Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of Philip Sitton

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Descendants of Philip Sitton

Generation No. 1

1. PHILIP⁶ SITTON (PHILIP⁵, JOHN⁴, BENJAMIN³, JOHN² SUTTON, JR., JOHN¹) was born November 07, 1770 in North Carolina, and died June 19, 1843 in Mills River, Henderson County, NC. He married WINIFRED BRADLEY May 17, 1786 in Randolph County, NC, daughter of LAWRENCE BRADLEY and WINIFRED WISDOM. She was born July 20, 1766 in North Carolina, and died September 28, 1841 in Mills River, Henderson County, NC.

Notes for PHILIP SITTON:
      Philip Sitton was born November 7, 1770, the son of Philip and Hannah Sitton. He was probably born in North Carolina, as records indicate his father Philip was in Orange County, N. C. about this time.
      Philip's ancestry begins with his 3rd. great grandfather, John Sutton Sr., who in 1638, left Attleburg (Attleborough), England, and sailed for America on the little ship, "Diligent of Ipswitch", along with his wife Juliana Little and four children. John and his family arrived at the port of Hingham, Mass., just a few miles north of Plymouth Rock, and just a few years after the Pilgrims landed there. The townspeople of Hingham gave John and his family 4 acres of land. The history of Hingham states that John Sutton, his wife Juliana and their four children came from England. Later, John deeded the land to his only son, John Jr., and took his wife and daughters to Rehoboth Island, where he lived the remainder of his life, which ended June 1, 1672. John, his wife and a daughter are buried on Rehoboth Island.
      John Sutton Jr. was born about 1620 in Attleborough, England, son of John and Juliana Little Sutton. He came to America with his family in 1638. John Jr. was married January 1, 1661, to Elizabeth House, daughter of Samuel and Alice Lloyd House of Scituate, Mass. This may have been a second marriage for John Jr., as he was over 40 years old at the time, but no record has been found of another marriage, and Elizabeth is the mother of all his recorded children. John Jr., sold his land left to him by his father in Hingham, and relocated in Scituate, where he died about 1692. He left a will dated November 12, 1691, in which he names his wife Elizabeth, and their eight children.
      Benjamin Sitton, son of John and Elizabeth House Sutton, Jr., was born March 22, 1674. Benjamin evidently left Scituate as a young man, perhaps already married to Lydia, whose maiden name and marriage records have not been located. The birth of their first son, Christopher, born April 23, 1696, is recorded in Woodstock, Conn. Their other 5 children were probably born in Promfret, Conn., the area he next appears. Benjamin Sitton is mentioned many times in the "History of Enfield, Conn.", and early deeds list him as a husbandman and a yeoman, both of which would mean that he was a farmer. In the history of Enfield, Benjamin's name was spelled, Sitton, Sitten, Sittan, Sittern, Citron, Siton, and Citton, but no record of it spelled Sutton. Benjamin left Pompret sometime between 1714 and 1729, when his wife Lydia died in Somers, Conn.
      The marriage intentions of Benjamin Sitton and Rachel Bigbie, a widow of Ashford, Conn. were published December 19, 1730, and on March 7, 1731, the wife of Benjamin Sitton was admitted to the congregational Church in Somers, from the church in Ashford. Benjamin Sitton died in Somers, December 18, 1742, and Rachel, his widow, died May 7, 1760.
      John Sitton, son of Benjamin and Lydia, was born about 1700. John left Connecticut at a young age and settled at Queen Ann Parish, Prince George County, Maryland. On June 9, 1729, John, a blacksmith and farmer, married Elizabeth Pindell, daughter of Philip and Elizabeth Holland Pindell. In 1730, their first child, a daughter was born and named Elizabeth, named for her mother and grandmother. A record has been found that her grandfather, Philip Pindell, gave her a little slave girl named Sarah, age 5. In April 1732, John and Elizabeth were the parents of a son, Benjamin, no doubt named for his grandfather and Benjamin Jr., who died in John's home in September of 1731. On August 15, 1733, twin sons were born to John and Elizabeth, Philip, named for his grandfather, Philip Pindell, and John, named for his father. Other children of John and Elizabeth were Christopher, born ca 1738, William, born 1742, and Joseph, born October 15, 1745. It is believed that the later three, along with John, one of the twins, were all veterans of the Revolutionary War. No place or dates of John or Elizabeth's deaths have been found.
      Philip Sitton, born August 15, 1733, one of the twins born to John and Elizabeth, has been hard to trace. his wifes name was Hannah, maiden name and date of marriage unknown. Several records of Philip Sitton are found in the Orange County, N. C. records of the 1760's. Philip died in 1788, leaving land in both Randolph County, N. C., and a grant in Chatham County, made to his orphans under the administration of Joseph Sitton, his brother. The only known children of Philip and Hannah were John, born October 30, 1763 and Philip, born November 7, 1770.. Since John and Philip were both grown and married when their father died, there were evidently other children, since Joseph was administrator of his orphans.
