The hartsfield family

Confirmation: Godfrey Hartzfelder, son and heir of Julian Hartfelder, dec’d., to John Kaighin and Sarah, his wife, (formerly the widow of Andrew Griscom), for the same 150 acres.

Acknowledged in open County Court held at Phila. on 4d 4m 1702. Recited in a deed from Cunrads to Shoemaker. Deed book G 11.382.

63 I have not traced the Walker family, but it may here be of interest to note that: 1) On Pastorius’ 1688 map of Germantown a Georg [or Goerg] Walcker is shown as owner of the fifth lot below that of Goerg Hartzfelder, and 2) George Walker and his son Emanuel Walker are listed very close to Neels Loycon (Nils Laicon) in the neighborhood where Humphrey Edwards lived with his wife Margaret (Hartsfelder) Edwards and her family.

64 Gloucester County, New Jersey, Deed Book A, p. 5.

65 Ibid., p. 4. [Godfrey’s mark may have been intended as a G, but it looks like a O. A similar mark on a later Maryland record cited in the text seems to be an X rounded into an O.]

66 See footnote Error: Reference source not found on p. 38 below.

67 This data is from a photostat of the original baptismal record of Christ Church, Philadelphia, p. 31. The original is kept by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The printed copy of the “Records of Christ Church, Philadelphia,” lists this as: “1714 Nov 3 Flatfield, Andrew s. of Godfrey and Katherine 11 mo.” (The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, XVI (1892), p. 492) In script an Fl is difficult to distinguish from an H, but the original here is definitely Hatfield.

68 From photostat of original baptismal record of Christ Church, Philadelphia, p. 44. For printed copy see The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, XVI (1892), p. 366.

69 An abstract of Touchstone’s will can be found in Jane Baldwin and Robert Henry Boiling, The Maryland Calendar of Wills, 1726-1732 (Baltimore, 1920), p. 129. A copy of Godfrey’s mark is in Cecil County, Maryland, Will Book 19, p. 175.

70 Baltimore County, Maryland, Deed Book I. S. No. K, folio 181 ff.

71 St. George’s Parish Register, Baltimore (Harford) County, Md., contains the following entries:

Rachel Mackelroy was Born August 7, 1713

John Mackelroy was Born December the fifth 1715

William Mackelroy was Born December the twenty third 1717

Archibald Mackelroy was Born February the Thirteenth 1719

The Daughter and Sons of John and Francis Mackelroy His Wife. (see Reel R-421, Microfilm of St. George’s Parish, Hall of Records, Annapolis, Md.)

Rachel Mackelroy married Avington Felps. She and Avington and her three brothers with their families all moved to Craven County, N. C. where they were closely associated with Godfrey’s sons and their families

72 Legislative Papers, Tax Lists (L.P. 46.1), 1780, pp. 1-2. In N.C. State Archives, Raleigh, N.C.

73 The Caswells reached Kinston in or before 1746. Richard Caswell Jr., a Major-General during the Revolutionary War, served six one-year terms as Governor of North Carolina. He was also a delegate from North Carolina to the First Continental Congress.— See Talmadge C. Johnson and Charles R. Holloman, The Story of Kinston and Lenoir County (Raleigh, N.C., Edwards & Broughton Company, 1954) pp. 34-35.

74 Craven County, North Carolina, Deed Book 3, p. 129.

75 Ibid., p. 63. [Godfrey’s mark looks very much like the previous X rounded into an O, but it also has an additional feature that makes it look like a G.]

76 Craven County, North Carolina, Book of Minutes, Sept. Court 1745, p. 57.

77 The reason for this supposition is this: In 1787 John Hartsfield (probably Godfrey ‘s son John Hartsfield Sr.) made a deed to Hardy Groom (see “A List of Deeds Proved in the County Court of Dobbs County from 1st day of January 1787 to 1st day of January 1788,” filed under number 34.001 Dobbs Co., N.C., Miscellaneous Materials, in N.C. State Archives, Raleigh, N.C.) In 1795 Hardy Groom lived “in Lenoir County” on the “ north side of Sandy Run Pecoson” on land adjacent to “John Fish Pouls Patent Corner” (see PC 663.1 Kennedy, Jesse, Miscellaneous Papers, N.C. Archives, Raleigh, N.C.) This deed shows that “Sandy Run pecoson” was used to describe land in Lenoir County and that John Fishpool had patented land on Sandy Run Pecoson. Since Godfrey Hartsfield and John Fishpool had been associated in acquiring land on Sandy Run it is possible that it was part of Godfrey’s original tract that John Hartsfield deeded to Hardy Croom. [For a more recent discussion of the location of Godfrey’s tract see the next chapter.]

