Matilda Jane Hawkins 1863-1933 (1101)

Licking River

Matilda Jane Hawkins was the daughter of Hansford Hawkins and Rhoda Ann Fletcher. She was born 5 January 1863 in Adair County, Missouri (we know from Census records that her parents were living in Clay Township then, post office Wilmothville). Her marriage license confirms her maiden name. Her son, James Travis Hyatt's Social Security Application as well as his death record also confirm her maiden name was Hawkins. Her birthdate is confirmed by her death certificate.

Matilda was born during her parents temporary residence in Missouri. They had moved there with extended Hawkins family, to take advantage of the lower rates for land. Within a few years of their arrival there, the coming Civil War began to cause outbreaks of violence in Missouri. It must have been a difficult time for the family. Matilda's father relocated the family back to Kentucky to be near family.

The Hawkins family moved from Clay Township, Adair, Missouri back to
Popular Plains Precinct, Fleming, Kentucky about 1863

Though the war years devastated many families, Matilda's family came through without a great deal of loss or hardship. This was probably due to the fact that the mountainous region in which they lived was spared any battles or depravations from enemy troops. Matilda appeared in the 1870 Census (Poplar Plains Precinct, Fleming County, KY) with her parents (Hansford Hawkins and Rhoda Ann Fletcher).

1870 Federal Census

Bath & Fleming Counties share
a border along the Licking River.
The Hawkins family lived on
land adjacent to this river.

Matilda was married in the family home on the 28th of August in 1879, to Jonathan Edgar Hyatt in Bath County Kentucky. The license reads, "State of Kentucky, Bath County. It is hereby certified, that under and by virtue of the within License, I did, on the 28th day of August 1879, at the house of Hansford Hawkins in said county, celebrate the rites of Matrimony between the within named J. E. Hiatt and Matilda Hawkins and that Charlie Wallingford, W. N. Hiatt were present and witnessed the celebration. Given under my hand, this 28th day of August 1879. J. H. Wallingford, Minister, C. A. Baptist Church"

Marriage License of Matilda Jane Hawkins

She appears in the 1880 Census in her in-laws home with her husband (where she is listed as daughter-in-law to the head of household).

1880 United States Federal Census

Name:	Edgar Hiatt [Edgar Hyatt]
Age:	27
Birth Year:	abt 1853
Birthplace:	Kentucky
Home in 1880:	Bethel, Bath, Kentucky
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Son
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Matilda Hiatt
Father's Name:	William Hiatt
Father's Birthplace:	Kentucky
Mother's name:	Lavina Hiatt
Mother's Birthplace:	Kentucky
Occupation:	Laborer
Household Members:	Name Age William Hiatt 59 Lavina Hiatt 58 Richard Hiatt 22 Robert A. Hiatt 20 Jennie Hiatt 18 Edgar Hiatt 27 Matilda Hiatt 17 William W. Hiatt 31 Rosa Hiatt 26 Lavina Hiatt 8 Ella Hiatt 1 William Hiatt 5 Robert Hiatt 4 William Campbell 6

Jonathan and Matilda Hyatt had the following children:

1) Lavina Hyatt b. Feb 1881 Bath, KY

2) George William Hyatt b. 22 May 1884 Bath, KY

3) Robert Hyatt b. 13 Jul 1887 Bath, KY; m. Mary Thompson

4) Rhoda Hyatt b. Sep 1890 Bath, KY; m. John Frank Igo

5) Edgar Hansford Hyatt b. 29 Jul 1893 Bath, KY

6) Jefferson Evert Hyatt b. 16 Nov 1896 Bath, KY; d. Feb 1969 Douglas, Cochese, AZ; m. Iva M. Hyatt

7) James Travis Hyatt b. 16 Jul 1899 Bath, KY; d. 25 Jun 1969 Morgantown, Monongalia, WV; m. Letha Victoria Fortney

The 1900 Census says they had been married 22 years. They lived in Owingsville, Bath County, Kentucky.

