Will of John Puckett, 1806, Chesterfield County, Virginia

Chesterfield Co, VA Will Book 6, p.386-7

In the name of God, Amen, I John Puckett of the parish of Dale and county of Chesterfield, being weak in body but sound in mind and memory thanks be to God for the same, but knowing the uncertainty of human life, do make and ordain this my last will and testament in form and manner following, hereby renouncing and revoking all former wills by me made . 

Item, to my beloved wife Dolley Puckett I give and bequeath the use, profit, and benefit of my whole estate real and personal, during her life or widowhood, except such parts thereof as are specially disposed of hereafter. and at her decease to be divided equally betwixt my children Francis Puckett, Simon Puckett, William Puckett, and the one which my said wife is teeming with, be it a girl or a boy: but in case my said wife Dolley Puckett should marry, she shall be dispossessed of every part thereof by the executor, and the estate kept together for the benefit of the above children, untill the said executor shall see cause for a division, and in case any of the above legatees should die before the death of their mother  or before any division should take place, or after, their portion is to fall to the surviving part of them. 

Item, to my son Lewis Puckett I give and bequeath the sum of Twenty pounds, to be paid at his mother's death, to him and his heirs forever . 

Item. it is my will and desire that my son Lewis Puckett be dispossessed from the house he is now dwelling in, on or before the Twenty fifth day of December next - and that my man Hampton be kindly treated for his faithful services during the time I have had him in possession.

Lastly , I constitute and appoint my dearly beloved wife Dolley Puckett and my friend William Ferguson Senr executrix and executor of this my last will and testament . In witness hereof I have at my hand and real this Tenth day of October in the year one thousand eight hundred and six . 

In presence of Thomas Whitworth  James Snellings, Eldridge Smith John Smith (his X mark)

John Puckett (his X mark) {seal}

At a Court held for Chesterfield County the 8th day of December 1806, this last will and testament of John Puckett deceased was proven by the oath of James Snellings and Eldridge Smith subscribing witnesses , and ordered to be recorded . And on the motion of Dolley Puckett and William Ferguson, executrix and executor therein named, who took the oath prescribed by law, and entered into bonds with security, conditioned as the law directs, certificate is granted them of having obtained probate thereof in due form.

Teste Thomas Watkins Clerk .

Some notes on this will:

1) John Puckett's grandfather was John Puckett, who I call "John Puckett of Third Branch" to distinguish from the other John Pucketts in Chesterfield Co, VA at the same time.  See More Puckett Research, section "John Puckett of Third Branch".  Note that John Puckett's 1772 will gave to his grandson John Puckett 150 acres and the slave boy Hampton.  The John Puckett in the 1806 will mentions "my man Hampton", proving the link back to his grandfather.

2) John Puckett who wrote the 1806 will was still a minor (under 21) in Aug 1781 - Chesterfield Co, VA OB 6:323 Aug 1781 - Edward Reams guardian of "John Puckett Orphan of Lewis Puckett".  This record gives John's father's name as Lewis Puckett.  Edward Reams was likely John Puckett's uncle, married to Frances (Puckett) Reams, mentioned as a daughter of John Puckett of the 1772 will.

3) In the 1783 Virginia State Census for Chesterfield County (Census Bureau link, p.50, column 4), John Puckett is shown as a head of a household with 2 white people and 1 black person (John, his wife Dorothy, slave man Hampton).

4) John's wife was Dorothy L LNU (last/maiden name unknown).  Sometimes appears as Dorotha.  Often appears by nickname Dolley or Dolly, common nicknames for Dorothy.

5) Note that in 1783, John and Dorothy had no children (see above).  The notion that their son Lewis was born in 1764 comes from the fact his wife was Rhoda (Newby), and researchers found another Puckett married to a Rhoda, Revolution War Vet John Puckett whose widow was Rhoda Lidia/Lydia; this John Puckett was born in 1764.  Because both Lewis Puckett and John Puckett (born 1764) were married to women named Rhoda they have been combined and conflated.

6) There are multiple other ways to prove that Lewis Puckett, son of John & Dorothy L Puckett was born circa 1784 or slightly later.  When Lewis Puckett married Rhoda Newby in 1803 in Chesterfield Co, VA, he was under 21, and thus considered a minor at the time; Virginia law required people under 21 to have parental consent to marry, which is why John Puckett gave consent for Lewis to marry.  On the 1820 census of Amelia Co, VA, Lewis Puckett was the male in his household aged 26-44, indicating he was born after 1775.  Lewis Puckett was missed in the 1830 census, though tax lists place him in Amelia Co, VA.  In 1840, he is listed as "Louis Puckett" in Hickman Co, KY and he was the male in his household aged 50-59, placing his birth between 1780 and 1790.  Lastly, records clearly indicate that Dorothy was the mother of Lewis, and the 1806 will of John Puckett indicates Dorothy was pregnant at the time - if Lewis was born in 1764, then his mother was pregnant again 42 years later, which is a biological impossibility.

