John Witt (abt. 1785 - abt. 1834)

Born about 1785 in Amherst County, Virginia, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Rebecca (Wear) Witt — married about 1807 in Tennessee, USA [uncertain]

Died about 1834 at about age 49 in Arkansas, USA [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Bill Vincent [send private message]

Biography

John Witt was born about 1785, probably in Amherst County, Virginia. He was probably the son of Abner Witt and his wife Anna^[1]. By 1793, his family had relocated to Knox County, Tennessee.

The John Witt and Rebecca Wear family, including some grandchildren, are listed on pages 357-358 in Notable Southern Families, Volume II^[2]. The following information comes from that source and should be verified with other sources.

John married Rebecca Wear (the third child of Samuel Wear and Mary Thompson) in1807 in Tennessee (no marriage record found). The couple had the following eight children:

1. Robert Witt c.1808, married Sarah Wallace 1829 and died in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
2. William Samuel Witt c.1811, m. first Mary Dennis in 1832.
3. John Witt m. Ziliah Ann Harrington 26 Dec 1847^[3].
4. Elizabeth Witt m. William Lewis, moved to Indian Territory.
5. Caroline Witt m. Isaac Crabb.
6. Margaret Witt m. Oliver Wallace.
7. Charlotte Witt m. ?? Berry.
8. Malinda Jane Witt m. ? Locker in Vincent, Arkansas; m. 2nd ? Edwards; m. 3rd Berry Lack.

In 1830, the John Witt family was in Crittenden County, Arkansas Territory^[4]. In the home were: Males: <5=1; 15-20=1; 50-60=1 (b. 1770-1780). Females: <5=1, 5-10=1; 10-15=2; 15-20=1; 20-30=1; 40-50=1.

John is said to have died about 1834 in Arkansas; Rebecca died in 1836.

Research Notes

Witt-1888 23:29, 11 July 2023 (UTC): I'm researching the 2 John Witts from Tennessee. This one and John Witt-4276 (son of Joseph Witt) who married Susannah Walker in 1809 in TN. Robert Baird at Bob's Genealogy Filing Cabinet has done extensive research on Joseph Witt and his children, so please also refer to it at: https://genfiles.com/witt/joseph-witt-c1749-14-november-1819/. An exact birth date of 5 Nov 1785 is often given for both John Witts, so conflation easily occurs. If anyone can add vitals and reliable sources to this John Witt bio, it would be appreciated. The best candidate for the father of John Witt m. Rebecca Wear is Abner Witt (abt.1738-bef.1823), but reliable sources seem to be lacking. I will connect the profiles, but additional research is needed.

Sources

1. ↑ http://www.halcyondays.com/tng/getperson.php?personID=I3097&tree=Tree1 [Unsourced database; accessed 27 Aug 2023]
2. ↑ https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/5930893?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a2247642f5a787a4d7348744f54306f394e36753753654e5649376a362f32315943332b59684333776e2f786f3d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d [Accessed 27 Aug 2023]
3. ↑ "Arkansas Marriages, 1837-1944", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F79H-M5N : 11 January 2020), John Witt, 1847.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1830", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHPX-CPW : Thu Jul 20 22:57:51 UTC 2023), Entry for John Witt, 1830.

• Notable Southern Families, Volume II. Pp.357-358. On line at: https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/48262/images/NotableSoFamiliesII-000825-357?pId=272052.[Accessed 27 Aug 2023]