Sarah Malott

The story of Peter, Sarah, and Rachel, is described in the "Families of Peter Malott" by William Marlatt at:

http://www.malott.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=...

A summary of the information with regards to Peter:

Peter Malott and his wife Sarah Tracy Malott in 1754 leased and settled on 106 acres of land in the Conegocheague Manor (along Conegocheague Creek, likely at 39°38'50.14"N, 77°49'59.81"W), a few miles from Hagerstown in present Washington County, Maryland. (At the time, they had a son named Thomas, according to lease records.)

In January 1764, a Sarah Malott signed a deed of sale for property in Sharpsburg, as did a Rachel Malott in March 1764. Both signed as wives of Peter Malott. William Marlett suggests that there might have been two Peter Malotts in the area at the time. The name Peter Malott next shows up in the 1766 census of Frederick County (inclusive present Washington County), Maryland.

In 1767, Peter Malott (age 40) renews the lease on the 106 acres of land they had settled on in 1754. The lease document shows that Sarah was 34 and Thomas was 16.

On 13 April 1775, Peter and Sarah Malott signed off on a land transaction in that part of Frederick County that would become Washington County in the following year, after the start of the Revolutionary War. William Marlett speculates that this may be somehow connected with their intentions to settle westward in Kentucky.

In 1778, a Peter Molett is recorded as having taken a Fidelity Oath in Washington County, Maryland. A Melott was recorded as having been a low ranking officer in the Continental Army (2nd Lieutenant).

On 22 March 1778, the Malott family, along with the Runnel family, were floating down the Ohio River on their way to Kentucky to resettle westward, when they were attacked by a Delaware Indian war party near Fish Creek (this was in the same year that General St. Clair was defeated by British-backed warriors). Peter Malott and two other men were in one boat with the livestock, and the Runnels with Sarah and five of the Malott children (including Theodore, William, Hiram, and Thomas) were in the other boat. Peter's boat eluded capture, while Sarah's boat did not. Both survived the attack, but neither had thought the other survived.

(Ben notes: the attack site near Fish Creek, I suspect, is located at 39°48'27.19"N, 80°49'14.27"W)

Peter Malott returned to his former lands in Maryland (apparently restoring his original lease), and with intentions of restarting a family, married a young woman named Rachel. Sarah was taken by her captors to the area of Detroit, and she is next recorded as having been listed as a widow in a ratio payroll with all five of her children in August 1782.

A son of Sarah Tracy Mallot named "Peter" (likely Joseph) grew up after several years, and decided to return to Maryland and see if he could find out what happened to their father. He found him alive and remarried to Rachel at his original homestead.

Peter Malott Sr. is listed in the 1790 Maryland Census as living alongside Elias Melott, Benjamin Melott, Thomas Melott, William South, and John Melott (4 free white males age 16 or older, 1 free white male under age 16, and 2 free white females).

In 1795, Rachel Malott signs as his wife on documents in Washington County. Peter Malott records her as his wife in his will on 17 January 1804 (11 children are listed in it, including sons Peter, Michael, and Daniel, who serve as executors).

In the 1800 Maryland Census, Peter Malott is living alongside Benjamin and Doris Malott (2 males born 1774-1784 - including Hiram, 1 male born 1755-1774, 1 male born before 1755 - Peter Sr., 1 female born 1790-1784, and 1 female born before 1755 - Rachel).

On 16 June 1806, Rachel petitioned the Orphans Court of Washington County, Maryland, to sell her late husband's property so she could obtain her 1/3 share after refusing Peter's will of January 1804. (Ben notes: apparently she was opposed to the provision requiring her to remain unmarried, as the will promised her the same 1/3 share.)

From Sarah Tracy Malott's page on Find A Grave:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=50794592

Birth: 1733

Prince George's County

Maryland, USA

Death: 1796

Ontario, Canada

Sarah and Peter were the parents of:

Thomas/15 Apr 1753 m. Rebecca Key

Theodore "Dory"/7 Dec 1755

John/7 Dec 1758

Joseph/1760

Sarah/abt 1762

Catherine/1763 (Mrs Simon Girty,Jr)

William Harvey/5 May 1764 m. Barbara Brunck

Peter,Jr/1765

Hannah/22 Aug 1765

David/abt 1767

Michael/1769

Daniel/1771

Hiram/28 May 1775

The evidence supports the two wife theory. See Vol. 1, No. 2 of the newsletter for evidence by Madeline Malott.

"The two wives were alive at the same time, but not living with Peter at the same time as Sarah had been kidnapped by Indians and taken to Detroit. Peter "thought" she was dead, and married Rachel and started a second family, and did not learn that Sarah was alive for many years."

(//malott.net)

"In one of the boats which escaped was Peter Malott, from Maryland; but his wife Sarah and several children, being in the boat which was taken, were made prisoners."

