Jeremiah White

1728 - 1788  (59 years)

• Name	Jeremiah White  [1]
  Birth	11 Oct 1728	, Albemarle, Virginia, USA   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Residence	May 1788	, Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA   [1]
  Death	1 May 1788	, Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA   [1]
  Person ID	I17358	Master
  Last Modified	11 May 2012

  
  

  Father	Jeremiah White,   b. 11 Oct 1695, , Franklin, Virginia, USA d. 25 Oct 1776, , Franklin, Virginia, USA (Age 81 years)
  Mother	Mary Clark Martin,   b. 19 Apr 1709, Saint Peters St Paul, King and Queen, Virginia, USA d. 23 Dec 1796, , Franklin, Georgia, USA (Age 87 years)
  Marriage	23 Oct 1726	, Goochland, Virginia, USA   [2]
  Family ID	F4440	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Jane   d. 1782
  Marriage	1752	, Halifax, Virginia, USA
  Children	1. Jeanne White,   b. 1754, , , Virginia, USA d. 1781, , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA (Age 27 years)   2. Mary "polly" White,   b. 1760   d. 1782, , Dinwiddie, Virginia, USA (Age 22 years) + 3. Jane Hamilton White,   b. 20 May 1762   d. 23 Apr 1839, Pineville, Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA (Age 76 years)   4. William White, Sr,   b. 4 Dec 1764, , , Virginia, USA d. 30 Jul 1851, , Gibson, Tennessee, USA (Age 86 years)   5. Lettice White,   b. 1767, , , Virginia, USA   6. John White, Capt,   b. 1768, , , Virginia, USA d. 1856 (Age 88 years)   7. Nancy White,   b. Est 1770 + 8. Jeremiah White,   b. 10 Jan 1770, , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA d. 26 Nov 1831, , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA (Age 61 years)   9. Hamilton (hambleton) White,   b. Est 1780, , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA d. 1832, , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA (Age 52 years)
  Family ID	F4437	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Jane Shelton,   b. 1750, , Amelia, Virginia, USA d. 1845 (Age 95 years)
  Marriage	11 Mar 1784	, Albemarle, Virginia, USA
  Children	1. Robert Shelton White,   b. Abt 1785
  Family ID	F4438	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 11 Oct 1728 - , Albemarle, Virginia, USA Marriage - 1752 - , Halifax, Virginia, USA Marriage - 11 Mar 1784 - , Albemarle, Virginia, USA Residence - May 1788 - , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA Death - 1 May 1788 - , Pittsylvania, Virginia, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  William White, land transactions, Pittsylvania Co, VA 1792 [per jeremiah's will, this was, "purchased from Hugh Charles being a moiety of land which is to be equally divided between me and the orphans of Mr. Conway?s for which I obtained a certificate dated 6 March 1780"] type: grant ref: CGB 25:607 date: 8 Feb 1792 to: Christopher Connaway orphan of James Connaway Deceased con A.C. £1.S15 Sterl. by: Survey 1 Aug 1788 re: 340a Pittsylvania/ on the Branches of Sandy Cr. location: 19250 30735 F127 L0 P255 pt A) at William Whites crnr. ptrs. in Benjamin Hardys line ln S70E; 90P; Benjamin Hardy pt B) p. ln n38e; 244p; George Hardy pt C) sp.o. ln N37W; 90P; Lewis, xg a br. pt D) p. ln N; 95P; xg a br. pt E) post oak crnr. in Benjamin Terrys line ln S86W; 150P; Benjamin Terry pt F) w.o. ln s6w; 320p; William Whites new Dividing line type: grant ref: CGB 25:593 date: 25 Feb 1792 to: William White con A.C. £1.S15 Sterl. by: Survey 2 Aug 1788 re: 350a Pittsylvania/ on the branches of Sandy Creek location: 17310 28735 F127 L0 P255 pt A) at Francis Wisdoms crnr. Sp.o. ln S47.5W; 212P; Francis Wisdom, xg a Br. pt B) r.o. ln S59.5W; 44P; xg the Road pt C) a branch !& th. running up the sd branch as it Meanders 90P to lm s20e; 90P; [est dir] up a br. pt D) the fork lm ; 96p; up the left fork of the sd Br. pt E) w.o. on the same off a new line ln S; 60P; pt F) Mark Cheltons [Sheltons] crnr. p. ln S83E; 168P; Mark Shelton, xg the road & 2 forks of a Br. pt G) Ben Hardys crnr. p. ln N7W; 116P; Ben Hardy pt H) r.o. ln N32.5E; 114P; xg a br. pt I) p. in the sd Whites former line ln N24W; 32P; sd White pt J) p. ln N4W; 162P; type: grant ref: CGB 25:595 date: 25 Feb 1792 to: William White con A.C. £1.S15 sterl. by: survey 1 Aug 1788 re: 340a Pittsylvania/ on the Branches of Sandy Creek location: 17334 28483 F127 L0 P255 pt A) at Kennons crnr. Beech now Francis Wisdoms ln S4E; 28P; Kennon, now Francis Wisdoms pt B) sp.o. !th. a new line the same course continued 162P to ln s4e; 162p; pt C) p. ln S24E; 32P; pt D) p. in Benjamin Hardys line ln N30E; 60P; Benjamin Hardy, xg a br. pt E) p. ln S70E; 150P; pt F) ptrs. ln n6e; 320p; new line pt G) w.o. in Benjamin Terrys line ln S86W; 150P; Benjamin Terry, xg a br. pt H) sd Terrys crnr. !in the sd William Whites former line !