The Stovall, Hairston, and Hunter Families: Allied Patriots of Henry County, Virginia

 

I did not copy the remainder of the document. After George passed away, the will was presented to the court by his executors/executrix and 'proven.' 

Deed Book 2, 1780-1784, Henry County, Virginia, pg. 15.

Deed Book 2, 1780-1784, Henry County, VA, pg. 75.

Deed Book 6, 1797-1805, Henry County, VA, pg. 484.

Alexander Hunter's will, Henry County, Virginia Will Book No. 2, pgs. 83-84

Here is how these people fit into our family tree.  They are on Grandpa Sheets' side.

    Footnotes

1. Daughters of the American Revolution, Genealogical Research System, “Ancestor Search,” entry for George Stovall Sr., Ancestor No. A110903, Virginia, patriotic service by furnishing supplies. The identification of his two wives, both named Elizabeth, and the assignment of his children between the two marriages have created lineage questions; the current DAR ancestor record and supporting applications should be consulted before assigning a child to either wife.
2. Virginia, Revolutionary War Public Service Claims Commissioners Book 1, p. 291, claim of George Stovall, approved 7 August 1783; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSHS-BSWM-X. The record credits George Stovall with furnishing provisions connected with prisoners of war and forage for militia ordered on the Southern expedition.
3. Virginia Land Office, Land Patent Book A, 1779–1780, p. 182, grant to George Stovall for 240 acres in Amherst County, 1779; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSH3-M9M8-H.
4. Virginia Land Office, Surveys upon Which Grants Issued, Book 1, 1779–1782, p. 253, survey dated 14 July 1780 for George Stovall Sr., 338 acres in Bedford County, showing land adjoining George Stovall Jr.; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKW-P776-7.
5. Campbell County, Virginia, Will Book 1, pp. 90–91, will of George Stovall Sr., recorded after 1786; digital image, “Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652–1900,” Ancestry, image 370, database and images. The will names members of George Stovall’s family and indicates that certain children had previously received portions of his estate. It also records his ownership and distribution of enslaved people.
6. Daughters of the American Revolution, Genealogical Research System, “Ancestor Search,” entry for Robert Hairston, Ancestor No. A049164, Virginia; service credited as captain, civil service, patriotic service, Oath of Allegiance, sheriff, and furnishing supplies.
7. Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Deed Book 4, 1774–1778, p. 293, 1775 record associating Robert Hairston with the Pittsylvania County militia; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PX-G5SZ. The record supports his militia association but does not, by itself, establish participation in a particular battle or campaign.
8. C. B. Bryant, “Henry County: From Its Formation in 1776 to the End of the Eighteenth Century, et Seq.,” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 9, no. 2 (October 1901): 139–141, list of Henry County residents taking the 1777 oath of allegiance, including Robert Hairston; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-B3PV-N6CR.
9. Henry County, Virginia, Order Book 2, 1778–1782, pp. 38–39, court held 22 April 1779, with Robert Hairston, Robert Woods, James Lyon, Fred Reeves, Jonathan Hanby, and George Waller sitting as presiding magistrates; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS42-PXW1.
10. Henry County, Virginia, Deed Book 2, 1780–1784, p. 160, entry dated 25 January 1782 concerning Robert Hairston’s appointment or qualification as sheriff of Henry County; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS42-GS65-G. See also C. B. Bryant, “Henry County: From Its Formation in 1776 to the End of the Eighteenth Century, et Seq. (Continued),” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 9, no. 4 (April 1902): 415–421.
11. Henry County, Virginia, Surveyor’s Book 1, 1778–1877, pp. 156–157, two surveys for Robert Hairston dated 9 May 1780; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKJ-9S3R-Y.
12. Henry County, Virginia, Deed Book 2, 1780–1784, survey index near the end of the volume, entries for Robert and Samuel Hairston associated with Smith River, Runnett Bag Creek, and Nicholas Creek; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS42-GSNL-6. The index helps place the Hairston family’s landholdings within the waterways and neighborhoods of early Henry County.
13. Henry Wiencek, The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999). This published family history provides broader context for Marrowbone Plantation and the later expansion of the Hairston family’s plantation holdings. The precise page numbers supporting the establishment date and number of plantations should be added from the edition consulted.
14. Franklin County, Virginia, Will Book 1, 1786–1812, pp. 70–71, will of Robert Hairston, dated 26 May 1790; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89P6-MPBF. The will names his wife Ruth and several children and descendants, including his daughter Martha Hunter.
15. “Robert Hairston,” memorial no. 181206974, Find a Grave, database and images, accessed [date]; memorial stating that he died in 1791 in Franklin County, Virginia, and was buried in present-day Patrick County, Virginia, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/181206974/robert-hairston. Because Find a Grave is a derivative source, the precise death date should be presented cautiously unless confirmed by a contemporary record.
16. Bedford County, Virginia, General Index to Marriage Bonds, Husbands A–Z, 1754–1870, entry for Alexander Hunter and Martha Hairston, bond dated 3 June 1769, noting “Consent of Robert & Ruth Hairston”; digital image, FamilySearch, image 123 of 313, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9BK-RQMC-T.
