William Whitfield, II

A Patriot of the American Revolution for North Carolina. DAR Patriot for NC # A124711

Family

From https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/28860146/william-joshua-whitfield

Captain William Joshua Whitfield is the son of William Whitfield I and Mary Elizabeth Goodman. On 6 November 1741 in Bertie, North Carolina Colony, he married Rachel Bryan. They had the following children: William III, Elizabeth, Sarah, Patience, Bryan, Charity, Needham, Mary and Rev. Lewis Whitfield.

In later life following Rachel's death, Capt. Whitfield married a German lady, Fruzan Speight Metts (Metz), the widow of Frederick Becton.

The graves of William Whitfield and his first wife Rachel (Bryan) Whitfield occupy a little plot at White Hall within fifty feet of the Neuse River.

William Whitfield served as private in Capt. Nathaniel Fox's company, 6th Virginia regiment.

William Whitfield II married wife Rachel Bryan and moved to the "Rich Lands" on the Neuse River in Lenoir Co., N. C., and lived at Rockford on the North bank of the river. He afterwards purchased "White Hall" now "Seven Springs" in Wayne county from Buckskin Williams father of Gov. Ben Williams and John Pugh Williams; and brother of Old Ben Williams. Buckskin Williams kept an Indian Store at "White Hall" until 1776.

Soon after the battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, William Whitfield moved to Pleasant Plains, three miles from "White Hall". His sons Needham and William Whitfield were in the battle of "Moore 's Creek Bridge." Needham was the Clerk to Col. Casswell, who commanded the Patriots, William was a private in the Light Horse; he and his brother-in-law ,Daniel Williams, took prisoner General McDonald, Commander of the Tories; William and Needham Whitfield also took prisoner in the same battle Farquard Campbell. After the war was over, Farquard Campbell married Elizabeth "Betsy" Smith (Whitfield) widow of Alexander Smith and sister of the captors. By his wife Elizabeth "Betsy" Smith (Whitfield), Farquard Campbell had three sons, James, William and Robert. Robert Campbell married Flora Rogers, daughter of Gen. Benjamin Rogers.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Whitfield-143

William Whitfield Sr was born 20 May 1715 in Virginia or North Carolina.[1]

In early life William lived along the Chowan River in North Carolina and was a brick mason. For a time he was burdened with his father’s debts, which slowed, but could not prevent, his financial advancement.[1]

He was first married 6 November 1741 to Rachel Bryan at Snowfield Plantation, Bertie County, North Carolina, home of Rachel's father, Needham Bryan.[1][2] They had the following known children[1]:

1. William Whitfield, born 1743
2. Elizabeth Whitfield, born 1745
3. Sarah Whitfield, born 1747
4. Bryan Whitfield, born 1754
5. Charity Whitfield, born 1756
6. Needham Whitfield, born 1758
7. Rachel Whitfield, born 1760
8. Mary Whitfield, born 1763
9. Lewis Whitfield, born 1765

Shortly after their marriage at Snowfield Plantation, William and Rachel traveled south in search of a new home. They moved to that portion of Johnston County later to become Dobbs and still later Lenoir County. Here they settled at Rich Lands, more recently called Rocky Ford. There they built the Rockford house where their first son, William, was born 1 June 1743. After two years at Rockford, William took his family to White Hall, now called Seven Springs, on the south bank of the Neuse River in Wayne County. Here they lived until 1776 when they moved three miles farther to Pleasant Plains.

Rachel died about 1780. Following the death of Rachel, he married Frauzan Unknown.[1][2] Her given name is spelled various ways. In William's Last Will, it's shown as Fruzen and Frusan.

In the 1790 U.S. Census, William Whitfield Sr was recorded as head of household in Wayne County, North Carolina. In addition, his sons Needham Whitfield and William Whitfield Jr were listed on the same page.[3]

William signed his Last Will and Testament on 20 September 1794 in Wayne County, North Carolina.[4]

William Whitfield died 31 March 1795 in Wayne County, North Carolina and is buried at Whitehall Cemetery.[1][5]

Residence

Year: 1786
Place: Wayne County, North Carolina, United States
Census Year: 1790
Census Place: Wayne County, North Carolina, United States[3]
Revolutionary War

It is difficult to say with reliability what specific action was taken by the majority of the men in Wayne County during the Revolution. Only bits and pieces of the records throw light on the subject. William Whitfield seems to have supplied forage as well as ferriage for the Continental cause during the Revolutionary War. In the Revolutionary Army Accounts his name is repeatedly found as creditor of the state for forage. [1]

Some researchers believe that he served as Captain of the 6th Virginia Regiment during the Revolutionary War, but no sources have been found to support that suggestion.

Last Will and Testament

William Whitfield's Last Will and Testament was signed 20 September 1794 in Wayne County, North Carolina.[4]

He bequeathed various items and/or money to his four sons (William, Bryan, Needham, & Lewis) and three daughters (Elizabeth Campbell, Charity Smith, & Rachel Bryan) and wife Fruzan Whitfield. His deceased daughters Sarah Green and Mary Bryan were also named.

