Chapter 4: Hertford County’s 1^st, 2^nd, &

3^rd Generations

 

            Hertford County officially came into existence on May 1, 1759. It was composed of northern Bertie County, northern Chowan County, and a little bit of Northampton County. I am most of all concerned with the area that remained Hertford County after 1779 when that part of Hertford County cut from Chowan County, the area northeast of the Chowan River, became part of another new county called Gates. There are very few remaining records of the people who lived in Hertford County during that first twenty years of its existence, and what records do exist, obviously contain people who lived on the northeast side of the Chowan River, and who were only residents of Hertford County for the first twenty years, then they were Gates County residents. By using a working definition of Hertford County as it was after 1779, I can pretty much limit my survey to the settlers who were cut from Bertie County in 1759, and not concern myself here with those people from Chowan County who were made temporary residents of Hertford from 1759 to 1779. In the first section of this chapter, I have isolated several Bertie County residents who were in the Hertford area according to Bertie records, then I have followed them in the scant Hertford County records after 1759 in the following sections.

 

Early Settlers in The Hertford Area

 

            The first challenge was to isolate the residents of the Hertford County area by identifying the location of their farms as described in deeds. Then I looked at tax lists to get an idea of who their neighbors were, and when they were there.

 

Early Bertie County Deeds in The Hertford area

 

            In this section, I have selected only those Bertie County deeds which involved Harrells who were in the Hertford area of Bertie County. As near as I can determine, the first Harrells to purchase land in the Hertford area were Adam Sr., John, Esq., and Elijah Harrell.[1]

 

            I have summarized the deed activity in the Hertford area in Table 6. It includes the first three or four Harrell residents of the area—Adam Sr., John, Elijah, and probably Joseph. Three other Harrells appear in the records by 1757—Adam Jr., Thomas, and William. These latter three, I am pretty certain were the oldest of the 2^nd Generation of Hertford Harrells.

 [page 97]

Summary of Bertie County (Hertford Area) Deed Activity by Harrells*

 

            The first point to make about the information in Table 6 is the missing information which I have marked with question marks. The reason for the survey of Harrell settlers and their families in the Albemarle area in the previous three chapters was to find the parents and families of the first settlers in the Hertford area. The intent of the question marks is to signal the need for information leading to the identity of the missing parents for the first settlers of Hertford County. In other words, even after the survey of Harrells in Bertie and adjacent counties, I do not know which Harrell families the first settlers in the Hertford area came from. Regardless of who their parents were, let us consider what we can know at this point about the first settlers of the Hertford County area.

 

Adam Harrell Senior

 

            Adam was the first Harrell to buy land in the Hertford area. Adam Sr.’s son, Adam Jr., may have ended up on the other side of the Chowan River in Gates County, but from the 1730s through the 1750s, both Adams were involved in Hertford County area.

 

            Adam Sr. bought some land (probably 100 acres) from James Thickpen on April  23, 1735. He paid 70 pounds for, according to James Thickpen, “my right title and interest to the within mentioned deed….” The deed James Thickpen was referring to was one in which he had bought 100 acres from Charles Sowell on February 4, 1732/33. Thickpen had paid 60 pounds for 100 acres at the mouth of a swamp commonly known by the name Horse Swamp—adjacent to Richard Sowell, and Charles Gavin.[2]                                       

 

            Horse Swamp basically flows east, a mile or so above Ahoskie and just below today’s Modlin Road, on both sides of route no. 13, then, it joins Wading Branch and continues east until it joins Flat Swamp to become Bear Swamp and finally becomes a part of the Wiccacon River.[3]

 [page 98]

            Tracking this land is not an easy task, but I have at least broken ground. The 100 acres Adam bought in 1735 had belonged to Charles Sowell—Charles and his sons owned additional land near the area where Horse Swamp joins Bear Swamp, about one and half miles east of the confluence of Horse Swamp and Wading Branch. Lewis, Obediah, Richard, and Charles Sowell all owned land on Horse Swamp. In his 1738 will, Charles Sowell gave his sons the following land: Richard, the land on Bear Swamp; Thomas, the plantation where Adam Harrell now dwells (my italics); Lewis, the land on Horse Swamp; Charles, my manner plantation. A witness to this will was Eliza Harrell. This certainly puts Adam just east of where Elijah Harrell bought land in 1753, near the confluence of Horse Swamp and Wading Branch.[4] (The witness to the will, Eliza, may have been Elijah Harrell, but according to the recorded deeds, Elijah did not own land in the area until fifteen years later in 1753.)

