by T. Vance Little

Early settlers of Williamson County and Middle Tennessee followed certain migration patterns. They came in groups from the same places. The people who made up the individual migration groups had similar backgrounds, with common religious or ethnic roots. They traveled in groups for their mutual protection as well as for their mutual social and economic convenience.

One such group that arrived in Middle Tennessee in mid 1790’s came from Jones County, North Carolina. The group was under the leadership of one Rev. John Dillahunty, an early Baptist leader in the Nashville, Tennessee, area. The group included several families from Jones County, i.e., Huggins, Stanley, Blackshear, Little and perhaps others. The four named families came into Williamson County in the mid to late 1790’s.

Jones County, North Carolina, the origin of the Dillahunty contingency is located in the heart of North Carolina Tidewater county. The rich black soil of the county made cotton king in its pre-Civil War economy. Before that conflict it is said to have been one of the richest counties in the South. The county was formed in 1789 and came from the older county of Craven, the county seat of which is New Bern, which was the capital of Colonial North Carolina and the seat of its royal governors. New Bern is today best known as the location of the reconstructed and restored Tryon Palace, home to royal governors.

New Bern, settled in 1710, was one of the earliest settlements in North Carolina. Its settlement was the proprietary effort of Swiss nobleman and entrepreneur Baron Christopher De Graffenreid. It was founded as a refuge for certain German and Swiss Protestants who sought to escape religious persecution and economic hardship in their native lands. Before coming to America many European groups, including these Swiss and Germans fled their homelands for Holland where the free thinking Dutch provided a haven for religious dissidents. Indeed, even our own Mayflower ancestors, the English Separatists, took refuge in Holland before coming to America.

In preparation for transporting the German and Swiss dissidents to America, De Graffenreid went to England and negotiated the purchase of a large tract of land along the Neuse and Trent Rivers in North Carolina. The English Lords Proprietors were anxious to attract settlers to the new colony. They, consequently, struck a deal with De Graffenreid under the terms of which each family was to receive 250 acres of land.

The settlers thus set sail form England in December 1710. The organizers of this venture knew it would not be an easy undertaking, They, therefore, selected only the young and strong. In spite of their precautions more than half of the group died during the treacherous 13-week voyage. It was an exceptionally difficult and stormy crossing.

The group landed in Virginia and made their way overland to the central North Carolina coastal area. At the confluence of the Neuse and Trent Rivers they laid out the town of New Bern. They named it for De Graffenreid’s home Bern, Switzerland. The new settlers were thrifty and industrious and quickly established themselves in the New World. Their troubles, however, were not over. There was a yellow fever epidemic. Two years after their arrival they were attacked by Indians. Of the ones who survived these adversities, more than half left New Bern and returned to Virginia. But the colony was not abandoned. Those who remained went on with their lives, which included taking up their grants along the Trent River in the area that became Jones County in 1789.

For the next score or so years the Germans, or Palatines, as they were called because of their being from the Palatinate part of Germany, prospered and firmly established themselves along the Trent River. They called the area New Germany. They were joined by other settlers, primarily Englishmen from the Virginia Tidewater country. The Germans learned English and began to Anglicize their names. They got along well as indicated by the numerous intermarriages between the two groups.

There was a substantial settlement along Chinquapin Creek, a tributary of the Trent River. In 1740, these settlers organized a church, which was the forerunner of the present day Chinquapin Chapel located near Phillips Crossroads in Jones County.

North Carolina being an English colony, the Church of England was recognized as the state church. Thus, in the petition to organize Chinquapin Chapel it was made clear that the church was to accommodate both the English settlers, who belonged to the Church of England and the Germans.

The petition read:

Whereas, we, the subscribers, have agreed and concluded to build one house of worship, or chapel on the Trent River in Craven County (now Jones) in the Province of North Carolina out of one flock of cattle which a certain person hath willed and given for the same use and purpose for the use of the Palatines or Germans. Now we, the subscribers hereof, have chosen and elected Mr. Jacob Sheets, John Simons, John Kinsey, and Peter Remm for to build the same church or chapel for the use of the High Germans and the Church of England and the same chapel is to be built on the south side of Trent River between the ferry and John Kinsey’s plantation, and the same chapel is to be 30 feet long, and 20 feet wide and 12 feet high; and furthermore we, the subscribers hereof, do give unto the above Jacob Sheets, John Simmons, Peter Remm, and John Kinsey full power and authority to build the same chapel, or church, as they shall see fit and convenient to build or cause to be built, and the name or title of the same church or chapel is to be called the Palatine Church, or the High German Chapel, as witness our hands, this second day of August anno Domini, 1740.

John Simmons

Jacob Rezenover

Richard Remer

William Frank

Alexander Steel

Christian Slobbock

Vincent Ament

Peter Andrews

William Baron

Christian Slobbock, Jr.