After Jonathan Edgar Hyatt died, Matilda married again. She shows up in the 1920 Census living with Frank and Rhoda Igo (her daughter), and named Matilda Brooks. She was already widowed again.

In 1930 she is still living them (Frank and Rhoda Odo) in Cass Township, Monongalia, WV and still Matilda Brooks. Her death record (which gives her name as Matilda Hawkins Brooks) gives her birth and death dates, as well as her mother's maiden name (though her father's name is wrong).

One of Matilda's granddaughters said that her grandmother was full of superstitious beliefs about many things. The granddaughter was sympathetic about her beliefs in some things, particularly in that Matilda would often tell stories about people who had premonitions about things to come. One story she remembered in particular was of a woman who heard a sound like a load of coal being delivered to her doorstep that woke her in the night. As she came to her door to see what had happened, she heard the alarm sound at the mine where her husband worked. She knew at that moment that he had been killed in a mining accident, and he had.

James Travis Hyatt, Matilda's son, was always skeptical of his mother's stories. He would shrug them off as part of her ignorance. But on the day that Matilda died, he came to believe. He heard a knock on the door, and told his daughter to answer it. The doorway was at the end of a narrow passage that led past their front window, and they had not seen anyone pass by. The daughter went to answer the door, but no one was there. When she returned to tell him that, he got a peculiar expression on his face as if he were frightened. That night they learned that Matilda had passed away about the time of the knock on the door.

Her granddaughter also said that the spirit of her grandmother, Matilda, came to visit her shortly after Matilda's death. The granddaughter dreamt that the wall of her room moved aside like a curtain, and her grandmother came through it with two beings dressed in white. Matilda would not let her granddaughter approach her, but told her she had a message for her. She insisted that her granddaughter never lose her faith in God. When the granddaughter awoke the next day, she turned to her sister to tell her about the vivid dream that she'd experienced. As she described it, her sister looked at her with a surprised expression, and said that she had the same dream that night.

Matilda's death date comes from her death certificate which gives her death date as 21 Jun 1933 in Monongalia WV. Her death certificate also says that she is buried in Monongalia County Cemetery. I have not yet obtained a photograph of her grave marker.

Note: There is a Kentucky Death Record listed that is NOT her. Do not be fooled by it. If you look at the actual record it says that she is colored, her husband's name is Ruben Hyatt, and her father's last name is Bonner, not Hawkins. Name: Matilda (Hawkins) Hyatt  Death Date: 26 Oct 1927  Death Place: Jefferson  (KY) Age: 069   Volume: 47   Certificate: 23190. 

Mary Margaret Rowe 1849-1919 (11101)

Highland County, Virginia

Her gravemarker gives her birth (12 Nov 1849) and death (14 Apr 1919) dates. Her maiden name is confirmed by the death certificates of her sons Marcellas, Joseph and George (James Joshua's did not have any parent information). Her death certificate has her as Martha Marg Fortney, and has the death date four days earlier. It says her father's name was Wm Rowe (though the handwriting is so sloppy, the Rowe is practically illegible) [See image below]. Since we already have a confirmation of the maiden name, this is enough to confirm that her father was William Rowe. She was born in Highland County Virginia, and relocated with them to Preston County, West Virginia (then Virginia) in the mid-1860s.

The Rowe family moved from Highland County Virginia
to Preston County (West) Virginia about 1865.

The courthouse in Preston County burned in 1869, and all marriage records were destroyed except a few from 1866. Since Mary and Simon Peter were married sometime between 1864-1865, there is no record extant of their marriage. I'm uncertain where the Jan 1st date on Family Search came from, unless someone had a bible record.

Simon Peter Fortney and Mary Margaret Rowe were married about 1865. It's interesting to note that two of Mary's brothers married two of Simon Peter's sisters. In 1872, seven years later, Mary's brother William A. Rowe married Simon's sister Phoebe Fortney. In 1878, six years after that, Mary's brother James H. Rowe married Simon Peter's sister Adaline Fortney.

