Great x3 grandfather Carroll Witty (1818-1898)

Repost from Monday, April 9, 2018

A man named Carroll...

Carroll Witty, (1818-1898) that is, my 3 times great grandfather on my mother's maternal side, the Booth Family Tree.

We reviewed the lives of most of his children in (2018) the last week.  I'd deleted the new one added in Ancestry, born in 1882, named Permella Witty, born in Marshall TX - died in 1963,  Fort Worth, TX.  I found later that Permilia was granddaughter of Carroll Witty, daughter of William Wiley Witty (1854-1929) and his wife Molly Paschal Witty (1853-1933).

I have already covered much of the patriarch of the family's life.  But let's see if there's anything that isn't in the stories and photos, the background from one place to another where he traveled.  My old blog Here speaks of Carroll and his daughter Eugenia, and others in my family.

I found an Alabama agricultural census for 1850 had been recently added, with Carroll Witty having no land, either improved or unimproved, and no value of a farm, but $100 value for farm implements.  For the same year the federal census said he had a household of 8 persons.  He was 31, his wife Susan Hoke Witty was 32, and he had children; John C. 6. James 5, Martha E. 3, Mary 2, Thomas 0, and Joseph Hoke, 57 (his father-in-law).

The population census for the same year includes his brother (Andrew) Jackson Witty living next listing to his. Jackson did own land.  And his household was very interesting.  Jackson was 35 and his wife Emily was 26, and his mother's sister, Elizabeth Wells lived with them, age 75, and perhaps a cousin Sarah Wills 35 and unknown relationship Carlin Wills 26, and a mis-transcribed person Matilda Collins, 9 (listed as Marilda Colling).

I must salute Carroll Witty for taking his family to Texas, for being a entrepreneur and starting a new community (with partners) and for being a man with a mission.  He may have been a farmer in 1850, but by 1852 he was in Marshall TX, and by 1860 all the way in Hill County, Subdivision, TX.

This is a man who traveled far, as well as had a big family.  Though his 2 oldest sons took part in the Civil War, (and one died in it) there's no record that he did.  His family grew up, and daughters and sons married and moved away, and he continued to be a farmer.  In the 1870 census he had property valued at $1000 and his youngest 3 as teenagers were living at home as well as his oldest son James who was a stock raiser (perhaps cattle.)

UPDATED: He is listed as Terrell Witty, living with his wife Susan, in the 1880 census, with their daughter Susan actually 24, but listed as 20 living with them, as well as a niece, Freby Moore, age 21.  He is listed as "Terrell Witty" clearly in the handwritten form, but when someone says Carroll for a man's name, perhaps the census taker understood it as Terrell.  And their daughter Susan Witty had married in 1877 to James Moore...but for some reason was living with her parents and using her maiden name.  And whoever Freby Moore was, the niece, she was born in Alabama.  Perhaps James' sister?   Susan and James Moore didn't have their daughter, Edna May More, until 1885.

But this Uncle James "J.J." Moore (b. 1856 Marshall TX) had a life which continued after his wife Susie died in 1902, and he remarried to have more children.  He also lived until 1932, and here's a great photo of him in his corn field in 1930.

Great times 3 Uncle James Joseph Moore 1854-1932

Lucretia Wells Witty (1775-1817)

A great times 4 grandmother, wife of James Witty, and mother of Mr. Carrol Witty...she seems to have been confused on a lot of Ancestry trees with her sister Elizabeth. But if the will of her father, James Wells, is to believed, Elizabeth married Mr. Riece/Reeves, and Lucretia married Mr. Witty. Their names on their father's will are Lucretia Witty and Elizabeth Riece.

There are so many dates that make me scratch my head in wonder, when looking at the Wells family tree. I will just say that as of this date in time, it seems as follows. (These may change if I find any documents to substantiate other dates!)

Lucretia was born in 1775 in Surry County, North Carolina. The county was formed in 1771 from Rowan County, NC, which had been where her parents were living and several of her siblings births were recorded. This was before the American Revolution, so North Carolina was a colony still at the time Lucretia was born. Surry County now consists of about 2/3 Piedmont land, rolling hills, and the other 1/3 is the Appalachian Mountains to the west, including now the Blue Ridge Parkway National Park.

Lucretia was the 7th of 10 children born to James Wells (1728-1810) and Mary Price Wells (1730-1809). There are some alternate dates and places of her birth, namely in 1775 in Virginia (Surry County is on the NC/VA border) or 1768 in Delaware or Maryland. (See why it's hard to figure out much about this family?)