Research Notes

Can't find a valid record which shows his name as Joshua. His tombstone shows his name as William Whitfield. His Find A Grave Memorial shows his middle name as Joshua, without source.

Whitfield family of the United States < link >

• Connected families Herring family, Bryan family, Wooten family
• Distinctions Planters (American gentry)

The Whitfield family was a prominent American political family of the Southern states. The Whitfields formed the American branch of the British Whitfield family - having descended from the British aristocracy, particularly the Earls of Kilmorey and having established colonial residency under Sir. Thomas Whitfield, whom headed East India Trading for the British Empire. In early days of Colonial America, the family emigrated to Virginia in the seventeenth century, particularly, Nansemond County, Virginia from Lancashire, England.[1][2]

The family produced many United States Congressmen, Senators and Governors, as well as businessmen and military generals active from the American Revolutionary War and past the American Civil War, with significance during the antebellum period. The family is most connected to the U.S. State of North Carolina, but had extended land ownership, slave trade, business activities and public service to Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Florida.[3]

Born in Lancashire, England, patriarch William Whitfield I moved to Nansemond County, Virginia.[4] In 1770, Whitfield, along with his wife, were killed by the Tuscarora Indians. His son, William Whitfield II purchased Seven Springs, North Carolina from Buckskin Williams, the father of Benjamin Williams, the Governor of North Carolina.[5] During the American Revolutionary War, he served as a Captain of the 6th Virginia Regiment, along with his sons, Needham Whitfield and William Whitfield III who were in the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge during the revolutionary war. The former was a clerk to Colonel Richard Caswell and the other a private in the Light Horse Cavalry, taking prisoner General McDonald, who was the Commander of the Tories.[6]

Whitfield II was a Dobbs County member to the 1761 and 1762 North Carolina General Assembly held in Wilmington. In 1779 he was a member of Governor Richard Caswell's Council held in New Berne, and a Justice of Peace for Johnston County, North Carolina. He was later a Colonel.[7] Whitfield III in turn, was also appointed Justice of the Peace for Dobbs County in 1778. Along with his son, he was a Director and Trustee for designing and building the town of Wanesboro. He had 29 children[8] and forty of his descendants served in the confederate army during the American Civil war.[4]

References

1. Connelley, William Elsey (1923). History Of Kentucky, Volume 5. Nabu Press. p. 914. ISBN 978-1273257155. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
2. Hathaway, James Robert Bent (1900). The North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 1. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
3. Scarborough, William Kauffman (2006). Masters of the Big House: Elite Slaveholders of the Mid-Nineteenth-Century South. Louisiana State University Press. p. 521. ISBN 978-0807131558. Retrieved April 4, 2006.
4. The North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register Volume I
5. Daughters of the American Revolution. DAR. p. 385.
6. Whitfield, Emma. Whitfield, Bryan, Smith & Related Families.
7. Whitfield Record, The North Carolina historical and genealogical register. Vol I, Number 4. 1900. pp. 567–576.
8. Whitfield, William, Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge

Sources

1. Whitfield, Emma Morehead. Whitfield, Bryan, Smith, and Related Families. Westminster, Maryland, 1948-50. Pages 54 -58. Accessed 24 August 2020.
2. William Whitfield D.A.R. record
3. United States Census, 1790; Census Place: Wayne, North Carolina; Series: M637; Roll: 7; Page: 467.1790 U.S. Census, attached.
4. Last Will and Testament of William Whitfield, "North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970,"FamilySearch Wayne County, North Carolina, Wills, 1776-1805, Vol. A-Z, Signed 20 September 1794, recorded April 1795.
5. Find A Grave: Memorial #28860146 accessed 24 August 2020, memorial page for Capt William Joshua Whitfield II (20 May 1715–31 Mar 1795), citing Whitehall Cemetery, Seven Springs, Wayne County, North Carolina, USA; Maintained by Nancy Yankie Sidarous, Name inscription: William Whitfield.
6. North Carolina Marriage Collection, 1741-2004 Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.Original data - Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. (P.O. Box 740, Orem, Utah 84059) from county marriage records on microfilm located at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City,
7. Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots Author: Hatcher, Patricia Law Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999.Original data - Hatcher, Patricia Law. Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots. Dallas, TX, USA: Pioneer Heritage Press, 1987.Original data: Hatcher, Patricia Law. Abstract of Gr Note:
8. Order of First Families of North Carolina - William I & II are included on this. "The following ancestors have been documented to have been resident, prior to 12 July 1729, in the portion of the Province of Carolina which became North Carolina" http://www.offnc.org/ancestors.html
9. Hathaway, J.R.B. The North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 1. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore, Genealogical Pub. Co., 1970-71. Whitfield Record, Pages 567 - 576, provides information about William, wife Rachel and their children. Bottom of page 576 lists his church affiliation & baptism. Link to Page 567 (image 601).

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Revolutionary War
It is difficult to say with reliability what specific action was taken by the majority of the men in Wayne County during the Revolution. Only bits and pieces of the records throw light on the subject. William Whitfield seems to have supplied forage as well as ferriage for the Continental cause during the Revolutionary War. In the Revolutionary Army Accounts his name is repeatedly found as creditor of the state for forage. [1]