Ancestors and Children John Hartley & Rebecca Arvecost Joseph Hartley & Mary "Polly" Singleton Parents of Mary "Polly" Singleton: Benjamin Singleton & Mary Elizabeth Shumate Edmund Waller Hartley & Ann Elizabeth Whitlow |
Parents of Mary “Polly”
Singleton: Benjamin Singleton & Mary Elizabeth Shumate
Benjamin Singleton and His Ancestors
Benjamin Singleton was born about 1780 in Fauquier County, Virginia. Fauquier County is about 20 miles west of Washington D.C. I have found evidence [1] that his father was Stanley Singleton, born 2 October 1731 in North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, Virginia.
There is some disagreement
among researchers concerning the wife of Stanley Singleton.
Some claim she was Mary (unknown), others Nancy Winn. They agree he was
orphaned at an early age and that he eventually ended up in Kentucky. One
researchers tells:
Stanley Singleton was born 2 Oct 1731 in North Farnham Parish of
Richmond County, Virginia, the youngest son of Joshua and Ann (McCarty)
Singleton. Stanley's father died when he was only a
few months old and his mother died just two years later. He was
reared by his mother's cousin, Mary Thornton.
Stanley, and his brother Robert, moved to Prince William
County (now Fairfax County, VA) where their father had left them his 300 acre tract of land on the Occaquan River. From that
county, Stanley served in the Colonial Militia and
was paid for service on 21 April 1756.
Prince William County Court Order Book 1755-1757, page
236 shows that on 25 Oct 1756 Stanley Singleton purchased land from Jesse and Mary Carter. Marriage records for several years
of Prince William County's history are missing and it was probably during this
time that Stanley was married.
His children were: All of the children, except John, were married in
Fauquier County (pronounced Falk-ear), Virginia. Fauquier County had been
formed out of Prince William County in 1759.
A history of the Winn family states that Minor Winn,
father of Nancy Withers Winn Singleton, had twice visited Kentucky and
purchased large and valuable tracts of land in Fayette County. And that two of
his daughters married Singletons and one moved to Kentucky, settling near
Paducah.
[2]
Stanley Singleton died about 1793.
Stanley Singleton’s father, Joshua Singleton, born about 1692 in Gloucester Co., VA, left a will in Richmond County dated 28 December 1732, and recorded 5 February 1732/3. Stanley would have been one or two years old at the time of his father’s death. In part:
. . . three sons to be kept at school til they are perfect
readers in the Holy Bible and capable of writing a good, legibile [sic] hand
and proficient in arithmatic as far as the rule of three; dau. Sarah to have
one whole year’s schooling; ex: wife Anne; requests fr. Benjamin Rust to take
care of chil. est; wits: John Spendergrass, Thomas
Dickenson, Mary Thornton.
[3]
Another source has Joshua Singleton’s children as:
Elizabeth Singleton. She married
John Young.
Since Agnes Singleton was married in Nelson
Co. KY (where Benjamin Singleton and Mary Shumate resided) in 1790 it is
reasonable to assume she got there with her family headed by Stanley Singleton.
Also it is reasonable that Stanley had more children than listed above, most
likely including Benjamin Singleton; he would then have been in Nelson Co., KY
in 1790. Note: Benjamin Singleton married Mary Shumate in 1796 in Nelson Co.,
KY.
Stanley Singleton served in the military in
Prince Edward County, Virginia, and is included in a list of claims which
“ought to be allowed. . . trooper(s) for 93 days
service.”
The Virginia House of Burgesses Journal, dated April 21,
1756: "Order, That the following Claims from the County of Prince William,
ought to be paid by the Public, viz: . . . 20 lbs. of Tobacco per Day . . .
trooper(s) for 93 days service. . . . Standley
Singleton.
[5]
Shortly
after the death of Samuel Singleton in 1829, son of Stanley Singleton, a deed
transfer is registered in Loudon Co.,VA (Loudon Co.,
VA was formed from Fairfax Co., VA in 1757 and lies next to Fauquiere Co., VA,
where Stanley Singleton died abt. 1793), viz.
:
3T:259 Date: Feb 1830 RtCt” 19 March 1830: Benjamine Singleton and wife Mary of Hardin
Co Ky to William Ldn with mansion house in Fqr on AShby’s Gap Turnpide road nr
Goose Creek bridge, where Samuel Singleton dec’d resided, subject to widow’s
dower. Delf. pr order filed 14 May 1830, DBk SSS:355
3T:261 Date: 6 Dec 1829 RtCt” 19 March 1830: Benjamine Singleton of Hardin Co Ky to
William Ldn with mansion house in Fqr on Ashby’s Gap Turnpide road nr Goose
Creek bridge, where Samuel SINGLETON dec’d resided, subject to widow’s dower.
