future owner William Dewitt was a Special Juror for the Cheraws District in SC. Brothers[?] Charles and John Dewitt, Thomas Powe, probably the grandson of Samuel Poe, and several McCalls were also listed as jurors in the SC Jury Lists 1778-1779.
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.
William Dewitt and his family were in the Cumberland settlement with the family of John White who was on a List of Flotilla Captains from the journal kept by Col. John Donelson. John White testified in 1785 in Natchez that in late 1781 William lost his wife and remarried John's niece Catherine White [McBee, Natchez Court Records, Book E, p. 36].
Photo of a Map showing the Route of the Donelson Expedition on display at the Tennessee State Museum. On Dec 22, 1779, the expedition left Fort Patrick Henry on Long Island of the Holston River. William Dewitt, John and James White, and their families likely joined the Flotilla after it passed Knoxville in Mar 1780, and left it at the Red River near Clarksville on Apr 12 [Donelson's Journal, pp. 98-105].
In late 1781 the widower William married Catherine "Cary" White, daughter of William White (1730?-1818) in Burke Co. NC. The newlyweds were among 13 families going down to the Natchez District by flatboats including that of Cary's uncles, James (Tiago) White, and John (Juan) White, arriving in May 1782. The Dewitt family was listed in the arrival record dated Jul 6, as "Guillaume Duelt, wife & children, 5 Individuos", and also bringing 23 Slaves [Natchez Court Records].
In 1784, William Dewitt had tried to deed a child Phoebe to his daughter Catherine, Although judged a forgery by the Natchez court by 1785, a Jan 22, 1781 Deed of Gift by William mentioned the names of his children by his first wife and gifts to his wife Catherine White Dewitt Negroes Ben, Filis, Jinny, and Mary; to his daughter Catherine Dewitt Negroes Febe [Phoebe] and Sambo June [Juno or his mother, June]; to his son Jesse Negroes Cuffey, Stephen, Eudgo, Manday, James, Dol and Lammenton; and to his daughter Martha Negroes Filis and her child, and Jupiter [McBee, Book E, p. 162].
On Feb 24, 1784 William Dewitt sued Adam Bingaman. "Wm. Dewitt represents that he is indebted to Adam Bingaman for $1100, which he advanced to him in money some time since, and $400 more for goods furnished him, with $100 premium on the advance afsd, of which he gave his bond payable 16 April next". Bingaman took six slaves from William in an attempt to be repaid but William "was under great difficulties at the time and unable to pay". Three days later, Bingaman was ordered by the court to return the slaves to William [McBee, Book G, p. 320].
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. Phoebe was not among the slaves named. 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, pp. 24-27].
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]. Since William and his new wife, Cary White, came down from Cumberland Settlement with other White family members, his late wife may have been related to the Jones family, many of whom were killed by Indians there.
William Dewitt was the subject of a deposition made in the Natchez District on Jan 31, 1785, 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 the 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].
On Jan 15, 1787, John Stillee sold Phoebe, "nat. of Carolina, 11 years old" (born about 1775), to Polser Shilling for $300 [McBee, p. 37]. There is no record of Phoebe being part of the public sale of the William Dewitt estate between Dec 1784 and Feb 1786. Phoebe's owner after 1787, the Shilling family, had no head of household in the 1792 Natchez Census [Adams Co. Mississippi Genealogy & History Network].
By May of 1787 John Stillee and wife Elizabeth, along with their three children and the slaves Bella, Dorinda, and Lucinda, had left the Natchez District when Carlos de Grand-Pré authorized the settling of the "affairs of John Stilles, absconded" by having three disinterested persons examine the "books and accounts" of Stillee, and meet any debtors mentioned in the books along with George Fitzgerald, who would defend the "absent party" [Wells, p. 125].
The Aug 7, 1788 inventory of the estate of a merchant named Richard Carpenter of Natchez lists outstanding debts from many individuals including: James White, "Cadey Raby", son-in-law of Elizabeth White, Joseph Ford, Jno. Holloway, and "Wm. Dewitt (dead)" [McBee, Natchez Court Records, Book B, p. 112-114].
Map of the Natchez District as it may have looked between 1779 and 1799.
Gayoso succeeded Grand-Pré in 1792 and changed the name of the mansion built by his predecessor to Concord. Postcard showing the mansion before it burned down in 1901.
On Feb 15, 1796, the negro woman "Phoebe, aged 23" (born about 1774) and her child "aged 6 mos." were sold by Daniel Ogden, of the District of Buffalo for $200 specie to Alexander "MacCullagh" [McBee, p. 121]. Buffalo Creek was replaced by parts of Adams and Wilkinson Counties MS. Daniel Ogden was a neighbor of John Nugent whose land was on the "headwaters of Smiths Cr." in Wilkinson Co. in Dec 1806. Also near or on waters of Buffalo Creek in Wilkinson Co. was a Alexander McCulloch [McBee, pp. 390, 554].