 

            An interesting reference in Charles Sowell’s 1738 will had Adam Harrell living on the land Charles was giving to his son, Thomas. Adam Harrell had already bought 100 acres in 1735; land that had belonged to Charles Sowell as late as 1732. Adam may have been living on Charles Sowell’s land in 1738 in a friendly arrangement (an oral lease), or they may have been in a dispute over what land precisely was sold by Charles Sowell in 1732. Another possibility is, of course, that it was Adam Jr. living on a neighbor’s land—Adam Jr. did not inherit land from his father until 1757.

 

            Adam Sr. bought an additional 400 acres in the area on March 17, 1742 for 150 pounds. He bought these acres from Lewis Briant (Bryan) of Craven County—they were located on the west side of Chinkapin Creek (that would be south of the Wiccacon). His new purchase was adjacent to Alexander Steel, and Henry Vanpelt. The land had been granted to William Cranford by patent on March 13, 1741. In order to help locate this land, we should keep in mind that Alexander Steel had bought his 640 acres from William Maul in 1725 on the west side of the “Chinkpin Swamp,” which was adjacent to James Turner and John Bryan at the time. Henry Vanpelt bought 150 acres from John White on March 17, 1736 which was on “Chinkpin Swamp,” adjacent to “John Pettyfers former corner tree.” Henry Vanpelt also had some land on the east side of the Chinkapin at Flat Swamp and Killem Swamps, but the latter was not part of Adam’s purchase.[5]

 

            Adam Harrell Sr. bought another 320 acres on January 24, 1757 from Edward Bryan on the east side of Chinkapen Swamp. The land was adjacent to Gillird’s corner and John Howell’s line.[6]

 

            On August 18, 1757, Adam Harrell Sr. began to sell some of the more than 800 acres he had accumulated in the Hertford County area. Not surprisingly, his first sale was to his son, Adam Harrell Jr., yeoman. Adam Jr. paid 20 pounds for an unspecified number of acres (it was probably around 200 acres, because on the same day, for the same price, Adam Sr. sold Thomas Harrell, probably another son, 200 acres for 20 pounds). The property was on the west side of the Chinkopin Creek and adjacent to Steel’s line, Patiford’s line, and Campbell corner. For Adam Junior’s purchase, the witnesses were Thomas Harrell, and William Harrell. As indicated just above, in another deed of August 18, 1757, Adam Sr. sold 200 acres to Thomas Harrell for 20 pounds—these acres were adjacent to Hansford’s line, Lassiter’s line, and  ___pelt’s line. On Thomas’ deed, the witnesses were Adam Harrell, Jun., William Harrell, and William Colthred.[7] The two 1757 deeds represent the sale of 400 acres that Adam Sr. had bought from Lewis Bryan in 1742.

 [page 99]

All these land transactions put Adam Sr., Adam Jr., and Thomas Harrell on a stretch of land that runs along the west side of Chinkapin Creek as far as Horse Swamp which crosses the present route no. 13, just above Ahoskie. ( Many years later, Josiah Harrell owned land south of Horse Swamp and west of route no. 13, and some of his grandchildren were on the same land until the 1920s. Josiah owned the land in 1732—there are no public records of his purchase. See chapter 8 for more on Josiah and his descendants.) Now that we have placed Adam Harrell Sr. in the Hertford area, let us turn our attention to John Harrell of Wiccacon.

