Week 17 #52Ancestors: At Worship

Church records have provided me with some wonderful information about my ancestors.  The mention of Smith Sutton found in the 1806 Thompson Settlement Church Minutes in Lee County, Virginia later provided a connection to Thomas Sutton and Hannah Lawson who were members of this church. They later moved their membership to the Rob Camp Baptist Church in Claiborne County, Tennessee around 1838. My third cousin, Elsie Stewart, shared the obituary of our second great-grandfather, James Sutton that mentioned his date of death as December 22, 1872 and stated he was a Deacon of the Baptist Church of Christ at Big Creek.  I thought these were some deep connections until I stumbled on my Barnard-Barnett line.

Looking back at Week 16, I explained that Obedience “Biddy” Barnett was a Quaker and her family line is well documented in the Quaker Minutes.  Biddy’s grandfather was Strangeman Hutchins born in 1707 Henrico County, Virginia and died in 1792 in Surry County, North Carolina.  He married Elizabeth Cox around 1731 in Virginia.  The couple had 11 children, Mary Brooks, Edith Stanley, John Hutchins, Nicholas Hutchins, Elizabeth Barnett, Obedience Harding, Thomas Hutchins, Jane Barnett, Milla Hutchins, Lydia Johnson and Benjamin Hutchins.  A book was published on this line in 1935, Four Generations of the family of Strangeman Hutchins and his wife, Elizabeth Cox, as known January 10, 1935: an old Virginia family along the James River by marriage joined to other immigrant families of the colony by Crider, Gussie Waymire.

 This discovery has a paper trail that goes back to the 1600’s and I consider that truly amazing! Strangeman Hutchin’s father was Nicholas Hutchins who was found on the Henrico Meeting Minutes beginning in 1699.  He lived along the James River and married Mary Watkins at a public meeting of the Friends. This was recorded in the Minutes on 8-9-1701.  Now I have discovered yet a third line of Watkins in my family history.  Two lines are on my paternal side or what I like to refer to as my east Tennessee roots and the third is through my mother as her maiden name is Watkins and they hail from North Carolina.  

Colonizing Virginia - Curles of the James River -- found on gene.com

According to the author of this book, Strangeman was, “…first found on the Cedar Creek records in 1741.  From that time until 1786, when he moved to North Carolina, his name is continually on the records as witness, on committees, as representative, as overseer, as clerk, as elder.”  He is described as a prominent member of the Friends Church and occasionally bought and sold land. As he prepared to move to North Carolina, Strangeman disposed of about 750 acres between 1782 and 1785. He also freed twelve slaves by a deed of Manumission.  This is one of the few ancestors in my family that I have discovered owned slaves and since the book did not provide the deed, I searched online and discovered information on an old message board:

From: “Hutchins-Hutchens,” Vol. 1, pg. 11, and an addition in Vol. 2, pg. 5; by Rita Hineman Townsend:  October 21, 1782. Strangeman Hutchins freed his twelve slaves in Goochland Co., by a Deed of Manumission:  Goochland County, VA, Deed of Manumission of Slaves:
“I, Strangeman Hutchins, being fully persuaded that freedom is the rightful state of all mankind, and that it is my duty to do unto others as I would desire to be done by, in the like situation….. of the following names and ages, viz: NAN SCOTT, 38; JENNIE SCOTT, 36; JOE SCOTT, 34; HANNAH SCOTT, 32; LUSY SCOTT, 28; TAB PRYOR, 23; JUDITH SCOTT, 18; I hereby emancipate and set free, all and everyone of the above named slaves and I do for myself, heirs, executors and administrators, relinquish all my right, title, interest, claim and pretention of claim whatsoever either to their persons or to any estate that they may hereafter acquire….. now in their minority, of the following names and ages, viz: GEORGE SCOTT, 17; ISHAM SCOTT, 15; KING SCOTT, 14; STEPHEN SCOTT 12; BOB SCOTT, 9, whom I likewise emancipate and set free after they shall attain to lawful age, the males at 21 and the females at 18. Signed 21 Oct 1782, Strangeman Hutchins. Goochland County Deed Book 13, 177901784, pp259-260.

Addition: The reason he (Strangeman) still had two slaves in the 1790 census was that he had stipulated that the slaves were to be freed, males at 21 and females at 18. The two youngest slaves had yet to reach that age in the 1790 census. 

www.dolleymadison.com

I read many Quakers began leaving Virginia due to persecution and that may explain the reason for their move to North Carolina.  According to the aforementioned book, the Hutchins settled on the branches of Forbush Creek and placed their membership at Deep River Meeting and then services soon began at Deep Creek where the Hutchins were leading members.

When Strangeman became ill, he prepared to meet his maker and must have been verbalizing his prayers as his last sentences were recorded on paper by Sylvanus Hadley.  The paper was found in the possession of a descendant named Mrs. Ella Whisler of Wabash, Indiana.  It seems appropriate to end this with an extract of his dying words:

And several times he spoke about ye living water and about ye true water in a broken manner, although afterward he spoke intelligibly and said – “O Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, I am in an awful frame of mind and stand resigned to the Lord’s will both soul and body.” And almost every breath till the last seemed to supplicate or return thanks, and he grew so weak that he departed in the morning the 10^thof the second month, A.D. 1792.