Piney Prospect

One of our ancestors was apparently responsible for building this house between 1790 and 1800. His name was Henry Hines (born around 1750, my 5th great-grandfather), whose wife was surnamed Williams and whose first name was either Elizabeth or Catherine (or perhaps a combination of the two). Their daughter Sarah Hines (1770-1856) married Squire Bentley (1770-1851). They were great-grandparents to Lucy Jane Bentley Hyder, my generation's great-grandmother.

 

The house was recently restored and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This 2015 article in Home & Garden tells the story of recent owners who restored the house and moved it to its present location: Homeplace: Piney Prospect. The house is located in Tarboro, Edgecombe County, North Carolina, and is "[o]ne of the finest examples of federal architecture within North Carolina."

• Henry Hines (c 1750—?), married Elizabeth (Catherine) Williams 
• Sarah Hines (1770—c1856), married Squire Bentley (1770, North Carolina—1851), son of Benjamin Bentley (1747—1839, North Carolina) and Jane (1750, Rowan County, North Carolina—?)
• Benjamin H. Bentley (1814—?), married Mary Davis (1815 Alexander, North Carolina—?), daughter of Jeremiah Davis (c1796 Virginia—1882 Cave-In-Rock, Hardin, Illinois) and Nancy Bridgeman (Madcap?) (09 May 1796 Wythe, Virginia—1873 Hardin, Illinois)
• Squire Benjamin Martin Bentley (15 November 1849 Yancey County, North Carolina—11 March 1903 East Stone Gap, Wise, Virginia), married Virginia Elizabeth Wells (1854 or 1857 Virginia—8 Dec 1917, Big Stone Gap, Virginia), daughter of David W. Wells (1815, Virginia—9 April 1865) and Nancy Jane Elkins (1822 Russell, Virginia—22 December 1887 Wise County, Virginia)
• Lucy Jane Bentley (1875—1948), married Nelson Hyder (1875—1959)

Matthew Howard (c 1609-1659)

David W. Wells' great-grandmother was named Hannah Howard Osborne, who lived from 1735 until an unknown year. This is where the Wells line intersects with the Howards, who may have been descended from the Dukes of Norfolk in England. Here is the lineage:

• Matthew Howard (1609, Wardour, Wiltshire, England—4 September 1659, Anne Arundel County, Maryland), married Anne Hall (1610, England—1640, Annapolis, Maryland), daughter of Richard Hall 1585-1645) and Marion Lee Loveland (1580-1645)
• Captain Cornelius Howard (1637, Norfolk, Virginia—15 October 1680, Anne Arundel County, Maryland), married Elizabeth Todd or Gorsuch (sources differ)
• Captain Cornelius Howard, Jr. (1664, Anne Arundel County, Maryland—23 February 1717, St. Annes Parish, Anne Arundel, Maryland), married Mary Katherine Hammond (1689, Anne Arundel—24 December 1714, St. Annes Parish), daughter of Major John Hammond (5 December 1643, Anne Arundel County—24 November 1707, Anne Arundel County) and Mary Howard (1647, Anne Arundel County—4 April 1721, Anne Arundel County), whose parents were Matthew and Anne Hall Howard
• Captain John Howard (1698-1765), married Elizabeth Gassaway (28 March 1712, Anne Arundel—unknown), daughter of Thomas Gassaway (20 February 1683, Anne Arundel County—10 September 1739, Anne Arundel County) and Susanna Hanslap (8 February 1682, Anne Arundel County—24 February 1740, Anne Arundel)
• Hannah Howard (1735, Virginia—unknown), married Caleb Osborne (1725 or 1731, James City (Williamsburg), Virginia—7 August 1781, Rowan County, North Carolina)
• Elizabeth Abigail Osborne (1757-1856), married Zachariah Wells (1745-1825)
• Dr. Jeremiah Wells (1792, Scott County, Virginia—18 November 1845, Wise County, Virginia), married Elizabeth Culbertson (1792 or 1796, Scott County, Virginia—5 April 1859, Wise County, Virginia), daughter of Joseph Culbertson (1766-1815) and Agnes Chittleton
• David W Wells (c 1815, Virginia—9 April 1865), married Nancy Jane Elkins (1822, Russell, Virginia—22 December 1887, Wise, Virginia), daughter of Joseph Elkins (c 1789, Russell County, Virginia—after 1865) and Margaret (1803-unknown)
• Virginia Elizabeth Wells, married Squire Benjamin Martin Bentley
• Lucy Jane Bentley, married Nelson Hyder
  