      At the time Joseph Sitton was given custody of the Philip Sitton children, he was living in the central part of North Carolina, and the first seven children of Joseph and his wife, Diannah Beck, were born in North Carolina. their eighth child was born in the Pendleton district of South Carolina in 1790. Five more children were born to them in South Carolina.
      In the 1790's, Joseph and Diannah Sitton took their 13, children, sons and daughters-in-law, and a few grandchildren, and moved over into Tennessee, where they lived for some 17 years, then on to Missouri territory. Joseph and Diannah Sitton are buried in Bryants Creek Cemetery near Troy, Missouri.
      John and Philip, sons of Philip and Hannah Sitton, did not leave South Carolina with their uncle Joseph, but remained for the present at Georges Creek, S. C. John Sitton, born October 30, 1763, married Sarah Rigby in March of 1780, raised nine children, and is known at the progenitor of the South Carolina Sittons. A few years before his death in 1843, John received a land grant, and settled in what is now White County, Ga., where he and his wife are buried in the church cemetery of the old Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church, six miles north of Cleveland, Ga. Many of John's descendants are still in the Greenville, Pickens and Easley areas of South Carolina.
      Philip Sitton, subject of these notes, was married May 17, 1786, at the age of 15 1/2, to Winifred Bradley, daughter of Lawrence and Winifred Wisdom Bradley. It is believed that Philip and Winifred came down to South Carolina with his Uncle Joseph and other members of the Sitton Family. Philip and Winifred lived several years in the Georges Creek area of South Carolina. this is just a few miles southwest of Greenville, near Easley. There is no way to know just when Philip and Winifred moved from Georges Creek to the Mills River area of Buncombe County, N.C., now Henderson County. Philip and his family are listed in the Buncombe County 1800 U. S census. He is listed as Philip Sutton.
      Philip Sitton and his family were among the early settlers of the beautiful Mills River Valley, and he left his mark on the area. He came to Mills River before the age of 30, and established one of the first iron forges in Western North Carolina. In 1788, the General Assembly of N. C., passed an act granting three thousand acres of land for "every set of iron works, as a bounty from the state to any person or persons who will build and carry on the same." This bounty may have enticed Philip to come to North Carolina. In 1804, the court of Buncombe County ordered that 3000 acres of land be granted to Philip Sitton for the iron works which he was operating, on what is now Forge Mountain in Henderson County, N. C.
      The establishing of this iron works was one of the most important contributions made to the development of this section. Iron mined from this place, some on the side of the mountain where the Sittons lived, and other obtained on the Boyleston side, then hauled over the roof-like ascent and downward pitch of Forge Mountain, was manufactured under the direction of Philip Sitton, much of it by his own hands. From the loops and bars of iron made at the Sitton forge, early settlers were furnished with tools of every description to aid them in taming the wilderness and adding refinements to their primitive mode of living. I have copies of the land grants given to Philip Sitton by the state of North Carolina for the use of Iron-works, one deed is for 2186 acres, the other for 1000.
      Philip and Winifred Sitton's family continued to grow until 1809, when their eleventh child was born, a total of eight sons and three daughters.
      When Philip Sitton settled at Mills River, the nearest church was the French Broad Baptist Church, located just off N. C. Highway 191, and some 10 miles from where Sitton lived. The Sitton family attended the French Broad Church for many years, making the long trip by horseback or buggy. As more families settled in the Mills River Valley, it was natural that they thought of establishing a church nearer home. Philip Sitton and his family were instrumental in the establishment of the Mills River Baptist Church in 1833. On June 27, 1835, the church was officially organized, with Philip, his wife and several members of his family making up about half of the charter membership.
      Philip Sitton was very active in the Mills River Church, being mentioned many times as a delegate to the conventions and was a church leader. The following statement is recorded on page 51 of the first book of minutes of the Mills River Baptist Church. "We are called on to record the death of Brother Philip Sitton Sr., who departed this life 19th of June 1843." Philip was buried upon a hill near his home place, overlooking the site of his old Iron forge. He was laid to rest beside his wife who preceded him in death. The old grave yard is now known as the "Sitton-Gillespie Cemetery."



