Townsend Horton and family Research
Timeline for Townsend Horton
1740- 25 April Townsend Born Overwharton Parish, Stafford County, Virginia
Births for Townsend’s siblings
1755-25 January Father, Snowden/Snowdall Horton Died Overwharton Parish, Stafford County, Virginia. There is no record of Townsend’s mother, Sarah so, she apparently was still living.
According to the Overwharton Parish Register, Townsend was born in 1740. He, therefore would have been age 15 when his father died. So far, I have not found anything concerning the death Snowden/Snowdallther than the Parish entry. Stafford is a county with burned or missing records. I have not seen any record pertaining to the father’s estate settlement. Townsend’s siblings would have been younger than he and they probably would have required a guardian or apprenticeship assigned them by the court. I also have not found any record of Snowden owning land other than what he inherited from his father and he later sold. I have never seen an occupation listed for Snowden other than he being a tobacco inspector or similar back in 1725? or so.
Source for above: Parish Register for Overwharton Parish, Stafford County, VA
1782 Virginia Tax List Pittsylvania County- Townsend Horton 11 whites 0 Blacks (Source: Heads of Families, Virginia 1782- Note: this book is a substitute for the missing 1790 Federal Census using the 1782 tax list. The actual tax list needs to be viewed to see what else, if anything, is being taxed or notated)
1784 North Carolina Tax List Caswell County, Caswell District-
Townsin Horton with 1 poll and no land. Most of those on this list near him are listed as having land on Hogans Creek. Others not so close to Townsend in this district are listed as being on Wolf Island, Moon Creek and Rutledges Creek
Also this list is is Shadrach Jackson who was the bondsman for the marriage of James Miller to Leanah Horton in 17–. Shadrach has 200 acres on Hogans Creek and James Miller has 900 acres on Hogans Creek
This book lists the whole tax district. This seems to be our best source of friends and neighbors found so far. It needs to be researched, but, I believe several of the neighbors “may” be or were at some time, Quaker. I will be looking at the Hinshaw Quaker volumes to see about these people.
Source for above: Caswell County, North Carolina Tax Lists, 1777, 1780, 1784 by T L C Genealogy, 1990 , Miami, FL
1784- Townsend Horton- Caswell County
1786-Rawlings Horton—Caswell County. This is the first time Rolly has been found
Note there are numerous other Hortons particularly in Orange Co 1779
Source for above: North Carolina Taxpayers 1679-1790 Vol 2 by Clarence E. Ratcliff 1987 Baltimore, MD by Genealogical Publishing Company
1784-1787 North Carolina State Census-Caswell District Rowl Horton 1 male 21-60 years. Townsend is not listed.
1790 Census Richmond District, Caswell County, North Carolina. This is a semi-alphabetical listing by first letter of the last name. Townsen Horton is listed next to George Horton. 9 people from George is Rawley Horton. There are no enumeration specifics (male/female or ages) for any of the people in this county.
1794 March 25 Rutherford County, NC : Rutherford County Wills 1782-1923, Page 33 ( Ancestry.com Image 59 of 686) (Note by Mic: I also have a court case whereby these three men, Phillip Null, Henry Nicholas and Townsen Horton were sued for the proceeds of this deed due to a default-will have to look for the record)
Know all men by these presents that we Phillip Null, Henry Nicholas (Note by Mic: These two men need to be investigated) and Townsend Horton of Rutherford County State of North Carolina Planters are held and firmly bond to James Davis of Fairfield County and James Rutherford of Columbia in the State of South Carolina Merchants in the sum of Five Hundred and Fifty Three Pounds Six Shillings and Three Pence Sterling current lawful money of the State of South Carolina aforesaid; to be paid to the said James Davis and James Rutherford or their certain attorney their extr, administrators or assigns to which payment will and truly to be made. We bind ourselves and everyone of us firmly by himself and in the whole, our heirs, executors, and of every of us firmly by these presents. Sealed with our seals and dated this 25th day of March Anno Domini 1794
The condition of this obligation is such that if the above boundin Phillip Null, Henry Nicholas and Townsen Horton Planters of said state and county or either of them or any of their heirs executors or administrators do or shall will and truly pay or cause to be paid to the above said James Davis and James Rutherford or either of them or either of their executors administrators or assigns the full and just sum of Two Hundred and Seventy Six Pounds Thirteen Shillings and Five Pence current lawful money of the State of South Carolina to be paid in gold and silver or paper medium at the usual discount or Exchange in the manner following that is to say Fifty Pounds by the first day of June next, One Hundred Pounds in Six Months from that date hereof Fifty Pounds in Nine Months from that date and the balance remaining in twelve months from the date hereof with the legal interest upon the whole at the rate of Seven Pence per annum from the first day of May One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety Four without fraud or further delay then the above obligation to be void otherwise to be and remain in full force and value.