7) The 1802 land tax list of Chesterfield Co, VA, John Puckett was listed with 147 acres.  He inherited half of his grandfather's 300 acre land patent.  It may have been slightly less than 150 acres due to a more accurate survey, or sometimes land was taken by the county for roads, etc.

8) There may have been a falling out between John Puckett and his son Lewis, because John's will does not give any land to Lewis, and in fact, evicts him from his father's land.  Lewis Puckett was to get 20 pounds money, but only after the death of his mother.  In a Chesterfield Co, VA deed, Lewis Puckett of Amelia Co gave to his daughter Edna Puckett any legacy coming to him from his father, John Puckett deceased, and his mother, Dorothy L Puckett (Chesterfield Co, VA DB 27:644, 21 Aug 1829).

9) John Puckett's land was to be divided between four children - Francis, Simon [sic, this was mistake for 'Simeon'], William and the child Dorothy was pregnant with, whether a boy or girl.  This is the only known mention of Francis and the child Dorothy was pregnant with in 1806; they both must have died without children of their own.  In 1823, Simeon Puckett and his wife Stacia sold to Dorothy L Puckett Simeon's interest in the land of his father - "containing by estimation Seventy acres be the same more or less ( it being the moiety of my fathers land, lying & being in the Chesterfield County, which I fell heir to from my fathers last Will & Testament" (Chesterfield Co, VA DB 25:95).  Simeon mentioned 70 acres, about half the 147 acres John Puckett was taxed with in 1802.  Simeon also mentioned a 'moiety', an old word meaning roughly a half.  One of the witnesses to the deed was William M Puckett, Simeon's brother, who would inherit the other half of John Puckett's land.  Given that John Puckett's land was split in half, the other two children he willed the land must have died young.

10) Simeon Puckett was dead by 13 Nov 1826, when Stacia remarried William C Wilson.  On 11 Feb 1833, Dorothy L Puckett was appointed guardian of "John Puckett and Augustus Cox Puckett orphans of Simeon Puckett" (Chesterfield Co, VA OB 27:655).  The boys may have still lived with their mother, and Dorothy was a guardian of their financial affairs.

11) Augustus Cox Puckett went to Kentucky with his grandmother Dorothy L Puckett and uncles Lewis and William M Puckett.  Augustus is often counted as a child of Lewis in online trees, but was his nephew.  Census records indicate Augustus Cox Puckett had a son named Simeon after his father.

12) John Puckett, son of Simeon, was the John Henry Puckett who married Obedience Susan Archer in Chesterfield Co, VA in 1847; they had a daughter named Dorothy.  John H Puckett's middle name 'Henry' from his marriage record, Obedience Archer's middle name 'Susan' from the death certificate of one of her children.  John H Puckett may have gone to Kentucky, there was a John H Puckett on the Hickman Co, KY 1844 tax list, but returned to Virginia.  In 1847, John H Puckett was in debt and had to sign over land to the Sheriff of Chesterfield Co, VA, the land was described as land 'charged to Simion Puckett', no acreage given (Chesterfield Co, VA DB 37:399).

13) Simeon Puckett may have had other children I am trying to connect.

14) William M Puckett was born circa 1805, and thus very young when his father John Puckett died in 1806.  He inherited half his father's land which he and wife Nancy (Hood) sold before moving to Hickman Co, KY.  The area they moved to later became Ballard Co, KY, and in an 1867 deed, William M Puckett describes a piece of land he inherited from his mother, "Dorothy L. Puckett mother of said Wm M. Puckett by last Will and Testament bequeathed to said Wm Puckett Sen , her son..." (Ballard Co, KY DB A:71).  Note that Dorothy L Puckett left a will in Ballard Co, KY but it was lost along with the other early wills of that county.

15) More on this family later.  :)

Lewis Puckett & Rhoda Newby family, Part 1

 This is the first of a series of posts involving the family of Lewis Puckett and his wife Rhoda Newby.