• captives taken on March 22, 1780 at Fish Creek on the Ohio River*

(//malott.net)

Spouse 1's Death: after 3 April 1775 - (ref. 5, source 2). 1796 Canada (ref. 8 p. 304). 1796 (ref. 17).

"She settled in Canada, & died early about 1796"

(ref. 17,source 24,20S207; ref. 20,source 4

(//malott.net)

Sarah "Melot" was listed as a widow in ratio pay roll with 5 children in August 1782, at Detroit. (ref. 20, source 5)

(//malott.net)

Family links:

Children:

1. Thomas Malott (1753 - 1846)*

2. Theodore Dory Malott (1755 - 1845)*

3. John Malott (1758 - 1838)*

4. Joseph Malott (1760 - 1833)*

5. William Harvey Malott (1764 - 1845)*

6. Catherine Malott Girty (1764 - 1852)*

7. Peter Malott (1765 - 1815)*

8. Hiram Malott (1775 - 1796)*

Spouse:

1. Peter Malott (1727 - 1806)*

Burial:

Unknown

Created by: Sue McDuffe:)

Record added: Apr 07, 2010

Find A Grave Memorial# 50794592

From the Merlet-Marlet Family Tree:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~jacmac/merlet-marlet.htm

At the present time there is still some confusion regarding the identity of the individual who was the husband of the Sarah Melott who was captured by a party of Delaware Indians at Fish Creek on the Ohio River on 22 March in 1780 and taken to Canada. In addition, there also appears to be a lack of consensus regarding the identities of the children who were captured with Sarah, as well as their parentage.

According to available documents, including the Draper Manuscripts, it appears that three families, those of Peter Melott, John Reynolds, and another that I believe was Joseph Melott's, Peter's brother, were traveling down the Ohio River on their way to Kentucky when they were attacked. During the attack John Reynolds was killed, and Sarah Melott and a number of children were kidnapped and taken north to Canada.

Even though one source states that seven children were kidnapped, I do not know for sure if all of them were Melott children. Those Melott children who are "generally" referred to in various documents are Peter, Catherine, Theodore, Delilah, and David. There is also a Keziah Melott mentioned in some documents. Unfortunately, some information pertaining to these individuals is problematic.

Based upon my research, there is no doubt in my mind that Sarah Melott was definitely the mother of two of the captured children, namely Catherine Melott, who was later married to Simon Girty, and Peter Melott, who later married a woman named Mary Jones. In my opinion, it is also very likely that this Sarah Melott was the first wife of the Peter Melott who was born in about 1727/1728 and died in 1806 in Washington County, Maryland. I do not believe she was the wife of Joseph Melott.

Whether or not any of the other children could have been Peter's, I simply cannot say at this time. Because I believe that the families of both Peter Melott and Joseph Melott were together when the attack took place, I also feel it is highly probable that both Peter and his brother, Joseph, had children who were captured and taken to Canada. In some respects this scenario actually makes more sense since it eliminates a number of conflicting facts.

Ironically, some researchers believe that Joseph Melott may have also been married to a woman named Sarah, with the possibility that her full name was Sarah Harmon. To the best of my knowledge, however, this has never been substantiated.

Regardless of who Joseph may have married, I believe that one of the captive children, Theodore, is surely not one of Peter's children. Peter's son, Theodore, was alive and well in Maryland during the time the captive Theodore was in Canada. As such, he must have been the son of another Melott, and Joseph is the only logical candidate that I can come up with.

With respect to the other captured children, I can only speculate at this time as to which family they might belong to. Because there simply does not appear to be sufficient evidence available to resolve this issue once and for all, no additional information will be presented in this write-up regarding the connection between Peter and/or Joseph Melott and the individuals who were kidnapped by the Delaware Indians and taken to Canada.

Those Melott children who are believed to have been captured on the Ohio River and taken to Canada are:

A. Catherine

       b. ca. 1763 in Frederick Co., MD.

m. ca. 1791 to Simon G. Girty in Essex Co., Ontario, Can.
d. 2 January 1852 at Colchester, Essex Co., Ontario, Can.
B. Peter

       b. 30 January 1765 in Frederick Co., MD.

m. ca. 1789/90 to Mary Jones at Detroit, Essex Co., Ontario, Can.
d. 3 December 1815 in Gosfield Twp., Essex Co., Ontario, Can.
C. Theodore

       b. in MD.

m. ca. 1798 to Catherine Wigle in Essex Co., Ontario, Can.
d. 25 March 1836 at Kingsville, Essex Co., Ontario, Can.
D. Delilah

       b. in MD.

m. ca. 1801 to Philip Wright.
E. David

       b. in MD.

F. Keziah

       b. 16 October 1778 in MD.

m. ca. 1804 to Thomas Forsyth.
d. 22 November 1829 near St. Louis, MO.