78 The land described in footnote Error: Reference source not found above may have been in the vicinity of Institute. The tax list of 1780 mentioned in footnote Error: Reference source not found above lists John, Richard, Joshua and Francis Hodges’ names just above that of John Hartsfield Sr. The U.S. Census of 1790 for Dobbs County shows names in this order: Hartsfield, John Sr.; Hartsfield, David; Hodges, John; Hodges, Richard (op. cit., p. 136). These two lists make it obvious that John Hartsfield Senior lived near Richard Hodges. This Richard Hodges lived near Institute just below the dividing line between Greene and Lenoir counties. This is apparent from the wording of a legislative act which in 1791 established Glasgow (subsequently renamed Greene) County: “The said County of Dobbs be divided, by running a direct line from where the dividing line between the said County of Dobbs and Wayne County crosses Bear Creek, to the head of Wheat Swamp, a little above Richard Hodges, then down said Wheat Swamp to William Killpatricks.” (David Leroy Corbitt, The Formation of the North Carolina Counties, 1663-1943 (Raleigh, State Department of Archives and History, 1950), p. 107.)

79 On 11 April 1749, the Council at New Bern made a number of grants in Johnston County including 150 acres to John Fishpool and 100 acres to John Mackilroy (William T. Saunders, ed., The Colonial Records of North Carolina, 1734-1752, IV, p. 949). On Friday 9th Dec., 1757, “Mr. Caswell Presented a Certificate from County Court of Johnston certifying that John Fishpool through age and other infirmities is rendered incapable of getting a livelihood and recommending him to be exempt from paying Public taxes…” (Ibid., V, pp. 915-916).

80 See footnote Error: Reference source not found on p. 38, and accompanying reference to Christiana Touchstone and her son Andrew Touchstone. Christiana was probably a daughter of Godfrey and Katherine (Walker) Hartsfield.

81 List of Captain Simon Herring’s Company, dated October 7, 1755, in Military Collection, Troop Returns (1747-1859), Box 1, Johnston County, North Carolina, State Archives, Raleigh, N.C.

82 It is tempting to suppose that this George Heartsfield is the person who later appeared in Washington County, Georgia, but this is a supposition without additional supporting evidence. On December 4, 1786, a warrant was issued to George Hartsfield for 100 acres of land in Washington County, Georgia, adjacent to his own land. It was signed by William Bowers and John Hartsfield, but vacated the same day (Washington County, Ga., Surveyor’s Book C, p. 95. See microfilm, Drawer 53, Reel 61, Georgia State Archives, Atlanta, Ga.).

83 Andrew Hartsfield’s will named his sons Jacob and Godfrey and William Mickelroy as executors (Johnston County Deed Book D, p. 49, mounted page number 101). A year before Andrew’s death Archibald Mackleroy had drawn his will in Johnston County on 9 December 1760. It stated: “I do hereby appoint my beloved wife Catherine Mackleroy, executrix, and my Brother William, and my friend Andrew Heartsfield, executors of this my last will and testament…” [One wonders: was Archibald Mackleroy’s wife Catherine a daughter of Godfrey and Katherine (Walker) Hartsfield?]

84 When Dobbs County was created in 1759 the early records of Johnston County were retained in the courthouse at Kinston. These, together with records of Dobbs County, were retained at Kinston when Kinston became the County site of Lenoir County. Fires in 1878 and in 1880 destroyed nearly all records. However, a cross-index of deeds for Johnston County was preserved (Johnson and Holloman, op. cit., p. 12).

85 References given in the cross index are to Bk 1, p. 420, and Bk. 2, p. 3, but these books were destroyed in the fire.

86 References are to Bk. 3, pp. 277, 284, 319, and 327, all destroyed.

87 N.C. Archives, Raleigh, N.C. No. C.R. 34.001, Dobbs County Miscellaneous Material. The writer has not attemped to determine whether William Walker, the grantee of this deed, was related to the Walker family of Gloucester County, N. J. from which Godfrey Hartsfield’s wife, Catherine Walker, came. There were, however, Gloucester County, N. J., families other than the Hartsfields who had moved to Craven County, N.C. The family of Gershom Wiggins, who is listed next to John Hartsfield Jr. in the 1790 Census was from Gloucester County, N. J.