Simon and Mary had the following children:

1) Christmas Marcellas Fortney b. 25 Dec 1865 Preston, WV; d. 3 Apr 1927 Clarksburg, Harrison, WV

2) Dora U. Fortney b. 4 Nov 1869 Preston, WV; d. 23 May 1926 Preston, WV

3) William Steven Fortney b. 12 May 1870 Preston, WV; d. 3 Feb 1940 Marion, Smyth, VA

4) James Joshua Fortney b. 5 Jan 1871 Preston, WV; d. 16 Oct 1950 Morgantown, Monongalia, WV

5) George F. Fortney b. 10 Jul 1874 Preston, WV; d. 27 May 1936 Marion, WV

Mary shows up in 1870 with her husband Simon Peter and children in Lyon, Preston County.

Simon Peter Fortney, Mary's husband, died young. Mary remarried sometime thereafter to Simon's cousin, Eli H. Fortney.  Their  marriage record shows that Eli H. Fortney 25 married Mary Fortney 28 on 5/10/1877 in Preston County WV. The marriage was performed by Rev. D. W. Rogers. 

Mary and Eli Henry Fortney had the following children:

1) Eli Uni Fortney b. 3 Dec 1877 Monongalia, d. 8 Aug 1928

2) John Walter Fortney b. 2 Mar 1880 Monongalia, d. 22 Aug 1926 Fairmont, Marion WV

3) Joseph Melvin Fortney b. Nov 1881 Monongalia, WV, d. 8 Feb 1958 Fairmont, Marion WV

4) Albert H. Fortney b. Apr 1884 Preston, WV, d. 1948 Marion WV

5) Rosa B. Fortney b. Jul 1887, d. aft 1920, married Charles W. Clark 26 May 1906 Marion WV

6) Henry “Harry” K. Fortney b. 1899 Marion, WV

In the 1880 Census, she is still in Lyon, Preston County WV with her new husband, Eli H. Fortney and children.

Mary Rowe Fortney in 1880 Census

In 1900 & 1910 Census they appear in Marion County WV.

Mary Rowe Fortney in 1900 Census 

Mary Rowe Fortney in 1910 Census

Her death record has her name wrong, however it is clear that it is her given the date and location of death: 

A Cemetery transcript shows both Mary M. and Eli buried in Samuel Linn Cemetery:

Fortney, Eli H. 12-23-1857 (h) Mary M.

Fortney, Mary M. 11-12-1849 04-14-1919 (w) Eli H.

SAMUEL LINN CEMETERY BENTONS FERRY, Fairmont, Marion Co. WV

Their grave marker reads:
Fortney
Eli H. Fortney
Dec. 23, 1857

Mary M. His Wife
Nov. 12, 849
Apr. 14, 1919

http://files.usgwarchives.org/wv/marion/cemetery/samllinn.txt

William Hiatt Bef. 1775-Aft. 1820 (1100000)

Quaker records from the Deep River Monthly Meeting in Guilford County, North Carolina
indicate that William was born the 26th day of the 11th month in 1774 to John & Phebe Hiatt.

William Hiatt is found in the 1820 Census in Fleming County, Kentucky, listed as over 45; so, for many years researchers only knew that he was born before 1775. Since he disappeared from records thereafter, this was all they had to go on. They had no records that showed where he was born, or even where he died. To complicate matters further, they were misled in their research by an interview of one of William’s grandsons that was published in 1896. That interview was the source of some information—and some misinformation—about the family.

Here is a trascript of the interview:

From: GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY 1896 Holt Co. Mo

Being interviewed in regard to his ancestry Mr. Hiatt said. "The old stock of Hiatt's came across the Briney Deep with Wm Penn and located in Pennsylvania. My Grandfather William Hiatt, "Packed" over the Blue Ridge in 1808, going to OH. My father, Stephen Hiatt, was born in Pennsylvania in 1798 and was about 10 years old when grandfather left for Ohio. After reaching Ohio grandfather built a log cabin and lived in it for two years when he sold out and moved farther west, lived awhile and moved West again, and got as far as Cincinnati. From Cincinnati, he went over into Kentucky and figured (sic) around considerable with Daniel Boone."