 

John Harrell Esquire (John of Wiccacon)

 

            As I have noted in the previous chapter, it is a difficult task to assign specific activities to the appropriate John Harrell in early Bertie County, because there were so many of them, and the references were not always clear in the county records. I have attempted to deal with this situation by starting with a reference that I know is to John Harrell of the Hertford area, and work back in time. My goal is to isolate the John Harrell in the Bertie records who was most likely to have been the first John Harrell to settle in the Hertford area. Some of the information in the 1779 Hertford County Tax List can help sharpen our focus at this point (see Table 9, page 109). The list indicates John Harrell had land in Bertie as well as Hertford County at that time. If the lands were purchased before 1759, or in Bertie County after 1759, there is a good chance a deed can be found. The 1779 Tax List indicated John of Hertford owned 265 acres in Hertford County, 200 acres in Bertie County, 340 acres somewhere, and 85 acres with a mill. I have considered each in turn.

 

John Harrell bought land in the Hertford area a year after the Bertie County seat was moved from St. Johns in the Hertford area down to the Cashie River in southern Bertie County. John’s new land was a bit north east of Adam’s lands—John was on the north side of the Wiccacon River. This is certainly the “John Harrell of Wiccacon” listed on the Bertie County tax list in 1757 (see Table 5, page 26). The information in the deed provides the following: On June 5, 1742, John Harrell bought 265 acres from Robert and Ann Evans on the east side of Brookes Creek,  adjacent to John Hutson’s line and Elijah Dacos’s line.[8] (Brooks Creek  flows southeast into the Wiccacon River, and it is just northwest of today’s Harrellsville, above route # 45.)

 

            I am certain John of Wiccacon was the John Harrell in the 1779 Hertford County tax list; he was also the same John Harrell in Hertford County’s 1784 Tax List, which identifies him as John Harrell, Esquire (see Table 11, page 111). This is helpful because he was a very active John Harrell Esquire in early Bertie County, yet he was not any of the John Harrells discussed in the previous sections, because he was not identified on a deed or will as John Esquire—but he was active in the county business even after the county seat moved south to the Cashie River.

 

I mentioned earlier the Bertie County seat was moved from St. Johns in 1741 (when Northampton County was created). It finally found a permanent home on the Cashie River in Windsor by 1743/4. John Harrell Esq. was one of the men in charge of developing the new location. He was one of the county [page 100] Commissioners appointed on February 11, 1741 to build ‘Court House, Prison and Stocks’ in Bertie County. John Esq. was also very active in a variety of positions in county politics and law. For instance, he was a representative to the Colonial Assembly from Bertie County along with James Castellow, Arthur Williams, Capt. George Wynns, and John Dawson in 1734—John Hodgson joined them for 1735-1736.[9] He was also one of the Court Justices, in Bertie County in 1741, as well as during other years. It is reasonable to assume that John Esq. spent considerable time in and around St. Johns, or the northern Bertie County area, because he was very involved in county business for many years before, as well as after, 1741.

 

            John Esq. continued to own property in Bertie County after Hertford County was established. According to the 1779 Hertford County Tax List (see Table 9, page 109), in addition to the 265 acre parcel John owned in the Hertford area, he also owned a 200 acre parcel in southern Bertie County. I am interested in finding the deed for this purchase, because it might help connect John Esq. to one of the other Harrell families in southern Bertie County. Unfortunately, I have had some difficulty finding the correct deed which reflects the purchase of 200 acres bought by John of Wiccacon—there are two possibilities, one in 1748, the other in 1749.

 

            The first purchase of 200 acres by a John Harrell was in 1748—the acres were bought from James Brown, and were part of a grant to Thomas Mann on February 1, 1725. The problem with this 200 acre parcel is that the John involved sold 50 of the acres to his brother, James, in 1741.[10] This John Harrell was the son of Richard, and he died in 1767.

