| Notes |
- RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. Censuses:
1790 US: No David Little listed. This coincides with the 1794 immigration record shown below.
1800 US: Laurens Co., South Carolina:
Name: David Little Free White Males (Age 0-10): 1 Free White Males (Age 10-16): 0 Free White Males (Age 16-26): 0 Free White Males (Age 26-45): 1 Free White Males (Age 45+): 0 Free White Females (Age 0-10): 1 Free White Females (Age 10-16): 1 Free White Females (Age 16-26): 0 Free White Females (Age 26-45): 1 Free White Females (Age 45+): 0 other: 0 Slaves: 0
1810 US: Laurens Co., South Carolina, pg. 28 of 76 (next door to Hannah Jones, widow of John Jones):
David Little, 4-1-0-1-0;2-1-1-1-0-0-2.
1820 US: Laurens Co., South Carolina, pg. 7 of 67, lists Charity without David; confirms David was deceased:
Charity Little, Males 1-2-1-0-0-0, females 0-1-1-1-1; 6 slaves.
2. Laurens County Estate Book A-1:
Pp. 263-265: "Saile Bill of the Estate of Aberham Hollen decd. Purchasers: Esener Hollen, Baswel Hollen, Thos Hollen, Reson Hollen, Wm. Hollen, Richd Hollen, Joseph Mitchel, James Adair, Elisha Adair, Joseph Adair, George Adair, Benjamin Adair, Robert Hannah, James Hannah, George Dillard, James Ensley, Aberham Tinsley, Michael Farguson, Saml Lard, Jas. Lard, John Kirk, John Cargil, Jas Jones, Jas Ramage, David Little, Alexr Monro, Elexander Morrison, Wm. Gray, John Miller, Bennet Langston, John A. Elmore, John Pucket, John Ginn, Jas. Brown, Thos Ensley, Joseph Gallegly, Jas. Blakely, Wm. Jones, Wm. Rogers. Proven accompts Sarah Lard, Thomas Holland, Richard Holland, John Dannel Kern, John Waer; Basel Holland, Thos Holland admrs."
3. "Laurens County Kinfolks," Vol. 1, book 2, reports parents as James Little (1737-1807) and Isabella Hamilton. No source is given and the Kinfolks book has not been a reliable source of information regarding early Adairs.
4. The publication "Laurens County Kinfolks Volume 1 Book 2," by Richard W. Fowler, gives the following family: "Charity Adair was born 1773 and died 6 Nov 1826 in Laurens Co., SC [bur.] Duncan Creek Pres. Cem. She m. David Little, Sr., (11 Nov 1767-17 Nov 1812), son of James Little (1737-1807) and Isabella Hamilton. Duncan Creek Pres. Cem. in Laurens Co. Little River is said to be named for this family. Children:
A. Elizabeth, b. 27 Aug 1799; d. 29 Nov 1844. She m. 1819 James C. Copeland (1793-15 Apr 1869), son of John Copeland and Margaret Blakely.
B. David, Jr., b. 25 Sep 1802; d. 7 Mar 1852 in Laurens Co., bur. Duncan Creek Pres. Cem. He m. Sarah U. Little.
C. Joseph, b. 24 Jul 1801. He m. ___ Dickert.
D. James, b. 12 Jul 1803. He m. Matilda Williams.
E. Jane, b. 12 Jul 1803.
F. John, b. 23 Feb 1806.
G. Nancy, b. 28 Sep 1807. She m. Alex Fairburn.
H. Thomas, b. 1 Aug 1809, d. 5 Sep 1872. He m. Jane E. Little 1840.
I. Holland, b. 1811; d. 1872."
BIOGRAPHY:
1. Ancestry.com "Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Record," lists David Little, 1774, South Carolina, from the book "South Carolina Naturalization, 1783-1850," 1985, pg. 198, by Brent H. Holcomb.