88 The Tax List of 1769 is printed in Johnson and Holloman, op. cit. pp. 360-385. It lists on p. 360:
WhiteBlackTotalHartsfeeld, John; Stephen Smith, Negro Flora213Hartsfeeld, Paul; Negroes Tom and Hagar123Hartsfeeld, John11The Tax List of 1780 is cited in footnote Error: Reference source not found above.

89 A Return of the Dobbs Regiment of Militia, 2 September 1781, Military Collection, Troop Returns (1747-1789) Folder headed “Militia: Beaufort, Carteret, Dobbs, Pitt, “Names of Men Overage.” In N.C. State Archives, Raleigh, N.C. Only three Hartsfield names are on this list: John, Paul, and David.

90 First Census of the United States (1790) Dobbs Co. N.C., p. 136.

91 Legislative Papers, Tax Lists (L.P. 46.1). 1780. pp.1-2.

92 “Men Raised in the Dobbs Regt. of Militia to serve twelve months in the Continental Service,” The North Carolinian, VI, No. 3, (Sept. 1960), p. 3.

93 The relative scarcity of male sons of John and Paul Hartsfield in North Carolina poses the question: Were there other sons and did they migrate to other states before 1790? It also poses the question: Did some of their descendants in North Carolina bear the name Hatfield?

An affirmative answer to the first question is probably correct, but hard proof is not yet available. A few families bearing the name Hartsfield appeared in Georgia and South Carolina before 1790. Some were descendants of Andrew Hartsfield of Wake County, N.C. Others were probably descendants of John or Paul or perhaps of their father Godfrey by some other son.

A cautious attitude is required to the second question. In 1790 there were fewer Hatfields than Hartsfields in North Carolina, mostly belonging to a family in the Tyrell-Perquimans area. In his will of February 10, 1774, probated in Perquimans County in 1775, George Hatfield names his brothers William, Richard, John, David, Jesse and Benjamin Hatfield ( For abstract of the will see N.C. Reg. 3: 174). Three of these brothers can be identified in Perquimans and Tyrell counties–Richard, Benjamin, and Jesse. What happened to John and David? Were they possibly the John and David Hartsfield who lived near their father, John Hartsfield, in Dobbs County? Possibly. Possibly not. In any event, all of these Hatfield names coincide with names of Hartsfield descendants in Lenoir County. The writer of this paper makes no claim about the relation of this Hatfield family to the Hartsfields, but offers it as a problem for further study.

94 See footnote Error: Reference source not found.

95 Four groups of men were drafted into Captain Kennedy’s Company, 24th July 1777: In Co. No. 1, John Heartsfield; in No. 2, David Heartsfield; in No. 4, John Heartsfield Jr. and Paul Heartsfield Jr. (Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution, D.A.R.,N.C., 1932, p. 590). Neither the elder John nor elder Paul were drafted. One of these draftees, John Jr., was David’s brother; and the other was David’s son John who was a Revolutionary War pensioner (Pension File No. 4482).

96 See footnote Error: Reference source not found on p. 39.

97 In his application for a Revolutionary War pension, filed with the Judge of the Superior Court, Greene County, N.C., John Hartsfield stated that he completed a six months tour of duty in 1778 and “subsequently he served three months in a company of militia as the substitute of his father.” In answer to a series of questions he stated, “In the second place I became the substitute for David Hartsfield and served three months.” (File 4482)

98 Revolutionary War Pension File 4482.

99 See footnotes Error: Reference source not foundError: Reference source not found and Error: Reference source not foundError: Reference source not foundabove. The facts cited above about David Hartsfield support the belief that he was a son of John Hartsfield Sr. David was probably born about 1736 or earlier. Paul Sr., who was born in 1717, was a bit too young to have been his father. The further fact that David’s name is associated with John Sr. on tax and census lists supports this view. These facts also give added weight to the inference that John Hartsfield Sr. was older than either Andrew or Paul, he probably having been born about 1710.

100 Military Returns (1749-1859), Militia and Continental Returns, Box 3, on a sheet of paper headed “1780, Continental Enlistments, Dobbs, Chatham, Edgecombe,” in N.C. Archives, Raleigh, N.C.