John Hitt and Frances Holtzclaw
Husband John Hitt
Born: Abt 1774 - Virginia (Fauquier Co. or Culpeper Co.) Christened: Died: 1836 (May) - Culpeper Co., Virginia Buried:
Father: Joseph Hitt (Bef 1750-1826) Mother:
Marriage: 25 Nov 1793 - Fauquier Co., Virginia 1 2
Other Spouse: Lurana Kabler (After 1784-Bef 1847)
Wife Frances Holtzclaw
Born: 1766-1775 Christened: Died: After 1808 Buried:
Children
1 F Elizabeth Hitt
Born: 1794-1800 - (Culpeper Co., Virginia) Christened: Died: Buried:Spouse: Reuben Jeffries (1780/1790- )
2 M Joel Hitt 3
Born: 8 Dec 1798 - Virginia (Culpeper Co.) Christened: Died: 8 Aug 1862 - Culpeper Co., Virginia Buried:Spouse: Nancy Vaughan (1800-1837) 3 Marr: 9 Sep 1820 - Culpeper Co., Virginia 4 5Spouse: Nancy Brown (Abt 1797- ) Marr: 26 Jul 1838 - Culpeper Co., Virginia 4
3 M Job Hitt
Born: Christened: Died: Buried:
4 F Miriam Hitt
Born: - (Culpeper Co., Virginia) Christened: Died: Buried:Spouse: Smith ( - )
5 M Joab Hitt
Born: Abt 1805 - Virginia (Culpeper Co.) Christened: Died: Buried:Spouse: Frances B. Taylor (Abt 1818- ) 6 Marr: 11 Sep 1834 - Madison Co., Virginia 6
6 M James Hitt
Born: Abt 1808 - Virginia (Culpeper Co.) Christened: Died: Buried:Spouse: Sarah M. (Abt 1809- )
General Notes: Husband - John Hitt
CENSUS:
<pre>1810 Culpeper Co., Virginia
Jno. Hitt 31010 -- 11010; 8 slaves
male female
3 <10 1
1 10-15 1
16-25
1 26-44 1
>45 </pre>
There are 2 John Hitts in Culpeper Co. in this time period. I have assigned this census entry to this John Hitt because it is a better match for his 1820 entry than the other entry.
<pre>1820 Culpeper Co., Virginia
John Hitt 120001 --- 00101; 4 in agriculture; 9 slaves
male female
1 <10
2 10-16
16-18
16-26 1
26-45
1 >45 1 </pre>
There are 2 John Hitts in Culpeper Co. in this time period. This census entry is clearly for this John Hitt since the other one was married to Sinai James and the 1820 entry is for "Sina Hitt".
CENSUS COMPARISON:
<pre>
1810 1820
male:
<10 <10 Job
<10 (2) 10-16 (12) James, b. 1808
<10 (5) 10-16 (15) Joab, b. 1805
10-15 (12) Joel, b. 1798, m. 1820
26-44 (36) >45 (46) John, b. 1774
female:
<10 16-26 Miriam
10-15 Elizabeth
26-44 (36) >45 (46) Frances
</pre>
The parenthsized numbers represent real ages to be compared with the age categories that appear in the census.
BIRTH YEAR and PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX LIST:
The 1810 and 1820 censuses imply that John Hitt was born between 1766 and 1775. In the Culpeper Co. Personal Property Tax List his father has 3 tithables in his household in 1792 and in 1793 and 2 tithables from 1794 to 1796. It seems likely that John is one of the additional tithables in 1792 and in 1793 (Joseph is the other and remains in his father's household until 1796). If John became 16 in 1792 he was born about 1776. The fact that he was married in 1793 suggests that he was born in 1775 or earlier. 1774 seems a reasonable guess.
John clearly has an entry of his own in the tax list from 1795 onward. 'John Hill' in 1794 is probably John Hitt, so he probably has an entry of his own from 1794 onward. The number of tithables for his father suggests that he left his father's household in 1794. In fact in 1794 Joseph Hill and John Hill are contiguous entries in Aaron Lane's district. I believe 'Hill' should be 'Hitt'. In 1795 John is in Daniel Brown's district, where he remains until 1813. His father is in Aaron Lane's district from 1787 until 1797; from 1798 onward until 1823 he is in Daniel Brown's district. So father and son are in the same district (Daniel Brown) from 1798 through 1813; in 1814 John Hitt moves to the other district.
From 1796 to 1804 John Hitt has 1 slave and from 1811 to 1814 three; from 1795 to 1814 he generally has 2 horses but sometimes 1 and sometimes 3. From 1815 to 1823 (I have not seen the Personal Property Tax List after 1823) he generally has 4 slaves and 4 horses, but in 1820 he has six horses and in 1821 five.
