Christopher Hitch

THIS LINE IS UNCERTAIN.

Christopher Hitch was in Fauquier Co., VA by March of 1779 when he and his wife witnessed the will of Benjamin Neale. There was a Christopher Hitch in Prince Georges Co., MD in 1762 as an appraiser of Joseph Barrow's estate (See Prerogative Court Records of MD).

Christopher Hitch is listed in the 1799 Tax List for Fauquier County, VA.

There has been much speculation concerning Christopher Hitch of Maryland, Fauquier Co., Virginia and then Blount Co., Tennessee. He is definitely the patriarch of that part of the Hitch family that currently resides in Blount Co., Tennessee and those that descend from folks from that area. The speculation arises when we try to determine from where Christopher Hitch himself originated.

While the real answers may be lost to history, there is enough historical evidence to provide some acceptable for his origin. I will detail the evidence here and present my theory for his beginnings in this country. In my research, it seems that we can narrow down Christopher Hitch's origin to three possible areas:

1. He was a descendant of the patriarch Adam Hitch (1658/59-1730/31) of Maryland.

2. He was a descendant of the Hitch family from which Adam Hitch originated, but not in a father-son relationship.

3. He was an immigrant to America from a totally separate line of the Hitch family with ties unknown to the Adam Hitch line.

Research seems to favor the second item above where Christopher Hitch was possibly a nephew of Adam Hitch. However, I will present the evidence here and let the reader draw his/her own conclusion.

The earliest record the author can find with reference to a Christopher Hitch comes from the Calendar of Maryland State Papers, No. 1, The Black Books. In them, Christopher Hitch is present on a List of Taxables for the Upper Piscattaway (sic) Hundred for Prince Georges Co., Maryland in 1733. Christopher Hitch does not appear in the records again until he is listed as an appraiser to the estate of Joseph Barrow in the same county in late 1761/early 1762 (Records of the Prerogative Court of Maryland).

In the Parish Register of Piscataway Parish, Prince Georges Co., Maryland, a Christopher Hitch and his wife Susanna had a son named Bartholomew Hitch born July 18, 1753. In the same reference, there are two Christopher Hitches listed in the year 1768. The first, with his wife Susanna, baptized their child Barton Hitch on April 10, 1768. On the same day, Christopher Hitch, with HIS wife Rebecca, had their child Nathan Hitch baptized.

During the revolution, in 1778, Christopher Hitch took an Oath of Fidelity to the U.S. in Prince Georges Co. Under the return of David Crawford.

From these records, it would not be too far-fetched to discern that there was probably a father-son combination both named Christopher Hitch. Also, Christopher the elder would have been born sometime before 1712 assuming he was at least 21 years old when listed as a taxable in 1733. Also, since he may have had a child in 1768, one would doubt that he was born too much earlier than that date since he would have been pushing 60 by then - old by 18th century standards. A birth year for Christopher the younger can be estimated to the time frame 1730 to 1748 assuming his father was at least 20 years old when he was born and that he was at least 20 when his son Nathan was born. So we have:

Christopher Hitch (b. c.1710) m. Susanna _____ With children:
- Christopher Hitch (b. 1730/48)
- Bartholomew Hitch (b. 7/18/1753)*
- Barton Hitch (b. bef. 4/10/1768)* *Bartholomew and Barton Hitch may indeed be the same individual.

And Christopher Hitch, the son, married Rebecca _____ and had a son Nathan (b. bef. 4/10/1768).

The next record that can be found referencing Christopher Hitch is on March 23, 1779 when he and his wife Rebeccah were witness to the will of Benjamin Neale in Fauquier Co., Virginia. He is listed again later, this time on the Fauquier Co. Personal Property Tax List for 1787 as age "over 21" with Nathan Hitch "age 16-21." From here on, many other Hitches start appearing in the Fauquier Co., Virginia records in addition to Christopher.

To give the reader some perspective of geography, Prince Georges Co., Maryland borders present-day Washington, DC to the east and used to actually include the area where the city is now located until its founding in 1790 (e.g., Georgetown, which is part of Washington, DC today was Georgetown, Prince Georges Co., Maryland prior to 1790). Fauquier Co., Virginia is a far-west suburban area surrounding Washington today, about 30 miles from downtown. Christopher Hitch and his family must have migrated the 40 miles or so from south/central Prince Georges Co., Maryland to central Fauquier Co., Virginia sometime in the 11-year span between 1768 and 1779, probably around the year 1770.

Christopher Hitch fathered as many as 16 children as the early records of Virginia show. The previously-mentioned Nathan was probably his first and maybe his only child born in Maryland. A son John Hitch was shown to be 78 years old and born in Virginia in the Blount Co., Tennessee Census for 1850. That would put his birth year at 1772, further narrowing Christopher's move from Maryland to Virginia to 1768 (when Nathan was born) to 1772 (when John was born).

