John Witt II aka Whitt (1675-1751)

 TRACING BACK DOWN TO MY HULSEY LINE

John Witt II aka Whitt (1675-1751)

And Ann Rogers Witt

They were Virginia Colonist

 John was born about 1675 in Charles City County, Colony of Virginia

He was the son of John Witt and Ann (Daux) Witt and married Ann about 1695 in Charles City County, Colony of Virginia. He died before 1751 before about age 76 in Goochland County, Colony of Virginia.

John and Ann were the parents of Sarah (Witt) Harbour, John Witt III and Sylvanus Witt.

The lack of early records in Charles City County leaves a gap in what we know of John's early life. The first record we have is the purchase of 300 acres of land from Charles and Mary Hudson jointly with his brother William Witt in 1715.[1] The land was located north of the James River about 25 miles upriver from his father's home and was described as “lying and being in the county of Honaricho at a place called Tuckahoe." In 1728 Tuckahoe Creek became the border between Henrico County and the newly formed Goochland County. John's and William's land fell in Goochland.

The next record we find is in 1720 in which John and William Witt presented a petition concerning the bounds of their land.[2]

 In 1732 and 1734 John and his son John are listed as tithables living on son John's land south of the James River in King William Parish.[3]

 In 1742 John is listed as "levy free" in Goochland County, not subject to the tithe, perhaps exempted due to age or infirmity.[4]

 The last record we find for John is the sale of 150 acres of land in Goochland County on 25 July 1747 to Henry Whitlow. From the description it appears to be adjacent to the land John bought with his brother in 1715.[5]

 John married about 1695 in Charles City County. This is partially determined by his age and the birth dates of his children. There are questions about John's marriage. The Harbour-Witt Bulletin 6.2, with some uncertainty, names Lavina as John's wife. He was certainly married to Ann Rogers in 1730, but some think she may have been a second wife.[6] The will of John Rogers of Westover Parish, Charles City County, recorded on 5 August 1730, left livestock and other items to his daughter Ann Whitt, wife of John Whitt.[7]

 No death record or burial site has been found. One half of the 300 acres purchased by John and his brother William in 1715 was sold in 1751 by William Witt and John Witt, described as the son of John Witt deceased and nephew of William Witt. Since the last entry found in records previous to this date was the sale of land by John in 1747, his death is presumed to have occurred between 1747 and 1751.

 CHILDREN:

It is certain that John had sons John Witt III, born about 1700, and Sylvanus Witt, born before 1718. It is generally assumed that Sarah who married Thomas Harbour was a daughter, but the evidence for this is thin.[8]

 Unproven Daughters

Additional daughters have been proposed by Witt/Whitt researchers; they all state that additional evidence is needed. They are: David F. Whitt, Robert Baird, and Robert W. Witt, in concert with the late Wayne Witt Bates.

 Per Robert Baird [9] (and supported by Robert Witt [10]).

 Other Possible Daughters?: It has also been proposed that David Barnett and John Farrar, who witnessed the 1751 deed, were sons-in-law of John Witt. There is no particular reason to believe this beyond the fact that the deed had an unusually large number of witnesses and it could well be that they were all related in some way. In the absence of any supporting evidence that Barnett and Farrar were anything other than friends or neighbors, this must be considered merely an unsupported hypothesis. John Farrar, in particular, owned land adjacent to the 1747 sale by John Witt but by 1751 seems to have been living considerably west in Albemarle County. (It’s intriguing that David Witt and a William Barnett jointly patented land in Halifax County five years later in 1756. Whether that is coincidence or not is unknown.)

In addition to the above, David Whitt[11] proposed Catherine (Elizabeth) Witt, wife of William Matlock and Judith Witt, wife of James Tuley. David also proposed Susannah Witt, wife of Charles Husley, Sr., but Robert Baird's research shows his wife to be Hannah (or Anna) Witt, the daughter of John's son John Witt III [12].

 Summary

The following children have been attributed to John Witt II and Ann Rogers. Those marked (*) are proposed and further proof is needed.

 Silvanus (Silas) Witt. No marriage.

Sarah Witt. Married Tom Harbour. Evidence is thin.

John Witt III. Married Elizabeth (Parrish?)

(*) Wife of David Barnet

(*) Wife of John Farrar

(*) Catherine (Elizabeth), wife of William Matlock

(*) Judith Witt, wife of James Tuley

 Sources

1↑ Henrico County Deeds 1714-1718, p 46, abstracted in Henrico County Deeds 1706-1737, Benjamin B. Weisiger.

2↑ Henrico County Minute Book 8, p 34.

3↑ Vestry Book of King William Parish, Virginia 1707-1770, (Manakin Huguenot Society, reprint 1966), pp 70, 76, 78.

4↑ Goochland Order Book 5, p 60.

5↑ Goochland County Deed Book 5, p 303.

6↑ John Witt II (c1675 – by1751)

7↑ Charles City County Wills and Deeds 1725-1731, Benjamin B. Weisiger, p 40. (From Will Book D, p 298).

8↑ See Was Thomas Harbor’s wife a Witt?

9↑ https://genfiles.com/witt/john-witt-ii-c1675-by1751/

10 ↑ Witt, Robert W. 2006. Descendants of John Witt, the Virginia immigrant. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books. Pg. 3.

11 ↑ Whitt, David F. 2004. Ancestors and descendants of William Whitt, 1775-1850: portrait of an American family. Westminster, MD: Heritage Books. Pg. 53.

12↑ https://genfiles.com/witt/john-witt-iii-c1700-1779/

See also:

John Witt II (c1675 – by 1751) from Bob's Genealogy Filing Cabinet