Daughters who married in Virginia

Update: marriage records of Amelia Co, VA

• 15 Sep 1830, Ethol Pitchford & Edney Puckett, James H Southall security
• 24 Dec 1832, Thomas Perdue & Martha Puckett, Ethol Pitchford security, Lewis Puckett bride's father
• 24 Dec 1835, Asa Perdue & Frances Puckett, Joseph Waltrip security, Lewis Puckett bride's father

Edney Puckett to Ethrol Pitchford, Amelia Co, VA - 15 Sep 1830 - marriage record does not state parentage of either.  In Chesterfield Co, VA OB 29:4, 13 Mar 1837, a road crew order lists the following men in a row "Asa Perdue , Thomas Perdue, Ethrall Pitchfort".  All three were married to daughters of Lewis Puckett and Rhoda Newby.  By 1840, "Etheal Pitchfort" was on the 1840 Federal Census (FC) of White Co, TN.  In 1850, Ethel Pitchfort is on the FC of White Co, TN; he is 45, born in VA, with 'Emily' 35, VA and children born in VA and TN.  In 1860 FC of White Co, TN, again we find Etherel & Emily Pitchfort, but he must must have died before 1870, as the 1870 and 1880 censuses list just Edney Pitchfort.  In White Co, TN Probate Deed Book E:40, Ethel Pitchfort and his wife Edney, on 11 Apr 1853, gave Power of Attorney to William M Puckett (who was Edney's uncle).  Unknown why Edney listed as Emily in the 1850 and 1860 censuses, perhaps a middle name.

Edney was probably a nickname for Edna.  In Chesterfield Co, VA DB 27:644, Lewis Puckett, on 1 Aug 1829, gave to "my daughter Edna Puckett" for love and affection and one dollar, his inheritance he was due from "the estate of my father John Puckett deceased" as well as his interest in the estate of "my mother Dorothy L Puckett at her decease".

Martha Puckett married Thomas Perdue in Amelia Co, VA on 24 Dec 1832; the marriage record says she was the daughter of Lewis Puckett.  Exactly 3 years later, on 24 Dec 1835, Frances Puckett married Asa Perdue in Amelia Co, VA; the marriage record does not list parentage of either.  

Martha was buried at Blandford Cemetery in Petersburg, VA, which has very good records.  The record of her burial states she died 24 Sep 1862 at age 50 of typhoid fever, that she was the wife of Thomas S Perdue, and she was born in Chesterfield Co, the daughter of Lewis and Rhonda [sic] Puckett.

Virginia Death Records state that Frances Perdue died 5 Sep 1893 at age 80 in Matoaca, Chesterfield, VA; that she was born in Chesterfield; that she was the widow of Asa Perdue and the daughter of Lewis and Rhoda Puckett.

Asa and Frances Perdue were in Chesterfield Co, VA for the 1850 census after which Asa must have died, since Frances is listed without a husband, living with her children, in the 1860, 1870 and 1880 censuses.  Thomas and Martha Perdue were in Chesterfield Co, VA for the 1850 census, and in Petersburg, VA for the 1860 census.

Martha Puckett and Frances Puckett have been conflated, confused and combined into "Martha Frances Puckett" in multiple online genealogies, but they were two separate women, sisters who were both daughters of Lewis Puckett and Rhoda Newby.

Ancestry of Samuel O Puckett

 Samuel O Puckett - born 1820 in Laurens Co, SC; died 1893 in Sevier Co, AR.  - https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/about/L7BT-N4R

On 1850 Census of Laurens Co, SC with wife Elizabeth C (Hairston) age 25; also in the household is William Puckett age 19.

Laurens Co, SC Will Book A:69 - Will of George Dillard, dated 1846, wife Martha, mentions several heirs including grandson Samuel Puckett - Samuel's parents not given.

Union Co, SC Will Book C:233 - Will of Martha Dillard, dated 1861, mentions several heirs including grandson Samuel Puckett - Samuel's parents not given.

From this, we know that Samuel O Puckett's parents were a Mr Puckett and a Miss Dillard.

There were three sets of Puckett families in Laurens Co, SC - see here.

In Rankin Co, MS, Dr Samuel M Puckett administered the estate of James Puckett, and probate records there reveal that Samuel O Puckett was the son of James Puckett.  Dr Samuel M Puckett was the son of John Puckett, son of Charles Puckett, son of the 'original' Douglass Puckett (first person by that name in America).  

Charles Puckett left Prince Edward Co, VA before the Revolutionary War and moved to South Carolina, settling near Duncans Creek of Enoree River in what became Ninety-Six District, then Laurens District, renamed to Laurens County.  Charles Puckett had four sons - James D Puckett, Chatham [or Cheatham] Puckett, John Puckett [whose name was often preceded with 'Esquire'],  and Douglass Josiah/Josephus Puckett [he appears to have changed his middle name after becoming an attorney].