Phillip Null (seal) Henry Nicholas wrote in deed (seal) Townsen Horton (seal)
Sealed and delivered in the presence of Andw Badden, John Long
In Rutherford County, North Carolina Townsend and two others were sued due to the defaulting of ???? on a loan payment for some land in Rutherford County. Townsend was a co-signer on the loan and not, himself, the borrower. This is the same men and land as just mentioned above.
The next we hear of Townsend he is in Spartanburg County, SC in 1790 which is adjacent to Rutherford County, NC.
1796 Feb 4 (Date of Marriage Bond) Rutherford County, NC Thomas Willis to Susanna Miller Bondsman: William Willis, Witness Samuel Carpenter
1800 Federal Census Index North Carolina:
Rutherford County Townsend Horton page 119, William Horton page 120, Reuben Horton page 115
1800 Federal Census North Carolina, Rutherford County, Morgan District Page 493 found on Ancestry.com Image 26 of 63
Townsend Horton 1 male 45+ (note: only person in household) 1 member of household over age 25 (Note: this is a category on the census) (note: people on the list are listed alphabetically by surname)
1808 March 5 Spartanburg, SC Deed Book L Page 421-423 by Pruitt, Albert Bruce Spartanburg, County/ District South Carolina Deed Abstracts of Books 1785-1827 (1752-1827) Townsend Horton is a witness to a deed.
John Low (Spartanburg) to Stephen White ((same) for $100 sold 320 acres on waters of Thickety Creek: Border: N-formerly owned by Lewis, NE Lewis and Thickety Creek: SE Duberry, NW: Templeton and SW-vacant: Part of tract John Low “took” and “relapsed” by Samuel Fley and sold by Samuel Fley to John Low: 100 acres of tract excluded from upper part of tract.
Witness: Thomas Betterton,Warren Shurbutt and Towmans (Townsens) Horton
Signed John Low
Witness oath Oct 22, 1808 Warren Shurbutt to John Lipscomb
Recorded Feb 6, 1809
1810 Federal Census of South Carolina, Spartanburg County, stamped page number 189, found on Ancestry.com image 16 of 46:
Thomas Willis-Males: 2 1 1 0 1 Females: 1 2 0 0 1 -0 4
Rolly H. Horton- Males: 0 0 0 0 1 Females: 0 1 1 0 1
Townsend Horton- Males: 1 0 0 0 1 Females; 0 1 1 1 1
There is a book, Orange County 1752-1952 (This is Orange County, North Carolina, by the state is not in the title) written by 17 different authors and edited by Hugh Lefler and Paul Wagner which was published in 1953 in Chapel Hill, I assume by the University of North Carolina Press at Chapel Hill.
On an unnumbered page near the beginning of the book is a map or the Original County of North Carolina of 1752 showing the counties taken from it. It shows Caswell County at the very northern part of the county which was taken from Orange in 1771. Next to it is Person County that was taken from Caswell in 1793. To the west of the area where Townsend lived, was a strip of land taken from Orange in 1770 that became a part of Guilford County and later taken from Guilford to form the eastern parts of Rockingham (formed 1785 from Guildford but had been originally in Orange County), Guildford, and Randolph Counties. These newer counties have their own histories but as I recall Guilford Quakers, in fact, Guilford College, a Quaker College is in Guilford?
From the book, Caswell County North Carolina Tax Lists 1777, 1780 and 1784 there is a map of Caswell County dated about 1777 which was credited to G P Stout 1977. This detailed map shows the creeks of Caswell County. Hogans Creek and Moons Creek are both in the northwest area of the county and appear to possibly be tributaries of the Dan River which comes down into North Carolina from Virginia, makes a turn and goes back into Virginia. So, as best we know, this would be the area Townsend was likely living when we first pick him up in North Carolina.
