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David Hastings of Augusta County, VA |
| Someone by the name of "David Hastings" or
"David Hesten" died in Augusta County, VA (predominantly
Scots-Irish
community) in the latter part of 1776. Was he related, in
some way, to Daniel Haston, perhaps Daniel's father,
brother, or uncle?
We know that Daniel Haston's son, David, was born on May 6, 1777 in Virginia. Thus, Daniel's wife would have been pregnant with "our" David when the Augusta County, VA "David Hastings/Hesten" died. Was our David Haston named for him? There are a few references in Lyman Chalkley's Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia to some other men named Hastings or Heastane who lived in that area in the 1700s.
However, the Robert Heastane/Hastings seems to have been "Robert Huston." This man's surname, in the original documents transcribed by Lyman Chalkley, generally appears to have been "Huston." Robert Huston / Houston was the grandfather of General Sam Houston who was later Governor of Tennessee and Texas. (Source: The Rev. Samuel Houston, V.D.M. by George West Diehl (Verona, VA: McClure Press, 1970) To this point (October 2004), we do not know anything about the family with which "David Hastings / Hesten" was associated. Nor do we have any documented (or additional strong circumstantial) evidence that would identify him with the Daniel Haston family. Please contact us if you have any further information related to the identity of this Augusta County, VA "David Hastings / Hasten" or any clues that might possibly connect him to the family of the Daniel Haston of this website. Main Source: Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia (Volumes I, II, & III) by Lyman Chalkley (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1965) |
| December 18, 1776 Someone by the name of "David Hastings" died in Augusta County, VA in the latter part of 1776. On December 18, 1776 the administration of his estate was granted to Richard Madison. John Parris, Jacob Peck, James Hall, and Daniel Kidd were assigned to appraise his estate. |
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| I checked the Virginia Land, Marriage, and Probate
Records: 1639-1850 database at Ancestry.com, and land
records show Daniel Kidd, Jacob Peck, and James Hill (David's
appraisers) all living on town lots in Staunton at the time of
his death. Daniel Kidd was also overseer of the streets of
Staunton on 19 Mar 1776. The only entry for David
Hastings/Hastens (in the above database) was the appraisal of
his estate, as posted at your website. Too bad there were no
land records, but the appearance of his appraisers in Staunton
makes it virtually certain that was David's residence as well. The above database shows a William and Robert Brown on Culton's Branch of North River of Shenandoah River, in 1752. William was still on the North River Shenandoah, close to the mouth of Cook's Creek, in 1763. Not sure if he was the same William Brown on Christian's Creek, in 1766. Records for this Brown family continued for several years, but I did not pursue because they were already in Virginia when your Brown family should have been in Massachusetts. A deeper study might determine if there were two separate Brown families in that vicinity....one arriving after 1775. -Beverly Neises (nicerain@crpud.net) 10-04-2004 |
February 17, 1778 The appraisement of this (David Hestin) estate, made by Jacob Peck, James Hill ("Hall" as per 1776 document), and Daniel Kidd, was recorded on February 17, 1778. The goods from the estate were sold on an "expedition against the Cherokees," apparently to members a militia group. |
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| David Hestin's estate inventory consisted only of a dozen or so items, including basic clothing and hunting or militia paraphernalia. What does this tell us about him? |
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Pursuant
to an order of Court to us directed we h__ appraised one J__ of the
Estate of David Hestens deced Daniel
Kidd At a Court held for Augusta County February the
17th 1778 An Inventory
of the goods and chattles of
The above goods and chattles were sold on the expedition against the Cherokees to the following Persons before Appraised
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Cherokee Expedition of 1776 Colonel "Wm. Christian" was mentioned in David Hestin's 1778 estate settlement, as one of the men who purchased David's shot bag and powder horn. In the Fall of 1776, Colonel William Christian (from Augusta County, VA) led a force of 1,200 to 2,000 riflemen against the Cherokee villages in what is now southeastern Tennessee. (Read More) David Hasten/Hastings very possibly took part in this Cherokee Expedition of 1776. Col. Christian's men marched toward the Cherokee towns beginning on October 6, 1776; they camped near the Indian towns for about six weeks and then returned to their homes on about December 1, 1776. That timetable fits perfectly with the notice of David's death in Augusta County, VA court records on December 18, 1776. Although there was little or no battle engagement with the Indians during this 1776 expedition, David probably died on this expedition, which explains why his personal belongings were dispersed to his fellow soldiers. Notice that his estate inventory included only the clothes on his back and what looked like a soldier's gear. Source for 1776 Cherokee expedition information: John
Denton, Patriot & Pioneer by David W Templin (in the
Smokey Mountain Historical Society Newsletter) Administrators of David Hastings' Estate Richard Madison (born c.
1754), administrator of David Hastings' estate, was the Augusta
County, VA clerk. He was from a fairly prominent family and his
brother became the governor of Kentucky. All brothers in that
family were military officers, lawyers, etc. His family records
are posted at Ancestry.com, and it seems he was in no way
related to David Hasten/Hastings. |
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