In 1818, 1820 and in 1821 this John Hitt is designated "G. F." ("great fork"). From 1803 to 1822 there is another John Hitt in the county and from 1815 to 1821 he is designated "L. F." ("little fork"). Starting with the immigrant he is Peter, John, John, John. He died about 1821. From 1815 onward the two Johns live in the same district
DEED RECORDS:
On October 26, 1807 John Hitt and Frances, his wife, along with Alexander Jeffries and Betsy, his wife, John Payne and Agnes, his wife, and Joel Rector and Salley, his wife, sold to Eli Holtzclaw of Fauquier Co for $200 all their parts of a tract of 163 acres in Fauquier Co. which Joseph Holtzclaw, dec'd, purchased from Joseph Thomas August 22, 1768. (Fauquier Co. Deed Records 17/64)
On August 16, 1822 Russell Vaughan sold various items to John Hitt. The purchaser was probably his brother-in-law John Hitt but he might have been his nephew John Hitt, son of Joseph. See notes under Russell Vaughan.
On December 12, 1831 John Hansbrough and Fanny his wife of Hampshire Co., Virginia, John Hitt and Leuranna, his wife, of Culpeper Co. and George Hisle and Rody, his wife, of Culpeper Co. conveyed to Enoch Kabler for $1 their 3/5 interest in a tract of 154 acres of which William Kabler died seized and which descended to his heirs, namely, Fanny, Leuranna, Rody and Enoch and Mary, the wife of Lamack Wilhite. On November 11 Enoch Kabler had purchased the tract at public auction upon the terms of an indenture of that date executed by John Hansbrough, John Hitt and Lamack Wilhite. (Culpeper Co. Deed Records ZZ/105)
On December 25, 1832 John Hitt of Culpeper Co. conveys to William Vaughan of the same county a certain Negro woman named Esther and her two children Ann and George "in order to provide for the better support and maintainance of his sister Elizabeth Vaughan the wife of Russell Vaughan during her natural life and for the advancement of the children of the said Elizabeth after her death". William Vaughan pays John Hitt $1. Elizabeth is to keep as many of the Negroes about her person as she may think proper and if there are more than she may wish to keep around her William is to hire out such as she may think proper and give the proceeds to Elizabeth. At Elizabeth's death the said Negores and the increase of the females are to be equally divided among her children. (ZZ/282) William Vaughan is a son of Russell and Elizabeth Vaughan. It may be that John Hitt did not trust Russell Vaughan or it may be that Russell Vaughan was near death. He was dead by July 1836. See deed of July 18, 1836 in the notes under Joel Hitt.
On December 7, 1835 John Hitt and Lurana, his wife, of Culpeper Co. sold to Joel Hitt for $300 a tract in Culpeper Co. on Bullock Branch containing approximately 32 3/4 acres. It is described by metes and bounds and adjoins land of William Hitt. (3/19)
Prior to and in 1829 John Hitt never has an entry in the Culpeper Co. Land Tax Records. I have not seen the list after 1829.
WILL:
Culpeper Will Book N, pg 463:
In the name of God amen_ I John Hitt of the County of Culpeper and State of Virginia, being of a sound mind but of imperfect health, and it being appointed for man once to die, do make this my Last Will and Testament in the manner following Viz_
Item 1st. I give and bequeath to my wife Lurana Hitt all of my household and Kitchen furniture, together with one Milch Cow of her choice, one horse of her choice, some hogs of her choice about one third part, some grain and hay, about one third part, to have and to hold the same her lifetime.
Item 2nd. I give and bequeath to my daughter Elizabeth Jeffrice one sixth part of my estate to be paid by my Executor hereinafter named, viz_ The money to be put out at interest, and the interest paid annually to my said daughter Elizabeth during her life, and then the principal after her death to be equally divided among her children, and to no other person.
Item 3rd. I give and bequeath to my daughter Miriam Smith and her Children, and to no other person, one Sixth part of my estate, to be paid by my Executor, as the said children become of lawful age.
Item 4th. I give and bequeath to my four sons Joel, Joab, James and John, and to each of them individually the other remaining two thirds of my Estate, to be equally divided among the four, to them and their heirs forever.
Item 5th. In addition to the foregoing items I give to my son Joab one feather bed and beading, he not having received one hitherto.
