Henry Witt

A 3rd cousin, Warren Pratt, also a genealogist, had done extensive research on Henry Pratt 1809-1886 in search of his father. Elizabeth Pratt was Henry's mother. She had Henry out of wedlock. Based on Warren Pratt's DNA testing, we have proof that Henry Pratt's real father was Henry Witt, Born 25 Aug 1788 in Bedford County, Virginia and died 12 Jun 1809, the very same month, day and year that Henry Pratt was born. Henry Witt was 20 years old at his time of death. Henry Pratt was married twice, Celia Hampton and Sarah "Sally" Gibson. Celia gave birth to 10 children and Sarah gave birth to 4 children.

My cousin, Warren Pratt, whose is a published genealogist, his DNA and my DNA confirm our relationship to this Henry Witt said: “There are two important records of Henry Witt that indicate his death was in 1809, NOT in 1808. One is a Bible record, apparently his parents’ Bible. The original of that record is at the Library of Virginia. I have copies. The second is that Henry Witt appears on the 1809 Personal Property Tax Lists of Bedford County, VA, a list taken in the first few months of 1809.”

Warren Pratt also said: “There is a third piece of data; however, it does not have sufficient source information to rely on it. A noted Witt researcher, Wayne Witt Bates, also listed Henry’s death date as 1809. Some years ago, I checked with Wayne on this and he did not have original sourcing for that information. So, while it’s supportive of the 1809 date, it’s not terribly helpful.”

Interestingly, according to Warren Pratt, Wayne’s data also said that Henry was killed by lightning. Family lore from those days frequently lists “lightning” and “falling tree” as causes of death. So, without further substantiation, I would not be too sure of that cause of death.