Moses ‘Old Moses’ White

Moses White came to America, Octerrera Creek, PA., before 4 NOV 1722 with his brother Hugh. This date is when they joined the Dutch Reformed Church at Neshaminy, PA.. Later it turned into the Presbyterian Church, which they belonged to in Scotland. Moses was a schoolmaster in New Castle, DE. until his death in 1735. Moses was born shortly after his father Adam White, was confined in Liffey Prison (Ireland) in 1664. Moses and Hugh took up land which would later become Lancaster County, PA. in 1729. Ref; "A Line of White", by Jack D. White

His will is dated: March 12, 1735.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/236193120/moses_white

There is a strong possibility that Delawarean, Presbyterian Moses was the "M. White DE" buried in Feb 1736 at The Old Chestnut Level Presbyterian Cemetery in Quarryville, PA,

Family

• Born Moses White in 1665
• Died March 12, 1735
• Son of Adam White and Isabella White
• Brother of Hugh White
• Married Eleanor Lawson (1690-1722) in 1703;
• Married ??(either Isabella Cochran or Mary Campbell) in 1719

Children of Eleanor Lawson:

• David White (1703-1767)
• Joseph White (1710-1808)
• John White (1719-1831)

Other Children:

• James White (1711-1770)
• Jane White (1712-1713)
• Mary White (1714-  )
  • **

Children of MOSES WHITE and ISABELLA COCHRAN are:

4. i. DAVID3 WHITE, b. Abt. 1695, Ireland.
ii. JANE WHITE, b. 1708; m. [-- ?--] EDWARDS.
5. iii. JOSEPH WHITE, b. Abt. 1710, Ireland; d. February 11, 1808, Anson County, NC.
6. iv. JAMES WHITE, b. 1711. v. MARY WHITE, b. 1713; m. [-- ?--] JONES. *7. vi. JOHN WHITE, b. 1719.

Notes

There’s something sketchy about Old Moses. The records indicate he may have had as many as 3 wives – possibly at the same time – and as many as 12 children. There are numerous and conflicting records. The information below seems to be agreed upon by most:

• Before Nov. 4, 1722: arrived in the US
• Nov 4, 1722: he joined the Dutch Reformed Church of Nesaminy, Pa.
• Occupation: school master
• His Last Will and Testament was written Mar 12, 1735 and probated Mar 16, 1735 in Newcastle Co., De.
• MacGillebhain is White in Gaelic.

Links

• http://whitefamilyarchive.wordpress.com/category/moses-white/

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The family was part of the great Scotch-Irish immigration to America. Born in Scotland, Moses came to America (probably Philadelphia) before November 4, 1722 with brother Hugh, as that is when they joined the Dutch Reformed Church at Neshaminy, Pennsylvania. Later, it became the Presbyterian Church which was the faith the family had practiced in Scotland. Records of the North and Southampton Dutch Reformed Church at Neshaminy Creek, Bucks Co., PA, show that on 4 Nov 1722, a group of "newcomers from Ireland" became members. Among those listed were the two WHITE brothers. Moses was school master in New Castle, Deleware until his death in 1735. His will was written March 12, 1735 and probated March 16, 1735 in Newcastle County, Delaware. From "A Line of White" by J. D. White of Weatherford, Texas - Born shortly after father, Adam White, was confined in jail in Ireland in 1664. This establishes probable birth place as Ireland instead of Scotland. A number of descendants of Moses White removed to North Carolina and have been called "the Alamance", "the Chatham" and "the Anson" Whites. Two governors of North Carolina: W. Kerr Scott and Robert W. Scott were descendants from these families. Hugh White's descendants also migrated to North Carolina settling in the Rowan/Iredell area some going to Tennessee where one founded the city of Knoxville. Hugh White's son Henry settled in the Waxhaws section (now Lancaster County) SC. The Lancaster County records show that "Henry White and Johanna his wife" of Rapho township, Lancaster County, sold land there adjoining the farm of Moses White on May 22, 1749 (Lancaster Deeds, A, 80). It is likely that Henry White proceeded to North Carolina shortly after this sale though he does not appear on North Carolina records until his grant of 1752. White, like James Hill, may never have lived in the Irish settlement though he owned land there. In 1757, he was numbered among those who received a tract of land for use on the Waxhaw Presbyterian Congregation (R. L. Meriwether, The Expansion of South Carolina, 1729-1765 (Kingsport, Tenn: Southern Publishers, Inc., 1940), p. 144). The remaining grantees of March 25, 1752, settled in the Davidson's Creek area. ... Moses White settled on a branch of Davidson's Creek (N.C. Land Grants, XI, 21)... In 1722, a small group of "newcomers from Ireland" were received by certificate into the Neshaminy Presbyterian congregation of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Included in this group were Hugh White, Moses White, Andrew Reed, William Pickens, Israel Pickens, and Matthew Gillespie ("Church Record of Neshaminy and Bensalem, Bucks County, 1710-1738," ed W. J. Hinke, Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society, 39 vols. (Philadelphia: Presbyterian Historical Society, 1901-61), I, 129.). Hugh White left Neshaminy the same year and proceeded westward, settling on Little Chickaslunga Creek in the Susquehanna Valley (Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: A History, 3 vols, ed. H. M. J. Klein (New York and Chicago: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., Inc. 1924), I, 109.). His sons were Hugh, John, Henry, and Moses (Ibid.). Moses White of Neshaminy removed to New Castle County, where he was a schoolmaster at the time of his death in 1735 (Calendar of Delaware Wills, p. 31). He left sons David, Joseph, James, and John (Ibid). Of the eight sons of Hugh and Moses White, two made significant contributions to North Carolina and American history. Joseph White removed to North Carolina in 1745 or 1746 and settled on the Pee Dee River sough of the Granville line (N.C. Land Grants, V, 246-247). Together with Edmund Cartledge and William Phillips he was a key figure in the development of the Pee Dee settlement (in the vicinity of modern Wadesboro) and was oe of the original justices of Anson County (NCCR, IV, 941. ...). Henry White (as noted above) went to North Carolina after May 1, 1749, accompanied by his nephew Moses, who settled on Davidson's Creek. Moses White and his brother Hugh immigraged to America prior to 1722, when they joined the Dutch Reform Church in Neshaminy, PA. This church later became the Presbyterian Church, which they had belonged to in Scotland. Moses White was a schoolmaster in New Castle, Deleware until his death. David White, his oldest son was co-executor of Moses White estate with James Bryan.