2. Typescript "Early Adairs of Laurens County, South Carolina." Compiled by Mildred Brownlee; Source Records: Wills; Intestate Estates; Deeds; Court Records; Cemetery Inscriptions. Some dates of birth and death obtained from Lineage Charts. Dates of birth and death subject to correction. Spelling of names subject to correction. [Note that bracketed comments are later additions by other reviewers including myself - Kerry Petersen.]
A. "Recorded in Will Book D-l, Page 104, Bundle 65, pkg. 10. Proven January 14, 1813. David Anderson Ordy. Will of Joseph Adair:
"State of South Carolina Laurens District. In the name of God, Amen. Know all men by those presents that I Joseph Adair of tho same State and District are now in good health and in my natural senses at this date and time make this my last will and testament. At my death I bequeath my body to tho tomb, my soul to the almighty God, my maker and created and Jesus Christ my redeemer. Likewise I give and bequeath unto John Adair my son all the land that I layed off for him, that Richard Hollen and John Frier now lives on and one Negro woman named Jude. Likewise, I give and bequeath unto my son James Adair all that part of a tract of land he now lives on lying on the South Side of Little Dunkins Creek bounded on land of Thomas McCrary, Alexander Wilkerson, Elisha Adair and one Negro man named Duke. Likewise, I give and bequeath unto my son Robert Adair the money that he did receive from Alexander Wilkerson for a tract of land made over by me and my son Elisha Adair to said Wilkerson and one Negro girl named Tamer. Likewise I give and bequeath to my son Elisha Adair all that part of land I now live on containing three hundred and seventy five acres more or less, resurvayed by John A. Elmore one Negro boy named Morris, one new waggon and all her harness. Likewise, I give and bequeath unto my grandson Joseph Adair, son of Elisha Adair, one set of silver coat buttons, and one set of silver breeches buttons to my son Robert Adair. I likewise, give and bequeath unto my daughter Elizabeth and her husband John Huston, one Negro girl named Clartis to be thern during there natural life, and at their death to be equally divided among all Elizabeth Huston's children of her natural body. Likewise, I give and bequeath unto my daughter Jean, wife of Thomas Holland. one Negro girl named Dice. Likewise, I give unto my daughter Cassy, wife of Thomas McCrary one Negro woman named Lid. Likewise, I give and bequeath, unto Charity, wife of David Little, one Negro woman named Sarah and all the rest of my perishable property to be equally divided among my eight children of my natural body. I hereby set my hand and seal this 20th of January, 1812. It being the thirty sixth and thirty seventh years of American Independency. And l do here appoint Elisha Adair and John Adair my Executors.
Joseph Adair (Seal)
Witness present: Richard Holland, William Adair, George McCrary
Recorded in Will Book D-1, Page 105. Recorded date not available. Proven Jan, 15, 1813. David Anderson Ordy."
B. Charity Adair - unto my daughter Charity, wife of David Little, one Negro woman named Sarah". Charity Adair, b. 1770, d. 6 Nov. 1826, mar. (1) ___ Farmer by whom she had a daughter Mary Farmer, b. 21 June 1789. Mary Farmer mentioned as step-daughter in the will of David Little. Charity Adair Farmer married (2) David Little. Chn:
David Little, b. 1 May 1798, d. young.
Elizabeth Little. b. 27 Aug. 1799/1800, mar. James Copeland.
Joseph Little, b. 24 July 1801
(James Little, b. 12 July 1803, mar. Matilda Williams.
(Jane Little, b. 12 July 1803, mar. Andrew Park.
John Little, b. 23 Feb. 1806, mar. Sarah Wolf.
Nancy Little, b. 28 Sept. 1807, mar. Alexander Fairburn.
Thomas E. Little, b. 1 Aug. 1809, mar, Jane Eleanor Craig.