17. “Alex. Hunter and Martha Hairston, June 5, 1769. Hugh Hairston surety. Consent of Robt. and Ruth Hairston. Bond,” Bedford County, Virginia, marriage-bond abstract or index entry; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9BK-RQ9K-G. The records distinguish the marriage-bond date of 3 June from the reported marriage date of 5 June 1769.
18. Daughters of the American Revolution, Genealogical Research System, “Ancestor Search,” entry for Alexander Hunter, Ancestor No. A032707, Virginia, patriotic service by furnishing supplies.
19. Henry County, Virginia, Public Service Claims Certificates, 1780–1783, certificate for Alexander Hunter, 1781, recording approximately 200 pounds of beef furnished for public use; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS73-9SWR-V.
20. Henry County, Virginia, Public Service Claims Certificates, 1780–1783, certificate for Alexander Hunter, 1781, recording flour furnished for militia use; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS73-9SQ8-G. The reconstruction table describes the amount as 200 pounds, while the narrative presently states approximately 400 pounds; the original certificate should be reread before an exact quantity is printed.
21. Henry County, Virginia, Deed Book 2, 1780–1784, p. 15, deed dated 23 March 1780, Michael Rowland to Alexander Hunter for approximately 400 acres on Smith River; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS42-GSXS-C.
22. Henry County, Virginia, Deed Book 2, 1780–1784, p. 75, deed dated 22 June 1780, Edmund Lyne to Alexander Hunter for a tract of land on Smith River; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQN-YR7B.
23. Henry County, Virginia, Deed Book 6, 1797–1805, p. 484, entry dated 5 October 1803 concerning Alexander Hunter’s appointment or qualification as sheriff of Henry County; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS42-D3GV. Because his will was dated less than a month later and proved in February 1804, his tenure as sheriff was brief.
24. Henry County, Virginia, Will Book 2, 1799–1820, pp. 83–84, will of Alexander Hunter, dated 3 November 1803 and proved 27 February 1804; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89P6-37B1. The will names his wife Martha and children or heirs Peter Hunter, Samuel Hunter, Peyton Hunter, Alexander Hunter, Powhatan Hunter, Patty Surson, Permelia Hunter, Robert Hunter, Ruth Hord, Elizabeth Mathews, and Polly Bassett.
25. “Mary Hunter and Burwell Bassett, 25 January 1794,” in Virginia Marriage Records: From the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, the William and Mary College Quarterly, and Tyler’s Quarterly (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co.), p. 279, image 286; digital image, Ancestry, database and images. This published compilation identifies Mary Hunter’s marriage to Burwell Bassett in Henry County, Virginia.
26. Polly was a commonly used familiar form of the name Mary. In eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century handwriting and typography, the long s—ſ—was often used at the beginning or in the middle of a word, while the modern short s normally appeared at the end. In a surname such as Bassett, the first of two consecutive letters could therefore resemble an f to a modern reader.
27. Henry County, Virginia, Marriage Register, 1778–1849, p. 48, marriage of Martha Hunter and David Greenlee, 4 March 1811; digital image, FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89XF-JCXG.
28. “Martha Hunter,” memorial no. 69349979, Find a Grave, database and images, accessed [date]; memorial giving her death as 3 June 1834 in Henry County, Virginia, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69349979/martha-hunter. Because Find a Grave is a derivative source, the precise date should be presented as reported unless confirmed by a contemporary death, probate, church, cemetery, or newspaper record.
29. Henry County, Virginia, Will Book 4, pp. 81–82, will of Martha Greenlee, dated 13 January 1834, with codicil dated 17 January 1834; digital image, “Virginia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1652–1900,” Ancestry, image 52, database and images, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62347/images/007645135_00052. The will names or refers to numerous children and descendants and places property in trust for her son Powhatan B. Hunter.
30. Martha Greenlee’s will, Henry County, Virginia, Will Book 4, pp. 81–82, item concerning Powhatan B. Hunter. Martha placed his inheritance under the control of trustees, protected it from his debts, and conditioned his personal control upon prudent behavior. The document also refers to his possible association with a woman named Martha whose surname remains uncertain in the manuscript.
31. Martha Greenlee’s will, Henry County, Virginia, Will Book 4, pp. 81–82, items 4–8 and codicil. The will names enslaved people and divides interests in enslaved men, women, and children among members of the Hunter family and through trusts. The original images should govern the spelling of all personal names and any uncertain words in the transcription.
32. The direct family connection is supported by the combined evidence of Campbell County, Virginia, Will Book 1, pp. 90–91, will of George Stovall Sr.; Bedford County marriage-bond records for Alexander Hunter and Martha Hairston, June 1769, recording the consent of Robert and Ruth Hairston; Franklin County, Virginia, Will Book 1, pp. 70–71, will of Robert Hairston naming his daughter Martha Hunter; Henry County, Virginia, Will Book 2, pp. 83–84, will of Alexander Hunter naming his wife Martha and daughter Polly Bassett; and the published Virginia marriage record for Mary Hunter and Burwell Bassett, 25 January 1794.