James D Puckett spent a few years in Knox Co, TN and Anderson Co, TN in the late 1790s, early 1800s, before moving to western KY, then finally to Claiborne Co, MS where he died; the name of his wife is unknown.  John Puckett's first wife was Ann, nicknamed 'Nancy', her maiden name unknown; they sold their land in Laurens Co, SC and moved to western KY, where John Puckett remarried after his first wife's death; John Puckett was a justice of the Livingston Co, KY court.  Later, John Puckett moved to Hinds Co, MS where he left a will in 1825 naming several heirs, including his son Samuel M Puckett, who was named executor of John's will.

I mention James D Puckett and his brother John Puckett because their children were in Mississippi, a place where several Puckett lines get confused, because sometimes Pucketts who were distantly related lived in the same counties.  Also, Dr Samuel M Puckett, son of John Puckett, administered the estate of James Puckett, father of Samuel O Puckett.  

In 1845, James Puckett bought land in Rankin Co, MS - a lot in the town of Brandon.  This lot had been sold by Samuel M Puckett to his sister and brother-in-law, who defaulted on a loan, and the bank then sold it to James Puckett - all of this detail in the deed.  Rankin Co, MS DB 9:10.

The Pucketts of Rankin Co, MS are very confusing.  Samuel M Puckett was there, as well as his sons.  There are also records of Samuel M Puckett's brothers, and his Puckett first cousins (sons of James D Puckett).  Also, there was the extended family of Thomas Puckett, who was distantly related.

By April 1849, James Puckett was dead, and Samuel M Puckett named administrator.  

The link to Samuel O Puckett is given in Rankin Co, MS Record of Petitions, B:75, 'Estate of James Puckett' - administrator Saml M Puckett, in Apr 1849, described the property of James Puckett in Rankin Co, MS and what he knew of James' family - that he left a widow, Sarah Puckett in South Carolina, and 6 children:

"Samuel O. Puckett, who is one & twenty years of age and four children who are minors John Puckett, Isaac Puckett, Ira Puckett & Martha Ann Puckett as your Petitioner is informed and believes, these four children reside as your petitioner is informed in the State of South Carolina , the sixth child named Thomas Puckett is a minor under the age of twenty one and resides, or make it his home in the County of Rankin."

Note that Samuel O Puckett is described as 'one & twenty years of age' in 1849, a fancy way of saying 21.  This was legalese meaning he was least 21, the same way we say you must be 21 to buy alcohol.  At this time, 21 was the age of adulthood, and children under 21 were considered minors.

We find James Puckett's widow, Sarah Puckett, on the 1850 census of Union Co, SC, age 47, with children Isaac 16, Ira 14, Martha 12; also Asbury Hendricks age 27, male living with them.  Thomas Puckett, son of James, was on the 1850 Census of Rankin Co, MS as 22, born in SC, a carpenter, in the household of C N Langford.  

By the 1860 Federal Census, Sarah's family was in Hempstead Co, AR, not too far from Samuel O Puckett in Sevier Co, AR.  Sarah Puckett has the same children with her in 1860, plus John W Puckett, 28, born in SC.  John W Puckett must be the John Puckett listed as child of James Puckett, and the W likely stood for William, and he was the William Puckett with Samuel O Puckett in 1850.

From various records of Hempstead Co, AR, Sarah Puckett's maiden name appears to be Hendricks, daughter of a Thomas Hendricks.  Sarah Hendricks was the second wife of James Puckett, after his first wife, a Miss Dillard (given name currently unknown) died.

Later probate records of James Puckett in Rankin Co, MS show that Sarah Puckett of Hempstead Co, AR gave Power of Attorney to Isaac Puckett to handle the estate of James Puckett.

Given the age gap, and the fact that George & Martha Dillard only mentioned one Puckett grandchild, it appears James Puckett and Miss Dillard had only one child, or least only one who survived to 1849, which was Samuel O Puckett, born 1820.  James Puckett and second wife Sarah Hendricks had Thomas (born circa 1828), John William (c 1831), Isaac M (c 1834), Ira Allen (c 1836) and Martha Ann Melissa (c 1838).

I am pretty sure James Puckett was the son Benjamin Puckett and Sarah Hansell.  My reasoning will be in another post.  Benjamin Puckett was, I believe, the younger brother of Charles Puckett, father of John Puckett, father of Dr Samuel M Puckett who administered the estate of James Puckett.  This makes Samuel O Puckett the second cousin of Dr Samuel M Puckett of Rankin Co, MS.  

Why was James Puckett in Rankin Co, MS, away from his family in South Carolina?  He may have been ill, and perhaps Samuel M Puckett, a medical doctor, was treating him.

More later.