Holland Little, b. 1811"
3. FHL book 975.731 H2b "A Laurens County Sketchbook," by Julian Stevenson Bolick [with my edited notes added in brackets]:
Pg. 1: "An early record showing an original grant from George III to an ancestor of the Putnams of Gray Court has Laurens District in Craven County. 'Wallace's History of South Carolina" verifies the fact that a vast tract of land to the south of Virginia had been granted in 1663 by Charles II to eight British lords. Craven County, an extensive region covering most of South Carolina and parts of North Carolina, was a part of this sprawling acreage. In 1719 the people threw off the rule of the lords Proprietors, at which time the rights of the government and seven-eighths of the soil were ceded to the king. A later territorial separation placed Laurens in the Ninety Six District. On March 12, 1785, Laurens was made a separate district by an Act of the General Assembly…
"Major Jonathan Downes, a colonial officer, headed a group of influential citizens commissioned to survey the territory. Gentleman Justices serving with Major Downes included James Montgomery [father of Rebecca Montgomery who married James Adair], Silvanus Walker, William Mitcherson and Charles Saxon. After the districting was made legal by the act of legislation, the justices were authorized 'to build and keep in good repair at the charge of the county one good and convenient courthouse with necessary jury rooms and one good and sufficient county gaol together with a pillory, whipping post and stocks…"
Pg. 3: "In 1790 the first government census taken after he adoption of the Constitution gave Laurens District 1,395 heads of families, with a total population of 9,337 including Negro freedmen and slaves. Laurens District, at that time, had a larger population than any other district above Newberry, the latter outnumbering Laurens by only a few hundred…"
Pg. 4: "The first permanent white settler to come to Upper Carolina is believed to have been John Duncan of Aberdeen, Scotland. He first stopped in Pennsylvania, but as early as 1753 he was known to have been in the Ninety Six District on land bordering a creek later named for him.
"On a return to Pennsylvania, Duncan influenced friends to come to Ninety Six and establish homesteads. He brought his own family and a pair of fine stud horses to pull the first wagon ever to roll over soil between the Broad and Saluda rivers. A lush growth of maiden cane bordering the creek had been the deciding factor for closing out his interests in Pennsylvania.
"Two of the settlers to accompany him were David and Charles Little, for whom a community was named later. [David Little, 1767-1812, married Charity Adair].
"Records show early land grants to Andrew McCrary (McCreary), Joseph Adair, Robert Hanna, Thomas Ewing, James Pollock, Thomas Logan and Thomas Craig - all in the group following Mr. Duncan to Carolina."
Pg. 5: "Still another friend of John Duncan was Joshua Palmer, a minister, who was so influential in the new community that when he moved to Indiana about 1828 he carried with him several families from his ecclesiastical society…
"Robert Long was brought to this country at the age of five months, and at the age of two years was moved from Pennsylvania to the South. Robert's father was a well known construction engineer, who by government contract in 1769 built Fort Charlotte on the Savannah River. [Robert Long, son of Daniel Long and Susannah Murdough; Susannah becomes Joseph Adair, Sr.'s second wife after Sarah Lafferty. Brownlee states Daniel died in 1767; is this a different Robert Long? On the other hand the British built the fort for the French and Indian War, which was 1756-1763 - so the 1769 date could be in error.]
"From North Carolina James Williams came, having been attracted to the fertile lands bordering Little River where he pursued farming and engaged in a mercantile business. His plantation was named Mount Pleasant..." [James Williams was the subject of the James Williams Petition that most early Adair men signed.]