-------------------------------------------------------------< {} >-----------------------------------------------------------

The father mentioned in this account—Stephen Hiatt—was the son of  our William Hiatt. William is the grandfather mentioned in the interview. The interview is mostly accurate, from what we now know of the Hiatt family. The first Hiatt who came to America—John Hiatt—was a Quaker. He did arrive in America about 1699, with his in-laws the Smiths. That was the year that William Penn made his final voyage to Pennsylvania, and it is likely that the Hiatts and Smiths arrived with Penn on that voyage. 

John Hiatt and his wife died in Pennsylvania. However, their sons relocated to the Shenandoah Valley in what is now West Virginia by the mid-1730s. From there they moved south to the border between North Carolina and Virginia. Two generations later, they made the move into Ohio. The interview skips over the interim two generations, and goes straight from Pennsylvania to the move into Ohio.

Shenandoah Valley, oil on canvas, William Louis Sonntag, Sr., 1859–1860. Virginia Historical Society

It is likely that the interviewee remembered stories from his grandfather about the early family coming to Pennsylvania with William Penn, and other stories about his grandfather leaving his early home to move to Ohio before coming to Kentucky. The interviewee may not have understood the many years that fell between these two events, and falsely concluded that his father was born in Pennsylvania. At any rate, those skipped generations led researchers to search for William's origins in Pennsylvania, instead of North Carolina where he was actually born, or in Virginia where he spent his early marriage years.

William did indeed “pack over the Blue Ridge” when relocating to Ohio, but it was from southern Virginia, and not Pennsylvania that he traveled. All of the Hiatts from our family line had relocated to Virginia by the mid-1730s. The later all moved down into North Carolina, just across the border from Virginia, where William was born.

William was just six years old when the Battle of Guilford
Courthouse was fought near his home. Since the Quakers in
the area took care of the injured men after the battle, it is likely
that his family also took on the care of some of the injured.

That interview was one source of misleading information. Another source was an early Hiatt family researcher who claimed that she had located William’s wife. She had found an Elizabeth Hiatt, living in Platte County, Missouri for the 1860 Census. This Elizabeth was 74 years old at the time, so would have been born about 1786. Since this researcher had found that Stephen Hiatt (son of William) had a son William Thatcher Hiatt who had moved to Holt County, Missouri (two counties removed from Platte County) by 1870, that perhaps this Elizabeth was related to him. 

It was an enormous leap from finding Elizabeth Hiatt in a nearby county a decade before William Thatcher Hiatt moved to the state, to connecting her to the Stephen Hiatt family. To then further claim that Elizabeth was wife of William, who had died nearly forty years before this and in eastern Kentucky no less, was tremendously improbable. To make matters worse, they then gave her the suppositional maiden name Thatcher, based on the name of William's second son Thatcher Hiatt. Once this completely made up information hit the internet, it spread beyond control.

A careful examination of the facts shows that this Elizabeth Hiatt would have been born too late to have mothered William’s children. She would have been only eleven years old when William’s first son Allen was born (about 1797), and about fourteen when his second son Thatcher was born (about 1800). Since she would have been so very young, it is unlikely even as speculation that a woman born in 1786 would be the mother of Thatcher Hiatt. Now that we know the actual source of Thatcher Hiatt's name, it has become even more unlikely that this speculative "Elizabeth Thatcher" ever existed.

William Hiatt moved from Guilford NC to
Grayson VA about 1797.

Having researched William Hiatt’s children through marriage, census and death records, I have learned that at least the first six of them were born in Virginia. From this we know that William was living in Virginia from about 1797 (when Allen was born) through about 1807 (when Betsy was born). All of the Hiatts who lived in Virginia during this period of time were related to one another. Through painstaking research in Quaker church records, land and tax records, I was able to place William Hiatt as the son of William Hiatt & Phoebe Thatcher. At last we had found the real source of Thatcher Hiatt's name.


