William Parsons Hughes *
Birth: 1691, Chester Co., Pennsylvania, USA
Death: 1769, West Virginia, USA
Occupation:
- Married Mary Sudrah Withers * on 12 Nov 1713 at Chester Co., Pennsylvania, USA, America
- Child 1: Thomas Hughes * 1717 - 4 May 1778 m. Mary Susannah Baker *
- Child 2: William Hughes 10 Feb 1722/1723 - 1822
- Child 3: James Hughes -
- Child 4: Hugh Hughes Bet 1703 and 1728 - 1763 m. Susannah (Hughes)
- Child 5: Evan Hughes -
- Child 6: Mary Hughes - m. Anderson
- Child 7: Sudrah Hughes 1725 - 1792 m. Carpenter
- Child 8: Sarah Hughes ABT 1718 - m. Baker
- Child 9: Ellis Hughes -
Notes: SEPTEMBER, 1747. Hughes vs. Sawyers and Cowan.--We jointly and severally promise to pay Willi am Hughes, etc., for value received January 1, 1746, and when said money is paid, said Hughe s is to return to William Sawyers one silver watch which he leaves in his hands to counter se cure the aforesaid sum. (Signed) William Sawyers, James Cowan. Test, Andrew Kenny. Received f rom William Hughes, after the perfection of the above note, Capt. John Smith's note, payabl e to Patrick Dowdall, deceased, for £1, which sum I promise to pay said Hughes, or order, o n demand, or return the said note. Witness my hand. (Signed) William Sawyers. January 1, 1746 . Augusta Chronicles
Will Hampshire Co..12-31-1762, probated 6-9-1769, no wife, 7children, Hugh, Thomas, William , Evan, Mary Anderson, Sudrah Carpenter, Sarah Baker, executor Ellis Hughes, security James A lexander and William Wilson; witnesses, Joseph How, James Alexander, Henry Frey. [Hugh Hughe s died 1763, Joseph How also witnessed. Were Hugh and Ellis William's brothers?] Early Recor ds Hampshire Co. Virginia, now West Virginia
From Don Norman's "Descendants of William Hughes" Bibliography: "Nicholas County WV History 1 985" pp. 228, 229, 230, 293, 321, 340 Norman, Don, "Descendants of Andrew Foster" 1860, 187 0 Nicholas County WV census The ancestry of the Hughes family, progenitors of the famous scou ts and Indian fighters Jesse and ----has not been established and perhaps, never will be. Thr ee different researchers have written their own versions of the origin of the family and eac h probably had good reason for their opinions. Paul Hardman of Charleston WV believes that th e progenitor of the central WV line was William Hughes, son of Jesse Hughes of Powhatan VA an d a possible grandson of Hugh and Ann Hughes who were enrolled on the census at Martin's Hund red, VA February 4, 1624. This couple had arrived in America on the "Guifte" some years earli er. William L. Hughes of Jane Lew, WV, wrote, "...it is a well established fact that Jonatha n Hughes, ... was descended from the Jesse Hughes family, who cross the waters with other emi grants in 1675 ..." A third researcher maintained that John Hughes and his wife Jane (Evans ) Hughes, were born in Mireonshire, Wales. This writer alleges that their son, Hugh, was bor n there in 1671 and that he left home in 1680. The parents came to America, came to Pennsylva nia, and found Hugh. Absolute proof of the ancestry of William Hughes may never be found, alt hough it is generally agreed that his parents and grandparents had lived in America. Therefor e, we will begin the enumeration of the line with William. William Hughes: William Hughes wa s born in the late 1600's in VA or Pennsylvania and died in 1767 in Hampshire County VA. Hi s will was probated June 9, 1767. William settled on a 400 acre tract of land on the Great Ca capon river. This tract was surveyed by George Washington and the grant from Lord Fairfax wa s dated April 8, 1852 [1752]. This tract was within the boundaries of Hampshire County VA. I n 1754, the French and Indian War began and William enlisted in the VA militia. On the occasi on of George Washington's retirement as Commander of VA troops on December 27, 1758, an addre ss of appreciation was signed and delivered by the officers of the regiment. William Hughes i s the eighth signer. In January 1762, the VA General Assembly recognized the services of th e officers of the VA Regiment of militia. William Hughes' name was twelfth on the list of lie utenants. On May 22, 1762, William was commissioned a Lieutenant in Colonel Adam Stephens' Re giment of militia and on June 8, 1762, he was commissioned Adjutant of the Regiment. Willia m was given a land warrent for 2,000 acres of land in partial paymentfor his services to th e Colony. This land retured for this warrant, No. 299, was conveyed to John May January 17, 1 780. William had eight children, named in his will. The name of his wife is not known, but i s believed to be Sudna or Sudrah. From: "The Hughes Family from Virginia to Oregon": by: Patt y Barthell Myers Burke Publishing Company San Antonio, Texas (1999) William Hughes, believe d to have been of the third generation in America, possibly son of Jesse Hughes of Powhatta n and Hughes Creek, Virginia, and grandson of Hugh Hughes, an early comer to Virginia, was bo rn in Virginia late 1680's - 1697; died 1767 Hampshire Co., Va.; will dated 30 Dec 1762; prob ated 9 Jun 1767. No wife is mentioned in the will. Her name may have been Sudna, as this nam e is repeated quite frequently in his descendants. It is clear from his will that all his chi ldren except Ellis had received their shares before the writing of the will, part of which i s as follows: Son Hugh Hughes one shilling sterling; son Thomas Hughes one shilling Sterling ; son William Hughes one shilling Sterling; son Evan Hughes one shilling sterling; daughter M ary Anderson one shilling sterling; daughter Sudrah Carpenter one shilling sterling; daughte r Sarah Baker one shilling sterling; son Ellis Hughes and to his heirs forever all my estate.
