Henry's father identified

If you miss something the first time, I guess you miss it all the time.

I recently exchanged emails with another Hastings researcher, Wilma Pinola. She told me that she had spoken with Dick Poplin (who did one of the earliest Hastings genealogies about 70 years ago) at a 2004 reunion, and he told her that Henry's father was named Joseph Hastings, who died around 1808 at the age of 100. Mr. Poplin credited T. R. Marsh, Mrs. Louise G. Brown and Ruth Cates Robinson for his information.

I had already predicted that Henry's father was named Joseph, based on Scots-Irish naming conventions of the time. (Under those conventions, Henry's eldest son Joseph would have been named for his paternal grandfather.) But my initial reaction was to dismiss it for lack of evidence. I've never seen a will or a land transfer attributable to this Joseph Hastings.

Then I looked at the censuses, and I changed my mind.

The original 1790 Orange County census has been lost, but the names have been reconstructed from old tax lists and so forth. And the 1790 census shows two men named Joseph Hastings. Now, in 1790, Henry's son Joseph (the Tory) was 33 years old.

Who is the second Joseph?

Then I looked at the 1800 census, which inexplicably shows three men named Joseph Hastings in Hillsborough, Orange County. One's a junior. (They're enumerated as "Hasten," but they are grouped with Henry, Henry, Jr., William, Robert and James "Hasten," so they're clearly our folks.)

One Joseph is is 16 to 25 with a wife and a daughter. Joseph Junior is 26 to 44 and has three sons, a young daughter, a wife and two slaves. The third 45 or older, and he's living with a female age 10-15.

Joseph Junior is certainly Henry's eldest son, who married Susannah Holloway in 1775. By the time the 1800 census was completed (around 1801), this Joseph's three oldest children (Elizabeth, Margaret and Joseph) were married and out of the house, leaving three sons (Henry, Robert and Stephen) and two daughters (Mary and Susannah) still living with their parents.

The youngest Joseph is Junior's son, who married Nancy Pittman on April 9, 1800. The only uncertainty is that I show this Joseph's first born child to be a boy (John, born January 26, 1801).

So who is the third Joseph? He can't possibly be Henry's son -- too old, and that son is well accounted for.

He's got to be the same "second Joseph" who is on the 1790 census. And I think the girl living with him is Junior's daughter Mary (born 1786, later married Thomas Thomas).

Once more, with emphasis: in 1790 there are two heads of household in Hillsborough named Joseph Hastings, and in 1800 there are three. That's one more Joseph per census than my confirmed research ever showed.

I sure wish I could find some other traces of this elder Joseph. But even without those confirmations, I'm convinced. And I've updated my family tree accordingly.

Next question: who was this Joseph?

What does the "C" stand for?

I wish I knew. It would probably help identify Henry's ancestors.

At the time Henry was born, middle names were not always given. And when they were used, they often referred to someone else's surname -- the mother's maiden name, perhaps, or the name of a neighbor. So discovering Henry's middle name would be very useful to researchers.

The frustrating thing is that Henry had a son named Henry C., so if we knew his son's middle name, we might conclude that it's Henry's, too. But I've never found any proof of the younger Henry's middle name, or that he held himself out as Henry Junior. So the C might stand for something else.

Reading between the lines of Henry's will

Henry's will provides some basic facts, such as the names of his children -- at least the ones who survived long enough to inherit from him.

But what can we learn by reading between the lines of the will, and in light of the other facts available to us?

First, why does Henry leave his daughter Mary a note for $50 "upon" his grandson John Young? John is, by all accounts, the son of Henry's daughter Margaret, from her first marriage to Joseph Young. I assume that Henry is referring to a promissory note that John Young gave him on April 16, 1811 payable January 1, 1814, in the amount of $50. By giving the note to Mary, Henry is telling John to pay her the $50 when the note matures.

Second, Henry does not mention a wife in his will, but nearly all researchers believe that the Elizabeth Hastings who died on July 1, 1800 at the age of sixty is Henry's first wife. We are less certain that the "E.H. age 73" buried near Henry is his second wife, but I don't believe any other explanation makes sense.

The 1810 census shows Henry living with two women, one age 10-15 and the other 26-44. Neither one is old enough to be "E.H." So we know that:

1. Henry married E.H. after Elizabeth died in 1800;
2. E.H. died before the 1810 census; therefore
3. E.H. was born between 1728 and 1737 (because she was 73 at her death).

Third, the will demonstrates that Henry's son-in-law, Thomas Crabtree, is not the Archibald Crabtree who married Polly Hastings on May 22, 1813. I'm sure that Polly Hastings is Henry's daughter Mary; Polly is a common nickname for Mary.