Chapter III of the Orange County book was written by Ruth Blackwelder and is titled Settlement and Early History. Paraphrasing the chapter we find:
1740 only a few white families scattered along the Hico, Eno and Haw Rivers. Only about 20 families by 1748 but in 1751 Governor Gabriel Johnston said settlers were “flocking in” mostly from Pennsylvania. There were approximately 4000 people in the county when Orange County was formed in 1752. In 1767 it had the largest population of any county in North Carolina.
The great migration from Pennsylvania to Piedmont Carolina came in the middle of the Eighteenth Century. Scotch-Irish and German immigrants, finding the price of land too high for them in Pennsylvania, journeyed southward along the Great Wagon Road through the Shenandoah Valley to Carolina. From 1745 to 1760 land was granted along the many creeks and rivers in every part of Orange County. According to the records for Granville County there were land grants in northern Orange County along the Hico River in 1748 and along the Dan River and the Hogan and County Line Creeks in 1751. County Line Creek run more in the center sistates English settlers from Virginia settled in the northern Orange along the Hico River and County Line Creek.
As to Quakers, the author states Quakers constitute a considerable portion of the early population of Orange County. There were 950 white taxables in 1755 but there were only 490 on the militia list which may be explained by the fact many Quakers were pacifists . Quakers were most numerous in the Cain Creek and Stinking Quarter creek areas in present Alamance, Chatham and Randolph Counties. Each of those counties was south of present Caswell County.
From its beginning Orange was the home of farmers or yeomen. From 1752 to 1800 more than 75 per cent of the property holders owned between 100 and 500 acres of land. Approximately 5 per cent had less than 100 acres and approximately 5 per cent had 1,000 acres or more.
At no time in history did slaves constitute more than 31 per cent of the total population and that was closer to 1860. In 1755 only 8 per cent of the families owned slaves and the largest slave holder, Mark Morgan owned only 6 slaves. By 1780 only 3 per cent of the masters owned 20 or more slaves 95 per cent of the land owners owned less than 10 slaves. Remember, also, particularly the closer you get to 1800, Quakers were encouraged to dispose of any slaves they held. And about the year 1800 began the great migration out of the slave holding states of Quakers to non slave holding states such as Indiana, Illinois and Ohio.
Cedar Creek and other Quaker Meetings will be addressed when I work with Hindhaw’s records.
As early as 1770 the inhabitants of northern Orange County began petitioning the NC General Assembly to form a new county because they found attending the general musters courts very burdensome, but the formation of Caswell County was postponed until 1777 partly due to the Regulator uprising further south in Orange County.
There are supposed to be extant petitions to the General Assembly for the formation of Caswell County but I have not yet located them. There are also lists and records of the Regulator War which I have not yet located.
In Chapter XVII of the Orange County book is an article by L. J. Phipps titled The Churches of Orange County.
In 1752, when organized, Orange County was the Parish of St. Matthews of the Church of England, the established Church of North Carolina. Through various vestry acts the Anglican clergy were left without support and the number of clergymen in the Colony of North Carolina decreased. In 1768, due to the Vestry Act of 1784 the number of clergymen in the colony increased from six to eighteen. By the
By the time of the Revolution there were two chapels in Orange County other than the Parish Church, St Matthews in Hillsboro. There was, St Mary’s in the Eastern part of the county and New Hope Chapel in the Southern part on the hill now Chapel Hill.
The Rev.George Micklejohn, rector of the parish, probably preached at all three places until the Revolution, when he, like most of the other ministers of the Church of England, was compelled to resign his position because he remained loyal to the Crown.
The Revolution had the effect of disestablishing the Church of England in the colonies. The tie between church and state was completely severed with the adoption of the Federal Constitution. At the close of the war only five if its clegy remained in North Carolina.
The Quakers, who in 1752 found themselves in the newly created Orange County began coming to the area about 1748 on a wave of migrations which penetrated the whole of the Carolina Piedmont. These same Quaker settlements were also a product of a great chain of migrations of their own which broke out from Pennsylvania two decades earlier. It had already resulted in the establishment of Quaker communities and Meetings in Maryland and Piedmont Virginia.
When this movement reached the Cane Creek watershed to the west of the Haw River that area was still a part of the great hinterland of Bladen County. During the next two decades this expansion spread into the hills of South Carolina and dwindled out in Georgia. In the Quaker settlements in the interior of the Carolinas the Cane Creek Monthly Meeting occupied the pivotal position. Every Meeting in Western North Carolina traces its constitutional ancestry back to Cane Creek.
