Family Newsletter
Welcome back to the Hitch Family Newsletter (HFN)! The inaugural issue that I distributed in November/December was a huge
success. The feedback I received from you folks was tremendous and has enabled me to gather loads of useful and interesting
information about the HITCH family.
Some of you expressed concern that this newsletter may have been a gimmick or "scam" that one commonly sees in the junk mail world of genealogy. I assure you that my objectives are sincere to put together a forum for HITCH and HITCH-related families that can be used to disperse information about the family. I for one believe that it is high time our family name gets its due recognition.
I do want to alert you to a marketing ploy being circulated currently in Ohio and Kentucky that offers the book, "The World Book of Hitches." It portends to be from one Carroll H. Hitch in Bath, OH and offer a genealogical survey of the Hitch family. In reality, it will give you some very generic information and a list of Hitch family addresses obtained from publicly-available telephone lists - all for the price of $32.00 per book. I do not recommend that you spend your hard-earned money on this faceless piece of literature. I believe the company's name that distributes this junk is call Halberts and, I also believe that the name Carroll H. Hitch was appended to the marketing literature to attempt to show credibility. But when I checked the local telephone listings for a Carroll H. Hitch in Bath, OH, there wasn't any - what a surprise! In fact, in a bizarre coincidence, my father's name is indeed CARROLL H. HITCH and I know first hand that he has nothing to do with it.
Finally, this is my last "global mailing" to all U.S.-based Hitches. From now on, if you wish to continue to receive these newsletters free of charge, please write to me. If your mailing sticker on this newsletter has an asterisk (*) next to your name, that means I already have a request to keep you on the mailing list. If you do not see an (*), please make sure to let me know if you want to continue to receive the HFN.
Please continue to write to me with your thoughts, suggestions or comments about the HFN. Thank you and happy reading,
Mike Hitch
My Line of the Hitch Family
1. Adam Hitch (1658/59-1731) married c.1683 to Hannah (Ann) Elgate (c.1660-1722/27).
2. Samuel Hitch (1703/09-6/1750) married c.1730 to Rachel Hardy (?-1774).
3. Benjamin Hitch (1739/40-4/1814) married ? to ??. (He married three times - his second wife's name is not known).
4. Samuel Hitch (1784-c.1858) married 10/24/1820 to Henrietta (Henny) Brown (1780/90-bef. 1850).
5. Washington Henry Hitch (1821/25-1871/79) married 3/13/1848 to Matilda Margaret Denston (1824/32-aft 1880).
6. Samuel H. Hitch (12/25/1848-8/22/1924) married 12/23/1868 to Hetty Ann Driscoll (1/19/1845-11/19/1915).
7. Samuel Clarence Hitch (8/10/1880-9/13/1956) married 10/4/1904 to Anna Virginia Jones (11/13/1881-12/7/1954).
8. George Carroll Hitch (8/13/1908-4/19/1990) married 7/19/1930 to Doris Elizabeth Hamilton (2/6/1910-still living).
9. Carroll Hamilton Hitch (7/1/1934-living) married 6/21/1957 to Eilene Wiltbank (12/28/1939-living).
10. Michael George Hitch (9/17/1959-living) married 10/26/1985 to Janet Sue Pope (12/8/1960-living).
I, in turn, have three children: Leigh Ann Hitch (b.2/22/1987), Kathleen Nicole Hitch (b.6/29/1989) and Michael Carroll Hitch (b.12/24/1992, d. 4/8/1993).
Samuel Hitch of Maryland
In the last issue, I wrote about Adam Hitch, the patriarch of many of the existing Hitches in America today. In this edition, I wanted to talk about one of his sons, Samuel Hitch.
Samuel Hitch was born in Somerset Co., MD sometime between 1703 and 1709 and died there in 1750. His birth year is determined through existing evidence obtained from county records. In particular, I have used the court records and Tax Lists to ascertain the range of years in which he was born.
The Somerset Co., MD Tax Lists were taken every year in the early-to-mid 1700s and used to determine heads of household and other taxables in the county. A "taxable" was the head of the household, males over the age of 15, and all slaves. The Tax Lists survive mostly intact for the years 1723 through 1759 and, as one follows families during this time frame, it can be surmised many times about when a male turns 16 years of age by when he first appears on the listings. Samuel Hitch first appeared on the Tax List in 1725, which means he had to have been born in 1709 or before.
Another key record is a court paper describing Samuel Hitch's apprenticeship to a William Read. This paper is dated April 3, 1723 (Ref. MdHR 7266-1-4) and it asks the court to release Samuel Hitch from his duties as an apprentice so that he can return to his father. Since trade persons usually were apprentices until they reached the age of 21, it might be assumed that Samuel Hitch was age 20 or younger in April 1723. This would mean that he was born in 1703 or later - hence the birth year between 1703 and 1709.
Besides being on the Tax Lists, Samuel Hitch shows up in the Somerset Co. Land Records when he received 212 acres of land from his father Adam in May of 1728. The land is described as two tracts called "Come by Chance" and "High Suffolk" located on the north side of the "Wiccocomioco River" (Liber SH, Folio 25). This area is near present-day Salisbury in Wicomico County, Maryland.
In January 1730/31, Samuel also received from his father "one negro boy named Johnna" (Liber SH, Folio 297). This slave, later called Jack, is important to link Samuel with some of his progeny later. This Jack must have caused ol' Sam quite a few heartaches as he shows up a couple of times in the court records.
First, he appears in the records of the March 1740/41 court (Som. Co. Judicials, 1740-1742, Folio 64-65) in the case of "His Lordship versus Negro Jack, the slave of Samuel Hitch." It was claimed that on December 31, 1740, Jack went to the house of Elgate Hitch (Samuel's brother) "about the eleventh hour and feloniously and burgularously did break and enter with intent to steal the goods and chattles." In the house were Rachel Price and other members of the family including Negro Bonny who testified against Jack.
Later that same year, Jack shows up again as "Jack a negro slave of Samuel Hitch of Somerset County planter, being guilty of running away, and rambling and riding of horses at night. . . Sheriff of the County (to) take said negro Jack to the publick whiping post, and there give him thirty stripes on the bare back well laid on, untill the Blood appear."
Jack, who was born in 1719 and died after 1758, seems to have been well ahead of his time in seeking freedom from slavery. He is one of the more colorful members of the ancestors of the current-day African American Hitch families, who often took their surnames from their owners at manumission.
Samuel and his wife Rachel (Hardy) (b. ?, d. 1774) probably had at least five (5) children as follows:
Robert Hitch (c.1732-3/1768)
Christopher Hitch* (c.1736-7/1805)
Benjamin Hitch (1739/40-4/1814)
Samuel Hitch (c.1741-4/12/1825)
Elgate Hitch (c.1750-1831/40)
Samuel and Elgate, along with their first cousin George Hitch, moved to Bristol Co., Massachusetts in the 1760s to begin a prominent line of Hitches there. Robert and Benjamin stayed in Maryland to make there own marks there. Robert, Benjamin and Samuel fought for the American side in the Revolutionary War.
*Note that Christopher Hitch is listed here as an uncertain son of Samuel. He shows up in Fauquier Co., VA in the 1780s with family name patterns much like that of Adam, Samuel and Samuel's brothers. It is believed that Christopher was a son of one of Adam's sons and I have placed him here since the vital dates match most closely with this connection. Christopher Hitch eventually ends up being the progeny for a strong line of Hitches in Blount Co., TN that exists to this day in and around Marysville, TN.
When Samuel Hitch died in 1750, an account was done of his estate and entered into the County records. From it, we can get a picture of who this man was and what he deemed important in his life. He indeed a Christian man and worked as both a farmer and carpenter. Though lengthy, I have included the listing of his estate as follows:
"Estate inventoried at a value of £125.1.7."; Appr: Isaac Handy, Thomas Records; Cred: Thomas Gilliss, Henry Lowe; Next-of kin: Elgt HITCH, Jonathon HITCH; Adm/Exec: Rachel HITCH
Inventory for "Samuel Hitch, Deceased:
One year old horse and mare 12.10. 0
Old ass 5. 0. 0
One cow and calf/4cows & yearlings 11. 0. 0
Two 2-year old heifers 1.13. 4
One sow and 3 shoals of half worn wrought iron 3. 8. 8
One Iron, old iron pots 0.10.11
14 of middling pewter and 9 of very old 1. 8. 6
3 reap hooks and 2 old cow bells 0. 9. 0
One box iron & one Heaser of 1 small trunk 0. 8. 4
One stone mugg, one small earthen mug 0. 2.10
One stone Jugg, 2 butter pots 0. 6. 0
One fiddle, 1 small wafer box 0.10. 4
2 old knives and forks, 1 grid iron, 1 frying pan 0. 8. 0
One old fire tongs, one iron hook to hang meat on 0. 3. 0
One Testament and Book called Christian Monitor 0. 3. 0
One small Do, 16 of old iron 0. 4. 6
One large washing tub, Pail Piggen and Strainer 0. 4. 0
One pair cotton cords, one comb 0. 3.10
5½ of Thread, agum 0.15. 1
One pair Spoon moulds, one Razor 0. 5. 0
One old Horse Team, one pair sheep shears 0. 3. 0
One gun, one old gun 1.12. 6
½ of 1 pound of pepper, parcel of old Joyners
& Carpenter tools 0.18. 6
One iron kettle, one small iron skillet 0. 5. 1
One old Spinnin Wheel, again 0. 3. 0
One Cafe and 12 bottles, 2 cross leg tables 1. 3. 0
One old chest, 2 weeding hoes 0.11. 0
One old crosscut saw, 6 old chairs 0. 7. 0
3 old casks and 4 basketts 0. 6. 0
2½ of wool, 1 bushel of Flax seed 0. 5.10
1 Bed and Bolsor, 1 Do 3. 9. 2
1 Do 1.14. 0
1 Rugg, 2 Blanketts, one Quilt 1. 9. 0
48 of dryed beef, 11 of Tallon 0.17. 6
132 of Bacon 2. 4. 0
1 Negro Man called Jack aged 32 years 45. 0. 0
3 bushels of wheat, 3 pecks of salt 0.16. 6
1 Ewe, some upper leather and sole leather 0. 9. 0
1 Olde Mans Saddle & Bridle 0.10. 0
2 small Hydes 0.10. 0
173¼ bushels corn 17. 6. 6
150 Ten Penny nails 0. 1. 6
75 feet of pine plank, 5/hundred 0. 3. 9
One pair of Hames & Traces 0. 1. 6
3 of old iron, one old Claw Hammer 0. 1. 9
½ bushel of Rye 0. 1. 0
Debts due to Samuel Hitches Estate 4.17. 2
------------
£125. 1. 7
June 20, 1751 came Rachel Hitch and made oath." (Liber 46, Folio 95, Prerogative Court Records - Maryland)
I don't know about you, but I would love to have in my possession the old Bible and Christian Monitor book, carafe and 12 bottles, the old chest and spinning wheel, and the two cross-leg tables! Samuel Hitch was my great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather. This was his non-real property. His real estate would have been bequeathed in a will that unfortunately does not survive, or he died intestate where the real estate would have been distributed to heirs based upon current laws.
Other Lines of the Hitch Family
Besides the long line of Hitches who originated with Adam Hitch, there are other lines that came to this country in the mid-to-late 19th century. Like Adam, these families came primarily from England, but there are even some from Germany and other areas. The English Hitches are probably related to the original surname from which Adam descends. Other Hitches probably came upon the surname through American interpretations of their native language.
Nevertheless, I am beginning to piece together the other, non-Adam, lines of the Hitch family in America. The following are families I have come across in my research, along with place of origin and approximate date of arrival.
These are all that I have listed in my files to date. There are surely more and I plan to do much more research into these lines in the future. Any help from the readership ranks out there would be much appreciated.
Confederate States of America
In my on-going effort to report on the services of Hitches in historical wars in America, I present those who fought in the Civil War for the Confederate States of America. The following members of the Hitch family are known to have served in this bloody affair:
Benjamin F. Hitch - From Georgia, served as a Quartermaster Sergeant for Company F and Company S of the 35th Georgia Infantry.
Charles Hitch - From Virginia, served as a Private for Company K of the 5th Virginia Infantry.
J.A. Hitch - From South Carolina, served as a Private in Company D of the 5th South Carolina Troops and Company B of the 9th South Carolina Reserves.
John C. Hitch - From Missouri, served as a Private and then Sergeant in Company H of the 2nd Missouri Cavalry.
John O.W. Hitch - Originally from Maryland and relocated to Mississippi when young, served as a Private in Company A of the 21st Mississippi Infantry.
John W. Hitch - From Kentucky, served as a Private in three different musters: Company A of the 1st Regiment (Butler's) Kentucky Cavalry, Company A of the 1st Battalion Kentucky Mounted Rifles, and Company A of the 3rd Battalion Kentucky Mounted Rifles.
Robert M. Hitch - From Georgia, served as a Captain in Company B of the 30th Georgia Infantry.
S.G. Hitch - From South Carolina, served as a Private in Company D of the 1st Battalion South Carolina Infantry and Company D of the 27th South Carolina Infantry.
Stephen K. Hitch - From Tennessee, served as a Private in Company G of the 63rd Tennessee Infantry.
W.C. Hitch - From Kentucky, served as a Private in Company I, 3rd Kentucky Mounted Infantry.
W.H. Hitch - From Texas, served as a Corporal in Company H, 2nd Regiment Cavalry, Texas State Troops.
William Hitch - From Tennessee, was a Private in Captain McClung's Company, Tennessee Light Artillery.
Y.H.E. Hitch - From South Carolina, served as a Private in Company I of the 16th South Carolina Infantry and Company C of the 9th South Carolina Infantry. He was killed during the war and his body was never found.
There are probably other Hitches who served for the CSA during the Civil War and I would appreciate any information any of you may have in this area.
Store Accounts at John Nelms' Store
John Nelms was a storekeeper in the town of Salisbury, Maryland in Somerset County (modern-day Wicomico County) from 1758 to 1787. For those of us familiar with the area, the site of his business is now under or just north of U.S. 50 on the eastern bank of the Wicomico River as it progresses through Salisbury. He sold, traded and dealt with the locals in a variety of things including corn, lumber, shingles, wheat, tar, salt meat, nests of wooden tubs, shoes, windows, pewterware, hinges, clothing, books, etc. He would also rent a slave for a week or season, lease a house, and had for hire your choice of a horse, a sloop or a scow. (1)
Lucky for us, Mr. Nelms kept meticulous records of his business transactions, items sold, and credit extended. The Hitch surname is represented quite frequently in those records. I have entered them here for your review, including items traded and time frame of the referenced transactions:
Ann Hitch, widow, 4/25/17767-5/28/1768: Bought one trace rope for £0.1.3. Paid in cash in 1768.
Benjamin Hitch, 1/9/1767-2/7/1776: Bought shoe buckles, pair of garters and tacks for £0.9.0. George Disharoon delivered four bushels of corn for a credit of £0.8.0 in 1768 and £0.1.0 was carried to Ledger E. In 1775 he bought a gallon of molasses and paid in cash in 1776.
Ebey Hitch, 5/29/1767: Made a delivery to Alexander Maddox.
Elias Hitch, 3/23/1786-6/23/1787: Purchased a felt hat, white linen and osnaburg (2) for £1.6.0. Note taken for this amount in 1787.
Elijah Hitch, 6/24/1775-6/13/1779: Brought balance of £0.14.8 from Ledger H. Purchased a brooch and broad cloth to run balance to £2.4.11. Paid in cash in 1779. Delivered 1 bushel of peas in 1776 for credit of £0.4.0 on the account of Lowday Hitch.
James Hitch, 7/26/1766-1/5/1769: Balance and interest from Ledger C of £1.0.11. Paid in cash in 1769.
John Hitch, 1765-1768: Balance from Ledger C of £0.19.6. Charged white linen, thread, spelling books, rum, molasses and a felt hat for a total of £3.12.1½. His widow delivered 24¼ bushels of corn for a credit of £2.10.6 in 1768 and carried a balance of £1.1.7½ to Ledger E.
Joseph Hitch, 1/9/1767-5/23/1768: Brought balance and interest of £4.2.4 from Ledger C. Bought rum, a chest lock, pins and ribbon for a total of £4.14.2. Paid £2.7.6 in cash and corn in 1768 and carried a total of £2.6.8 to Ledger E.
Joshua Hitch Jr., 1765-2/5/1776: Carried £1.0.9 from Ledger C. Bought a silk handkerchief for a total bill of £1.1.9. Paid £0.4.0 in cash in 1768 leaving a balance of £0.17.9 for Ledger E. In 1775, he purchased indigo, trace ropes, compasses, an iron teakettle, buttons, yarn, gloves and needles for £1.10.9. Paid in cash in 1776.
Joshua Hitch Sr., 7/18/1767-7/10/1768: Purchased 16 large pins for £0.0.8 in 1767 and paid in March 1768. Delivered two bushels of corn for £0.4.0 for the account of Thomas Stanford and 1,000 cypress shingles for Henry White in 1768.
Leah Hitch (Miss), 7/25/1767-3/12/1768: Bought one yard of ribbon for £0.1.6 with her sister Eve Harris as security. Cash paid in full by William Lank in 1768.
Letty Hitch, 12/16/1775: Got credit on the account of Moses Driskell Sr. for £0.6.0.
Lowday Hitch, 1/13/1775-12/20/1777: Balance and interest carried from Ledger H of £1.8.1. Bought 9 yards of duck (3) and one pound of brimstone (sulfur) for a total of £2.11.7. Elijah Hitch delivered 1 bushel of peas in 1776 for credit of £0.4.0, the balance was paid in cash in 1777.
Nehemiah Hitch, 1765-3/25/1769: Brought a balance of £3.8.9 from Ledger C and bought shalloon, thread, linen, buttons, rum, and four sheets of paper for a total of £4.16.8. Delivered corn in 1768 for a credit of £1.3.0 and carried £3.13.8 to Ledger E.
Rachel Hitch Sr., Bought oil, delivered by William Bell, for £0.3.0. Paid in corn delivered by her negro Jack and by Stephen Lank. In 1775, she bought stamped cotton, thread, shoe buckles, ribbon, lawn, apron tape, and filliting tape (4) for £1.4.11½.
Robert Hitch (Captain in 1776), 1/24/1767-2/17/1777: Bought a chest lock, needles and rum in 1767. Brought balance of £11.11.2 from Ledger H in 1775 and charged linen, stamped cotton, trace ropes, cordage, thread, and spring locks for a total of £8.1.3. Paid £8.3.1 in cash in 1775 and £12.15.0 in 1777.
Thomas Hitch, 1775-1787: Brought balance of £2.12.7 from Ledger H. Gave a note for that amount in 1787.
"A Hitch Orchard"
Some of the feedback I have received in response to the last edition of HFN, comes from a series of four volumes of a work conducted by Daisy Bell Hitch Davies in 1931 called A Hitch Orchard. Mrs. Davies was born in New York on October 28, 1877 and compiled a literal mountain of data regarding the Hitch family. She did this mostly by corresponding with and visiting many people throughout the country in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Her work is to be commended and has served as a valuable resource in my endeavor to gather Hitch family information. Unfortunately, there are quite a few errors in her work and supporting source material is weak. However, if one is careful while sifting through her findings and does the necessary verification through reference material, A Hitch Orchard is an excellent source for Hitch information.
The real value to me of Mrs. Davies' work is that she actually met and talked with Hitch folks 65 to 70 years ago. This has provided me with a time machine of sorts with a direct conduit back to the Hitches of 1920s and 1930s even though most have long since passed away. By matching her first-hand accounts with the available source and reference material, I have been able to close many a mystery I have had with relation to some Hitch-related facts. I only wish that I would have had the opportunity to have met Mrs. Davies while she was still living.
Acknowledgments
I would like to personally thank many of you for the wealth of information I have received since the last issue. In particular, thanks goes out to: Donovan Hitch (KY), Paul E. Hitch (GA), Henry A. Hitch (AZ), Cecilia R. Hitch (IA), S. George Hitch (NC), Spence Hitch (DE), J. Carroll Hitch (MD), Dr. Francis Hitch (OH), Barbara K. Hitch (IL), Richard J. Hitch (MO), Marvin B. Hitch (DE), John F. Hitch (MI), Terry R. Hitch (IL), Helen R. Hitch (MD), Doris Hitch Culver (DE), William H. Hitch (GA), Charles E. Hitch (MT), William L. Hitch (TX), Donna Hitch (LA), and all else who took the time to write. Keep the letters and information coming!
Next in HFN
Coming in the next issue of the Hitch Family Newsletter:
• Much more abstracts of Hitch folks including Union Hitches in the Civil War.
Do You Like This Newsletter?
Please send me your comments or suggestions to me regarding the newsletter. Send them in care of the following address.
1. From Store Accounts of John Nelms of Salisbury, 1758-1787, John E. Jacob Jr., 1990.
2. A cheap, coarse cloth originally made in Oznaburg, Germany, used for slave clothing.
3. A strong, plain woven fabric similar to, but lighter than, canvas.
4. Narrow band of ribbon used for binding.