The May 1785 Chesterfield County, Virginia Court records include several findings of a grand jury, three of which involve the Puckett family:
Chesterfield Co, VA OB 7:153-4:
We present John Hill Senr of Manchester parch for living in adultery with Anne Puckett for one year last past
We present Marke Puckett for Living in adultery for one year past with Judith Montgomery
We present Thomas Puckett of Manchester Parish for living in adultery with Mary Perdue for one year last past
This represents Thomas Puckett, who was the progenitor of a very large branch of the American Puckett family, Thomas Puckett's son Mark Puckett, and Mark Puckett's daughter Anne Puckett. Note that the charge was adultery, meaning at least one person in each couple was married. If neither was married, the charge was 'cohabitation'. Divorce was nearly impossible in Virginia at this time, and it was not uncommon for men to leave their wife and live with another woman. The charge of adultery tells us that the wives of John Hill Sr, Mark Puckett and Thomas Puckett were all living in May 1785.
Thomas Puckett wrote his will in 1787 and it was proved in 1798, in which he left all his personal estate to William Puckett, "otherwise called William Perdue" [Chesterfield Co, VA Will Book 5, p. 145; OB 12:450, 007895971:562]. The witnesses to the will were George Markham, Burrell Cashion and Joel Cashion. Note that Thomas Puckett does not name William Perdue/Puckett as his son. In fact, I have yet to find any documents where Thomas Puckett named a family member, though he had many interactions with his probable sons.
Thomas Puckett bought 100 acres from Abraham Puckett (Thomas's probable son) on 2 Nov 1762 (Chesterfield Co, VA DB 5:173). Thomas Puckett gifted 50 acres to likely son James Puckett in 1787 (Chesterfield Co, VA DB 15:137); the witnesses were Burrell Cashion, Thomas Cashion & Joel Cashion. The 1791 Land Tax of Chesterfield Co, VA lists James Puckett and William Puckett with 50 acres each in a row. Thomas had conveyed land to William in a deed that was apparently never record, but mentioned in court records:
Chesterfield Co, VA OB 7:478 - Apr 1787 - A Deed from Thomas Puckett to William Puckett was proved by the oaths of Burwell Cashion & Joel Cashion witnesses thereto & Cont [continued]. [This deed appears to have never been recorded.]
More info on Thomas Puckett here: https://sites.google.com/site/womackgen/puckett-family/more-puckett-research?authuser=0
The 1786 Personal Property tax list of Chesterfield Co, VA shows William Puckett as 16-20 years old, thus born between 1766 and 1770. This made William Perdue/Puckett much younger than his half-brothers Mark Puckett and Abraham Puckett, born around 1732 and 1735 respectively.
William Puckett married Pheby [Phebe] Perdue in Chesterfield Co, VA on 1 Mar 1788; Burwell [Burrell] Cashion was the bondsman. Phebe was likely a cousin or second cousin of William. Phebe Puckett was named in the will of Thomas Perdue Sr (Chesterfield Co, VA, WB 6:249, dated 27 Jan 1803) as Thomas Perdue Sr's daughter. Another daughter in Thomas Perdue Sr's will was Elizabeth Patram, who, after the death of her first husband, married Levi Puckett, probable son of Archer Puckett, son of Mark Puckett. So, William Perdue/Puckett's sister-in-law married his grand-nephew, which was possible due to the fact William/Perdue Puckett was born 34 to 38 years after half-brother Mark Puckett.
William Puckett is on Chesterfield Co, VA personal property tax lists from 1786 to 1802, after which William Puckett's estate was on the lists until 1816; in 1817 Phebe Puckett was on the list.
In Dec 1800 court, a deed from Burwell Cashon [Burrell Cashion] to Wm Puckett was proved but apparently never recorded (Chesterfield Co, VA OB 14:13).
In December 1802 court, John Perdue was named administrator of the estate of William Puckett deceased (Chesterfield Co, VA OB 14:392).
William Puckett's estate was appraised on 3 Jan 1803 by Robert Hill, John Wilkinson & Francis Patram Sr (Chesterfield Co, VA WB 6:90).
On 2 Nov 1802, John Perdue "administrator of the Estate of Wm Perdue alias William Pucket decd for the benefit of the said Estate" bought 5.5 acres of land from Samuel Cashion adjacent to land belonging to William Puckett's estate (Chesterfield Co, VA DB 16:173).
The eldest son of William Perdue/Puckett and Phebe Perdue was Phinehas Puckett, also spelled Phineas. On 8 Nov 1813, Phebe Puckett and Zachariah Puckett obtained a bond to administer the estate of Phinehas Puckett deceased; both Phebe and Zachariah signed with an X (Chesterfield Co, VA WB 8:141). Phineas Puckett has War of 1812 records; he was in 23rd Regiment (Brown's) VA Militia along with brother Zachariah Puckett and several other Puckett men from Chesterfield Co, VA. On 8 May 1813, Phineas Puckett witnessed a deed from Pleasant H Mann to Bartholomew Perdue; the deed was proved in court 9 Aug 1813, and the court record notes that Phineas was dead (Chesterfield Co, VA DB 20:123). It does not appear that Phineas Puckett married or had children.