Without any documentation, it is conjectured that she married James Witty (1768-1830) in 1800. Their oldest son, George Witty, was born in 1805 or maybe 1808 in Limestone County, Alabama. A newspaper obituary in 1847 says he had been the first baby born in Limestone County in 1808.

There is a document in the Guilford County NC Quaker meeting in 1806, where James Witty and his family are removed from that meeting to move to another one. At one time there was an Ancestry tree that said his first wife was named Mary, who was mother of his earlier children, all but one of whom died before the move to Alabama, and we don't know her death date either. And his second wife was Elizabeth Wells (which I seem to believe not true.)

The Wittys had a son in 1815, Andrew Jackson Witty, born in Tennessee, whose death is unknown.

Their son, Carroll Witty (1818-1898) was born in 1818, in Limestone County AL.  James Calvin Witty was born in 1824 (death unknown.) And finally they had a daughter, Martha Jane Witty Hine, (1827-1891 also born in Limestone County AL.

Grandmom Lucretia was part of the 1830 Census of Limestone County AL, in James Wittys' household of 10 persons. I have no idea who was who, as it's just broken down by ages, and so many of the birth dates are not accurate.

As all the other dates are very nebulous, I can guess that the death date of Lucretia was after she was counted in the 1830 Cenus, but not in Martin Co., Indiana. That record is referring to Lucretia Ellis who died in Martin Co, Indiana, not my gggg Grandmother Lucretia Witty. Unfortunately that Indiana Lucretia is given the same parents as my Lucretia Wells Witty.

My ggg grandfather, Carroll Witty, moved further west into Texas. George Witty has his grave in Limestone, AL. There's no information on James Jr. or Jackson's deaths.  Martha Jane is buried in Athens, Limestone County, AL.

James Wells (1728-1810) and his will

In his will, dated 25 Jan. 1810.  He was my great times 5 grandfather on my mother's tree (The Booth Family Tree).

James Wells states he gives to his son Thomas Wells, 12 shillings and 6 pence. (1748-1820)
He gives to his daughter Eizabeth Riece 12 shillings and 6 pence. (1777-1861)
And to his daughter Lucretia Witty, 12 shillings and 6 pence. (1775-1817)
To his son Nunan Wells, 12 shillings and 6 pence. (1770-1811)
To his daughter Rachael Hutchins, 12 shillings and 6 pence. (1774-1851)
To his daughter Susannah Rash, 12 shillings and 6 pence. (1747-1847?)
To his son John Wells, 12 shillings and 6 pence. (1777-1850)
Marianne Wells (he does not indicate their relationship) 12 shillings and 6 pence. (her name really was Rachael Marianne Wells Hutchins, (1774-1851)
To his daughter Mary Beck, 12 shillings and 6 pence. (1781-1855)

To his son James Wells, (1755-1810), all his land and tenements and 1/2 his moveable property, and the other 1/2 of his moveable property to his beloved wife, Mary Wells. And "as I consider the property she brought to me when we married as her own I want her to hold the same without any division."

25 Jan. 1810.

But there is the little problem of his wife, Mary Wells (1730-1809) apparently having died in 1809...so why was she included in his will written in January 1810? Maybe there's a mistake in her death date? Maybe they weren't living together and were both cared for by their children. Or maybe he was not as clear minded as he said he was. Certainly his 9 children's portions of equal amounts, and the 10th getting all the property, does seem a bit odd. But it is a genealogist's treasure, with each of the daughters' married names.  I am skeptical about Susannah Wells Rash living from 1747-1847. But I can't follow that down the rabbit hole today.

I want to talk about my great times 4 grandmother Lucretia Wells Witty next.

Clarification about James Witty

James Witty (abt. 1768 - 1830-40), 
post from Feb. 2019, some clarification from earlier post.

He was born around 1768, and has several Quaker documents about him and his family from Guilford County, North Carolina - but no birth record.  It could have been lost, or he might not have been a Quaker from birth.

The New Garden Meeting (Guildford County NC) has a beautifully penned introduction, mentioning that it would record births and deaths, and especially work around the 11 lost days in Sept. 1752 (when the calendar moved from Julian to Gregorian according to England finally changing it's calendars). But nobody is mentioned in the introduction itself.  It should also be remembered that until 1752, the Western Christian Feast of the Annunciation, on March 25, also called "Lady Day".was considered the first of the year. And since the Quakers don't use the Roman names of months or days, there was First Month, Second Month, etc.  So I'm not sure (like many genealogists) of when these events actually happened which are recorded as, say, 3rd of Fourth Month, etc (no births or deaths are available now).