Item 6th. I hereby nominate and appoint my son Joel Hitt my true and lawful Executor to cary this my last will and Testament into effect, and furthermore invest him with the power to sell, divide, or hire, or rent all my personal estate, or real (if there be any) to the best advantage, and the proceeds to be devised agreeably to the true intent and meaning of this my will - that it is my desire to have everything contained in this will executed with as little delay as possible, consistant with the true intent of the s'd Estate. Given under my hand, and have hereunto affixed my seal this 11th day of March 1836
John Hitt (SS)
Signed Sealed & delivered
In presence of -
Larkin G. Nalle
Daniel Rosson
Ambrose Carr Jr
At a Court held for Culpeper County the 16th day of May 1836
This Last Will and Testament of John Hitt deceased was exhibited to the Court and proved by the oaths of Larkin G. Nalle and Daniel Rosson two of the witnesses thereto, and ordered to be recorded. And on the motion of Joel Hitt the Executor therein named, Certificate is granted him for obtaining a probat thereof in due form, he having qualified and entered into bond with security according to Law
teste F. T. Lightfoot cc
SUBSEQUENT LAWSUIT:
The following is a slight adaptation of material in Earl J. Hitt's database 'hitthaynie':
JEFFRIES VS HITT CHANCERY COURT CASE. In July 1845 John's grandchildren, the children of Elizabeth (Hitt) Jeffries, filed suit in the Circuit Supreme Court for Culpeper County, Virginia against Joel Hitt, Executor of his father, John Hitt. (Chancery Court Case, Culpeper County, Virginia, File Box 24). The suit alleged that Joel Hitt did not properly distribute the proceeds of his father's estate in accordance with his father's will. A review of the case papers indicates that although Joel made significant distributions to his brothers, he did not make similar distributions to his sisters or his sisters' heirs.
Joel claimed that his father sold to him, for $4000 on 18 April 1836, his slaves: Charles, Clara, Dinah, William, Harriett and Martha. In support of his claim Joel produced a receipt from his father, which was witnessed by Daniel Rosser. In a deposition Joel's brother Joab recalled the receipt but claimed that there was no transfer of property or money and that, ". . . I know that my father made that Bill of Sale for the purpose of preventing my stepmother from having any interest in the slaves therein mentioned & the intention & necessity of said instrument was merely "legal" in its matter & contrary to fact, and the facts are that there was no consideration paid for said negros, for Joel Hitt was not able to pay the consideration named, at the time; . . ."
WIVES and CHILDREN:
The following two paragraphs are also taken from Earl J. Hitt's database:
The original suit, amendments, and the depositions taken in the Chancery Court Case provide a good listing of John Hitt's wives, his children and their wives, and his grandchildren.
John's son James Hitt gave a deposition on June 7, 1854 which identifies John Hitt's two wives and the children of those two wives. In his deposition James states, "I am the son and the sixth child of John Hitt Dec'd of Culpeper County, Virginia." He further states, "He [his father, John Hitt] had seven children in all; six by his first wife, Frances, and one by his second wife, Nancy . . . . those by the first wife were named Joel, Job, Joab, and James . . . . Elizabeth & Mariam . . . . the one by the second wife was named John P. R. Hitt."
My comments:
There are several inconsistencies concerning John Hitt's wives in the available documents. John Hitt's will names his widow as "Lurana", and based upon the testimony of his son James he only had two wives, namely, Frances and Nancy. An amendment to the Jeffries vs Hitt Court case, filed 8 January 1847, states: ". . . since filing the said original and supplemental and amended bills they have discovered other persons who have an interest in the proceedings sought in the said original bill of the complainants, to wit, Susanna Hitt who is the widow and one of the legatees of the aforesaid testator, John Hitt; . . . ". To believe that all the documents are correct is to believe that John had four wives, which is incorrect. It is most likely that son James was correct in stating that there were "two wives", but that he was mistaken as to the name of his step-mother. It is very likely that the plaintiffs in the Chancery Court case or the clerks involved in the case misread the widow's name in John Hitt's will as "Susana". Based upon the above, it is most likely that John Hitt had only two wives and they were: Frances Holtzclaw and Lurana Kabler. It may be that the second wife was named Lurana Nancy or Nancy Lurana.
1 "Fauquier County Virginia Marriage Bonds and Returns," microfilm, Vol 1, pgs 404, 452. Repository: Clayton Library, Houston, Texas.
2 "Familysearch.org," "Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XRDV-C4Q : 6 August 2020), John Hitt, 1793.
3 Earl J. Hitt, "http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com db: hitthaynie."
4 John Vogt & T. William Kethley, Jr, "Culpeper County, Virginia Marriages 1780 -- 1853," 1986, Repository: Clayton Library, Houston, Texas.
5 "Familysearch.org," "Virginia, County Marriage Records, 1771-1989," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6ZST-Y49W), Nancy Vaughan in entry for Joel Hill, 9 Aug 1820; citing Marriage, Culpeper, Virginia.
6
John Vogt & T. William Kethley, Jr, "Madison County, Virginia Marriages 1792--1850," 1983, Repository: Clayton Library, Houston, Texas.
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