Peter Truitt: An Analysis of his will made 4 January 1790, Sussex, Delaware

Identifying Tabitha Phelps, heir of William Hearne, Lowndes, Alabama, 1832

This research forms part of a series of papers tracking Francis Truitt b. ca. 1769 Worcester, Maryland, migrated from Sussex, Delaware to Georgia by 1790. He disappears from record after 1816. Marital status unknown. Is he the Francis Truitt in Lowndes, Alabama by 1819?

Author: Sarah Baird
Date: December 2024
All rights reserved.

“Documents, when put into context,

have a lot more to say than the simple words we copy from them.”

Elizabeth Shown Mills, 2024. [1]

Literature review. William T Hearne, Brief History and Genealogy of the Hearne Family, Examiner Printing Company, Independence, Mo., 1907, p651. Links the Hearne genealogy back to the Normandy period. Does not cite primary sources. The organisation of his work is difficult to follow. Hearne asserts Tabitha, second child of Wm. and Tabitha Hearne married Frank Truitt [2] Deeds created by William Hearne before his death in 1832 name heirs Tabitha Truitt, Tabitha Phelps, and Tabitha. This block of research concentrates on establishing the identity of Tabitha Phelps.

Conclusion:

William Hearne’s deed of gift and will recorded in Will Book B and Deed Record 1, 1830-1834 [3] at the Lowndes County Courthouse, are transcripts of the originals. Both instruments begin with “Know all men by these presents”, and among other things, devise William’s slaves. Bequests to sons George and Ebenezer are conditional. Because laws governed William’s life, the records he created because of those laws support the argument Tabitha Phelps is the illegitimate daughter of William Hearne.

Evidence:

Will Book B, Lowndes County, p23 – will 22 May 1832. [4] The will is recorded before William’s deed of gift 16 April 1832. Italics added for emphasis. The reason for underlining is not clear.

• son William underlined AA man Sam
• son Selby underlined AA man Lindsay
• son George T C underlined AA man Harry
• son Ebenezer T underlined AA man George
• Tabitha Phelps underlined - relationship not stated - to George, AA woman Eliza provided he pay $250.00 to Tabitha Phelps …
• Tabitha Phelps underlined - relationship not stated - to Ebenezer, AA woman Candace provided he pay $250.00 to Tabitha Phelps …
• my wife underlined and unnamed
• Sarah, Tabitha, Abigail, William, Priscilla, Selby, George T C & Ebenezer all underlined – parent-child relationships stated

“Robert Perry being duly sworn on the Holy Gospel deposeth and saith that he was present and saw William Hearne Snr. deceased in his life sign and acknowledge the within instrument of writing as his own act and deed and he was then of sound disposing mind and memory and that this deponent did sign [edge of page blackened difficult to read] with John P Nall and Hardin Smith as witnesses in the presence of each other and in the presence of said William Hearne decd. Subscribed in Open Court this 5th day November 1832. Peter Williamson J.C.C.L.C. Robert Perry JP.”

The $500.00 payable to Tabitha Phelps, by instalments, correlates with the Bastardy Act passed 13 December 1811, Sec. 4, “to pay, not exceeding fifty dollars, yearly, for ten years toward the support, maintenance and education of the child”. The statute also says maintenance support was to be paid into Court, as a bond. [5] Robert Perry, Justice of the Peace, likely discussed with William the legalities of providing support for an illegitimate child before the penning of his will. By explicitly naming Tabitha Phelps as his heir, William avoided a public trial involving paternity. [6]

An Act to authorize the Judges of the Circuit Courts and Justices of the County Courts, to take the Acknowledgments of Deeds and Relinquishments of Dower. Passed December 20, 1820. William’s will and deed of gift proved before Peter Williamson, Judge of the Circuit Court was “legalized, and made valid, to all intents and purposes whatever” on 5 November1832. [7]

Will Book B, Lowndes County, p24, 16 April 1832, deed of gift. The clerk underlined the second occurrence of George T C Hearne’s name. It is not clear whether the same clerk in small, faint handwriting, wrote six hundred in the space above William Hearne Snr and seven hundred in the space above devisee William Hearne. Heirs:

1. Tabitha Truitt, AA woman Lizza, her children together with her increase
2. Abigail Hearne wife of Thomas Hearne, AA woman Milley and her children and future increase, also AA woman Saleth
3. William Hearne AA woman Candice [best guess] and her two children and future increase [clerk has written seven hundred in the space above this paragraph]
4. Selby Hearne AA woman Polly, her two children and future increase
5. George T C Hearne AA woman [middle of page blackened] and her two children but it be understood that he is not to take his son Tom into his possession until my death and then the said boy Tom to be the right and property of G T C Hearne [underlined]
6. Ebenezer T Hearne AA woman Pahina and her three children that she shall take with her
7. Priscilla Stephens AA woman Cynthia, AA woman Marsilla but she is not to take into possession Cynthia until after my death, also AA woman [middle of page blackened] the said AA are given her during her natural life and at her death I give and bequeath unto John William Stephens, Cynthia and a boy named Stephen forever
8. Mary Francis Stephens AA Priscilla and AA girl Lucretia forever and the AA woman [difficult to read] to be equally divided between John R Stephens and Mary T Stephens after the death of my daughter Priscilla Stephens wife of John Stephens. 

16 April 1832. Wit. Robt Perry JP, Josiah D Perry, James Powell. Proved 5 November 1832 by Perry in Open Court. Peter Williamson J.C.C.L.C.

The above and foregoing instrument is a true copy of the original requested 14 November. John Varner.

Deed Record 1, 1830-1834, p105, deed of gift, 16 April 1832. Shows the absence of Peter Williamson’s name and the underlining of Tabitha Truitt. “The foregoing conveyance of property by deed of gift is a true copy of the original requested 14 May 1832.” John Varner, clerk. [8]

Deed Record 1, 1830-1834, p108, will 22 May 1832. Underlining: testator William Hearne, Tabitha Phelps twice, my children and Tabitha, child of William. "The foregoing deed received in my office for record 26 May 1832. Requested 26 May 1832. A true copy of the original.” [9] This record suggests William’s will was entered into record before his death which is unusual. The date received and date requested may be a clerical error.

Derivative sources for William Hearne’s deed of gift and will provide names but no explanation for Tabitha Phelps relationship to William:

The National Library of the Daughters of the American Revolution: Alabama Records, Montgomery Co., Volume 135. Imaged FamilySearch Catalog > IGN 7651005 > 1150, deed of gift and will of William Hearne correlate with court records.

The Lowndes County Historical Society, Volume 23, No 4, published 1990, Abstracts from Deed Record Book No. 1 1830-1834 Lowndes County, Alabama, deed of gift, Tabitha Hearne instead of Truitt. [10]

This research shows the importance of placing people in the legal context of the time and place in which they lived. Understanding the use of context helps prove relationships.

An Act concerning Bastardy.—Passed December 13, 1811.

 

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[1] Best of ESM: accessed 2024: https://familytreewebinars.com/ . Membership required.

[2] Hearne’s use of the name Frank, rather than Francis, may reflect the popularity of the name when he authored his work toward the end of the nineteenth century. Perhaps Franklin Truitt, North Carolina, enlisted 6 February 1778 as a Private has been conflated with Francis Truitt of Lowndes-Montgomery, Alabama.

[3] Will of William Hearne, 22 May 1832, Will Book B, Lowndes County, p23 imaged FamilySearch Catalog > Select > Alabama, Lowndes > IGN 5175961 > 38 : Will of William Hearne, 22 May 1832, Deed Record 1, 1830-1834, Lowndes County, p108 imaged FamilySearch Catalog > Select > Alabama, Lowndes > IGN 5175961 > 699 : Usually Quakers commenced deeds with these words, they never swore oath on the Holy Evangels but did own slaves.

[4] Will of William Hearne, 22 May 1821, Will Book B, Lowndes County, p23 imaged FamilySearch Catalog > IGN 5175961 > 38.

[5] Harry Toulmin, A digest of the laws of the state of Alabama: containing the statutes and resolutions in force at the end of the General assembly in January 1823: to which is added, an appendix: p65. Accessed archive.org.

[6] Usually, illegitimate children used their mother’s maiden name : I have not found any source showing these laws may have changed between 1811 and 1832. See https://law.justia.com/cases/alabama/supreme-court/1991/1901116-1.html .

[7] Toulmin, Digest the laws of the state of Alabama, 250.”

[8] William Hearne, deed of gift, 16 April 1832, Deed Record 1, 1830-1834, Lowndes County, p105, imaged FamilySearch Catalog > IGN 5175961 > 697.

[9] Will of William Hearne, 22 May 1832, Deed Record 1, 1830-1834, Lowndes County, p108, imaged FamilySearch Catalog > IGN 5175961 > 699.

[10] Imaged https://digital.archives.alabama.gov/.