Delf. pr order filed 14 May 1830, DBk SSS:333 (335?)
[6]
This seems to indicate that Benjamin Singleton and
Mary deeded land where Samuel Singleton had resided. More evidence that
Benjamin Singleton was related to Samuel, and thus son of Joshua Singleton.
The will of Samuel Singleton, son of Stanley
Singleton, indicates his siblings:
1829: Each
of Samuel's sibling received a 1/7th share of his estate. The living siblings
were Benjamin Singleton, Joshua Singleton and Elizabeth Young Singleton.
Deceased siblings were William Singleton, Sarah Singleton Young, Agnes
Singleton Gray, and John Singleton -- their children received their shares.
[7]
Benjamin Singleton descends from a long line of Singletons, starting, as far as we know with Robert Singleton who was born about 1590 in England, who was “a subscriber and charter member of the second Virginia Land Company that arrived at Jamestown in 1608, whose son Henry Singleton arrived in America in 1637 and prospered in Mobjack Bay, Gloucester County, Virginia, whose son Robert Singleton also prospered in Gloucester County, whose son Joshua Singleton, born about 1692, was the father of Stanley Singleton, father of Benjamin Singleton. Mary Elizabeth Shumate and Her Ancestors
Mary Elizabeth Shumate was born 14 January 1780 in Virginia. Her father was John Shumate, born 1751 in Fauquier County, Virginia, married to Margaret Snapp, and died 11 November 1794 in Nelson County, Kentucky. We know her father was John Shumate because the marriage bond between Mary Shumate and Benjamin Singleton issued on 12 Jan 1796 lists her mother as Margaret (Shumate) McKay, and her father as Richard McKay. John Shumate had married Margaret (possibly Snapp); after he passed away Margaret married Richard McKay. Thus Richard McKay became Mary Shumate's stepfather and Margaret (Shumate) McKay was mother. (Richard McKay and Margaret McKay both signed the marriage bond for their daughter.) John Shumate is documented in a family
history:
The writer estimates he was born circa 1751 in Prince
William County, Virginia, and died most likely in 1792. The writer believes he
married twice, because his name appears in the 1787 Personal Property Tax List
of Fauquier County, Virginia, along with that of his son Nimrod [I]. In all
likelihood, he had returned to Fauquier County from Kentucky only for a visit
in that year. Moreover, the surviving marriage records of Lincoln County,
Kentucky, indicate he married Margaret Snapp in that county on 24 December
1785. Since the 1787 tax list includes both the names of John [V] and his son
Nimrod [I], the writer finds it unusual that Nimrod [I] would have been entered
in the tax list because he was underage. According to the Bardstown, Kentucky,
obituary when he died in 1861, Nimrod was supposedly 87 years old. If true,
then he would have been only 13 years old in 1787, having been born in 1774.
Assuming that Nimrod was born in 1774 and knowing that his father John [V]
married Margaret Snapp in Lincoln County, Kentucky, in 1785, then John [V] had
to have been married previously, probably circa 1773. The name of John [V]'s
first wife is unknown.
Probably by 1788 John [V] and Nimrod [I] returned to
Kentucky, and perhaps some other members of the Shumate family accompanied
them. However, the Personal Property Tax Lists of Nelson County, Kentucky, contain
no Shumate entries until 1792 when the names of Nimrod [I] and the widow
Margaret begin to appear (See pages H-27 and H-28, Appendix H). As mentioned,
John [V] left his will in Nelson County, and it identifies his son Nimrod [I]
and his wife Margaret. Also, the wording of the will indicates he had other
children, but they are not identified (See page H-36, Appendix H). The writer
suspects that John [V] probably married his first wife in Fauquier County,
Virginia; he and his family migrated to Kentucky circa 1780; and his first wife
died circa 1784 in Kentucky. The first White settlers did not begin to arrive
in Nelson County, Kentucky, until about 1778-1780. No doubt, John Shumate [V]
and his family were among the first pioneers to Central Kentucky, settling
first perhaps in Lincoln and then moving to Nelson County. After the death of
her husband John [V], Margaret (Snapp) Shumate married second Richard McKay on
9 December 1794 in Nelson County. (See the Extracts of Marriages, Nelson
County, Kentucky, Appendix J).