 

The other similar purchase made by one of the John Harrells was on March 25, 1749, from the Hon. John Carteret, Earl of Granville, to John Harrell Junior. He paid 3 shillings for 200 acres located in Society Parish on the north side of the Roanoke River. The problem here is John Jr. sold this 200 acre parcel to Samuel Andrews on February 7, 1754, and John Jr. died before Hertford County was established.[11]

 

            It seems there is no recorded deed for John of Wiccacon’s purchase of the 200 acres, so there is a good possibility he inherited it—but I have not found a will that connects John Harrell Esq. (John of Wiccacon) to any Bertie County family. Similarly, I have not found deeds indicating the purchase of the 340 acres and the 85 acres with a mill—all of which suggests the deeds were recorded in Hertford County after 1759 and before 1779; and thus lost in the fires of 1830 or 1862.

 

Joseph Harrell

 

On October 10, 1757, John and Joseph Harrell witnessed a deed for land adjacent to John Vanpelt at Wiccacon Creek.” The land in this deed was adjacent to the lands of Adam Harrell Senior. In fact there were several deeds in the Hertford area, witnessed by John and Joseph Harrell.[12] These deeds were witnessed long after the Bertie County seat was moved to Windsor from St. Johns—which suggests John and Joseph might have been neighbors and maybe even relatives, perhaps even with Adam Harrell.

 [page 101]

Elijah Harrell

 

The next Harrell to acquire land in the Hertford area was Elijah Harrell. He first appeared on a Bertie County deed for the Hertford area in 1753.[13]

 

The only other Elijah Harrell in Bertie records did not appear until the 1790 census—but I do not think the 1790 Elijah was the same one who bought in the Hertford area in 1753, because the Bertie County Elijah never married and his will was probated in 1795—he was the son of Lemuel Harrell whose will was probated in 1781. (Lemuel was the son of John Harrell of Roanoke whose will was probated in 1769.)[14] In addition, the Elijah who purchased land in the Hertford area in 1753 was the only Elijah Harrell on the Bertie County tax lists—he was a taxable person from 1757-1759 in Bertie County (see Table 7, page 103).

 

            The 1753 purchase by Elijah was of 275 acres more or less. There is an unusual feature to the deed (besides the fact that it is clear and easy to read), it reads as follows:

 

“Nathaniel Nicholas of Bertie County Yeoman for and in Consideration of the sum of Thirteen Pounds Current money of Virginia to me in hand will and truly Paid by Elizabeth Harrell of Chowan County in Province aforesaid … I hereby acknowledge Have Bargained and sold … and set over unto him the said Elijah Harrell his heirs and assigns forever all that my Certain Tract Plantation or Parcel of Land …” “… or in any wise appertaining unto him the said Elijah Harrell his heirs….”

 

Toward the end of the deed, Elijah’s name is clearly used a third time. I am certain Elijah’s name was not used mistakenly in place of Elizabeth’s after the first reference to her, and the use of her name is fully spelled and clear, with a reference to her place of residence in Chowan.[15] Thus, it seems Elizabeth of Chowan paid for the land, but Elijah became the owner. I do not know at this time if Elizabeth was Elijah’s mother, sister or wife, but she was probably related—which suggests that Elijah may also have come to the Hertford area from Chowan County. Joseph Harrell was a witness to Elijah’s deed.

 

Elijah’s 275 acre plantation was adjacent to Samuel Webb and William Williams. As near as I can determine, it was located just east of Adam Harrell’s land on Horse Swamp and Wading Branch. The deed includes the statement that it was the western half of a tract of land George Nicholas bought from Stephen Williams.