• North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=61157&h=3362985&ind...

Book Title: Lineage Book of the Charter Members of the DAR Vol 003

• Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Mennonite Vital Records, 1750-2014

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=60592&h=198883&indi...

• U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=1192&h=2584969&indi... National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Indexes and Registers of Declarations of Intention and Petitions for Naturalization of the U.S. District and Circuit Courts for the Western District of Pennsylvania, 1820-1906; Microfil

CloseClose New Castle County, Delaware Wills, 1682-1800 http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=4245&h=295&indiv=try

• U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=7836&h=1313839&indi...
• Delaware, Wills and Probate Records, 1676-1971 http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=9044&h=564882&indiv...

Wills of New Castle County, Delaware, 1682-1854; Index to Wills, 1682-1885; Probate Place: New Castle, Delaware

• Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=7486&h=4583422&indi...

Place: Maryland; Year: 1677; Page Number: 218

• A LINE OF WHITE by Jack D. White Sr. - Adam White's Descendants

Family History Library, 929.273 W582 wjd Salt Lake City, UT Notes Pages 1-13 tell about his children "Old" Moses White and "Old" Hugh White. They came to America in 1722 and settled in Pennsylvania until "Old" Moses went to Delaware. Extensive research was done on Adam but the name of his wife was unknown.

"Old" Moses White's Will lists children David of Octerrara, Jane Edwards, Joseph, James, Mary Jones and John. The will carries a proviso that makes it evident Joseph, James, and John were unmarried at the time the Will was prepared March 12, 1735. Taken from court records of New Castle, Delaware. P. 11 of A Line of White

"Old" Hugh White died in Lancaster Co., PA in 1741. He left no will and an inventory of his estate was made to insure a fair division of his property among his heirs. A cover sheet of the inventory carried the following notation: Administrative Bond of Jane White-1741- Hugh White deced. P. 10, A Line of White. Children listed on arrival in 1722.

This book contains the names of the children of "Old" Hugh White and his parents.

CloseClose

• New Castle County, Delaware Wills, 1682-1800

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=try&dbid=4245&h=295

• Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=try&dbid=7486&h=30...

Place: Pennsylvania; Year: 1722; Page Number:

• Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=try&dbid=7486&h=13...

Per page 10 of Margaret Campbell Pilcher's 1911 book, which gives an account of one line of the descendants of Moses White and Mary Polly Campbell that includes James White, founder of Knoxville, TN.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/en/readbook/Historical_Sketches_of_t...

I don't know if there were subsequent marriages between branches of this family or perhaps Pilcher had made a mistake, but there was also a marriage between a Moses White a generation or so later in Rockbridge County, VA, and a Mary Polly Campbell who was very likely a descendant of this same Campbell family.

http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Moses_White_%2822%29

There doesn't seem to be any real attempt at a comprehensive account of Moses and Polly's descendants that would allow the type of detailed cross-reference necessary to feel fully confident of the accuracy of either.

This is important to me because I share a significant autosomal DNA segment with at least one confirmed and another probable descendant of John Campbell and Grace Hay, both born ~1680 in Ireland. I am eager to test a possible connection between this line and the descendants of Isaac White and his supposed wife, Mary Ewell, both born ~1730, most likely in Pennsylvania and died in Union County, South Carolina.

There is a popular but unsourced version of this Isaac White's pedigree that gives him as born in Lancaster County, VA. However, that is contradicted by an account of the old families of Union County, published in the 1980s, which states that Isaac was born near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This Pennsylvanian origin would be consistent with the migration route of the White and Campbell families I am researching, but I am unclear about their sources.

9 February 2017 Jack Mason