Pg. 7: "After peace was secured by a vigorous and successful campaign against the Indians in 1761, the backwoodsmen of Carolina, as all people in the territory remote from Charles Town were called, gave their undivided time to replacing the temporary dwellings with more adequate homes. Many of the settlers had stopped in Virginia, but there it was made clear that only those who belonged to the Established Church were welcome; consequently, the ones believing strongly in freedom of worship came on into Carolina. They were principally Scotch-Irish and by no means adventurers…"
Pg. 17: "LITTLESVILLE: One of the first centers of population in Laurens County was Littlesville on Duncan's Creek. David and Charles Little, mentioned previously in this sketch, had come to this country from 'Doublin,' Ireland. David married Charity Adair, the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier. Members of these two families, the Littles and the Adairs, are buried in the old Duncan's Creek Church cemetery. One of the gravestones bears the inscription 'David Little, a native of Ireland.' It is not known which of the early Adairs was the father of Charity, but the Adairs were in this section, probably as early as were the Little brothers. [Charity was the daughter of Joseph, son of the original Joseph.] Joseph B. [Sr.] came from Ireland in 1711 and died in Laurens County in 1801; Joseph, Jr., [son of Joseph Sr.] was born in Pennsylvania (the state from which John Duncan recruited settlers) in 1733 and died in Laurens in 1812; and John B. was born in Duncan's Creek neighborhood in 1758 and died in Georgia [son of Joseph Jr. and brother to Charity]. Doctor W.S. Glenn of Spartanburg had in his possession in 1930 a map of a very early date which showed a community called Littlesville, about three miles from the historic Duncan's Creek Church. The site is no longer listed even in the crossroad category, the majority of the people from this creek bank settlement having moved to the thriving community of Clinton…
Pp. 42-43: "DUNCAN'S CREEK PRESBYTERIAN: One of the early utilitarian buildings was Duncan's Creek Presbyterian Church in the rural section of Jacks Township. Servants of the John Duncan family had erected a brush arbor about 1753, at which time John Duncan had come into the area. A more permanent building of fieldstones was put up in 1764, and that date is visible in a cornerstone of the presently used building erected in 1842. The date 1764 was retained for historic purposes. The original granite walls, two feet in thickness, and the straight-backed pews of oak attest to the strong faith of the era and of the congregations of that particular church. In recent years the small-outmoded reed organ from the fieldstone church was given to Thornwell Home for children in Clinton, where it is still used on occasions calling for a colonial atmosphere. During the Revolutionary War, the church building served as a place of protection for the people of that area. Often referred to as the mother of Presbyterian churches, it is the oldest church organization in the upper part of the state. Both Lisbon Presbyterian and Clinton First Presbyterian were started as mission extensions of the Duncan's Creek Church. The first minister was the Reverend Hezekiah Balch, year 1776. In the same year John B. Kennedy was ordained and continued as pastor intermittently for fifty years. In 1788 the Duncan's Creek Church became involved in serious difficulties. The majority of the members being canny old Scotchmen, theological discord was instituted over whether to use Rouse's or Watt's version of the Psalms. Sixty-three members seceded to form other churches. Although each plantation had its own burial ground, Duncan's Creek church offered burial plots in its churchyard in 1776. Some of the ancient mounds have lost their identity, but one bearing the marking 'Samuel Long, aged 19 years, November 15th, 1776, is still legible [brother of Robert Long and son of Daniel Long and Susannah Murdough]. Sixteen soldiers of the Revolution are buried in the churchyard. In October of 1964, Duncan's Creek Presbyterian Church observed with appropriate ceremony the two-hundredth anniversary of its founding…"
MARRIAGE:
1. I had a date of "Bef. 1798" in my database. Most researchers of this line indicate the same or state 1797. The oldest son of this marriage is David Little whose birth is generally given as "1798" or 1 May 1798," hence the marriage dates used. One database ":930667" on Rootsweb.com Worldconnect notes date as 12 Oct 1797 but without documentation - if correct this would mean David Jr. was born 2 months premature or the Oct date is too late.
BURIAL:
1. Per http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/9708/dcem.html, there is a listing in the Duncan Creek Presbyterian Church cemetery that reads: " Little, David, Sr. of Ireland, Nov. 11, 1767-Nov. 17, 1812; Little, Mrs. Charity, his wife, 1770 - Nov. 6, 1826."
|
Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy
1767 - 1812 (45 years)