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Elizabeth Ann McCleary m. 1751 York Co. PA b. 1734? ?Lancaster Co. PA d. 1780? ?Abbottstown, York Co. PA |
Capt. James b. Jun 18, 1756? Abbottstown, York Co. PA d. Jun 24, 1844 Mercer Co. PA |
Hannah b. after 1756 Abbottstown, York Co. PA d. |
Seth (Jr.) b. by 1764 Abbottstown, York Co. PA d. |
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Matthew b. by 1764 Abbottstown, York Co. PA d. |
Joseph b. 1767? Abbottstown, York Co. PA d. 1835? ?Adams Co. MS |
Martha b. after Sep 1767 Abbottstown, York Co. PA d. |
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Brig. Gen. William b. Jul 4, 1772 Abbottstown, York Co. PA d. Feb 16, 1864 Philadelphia PA |
Abner Lawson b. 1774? Abbottstown, York Co. PA d. Dec 27, 1823 New Orleans LA |
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Maria Christina or Christiana Bittinger m. by 1779 ?York Co. PA b. Aug 14, 1748 Hanover, Beaver Co. PA d. Sep 25, 1821 PA |
John b. 1779? ?York Co. PA d. 1860? Adams Co. PA |
Polly b. 1784? York Co. PA d. 1817? ?Adams Co. PA |
Adam Seth Enos b. Mar 17, 1789 York Co. PA d. Dec 4, 1840 Adams Co. PA |
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York Co. PA was formed from Lancaster Co. in 1749. Abbottstown was part
of Adams Co. PA after 1800. |
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On Sep 10, 1781, son "Jos. Duncan" was at the Court of the Natchez District,
then under Spanish rule, representing
John Holloway, to submit a reply to a
complaint made against him two days earlier by
John Townshend for an unpaid debt.
Joseph told the court that John Holloway in turn was suing Townshend for
the loss of two pirogues, one of which was left in the care of the "negress",
Eleanor Price, from whom Townshend took one,
and the other was blown out into the river [MDAH microfilm roll #5618, v. 1,
no. 105, and McBee, Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805, Book A, pp. 8, 290-1]. |
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Pirogues were flat bottomed boats, that could be propelled by either a paddle
like a canoe or a pole in marshes and swamps.
Photo of
a pirogue circa 1885 (lower boat) displayed at the Grand Gulf Military Park.
The pirogue was used on the Mississippi River according to the
Background
plaque. |
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On Jun 19, 1782 son Joseph appeared before Natchez District Commandant,
Charles de Grand-Pré, to sell to
"William Dueit, here present and accepting",
tract on St. Catherine's Creek, six arpents enclosed and in cultivation,
bounded by Samuel Swayze, Samuel Lewis and Daniel Ogden,
which the sd seller purchased from Jacob Paul. Consideration: $150 cash to be
paid in October next ensuing. Wit: John Lovelace, Jacob Paul" [McBee, Book A,
pp. 14-15]. |
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In early Jul 1783, son Joseph appeared before Natchez magistrate Collell,
to purchase from Jacob Coburn, a Natchez resident, also present, 150 arpents on
St. Catherine's Creek, "with dwelling house, some negro cabins, 17 arpents of
corn and some arpents of potatoes and pumpkins, b. on [bordering] Samuel Swayze,
Gabriel Griffin, Samuel Gibson and John Martin: for $600, of which $200 the
seller ack. to have recd; $200 to be paid in Feb. 1784; $200 to be paid in
Dec. 1784. For surety, purchaser binds his whole estate, present and to come"
[McBee, Book A, p. 20]. |
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Daughter Hannah married John Nichleson by Sep 1785. They had a son
William Duncan Nichleson who was mentioned in Seth's
will as not yet
18 in Sep 1785 [Dobson, rootsweb website]. |
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The will of Seth Duncan, "weak in body"
was written Sep 25, 1785 but not proved until Mar 31, 1794 [Dobson, rootsweb
website]. |
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Son Joseph was one of many who signed a Jan 19, 1795 Natchez court petition
stating that "Mrs. Elizabeth Holloway in
the time of her widowhood [after Oct 1781], and a considerable time before her
marriage to Mr. John Still Lee, had
purchased from a certain Mr. Comstock an Improvement or Plantation living
up on the waters of St. Catherine's". Among others signing the petition were
"Cader Raby",
"R. King" and Charles King [Christensen,
website, ref. "Natchez Court Records", Book F, p. 415]. |
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Son William married Anna Claypoole Peale (1791-1878). He was
mentioned in Seth's will as not yet
21 in Sep 1785 [Dobson, rootsweb website]. He served in the War of 1812. |
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On Jun 24 or Sep 16, 1799, son Abner married Esther Ethridge, the widow of
"David Eldridge" who had a Spanish grant of 400 acres on Bayou Sara in 1797,
"40 miles from Fort, b. [bordered] by James Mather" the father of Abner's
second wife. The service was performed by William McGuire.
They may have had 5 children at least up until 1815 when Eliza was born.