James Witty's birth is listed in an index (again hand written) with a number 240 next to it which was a page number.

His children's birth's are recorded, as well as early deaths. Only 2 of the 5 may have made it through childhood apparently (at least as far as these records provide). I know 3 died early, and the other 2 don't have dates of death listed on Ancestry.  His wife, Mary, also died around 1792.

See the typed version below...with months listed as left numerals (but again, in Quaker version)

The minutes of the New Garden monthly meeting in 1806 report that James Witty had removed with his family to the visit (?) of the Miami Meeting. (This location is unknown to me, the modern one is in Ohio.)  Since he hadn't followed their proper procedure, another member was going to visit him and make sure everything was alright and report back next monthly meeting.

In the next meeting minutes, a report is made that the Friends who visited James Witty and his family gave a certificate saying all was well with them.

He apparently remarried in 1800 or so to Lucretia Wells (Witty) in Tennessee.  This has no documentation however.  Their first son, George Witty (1808-1865), was indicated to have been born in TN in 1805. But with the notation of the New Garden Meeting of Friends that it was 1806 when his family moved from Guilford County, NC, I question that these 2 events happened in TN.  I also found that his son George had a headstone which says he was born in 1805, but there are newspaper clippings (just found on Ancestry) saying he was the first child born in Limestone County, AL in 1808.

I believe that the records saying both the marriage and the birth were in TN are due to the boundaries of the states being close to one another.  It's possible the marriage was in NC or TN, but that the birth of George Witty was in their new home along the border of TN and AL.  My hunch is based on the Guildford Quaker document of 1806 about the family moving, and the newspaper clipping.  But there seem to be no records saying that TN was indeed the location of these events.  So we don't know where the indication of TN marriage and birth came from.

Anyway, back to James.  I just found out his second wife was named Lucretia Wells Witty.  All the records on Ancestry had been calling her Elizabeth.  But Lucretia Wells and Elizabeth Wells' father's will (James Wells) states Lucretia Witty would receive some money, as well as her sister Elizabeth Riece. That's enough for me to put two and two together and know Elizabeth Wells Riece wouldn't have had a sister named Elizabeth Wells Witty...and so now there's Lucretia's first name...as of 1775.

So James Witty took off for the frontier of Alabama, with his family, and had a land claim which is mapped.  It's rather confusing, but apparently he was one of the founders of that area, on the border of Tennessee.

And while looking at Uncle George Witty's Ancestry site, I found a photo of the Witty Cemetery in Limestone County, Alabama.  It was completely overrun by trees, but the photo of George's headstone looks as if someone might have cleared it out.  I would imagine Grandpa James is also buried there, as well as other Witty's living and dying in that area. (Uncle George was a older brother of my 3 x great grandfather, Carroll Witty (1818-1898) who was born in Limestone, AL, then moved from Alabama to Texas.

Some of the Witty graves, Alabama.

The Witty families lived in Limestone County, Alabama

A repost from -Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Mooresville AL

Mooresville is one of the oldest incorporated towns in Alabama, having been incorporated on November 16, 1818, when Alabama was still a Territory.

Limestone County, AL - used to be cotton raising area.  Huntsville and Athens are cities in Limestone County.  My great times 4 grandfather, James Witty (abt. 1768 - 1830-40), may have lived in an area like this, where Carroll Witty, (1818-1898) his son, was born.

The entire town of Mooresville, described as a picturesque early 19th century village, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Many of the older public buildings, including the Stagecoach Inn and Tavern, the Brick Church, the Post Office, and the Church of Christ, are owned and maintained by the town's residents.

Old Post Offece in Mooresville, AL  Photo by Brian Stansberry

Mooresville Post Office (1840) – located at the corner of Lauderdale and High streets, this post office is the oldest in operation in Alabama and has call boxes dating before the American Civil War. The call boxes and some of the office furnishings actually predate the building, having been used in the nearby Stagecoach Inn and Tavern.

Photo: Robbie Caponetto

Small Town We Love: Mooresville, Alabama

In Southern Living magazine...