 

            The history of this tract, as reflected in deeds, adds a little to the  description of its location. George Nicholson bought 550 acres from Stephen Williams on November 3, 1730. In that transaction, the deed simply states the land is adjacent to Cotty Conthen (?), George Smyth, and John Williams. Stephen Williams had bought the 550 acres from Charles Jones on November 9, 1724. The deed only describes the land as lying adjacent to that of George Smith and John Williams. Coming forward in time from George Nicholson’s ownership, we find that he sold 550 acres to Anthony Webb in 1732. In the deed the land is described as on “billey bank,” and adjacent to Pitt Bladdar, George Smith, and John Williams. Then Anthony Webb sold the western most half, 275 acres, to Nathaniel Nicholas on January 10, 1740. The land was described as “half that tract or parcel of lands that George Nicholason bought of Stephen [page 102] Williams being the west side of said tract…,” and being between Nathaniel Nicholas and Samuel Webb in Northwest Parish. Anthony Webb sold the eastern half, the other 275 acres, the day before, on January 9, 1740, to Samuel Webb.[16] This means Nathaniel was already living to the west of the land he just bought, and Samuel to the east of the 275 acres he bought in 1740.

 

            It was not uncommon for people to live on and work land owned by someone else before they buy the land. This may well have been the case with Nathaniel Nicholas and Samuel Webb, because when they bought the 275 acres each from Anthony Webb in 1740, the lands being purchased were said to lie between Nathaniel and Samuel—with Nathaniel on the west and Samuel on the east. The lands they were on in 1740, while they were buying the 275 acre parcels between them, were probably owned by Peter West. Because not until 1744 did Samuel Webb buy 200 acres from Peter West, which was on Horse Swamp and adjacent to Richard Sanders and Thomas Jackson. Also, not until 1743 did Nathaniel Nicholas buy his 200 acres from Peter West which was at Wading Branch adjacent to Thomas Clifton on Horse Swamp, great Cow Hall, Anthony Williams, and John Williams.[17]

 

            The land Nathaniel Nicholas held on the west side of what he sold Elijah Harrell may have still been in his possession after 1759, in which case there are no surviving records. Prior to the establishment of Hertford County in 1759, Nathaniel Nicholas bought some acres on Ahoskie Swamp, and sold a couple of other parcels, but none fit the description of lands to the west of Elijah’s 275 acres or east of Adam Harrell’s holdings.[18]

 

Once again, I would remind you Adam Harrell’s land was just walking distance west of the confluence of Horse Swamp and Wading Branch. We know Elijah Harrell bought Nathaniel Nicholas’ 275 acres in 1753, and that Nathaniel’s original land, owned prior to 1740, was between the land he sold to Elijah and the land of Adam Harrell. This, of course, is of interest because there is an absence of recorded deeds and wills in Hertford County from 1759 until after the Civil War, except for a few deeds re-recorded after the 1730 fire in Hertford Court House—these re-recorded deeds were filed with the State of North Carolina and thus survived the fires of Hertford County.[19] I mentioned earlier, one of the re-recorded deeds in 1832 placed Josiah Harrell on 140 acres just west of the confluence of Horse Swamp and Wading Branch (Josiah’s family is described in chapter 8).

 

Bertie County Tax Lists in the Hertford area

 

            The tax lists were compiled in districts by a constable, the sheriff, or some other notable at the request of a County Commissioner. (Many of the lists were commissioned by a letter signed by John Harrell Esquire who was a County Commissioner for many years.) Most of the time, the smaller lists were compiled into a large list for the county, and fortunately the shorter lists from each district or neighborhood were also retained. These shorter lists give a better idea of what part of the county people lived in—they help group Harrells in the Hertford area.

[page 103] 

            A tax list compiled by William Rice, Constable, on October 27, 1755 contained only about twenty names—among them were Adam Sen., Adam Jun., and Thomas Harrell (see Table 7, page 103). William Rice’s list for 1756 contained the same three taxable Harrells. In 1757, Thomas Askew summoned Benjamin Wynns to compile a list of taxables—his list included Nicholas Askew, Joseph Harrell, and John Harrell. I have included the name of Nicholas Askew because I know he was in the Hertford area of Bertie County, as was Joseph and John Harrell. There is also a tax list witnessed by Sheriff John Brickell on October 24, 1757 with only one Harrell—he was Elijah. Then there is another list for 1757 by William Rice which includes Adam Sen., Adam Jun., Thomas, and Edward Harrell. This puts Edward Harrell near or with Adam Sr. and his probable sons, Adam Jr. and Thomas. In 1758, there was a list of taxables compiled by Robert Butler, Constable, which included Thomas, Adam Jr., and Adam Harrell.