William’s birth was recorded in Quaker records at the Deep River Monthly Meeting as 26 November 1774. With this new information, I was able to trace William from his birth in Guilford County, North Carolina, to his marriage in the same county in 1797. William Hiatt and Charity Hoggatt were mentioned in Quaker records as having married “out of unity” in 1797. 

From Deep River Monthly Meeting records we get the following:

1797, 6[th month], 5[th day] Charity (Hiett) (form[erly] Hoggatt) dis[missed] mou

1797, 11, 6 William (Hiat) dis mou (rem[oved])

[“mou” stands for “Marriage Out of Unity”]

Trail in Grayson County, Virginia

Marriage “out of unity” means that they were married by a minister, or justice of the peace, who was not of the Quaker persuasion. Such marriage was quite common in the Quaker records. It was difficult to marry within the Quaker church. The first step in the process was to approach the elders to announce the intention to marry. The elders would then assign several members to perform what amounted to a background check. They would speak with everyone who knew the couple, to discover if they knew of any sins that had been unreconciled. This process could take many months to complete, sometimes over a year, since the elders were in no hurry to unite the couple.

If the couple did not want to wait through that long rigorous process, they would get married outside of the church and ask for forgiveness later. It is likely that this is what William and his bride had in mind. However, they may never have returned to the church to beg forgiveness. No record of their reconciliation has been found.

William and Charity (Hoggatt) Hiatt had the following children:

Beautiful Carroll County, Virginia

1) Allen Hiatt b. 1797 VA; d. aft 1820 Fleming KY
2) Stephen Hiatt b. 1798 VA; d. aft 1850 Platte County, Missouri
3) Thatcher Hiatt b. 1800 VA; d. aft. 1840 Gallia, Ohio
4) Nancy Hiatt b. 1803 VA
5) Sallie Hiatt b. 1805 VA
6) Betsy Hiatt b. 1807 VA
7) John Hiatt b. 1809 (probably OH)

[Note: There may be a son who is unaccounted for, shown in the 1820 Census as born 1810-1820.]

Since the Quaker records indicate that William relocated after his marriage in 1797, it is likely that it was at that time that he moved across the border from Guilford County, North Carolina to Grayson County, Virginia. The rest of his family settled in Grayson County that same year. William can be found in the tax lists in Grayson County from 1797 through 1807.

The Hiatt family lived in what was then Grayson County (now Carroll County) Virginia. Their church records were kept in Surry County, North Carolina, just across the border. since that was the nearest Quaker Monthly Meeting before Mount Pleasant Monhtly Meeting formed in 1801. The part of Grayson County where the Hiatts lived was very near the border between Virginia and North Carolina. The Quakers who lived in their area attended Westfield Monthly Meeting in Surry County, North Carolina, since there were no Monthly Meetings in Grayson County in 1797. 

Mount Pleasant Monthly Meeting formed in Grayson County, Virginia in 1801. The extended Hiatt family began attending Mount Pleasant Monthly Meeting shortly after it formed. William’s extended family—uncles and cousins—as well as his parents can be found mentioned in Mount Pleasant records. 

William Hiatt's migrations from Ohio
through various Kentucky counties.

Between the years 1808 and 1813, the Mount Pleasant Monthly Meeting records indicated that the greater part of the Hiatt family were relocated to Fairfield Monthly Meeting in Highland County, Ohio. William probably left for Ohio with his parents and siblings about 1808, when he disappears from tax records in Virginia. 

By 1817, William had relocated to Kentucky. His migrations in Kentucky took him through Campbell County where three of his children married:

May 3 1817-Allen HIATT to Polly DRYSDALE bm-James DRYSDALE

Dec 6 1817-Stephen HIATT to Lucy MORRIS bm-Thomas MORRIS

Aug 3 1818-Landon BONUM to Nancy HIATT bm-William HIATT

The 1820 Census finds the family in Fleming County, Kentucky. William is living next door to Thatcher Hiatt, and a few doors away from Allen Hiatt, two of his sons. 