In A Hitch Orchard by Daisy Hitch Davies (compiled in about 1930), she states, "The ancestry and removals of this branch of the family is (sic) absolutely fascinating. They are as elusive as the will-of-the-wisps. One almost catches a clue, only to lose it again." As you can see, even Daisy Hitch Davies had much trouble attempting to sort out the Christopher Hitch branch of the family. Form her initial research and the research I have been able to glean from extant records and those of the line that have written to me, the probable children of Christopher Hitch are listed as follows:

1. Nathan b. 4/10/1768 in MD
m. 1/14/1791 in VA
(Anna Burgess)
d. 1817 in VA
2. Elizabeth b. c.1769 in MD or VA
m. 4/15/1787 in VA
(Joshua Athley)
3. Susanna b. c.1770 in MD or VA
m. 6/11/1788 in VA
(Edward Smoot)
4. Peggy b. c.1771 in MD or VA
m. 12/16/1789 John Smoot in VA
5. John b. 1772 in VA
m.(1) 2/27/1787 in VA
(Cassandra Elgin)
m. (2) 1/19/1801 in VA
(Milly Greenwood)
d. 1851/59 in KY
6. Wiseman b. c.1773 in VA
m. 9/18/1797 in VA
(Nancy Williams)
d. 1841/49 in KY
7. Archibald b. c.177x in VA
m. 1/20/1801 in VA
(Polly Harris)
d. 12/5/1848 in TN
8. Sally b. c.1778 in VA
m. 4/19/1798 in VA
(Humphrey Arnold)
9. Rebecca b. c. 1779 in VA
m. 9/1/1798 in VA
(Samuel Arnold)
10. Lucinda b. ?? in VA
m. 1/15/1805 (James Harris)
11. Eleven b. 1781/82 in VA
m. 12/18/1802 in VA
(Lucinda Harris d. 11/27/1857 in TN)
d. 2/5/1837 in TN
12. Elias b. 11/24/1783 in VA
m. 4/10/1812 in VA
(Nancy Kerrick)
d. 3/16/1845 in TN
13. Darcus b. c.1788 in VA
m. 9/25/1805 in VA
(Joseph Harris)
14. Casey b. ?? in VA
m. ?? (Mary ??)
15. Lloyd b. ?? in VA
m. 5/10/1813 in KY
(Harriett Greenwood)
16. Airy b. ?? in VA
m. 1/30/1809
(Henry H. Downing)

The exact order of birth of this family is obviously not definite. Also, a couple of the children (e.g., Lloyd and Casey), while definitely related to Christopher Hitch may not be his offspring. Further research will hopefully allow better insight into these connections. Any ideas from the readership out there about this elusive line would be greatly appreciated. _______________________________

Bartholomew as a HITCH Given Name

The use of Barton or Bartholomew as a given name in the history of the Hitch family is rare everywhere and non-existent in America except for the Barton and Bartholomew Hitches of Christopher Hitch I and II. This might (and that is a big might) provide a clue to the ancestry of Christopher Hitch.

A Bartholomew Hitch is listed among the inhabitants of London, England in 1638. This same Bartholomew (probably) had wife Mildred and died in 1642/43 as evidenced by his will probated on January 1, 1642/43. He lived in St. John Walbrook Parish and was a waxchandler. (While there is no knowing for sure if it was the same Mildred, there was a Mildred Hitch who died in London in 1657 and names some relatives in New England. Her will was probated by Robert Hitch and she had children John, Rebecca and Hannah.).

Another Bartholomew Hitch, perhaps the son of the first, had a will probated in Leicester, England in 1665. Still another, denoted as Bartholomew Hitch Sr. of Dunton Bassett in Leicester, had his will probated in 1680. Another Bartholomew Hitch of Dunton Bassett married Elizabeth Armston of Kilby in Leicester in 1692. And finally, another Bartholomew Hitch of Dunton Bassett had his will probated in Leicester in 1734.

Are these Bartholomew Hitches ancestors of Christopher Hitch, or further still, ancestors of Adam Hitch. Unfortunately, it will take more research to answer these questions, if indeed, the answers are not lost to history. However, it does provide for an interesting thought when considering the history of the Hitch family in America. _______________________________

The descendants of Christopher Hitch spread widely into Tennessee and Kentucky and then on to Missouri, Oklahoma, California and Washington as well as other states in the mid- and far-west.

Christopher married Rebeccah (?). (Rebeccah (?) was born between 1750 and 1760.)