In Nov 1817, William Puckett's surviving children sued the administrator of their father's estate for a partition of the land:
Zachariah Puckett, Caroline Puckett and Mary Ann Puckett an infant by her next friend Zachariah Puckett, which said Zachariah Caroline and Mary Ann are children and distribution of William Puckett deceased Complts against John Purdue administrator of William Puckett deceased, In Chancery (Chesterfield Co, VA OB 21:347).
Note that the suit was necessary to get a court order to split the land, because Mary Ann Puckett was under 21 ("an infant").
On 28 Feb 1832, Caroline Puckett married Bartlett Baugh in Chesterfield Co, VA; the marriage bond says that Caroline was the daughter of William Puckett deceased. Bartlett Baugh is on the 1850 census of Chesterfield Co, VA, apparently a widower, with a girl Dolly Baugh, age 7, perhaps a daughter of Caroline.
Mary Ann Puckett left a will in Chesterfield Co, VA (WB 10:166) dated 20 Jan 1824, proved 9 Feb 1824, in which she left all her property to her "infant son Benjamin Robertson Puckett". She named William Cashion guardian and executor, and the witnesses were William Ellis, Joel Cashion Sr & Francis Patram. In court on 12 Apr 1824, William Cashion was named executor of the will. On 12 Apr 1824, William Cashion obtained an administrator's bond on the estate of Mary Ann Puckett (WB 10:262), which is unusual, because he was executor, and executors usually did not also require an administrator's bond. This was probably because it appears that Mary Ann's son had died, so her will leaving everything to her son was invalid. Instead, everything would go to her next of kin, which would be her siblings. On 15 Oct 1827, Caroline Puckett sold her share of the land "Land belonging to the estate of my sister Mary Ann Puckett decd" to William Baugh Sr; the land was described as adjacent to Zachariah Puckett (DB 27:49). The fact that Caroline inherited land from Mary Ann proves that Mary Ann's son had died. It appears Mary Ann Puckett, daughter of William Perdue/Puckett and Phebe Perdue, never married, but had a son out of wedlock, Benjamin Robertson Puckett, who died as a child.
Zachariah Puckett married Dicey Puckett on 8 Jan 1827 with Abijah Cheatham as bondsman in Chesterfield Co, VA. I am 99% sure Dicey Puckett was the daughter of Claiborne Puckett and Jane Blankenship, but that will be another blog post. On the 1850 Census, Zachariah Puckett, age 59 and apparently a widower is in a household by himself. The next household in the 1850 census was Roland Puckett, who I have proof was the son of Claiborne Puckett and Jane Blankenship, so Roland was Zachariah's brother-in-law, as well as first cousin once removed.
In court on 13 Sep 1858, the following is found:
It is ordered to be certified that satisfactory evidence has been produced to this Court to shew that Zachariah Puckett to whom 120 acre County Land Warrant No. 38,863 issued died intestate on the 17th day of April 1855 leaving Wm. T. Puckett a son and only heir at law of said Zachariah Puckett and that the said Wm. T. Puckett is over the age of twenty one years (Chesterfield Co, VA OB 38:145)
This 120 acres was for Zachariah Puckett's War of 1812 service. This was a US grant in Nebraska, granted in 1862 and assigned by William T Puckett to someone else (can't get link to patent on government website due to shutdown today 23 Oct 2025).
William T Puckett's middle name may have been Thomas - other people have researched him: https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/sources/K8QC-XHM . He married Susan Patram, had children, and died in the Civil War. He may have been the Thomas Puckett in the 1850 census of Chesterfield Co, VA, aged 17, living with the family William E and Jaquet (Patram) Crostick. Unknown why William T Puckett was not living with Zachariah Puckett in 1850. Also unknown how William's wife Susan Patram was related to Jaquet Patram.
William Perdue/Puckett (1766/70 - 1802), son of Thomas Puckett and Mary Perdue, married Phebe Perdue (died after 1816 tax list).
Children:
- Phineas Puckett (c1789 - 1813) - no wife or children
- Zachariah Puckett (c1791 - 1855) - wife Dicey Puckett (died before 1850 census), son William T Puckett (c1833 - 1863) who married Susan Patram
- Caroline Puckett (died before 1850 census) - husband Bartlett Baugh, possible daughter Dolly Baugh
- Mary Ann Puckett (born after 1796 because under 21 in 1817, died 1824) - no husband, son out of wedlock named Benjamin Robertson Puckett who died shortly after her.
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