Some researchers show that Archibald and Thomas Crabtree are the same person. I don't buy the argument. for several reasons:

• "Thomas" and "Archibald" are not the same name, or variants of each other;
• in his will, Henry refers to his daughter as Mary Hastings, not Mary Crabtree;
• Henry's will was written more than a year before Polly married Archibald, so in 1812, Archibald was not Henry's son-in-law, but Thomas was; and
• if Henry gave Mary Hastings a $50 note in his will, why would he leave a dollar to her "husband," Thomas Crabtree?

I believe the explanation is that in the early nineteenth century, "son-in-law" usually meant "stepson." I believe Thomas Crabtree is the son of Henry's second wife, E.H., from her first marriage to a man named Crabtree.

I have no idea who Thomas Crabtree might be. The 1800 and 1840 North Carolina censuses show two Thomas Crabtrees in Orange County; the censuses from 1810 through 1830 show one. I assume that the Thomas Crabtree mentioned in Henry's will was a relatively young man in 1812, but old enough to be the "caboose" of his mother's first marriage.

Nor do I know who Thomas Crabtree's father is.

But here is a really outlandish speculation: could Henry's second wife be Elizabeth Barton, the widow of Thomas Crabtree, Jr., who died in Orange County in 1774? This Elizabeth Barton is mentioned in Thomas Crabtree's will, but I find no trace of her after 1774. She had a son named Thomas (who married Elizabeth Campbell in 1792), and she was born on January 3, 1741 -- almost, but not quite, old enough to pass away between 1800 and 1810 at the age of 73.

Most researchers accept that Henry's son James married Hannah Crabtree in 1784. Hannah's parents are unknown, but only a handful of Crabtrees had moved from Maryland to Orange County by 1784 -- including Thomas and Elizabeth Barton Crabtree. Could Henry have married his son's mother-in-law?

I have no way to prove that Henry's second wife was Elizabeth Barton, but it's an interesting thought, and it would explain the identity of Henry's "son-in-law" Thomas Crabtree.

Finally, why did Henry treat his sons so generously and his daughters (except for Mary) so badly? Henry's sons each received at least $44 plus other items. Except for Mary, who got the $50 note, all of Henry's daughters received just one dollar from his estate. I don't believe it was common practice in the early nineteenth century to leave the bulk of an estate to one's male heirs, while nearly disinheriting the daughters. What's going on here? Did Henry not like his other sons-in-law?

Henry's will

This is a transcription by Dick Poplin of Henry's will. The original is in the state archives in Raleigh.

Last Will and Testament of HENRY HASTINGS

In the name of God and men I HENRY HASTINGS of the County of Orange and the state of North Carolina being weak in body but sound of memory and judgement thanks be to God for his mercy do this the Tenth day of May in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Twelve make and ordain this my Last Will and Testament in manner following (to wit):

My will is after all my just debts are paid, I give and bequeath to my daughter MARY HASTINGS a note upon my grandson JOHN YOUNG for fifty dollars payable 1st January One Thousand Eight Hundred and Fourteen and the date drawn 16th of April One Thousand Eight Hundred and Eleven. Also a Sorrel horse known by the name Jrimus, and a large pot and my weaving loom and instruments and a walnut table and a chest and also two iron pots racks to her heirs forever.

Item; I give and bequeath to my daughter MARGARET ADAMS one dollar to her and her heirs forever.

Item; I give and bequeath to my son - in - law THOMAS CRABTREE one dollar to him and his heirs forever.

Item; I give and bequeath to my daughter ISBELL COLLINS one dollar, to her and her heirs forever.

Item; I give and bequeath to my daughter ELIZABETH WATSON one dollar to her and her heirs forever.

Item; I give and bequeath to my daughter ESTER THOMPSON one dollar to her and her heirs forever.

Item; I give and bequeath to my son JAMES HASTINGS Forty four dollars and half currency and also a Dutch scythe and a plough share and a coulter and my long chain and also my riding saddle to him and his heirs forever.

Item; I give and bequeath to my son JOSEPH HASTINGS Forty four dollars and a quarter currency to his and his heirs forever.

Item; I give and bequeath to my son JOHN HASTINGS Forty four dollars and a quarter currency to him and his heirs forever.

Item; I give and bequeath to my son WILLIAM HASTINGS Forty four dollars and a quarter currency to him and his heirs forever.

Item; I give and bequeath to my son HENRY HASTINGS Forty four dollars and a quarter to him and his heirs forever.

Item; All the residue of my estate to be sold and all my just debts to be paid and all other necessary to be charged.

