Drury Hatcher of Cumberland County, Virginia
By James Hallett Maloney, B.A., J.D., LL.M.
McLean, Virginia

The substantial The Hatcher Family in America, Vol. 3: The Family of Benjamin Hatcher (1644-1738)[i] qualifies what it says about Drury Hatcher of Cumberland County, Virginia, with the statement that “nothing concrete can be determined without an exhaustive on site examination of the extent records.”  It indicates Drury Hatcher, born 1725, was the second of seven children born between 1721-1735 to Henry Hatcher and Susanna Williamson, that Drury, in turn, was the father of at least two children, another Drury, born 1755, and Archibald, and that this second Drury was the father of eleven children.

This article is intended to fill the void of information about Drury Hatcher and to provide  information about the probably birth dates of  his siblings.  A review of the records of Cumberland, Goochland and Powhatan counties indicates 1) the children of Henry Hatcher and Susannah Williamson were born later than is generally reported, 2) the first and second Drury (Drury, Sr. and Drury, Jr) are the same person, and 3) Drury was born about 1746, twenty years later than is generally reported, and  was the father of the eleven children generally attributed to the fictitious second Drury.

In addition to the subject of this article, three other Drury Hatchers appear in the records of Cumberland and Goochland counties during 1750-1850.  Information about them is at the end of this article.

Children of Henry Hatcher and Susannah Williamson.  A number of family histories show Drury as a son of Henry and Susannah (Williamson) Hatcher.[ii]  Other children shown are Archibald, Elizabeth, Judith, Frederick and Susannah, and one history includes another son, Valentine.  No sources are sited, but two unindexed bills of sale located in the Cumberland County records help define the family.  A June 25, 1768, bill of sale from Frederick Hatcher of Southam Parish, Cumberland County transfers a “Negro slave, Sarah” to “my mother Susannah Hatcher” with a separate reversion to his “brothers and sisters” Archibald Hatcher, Drury Hatcher, Elizabeth Hatcher, Susannah Thompson and Judith Hatcher.”[iii]   It was presented in court on June 27, 1768, and at court thee months earlier a September 5, 1767 deed or bill of sale from Valentine Hatcher of Pittsylvania county transfers a three year old negro girl, Fan, to Elizabeth Hatcher of Cumberland County Valentine’s bill of sale was witnessed by Frederick and Drury Hatcher and proven in court by Freerick Hatcher.  Although it does not state the relationship of the parties, it supports the probability that Valentine was another sibling.[iv]

The June 25, 1768 deed of gift provides for a trust if Susannah dies “before my abovesaid brothers and sisters severally arrive at lawful age or marry…”  That provision means some or all of those five children were not yet twenty-one. The following summarizes information about the earliest records found for each child.

  1. Frederick Hatcher. In an October 1753 levy he was granted £273 for care of insolvents, and he was the grantee of a deed from Robert and Patricia Thompson presented in the Cumberland Court in March 1755[v].  Accordingly, he was born before 1732.
  2. Valentine Hatcher. By 1767 Valentine had established residence in Pittsylvania County, and as he was a defendant in a civil case in Cumberland Co., in May 1753, he was born before May 1732[vi];
  3. Archibald Hatcher. He was a defendant in a civil case heard May 27, 1765, which indicates he was born before May 1744[vii];
  4. Drury Hatcher. Drury was born before April 1746 as he stood special bond for Benjamin Cook in the Cumberland Count in April 1767 (see below).
  5. Elizabeth Hatcher. As indicated above, Valentine Hatcher sold a negro to her in September 1767, at which time she would have at least twenty-one (born before September 1746.)
  6. Susannah Hatcher. She was married at the time of the June 25, 1768 deed of gift as she is described in that deed as Susannah Thompson, but nothing has been found indicating when she was born.
  7. Judith Hatcher. Apparently under 21 in May 1768, she was born after 1747.

Drury Hatcher of Cumberland County, Virginia, was born about 1744 – 1746[viii], probably in Cumberland or Goochland, Virginia. At his death in Cumberland Co., between March 16 and May 22, 1822[ix] he owned 549 acres of land and eleven slaves.  The personal tax rolls regularly show about 15 head of cattle, 3-6 horses, and, in 1806 a “gig.”[x]  He married Elizabeth Hobson in the last half of the 1760’s[xi].  The daughter of William Hobson and Elizabeth Merryman, she was born about 1743[xii] and died in early 1826.  The couple had eleven children who grew to maturity.

The earliest reference found for any Drury Hatcher in the Cumberland and Goochland Counties records is an entry in the Cumberland County Order Book for 1764-67 (see Note 4) that Drury Hatcher stood “special bail” for Benjamin Cook at a court held April 27, 1767.  In November 1767 he was a witness in a criminal prosecution.[xiii]  “Drury Hachare” appears in the 1768 Tithable List for Cumberland County.[xiv]  In March 1771 and May 1772 he appeared in court as a witness in a civil case and in December 1771, along with Archibald Hatcher, was a witness to the will of his wife’s uncle, John Hobson.[xv]  Between 1774 and 17784 he is shown as a witness in court, a plaintiff in a debt action, and, in June 1777, along with Robert Walton, the husband of his wife’s sister, Mary, he was surety for his wife’s brother, John Hobson, as guardian for Fanny Hobson, his wife’s youngest sister.[xvi]

In 1777 Drury Hatcher signed one of many petitions from Cumberland residents to the Virginia legislature asking that the county be divided into two counties.[xvii]  Later that year, Powhatan County was created from the eastern part of Cumberland.  Drury apparently resided on the Powhatan side for on December 30, 1780, Drury Hatcher “of Powhatan County” paid his cousin, Williamson Ross of Franklin Co., North Carolina, £9,000 “lawful money of Virginia” for 200 acres in Cumberland County.[xviii]   A noncontagious tract of 100 acres in Cumberland County was acquired in June 1800 for £125.[xix]  In 1807 he acquired 32 acres from William Hobson, and this acreage is described as bounded by Drury Hatcher, among others.[xx]  On December 25, 1817, he simultaneously acquired 263¾ acres from John W. Nash and sold 44 of those acres to William F. Ligon; that same day he and his wife Elizabeth pledged 261 acres to secure payment to Nash of two bonds, each for $1,045.[xxi]  From 1818 until 1824 he or his estate is shown in the annual Cumberland Land Books as owning 232 acres on Deep Creek 5 miles east of the Courthouse, 100 acres 6 ½ miles southeast of the courthouse, and 217 3/4 acres 5 miles east of the Courthouse.  At his death he owned a total of 549 acres of land.

Drury Hatcher appears to have lived on the 200-acre tract in Cumberland County after he purchased it in 1780 until his death.  Subsequent deeds refer to him as “of Cumberland Co.”, and he appears in every extant Cumberland County Personal Property Tax Book from the first in 1782 until his death in 1822.  His name does not appear in the Powhatan Order Books or Personal Property Tax Books.  Beginning in 1813 the Cumberland Land Tax Books regularly report him with a parcel of 232 acres (the 200 acquired in 1780 and the adjacent 32 acres obtained in 18070 “on Deep Creek adj. Thos Hobson, 5 miles E. or SE of the courthouse” with the notation “resides on premises.”  The description of location puts the land at or near the Appomattox River on the Cumberland/Powhatan County line

Even though the Powhatan Personal Property Books do not show him in that county, he is listed in that county’s first Land Tax Books for 1782 as owning 75 acres.  He similarly appears in the 1782, 1784 and 1787 books. Those 75 acres were sold to Jacob McGehee sometime between June 1787 and May 1788[xxii].  No record has been found indicating how Drury Hatcher acquired these 75 acres, and the deed to McGehee was never recorded.  He may have had that land for some time.  It is possible it was  part of land granted to his father, Henry Hatcher, in the 1730’s.  A map of land grants near Deep Creek contained in “Hobson’s Chapel. 18th – Early 19th Century Settlement Along Branches of Deep Creek, Cumberland-Powhatan Counties, Virginia, by Agnes Evans Gish, p. ___ show the 1732 and 1736 patents to Henry Hatcher straddling the Cumberland/ Powhatan county line and less than 2½ miles from the patent of Luke Wiles from which was carved the 200 acres acquired by Drury from Williamson Ross.[xxiii]

Drury Hatcher was a  planter who raised tobacco.  He testified in August of 1794 that during the previous winter he was at the inspection station at Woodsons Warehouse in Cartersville and in two visits had 2 or 3 hogsheads of tobacco inspected.[xxiv]  He is shown as owing slaves in every personal extant Cumberland County personal property tax book from the first book 1782 until his death in 1820.  The county tax reports shows only male slaves, and the tax returns from 1782 – 1822 show five to nine slaves. The 1810 and 1820 federal census shows him with fourteen and eleven slaves, respectively.[xxv] The November 1822 Inventory of his estate shows eleven slaves valued at $4,063.50.[xxvi]

A misreading of the Cumberland County Land Tax Book appears to be responsible for  erroneous statements that Drury Hatcher died in 1804 and that a son and sole heir, Drury Jr., then took his property.  If, as was supposed, Drury had been born in the 1720’s, the theory had the advantage of avoiding the unlikely possibility that he had lived to be almost 100.  Just as the early birth is incorrect, so was the purported death in 1804.  Drury Hatcher appears in every existing Land Tax Book from 1782 to 1822.  An exhaustive review of the Cumberland County land and personal property tax records  from 1782 to 1822 and the county’s deed and will books fails to show a single instance where “Sr” or “Jr” were used.  Prior to 1804, the County’s Land Tax Books almost always listed new land acquired by a current landowner as a separate entry at the end of the land tax book.  When Drury Hatcher acquired a 100 acres in 1801, it was not combined with or listed after his existing 200 acres but was listed at the end of the Land Tax Book for that year along with properties acquired by others that year.  The separate listing of Drury’s two parcels continued through 1804.  In that year, a review was made of all land transactions in Cumberland county from 1783-1804 and set out in a separate Reconciliation Book[xxvii].  The 1805 Land Tax Book consolidated for the first time the separate parcels of a number of individuals including Drury Hatcher.  Drury’s name continued to be listed as it had been before.  The consolidation of his properties in the 1805 Land Tax Book does not signify a transfer of those lands.

Drury Hatcher was not active in the affairs of Cumberland County. The voter polls set out in the Cumberland County Deed Books shows that he voted in General Assembly and Congressional elections in 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1795, 1796 and 1799 and in the presidential election in 1796.[xxviii]  The records do not show that he served in the militia, or do they indicate that he ever appointed a grand juryman, estate appraiser, or a surveyor for the county.  His signature does not appear on any of the religious petitions sent from Cumberland County to the Virginia General Assembly between May 1777 and November 1787.[xxix]  He appears to have lived peaceably with his neighbors.   The Cumberland County Order Books show only one suit  bought by or against him.[xxx]   No record has been found of Drury Hatcher belonging to any church ???   Drury Hatcher signed his deeds, but Elizabeth signed her will with her mark.[xxxi]  It is unknown if they could read;  the inventories of the personal property of Elizabeth and Drury Hatcher contain no books, only the normal implements and equipments of a farming family.

In 1822 Drury Hatcher died without a will.  James Allen, Jr. was appointed the administrator of his estate on October 28, 1822, with Benjamin Hatcher, Frederick Hatcher, Edward Walton as his sureties[xxxii].  An August 1822 Deed of trust from Josiah and Susan Goodman, Drury’s son-in-law and daughter, indicates that Goodman had a suit against the estate for $200.[xxxiii]  A series of additional suits followed Allen’s appointment –  Benjamin Hatcher sued the Administrator, and the Administrator sued 1) Samuel Hudson and Yarman Booker, 2) Henry Hatcher, 3) German Booker, Henry Hobson and Thomas Cooper, 4) Martin R. Hatcher, Henry Hatcher and Thos. B. Sanderson, 5) Samuel Hobson and Hezekiah Ford.[xxxiv]  Allen in turn was sued personally by Samuel and Henry Hatcher who recovered a judgment of $50.40.[xxxv]

Elizabeth Hatcher died in early 1826, and the death of Drury’s widow meant his personal property could be distributed to his heirs In September 1826, almost four years after he qualified, James Allen was summoned to appear and to give “counter security” on the motion of two of his sureties, Frederick Hatcher and Edward Walton. Apparently he failed to appear, for at the next court on 22 October Jacob Bransford[xxxvi] was made the executor with Benjamin Hobson, Henry Hatcher, and Frederick Hatcher giving surety.  On the same day the court ordered an appraisal of the property in the estate.[xxxvii]  There was a sale by his estate of the three remaining slaves, Mike. Letty, and “old Woman Jane” and on 16 November 1827 an accounting of the division of his estate showed $980.70 remaining to be divided among his heirs.[xxxviii]

When the appraisal of Drury’s personal property was ordered November 1826, his real estate had already been distributed.  Numerous deeds refer to the division of Drury Hatcher’s land as set out in the county records, but the division was not recorded in the will or deed books. The division, however, can be determined based on entries in the “Derivation of Title” column of the 1824 Cumberland Co. Land Tax Book which lists the new owners and sets out how they got their land.[xxxix]  It shows Elizabeth Hatcher with 150 acres, “for life,” “dower rights,” and it makes reference to various lots, Nos., 1-9 and 10-11 and to a lot of 27 acres “from Drury Hatcher’s Estate.”  By the time that Land Tax Book was prepared, Frederick Hatcher, Henry Hatcher, Benjamin Hatcher, and Susan Hatcher Goodman had already transferred their lots.

The accuracy of the information in the 1824 Land tax Book is confirmed by a partition suit, Henry Hatcher v. Widow of Drury Hatcher, etc.,[xl] located at the Library of Virginia.  The land had been divided by a survey of May 14, 1823, made pursuant to a decree of April 28, 1823.  The petition filed in January of 1823, sets out the names of Drury’s widow, Elizabeth, ten children, Henry Hatcher, Benjamin Hatcher, John Hatcher, William Hatcher, Frederick Hatcher, Mary Hatcher, Lucy Hatcher, Frances Jenkins, Judith Coke (Cocke), and Susan Goodman, and the seven children of Elizabeth Hatcher Adams deceased, namely William, Benjamin, James, John, Frances, Mary and Elizabeth Adams. Those grandchildren were “without the limits of this Commonwealth”; they lived in Kentucky and it was 1836 before the Adams children sold the land they received from the estate.[xli]

Elizabeth Hatcher died after February 8, 1826 when the personal property tax assessment was made in her name and before May 22nd of that year when her will was offered for probate.[xlii]   Her will dated October 26, 1825, left specific livestock and personal property to her daughters, Fanny Jenkins, Polly Hatcher, Lucy Hatcher, to her son Frederick Hatcher, and to her granddaughter, Eliza Goodman, the daughter of Josiah and Susanna Goodman.  Frederick Hatcher was named the executor, and although the will was recorded in May he did not qualify as executor until November 27th.[xliii]  The will made no provision for the children of Elizabeth’s deceased daughter, Elizabeth Adams, for her daughters Susannah Goodman[xliv] and Judith Cock, or for her sons Henry, John, Benjamin, or William.[xlv]  Her executor held an estate sale on November 15, 1826; the total received was $569.41.[xlvi]  An accounting of August 30, 1830, shows that $8.00 was paid for her coffin and that after other expenses there remained $61.56.

By Order of Division of December 1826, the Dower lands reserved for Elizabeth Hatcher were divided by an attached survey into eleven lots which were distributed to five sons, two unmarried daughters, and the husbands of her four married daughters. The share of Elizabeth Adams is given to her husband, not to her children.[xlvii]  The land received by the couple’s children and grandchildren was sold over the coming years as summarized in Appendix A.

Drury Hatcher and his wife were survived by ten children and by the children of Elizabeth, a daughter who married James Adams, moved to Kentucky, and died before 1823.  The pleadings in the 1823 suit to divide Drury‘s land indicates that all of the living children resided in Virginia.  The 1820 census shows three male children and two female children in Drury’s household[xlviii], the two females are likely Lucy and Polly who were unmarried at their mother’s death.

The children of Drury Hatcher and Elizabeth Hobson were

  1. Henry, born 1770-278[xlix] ???, died after 1860, married Thoedoia Richardson who was born about 1804 and who died before 25 Sept 1833[l]. His second wife was Polly K. Edwards whom he married in Cumberland August 17, 1838[li]
  2. William, born 1770-1775, died prob. 1826. The “Derivation of Title” column of the 1824 Cumberland Co. Land Tax Book which show transfer to him part of the 101 acre tract on Bold Springs describes him as “of Buckingham County.”  The only William Hatcher listed in the 1820 census of that county is shown as “over 45″ so he was born before 1775.[lii] A William Hatcher is shown in the personal property tax books of Buckingham County from 1810-1826 ???.  His brother Frederick in 1833 sold the real estate William received from the estates, but the source of Frederick’s title not found.
  3. Frances “Fanny”, born 1777, died April 1857 in Cumberland Co[liii]., married William Jenkins before 1804.[liv]
  4. Elizabeth, died before 1823 in Kentucky, married James Adams. Her oldest child appears to have been born by 1798, so she must have been born before 1782.
  5. John, born 1782, died Oct. 1858 in Cumberland Co.[lv] He resided with William H. Jenkins, the son of his sister, Fanny, at the time of the 1850 census (Cumberland Co., p. 286), and it is unclear if he ever married.
  6. Frederick, born 1785-1804, died after April 1866; in Cumberland Co. in 1866.[lvi]
  7. Benjamin, born 1788, died after December 1826 when he sold the tract he received in the division of his father’s land (Cumberland Co. Deed Book 17, page 222).
  8. Lucy, born 1790, died Oct. 1865 in Cumberland Co., never married.36 She resided with the family of William H. Jenkins, the son of her sister Fanny, at the time of the 1860 census (Cumberland Co., Forest Oak Post Office, p. 930).
  9. Susannah, born 1795, died after Dec. 1834, married Josiah Goodman in 1811.[lvii]
  10. Judith, born 1796[lviii], died after 1870 in Charlotte Co., married John Cock in 1817[lix]
  11. Polly/Mary, born 1780-1812, died after 1834[lx], married John Brown in 1826 after the death of her parents. If Polly is one of the daughters listed with Drury in the 1810 and 1820 census, then she was probably born 1804-1812.  However, if she was the wife of the John Brown listed in the 1830 and 1840 census of Cumberland Co., then she was born 1780-90, and her marriage would have been a late one which produced no children.

The estate proceeding in Cumberland County, do not mention a child named Drury. However, three other Drury Hatchers appear in the records of Cumberland and Goochland Counties.  Their relationship to Drury Hatcher of Cumberland is unknown???.

Drury Hatcher of Goochland was born before 1765 and died probably before 1820.  He was a man of limited means and none of the records found for him indicate any association with any other Hatcher.  It is unlikely that he was closely related to Drury of Cumberland.[lxi]   In November 1798,  he mortgaged his twelve acres of land to William Winston.[lxii]  The personal property tax records for 1794-1798 shown him without any slaves, horses or cattle, and in June of 1799 he was exempted from the payment of “Parrish and county levies in the future[lxiii].”  The record gives no reason for the exemption.  It is likely he was of advanced age as county levies were not waived on account of poverty, but usually for some combination of old age, sickness and modest means.  In 1804, Drury Hatcher of Goochland conveyed all of his land of Jesse Hayden, while retaining the right to live on the land.[lxiv] Drury Hatcher signed his deed with his mark. The county’s Land Tax Book for that year shows that Jesse Hayden already owned 396 acres of land.

Drury Hatcher appears in the Goochland Personal Property Tax Book and Land Tax Books beginning with the first records in 1782.  The personal property tax books list him every year from 1782 to 1798 except for 1786 and perhaps for 1785 ad 1786, two years when the records are illegible in places.  In 1799 he was exempted from personal property taxes, and thereafter he appears in only the 1803 book with a notation that he is exempt.  The personal property tax records show only white males, slaves, horses, and cattle.  He is never shown as owning a slave, and the early  listings for him show one horse and three or four head of cattle.  The listing after 1794 show him by himself without any taxable property.

The Land Tax Records consistently show him with five and 1/2 acres from 1782 to 1803.  In a 1799 deed, Drury says the acreage was “taken up by the said Drury”[lxv] without reference to any purchase; he apparently just settled on the land.   By deed of Nov. 16, 1798, Matthew Lacy conveyed to Drury Hatcher of Goochland seven acres on Owen Creek described by adjacent land owners “and being also the land that the said Drury Hatcher now lives.”[lxvi]  This deed was handled in a haphazard way.  It was presented in court in February 1799, but the additional land was never reflected in the Land Tax Records as it was not finally proven and recorded until May of 1813.  One day after the date of the deed from Lacy, on Nov. 17, 1798, Drury Hatcher of Goochland conveyed 12 1/2 acres to William Winston, “five acres of which were taken up by the said Drury while the residue was purchased of Matthew Lacy.”  This second deed was recorded in August 1799, fourteen years before the deed from Lacy to Hatcher was finally recorded.  On its face, it appears to convey the property to Winston, but actually it was a trust or mortgage and the order admitting it to records refers to it as a mortgage.[lxvii]  Drury continued to be shown the land tax books as owning five 1/2 acres until 1804 when he conveyed all of his land of Jesse Hayden.

This Drury appears infrequently in the records after 1800.  He sold his land to Jesse Haden on February 20, 1804, and on the same day he witnessed a deed from Eliazabeth Haden to Jesse Haden.[lxviii]  In 1809, Jesse Haden and Elizabeth, his wife, sold 163 acres of land on the north side of the Three Chop Road to George W. Parish.  The plat attached to the deed shows that the 163 acres include the land of Hatcher, and in a memo attached to the deed Parish indicates that he will honor the agreement between Haden and Hatcher and continue to allow Drury Hatcher to live on and use the 12 1/2 acres of land.[lxix] Drury Hatcher appears in the 1810 federal census of Goochland County –  Drury Hatcher, one male over 45, one male under 10, and one white female between 16-44.[lxx]  He may have died before 1820 as he does not appear in the 1820 census.  He was certainly deceased before July of 1826 when George Parrish’s executor pledged the 163 acres as surety without any mention of the life estate of Drury Hatcher.[lxxi]

Drury Hatcher (1770-1860).  Only a death record and an entry in the 1836 Personal Property Tax Book refer to this individual. His death is recorded in Cumberland Co. in 1860.[lxxii]  The informant was John Hatcher who indicated this Drury’s father was “D Hatcher.”  This report has led some to conclude he was a son of Drury Hatcher of Cumberland Co. who died in an intestate in 1822, but the records of his estate make no reference to a son, Drury.  The death record also shows he was born and died in Cumberland, which makes him a bit of a mystery as the only other reference to him is an entry in the 1836 Personal Property Tax Book: “Drury Hatcher, 1 slave, no tax,” immediately followed by a listing for John Hatcher, “son of D” 1 slave, no tax.”[lxxiii]

Drury H. Hatcher, June 1815 – after 1900.  Drury H. Hatcher, b. ???abt 1815 in Virginia, appears in the federal census for Cumberland County for 1840 and 1850, for Buckingham County in 1860, and in Saline County, Missouri in 1880 and 1900[lxxiv].  He married Elizabeth Hubbard in Cumberland October 6, 1842[lxxv], and he is probably the “D. H. Hatcher” who was a witness to William D. Hatcher’s will of July 8, 1850.[lxxvi]   He was in Buckingham County by 1858 when he reported the death of his son, Jackson.[lxxvii]  A deed from this Drury and his wife, Elizabeth, “of Cumberland” dated February 27, 1861, conveyed their interest in 8 acres “on which the late Mrs. Elizabeth Hubbard died.”[lxxviii]  In July 1878 he married Mary Stephenbergin in Saline Co., Missouri[lxxix], and in the 1880 federal census of that county they appear along with Drury’s sister, Elizabeth H. Cox.[lxxx]

APPENDIX A

Division of Drury Hatcher Real Estate in 1823 and Subsequent Conveyances                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Cumberland Co.

LOT                Acerage/Dist from CH                      Sold By                                   Sold To                   Date                 Deed Book

Dower             150 acres (w/ $k of bldgs) 5mE               –                                               –                                   –

1 to Lucy         30 acres, 5mE                         Lucy Hathcer                          Thomas Cooper     12Dec1834   22, page 104

2 to Mary         37 acres, 5mE                         John & Polly Brown               Thomas Cooper     12Dec1834   22, page   60

3 to Fred          17 acres & bldg, 6½SE                       Frederick Hatcher                   J. D. Garrett           13Nov1823 17, page 222

4 to Henry       32 acres, 6½SE                                   Henry & Theodosa Hatcher    J. D. Garrett           13 Nov1823 17, page 222

5 to Ben           32 acres, 6½SE                                   Benjamin Hatcher                   J. D. Garrett           13Nov 1823        17, page 222

6 to John          32 acres, 5mE                                     John Hatcher                           Wm. Jenkins          26Feb 1833        21, page 140/309

7 to Cocke       30 acres, 5mE                         John & Judith Cocke              Eliz. Hobion           26Feb1837   23, page 194

8 to Jenkins     28 acres, 5mE

9 to Goodman 27 acres, 6½SE                                   Josiah & Susan Goodman      David Wilson, Tee 26Aug1822      16, page 510

David A Wilson, Tee              Jno. W. Nash          30July1823 17, page 213

Jno & Elizabeth Nash              William Jenkins      19Aug1823      17, page 213

10 to Adams    37 acres, 6½SE                                   Jas & Betsy Adams Heirs       Thomas Cooper       8Aug1836       22, p 428/432

11 to Wm        37 acres, 6½SE

 

                       Division of Elizabeth Hatcher’s Dower (151 acres) – Will Book 8, Page 263 and Subsequent Conveyances

1 to Frederick              )                                               Frederick Hatcher                   Wm Jenkins           27July1833 21, page 373

)——-   4 acres                       Henry Hatcher[1]                       Wm Jenkins           27May1834 21, page 432

)           & house                                                                                                       23, page 259

2 to Henry (II) )                                               Henry Hatcher            Wm Jenkins           27May1834     21, page 432

3 to John Cock (Judith)           20 acres                       John & Judith Cock                Thomas Cooper     27 Jan1837           22, page   64

4 to Lucy                                 20 acres                       Lucy Hatcher                          Thomas Cooper     12Dec1834      22, page 104

5 to Josiah Goodman (Susannah)       17 acres           Josiah & Susannah Goodman Thomas Cooper     12Dec1834 22, page   59

6 to Wm Jenkins (Fanny)        20 acres

7 to Polly                                 16 acres                       John & Polly Brown               Thomas Cooper     12Dec1834      22, page   60

8 to John Adams (Elizabeth)   14 acres                       Jas & Betsy Adams Heirs       Thomas Cooper       8Aug1836      22, p 428/432

9 to Benjamin                          14 acres                       Frederick Hatcher                   Wm Jenkins           27July1833 21, page 373

10 to John                                14 acres                       John Hatcher                           Wm Jenkins           26Feb1833 21, page 140

11 to William                           12 acres                       Frederick Hatcher                   Wm Jenkins           27July1833 21, page 373

[1]        It is unclear how this interest was obtained

[i].        The Hatcher Family in America, Vol. 3: The Family of Benjamin Hatcher (1644-1728), comp. Jerry Proudfit, S.C. Moore, and Robert E. Hatcher (Dothan, Alabama, 2000), p.6.

[ii].         Ibid, p. 6, “Hatcher Ancestry” published by the Missouri Genealogy Records Committee of the DAR, MO GRC 1987 S1-V618, Francis L. Stubbs, December 1986, p. 10, and “The Hatcher Family Genealogical Chart, Library of Virginia, accession No. 29713.

[iii].        Cumberland Co. Order Book 1767-1770, p. 160, and Deed Book 4, p. 256.

[iv].        Cumberland Co. Order Book 1767-1770, p. 121 and Deed Book 4,, p. 243.

[v].         Cumberland Co. Order Book 1752-1757, p. 145 and 251.

[vi].        Cumberland Co. Order Book 1752-58, p. 76; “Thomas Yaile assignee of James Scott v. Valentine Hatcher, otherwise called J. Valitine Hatcher; case dismissed with costs assigned to plaintiff.”

[vii].       Cumberland Co. Order Book 1764-67, p. 127; “John Ward v. Benajah Parker, Archibald Hatcher and Bartlet Thompson, In Debt:…”def’t Archibald Hatcher having been arrested & not appearing a conditional judgment is ordered against him & Lawrence Smith his common bail….”

[viii].       Drury stood special bond for Benjamin Cook in the Cumberland Co. Court in April 1767 (Cumberland Co., Order Book 1764-67, p. 465), and he witnessed Valentine Hatcher’s Bill of Sale (see note 3 above).  His name does not appear in the Cumberland or Goochland county Order Books before that April 1767 entry, but it appears frequently thereafter.  This fact leads me to conclude that he turned 21 not long before the April 1767 entry..

[ix].        The1822 Cumberland Co. Personal Property Tax Book reflecting a visit by the appraiser on March 16, 1822, and lists “Drury Hatcher”, but that year‘s Land Tax Book reflecting the appraiser’s visit on May 22, 1822, lists “Drury Hatcher Estate.

[x].         Cumberland County Personal Property Book listings for Drury Hatcher.  He appears in every book from 1782 until his death in 1822 except for 1808 (no tax collected that year) and 1817 (book missing).

[xi].        The September 4, 1763 will of her father, Wiliam Hobson, refers to her as Elizabeth Hobson; Cumberland Co. Will Book 1, p. 285.  The July 1773 Bill of Complaint in Robert Walton & wife v. William Hobson’s exors. asked for division of William Hobseon’s estate and refers to her as “Elizabeth, now the wife of Drury Hatcher”; Cumberland Co. Chancery File 1774-001.  In the division, she received three slaves, Roger, Jane and Stepney, and £2.10.0. Jane may have been with the family for many years as the July 25, 1827 inventory of Drury Hatcher’s personal property included “one old woman Jane, valued at $50.00; Cumberland Co. Will Book 8, p. 323.

[xii].       Elizabeth’s parents, William Hobson and Elizabeth Merryman, were married in Cumberland Co. Jan 28, 1750 (new style), Cumberland Co. Marriage Bonds ___, and William died about fourteen years later (see Note 11).  William Hobson’s will lists first his two son, John and William, and then lists his daughters Mary, Elizabeth and Francis. From that order it can be inferred that Elizabeth was not the first born.  Elizabeth was married be July 1773, and later federal census entries for her son, Henry, indicate that he was born 1770-1772; 1850 Cumberland Co., Roll 941, Book 2, p. 311, Henry Hatcher, 78, and 1860 Cumberland Co., Roll ___, Book ____, Oak Forest P.O., p. 387, Henry Hatcher, 90.  From the above I infer that she was born no earlier then 1752 and no later than 1755.

[xiii].      Cumberland Co. Order Book 1767-1770, p. 71, court held Nov. 24, 1767.

[xiv].      1768 Cumberland Co. Tithable List, “Drury Hachare, 2 tithables”; Cumberland Co., GenWebPage.

[xv].       Cumberland Co. Order Book 1770-1772, p. 218 and 465, and Cumberland Co. Will Book 2, p. 231.

[xvi].      Cumberland Co. Order Book 1774-1778, p. 98, 190, 305, and 457.

[xvii].     Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol XXX, No. 2, (May 1992), Legislative Petitions: Cumberland County, Virginia, 1776-1786, p 86.

[xviii].    Cumberland Co. Deed Book 6, p. 89; Frederick Hatcher and Benjamin Hatcher witnessed the deed and a separate statement about payment of the £9,000.  This deed is transcribed in the “Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Vol. 6 (1968), No. 4.  How a cousin.

[xix].       Cumberland Co., Deed Book 8, p. 378: deed dated June 5, 1800 from Ford & Allen Merchants to Drury Hatcher of Cumberland Co, 100 acres.  The deeds refers to adjacent land owners; Richard Brooker, Thomas Nash, Josh Aloerson & Erasmus Oakley.  Subsequent Land Tax Books refer to 100 acres on Bold Springs. Check deed for Bold Springs

[xx].       Cumberland Co. Deed Book 10, p. 419: Deed dated Jan. 15, 1807, from“William Hobson, son of John, of Cumberland County” to “Drury Hatcher of said County” a tract “on the North side of Deed Creek” containing by “survey made of John Baugham thirty-two acres…”.  From 1809 (the Land Book for 1808 is missing) until 1812 the Land Books show two parcels, one of 32 acres and the other of 300.  From 1813 until Drury Hatcher’s death in 1822, the Land Books show 232 acres on Deep Creek and 100 acres on Bold Springs.

[xxi].      Cumberland Co. Deed Book 14, p. 228, 238, and 279.

[xxii].     Powhatan Co. Land Tax Book 1788, Conveyances and Alterations page.  No deed has been found; it is not in Deed Books 1 or 2 (1777-1800), and Drury is not in the Grantor Index.

[xxiii].    Drury Hatcher’s father was Henry Hatcher, and in the 1730’s a Henry Hatcher was given three patents for contiguous parcels of 400, 400, and 200 acres on or near Deep Creek in Goochland County.  An additional 200 acres on Deep Creek was purchased. [Citations] Some of this property was in what became Powhatan, and records have been found showing the sale of all of this land except the patent for 200 acres.  Those 200 acres were bounded by Hughs, Burch and Parker.  On the other side of the Hughs tract was William Mayo’s land, and property later sold by Jacob McGehee [when]was described as adjacent Mayo.  The 75 acres reported as belonging to Drury may have been part of these 200 acres.  The will of Jacob McGehee was probated in Cumberland Co., in 1796, Cumberland Co. Will Book 3, page 41, and as a result of a  chancery proceeding an order of 25 Nov. 1799 appointed commissioners to divide his land among his heirs (Cumberland Co., Chancery Cases, 1800-010, Jacob Macgehee vs. Exrs. of Jacob McGehee).  However, the land was carried on the Powhatan Land Tax Books from 1788 until 1804 in the name of Jacob McGehee, not his estate.  Perhaps the Jacob who purchased the land was the son who brought the suit, not the decedent.  In any even, no deeds have been located in either county after 1804 from Jacob McGehee any of his heirs listed in that chancery cause.

[xxiv].    He was one of almost thirty men deposed in a malfeasance actions against one of the inspectors at the Catersville Tobacco Warehouse.  Transcriptions of those depositions appear in the Cumberland County, Virginia, Historical Bulletin, September 1989, Vol 5., beginning at page 14.  Drury Hatcher’s deposition is at page 19.

[xxv].     U.S. Census, Cumberland Co., 1810, page 128a, and 1820, p. 102.

[xxvi].    Cumberland Co. Will Book 7, p. 127.

[xxvii].   This Reconciliation is reproduced in the Cumberland Land Tax Records, 1782-1810, Virginia State Library Cumberland Co. Microfilm Reel 82.

[xxviii].  Cumberland Co. Deed Book 7, p. 32 (6 Sept 1790 Congressional  poll), p. 74B (25 April 1791 General Assembly poll), p. 251 (23 Apr 1792  poll), p. 268 (22 Apr 1793 poll), p. 412 (1795 Congressional poll), 458 ( 25 April 1796 General Assembly poll), p. 507 (1796 presidential poll), and Deed Book 8, p. 266 (24 April 1799 poll).   “Poll Taken at Cumberland Court House 6 September 1790″, Cumberland County, Virginia Bulletin, Dec. 1987, Vol. 4, p. 29-30.  This article lists those individuals shown in the Cumberland County records as having voted in the first Congressional election and in the 1791 election for the House of Burgesses.

[xxix].    These petitions are available on-line at American MemoryLibrary of Congress at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi‑bin/query/S?ammem/relpet:@field(SUBJ+@od1(Cumberland))

[xxx].     In March, 1774, Drury Hatcher brought an action in debt against David and William Davenport.  An attachment was ordered, and in April of 1798 the case was dismissed with costs awarded to Drury Hatcher.  Cumberland County Order Book 1774-1778, p. 98, 190, and 457.

[xxxi].    Check deeds of Drury for signatures.

[xxxii].   Cumberland Co. Order Book 1821-21, p. 94.

[xxxiii].  Cumberland Co. Deed Book 16, p. 150.

[xxxiv].  Cumberland Co. Order Book for 1821-1823, p. 300, 376, 480 and Order Book for 1824-26, pages 97, 121, 170, 198, 220, 221, 247, and 450.

[xxxv].   Cumberland Co. Order Book 1824-26, p. 45, 97, 121, 170, 198, 220, 221, 247, 395, 450, 482.

[xxxvi].  Jacob Bransford was the husband of Elizabeth Hobson who was the grand-daughter of Frederick Hatcher and Sarah Woodson and thus Drury’s great-niece.

[xxxvii]. Cumberland Co. Order Book 1824-26, p. 15, 26, and 27.

[xxxviii].            Cumberland Co. Will Book 8, p. 323 and 483.

[xxxix].  The 1822 and 1823 Cumberland Co. Land Tax Books continues entries for the estate.  The 1824 Land Tax Book contain number of new entries which often refer to a lot “of the Estate of Drury Hatcher Est” and which, except as indicated in the following summary, show derivation “from D. Hatcher Estate.”

ELIZABETH HATCHER, for life, 150 acres, Dower Rights

LUCY HATCHER, in fee, 30 acres, Lot No. 1

MARY HATCHER, in fee, 37 acres, Lot No. 2.

JOHN HATCHER, in fee, 32 acres, Lot No. 6

Wm HATCHER, reside Bucks, in fee, 37 acres, Lot No. 11.

ELIZ. ADAMS CHILDREN, in fee, 37 acres, Lot No. 10

JOHN COCKE & WIFE, in fee, 30 acres, Lot No. 7 in division of  Drury Hatcher

John D. Garrett, in fee, 1) 17 acres, “FED HATCHER’S Lot No. 3; Alienation “from Fed Hatcher.” 2) 32 acres, “H HATCHER’S Lot No. 4; Alienation “from H Hatcher.” and 3)

32 acres, “BEN HATCHER’S Lot No. 5; Alienation “from B Hatcher”

Wm JENKINS, in fee, 1) 27 acres; Alienation from Jno W. Nash” [who acquired lot of “Estate of Drury Hatcher” under deed of trust from Josiah and Susan Goodman; Deed Book 17, page 195] and 2) 28 acres, “Lot No. 8 fell to him & wife”.

[xl].        Cumberland Co. Order Book 1821-23, p. 237, and Cumberland Co. Chancery Causes, index number 1823-023, now filed at the Library of Virginia.

[xli].       The property was conveyed by Hez Ford, the attorney-in-fact for Betsy Adams’ heirs and their spouses by deed of August 8, 1836, to Thomas Cooper; Cumberland Co. Deed Book 22, p. 433.  The power of attorney is recorded in Deed Book 22, p. 428.

[xlii].      Cumberland Co. Order Book 1824-26, p. 499 and Will Book 8, p. 172.

[xliii].     Cumberland Co. Order Book 1826-27, p. 75.

[xliv].     Susan Goodman may have been skipped over in favor of her daughter because she was in financial difficulty or because of disagreements over money.  On August 26, 1822, before any division had been made, her interest in Drury Hatcher’s estate as well as her husband’s interest in a suit against the estate were transferred to a trustee to secure a debt (Cumberland Co. Deed Book 16, page 510) and the lot allocated to her in 1823 from her father’s estate was immediately sold by the trustee under that deed of trust (Cumberland Co. Deed Bok 17, p. 195).  One of Judith Hatcher Cock’s descendants recalled in 1972 that Judith was disinherited by her parents as they were unhappy with her choice of husband.

[xlv].      The exclusion of the older children may indicate that Elizabeth was not their mother as the birth dates of the eleven children spanned at least 31 years.

[xlvi].     Cumberland Co. Will Book 8, p. 258.

[xlvii].    Cumberland Co. Will Book 8, p. 262. “[A]fsigning to WM: HATCHER lot No. 11. to HENRY HATCHER, Lot no. 2. to BENJAMIN HATCHER, lot no. 9. to JOHN HATCHER, Lot no. 10 To FREDERICK HATCHER lot no 1. To POLLY HATCHER Lot no. 7., To LUCY HATCHER lot no. 4. To Wm: Jenkins in right of his wife Fanny (late FANNY HATCHER) lot no. 6. to Josiah Goodman, in right of his wife Susannah (late SUSANNA HATCHER) lot no. 5. To James Adams in right of his wife Elizabeth (late ELIZABETH HATCHER) lot no. 8. To John Cock, in right of his wife Judith, (late JUDITH HATCHER) Lot no. 3.”  The 1823 court action over Drury’s land and 1824 Land Tax Book show that “Lot No. 10 in the division of Drury Hatcher Estate” went to “Eliza. Adams Children.”

[xlviii].       1820 Census, Virginia, Cumberland Co., p. 102

[xlix].     Henry is listed as 78 in the 1850 Census (Cumberland Co., p. 316, visit 574) and as 90 in the 1860 census (Cumberland Co., Oak Forest PO, p. 387)

[l].          Her undated will was presented at Court on that date; Cumberland Co. Order Book _____, page ______

[li].         Marriage Records, 1749‑1840, Cumberland County, Virginia, compiled by K. B. Elliott, South Hill, Virginia, 1969, p. 65: Hatcher, Henry and Polly K. Edwards; Marriage Bond 17 Aug 1838; Surety William Ransone; Consent: Polly signs own consent; Teste:  James M. Austin.

[lii].        1820 Census, Buckingham Co., New Canton Twsp., p. 54.  ROLL _____________

[liii].       Cumberland Co. Death Register, p. 30; Fanny Jenkins, white female, died  April 2,  1857, 80 years old, died Cumberland Co., parents Drury Hatcher, born Cumberland Co., spouse William Jenkins, informant, Jno. Jenkins, son.

[liv].       Cumberland Co. Deed Book 9, p. 389; deed of March 9, 1804 from William Jenkins and his wife, Fanny, conveying land inherited from his father, Joseph Jenkins.

[lv].        Cumberland Co. Death Register, p. 58; John Hatcher, white male, died October 1858, age 75, no occupation, single; informant William H. Jenkins.

[lvi].       Cumberland Co. Death Register, p. 46: October 7, 1865, Lucy Hatcher, white female, born and died Cumberland County, age 75, dau. of Drury & Eliza Hatcher, informant, Fred W. Hatcher, brother.

[lvii].      Marriage Records, 1749‑1840, Cumberland County, Virginia, compiled by K. B. Elliott, South Hill, Virginia, 1969, “Josiah Goodman and Sukey/Susanna Hatcher, Marriage Bond 29 June 1811; surety Benjamin Hatcher; consent- Drury Hatcher (no relationship stated)

[lviii].     She is reported to be 55 in the 1850 census (Charlotte Co., Reel #940, pg 14B), 64 in the 1860 census (Charlotte Co., Red House PO, Roll 1340, p. 295, visitation 786), and 74 in the 1870 Census (Charlotte Co, Madison Twsp, p 60, Visit 205)

[lix].       Marriage Records, 1749‑1840, Cumberland County, Virginia, compiled by K. B. Elliott, South Hill, Virginia, 1969, p. 43: Cocke, John ‑ Judith Hatcher; MB 13 May 1817, Surety Benj. Hatcher.  dau. of Drury Hatcher who gives consent.

[lx].        Cumberland Co. Deed Book 22, p. 60: December 1834 deed selling the land she received from her parents’ estates.

[lxi].       James Ward of Virginiafamilyresearch.com. raises the interesting, but as he admits, probably unprovable possibility of a connection to another Hatcher family.  Drury of Goochland was of limited financial means and the records show no interaction with any other person named Hatcher.  He lived near several member of the Prrish family, and it was George W. Parrish who acquired Drury’s 12 and 1/2 acres in 1809 and agreed to abide by the agreement allowing Drury to live on and use that property for his lifetime.  In 1750 in Goochland County a suit was brought by “Indian Jack alias Jack Hatcher” against John Parish (and subsequently his estate) alleging that he was being improperly held as a slave; Goochland County Chancery Court Records, 1754-002, Jack Hatcher v. Adm. of John Parish..  Indian Jack’s pleadings state that his mother, “Sarah, [was] the daughter of an Indian free woman, who by circumvention & indirect practices was kidnaped into servitude in this colony” and “[t]hat he is detained in bondage by John Parish.”  A deposition in that case given in June, 1753, by Robert Napier, age 85, indicated that in the late 1690’s or early 1700’s Indian Jack Hatcher’s grandmother, Indian Bettey was “brought into this county by Edward Hatcher an Indian Trader & sold by him to serve” and that she was purchased by Capt. John Lydall who called her Bettey Hatcher.  Unfortunately, the records do no show how this case ended.

[lxii].    Goochland Co., Deed Book 17, p. 479.  The deed appears to be a deed of sale, but the Order Book refers to it as a “deed of mortgage” and it must have been as Drury continued to be listed as the owner in the Land Tax Books.  Interestingly, the mortgage was not recorded until it was proved by three separate witnesses, one of whom was paid for his attendance at court; Goochland Co. Order Book 21, p 457 and Order Book 22, p. 104, 106, and 113.

[lxiii].    Goochland Co., Virginia Order Book 22 (1799-1801), p. 20.

[lxiv].    Goochland Co. Deed Book 18, p. 740; dated Jan. 14, 1804 and recorded Feb. 20, 1804,  – Drury Hatcher of the county of Goochland to Jesse Hayden of same, for the consideration of £20 current money, 12 ½ acres of land where the said Drury now lives adjoining the lands of said Hatcher, Mrs Toter, Mathew Lacy, George Adams on the county line also Jesse Shelton. Wit: Corbin Parrish, Eliza. Parrish, Stephen Murrell.  Signed: Drury Hatcher by mark

Memorandum: Drury Hatcher is to remain on the same tract of land during his life, uninterrupted and have the benefit of the same.  Signed: J. Hayden

[lxv].       Goochland Co., Deed Book 17, p. 479, conveying William Winston twelve and one-half acres “5 acres of which were taken up by the said Drury while the residue was purchased by the said Drury of Matthew Lacy”

[lxvi].       Goochland Co., Deed Book 21, page 26, presented to court February 16, 1779, further proven February 17, 1800, and finally proven and admitted to record on May 17, 1813.

[lxvii].    Goochland Co., Virginia, Order Book 22 (1799-1801), p. 113, order of 21 Oct 1799.

[lxviii].   Goochland Co., Order Book 24, p 70 and Goochland Co. Deed Book 19, p. 89.

[lxix].     Goochland Co. Deed Book 20, p. 575.

[lxx].      1810 Census, Goochland Co., p. 426.

[lxxi].     Goochland Co. Deed Book 27, p. 82.

[lxxii].       Cumberland Co. Death Register, p 33: Drury Hatcher, white male, died 8 Jan 1860 of old age, 90 years born and died Cumberland, father “D Hatcher”, occupation farmer, informant “J Hatcher”.

[lxxiii].   Assuming John Hatcher in the 1836 tax book and “J Hathcer, the informant for the death record are the same, the only John or J. Hatcher found in the 1860 census of Cumberland who is the correct age for the son is John Hatcher, 54, farmer; 1860 federal census, Cumberland Co., p. 939.  This John also appears in the 1850 federal census of that county, but that listing does not contain a Drury Hatcher; 1850 Census, Cumberland Co., p. 289, visit 102.

[lxxiv].      1840 Census, Cumberland Co., page *; 1850 Census, Cumberland Co., microfile 941, page ** visitation 183: Drury Hatcher, 25, born Virginia, Elizabeth Hatcher, and three children, John, William and Elizabeth.  1860 Census, Buckingham Co., Dist. 2, p. 933, Drury H. Hatcher, 45, farmer, Elizabeth 41, William J., and Josephine 13, all born in Virginia.  880 Census, Saline Co., Missouri,  Salt Springs, Film T9-0716, p. 389C, and 1900 Census, Saline Co., Missouri, Elmwood Township, p. 135B, family 278, Dewer H. H•tcher, b. June 1815, 84, married 22 years, b. Virginia.

[lxxv].      Richmond Whig & Public Advertiser, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 1842, p. 1; summary available online in the Henly Marriage & Obituary Database, The Library of Virginia.

[lxxvi].   Cumberland Co. Will Book 11, p. 512.

[lxxvii].  Buckingham Co., Virginia, Death Records, 1853-68; 25 July 1858 – Jackson Hatcher died Buckingham Co., 13 years, 2 months, 8 days, son of D. H. and Elizabeth Hatcher, death reported by father.

[lxxviii].             Cumberland Co. Deed Book 29, p. 144

[lxxix].  Saline County, Missouri, Marriage Records 1835-1920, LDS film 0902931

[lxxx].    1880 Census, Missourio, Saline Co., Salt Springs, Film T9-0716, p. 389C.