Michael Hyder (1740-1790), patriot

As we noted in an earlier post, Hans Michael and Katherine Chasteen Hyder immigrated from Germany to the American colonies in 1729. Their son Michael Hyder, Sr., fought in the American War for Independence, and his contributions to that and other skirmishes are memorialized on his headstone:

Erected by his Descendants to Michael Hyder Sr. Died 25 June 1790
Member of the Watauga Association in Watauga Fort, June 21, 1776. Took part in all the early Indian wars in Tennessee under Shelby, Sevier and Christian.
Was in the following battles of the Revolution, Thickety Fort, Cedar Springs and Musgrove's Mill in South Carolina. Was detailed from the King's Mountain, SC expedition to defend the Watauga Settlement from Indian invasion.

'Irish Andrew' Culbertson (1694-1746)

Another line intersects with the Wells line with David W Wells' mother Elizabeth Culbertson. It begins in Scotland in the 16th century. A major figure in the line is a certain Andrew ("Irish Andrew") Culbertson, who came to Pennsylvania in the early 18th century and was my generation's 8th great-grandfather.

• Thomas Cutbertsoun (c 1570?—unknown), married Bessie Hog
• Nicoll Culberstone (21 November 1590, Kelso, Roxburgh, Scotland—27 April 1650, West-mains Seatoun, Midlothia, Scotland), married Cicill Waddell (1590, Berwickshire, Scotland—c 1692, Mid-Calder, Midlothian, Scotland)
• Andrew Culbertson (Cuthbertson) (1612, Mid Calder, Midlothian—1654), married Elspeth Johnstone (1610-1661), daughter of Johnne Johnstoun (1580, Halifax, Yorkshire, England—14 October 1622, Midlothian, Scotland) and Margaret Hacketstoun (1580, Leith, Midlothianshire, Scotland—unknown, Leith)
• William Culbertson (c 1645, Scotland—after 1720), married Jean Breckenridge (1668-1742), daughter of Thomas J Breckenridge (1655, Ballyrichard, Antrim, Ireland—1700, Clogher, Tyrome, Ireland) and Jane Austin (21 March 1652, Elton, Huntingdonshire, England—2 January 1690, Antrim, Ireland)
• Andrew “Irish Andrew” Culbertson (1694, Derry, Londonderry, Ireland—1746, Shippensburg, Cumberland, Pennsylvania), married Janet Breckenridge (Caldwell) (Miller?) (1696-1742), daughter of Alexander Breckenridge (c 1665—unknown) and Elizabeth Jane Preston (c 1665—unknown)
• Andrew Culbertson, Jr. (c 1726, Culbertson's Row, Franklin County, Pennsylvania—1763), married Esther Arbuckle (1726, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania—unknown), daughter of Matthew Arbuckle (c 1700-unknown) and unknown
• Joseph C Culbertson (1744, Cumberland, Pennsylvania—5 December 1805, Russell County, Virginia), married Agnes Bailey Stacy (1 August 1745, Westmoreland County, Virginia, or Lancaster, Pennsylvania—3 April 1811, Russell County, Virginia)
• Joseph Culbertson (1766, Caswell County, North Carolina—1815, Scott County, Virginia), married Agnes Chittleton
• Elizabeth Culbertson ((1792-1859), married Dr. Jeremiah Wells (1792-1845), David Wells' father.
  

Map of origins

This map shows the regions of what is now the United States where some of our ancestors lived. Our earliest ancestors on the Howard and Wells side were from Maryland. Captain Cornelius Howard (1630/43-1680), our generation's 9th great-grandfather, represented Anne Arundel County in the Maryland General Assembly in St. Mary's City, the first capital of Maryland under the proprietorship of the Lords Baltimore, who founded the colony in 1634. Anne Arundel (1615/16-1649) was married to Cecil Calvert (1605-1675), the 2nd Lord Baltimore. They are my wife's 8th great-grandparents. During our honeymoon, we visited St. Mary's City, mostly because of her forebears' connection with the place, little realizing at the time that one of my own ancestors had spent time there as well. As mentioned in an earlier post, Howard County was named for our Howard ancestors.

Lucy Jane's reminiscences, 2

Later turned out to be today. Here's the second document that Lucy Jane recorded.

Lucy Jane's reminiscences, 1

I have devoted a page to my great-grandmother Lucy Jane Hyder's reminiscences which she had the foresight to record in 1940, when she was 65 years old. This is the first document that I will be posting. The second is from 1945 which I will post later.