Lastly, I make and ordain my trusted and well beloved son JAMES HASTINGS executor of this my Last Will and Testament hereby revoking all former wills made by me.

In witness whereof I, the said HENRY HASTINGS have hereunto set my hand and seal the day and year above written signed in the presence of us.

HENRY HASTINGS (His X) (Seal)

New Hope Presbyterian Church

Henry C. Hastings is buried in the old cemetery of New Hope Presbyterian Church, located east of Hillsborough at 4701 North Highway 86 -- which, technically, is a Chapel Hill address.

Here's a Yahoo! Map link:

http://tinyurl.com/27eccd

The old cemetery is across the street from the church, in the woods to the left of the New Hope Fire District's station house.

Henry is buried toward the center. His original marker is upright, but someone has, fairly recently, added a new marker with the same inscription as the original: "Henry C. Hastings died May 17, 1812 age 85 years". Next to Henry are his two wives (Elizabeth, died July 1, 1800; and E.H., age 73). Just to the south of Henry's grave is the grave of "J. H.", whom I believe to be Henry's son James; and to the east is the grave of Thomas Latta, presumably the husband of Henry's granddaughter Elizabeth.

The cemetery is a beautiful place, and I visit every time I am in the area.

Who was Henry?

Good question!

Here's what I know about Henry through my own research, and the research of others whose work I trust. There is a fair bit of misinformation out there, and I'll try to focus on what is verifiable. I'll also speculate, but I'll explain my reasoning too.

Most of the facts that I will cite are available on the Internet.

Henry was born in 1727 or 1728. No one knows where. It is certain that he was not born in what is now Orange County, which was unsettled in 1727/28. I believe he was born in Pennsylvania, because the area of Orange County where Henry lived was settled predominantly by Scots-Irish from the area near Philadelphia. (See "The Great Wagon Road" by Parke Rouse for a detailed study of the migration paths of the early southern settlers.) In addition, Henry in 1755 signed a petition that the inhabitants of Orange County presented to Lord Granville, complaining of their lack of protection from incursions by the French and Indians. The petition states that most of the residents were from Pennsylvania and (I believe) Massachusetts.

Henry's early life is unknown until 1752, when he applied for, and in 1754 received, a land grant from Lord Granville in Orange County. (The process by which Lord Granville's land was distributed is a story unto itself.) In March 1755 Henry was appointed constable of the Orange County Inferior Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions "in the office of Thomas Cate," and the following month the road commissioners appointed him to work on a crew under the supervision of John Gray.

During the same time frame, a John Hastings received a similar appointment to work on a road crew. Presumably this person is Henry's brother, but John Hastings does not have any verifiable descendants.

Henry worked as a sworn chain carrier around this time and was "of record" on a deed around 1760 -- but I don't have my notes handy right now.

No marriage record exists for Henry. Presumably the Elizabeth Hastings buried next to him in the old New Hope Presbyterian Church cemetery is his first wife. (She died July 1, 1800, age 60.) Some researchers say her maiden name is McDaniel, but I have never seen any proof. I hope that DNA testing will one day end the mystery.

Based on the ages of their children, it appears that Henry and Elizabeth married around 1755. They had ten known children. In rough order of birth they are Margaret, Joseph, Henry C., James, John T., Isabell, William, Elizabeth, Esther (a/k/a Hester, Easter and Hettie) and Mary.

After Henry's wife Elizabeth died in 1800, it appears that Henry remarried; there is a marker next to his with the inscription "E.H. 73 years." Henry passed away on May 17, 1812. His grave marker says he was "age 85 years." The original marker survives, but a much newer marker with the same inscription has been placed at the site by an unknown donor.

The old cemetery is across the street from the present New Hope Presbyterian Church facility, just to the left of the volunteer fire station. It is still maintained but is surrounded by woods.

Henry's will, executed one week before his death, is preserved in the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh.

Henry's primary occupation is unknown. He was probably a farmer, like most of the settlers of that area. He also worked, at least briefly, as a sworn chain carrier, which is basically a surveyor's helper. Some have speculated that he was a carpenter, because of the items bequeathed in his will, but I don't see anything particularly carpenter-like in his bequests: a sorrel horse known by the name Jrimus [sic], large pot, weaving loom and instruments, walnut table, chest, two iron pots [and] rack, Dutch scythe, plough share, coulter, long chain and riding saddle. Henry's will does not mention a spouse, so it appears that he outlived his second wife as well.

I do not know if Henry or his family were members of New Hope Presbyterian Church. He is buried there, but the Hastings are not mentioned in an 1891 history of New Hope written by Rev. D. I. Craig.