Peter DeWitt b. 08 Jul 1753 Sussex Co, NJ s/o Paulus DeWitt and Catherine DePuy [1][2]
Research Note
This Kentucky Peter DeWitt did not descend from Tjerck Classen DeWitt; his ancestry goes back through the Barent DeWitt line. [3]
1763 Revolutionary War Soldier
Peter served in the Revolutionary War as a Private in the 8th Regiment of the Virginia Line, known as the "German Regiment," for three years[4]
1774 Marriage
Peter m. 09 Jul 1774 Hampshire, VA Jane Bray [2][5][6][3] b. 09 Jul 1755 Frederick, Frederick Co, MD d. 19 Jun 1843 Fayette Co, OH bur. DeWitt Cem, Fayette Co, OH d/o Henry Bray and Cathryn Jarboe.
1782-84 VA Life
1782: In census with household of 5, taken by William Vause in Hampshire County, Virginia [7]
Received land bounty No. 3555 for one hundred acres Dec. 6, 1784. [8]
1800-1834 KY LIFE
Peter lived on DeWitt's (pronounced to rhyme with Jouett's) Creek in southwestern Clark County, Kentucky. DeWitt's Creek Baptist Church was named for him. This Creek runs through Bathurst Woodford's Farm, Athens-Boonesborough Road.
In Clark County, KY (no twp listed) Peter Dewitt appears on the 1800 Tax List, KY Early Census Index. [9]
In Clark County 1810, household of one boy 10-16, 3 men 16-26, one man 26-45, one man 45 and upwards, two girls under ten, one woman 45 and upwards.(In the county at that time are also households of Mary DeWitt and Martin DeWitt.) [10]
On list of pensioners in Clark County, Kentucky, Jan. 2, 1834, age 82, $320 for service in Virginia militia [11]
1834 or 1843 Death
Secondary sources that have been located have a variety of death circumstances for Peter, none of which provide citation.
22 August 1834 in West Liberty, Morgan County, Kentucky." [12]
3 April 1834 Clark County, Kentucky or Fayette Co, OH (borders Clark Co, KY) bur. likely DeWitt Cem, Fayette Co, OH [2]
18 October 1843 in Clark County, Kentucky (this seems to be the most prevalent, but no indication has been found of him in an 1840 census)
Children
Peter and Jane had issue: (This list is not necessarily complete or even correct -- one of its sources is itself unsourced).
Mary Catherine "Caty" DeWitt, [13] b. abt. 1773 [12]
Charles Hockensmith's 'The Millstone Quarries of Powell County, Kentucky' has additional information on Peter. [13]
Sources
↑ Everyone just seems to "know" this without a source. This date does agree with the pension he received 82 years later.
↑ 2.02.12.2 His wife's Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 25 August 2020), memorial page for Jane Bray DeWitt (9 Jul 1755–19 Jun 1843), Find A Grave: Memorial #76515805 citing Dewitt Cemetery, Fayette County, Ohio, USA ; Maintained by Scott Hayes (contributor 47380085).
↑ 3.03.1Jerri McCoy research shared with Bob Sparanese in an email dated 22 Aug 2020.
↑ "Paulus DeWitt, Paulus DeWitt, II, Peter DeWitt", DeWitt Genealogy, DeWitt Family Website : accessed August 5, 2023 at [1]
↑ Peter Dewitt b. 1753 NJ m. 1774 VA in Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004 : accessed January 29, 2021 at ancestry.com
↑ Cara McCormack Sage and Laura Sage Jones, compilers, Early Records: Hampshire County Virginia Now West Virginia. Including at the start of most of known Va. aside from Augusta District, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1976; accessed as database with images, State Census of Hampshire County, 1782 and 1784, Early Records, Hampshire County, Virginia [database on-line], ancestry.com[2] : accessed 26 August 2015).
↑
Land-Office Military Warrant, No. 3555, Governor and Council of Virginia to Peter Dewitt, 6 December 1784, Commonwealth of Virginia; accessed as database with images, Entry for warrant 3555.0 to veteran Peter Dewitt, Revolutionary War Warrants, Military Registers & Land Records, Land Office, Secretary of State, Kentucky : accessed August 5, 2023 at [3]
↑ Ancestry.com. Kentucky, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1810-1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999 : accessed January 29, 2021 at Ancestry.com
↑
Quisenberry, Anderson C. Revolutionary Soldiers in Kentucky: Containing a Roll of the Officers of Virginia Line Who Received Land Bounties; a Roll of the Revolutionary Pensioners in Kentucky; a List of the Illinois Regiment Who Served Under George Rogers Clark in the Northwest Campaign. Also a Roster of the Virginia Navy. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co, 1968. Pensioners Under the Act of June 7, 1832 (Began March 4, 1831., Entry for Peter Dewitt,, p. 130; accessed as digital images, "Revolutionary Soldiers in Kentucky...", Internet Archive (https://archive.org/stream/revolutionarysol00ilquis#page/130/mode/2up : accessed 26 August 2015). States the his pension was for service in the Virginia Militia. If so, this may be in addition to his three years of service in the Virginia Line which earned him a land bounty.
↑ Doyle, George F. Marriage Bonds of Clark County, Kentucky: From the Formation of the County in 1793 to 1850. Winchester, Ky: Doyle, 1933. Print, "Knox, Thomas, and Elizabeth Dewitt, daughter Peter Dewitt (consent); surety, Moses Tredway 1799 Apr 15."
↑ 15.015.1
His son's Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 27 October 2021), memorial page for Martin Daywitt (6 Jul 1793–19 Jul 1852),Find A Grave: Memorial #5228109, citing Smith Cemetery, Rensselaer, Jasper County, Indiana, USA ; Maintained by onakl (contributor 41040412).
Other Research
Guy Zimmerman's Web Page, Genealogy : accessed August 5, 2023 at [4]
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Peter by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line.
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Peter: