Hitch

Family Newsletter

Issue Number 12

Autumn 1997

Dear Cousins and other Relatives,

Welcome back to the Hitch Family Newsletter (HFN)! This is Issue Number 12 of this publication, the second following a complete volume of the first ten issues I published as a keepsake for future generations. The volume called Hitch Family Newsletter, Issues 1 through 10, Autumn 1994 through Spring 1997 has been a great success and has received good reviews from people who have gotten a copy. If you are interested in receiving a copy there are still some available so just fill out and return the order form on the back page or send me a postcard.

In Issue 12 herein, I offer two stories and a couple of interesting photographs. The first story is a Halloween-ish offering about a "haunted house" in southern Delaware with a distinctly Hitch connection. I think the story is quite entertaining and appropriate for this "spooky" season of the year.

The second article is about Mr. Sylvanus Hitch who was born in Massachusetts around New Bedford, Bristol County in 1811 and who migrated to Georgia probably sometime in the 1830s. He and his descendants have made a very positive mark on this country's history.

The two photographs, taken in c. 1889 and c. 1875, respectively, were sent to me by generous Hitch descendants in the readership. They are of the Dr. Thomas Anderson Hitch (1850-1929) family of Delaware and John Hitch (1849-1920) of Indiana.

I hope you enjoy both stories. Please continue to write to me with your thoughts, suggestions or comments about the HFN and, continue to send me information and stories about your branches of the family. I especially enjoy getting copies of all those old photographs lurking out there. If you have any, please get them to me so that we can make sure that they are saved for posterity.

Thank you and happy reading,

Mike Hitch

The Haunted (Hitch) House of Sussex County, Delaware (1834-1977)

The following story was written by an unknown author who was a 12th grade student in my father's class while he was a teacher at Laurel (DE) High School in the late 1970s. It is a rather macabre story about a house in lower Sussex County, Delaware that was built and owned by a Hitch family. The house, in Edgar Allen Poe-ish fashion, seemed to develop its own persona as it lived through a long history of interesting and rather devilish events. I offer it here since, this being the month of October, we all seem to enjoy ghoulish entertainment - especially when it directly relates to our family history. Read the story and I will relate some facts regarding the house and family afterwards.

In the lower part of Delaware, there is a house. This house, the Hitch House, has a history that begins with the influential, wealthy family who first built it and ends with a coven of devil worshipers who lead to its final destruction.

The Hitch House was conceived prior to the middle of the nineteenth century. Its planning and construction were both supervised by its first owner, William Hitch. He was born in 1802 and was between twenty and thirty when he decided to build his own house. By this time he was married and had become a successful man. He owned a very sizable amount of money and wanted to build a house to start his family in.

The house was not that huge, it was just a normal size, two story, house which did not appear to be anything that special, until you went inside. Then it's beauty and glory would astound you. You would see three huge fireplaces, each with ornately carved mantels with flowers and anchors entertevining (sic; interlaced, interspersed?) in them. It had two staircases, one which led from the front room. This was the center of attraction. It was (constructed of) a rich, dark wood which wound its way to the upper levels of the house. And even though it had several spirals in it, it was all carved from a single piece of wood. Upstairs were five bedrooms. One for the parents, three for the future children, and one small one for the black servant. Downstairs it had several more ovations (?). The main attraction was a kitchen located in the house, complete with an indoor pitcher-head pump and a built in pantry. The wall paper was richly colored and on the ceiling the paper was one design that was spread out from the center all the way to the four walls, and which had to be fit together very carefully.

Outside the house began to take on a certain air also, which was accented by two porches with large white pillars, large round-top windows, and stain glass weather vanes. There was also a large barn behind it complete with fitted board floors for the horses, and a large shed for farm equipment.

Finally; after several years, the house was finished and William brought his wife, Maranda, there. Now he was ready to spend his time in having a family and making money. He had better luck in the second respect than in the first. In a period of fifteen years his wife bore eight children and only one lived. He was born November fifth, 1840, and was named George Paul (this is really Phillip) Hitch. Although William wasn't doing well with a family he was doing excellent in everything else. He now owned hundreds of acres; both cleared and wooded. In addition, he had two mills. One was a saw mill which was located in the woods that were (sic) a short distance from the house. The other was a flour mill that was situated on a nearby pond which was amply (sic; appropriately) named Hitch Pond. He also had entered into politics and even though he held no offices he held a lot of control over who did.

Time went on and affairs continued to progress. On October third, 1860; George married a twenty-one year old girl named Caroline. They moved in with the parents and George helped with the family enterprises. At first, the new couple didn't have any better luck than George's parents. After producing one dead child, they didn't attempt it again for a considerable time. Then in 1876, Carlton W. was born. He was followed four years later by William J. the second. The family's future seemed secure.

As the years passed by, old age began to catch up with William. Then on December sixth, 1886, he died. His wife never seemed to recover from the shock and she followed him into the hereafter on November tenth, 1888. With the sudden demise of his parents, George found himself in charge of a fortune. Unfortunately a good sense of business didn't run in the family. Not many years passed before the saw mill went out of business. The flour mill followed a few years later. Soon the family had lost all powers and farmed for a living. But George still had the Hitch House and a fortune in his father's money and was still getting along well even though he was over seventy.

Then on December twenty-eight, 1915; Caroline died. George went into a state of shock from which his mind never fully recovered. Soon afterwards he had his coffin made and had it placed in the barn. Then he had specifications made up for the vault and he had his will drawn up. On Sunday afternoons he would go into the barn and lie in his coffin for hours at a time. Then through the-week he would drive his buggy by the nearby school house and scare the children by telling them of it. Finally on September twenty-seventh, 1920; he died.

Upon his instructions, his will was read immediately after his death. The part of his leaving the Hitch House and the Family Fortune, which was still a pretty sizable amount, to Carlton and William was not surprising. The other part was. It stated that his coffin and vault were to be fitted with a small glass window directly above his face and that the vault should protrude several inches above the ground. His will also stipulated that he was to be buried with his favorite cane. The reason for this was simple enough. At this time people wore not embalmed and sometimes if someone passed out they were buried alive. His line of thought was that if such a thing happened he could break out the window with his cane and call for help from his sons; since they had a family cemetery in the field behind the house. After this, the word spread far and near of the man with the window in his coffin at the Hitch House.

As the years passed by, very little changed. Neither Carlton or William ever got married. Both of them still lived ii the family home and they shared the farming of the huge fields that they still owned. They lived off this farming and as they got older, off the money they received for renting the land out to other farmers. By doing this they kept the family inheritance and very seldom spent any of it.

Years went by and the two brothers continued to live the same. In 1955, the eldest; Carlton, died. Only one year later, William was hospitalized and then in 1957, he died also. The last of the great family of Hitches were gone.

In the early 1930's they had electricity installed. Except for that and the fact that it was more run down, the house was the same as when the first William built it. Up until 1957 they still used wood stoves and fireplaces for heat, a pitcher-head pump for water, had as outhouse out back, and used a horse and buggy to travel the six miles to the nearest town; which was Laurel.

After the last of the family died, William's will had to be read. It stated no heirs, so the lands would therefore be auctioned off by the state. All the will stated was that the lane going past the house and back to the cemetery was to be kept open, to allow people to visit the graves if they wished. William also left a large amount of money to a nearby hospital, in the nearby town of Seaford, where he died. The will also made arrangements for a bank in Laurel, to receive a sizable amount of money, that was to be used for the upkeep of the family plots over the years. The land and house were then sold at public auction. The new possessor of the Hitch House and land was a local farmer who didn't have interest in the house, but only the rich farm lands.

At this time stories started springing up about the house. It was common knowledge that the Hitches owned a 1arge amount of money. Then people started wondering what had become of it. That which was accounted for in the will was only a percentage of' the supposed total fortune, and it had only been deposited in the bank a couple of years before William died. "Where could the rest be?" was the question that people started asking themselves and others. A general answer was soon reached. It must be hidden somewhere in the Hitch House. For the next few years a parade of different local people visited the house secretly. They busted in the fireplaces, ripped down the mantels, poked holes in the walls and ceilings, and pried up the floor boards. The fancy wallpaper was ripped from the wall, the banister was busted apart, and even the stair steps were pried up in an attempt to find a hidden treasure.

By this time the only part of the house still undamaged were the windows. But some discouraged treasure hunter decided to vent his rage out on them and consequently they were used for target practice. By now the house was nothing but a shell, but it was a solid shell. William Hitch built it out of seasoned oak and it was just as solid as the day it was built. Its appearance wasn't too good though and at night it seemed to look like the lair for all sorts of evil spirits. Late one Halloween night a group of teenagers were out trying to find a frightening way to celebrate the event. They saw the Hitch House and went in, hoping to see a ghost. At this moment a tradition started that was to continue for years to come and which eventually spread all over the county and beyond. Every Halloween, car loads of partying teenagers would flock to the Hitch House. Stories were started about it and all the ghosts that inhabited it and these stories spread like wildfire. Then late one night, some of them sneaked back to the graveyard. The leader of the group lifted a tire iron and smashed out the glass windows of George Hitches tomb. Then he quickly reached in and extracted the skull and rapidly left. The next day he set it in the back window of his car as a decoration. People saw it and knew where it came from. Several warned him to take it back before something happened to him for defiling a grave. He only laughed at them and went on as he was. Finally, several years after he took it he threw it back. But according to some it was too late. A few years passed and he was married. His wife was soon pregnant and they settled in the neighborhood. About a week before she was due to have her baby a drunken man ran a red light and in the resulting crash, both her and the baby died. The drunkard wasn't even scratched. Talk started spreading among the farmers again, "Old man Hitch had gotten his revenge," they were all saying that.

Time had now progressed to the middle 1960's. Now a different group of people wanted to use the house. A1ocal country church set up a piano and several old pews and started using it for their choir practice. This went on for several years and then; because of the fear that someone would steal or damage the piano, they moved all of their things out and left it standing empty and alone once more.

Around the late sixties the owner decided to get some use out of the house. It was late summer and time for harvest so he decided to bring up some migrant workers from down South. Around thirty men came bringing their women, children, and a few minor possessions. They swarmed through the house and made themselves at home. In no time at all they started making their presence known in the neighborhood. Since they had no water they had to go to nearby farms to borrow it. This the people didn't mind but as the days passed, trouble soon began. They hired a woman from town to look after their children while they worked in the fields. Several of the men; however, came back to the house and attempted to rape her. She grabbed a wine bottle, and after smashing it on a table, used it to defend herself. She escaped unharmed; with the bottle still in her hand to a nearby farm. She finally convinced the farmer to take her to town, but only after she threw away the remains of the broken bottle. Not long after that they got fighting among themselves and one of their numbers got beat up severely. He ran away, and once again went to one of the neighboring farms, requesting a ride to town. The people had had enough, they decided among themselves to try to force the workers to move away. However, something else seemed to do it for them before they could. Have anything done. Many of the workers started sneaking off in the middle of the night without a word to anyone. More and more started leaving every day. Finally, when some of them went for water, one of the farmers asked them what was going on. One replied "Strange things have been happening in that house. Things disappear then reappear somewhere else, and late at night when everyone is to bed you hear people talking but you can never find them. We aren't staying anywhere with a ghost, no mater how much we're paid." And with that he left to join the others who were preparing to leave.

The following year, the owner decided to bring more workers into the Hitch House. Again he had the problem of them leaving in fear in the middle of the night. At least he had a solution to his problem. He decided to put in a different group of workers each week, and; to the dismay of the neighbors, it worked. For a while it seemed as if the house would do the job for them, now it appeared as if they would have to do it themselves after all. They persuaded the local Deputy Sheriff to try to look for a loop-hole through which he could have the people removed from the house. Finally he found it. According to state law there must be an adequate sanitation program. All they had was one 150 year old out house for approximately fifty people. They were forced to move out, and once again the Hitch House was deserted.

A few more years passed. In the early 1970's the Hitch House once again was on everyone's minds. Late in the Spring of 1973, a man who had been hunting, crossed the field in back of the Hitch House. As he did so he saw to his horror that one of the graves had been dug up and that the bones were spread all around. A week later he came back with a friend to look again. By this time another grave had been opened and more bones were covering the ground. The matter was brought to the attention of the State Police, but still nothing was done. Finally, about a month later; when another grave had been broken into and still nothing had been done, the local people once again decided to act on it themselves. They contacted a state senator; who happened to have been renting the land surrounding the house and graveyard for farming, and informed him of the situation. He in turn contacted the State Police. They placed the cemetery under close servelence (sic; surveillance) and after two weeks their patience was rewarded. They apprehended four juveniles in the act of digging up a fourth grave. They were arrested and after being questioned it was it was learned that they had done it for two reasons. The first was for money. They had heard that the Hitches were rich so they had been digging up the graves and removing the jewelry which was lieing (sic; lying) in the remains. The second reason they stated, was as an initiation into a club. They would not tell what kind of club but the type and name would soon become common knowledge in the surrounding countryside and would not be forgotten for many years to come.

A few months later the Hitch House was in use once again. People had seen lights back there and at night the dogs in the neighborhood were constantly barking. Then strange things started happening. Threatening notes were left to some of the neighboring houses and were signed Eternal Sleep.

It was a coven of devil worshipers. In these notes they threatened individuals, included unknown words from their ceremonies in some and drew ancient signs for the devil on others. They talked of death and destruction, and talked of their evil plans. The State Police were contacted but nothing could be done. Then they started making threatening calls to some of the people and sneaked around outside of their homes at night, but still nothing could be done. Then they began to mail letters to some of the people close by and in these letters they threatened to kill the receiver. At this time it was found out that using the Postal Service to send threats was a federal offense. Now the Delaware State Police contacted the local branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They confiscated the letters and put line taps on the phones and for a while everything settled down. Eventually it quieted down and the FBI dropped the case. Soon afterwards-it started up again.

More things were learned about the group. It was discovered that they lived in several of the neighboring towns and came to the Hitch House to perform some of their religious ceremonies. Through the tracing of the license tag numbers of some of their cars the police were able to identify several. When they raided the home of one of these, who was believed to be a leader of the group, they discovered him sleeping in a coffin. It was then found out that the group was dealing in drugs and was even growing large amounts of marijuana in the neighborhood of the Hitch House.

The reign of terror continued. They continued sending their notes and messages to the people nearby. Now they were taking the credit for a brutal, bloody unsolved murder that occurred in a nearby town two years before. In 1976 the State Police paid visits to several local high schools and held conferences with the teachers working there. They asked them to be on the lookout for anyone with "E.S." cut into their wrist, as this was one of the requirements for being in the group. They also told. the teachers that the group was growing in size and that they were one of the few groups in existence which use live animals for their sacrifices. One such sacrifice site was found in a nearby state park.

A few days 1ater; just before Halloween night, a group of teenagers were riding by the house when they saw the car of one of the Satanists leaving it. They followed it and attempted to get the lescense (sic; license) number and in the process several shots were fired at them from the Hitch House. They called the State Police on a. citizens band radio and when they arrived they managed to capture one of the devil worshipers. However he accused the teenagers of firing at him and for some reason his word was accepted. He was released and the four young males were put in the suspect files of the State Police.

This action by the police department caused an explosive like reaction by many farmers who has (been ) victimized. What followed could almost be called a feud. When the devil worshipers returned they were met by angry men armed with shotguns and holding the leads of vicious dogs. Night after night they would return and when the dogs would start barking the farmers would break out the guns and fire a few rounds towards the woods. Consequently the Satanists started sticking to the house and didn't venture out into the countryside as often. As one disgruntled farmer said "If the cops won't do nothing, we'll do it ourselves. All we have to do is shoot them, dig a hole and role (sic) them in it; and if the cops want to come to the funeral, then that's fine too."

Although they only went to the house now for their ceremonies the people were determined to get rid of them (i.e., the devil worshipers) once and for all. Talk started circulating about destroying the house and who would do it. Several tried but the attempts failed. Then on February third, 1977 at 2:00 a.m., the fire siren at the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department sounded. The firemen rushed to the scene but they were too late. The Hitch House was completely engulfed in flames by the time they got there and all they could do was (to) keep the flames from spread to the nearby fields and woods. By the stage of development the fire was estimated at starting at midnight. Who started it could only be guessed at. Many theorys (sic) started circulating. Some thought one of the people in the neighborhood finally had had enough and decided to get rid of it once and for all. Others thought that the devil worshipers did it by accident; as it was a full moon and this is when they have their ceremonal (sic) fire. And still others thought some kids from a neighboring town may have done it just to be destructive. No one knows for sure.

The Hitch House visited for nearly 160 years. During this time it was inhabited by the very rich and very poor. At times it was controlled by the people of God and at others by the followers of Satan. It was the home of old people and the favorite retreat of many young ones. It started. out as being a happy place but its history got blacker as time went by. It was a place heard of by many and which will not be forgotten by anyone who was associated with it. Its history is full of mystery and laced with unknown facts which will plague people for many years to come and it died in mystery on the night of fire, as no one knows, to this day, who burned the Hitch House . . . Except for the ones who lit the match.

Now, wasn't that an interesting tale?? As you can imagine, not all the historical facts are 100% true. I suspect that the exact facts probably suffered from the "passing down syndrome" where stories seem to change and evolve as years go by. Nevertheless, the primary premise of the story is true from what I have been able to gather. Here are some facts surrounding the Hitch family who owned this house.

The William Hitch who owned this house was born April 28, 1802 and died December 6, 1886. His parentage is not certain, however, through some of my research, I believe he is the son of Samuel (Levin?) Hitch who named heirs William and Levin Hitch in his will through an administration of his estate in 1826(1). More research is required here however to verify that this William is indeed the William who is the subject of this article. Our William did marry Maranda Short (daughter of Philip and Sarah Short) on May 6, 1834(2) in Sussex County. To this union were born the following children:

Note, that, while the family may have had some children who died young that have eluded my research, they also had many others besides George P. Hitch who lived to adulthood. Also, since William and Maranda Hitch were married in Spring of 1834 and had their first child Sally eleven months later, it would not be too much of a stretch to assume that the "Hitch House" was probably built c. 1834 - close to, but not exactly the same time frame indicated in the story (i.e., "nearly 160 years" old in 1977 would put a build date in the area of 1820 or so).

William Hitch did hold political office contrary to the story. In 1852-57, he was Clerk of the Peace for Sussex County. In 1862, he was listed as a Senator for the State of Delaware that, by 1865 had been elevated to Speaker of the State Senate(3). So, although the story missed the point of William actually holding political office, he did indeed hold " a lot of control over who did."

George Phillip (not Paul as in the story) Hitch married Caroline Finsthwait (8/11/1839-12/27/1915) on October 13, 1860 in Sussex County(4). They had the following children:

Note that they did not have sons Carlton W. or William J. Hitch, rather these were children of Levin S. Hitch by his second wife. George and Caroline did, however, have bad luck with their first children dying young.

As for the Hitch property and graveyard, I have had the firsthand opportunity to have visited there last year. It is located about 3 miles east of Laurel, Delaware near the intersection of State Road 24 and 463 in the northeast quadrant. To get there, take Route 24 east out of Laurel. Road 463 intersects Route 24 about 3 miles east of U.S. Route 13, turn left (north) here and proceed about ¼ of a mile to the old Hitch property on the right. (If you have an accurate map, the cemetery is located back in the field at approximately 38o, 33.0' N and 75o, 29.5' W, latitude and longitude.)

In 1996 when I visited there, the house was gone, but some out-buildings remained. To the rear of the property, a few hundred yards by dirt path back in the field was the graveyard. It was in poor shape, extremely overgrown with brush and tombstones and markers spread around in disarray. The vault cover of George Hitch's grave was cracked to pieces but its inscription was readable and the place where the "window" that was provisioned in his will was clearly indicated. It is a real shame that this graveyard has been allowed to deteriorate to such an extent. I wonder what happened to the money Carlton and William bequeathed to the bank in the 1950s for "upkeep of the cemetery" went?

While the early "facts" of the story by our anonymous high school student are somewhat askew, the general premise of the article is true and indicates the varied history of a house that is an integral part of the history of our family. Happy Halloween!

Sylvanus Hitch of Massachusetts and Georgia (1811-1880)

The following (italicized) is a biography taken from the book, Pioneers of Wiregrass Georgia, Volume I, A Biographical Account of Some of the Early Settlers of That Portion of Wiregrass Georgia Embraced in the Original Counties of Irwin, Appling, Wayne, Camden, and Glynn by Folks Huxford:

SYLVANUS HITCH (1811-1880)

Sylvanus Hitch was born in New Bedford, Mass., in 1811. He came south a young unmarried man, and located at Clinton, Jones County, where he established a merchant tailor business. He was married there Feb. 23, 1845, to Miss Ann A. Nichols, daughter of Hon. Simon W. Nichols of Clinton (but who soon after moved to Clinch County; see Vol. III). She was born in Savannah in 1822. Born to them were seven children, viz:

1. Sylvanus Jr., b. 1846, m. _________ Scholfield

2. Simon Wood, b. 1848, m. Frances Myers, dau. of Rev. Dr. H.P.

3. Margaret, b. 1849, m. Joel L. Sweat

4. Charles F., b. 1855, m. Alice Mattox, dau. of Hiram P.

5. Radford T., b. 1858, m. Dollie C. Colesbury, Apr. 21, 1896

6. Anna, b. 1860, m. John P. Hughes

7. Nannie, b. 1862, m. S.G. Sanders

Mr. Hitch following the example of his wife's father, invested heavily in wild lands in South Georgia, principally in Ware and Clinch counties. He bought the historic Coleraine tract on the St. Marys River in Camden, and moved there in 1855. Mr. Hitch continued living at Coleraine until after the Civil War, when he moved to Homerville in 1865. He bought a tract of about 50 acres in the southeast part of the village of Homerville, and built a comfortable home on it. He retired from all business activities after moving to Homerville, and died there June 5, 1880. His remains were taken to Blackshear by his son, Simon W. Hitch (who at the time was Solicitor-General of the Brunswick Circuit and was living there), and were buried there. Mrs. Hitch died in 1898 and was buried by (sic, beside) her husband.

Mr. and Mrs. Hitch were faithful members of the Methodist Church, and he served a good many years as steward in the church.

Some notes on the family of Sylvanus Hitch are in order. First of all, there is very little doubt that Sylvanus was a grandson of Capt. Samuel Hitch (1740/41-1825), who was in turn a grandson of Adam Hitch (1658/59-1731) through Samuel (1703/09-1750). The trouble is, we are not certain which son of Capt. Samuel is the father of our Sylvanus Hitch. The possibilities focus around two of Capt. Samuel's sons: Sylvanus and Ebenezer Hitch (More is known about his other two sons, Hardy and Joshua, who can be eliminated from consideration). The former was born in about 1785 and the latter circa 1784. Neither one is listed as a head-of-household in the 1820 Census, but this is not that unusual as both were seafaring men and may have been at sea with the rest of their family living with other relatives at the time.

The most recent record I have found of Ebenezer Hitch being alive was when he was married to Sarah White on August 16, 1821. Sylvanus Hitch, on the other hand, shows up only as late as the 1810 Bristol County. Massachusetts Federal Census and for his marriage to Polly Wood on January 4, 1807. Therefore, we cannot establish with certainty at this point that Ebenezer was living after 1821 and Sylvanus after 1810. However, it is most probable that is one of these two gentlemen who is listed in the June 5, 1824 edition of the Columbian Centenial (the old Boston newspaper) as, "Capt. Hitch of the brig Elbe died at sea, lost overboard on passage from New York to Ireland, 14 days out."