 

Bertie County (Hertford Area) Tax Lists: 1755-1761*

 

            There is a list by Sheriff John Brickell, dated October 6, 1759, which contains the following names from the Hertford area: Starke Sharp, John Harrell, Joseph Harrell, and Nicholas Askew—again, Sharp and Askew were residents of the Hertford area, so too were John and Joseph Harrell. Sheriff Brickell added the following note to his list:

 

“then Wm. Witherington Cons. of the county of Bertie  I move that he had Summoned the Persons herein mentioned to give in their Dist. of Assembly for the present year.”

 

The note refers to the fact that there was then a question about where the people on the list should be taxed, just months after the new county of Hertford had been cut from Bertie County.

 

            Brickell’s note in October of 1759 apparently did not make much of an impression in Bertie County, because in 1761 Robert Butterton of Bertie County still compiled a list of taxables which included Edward, James, Adam Jr., Adam Sr., William, and Thomas Harrell.

 

The lists of taxable residents provide additional names for the early list of Harrells in the Hertford area. Most notably, in addition to Adam Sr. and his sons Adam Jr. and Thomas, we can add William, Edward, and James who were listed with Adam Sr. in the later years. Based on their clustering in tax lists alone, I think there is some likelihood Adam Sr.’s sons included Edward, James, and William, as well as Adam Jr. and Thomas. Other second generation Hertford Harrells simply may not have been old enough to be listed as taxables in the late 1750s.

 [page 104]

            The Bertie County tax lists also make clear there was a Joseph Harrell near or with John Harrell Esquire over the years—perhaps his father, brother, or son. In addition to being listed together on the Bertie tax lists, John and Joseph Harrell co-witnessed a number of deeds. One such deed was witnessed by them on September 27, 1750—it was for John and Jacob Lewis, who were transferring 96 acres in the Hertford area on the north side of Wiccacon Creek. Then again, in October of 1755, John and Joseph Harrell witnessed several deeds in the Hertford area. Then again on October 10, 1757, John and Joseph Harrell witnessed a deed for Benjamin Norvelle and William Brown for land at Wiccacon Creek in the Hertford area. These deeds were witnessed long after the Bertie County seat was moved to Windsor from St. Johns—which suggests John and Joseph lived in the Hertford area, and did not necessarily witness the deeds as county officials.[20] There was no Joseph on the 1768-1770 Hertford County tax lists.

 

            Elijah Harrell usually appeared on the Bertie tax lists as the only Harrell on a short list. That does not necessarily mean he had no children, perhaps just that they were not yet of taxable age.

 

     Unfortunately I have not been able to connect the first generation of Hertford Harrells—Adam Sr., John Esquire, Joseph, and Elijah—to any of the early settlers in Bertie or Chowan Counties. In addition, I think there is a good possibility Adam Sr., John Esq., Joseph, and Elijah were all related, but no records have yet surfaced to support or reject that possibility.

 

The First Generation of Hertford County Harrells

 

            In this section, I have put down a few more words about the four Harrells in Hertford County’s 1^st Generation, and I have put them in the context of Bertie County deeds and the available Hertford County tax lists.

 

Adam Senior—1^st Generation Hertford Harrell

 

            Adam appeared early in the Hertford area with his 1735 purchase of 100 acres at the mouth of Horse Swamp. He could have been one of the original Harrell settlers out of Virginia, but the deed did not indicate any such connection. Adam apparently died in the area between 1758 and 1768—probably closer to 1758.