A real-life living museum. 

by Lacy Morris

Population: 53

Why We’d Move There
History reigns supreme in this postcard-size town. As a matter of fact, the entire town, all 0.1 mile and six streets of it, is included on the National Register of Historic Places. White picket fences frame tree-shaded streets and buildings where Presidents have slept. Visiting here is like stepping back into a time of gracious plenty, where city noise is the rustling of oaks and congestion is the growth of moss on clapboard cottages.

The Community
Though there’s a larger city on either side of this Tennessee River town (Huntsville to the east, Decatur to the west), no one seems eager to leave. In fact, the mayor, Margaret-Anne Crumlish, is the third generation of her family to take the seat and the seventh consecutive generation to live in Mooresville.

The Perfect Day
Start at JaVa.Mooresville on North Street, where Jack McReynolds, the unofficial town record keeper, serves lattes, lemonades, and apple pies. Then lace up your walking shoes for a guided tour (256/355-2683) with a resident. Stops include the Stagecoach Inn and Tavern, where town council meetings are still held, and the post office, the oldest one in continuous use in Alabama. Stop over at 1818 Farms (1818farms.com) to buy organic eggs, lavender linen spray, and goat’s milk bath bubbles. And don’t even think about leaving town without visiting Lyla’s Little House (lylaslittlehouseal.com), where Mrs. Lyla Peebles sells her candies, cheese straws, and homemade ice cream along with vintage dishware. On Fridays in summer, join Bonnie Richardson as she hosts margarita nights on the porch of her home, Cedar Lane.

Local To Know
Sixth-generation resident Woody Peebles has lived on the same street for 64 years. You’ll find him in the Peebles House on North Street, where he lives with wife Lyla. The two went on their first date 30 years ago on a Tuesday, and by supper on Friday, Woody had proposed. Now they act as the town’s party planners, hosting events at The Dance Hall(256/353-8723).

Don’t Miss
The 1839 brick church on Lauderdale Street has a wooden hand pointing toward heaven atop the steeple. It was carved by Bonnie Richardson’s “Pa,” who worried that people wouldn’t know which way to heaven.

Old Brick Church (1839) photo by M. Kauffman

James Witty, (abt 1745 to 1830-40)

James Witty, my 4 times great grandfather

first posted: Monday, July 14, 2014

The Witty pioneers in Alabama

James Witty, 1745-1840,  Quaker from North Carolina, moved to Alabama.

In the 1830 census for Limestone Alabama, he is listed with this household.

Name:	James Willy (Witty)
Home in 1830 (City, County, State):	Limestone, Alabama
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14:	1
Free White Persons - Males - 15 thru 19:	1
Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29:	1
Free White Persons - Males - 30 thru 39:	1
Free White Persons - Males - 60 thru 69:	1
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5:	1
Free White Persons - Females - 15 thru 19:	1
Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29:	2
Free White Persons - Females - 50 thru 59:	1
Free White Persons - Under 20:	4
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49:	4
Total Free White Persons:	10
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored):	10

I have looked at the Quaker Meeting Records which are intact from monthly Men's Meeting called The New Garden Monthly meeting of Guilford, NC.  James Witty is noted as a birth (date unclear by the page I've saved).  He also is noted to leave the meeting with his family to move to a meeting called Miami Meeting.  There are two notes to this effect, the first sort of a notice that it's happening, and sending a couple of the members to see if it's true in May, 1806.  The second is their report saying yes, it's true in June, 1806.

Introduction comments for Guildford, NC monthly meeting of Quakers

I found a very interesting survey map with James Witty owning land in N. Alabama.  I don't understand it all.

His name is written across 4 squares that have a creek running through the middle, in the upper part of the map, centrally located.  And then one more square has J. Witty written in it.  I think it is from 1830 also.  The notes regarding it say: "Earliest Township and Range Public Land Survey State: Alabama Principal Meridian: Huntsville Meridian (Northern Part of Alabama)"

He was married first to Mary Witty. Her maiden name is unknown.  They had 5 children before she died sometime between 1792 and 1800, and 3 of her children died between 1793-94. I don't know the dates of the other 2 children deaths, so perhaps they lived to adulthood.

James' second wife is named Elizabeth Wells Witty.  There's a Lucrettia Witty mentioned in a will for James Wells, in Surry County, NC 25 Jan 1810.  I have to check what her relationship to Elizabeth Wells might have been....
UPDATED 2019 - Lucrettia Wells Witty (1775-1847) was James Witty's wife, because Elizabeth Wells had another husband (Reise) as her name mentioned in that will.