& th. along the same ln S18W; 56P; sd William White pt I) ptrs. ln S65W; 71P; xg a br. Excerpt from "Pittsylvania's Eighteenth Century Grist Mills" by Herman Melton page 102-105 JEREMIAH WHITE: PATRIARCH MILLER ON SWEETING'S FORK Three Sweeting brothers entered grants of land along the Banister River in 1748. It was from these early settlers that Sweden's Fork, as the waterway is now called, got its name. Jeremiah White called it "Sweeting Fork, a branch of Sandy Creek," when he wrote his will in April of 1788. This branch heads up on the south slope of White Oak Mountain near Chestnut Level. It is the mniddle branch of the creek and is joined by John's Run at a point a few hundred yards from its confluence with Sandy Creek of the Banister. This location is approximately three miles southeast of the village of Spring Garden. Some distinguished patriots of the Revolution lived along the banks of Sweeting Fork. Among them were Nathaniel Terry, who was a member of the Pittsylvania County Militia during the Revolution. His father, Benjamin, lived on Sweeting's Fork, and Nathaniel may have been born there. Colonel Robert Williams had holdings on that branch also. In the Colonel's property was a grist mill and over five thousand acres of land. Williams was one of the most prominent Pittsylvania County patriots during the Revolution. Since he was a lawyer before the founding of the county, and a planter with enormous wealth, milling was not his chief pursuit. Nevertheless, Patsy, one of his daughters, married into a milling family when she married John Henry, one of the owners of Henry's Mill on the Sandy Creek of the Banister. From the sale of inherited land by Jeremiah's son William, the historian learns that Matthew Clay, who served in the Virginia House of Delegates and in the United States Congress, was a neighboring landowner. Although Clay was a distinguished public servant, who was at least partly responsible for the founding of the Town of Danville at Wynne's Falls, his career was overshadowed by that of Henry Clay of Kentucky who descended from the same family. Jeremiah White moved to the Sweeting's Fork area from Dinwiddie County in 1778. He filed a petition to erect a grist mill on the waterway in August of 1782 -- "he being the owner of the land on both sides." The move was made during the Revolution, and that would have been the most difficult of times. Jeremiah was in declining years by this time, but county records show that a Jeremiah White served as a member of the County Militia during the Revolution. He was to die ten years later, but managed to accumulate 2108 acres of land on six tracts in the county, most of which was presumably on Sweeting's Fork. He left the use of his land to his wife and named sons William and Jeremiah as Executors. County records show Jeremiah White to be a very prominent citizen. He was commissioned First Lieutenant of the Militia in the County and took the Oath of Allegiance in October of 1780. White was a charter member of Pittsylvania Lodge No. 24, of the Order of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons when it was constituted on September 15, 1788. He was named Justice of Peace in 1780, and qualified as Coroner on March 15, 1787. It was common practice in the early days for prominent men in the communities to qualify as Deputy Sheriff. Jeremiah White did likewise on May 16, 1786. His son, Jeremiah Jr., rose to the rank of Captain in the Militia in 1794 before being elected to the office of Commisioner of Revenue in 1798. Old Jeremiah was one of the landed people who owned slaves and was sometime granted exemption from paying property taxes on them. From County Court records, it appears that slaveowners were often exempted thusly when they furnished "tithables" (laborers in this case) for the buildling and repairing of roads, bridges, public buildings, etc. A Jeremiah White diary would make interesting reading. However, as is the case with the histories of most of the early pioneers, there is a paucity of records. Even so, there is at least one trait which characterizes Jeremiah White. He wa a loyal family man who loved his children and went to any extreme to be fair. This assessment is based on the wording in his will. One can see the effort he went to in trying to divide his estate equally among his heirs. There were eight children in Jeremiah and Jane White's family. One was a daughter who married a prominent county leader, politician, planter, businessman and miller known as Col. Clark. William Clark. He lived some seven miles east of Competition in the elegant high columned home he called "Pineville", near the Banister River. His wife was the daughter of a miller, married a miller, and gave birth to a daughter who married a miller. The daughter, Lettice, married Col. Leonard Claiborne who applied to build two mills in the county during the late 1820s and early 1830s. One was on "Sawyer's Mill Creek" and one was on Burch Creek. It is known that he operated one of them for awhile, since the name "Claiborne's Mill" appears on a batteaux manifest of the Roanoke Navigation Company during the 1830s. It was not unusual to find three generations of millers in one family in Pittsylvania County during the 19th cCentury. Jeremiah White's will was written