 

He apparently left sons, Adam Jr., Thomas, and perhaps others—for instance, William, Edward, and James. In 1757, Adam Jr. and Thomas each bought some of Adam Sr.’s land in the area (see Table 6, page 97), and both were on the same Bertie County tax lists as Adam Sr. from 1755 through 1758 (see Table 7, page 103). Adam Jr. and Thomas were also on the Hertford County tax lists for 1768-1770 (see Table 8, page 108), but both were gone by 1779. William first appeared when he, along with Thomas, witnessed the 1757 deed reflecting the sale of land to Adam Jr. by Adam Senior. On the same day, William also witnessed a similar deed along with Adam Jr. for the sale by Adam Sr. to Thomas Harrell. Edward first appeared on a 1757 Bertie County tax list compiled by William Rice along with Adam Sr. [page 105] and Jr., and Thomas Harrell. Then in 1761, Adam Sr., Adam Jr., Thomas, William, Edward, and James Harrell all appeared on a Bertie County tax list compiled by Robert Butterton. James also appeared on a 1758 untitled tax list with Adam Harrell—they were the only two Harrells on this very short list. The tax list entries indicate all six of these taxable Harrells lived in the same tax district—why this list is among the Bertie County tax lists a couple of years after the establishment of Hertford County is a bit of a mystery to me. In any case, the proximity of these Harrells and the sequence in which they appeared on the tax lists suggests to me a family getting older and becoming taxable. Also, in 1757, Adam Sr. was listed with 2 taxables in his household—himself and one other probable son; Edward was listed separately in 1757. In 1758, Edward was not listed separately, and Adam Sr. was recorded as having 3 taxables in his household. If all five of the above named probable sons of Adam Sr. received land from their father, with the exception of Adam Jr. and Thomas, they probably did so after 1759—which would have put the records of such transactions among the burned deeds of Hertford County.

 

The five probable sons of Adam Sr. may have left descendants in the area, but none of the five owned land in Hertford County by 1779. At one point, Adam Sr. owned more than 800 acres in the area, so he had plenty of land to leave additional sons. Unfortunately, any will that might have been written by Adam Sr. was probably also among Hertford County's burned documents.

           

John Harrell Esquire—1^st Generation Hertford Harrell

 

According to the 1784 Hertford County tax list (see Table 11, page 111), John Harrell Esquire was settled in Hertford County. Earlier in this chapter, I explained why I believe John of Wiccacon was John Esquire were one and the same person.

 

As I indicated above, one of the first references to John Esq. in North Carolina was in 1731. The Colonial Records show that on May 8, 1731, the Council at Edenton ordered a new Commission of the Peace for Bertie Precinct. George Winn, Needham Bryant, Dr. John Bryan, John Harrord were on the Commission. John Harrell Esq. was still a Commissioner of Peace for Bertie County until 1746.[21] Several of these same men sat as Justices with John Harrell Esq. over a number of years—it was common for them to work jointly on a number of projects. John Esq. was a Court Justice, in Bertie Co. as early as Feb. 11, 1741, and was still a Justice through 1749. Other Justices were: Mr. Castelow, Ned’m. Bryan, Mr. Whitmel, Mr. Winn. These were again some of his political and legal associates.[22] Other early references to John Harrell Esquire are:

 

John Esq. represented Bertie County in the Colonial Assembly in Edenton, North Carolina. He took his oath of office there on November 7, 1733.[23]

 

John Harrell Esq. was one of the Commissioners appointed Feb. 11, 1741 to build a new “Court House, Prison and Stocks” in Bertie County.[24]

 [page 106]

References to Lt. John

 

Now I need to say something about the coincidence of John Esquire and Lieutenant John Harrell of Hertford County.

 

John Harrell Esquire of Hertford County was almost certainly the Lieutenant John Harrell often referred to in more recent times. Lt. John apparently acquired the rank and title of Lieutenant rather late in his career. The earliest reference to and the origin of the rank was noted in Winborne’s history of Hertford County: [25]

 

 “At the general muster of the Hertford Reg. of Militia, May 28, 1772, Col. Benj. Wynns made the following report: ‘…. Commissioned officers in the regiment are: …; John Harrell, Lt.; …; Jethro Harrell, Lt.; Jesse Harrell, Ens.; …. Non-commissioned officers: 30 sergeants, 30 corporals. 10 drummers, 621 privates, 10 companies.’”