The first 2 of the 5 Witty children are listed as having been born in Tennessee according to Ancestry, and the later ones born in Limestone, AL, starting with my ancestor Carrol Witty.

I have no idea how they were also living in Tennessee.  More to research...

The area of northern Alabama was very close to the Tennessee line, especially before the states were actually formed.  Land was offered to veterans of various American wars.  The Tennessee River ran through Limestone County.

James Witty's family may also have been living in Athens AL, or what was to become Huntsville...I'm sorry to not be very familiar with Limestone County AL.

But tomorrow I'll post an interesting article about a rural Alabama town, Mooresville.
It has some historic buildings, which were standing at the time James was growing his cotton.

Finding the Witty ancestors

First I have to admit there is no evidence this person was my six times great grandfather, Jonathan Brittain, born (probably) in Yorkshire England. (1695-1750) There is a record of his daughter's birth, which is the only record with his name on it that I've found. My ancestor Mary Wity, didn't end up being this woman.

Jonathan Brittain's daughter was Mary Brittain Witty. She was born on 4 MAR 1721 in Bradford, York, England. Source: England Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975

Some of the Ancestry contributors have posted plaids for Jonathan and Mary Brittain - the Yorkshire England plaid.

Mary Brittain married John Witty (1720-1793) who had been born in either England or Wales. He has a plaid attributed to him also, but it's unlikely that he would have had anything with this cloth (described as Witt-Roxburgh Dist.) I'm including it here just because I think it's pretty.

Now I'd like to think this Witty couple came to the American Colony of North Carolina.

But I must admit, this couple named Mary Brittain Witty and John Witty remained in England, and thus are recorded as dying there as well. So Mary Brittain and her husband, another John Witty are not on my Ancestry tree!

But I'm pretty certain my ancestor, John Witty (1720-1793) was from North Carolina (though he may have been born in England) who was living in Guilford County, on the county line of what became Rockingham County, NC.  He was my great times 5 grandfather. There are a lot of North Carolina land records with John Witty's name on them. He received an original land grant (I think) for serving in the American Revolutionary War.  The bills of sale of his land give his presence in the area throughout the years of his life.

I'm going to continue to call his wife Mary, though we don't know her surname at this time. She had her children in North Carolina, wherever she had been born. But she obviously didn't die in England, as the other Mary (Brittain) Witty did. I am amazed that other descendants (cousins of mine) believe that she and John would go back to England to die...after living their whole lives in North Carolina.

The Witty children include:
Mary (1751-1792)
Andrew (1753-1818)
Elijah (1756-1841)
John Jr. (1761- ?)
James (1768-1740)
Ezekiel C. (1770-1842)

A document exists about a John Witty who married in 1815, which is after the death of our grandfather, so I'm adding "Jr." to his name. John Jr. had a daughter that had been listed in error as the daughter of her grandfather, John Sr., before I started looking more closely. The daughter was Margaret "Miss Peggy" Witty Winchester (see more below.)

Great times 5 Grandmother, Mary Witty died at some date in Guilford County, North Carolina. The dates that are on most Ancestry trees belong to the Mary Brittain Witty who lived her whole life in England, with birth and death dates recorded there. These wouldn't be the correct dates for my Great x5 grandmother Witty.

There is however, a Witty Cemetery, in Barren County, KY where John and Mary Witty's son, Ezekiel C. Witty (1770-1842) is buried.

Incidentally, while getting some of the people into the correct families, I found "Miss Peggy" Margaret Witty Winchester (1785-1870) married Dr. William Winchester and they moved to Kentucky. There's an interesting document as to whether to move her grave to another site when the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) started building dams and creating Kentucky Lake in 1937-1944. The actual document mentions that her grave was not moved, being in the Winchester Cemetery in Concord, Calloway County, KY.  I looked to see about the Witty graves, because some of them also had noted that they were moved for the new dams. Only 2 Witty graves were mentioned, and neither were moved.

My great times 4 grandfather was James Witty (abt. 1768-1840). He moved to Alabama, and his son, Carrol Witty (1818-1898), moved to Texas. There he had a daughter,  Eugenia Witty Booth (1817-1898), who was my great times 2 grandmother.

My mother's family tree has these Alabama Wittys who eventually came to Texas. In the next couple of posts I'll be re-posting some old blogs from 2014-2018, with hopefully a bit of better editing. I can't believe how many names I've misspelled!