[8]
Mary Elizabeth Shumate descends from a long line of
Chaumette and then Shumate, starting as far as we know with Francois de la
Chaumette, who was born in France about 1500, whose son was Estienne de la
Chaumette, butcher and pastor of the reformed church of Rochechouart, who died
in 1604, whose son was Jean de la Chaumette, Avocat Barrister-Notary, and served
as consul of Rochechouart, France, whose son was Jean de la Chaumette,
barrister and notary in France and Elder in 1602 of the Protestant Church
Rochechouart, France, whose son was Daniel de la Chaumette, born about 1619, a
barrister, whose son was Jean Baptiste de la Chaumette, who left France as a
Huguenot, was married in London, and after went to Martinique and eventually to
Prince William County, Virginia, whose son was Daniel de la Shumate, born in
1712 in Martinique, French West Indies, and died in Fauquier County, Virginia
in 1784, was the father of John Shumate, father of Mary Elizabeth Shumate (wife
of Benjamin Singleton).
Benjamin Singleton and Mary Elizabeth ShumateBenjamin Singleton and Mary Shumate were married 12
January 1796 in Nelson Co., KY. Benjamin Singleton and Mary Elizabeth Shumate
lived near Vertrees, Hardin County, Kentucky (which separated from Nelson
County in 1792), near the mouth of Rough Creek, where they worked at farming.
(See chapter on Joseph Hartley)
The couple had at least nine children. The 1820 Census
for Hardin County, Kentucky show Ben Singleton with two males less than 10
years old, one male between 10 and 16 years old, three females less than 10
years old, two females between 10 and 16 years old, and one female between 16
and 26 years old with himself, his wife; no slaves. That seems to indicate that
in 1820 they had three boys and six girls as children.
We know the names of only three of their
children: Mary “Polly” Singleton (1803-1879), wife of Joseph Hartley, John
Shumate Singleton (1808-1879) and Eliza Singleton (~1805 -). A Washington George Singleton (1821
– 1902) is found in the census in Hardin Co., KY and is most likely, but
not proved, another son.
Caroline Robers tells us that,
Mary Elizabeth Shumate that married Benjamin Singleton, wrote a poem about the American Revolution that
has been passed down to our Family through 7 Female generations. It is called
"My Great Grandmother's Gift", This poem was
written by Mary E. Shumate Singleton in 1857, she was 77 years old.
My
Great Grandmother's Gift
The mystic tree of
liberty~ Our Fathers planted here; She also made a Quilt Block to go with the poem that I have a photo of and can send you if would like. It is because of this poem that I thought that her father or someone close to her fought in the Revolution. [9]
[1]
There is not complete agreement among researchers
that Stanley Singleton is the father of Benjamin Singleton. William Singleton
(son of Stanley Singleton) was married in Nelson Co., KY (Hardin Co. KY,
residence of Benjamin Singleton was then part of Nelson Co., KY). Agnes
Singleton, daughter of Stanley Singleton married in Nelson Co. in 1790. And, of
course, Benjamin Singleton was married in Nelson Co., Ky in 1796. All these facts indicate that
children of Stanley Singleton were in Nelson County.
[2]
from a web site with references to
"Bess Rollyson Kincaid's manuscript, "The Early Singletons",
Fauquier County, VA Marriage Bonds, Deeds and Tax List. Information compiled by
the late Avonell Singleton Davis and provided by Laura Rhoades Breckinridge
Co., KY."
[3]
W. W. SCOTT , A
History of Orange County, Virginia From its Formation in 1734 ( O. S.) to the
end of Reconstruction in 1870 ; compiled mainly from Original Records With a
Brief Sketch of the Beginnings of Virginia, a Summary of Local Events to 1907,
and a Map, (Richmond, Everrett Waddey Co. , 1907) ; I have not checked
this reference. C. Hartley
[4]
Descendants of Henry Singleton , no author, no date posted at
familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/i/n/Stephen.../PDFGENE2.pdf
[5]
Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck ,Virginia's Colonial Soldiers (Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1988), page
162
[6]
Patricia B. Duncan , Index to Loudoun County, Virginia Land Deeds, Book 3n-3v, 1826-1881
[7]
1829 Loudoun Co., Virginia, deeds in Samuel Singleton's
estate LDS FHL film 32,328, abstracted in Patrice B. Duncan "Index to
Loudoun County, Virginia land deed books 3N-3V, 1826-1831," Willow Bend
Books, Westminster, MD, 2006.
[8]
Robert Shean Riley , History of the Shumate Family Kentucky Pioneers, 2nd ed. (Utica, KY: McDowell Publications, 1992), p. 165
[9]
From web:http://boards.ancestry.com/threads.aspx?mv=flat&m=345
&p=surnames.shumate a posting by Caroline Rober (genealogist from California), 2013 |