By 1751 the Cane Creek community contained 30 Quaker families. During the next three years the number grew to 100 families and subordinate Meetings were being set up by Cane Creek in different parts of Orange County-one in the Eno River Valley northeast of Hillsboro- most of them in the area were included in Chatham County and one in Rowan County. The Quaker pioneers in Orange County were nearly all from other colonies, most of them from Pennsylvania, some from Maryland , a considerable number from Virginia and a few from Eastern North Carolina where they had held their first Monthly Metting in Albemarle in 1672, and some straight from Ireland.
Until the outbreak of the Revolution, the flow of Quaker immigrants into the Piedmont section continued as a steady stream. The number of subordinate meetings set up by Cane Creek eventually reached a total of ten.
The Society of Friends has always maintained a strong testimony against resort to war. The Cane Creek Meeting was put to a severe test during the period of the Regulator movement and the succeeding period of the Revolution. The Orange County Meetings were torn by the activities in each of these movements. While Cane Creek Meeting stuck rigidly to its testimony for peace many of its members joined the Regulator movement and others later joined the forces fighting for Independence. By the end of the Revolution the Cane Creek Meeting had disowned between 40 to 50 men for joining for the Regulators or participating in the Revolution.
With the beginning of the Revolution, the Quaker migration to the area slowed down to a trickle and a stream of outward emigration began.
The establishment of Guildford, Chatham and Alamance Counties removed most of the Quakers from Orange County, leaving only the Eno Meeting which came to an end approximately 100 years after the founding of Orange County.
Also in the chapter on churches is more on the Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and Lutheran churches.
At this time, my feeling is Townsend Horton’s wife was likely of a Quaker family. It is possible he met and married her in Virginia and moved to North Carolina or he met and married her in North Carolina. Since no marriage has been found, civil or eccleasiastic, if she were Quaker, she may have been disowned for marrying out of unity. He may or may not have been Quaker himself. In any case no marriage has been found. I have checked most Virginia counties with extant marriage records. Will have to create a checklist of the counties I have checked.
The jest of the basis of my belief Townsend Horton’s wife was of a Quaker family is due to several of my matches in the Family Tree DNA Mitochrodrial dna test having New England ancestry. I have traced the ancestry of several modern day living Mtdna matches on a New England migratory path across the tier of northern states back to NY, RI, VT and MA. In several of their families there were Quakers. From what we are learning about migration to Orange County, NC many of the Quakers there came from Pennsylvania, but, those in Pennsylvania had migrated there from other places including New England. So, it could be Townsend Hortons wife may not, herself, been born in New England, but possibly she may have been the daughter or granddaughter of a mother who had been.
I have looked at Quaker Meeting records in Hinshaws volumes for Pennsylvania (forgot the name of the county Chester? Bucks?) near Cecil County, MD. In addition, this area is close to Delaware which is where New Sweden was located until the 1660’s. According to what I found descendants of the New Swedes moved into the Quaker areas and intermarried with the inhabitants.
So, again, in my Mtdna matches I have some Scandivanian ancestry as well. The Finns and Swedes of New Sweden may be the source of that ethnicity.
What I just stated is conjecture and may be right or maybe not. I am just attempting to prove what we know at this time and trying to fit my ancestry in with actual history and migrations. One of these days, I hope we will see what the real answer is
April 4, 2020 another update:
Not only Quakers were coming to the Piedmont are of NC and Virginia but so were Baptists from New England. From Saints and Sinners at Jersey Settlement: The Story of the Jersey Baptist Church by Garland A Hendricks 1964 Jersey Baptist Church.
Many members of this church were formerly members of the Scotch Plains Baptist Church of Hopewell, Hunterdon County, NJ. The Jersey Settlement is currently in Lin, Davidson County, NC but in 1753-1754 when it was settled the area was in Orange County, NC
The 2nd earliest Baptist Church in the NC Piedmont was Abbotts Creek Church organized in 1756 in Davidson County, formerly Orange County. This was a Separatist or New Light Baptist Sect[M1] Evangelical group which emerged in New England about 1740 and grew quite rapidly due to their missionary fever.
By 1790 NC had 94 Baptist Churches
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