Wm (William) Hiatt in 1820 Federal Census, Fleming County KY.
Note that son Thatcher Hiatt is listed next door, and another son Allen Hiatt is listed further down the page.

William's son, Thatcher Hiatt, married Esther Hunt Green Markwell in Fleming County KY in 1820. Within a few years they had relocated again to Greenup County KY where three more of the children married:

Rice, Jeremiah m. Sally Hiatt 24 Mar 1824 Greenup County KY

Griffith, Jesse m. Elizabeth Hiatt 21 August 1827 Greenup County KY

Hiatt, John m. Mahala Brammer 16 July 1830 Greenup County KY

By 1840 the family had dispersed from Greenup County KY to Missouri, Ohio and perhaps Indiana. William has not been located in the 1830 Census, and probably died in Greenup County sometime after 1820.

Thatcher Hiatt 1800-After 1840 (110000)

Grayson County, Virginia

Thatcher Hiatt was born about 1800 in Grayson County, Virginia. Thatcher was living next door to William Hiatt in the 1820 Census in Fleming Kentucky, which strongly suggests that this is his father. The fact that Phoebe Thatcher was William's mother, makes this even more likely, since Thatcher was likely named after his grandmother's family.

1820 Census, showing Thatcher next door to his father, William Hiatt.

The Census data (from the 1820 through 1840 census) gives us a narrow range for Thatcher's birth date, 1800-1804. The fact that Thatcher married and had a son in 1821 makes it likely that he was born in the earlier part of this range, making him closer to 20 than to 16 when he had his first child. When we look at his birth family, we can see that he had a brother born in 1798 and a sister born in 1803. This makes it likely that he was born sometime in 1800 or 1801.

Thatcher Hiatt was probably born in
Grayson County, Virginia where his family
lived until about 1808.

Thatcher did not live to be enumerated in the 1850 Federal Census when place of birth were declared for the first time; however, Allen Hiatt (b. abt 1797), Thatcher's brother, states in the 1850 Census that he was born in Virginia. Since their parents were living in Virginia as early as 1797, where they had moved from North Carolina, then it is probable that Thatcher was born in Virginia as well. Another piece of evidence for Thatcher's place of birth was the marriage record of one of Thatcher's daughters by his second wife, Jemima (Johnson) Hiatt. This daughter, Margaret W. Hiatt, married William L. Royse in Mason County KY on 23 Feb 1865, and in their marriage record it says that her father was born in Virginia.

In 1808, Thatcher's family moved from Virginia to Ohio, where they could buy land at a much lower rate. Most of the Quakers in Grayson County, Virginia at this time migrated to Ohio for the inexpensive land available there. By vastly expanding their land holdings, it would enable them to ensure that future generations would be able to stay within the community and still support themselves. The Hiatt family in Virginia were still mostly Quakers in the early 1800s, and they migrated with this large Quaker group into Highland County, Ohio.

Thatcher Hiatt married Esther Hunt Green Markwell
in Fleming County, and can be found there for the
1820 and 1830 Census. They probably lived near
the Licking River on the western border of the county.

Thatcher's family did not stay long with the Ohio group. Within a decade they had moved south into Kentucky. Three of Thatcher's siblings married while they lived in Campbell County, Kentucky, just across the border from Ohio. By 1820, the family had relocated again to Fleming County, Kentucky. This is where Thatcher met his first wife.