Notes
Individual:In my research of the northwestern Virginia Hughes family Ihavenot been able to ge t any farther back than William Hughes, whodied in Hampshire Co., Va., (now West Virginia) 17 67; but Inotice he has also been listed asof New Jer
sey or Pennsylvania,with wife Mary Withers, and that he was a sonof William Hewesand Sarah Be zer and grandson of William Hewes and wife Deborah(___), who were Quakers and of English desc ent, who came toOldman's Creek, SalemCo., NJ.
By 1700 there were enough people by the name of Hughes inPennsylvania, New Jersey and northwe stern Virginia to confusejust about everybody. The Hughes of northwestern Virginiaspelled th e name "Hughes;" and many of those of NewJersey/Pennsyl
vania spelled the name "Hewes," although "Hughes"and "Hughs" also show up in this branch.
There was indeed a William Hewes of Chester Co., Penn., whomarried Mary Withers, and he was s on of William Hughes and SarahBezer,and grandson of William Hewes and Deborah of England andN ew Jersey. According to Chester (and its Vicinity) De
lawareCo., in Pennsylvania with Genealogical Sketches of Some OldFamilies, by John Hill Marti n, 1877, page 500 of the reprint,the children of William Hewes and Mary Withers were William, John, Samuel, Isaac, Caleb, Sarah, Lydia, Rebecca and
Hannah.
The children of William Hughes of Hampshire Co., Va., were Hugh,Thomas, William, Evan, Mary ( m. Mr. Anderson),Sudna (m. SolomonCarpenter), Sarah (m. Mr. Baker), Ellis/Elias, all of who m werementioned in his will dated Hampshire Co., Va., 3
0 Dec 1762,proved 9 Jun 1767. The name of the wife of William Hughes ofHampshire County, Va. , is unknown.It has been suggested thather name was Sudna because that name appears frequentl y in hisdescendants.
The New Jersey/Pennsylvania Hewes were English, well educated,fairly well off and were Quaker s, although some of them marriedout of thefaith and some were outright disowned. The Hughes o fnorthwestern Virginia weresaid to have been of Wels
h descentand were mostly illiterate backwoodsmen. Jesse, Elias and ThomasHughes, grandsons o f William of Hampshire County, were Indiankillers and almost as savage as the Indians they ha ted andkilled. They spent their lives huntingdown India
ns, seeking them out, and killing them; good Indiansor bad, it made no difference to them.
* Source: Patty Myers *
The following is from Hacker's Creek Journal, Vol. 2, page 192:
"Paul Hardman of Charleston WV believes that the progenitor ofthe central WV line was Willia m Hughes,a son of Jesse Hughes ofPowhatan VA and a possible grandson of Hugh and Ann Hughes w howere enrolled on the census at Martin's Hundred, VA
4 Feb 1624.This couple had arrived in America on the "Guifte" some yearsearlier.
William L. Hughes of Jane Lew, WV, family researcher, wrote in1926 "Quoting from local histor ians. . . and data of otherauthors, show conclusively that the Hughes family .. . are ofWels h extraction . . . Jonathan Hughes, my great-grandfath
er,was descended from the Jesse Hughes family who came across thewaters with other emigrant s in 1675 and obtained a land grantfrom King Charles II, for a tract of landon the tributar y ofthe James River, which was named Hughes Creek, in Pow
hatan,Virginia. . ."
The following is from Hacker's Creek Journal, Vol. 2, p. 194:
"William Hughes got caught up with the expanding settlements ofthe middle eighteenth centur y in the Virginia Colony. The RoyalGovernment replaced the largeland companies and promised b ettertitles to the land-hungry colonists. Soon theland
was inhabitedto the Falls of the James River, but the territory westwardtothe mountains belon ged to the Indians. On October 7, 1763 KingGeorge III proclaimed that no grant warrants, surv eys, norpatents could be made to the westward-moving
, home-seekingcolonists, until treaties with the Indians could be made. Thatdid not stop them . On they went. The Indians were furious andfierce andsometimes massacred whole communities . This may
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