Whence I Came

What was the relationship between John and Joseph Holt who married sisters Helena Maria and Edith White? Three Louisa County deeds help to steer us to the answer.  The three deeds include: July 8, 1758 Louisa County VA DB B page 333-334 Joseph Holt of New Kent County and Joseph Holt Jr. of Louisa County VA ..."give a negro girl named Fanny and all her increase"...witnessed by John Holt and Elisha White  (The witnesses to this deed tell us that the Joseph Holt we've been following in Louisa County is also known as Joseph Holt Jr. The question is, who was Joseph Holt of New Kent County?)  September 25, 1759 Louisa County VA DB B page 333-334 Joseph Holt Sr. of New Kent County and Nicholas Holt of Charles City Co ., "for love and affection... 400 acres in Louisa County on both sides of Treasurer’s Run" (Joseph Holt Sr. appears to be the same Joseph Holt of New Kent County in the previous deed. But who was Nicholas Holt?)   March 26, 1762 Louisa County VA DB C ...

  In 1753, John and Joseph Holt along with seventeen other individuals purchased one acre of land lying in the southeast portion of Louisa County from Arthur Slayden. Those involved in the purchase as well as the land itself are described within the below Louisa County deed. Access to the property was detailed as "a road from the said land into the adjacent road commonly called the Three Chopt Road". Two other purchasers mentioned in the deed were Elisha and William White ( brothers in law to John and Joseph Holt ).  Louisa County VA DB A page 514 This deed is such a great record which tells us so much in regards to the society of friends that John and Joseph Holt kept which included several known dissenters and participants in the spreading of the Virginian evangelical movement. In Rodger M. Payne's New Light in Hanover County: Evangelical Dissent in Piedmont Virginia, 1740-1755  , Payne described the role of a few of the individuals mentioned in the deed including: Tuc...

Sisters Edith and Helena Maria White (daughters of Mr. John White and his second wife, Katherine) married brothers, John and Joseph Holt. The double marriage in these two families came to light in the below 1758 Louisa County, Virginia deed where John and Joseph Holt, as husbands of Edith and Helena Maria, signed their permission to lend Katherine Brain (Brane) the real and personal property which their wives inherited from their father's estate, plus a female slave named Lydia. The deed explains that when Katherine's "natural life" ended, the properties would then return to her children. Other signers of the deed include Elisha and William White (brothers to Edith and Helena Maria), Thomas King (husband of sister Tillah White), and Sackville Brewer (husband of sister Martha White).   Louisa County VA DB C pages 72-73 So, who were John and Joseph Holt? And is there evidence that they were brothers? Find out more in the next blog entry .  copyright©2024 Deborah Thurman...

The many intricacies of Lieutenant Elisha White's life did not end with his being arrested , removed from company command, and serving as a Continental Army Recruiting Officer in Virginia . To add to the many mysteries surrounding Elisha's life, h e left a most unusual will dated January 4, 1781 in Henrico County, Virginia comprised of only two sentences: Henrico County, VA Will Book 1 page 10 In the name of God amen. January 4th 1781 I, Elisha White of Henrico County being in perfect sences do make this my last will and testament. Itum  to my wife Theodotia White I do give and bequeath all my estate real and and personly after my debts being out the same. Test                                                                                 ...

To lead men into battle against the well disciplined British Army during the Revolutionary War, it was absolutely necessary to possess strong leadership qualities. It could be argued that the key leadership quality that was needed to inspire men to do brave things was integrity. Men determined if a leader had integrity based upon the choices he made, and if those choices were based upon a strong moral compass. If so, then men believed their leader to be honorable and could trust him in perilous situations to do the right thing.  As we previously reviewed, Governor Patrick Henry felt that Lieutenant White was such a leader of men when he wrote to General Washington and described White in this manner, "I have only to say that I believe him a worthy young man & a good Officer".  Henry also eluded that Lieutenant White was "just" in dueling with Lieutenant Green. In 18th century understanding, this meant that White was honorable and chose to do the right thing. But ...

According to the American Battlefield Trust , about 25,000 patriots died while either fighting in a battle, succumbing to disease, or languishing as a prisoner of war.  What this death toll doesn't tell is the story of how at least one patriot's death was the result of giving and receiving insults. How could that be? Well, as we can only imagine, the infamously miserable Valley Forge encampment was comprised of young men who were living in wretched conditions far from home and their loved ones. Under high tension, the men's morale must have been low. And it was in this environment that Valley Forge became the scene for a fatal duel between two young Virginian officers in the Continental Army; Lieutenants John Green and Elisha White.  retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/starving-soldiers-at-valley-forge Lieutenants Green and White were both young men of high standing Virginia families. Lieutenant John Green was the son of Colonel John Green of the 6th Virginia Regim...

If you ever doubted that the early Hanover County and Charlotte County White families were related, you can put those doubts to rest!  Thanks to the Library of Virginia's Virginia Memory Digital Collection , we now have proof that the families were related - according to their own written words!  As part of the Virginia Memory Digital Collection, the Library of Virginia has uploaded Chancery Court records for many counties, including Charlotte County.  The cache of White family letters is part of the uploaded Charlotte County Chancery Court case known as Elisha White v. Wood Jones.  In order to understand the impetus for Elisha White writing the two letters, you must first understand the background to the case. BACKGROUND In 1740, a Henry Hatcher apparently purchased a "treasury right" from the Secretary of the Colony of Virginia for 45 schillings.  Following the procedures for obtaining a Virginia land patent, Hatcher would have then taken his "right" docume...

The first extant St. Paul's Parish procession record after Mr. John White's 1744 death is for the year 1751, followed by a procession order in 1755 and a return in 1756.   Below is a comparison chart showing the names of the land owners in the Yellow Community between the processions of 1744 and 1756.  Fortunately, there appears to have been a pattern of recording the names within the precinct beginning each time with John Howard and followed similarly.  Changes in ownership can be determined by analyzing the names going across the table.  For example, in 1744, John Muirfield owned a tract of land within the Yellow Community.  But in 1751, Anthony Winston and John White took possession of Muirfield's land.  They held this tract of land through 1756.  The mention of Whites as property owners are highlighted in yellow.    St. Paul's parish, H. co. (1940). The vestry book of St. Paul's parish, Hanover county, Virginia, 1706-1786. Richm...