Abner Lawson Duncan, who died in 1823 was a prominent
Louisiana attorney, businessman, politician and aide-de-camp to General Andrew
Jackson during the Battle of New Orleans. David Eldridge was the son of
Thomas Ethridge.
Abner and Esther sold the 400 acres on Bayou Sara on Mar 24, 1804 [McBee, p. 445]. |
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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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Seth was buried in Emanuel Reformed Church Cemetery in Abbotstown in Adams Co.
PA which was formed from York CO. in 1800. |
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By 1804, a Joseph Duncan, had land adjoining Luis Valeret, John Girault and
William Dunbar, whose survey was the basis of claim no. 1021, on St. Catherine's
Creek in what became Adams Co. MS [McBee, p. 534]. |
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In the Census
of the Natchez District in 1792, translated from Spanish handwritten
records, there were no Duncan households.
In a head of household index
[from a different translation from microfilm as well as histories such as
Claiborne, op. cit.], there was a "Jose Duncan" head of household, living
in the Second & Sandy Creek section that became parts of Adams and Franklin Co.
in MS. This may be the Joseph Duncan who had land on St. Catherine's Creek
in 1775, or Seth's son who would have been about 25 years old in 1792
[Adams Co. Gen. Hist. Network]. |
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Map of
the Natchez District as it may have looked between 1779 and 1799. |
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On Jun 18, 1814, grandson John Nicholas "was bequeathed money for a liberal education"
to start when he reached aged 14, by Richard Butler of New Orleans, a friend
of son Abner [Flowers, MS High Court Errors and Appeals 1799-1859, p. 262-265]. |
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In the 1816 Adams Co. MS Census, on
page 20
(line 10), there was a single person "Joseph Duncan" with no slaves
[MDAH, 1816 Adams Co. Census]. |
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The wife of "James Duncan, Esq." died Feb 18, 1825 in Pymatuning Twsp in
Mercer Co. PA, and was buried in the Duncan Cemetery there [find-a-grave,
website, ref. The Gettysburg Compiler, Mar 16, 1825]. |
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A Map of Natchez
Plantations drawn by city surveyor Charles W. Babbit in 1891, shows the
location of "Monmouth", identified as the "Mrs ROSE Q. DUNCAN" just
east of the town [usgwarchives, MS Digital Map Library, website]. Annie Rosalie
Quitman Duncan (1841-1914) was the daughter of MS Governor John A. Quitman
(1798-1858). She married William Patterson Shaw Duncan (1830-1862) who was born
in York Co. PA, relation to Seth not clear. |
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Sources: Adams Co. Mississippi Genealogy & History Network, "1792 Census for Natchez District (under Spanish Government control)", 2009, 1792 Census. Babbit, Charles W., Map of Natchez Plantations, 1891, usgwarchives website. Claiborne, J. F. H., Mississippi as a Province, Territory and State, vol. I, 1880. Cumberland Compact, original document signed May 13, 1780, Washington County NC, website. Clayton, Prof. W.W., History of Davidson County Tennessee, reprod. 1971 by Charles Elder, Nashville TN. Dobson, Mary Ann (Duncan), "Duncan research files", genealogy bug, rootsweb website, rev. Nov 21, 2010. . Christenson, Elroy, website, "John Stillee". Drake, Doug, Jack Masters and Bill Puryear, Founding of the Cumberland Settlements, The First Atlas, 1779-1804, Warioto Press, 2009, pp. 23, map E7. Lewis, J.D., "John Etheridge" in "The American Revolution in North Carolina", 2012, The privates,etc., website. McBee, May Wilson, comp., Natchez Court Records, 1767-1805, Greenwood MS, 1953, v. 2, 150, 216, 232, 236, 249, 261-2, 276, 291, 315, 320, 449, 534, Book A, pp. 14-15, 20. MS Dept. Archives & Hist. (MDAH), 1816 Adams Co. MS Census, Territorial Census 1801-1816, website, microfilm. MDAH, Jackson MS, microfilm roll #5618, vol.1, pp. 105-8. MDAH, Will Book Vol. 1, Adams Co. Courthouse, Natchez MS, microfilm, Apr 1816. MSGenWeb, Natchez District 1792 Census Index, comp. by Ellen Pack, Index, transcribed and translated from Spanish. National Archives, "Washington Papers", website, footnote 7, on General Orders 23 Oct 1778. Potter, Dorothy Williams, Passports of Southeastern Pioneers 1770-1823, Gateway Press, Baltimore MD, 1982, p. 342. TNGenWeb, "Blount County, Tennessee", Rev. War Pensions, "John Etheridge", website. Tuller, Roberta, "1777 Petition of Holston Men", in An American Family History, website, Amazon Services, 2020. Univ. of NC, Colonial and State Records of North Carolina, "Roster of the Troops in the Continental Army", vol. 16, on website, 1st Reginment, pp. 1006, 1009, 1049, 1052. Wells, Carol, Natchez Postscripts 1781-1798, Heritage Books, pp. 101, 144-5, 151, |
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