| SPOUSE | CHILDREN | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Elizabeth Lee or Lea m. by 1738 Culpeper Co. VA b. 1710? Northumberland Co. VA d. VA |
?Ezekiel b. 1742? VA d. aft. Mar 1795 ?Natchez Miss. Terr. |
William b. by 1750? VA d. by Aug 7, 1788 Natchez District |
Charles b. 1751 VA d. 1820 SC |
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Thomas Jr. b. 1752? Fredericksburg, Culpeper Co. VA d. by 1790 ?SC |
?Mary b. 1754? VA d. |
Lewis? b. 1756? VA d. TN? |
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King and Queen Co. Virginia was formed in 1691
(see present day map
for location). |
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By 1767 Thomas and sons Thomas, William, and Charles, emigrated from VA to the
lower part of Peedee River in the Georgetown District of SC. |
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On Apr 23, 1771 son Charles was married to "Mercy" McCall by Rev. Evan Pugh when
he "went to Jackson's" [Diary of Even Pugh, 1762-180x, at SC Archives].
Mary McCall was born 1751 in Catfish Creek, Craven Co. SC. They had sons Charles
and James (1784?-1850?). |
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Thomas may have had a daughter Mary Dewitt who was married to a John McCall on
May 2, 1772 by Rev. Evan Pugh [Diary of Evan Pugh, 1762-180x, at SC Archives]. |
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Several weeks after Rev Evan Pugh had married
Reuben White to Milly Allen (daughter of
Erasmus Withers Allen), and also had
married a daughter of William White to
George Hickman, on Wednesday Apr 1, 1772 he married "two cuples at Mr. Allens"
[Diary of Even Pugh, 1762-180x, at SC Archives]. These two marriages
could be those of sons Thomas Jr. and William Dewitt. |
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During 1778-9 son William was a Special Juror for the Cheraws District. Sons Charles
and John Dewitt 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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The land granted in SC is in what was once Craven County, one of the three original
parts of the English colony of "Carolana". Formed from Georgetown District, Marion Co.
SC became its own District in 1798. |
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Photos of Front and
Reverse of historical
marker erected in 1987 at Dewitt Bluff , named for the Thomas Dewitt family.
It is located in Pamplico, Florence Co. SC. Inscriptions read: Front- Located about 1/2 mile east, this bluff, part of a Royal landgrant to Edward Crofts in 1740, was named for the DeWitt family, who settled nearby prior to 1767. This area of Prince Frederick Parish was known as Queensborough Township, one of 11 such townships planned by the British Crown in 1730 to foster settlement and protect the interior of the province. Reverse- The bluff named for the DeWitt family who settled in this area before 1767 is located about 1/2 mile east of here. By 1840, an adjacent landing for steamboats plying the Pee Dee River was named for the bluff. Members of the DeWitt family served in the Revolution and in the War Between the States; the family still owns land in this area. |
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In late 1781 son William married Catherine "Cary" White, daughter of
William White (1730?-1818). They were among
13 families going down to the Natchez District by flatboats including that of
James "Tiago" White, and John "Juan" White,
arriving on Jul 6, 1782. They are listed in the arrival record as "Guillaume Duelt,
wife & children", 5 Individuos. |
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Son William was the subject of a deposition made in the Spanish controlled
Natchez District on Jan 31, 1785. The
deposition
was regarding a transfer of slaves and debts owed by William. Members of the White
family bear witness to events in Washington Co. NC [now part of TN] where the
Dewitts and White bothers were living with their families in 1781. The transfer
of slaves was proved to be a forgery and his debts settled by the Spanish Tribunal.
[Natchez Court Records, Book E, p. 36]. |
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Son William's wife Catherine "Cary" had three
other marriages. By 1791, she had been married to Henry Milburn (1763-1820) and
given birth to three children by him. After Henry died she may have married a
man named Anthony. On Aug 30, 1823 in St. Landry Parish LA, she had married again,
becoming Mrs. Elisha Forman. |
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On Mar 21, 1791 possible son Ezekiel recorded a will: "All property to my beloved
wife, Mary, until her decease... one-half to the Catholic Church, the other half
to Stephen Brashiers, with this reservation, that my negro girl, Margaret, shall
have her full freedom and manumission as soon as she becomes of age" and signed
with his mark "E.D." [McBee, Book B page 497, p. 82]. |
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The 1792 Census
of the Natchez District was translated from the Spanish handwritten
records. Located in the "Bayou Pierre" subdivision is a single male household
under the name Jese (Jesse) Dwet, with no land and no slaves. The
Head of Household Index
to the same Census [found on a different website] also has an Ezekial Dwet in the
subdivision of Santa Catalina (SC). |
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William Dewitt and a grandson of
Samuel Poe, Thomas Powe, Sr. (1749-1817),
were granted 1,000 acres along the Pee Dee River in SC in 1804. In the
1790 Cheraw District Census,
Thomas had 34 slaves. and nearby there are two of Martin's sons also listed as
Heads of Families: "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 William or John (both in MS?), though they were on the SC Jury Lists 1778-1779 a decade earlier. |
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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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In Mar 25, 1795, a Benet Truly sued Ezekiel Dewitt over a "forged" obligation of
$1025 given him by Dewitt in 1789. Ezekiel responded, saying that Mr. Truly wrote
the obligation. Ezekiel was described as one of the witnesses to the obligation
and as being a native of U.S., a farmer, and 53 years old [McBee, Book F
page 518-530, pp. 288-9]. If Ezekiel was 53 in 1795 he could have been born in
1742 possibly making him an elder son of Thomas Dewitt. |
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On Feb 24, 1804 Ezekiel Dewitt and his wife Mary sold to Joseph Pannill, Esq.,
"all of Adams Co., Miss. Ter. ... 400 acres on St. Catherine's Creek, in
[Adams Co.] adj. John Stilley" Jonathan
Guice, the husband of Anna Stump
witnessed the claim by Pannill on May 28, 1805 [McBee, Book C page 73, p. 411]. |
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SOURCES: Adams Co. Mississippi Genealogy & History Network, "1792 Census for Natchez District (under Spanish Government control)", 2009, 1792 Census. Christenson, Elroy, website, John Hollaway Family. Clark, Walter, State Records of North Carolina Vol XVII 1781-1785, Broadfoot Publishing, Wilmington NC, 1994, pp. 287-8, 294. 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, Book B, p. 82, Book C, p. 411, Book F, pp. 288-9. 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. Pugh, Rev. Evan, Diary of Evan Pugh, SC Archives, Columbia SC. South Carolina Mag. of Ancestral Research, "1779 Jury List for Cheraws District", vol. V, no. 1, Winter 1977, pp.13-15. 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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