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Rebecca (Stith) Christian (1695 - 1741)

Rebecca Christian formerly Stith
Born in Charles City County, Colony of Virginiamap [uncertain]
Daughter of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
[spouse(s) unknown]
[children unknown]
Died at about age 46 in Colony of Virginiamap [uncertain]
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Profile last modified | Created 31 Oct 2010
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US Southern Colonies.
Rebecca (Stith) Christian resided in the Southern Colonies in North America before 1776.
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Research suggests that this person may never have existed. See the text for details.

Contents

Biography

Rebecca (Stith) Christian (1695-1741) is a person of Uncertain Existence. See Research Notes below.

Research Notes

  • Needs Research: A little more work is needed to document the case that the existence of this person can not be sourced, including the "origin" of their genealogical existence if possible. Spratlin-29 19:24, 10 January 2024 (UTC)

Uncertain Existence

Thomas Christian patented land adjacent to a Drury Stith in Charles City County,[1] and this has lead some researchers to conclude the use of the name "Drury" in later generations was because he might have been Thomas Christian's father-in-law. The original published source of this theory has Rebecca's maiden name as an underscore (i. e. "unknown"), then suggests she could be Drury Stith's daughter.[2] However, there is no evidence Drury Stith had a daughter named "Rebecca".

Circumstantial evidence suggests Thomas Christian's wife was Rebecca New, whose family migrated with the Christians (and others) to Goochland County. Edmund New had two wills recorded in Henrico County. "Rebekah Christian" is named in both, and specifically as his daughter in the second. For the second will, Thomas Christian is a witness and gave oath to prove it the same day that the Edmund's inventory was presented by his wife Mary.[3][4][5]

Drury Stith's profile states that two daughters are mentioned in William Byrd's diaries. Specifically, Byrd wrote of attending the wedding of Drury's daughter Mary (Stith) Herbert.[6] Byrd also refers to Drury's two daughters on two other occasions.[7] Jane Drury (Stith) Hardaway has been proposed as Drury's second daughter.

There is a record of Drury's will being presented at the March 1741/42 court session in Charles City, but no copy of the will survives.

An article about the Stith Family in the William and Mary Quarterly doesn't mention any daughters for Drury, but names sons Drury Jr., William, and John.[8]

The Find-a-Grave profile for Rebecca states that the supposed burial place (Henrico Parish Cemetery) is based on "Oglesby Research" and states there is "no evidence for her burial elsewhere". However there is absolutely no evidence she is buried there either.[9]

There are a few uploaded GEDCOMs online which attempt to make this Rebecca the wife of the younger Thomas Christian with him as the son of Rebecca (New) Christian. However this is less commonly seen, lacking evidence as usual.

Vital Statistics

Birth
Estimated dates vary for Rebecca Stith's birth from 1665 to 1695. No family records survive, and whatever date appears is likely based on her children's estimated birth dates.[citation needed]

Death
Estimated dates vary from 1737 to 1743, and seem to be inferred from the probate dates for two Thomas Christians in Goochland. Each left a widow named "Rebecca". [10][11]

Purported Parents

Rebecca (Stith) Christian (1695-1741), a person of uncertain existence, is purportedly the daughter of:

Purported Spouse

Rebecca (Stith) Christian (1695-1741), a person of uncertain existence, is purportedly the spouse of:

Sources

  1. ↑ Virginia Land Office Patents No. 10, 1710-1719, p. 211 (Reel 10). https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990007360350205756
  2. ↑ Lamb, James Christian, “Christian Family.” The William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, vol. 5, no. 4, 1897, p. 261. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1914932. Accessed 10 Jan. 2024.
  3. ↑ County Court records, deeds, wills, settlements of estates, etc., (Henrico County, Virginia), 1677-1787, Virginia. County Court (Henrico County), Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 1947 (1725-1737 Book, p. 50) film 7645095 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89P6-SLVP?i=237&cat=397197 Edward New's will, first version recorded 5 Sep 1726
  4. ↑ County Court records, deeds, wills, settlements of estates, etc., (Henrico County, Virginia), 1677-1787, Virginia. County Court (Henrico County), Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 1947 (1725-1737 Book, p. 107) film 7645095 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89P6-SL2K?i=207&cat=397197 Edward New's will, second version recorded 5 Jun 1727
  5. ↑ County Court records, deeds, wills, settlements of estates, etc., (Henrico County, Virginia), 1677-1787, Virginia. County Court (Henrico County), Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 1947 (1725-1737 Book, p. 113) film 7645095 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89P6-SLKN?i=240&cat=397197 Edward New's inventory recorded 5 Jun 1727
  6. ↑ Louis B. Wright & Marion Tinling, editors, The London Diary (1717-1721) and Other Writings, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1958) p. 433
  7. ↑ Louis B. Wright & Marion Tinling, editors, The London Diary (1717-1721) and Other Writings, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1958) pp. 395, 436
  8. ↑ Johnston, Christopher. “The Stith Family.” The William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, vol. 21, no. 3, 1913, pp. 181–93. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1914697. Accessed 10 Jan. 2024.
  9. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/241890552/rebecca-christian: accessed 01 November 2022), memorial page for Rebecca Stith Christian (1695–20 Mar 1741), Find a Grave Memorial ID 241890552, citing Henrico Parish Church Cemetery, Varina, Henrico County, Virginia, USA; Maintained by tgpeden (contributor 47699394).
  10. ↑ Goochland County, Virginia Wills & Deeds 1736-1742, Benjamin B. Weisiger, comp., Iberian Publishing, Athens, GA, 1997, p. 4 (WB1:32) Will of Thomas Christian of Goochland County, recorded 17 May 1737
  11. ↑ Goochland County Virginia Wills 1742-1749, Benjamin B. Weisiger, III, comp., Iberian Publishing, Athens, GA, 1995, pp. 6-7 (DB4:316-8) Will of Thomas Christian of Goochland County, recorded 20 Mar 1743

See also:

  • Ancestry Profile for Rebecca Stith (1667–1741) [unsourced].
  • Find A Grave: Memorial #241890552 for Rebecca Stith Christian (1695–1741) (memorial only, no gravestone photo).




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Comments: 7

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Brett Martin
A secondary source addresses this controversy: Koenig, Lewis, "Christian Connections and the Strange Double Wills of Edmund New", Christian Family Chronicles, Agnes Branch Perlman (self-published), Santa Ana, CA, 1980, v4, pp. 249-251. Mrs. Perlman wrote a byline commentary for the 1897 Lamb article from W&M Quarterly in volume 12 (1988) pp. 991-995 noting that "...the reader should heed any qualifiers such as "perhaps", "probably", "maybe", etc. that appear here - just as any qualifiers in Lamb's genealogy should be considered before accepting speculation as fact". Mr. Lamb wrote Rebecca's name with an underscore for her maiden name followed by a parenthetical "perhaps the daughter of Drury Stith..."
posted by Brett Martin
Athey-67 Darlene (Athey) Athey-Hill
I think that she should be detached from her purported parents due to lack of evidence. There is a note in her bio with links to their profiles. If someone can provide evidence of her existence, please do so or we will proceed with disconnecting her. Thanks.
posted by Darlene (Athey) Athey-Hill
Ken Spratlin
Is there a reliable source for the existence of this person? Please review the recent additions by Martin-83140 addressing the current state of research. If no reliable sources exist, I propose to detach the parents on 13 Jan 2024.
posted by Ken Spratlin
Ken Spratlin
US Southern Colonies Project adding project management (PMP) and project protection (PPP) as co-manager—uncertain existence.

Please review US Southern Colonies Project-Managed Profiles for more information.

Please continue to manage normally, and review US Southern Colonies Project Editing Guidance before editing.

posted by Ken Spratlin
Gilliland-559 Lorie (Gilliland) Christian
Stith-1065 and Stith-65 appear to represent the same person because: Appear to be same person with DOB, DOD and locations.
posted by Lorie (Gilliland) Christian
Noland-165 Liz (Noland) Shifflett
Upon saving, received the following automated messages:
Warning: Check the data.
  • A marriage date (1680) should not be before a spouse's birth date (Stith-65 born 1695).
WikiTree+ Suggestions Help [view on WikiTree+] - These suggestions are updated once a week. They may not account for the recent changes, e.g. on 7 Nov 2021.
  • Error? Marriage before birth
posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
Noland-165 Liz (Noland) Shifflett
Stith-358 and Stith-65 appear to represent the same person because: could y'all take a look at these? They seem like they should be the same person, but maybe not (take a look at the profiles for their husband too). Thanks!
posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett

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Categories: Stith Name Study | Charles City County, Virginia Colony | Buckingham County, Virginia Colony | Virginia Colonists | US Southern Colonies Project Needs Research | Uncertain Existence