Based upon this limited information, I believe that it was Ebenezer who died at sea in 1824 and that Sylvanus Hitch may have died before 1820(5). I also now believe that Sylvanus Hitch was the father of the Sylvanus of this article. Note that this contradicts my original thoughts about this branch where I had placed Sylvanus as a son of Ebenezer Hitch. In any regard, the question cannot be fully resolved at this point.

We do know much more about the younger Sylvanus' family. Sylvanus F. Hitch was born about 1811 and married Ann Apollina Nichols (daughter of Simon Wood Nichols and Margaret Waver) on February 23, 1845. The couple had the following children:

I have had the real pleasure of corresponding with two descendants of this line who have provided me with lots of excellent information on this family. They are Simon Herbert Hitch of North Carolina and a grandson of Simon Wood Hitch through his son James Wood Hitch (9/20/1880-10/23/1962) and, Louise (Hitch) Gilchrist of Alabama who is a granddaughter of Simon Wood Hitch through another of his sons, Edward Sylvanus Hitch (11/1884-??). I will write more about this distinguished family in future issues.

PHOTOS

Image of Dr. Thomas Anderson Hitch Family (c.1889)

The above photograph was taken in c. 1889 of the Dr. Thomas Anderson Hitch family. Back Row (L to R): Dr. Hitch (1850-1929), Emlen Cresson Hitch (1880-1955), Almira Cresson (Dasey) Bailey Hitch (1846-1933); Front Row: Avis Smith Hitch Clendaniel (1887-1968), Ora Anderson Hitch Traylor (1882-1937), Roscoe Conklyn Hitch (1884-1969). Thanks to Mr. Marvin Gibbons for sending me a copy of this photo. He descends from Almira Cresson Dasey through her first husband, Henry Bailey.

Image of John Hitch (1849-1920) (c. 1875)

The preceding photograph was taken in c. 1875 of John Hitch (10/12/1849-11/16/1920), son of John Hitch (8/24/1812-1858) and Anna Riggle (1815/17-1898). This photograph accompanied John Hitch's paperwork where he was discharged from the Army on December 29, 1878. He had enlisted as a Private in 1873 with Company A of the 2nd Indiana Infantry for a term of five years. He was described therein as 5'-10¼" tall, "sallow" complexion, blue eyes and light hair. Thanks to Mrs. Naomi (Hitch) Mitchell of Indiana for sending me a copy of this photo. She descends from John and Anna Hitch through this John Hitch's brother Abram Hitch (3/21/1856-12/19/1935). I will be writing much more about this family who went to Indiana from Blount County, Tennessee and who descend from the Christopher Hitch of MD/VA line.

Do You Like This Newsletter?

Please send me your comments or suggestions to the following address:

Mike Hitch

12310 Backus Drive

Bowie, MD 20720

Telephone: (301) 805-9855

 

"What is past is prologue."

- Inscription on the walls of the National Archives

1. Delaware Probates Volume A76, Folio 199 and A77, Folios 1-5; Delaware State Archives, Dover, DE.

2. Delaware Marriage Records

3. "History of the State of Delaware," Henry C. Conrad, 1908.

4. Delaware Marriage Records

5. In a letter from Rev. James W. Hitch, son of Simon Wood Hitch, to Daisy Hitch Davies and dated February 28, 1930, there is a reference to Sylvanus F. Hitch. Rev. Hitch states, " His (referring to Sylvanus F. Hitch) father and mother died when he was a child and he lived with his grandparents until he left them to come south which he did in his early youth." The use of the terms "child" and "early youth" give some suggestion of when Sylvanus' father may have died. The fact that he died when Sylvanus was a "child" implies that he may have been under ten years of age. That he went "south . . . in his early youth" may suggest leaving Massachusetts in his teenage years. This would suggest that Sylvanus the elder probably died in the 1817-1820 range.