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More About PHILIP SITTON:
Burial: Sitton-Gillespie Cemetery, Mills River

More About WINIFRED BRADLEY:
Burial: Sitton-Gillespie Cemetery, Mills River, Henderson County, NC

More About PHILIP SITTON and WINIFRED BRADLEY:
Marriage: May 17, 1786, Randolph County, NC

Children of PHILIP SITTON and WINIFRED BRADLEY are:

2.	i.	AMBROSE⁷ SITTON, b. April 19, 1787, North Carolina; d. Unknown, Rabun County, Ga..
3.	ii.	ELIZABETH SITTON, b. December 31, 1788; d. April 11, 1858, Henderson County NC.
4.	iii.	PHILIP SITTON, JR., b. December 23, 1790, South Carolina; d. Unknown, Walker County, Al..
	iv.	JOHN SITTON, b. January 11, 1793, South Carolina; d. Aft. 1860.

Notes for JOHN SITTON:
John Sitton, born January 11, 1793, in South Carolina, was the third son of Philip and Winifred Bradley Sitton. He came to Mills River with his family when he was about 5 years old. I call John the "Elusive One", because I have spent so much time and come up with so little. John evidently married very young, as he is listed in the Buncombe County census of 1820 with a wife, 4 sons and 2 daughters. In the 1830 census he is listed with his wife, 6 sons and 3 daughters, so I know he had at least 9 children. He joined the Beulah Baptist Church of Henderson County, on August 19, 1820, wife not listed, and was given a letter of dismission on July 19, 1823. At one time he was a trustee of the Mills River Baptist Church. In the 1850 Henderson County census, he is listed in the household of Hodge and Sarah Huggins, of the Big Willow section, perhaps a son-in-law and daughter. At one time John Sitton Sr., was excluded from the French Broad Baptist Church for "Putting his wife away", but was later re admitted to the Mills River Church, where he held membership until 1860. Nothing definite is known of John's children, but it is my belief that George Sitton, born in 1812, and Philip Sitton, born 1814 and married Cassandra Allion, are his sons. There must have been a John Jr., as John is listed as John Sr. in the church records and land deeds. Philip Sitton, born 1814, and his wife Cassandra Allison, left a large number of descendants in the area.

More About JOHN SITTON:
Religion: August 19, 1820, Joined Beulah Baptist Church in Henderson County.

5.	v.	LAWRENCE SITTON, b. September 11, 1794, South Carolina; d. March 21, 1873, Mills River, Henderson County, NC.
6.	vi.	SILAS SITTON, b. October 14, 1796, South Carolina.
7.	vii.	ASA SITTON, b. April 07, 1799, Henderson County NC; d. Aft. 1860.
8.	viii.	JOSEPH SITTON, b. January 22, 1801, Henderson County NC; d. Aft. 1870, Gentry Co., Mo..
9.	ix.	JAMES SITTON, b. November 09, 1801, Henderson County NC; d. February 03, 1886, Henderson County NC.
	x.	WINIFRED SITTON, b. September 21, 1804, Henderson County NC; d. April 29, 1853, Henderson County NC; m. JOSHUA SOUTHER, March 04, 1851, Henderson County NC; b. November 19, 1798; d. July 22, 1872, Henderson County NC.

More About WINIFRED SITTON:
Burial: Patty's Chapel Methodist Cemetery, Henderson County, NC

More About JOSHUA SOUTHER:
Burial: Patty's Chapel Methodist Cemetery, Henderson County, NC

More About JOSHUA SOUTHER and WINIFRED SITTON:
Marriage: March 04, 1851, Henderson County NC

10.

xi.

SARAH SITTON, b. June 04, 1809, Henderson County NC; d. July 13, 1878, Macon County, NC.

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