Page 19 - People & Places In Time

pose all forms of violence, including war. They will take nor administer others, believ- ing that a “Friend” will always speak the truth, whether under oath or not. Their daily lives were to be filled with righteous living which means to them that they must not gamble, drink, lie, swear or talk frivolously. They had to dress conservatively, conduct themselves properly and attend church faithfully. If a member failed to live up to these principles, he was counseled with, and he had the choice of acknowledging the error of his ways or he might be disowned.
Nicholas Hutchins G&I my 6th great grandfather, was a Quaker living in Hen- rico County, Virginia and belonging to the Henrico Monthly Meeting at Curles and later to the White Oak Swamp Meeting. Nicholas had two daughters, Catherine and Mary. He also had a son, Strongman, who was born in Virginia in 1707, and in about 1731 he would marry Elizabeth Coxe. Sometime later he moved up the James River where over the years he acquired about 750 acres of land. Strongman was a very prominent member of the Friends Church his name is first found on the Cedar Creek records in 1741 and is continually on the records as witness, on commit- tees as representative, as overseer, as clerk, and as elder.
Strongman Hutchins H my 5th GGF, married Elizabeth Coxe F my 5th GGM, the great granddaughter of William Coxe (my 7th great grandfather, and the oldest relative in America on either side of my family). Among the first immigrants to the Virginia Colony. William arrived aboard the ship Godspeed in 1610; apparently as a young boy of not more than 11 years of age (other acounts show him in his twenties) when he landed at Jamestown.1 In Hottons list of Emigrants, his name is given as Wil- liam Coxe and his place of residence as Eliz. Cittie.2
Strongman was 68 years old when the Revolutionary War began and age 71 by the time the war reached Virginia. He was too old to take part in the war even though his Friends Faith would have forbidden it. But he could still perform patriotic service. A record of this service was found in Goochland County records. (A Mrs. Gussie Waymire Crider made application to DAR on this record of proved service)
Strongman had eleven children, four sons and seven daughters. The seventh child was Thomas Hutchins, my 4th GGF and he was born in 1746 in Virginia. In 1773 the Quaker records in Cedar Creek Monthly Meeting, show that he was married to Patty Chiles, she became my 4th GGM, They had two daughters, Ann and Elizabeth (Elizabeth who would be the future wife of James Smith), and then Patty died. In 1779, Thomas married again to a girl named Susan Ladd and had four more children.
1 The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 52, pp 214-216
Wilks and Surry Counties in western North Carolina
Thomas Hutchins left Virginia On January 14, 1786, with his family, including his father, and moved to North Carolina. It is here in Surry County, North Carolina that this portion of the Hutchens family settled, established their homes and contin- ued to work actively in the Quaker Church. It is here as well, in the larger Meeting of Deep River, that on March 6, 1797, “Elizabeth Smith-Hutchins was disowned by the Deep River Meeting for marrying out of unity”.
In 1795, James Smith made Elizabeth Hutchins my 3rd GGM, when they married, against the wishes of the Quaker church. James was a member of the Meth- odist church (perhaps having been baptized by the Bishop Asbury3 as tradition states). So, Elizabeth lived the rest of her days as a Methodist, but my feeling, as you will read later, is that her Quaker upbringing had a significant influence on her family. Appar- ently even though the church disowned Elizabeth, her family still accepted James as her husband. In 1799 Elizabeth’s father, Thomas Hutchins, sold James some land.
A record of land being purchased in 1799 in Surry County from Thomas Hutchins is recorded in the Surry Deed Book with 40 acres in the first tract and 119 acres in the second. On September 23, 1802, James Smith sold 119 acres to William Johnson for 178 Pounds, he then bought a third tract in Surry County on November 14, 1805 for 150 pounds, consisting of 100 acres on the north fork of Deep Creek. Sometime between these transactions and 1812, James sold the 40 acres which he had purchased from Thomas Hutchins in 1800, but for this transaction there is no deed recorded.
James & Elizabeth Smith, remained on this land in Wilkes County and watched their children grow, marry and some move away. He was a carpenter, cabinet maker and farmer by trade (it was said that he brought his carpenter tools with him from England). He worked hard and lived the life of a true pioneer. On August 25, 1841, his wife Elizabeth died at the age of 65. Since he was 75 years old and recently had been rather sick, he sat down a few days later and wrote his will. At the time he wrote it, all of his children had either married or moved away, except for his young- est daughter, Elizabeth, who at the time was 23 years old and unmarried.
It is important to note that in those early colonial days, if a woman was not mentioned specifically in a will, then she had no, or very little claim on any property or possessions regardless of her relationship to the deceased. So, James made a point to write a will that would ensure a future for his daughter since she was still unmar-
2 Elizabeth City (or Elizabeth Cittie as it was then called) was one of four incorporations established in the Virginia Colony in 1619 by the proprietor, the Virginia Company of London, acting in accordance with instructions issued by Sir George Yeardley, Governor.
The plantations and developments were divided into four political divisions, called “incorporations”, “burroughs”, or “cities”. These were James City, Charles City, Henrico City, and Kiccowtan or Kecoughtan (later Elizabeth City). Each of the four “citties” (sic) extended across the James River, the main conduit of transportation of the era.
In 1634, under the authority of Charles I of England, Virginia was divided into eight counties, or shires. One of them was Elizabeth City Shire, later Elizabeth City County. Elizabeth City County existed until 1952, when it was incorporated as the independent city of Hampton, Virginia.
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