According to the 1792 Natchez District Census, translated from the Spanish handwritten records, the household of Phoebe's owner "Daniel Ogden" was on 1,250 arpents of land in the "Bufalo Creek" (BC) area, and counted 6 white persons and 7 slaves. Phoebe's owner after 1796, Alexander McCulloch was likely in the large "Mateo McCullock" household on 500 arpents in Homochitto with 3 slaves [Adams Co. Mississippi Genealogy & History Network]. Back on Nov 25, 1789, "Alexander McCullagh" asked the Spanish Govt. for "500 acres near to Buffalo Cr., 11 miles from River Homochitto" for his family of "six persons", his brother Matthew had lived on and cultivated the land on Oct. 27, 1795. The land was "17 mi. south of Fort" of Natchez [McBee, Book F, p. 489].
The Buffalo Creek area in the 1792 Census is now approximately part of Adams and Wilkinson Counties. Adams Co. was founded in 1799, the first county in the new Mississippi Territory. Wilkinson Co. was founded in 1802. (see present day map for location). (See present day map for location of Wilkinson Co. MS).
Phoebe's owner after Jan 15, 1787 was Polser Shilling. Her owner before Feb 15, 1796 was Damiel Ogden. Daniel Ogden was an early settler of the Miss. Terr. in a part of future Wilkinson Co. MS. On Jun 23, 1788, he applied for a deed of 250 acres that was originally a Spanish grant near Loftus Cliff [Ewing, "Early Settlers of MS Territory Wilkinson County, MS"]. Ogden was not a name in Americans arriving in Natchez list that year, but in 1790 Damiel was in Natchez and he reported producing 1,000 pounds of tobacco [MDAH]. Phoebe must have been one of Ogden's seven slaves in the 1792 Census and gave birth six months before Ogden sold her on Feb 15, 1796.
Former owner John Stillee died on Sep 30, 1808. His son-in-law George B Watson and son "Reuben Stilly" were administrators of his estate. They reported to the Claiborne Co. Court that there were not enough assets to pay all of the debts of the deceased.
In the 1820 Census for Wilkinson Co. MS there was a "Alex'dr McCULLOCK" household on page 363 line 18 with only 4 members: 1 male under 10 years of age, 1 male aged 26 and under 45 [Alexander], 1 female aged 26 and under 45 [wife of Alexander], and 1 female slave aged 45 and upwards, None of the persons were engaged in agriculture or manufacturing [USGenWeb, 1820 Wilkinson MS Census, file 1 of 2]. The one slave in this household must be Phoebe aged about 46 since she was 23 in Feb 1796 when she was sold to Alexander. Her child would have been about 25 years old and likely sold previously by Alexander. Also, on page 373 line 4 was a "Mary Duet" household with 4 children under age 10 and 2 adults, male and female, aged 45+, and no slaves. This may be a family of the widow of William Dewitt Jr.
In Dec 1811, the widow Elizabeth "Stilley of St. Helena Parish in the Territory of Orleans", granted to her son James Holloway, as his share as heir of his father, the negro woman, Lucinda ("Lucey"), aged about 41, and her two children Jeffrey and Isaac, and in the future $200 "due by me as guardian to the said James in the year 1800" [McBee, Deed Book B, p. 67]. James turned 21 about 1800.
St. Helena Parish was founded in 1810 (see present day map for location), and borders Mississippi.
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. Donelson's Journal, 1779-1780, Transcription from the Tennessee Virtual Archive website, pp. 98-107. Ewing, Virginia, trans., "Early Settlers of MS Territory Wilkinson County, MS", msgw.org, website]. Genealogical Register, vol. VIII, No. 3, Sep 1961. McBee, May Wilson, Natchez Court Records 1767-1805, Abstract of Early Records, Greenwood MS, 1953, pp. 14-15, 27, 55, 40-43, 88-89, 152-3, 309-10, 390, 554, Book D, p. 153, Book E, p. 162-3, Book F, p. 489, Book G, pp. 319-320. MS Dept. of Archives and History (MDAH), microfilm no. 5618, roll 3, various doc. MS Dept. of Archives & History (MDAH), Jackson MS, rootsweb, Americans Arriving in Spanish-Held Natchez 1788-1790. Potter, Dorothy Williams, Passports of Southeastern Pioneers 1770-1823, Gateway Press, Baltimore MD, 1982, p. 342. Pre-Revolutionary Plat Books, SC Archives Dept., vol. 21, pp 424-433. U.S. 1820 Census, St. Landry Parish LA, Index, S-K Publications, 2021. U.S. 1830 Census, St. Landry Parish LA, Index, S-K Publications, 2021. U.S. 1820 Census, Wilkinson MS, File 1 of 2, USGenWeb, transcribed by Virginia Ewing, 2001. U.S. 1840 Census, St. Landry 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.