 

Jethro and Jesse Harrell were residents of the Gates area, across the Chowan River.

 

There was only one taxable John Harrell in Hertford County from 1759 through 1784 (see Tables 8-11). Lt. John and the wealthy John Esquire on the Hertford tax lists must have been one and the same person.

 

In addition, John Harrell was the Sheriff of Hertford County from 1774 through 1777. He followed Nathan Harrell in that office—Nathan was Sheriff of Hertford County 1771-1774.[26] I think, but cannot prove, that Nathan was one of John Esq.’s sons and, when Nathan became more involved in the movement for independence, his father was elected to the office of Sheriff.[27] John was a generation older than Nathan, so it was Nathan who became more directly involved in the war for independence. John was a little too old to fight in the Revolutionary War. Recall that he was appointed to the Commission for Peace in 1731, so he must have been at least 21 years old at that time—which means he was born before 1710, and he would have been at least 66 years old in 1776.

 

Nonetheless, John Esq. continued to be active in his new county as he had been in Bertie County many years before—as mentioned, he was a Lt. in the Militia in 1772 and Sheriff in 1774-1777. After serving as Sheriff, John was a Justice of The Peace in Hertford County, appointed December 1778.[28] Again, there was only one prominent John Harrell in Hertford County, and he was both John Esq. and Lt. John.

 

Another reference to Lt. John which connects him to the St. Johns to Ahoskie Church road (basically today’s route 561) was also by Winborne. When he described the ancestors of brothers, John Whitmell Harrell (b. 1814), Jarret Norfleet Harrell (b. 1824) and their siblings, Winborne makes the following  statement:

 [page 107]

“Their parents were John and Winnifred Harrell, nee Bell, of Enfield. The father, John Harrell, was the grandson of Lt. John Harrell, who was Sheriff of Hertford County from 1774-1777, when he enlisted in the Continental Army and was ranked as lieutenant.”[29]

 

It was useful for Winborne to name Lt. John’s grandson, John, but unfortunately he neglected to name Lt. John’s son. Winborne was usually correct in connecting people, but often a little less accurate on some events and titles. For instance, as Winborne himself noted elsewhere, Lt. John Harrell had his rank back in 1772 when he was with the Hertford Militia. I believe it was the brothers’ grandfather, Lt. John’s son, perhaps Nathan, who served in the Continental Army during the Revolution. (Nathan’s service has been documented below.)

 

John (grandson of John Esq.) and Winnifred Harrell, and their descendants were the Harrells who lived along the road from St. Johns to Ahoskie Church in the early years—some of  John Esquire’s descendants are still living along the same road today.

 

I will continue to refer to the 1^st Generation, John Harrell of Hertford County, as John Esq. because that was the title he most often used. The title of Lt. John apparently came into use long after he was gone.

 

            Winborne’s comment about John Esq.’s grandson, John Harrell who married Winnefred Bell, tells us John Esq. had at least one son, and as I have indicated, I think there is a good probability Nathan Harrell was one of his sons. The Bertie County 1757 tax list indicated John Esq. had four taxables in his household—that would have been three males 16 or more years old in addition to himself (see Table 7, page 103). Other possible sons of John Esq. are discussed in the section on the 2^nd Generation of Hertford County Harrells.

 

Elijah—1^st Generation Hertford Harrell

 

As indicated earlier, Elijah apparently came to the Hertford area with the purchase of his land in 1753. We should recall that the person on the deed with Elijah was Elizabeth Harrell of Chowan County. That suggests his origin, but a connection has not yet been made.

 

            Nonetheless, Elijah Harrell was among the 1^st generation of Hertford County Harrells. He was also on the Bertie County tax lists from 1757 through 1759 (see Table 7, page 103), he appeared in the Hertford County tax lists from 1768 through 1784 (see Tables 8-11). The 1784 tax list was just of residents who owned land—Elijah was one of them with his 275 acres.