Children of James Whitlock (abt. 1718 – 1749) and Wife Agnes Christmas: Nathaniel Whitlock (abt. 1747 – aft. 1800)

Albemarle County, Virginia, Deed Bk. 4, pp. 366-8

Or, Subtitled: Confusion and Sparse Records Coupled with Clearly Discernible Patterns

If I’m correct that the 20 September 1757 Louisa County, Virginia, settlement of the estate of James Whitlock and the 29 December 1768 Hanover County, Virginia, will of Thomas Christmas, James’s father-in-law, name the children of James Whitlock and Agnes Christmas by order of birth, then their last child was Nathaniel Whitlock.[1] In the posting I’ve just linked, I provide my reasons for thinking that the child of James and Agnes who preceded Nathaniel, my ancestor Thomas Whitlock, was born around 1745. In my view, Nathaniel would likely have been born about 1747, no doubt in St. Martin’s parish in Louisa County, where his father James Whitlock died between making his will on 7 March 1749 and the will’s probate date of 28 November 1749.[2] The 1810 federal census for Greenville County, South Carolina, which I’ll discuss below, assigns Nathaniel a birthdate prior to 1755.

Children of James Whitlock (abt. 1718 – 1749) and Wife Agnes Christmas: Mary Whitlock Jones (1741 – 1810/1820) and Ann Whitlock Austin (abt. 1742/4 – ?)

Signature of William Jones transcribed by Will Graves at the Southern Campaigns American Revolution Pension Statements & Rosters website, from South Carolina Revolutionary Audited Accounts Bk. V, pp. 19-20, audited account 4125

Or, Subtitled: Elusive Sources for Birth and Death Dates, and Stories of Englishmen Coming to Virginia in the 18th Century

Following their sons Charles and James, James Whitlock (abt. 1718 – 1749) and wife Agnes Christmas of Hanover and Louisa Counties, Virginia, had a daughter Mary, with a daughter Ann born after Mary. My reason for putting Mary and Ann, about whom very little is known, together in this posting will be apparent as the posting unfolds.

Children of James Whitlock (abt. 1718 – 1749) and Wife Agnes Christmas: Charles Whitlock (abt. 1739 – 1814) of Louisa and Albemarle County, Virginia, and Stokes County, North Carolina

Original will of Charles Whitlock, 1811, Stokes County, North Carolina, on file with North Carolina Archives

Or, Subtitled: “In witne∫s hereof I have Set my hand and affixed my seal”

With my last posting, I finished sharing my information about the descendants of Thomas Whitlock (abt. 1745 – 1830) and wife Hannah Phillips, my 5th great-grandparents. I’m now going to climb back up the Whitlock family tree and start a series of postings about Thomas Whitlock’s siblings, the other children of James Whitlock and Agnes Christmas of Hanover and Louisa County, Virginia, whom I haven’t yet discussed in detail.

Thomas Whitlock (abt. 1745 – 1830) of Louisa and Wythe Counties, Virginia, and Cumberland County, Kentucky: First Appearance in Montgomery County, March 1776

NARA, Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, Virginia, 7th Regiment, #2577, RG 93, available digitally at Fold3

Or, Subtitled: What a Close Reading of an Historical Document Might Reveal

In this posting, I’ll begin my documentation of the life of Thomas Whitlock (abt. 1745 – May 1830) after he arrived in Montgomery County, Virginia, by 1776: in previous postings, I’ve discussed his probable date of birth, and the sparse documentation I have for him prior to his appearance in Montgomery County records (and here). I noted that, after his appearance in the estate settlement of his father James Whitlock in Louisa County, Virginia, in November 1757,[1] the first solid record I have for Thomas — other than a July 1769 Bedford County, Virginia, court record and the statement of the bible of his daughter Sarah Whitlock and her husband Thomas Brooks that Sarah was born in Bedford on 9 June 1774 — is a 1 March 1776 deed in Montgomery County to which he was a witness.[2]

Thomas Whitlock (abt. 1745 – 1830) of Louisa and Wythe Counties, Virginia, and Cumberland County, Kentucky: Establishing a Date of Birth

James Whitlock’s estate division, Louisa County, Virginia, Inventory Bk. 1743-1790, p. 40

Or Subtitled: “[My will] and desire is that the Estate above mentioned shall be Equally de[vided between] my loving Wife Agness Whitlock and her Six children”

Thomas Whitlock was born in St. Martin’s parish, Louisa County, Virginia, around 1745. Or so I have deduced by putting a number of pieces of information together and asking what they tell me about Thomas’s probable date of birth. Figuring out birthdates of people born in the Southern states (and colonies) prior to the 1850 federal census, which first began providing specific ages of those enumerated, is notoriously challenging. Good luck at finding a family bible or a church baptism or birth record in most cases. If you’re fortunate enough to know exactly where someone — this is usually a male, since women unfortunately often do not appear in official documents — was living when he came of age and began appearing on tax lists, that’s one good way to get a fairly accurate fix on a year of birth. Otherwise….