Thatcher Hiatt's first wife, Esther Hunt, had been widowed twice before. She had been married to John Green (with whom she had a daughter Amelia), and Landy Markwell (with whom she had son Landy, and a second son who died as a young child) before she married Thatcher. She was at least thirteen years his senior, and had three children, but Thatcher must have looked past all of that. Thatcher and Esther Hunt Green Markwell were married the 11th of August in 1820:

Marriage Records of Fleming County, Kentucky 1798-1851

Name: Thatcher Hiatt

Spouse: Esther Markwell

Marriage Date: 11 Aug 1820

1820 United States Federal Census

Name:	Thatcher Hiatt
Home in 1820 (City, County, State):	Fleming, Kentucky
Enumeration Date:	August 7, 1820
Free White Persons - Males - Under 10:	2
Free White Persons - Males - 16 thru 25:	1
Free White Persons - Females - Under 10:	1
Free White Persons - Females - 16 thru 25:	1
Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44:	1
Number of Persons - Engaged in Manufactures:	1
Free White Persons - Under 16:	3
Free White Persons - Over 25:	1
Total Free White Persons:	6
Total All Persons - White, Slaves, Colored, Other:	6

The children enumerated in Thatcher's household for the 1820 census were the daughter that Esther had by John Green, and two sons that she had with Landy Markwell. Given that their marriage took place four days after this census, Thatcher and Esther must have been living together before the marriage. As is often the case, even in this day when living together before marriage is the accepted norm, this did not bode well for the stability of the marriage. People who are rash at the beginning of a relationship, are generally so throughout the relationship.

Thatcher and Esther had only two children together:

1) William Thatcher Hyatt b. 11 May 1821 Fleming, KY; d. 18 Mar 1885 Rowan, KY; m. Louvina Jane Hedges

2) Josiah A. Hyatt b. 1824 Fleming, KY; m. Charlotte Gregory

They can be found in Fleming County Kentucky for the 1830 Federal Census.

1830 United States Federal Census

Name:	Thatcher Hyatt
Home in 1830 (City, County, State):	Eastern Division, Fleming, Kentucky
Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9:	2
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14:	2
Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29:	1
Free White Persons - Females - 15 thru 19:	1
Free White Persons - Females - 40 thru 49:	1
Free White Persons - Under 20:	5
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49:	2
Total Free White Persons:	7
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored):	7

1830 Census showing Thatcher Hyatt living next door to James Hawkins. James' great-granddaughter
would later marry Thatcher's grandson.

Family tradition says that Thatcher Hiatt left Esther and the children behind when he went to Gallia County Ohio on business, but as a farmer it is hard to imagine what business he may have had so far from home. We know that there were some extended Hiatt family in Ohio, that he may have been visiting. We also know that he never returned home.

Thatcher filed for divorced from Esther while living in Ohio sometime between 1830 and 1835. He married Jemima Jonston the 28th day of April 1836, in Gallia County, Ohio.

By the 1840 Federal Census Thatcher can be found in Gallia County OH with his new family.

Thatcher Hiatt in 1840 Census, Gallia County, OH

By the 1850 Federal Census Thatcher was gone. He left behind his second wife, Jemima Johnson Hiatt, and 5 young children. "Gemina Hiatt" (aged 35, born in VA) can be found in that census as head of household, with their children, living in Mason County, Kentucky. Children listed are:

Hester age 14 b. OH

Stephen age 11 B. OH

Elizabeth age 10 B. OH

Margaret age 7 b. OH

Sarah/Sally age 3 b. OH

That they named their first child Hester is suggestive. It was common practice in the 1800s to name a child in honor of a deceased spouse. Hester is a variation of the name Esther. It is likely that Thatcher had told Jemima that his first wife had died, and she suggested honoring this "deceased" wife in the traditional manner. She may have had no way of knowing that Thatcher's first wife was still living at the time, and raising Thatcher's two sons by herself. However, Thatcher would have known the truth.

Thatcher's death date and place of burial are unknown, though it can be assumed that he probably died no earlier than 1846 given that he had a daughter born the following year. The fact that Jemima was living in Mason County, Kentucky in 1850 also suggests that he may have relocated his family shortly after Sally was born about 1847. One can only wonder if Jemima ever discovered the truth about Thatcher's first marriage, and the two sons he had by Esther.