Lewis Witt (abt. 1732 - abt. 1774)

Born about 1732 in Goochland, Colony of Virginia [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 28 Feb 1774 at about age 42 in Bedford County, Colony of Virginia

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Biography

Lewis Witt was born to Benjamin Witt and Marianne Chastain about 1730, likely in Goochland County, Virginia Colony (Albemarle Co. was formed from Goochland Co. in 1744.)^[1]. Alternatively, Lewis' birth is listed as about 1740 in Virginia in the DAR database^[2]. This birth would make him very young (~15) if he married after 1755 (see below).

Lewis Witt died before the American Revolution. He is listed in the DAR database under Ancestor number A127245^[3], but the record is tagged as inaccurate. It's possible the service record of Lewis Witt (bef.1764-aft.1786), son of Abner Witt of Amherst County, was mis-attributed to this older Lewis Witt.

Lewis married Anne Mills (possibly daughter of William and Mary Mills)^[1] sometime after September 1755, when Anne was shown as unmarried in her father's will.

From the WikiTree profile of his father Benjamin Witt Sr.:

By June 1755 Benjamin and his family are living in Prince Edward County. The list of tithables between Bush and Buffalo Rivers, Prince Edward County, taken by Thomas Scott lists Benjamin Witt & his sons Charles Witt & Lewis Witt -- 3 thithables.^[4] In 1756 Benjamin purchased land in Prince Edward County with his children Lewis and Charles as witnesses.^[5]

Lewis is described in the research by Robert Baird on his father, Benjamin Witt, Sr., as follows^[6]:

In 1756, as a resident of Buckingham County, he [Benjamin Witt, Sr.] purchased land in Prince Edward County with his children Lewis and Charles as witnesses [32^[7]]. He and his sons Lewis and Charles were all on the 1755 tithables list of Prince Edward, though Charles appealed the tax (probably because he was still a resident of Buckingham). His sons Lewis and Charles both appeared as witness to deeds in the next few years, but Benjamin himself seems to have gone back to Buckingham County where he appears in its records.

Children

The will of Anne (as widow of Lewis Witt) named the following eight children (one deceased and seven living) for Anne and Lewis Witt. Anne's will was probated in 1816^[8].

1. Mills (eldest)
2. Jesse Witt (1762-1842)
3. John Witt
4. Rowland Witt
5. Robert
6. Agnes Witt (as Agatha Lavender)
7. Milly (as Milly Whitton)
8. Elizabeth (as Betsy Calvert, deceased with 5 children)

Land

9 February 1773: Lewis purchased from John Cooper land on Island Creek on Otter River in Bedford County, Virginia Colony. In 1785, following the death of Lewis, this land was the subject of a Chancery Case in Bedford County. See the full transcription in the Images tab^[9]. Lewis and Anne's land has been mapped by Elizabeth Shown Mills and is available on her website^[10]

Death

Lewis passed away about 1774 in Bedford County, Virginia Colony^[11]. He died sometime between February 1773 and March 1774 based on Chancery Case #1785-011 (transcription attached^[12]).

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Witt, Robert W. 2006. Descendants of John Witt, the Virginia immigrant. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books. Pg.9
2. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, “Ancestor Database.” database, Genealogical Research System (https://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search_adb/?action=full&p_id=A127245 : accessed 24 Nov. 2019), Lewis Witt, ancestor #A127245.
3. ↑ DAR Research Database. https://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search_descendants/?action=list&MyPrimary_Seqn=31986&MyLineageCount=1. Accessed 10 Mar 2024.
4. ↑ Virginia Tax Records from The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, the William and Mary College Quarterly, and Tyler's Quarterly. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore: 1983, p 333
5. ↑ Prince Edward County Order Book, p 86.
6. ↑ https://genfiles.com/witt/john-witt-c1645-by1715/. Accessed 26 Nov. 2019.
7. ↑ Prince Edward County Order Book, p86. Both witnesses proved the will in court.
8. ↑ Bedford Co., VA, Will Book 4:287
9. ↑ Original document at: https://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=019-1785-011
10. ↑ Elizabeth Shown Mills, “William Mills (c1695–1766) of Goochland, Albemarle & Amherst Counties, Virginia; Spouse Mary (Walton?): Research Notes,” a work-in-progress last updated 19 February 2020, p. 94: Table 12; archived at E. S. Mills, Historic Pathways (https://www.historicpathways.com : accessed 24 Feb 2020), under the “Research” tab.
11. ↑ Witt, Robert W. 2006. Descendants of John Witt the Virginia immigrant. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books. Page 19.
12. ↑ Original document at: https://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/case_detail.asp?CFN=019-1785-011

• Source: S40 Ancestry.com U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011; Repository: #R2
• Source: S-1871602850 Repository: #R-1872851262 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Page: Ancestry Family Tree Data: Text: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=29843615&pid=1000