on April 28, 1788. The will included the following dispositions of his property: A. He left the use of his "Manner" (manor) house to his wife, Jane, for her natural life "to enable her to educate my younger children." He left seven slaves to her and the use of all land and slaves bequeathed to younger children until they "become of age". B. One half interest in a tract of land was mentioned. It was a parcel he acquired in an agreeement in which he was to share ownership with the "Conway orphans." This was a strange arrangement which defies understanding. C. The share of any living child who preceded him in death was to be divided equally among all living children upon his (Jeremiah's) death. D. He defined the boundaries of the land each child was to receive. This provision gives historians the identity of his neighbors which included the aforementioned families of Terry, Clay and Williams. E. There was a division of some four hundred acres in Charlotte County. The disposition of the grist mill became the most interesting and poignant provision in the will. He driected that interest in it should be divided equally between "my two sons, William and Jeremiah, to them and their heirs forever, subject to the following encumbrances, to Wit: As my children have laboured hard with me in assisting to build said mill, I am desirous to give them some privilege therein, but hope this privilege may never become a bone of contention between them, but as a recompence for their labour and dutiful behaviour. It is my will and desire that all my children be entitled for their own families to grind their grain to be free and they bare an equal share of all expenses in keeping the said mill in repair." He also directed that ten acres of land be set aside for the mill. This will, one of the most carefully crafted wills in early Pittsylvania County history, was proven on May 19, 1788 -- a mere fortnight before the Virginia Constitution Ratification Convention in Richmond. Col. Robert Williams, one of his closest neighbors, was duly elected, in the March past, to be one of Ptittyslvania's two delegates to the convention. Old Jeremiah tried painfully hard to divide land, slaves, personal effects and household goods equaillly among his heirs. The provisions covering the ownership and operation of the grist mill after his passing are unique in that all were to share in its upkeep and all were to share in its output. The inference from the reading of the will is that it was a closely knit family which was kept that way by a stern but caring and considerate patriarchal father. The provisions in the deed indicate that he was an impeccably honest man also. The mill property was buried in tax records as ordiinary acreage with assessed value and all of White's property stayed in his name until after the probation of his estate. Its final disposition is obscured by settlement of the estate and by missing, or non-existant. There is no reason to believe that it was as successful a mill operation as was that of his son-in-law William Clark on the Banister. Perhaps it was largely a plantation mill since there were many slaves in the White fields and a large personal family in the manor house to feed. It is believed that it stayed in the White family for an extended period, since no record of the sale of it was found in county archives. The records concerning the fate of the remaining White property are confusing. Some heirs begin selling property as soon as their mother departed this life. However, one cannot judge their successes or failures on land transactions and tax records alone. Furthermore, the new nation was to endure at least two of its worst financial panics during the next half century. Failures were not always the fault of the property owner, but were frequently the direct results of distant events and forces beyond the control of local citizens. Present day Jeremiah White descendants believe they know the location of the mill site because of some stone formations, etc. The story of Jeremiah White's Mill affords the best example of a family run mill wherein everybody worked and everybody shared in the output. This arrangement worked during Jeremiah White's lifetime because he appeared to have been every inch the "Patriarch of Sweetings Fork". All unanswered questions aside, he deserves having this title applied to him in 1988 -- the bicentenial of his passing.

  
  

• Sources

  [S379] Ancestry.com, U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.). Birth date: Birth place: Pittsylvania, Virginia Death date: May 1788 Death place: Pittsylvania, Virginia Residence date: Residence place: United States [S243] Edmund West, comp., Family Data Collection - Individual Records, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.), Birth year: 1695; Birth city: Franklin Co; Birth state: GA. Birth date: 11 October 1695 Birth place: Franklin Co, GA Death date: 25 October 1776 Death place: Franklin Co, GA Marriage date: 23 October 1726 Marriage place: Albemarle County, VA