John Letchez Miller

Jacob Fulch

Michael Picket

Dave Fulch

Matthew Rezenover

John Peter Reem

John Remer

George Cornegay

Michael Reem

George Snyder

George Koonce

John Kinsey

It is to be noted that except for Peter Andrews all of the above subscribers were of the original German and Swiss families of Craven and Jones Counties.

In the mid 1700’s, the great Scots-Irish migration into North Carolina and South Carolina began. These Scots-Irish, also known as Ulster Scots, were originally Scots, who were moved by the English to North Ireland to help subjugate the rebellious Irish. As history has shown subjugating the Irish has been no easy task. Most of the Scots-Irish entered America through Philadelphia and traveled from Pennsylvania through the Shenandoah Valley into the Carolina Piedmont area. Some of them, however, found their way into Jones County. Other Scots came directly to the Tidewater area from Scotland, they being the Highland Scots removed by the English from their homes in the mid-1700’s.

A movement that had a great effect on the American colonies in the mid 1700’s was the spread of new religions into the new country. One of the manifestations of the growing discontent with English rule was discontent with the English church. This discontent made the Colonists receptive to proselyting efforts of the Baptists. The proselyting efforts were felt in Jones County and the Chinquapin Chapel Church.

The first Baptist Association in the Jones County area was organized in 1758. One of the leaders in this Baptist movement was the Rev. John Dillahunty. He was of French Hugenot extraction, and his name was an Anglicized version of de la Hunte. Before the Revolutionary War he frequently preached at the Chinquapin Chapel Church although the church continued under Church of England sponsorship until after the Revolutionary War. After the close of that conflict, the church officially became affiliated with the local Baptist Association. Rev. Dillahunty became the pastor of the church. He continued as pastor until 1794 when he left for Tennessee. It was the members of this church who accompanied Dillahunty to Middle Tennessee and Williamson County. He is said to have brought about a half dozen families with him to Tennessee. One of those people accompanying Dillahunty was Abraham Little, who himself was a licensed Baptist preacher, he being one of the two licensed preachers in the congregation other than Dillahunty. After Abraham Little left with the Dillahunty party for Tennessee, the other licensed preacher John Koonce became the pastor of Chinquapin Chapel.

The Dillahunty party arrived in Tennessee in March, 1795, or 1796. Some of the members of the party were Martin Stanley, Jesse Blackshear, Abraham Little, John Little, Sarah Little, Charles Huggins, and others. It is difficult to say precisely who was in the Dillahunty party. One must surmise who the members of that party were from the names that made their way into the public records of the day. Many Jones County, North Carolina, names do appear in the early public records of Davidson County, Tennessee, and Williamson County, Tennessee, particularly the marriage records, which fact indicates the kind of people who were in the Dillahunty party. They were largely the second sons and daughters of second and third generations of Jones County. They, like many of the early settlers of Williamson County, were descendants of successful families of North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina. These successful families were large land and slave holding families. As their children came along and as the number of slaves increased by attrition, these people began to scout for new land to which their children and the children of their slaves could go to establish their own footholds.

The Jones Countians who came to Middle Tennessee were for the most part young newly married couples or young unmarried persons in their late teens or early twenties. They married, many times each other, just before leaving for Middle Tennessee or shortly after arriving at their destination. Hence, we are able to identify some of the Jones Countians by the association of their names in Middle Tennessee marriage records with the land and estate documents of their prominent ancestors in North Carolina. All of the members of the Dillahunty party seem to have been closely connected with the Chinquapin Chapel Church.

THE DILLAHUNTY FAMILY

The Rev. John Dillahunty was descended from a noble French family. His grandfather David de la Hunte was a Huguenot and was dispelled from France because of his religious beliefs. He fled to Holland and later to Ireland. Daniel Dillahunty, father of the Rev. John Dillahunty, came to America in 1715 and settled in Kent County, Maryland. Our subject was born there December 5, 1728. He died in Nashville, Tennessee, February 4, 1816. He married Hannah Neal in Maryland and later moved to New Bern, North Carolina.

Both John Dillahunty and his wife were converted to the Baptist faith in 1761. He became a minister in that church and organized a congregation at Chinquapin Chapel, where he served as minister until his removal to Tennessee. He left Jones county, North Carolina, for the rich hill country of Middle Tennessee in 1794 or 1795. After his arrival in Middle Tennessee, Rev. John Dillahunty founded the Richland Creek Baptist Church which was located at or near the Belle Meade Plantation. It was the first church organized west of Nashville. It was described as being on the “bank of Richland Creek at General Harding’s,” who, of course, was the owner of Belle Meade Plantation. He continued as pastor of that church until his death in 1816. After his death the pastorate of that church was assumed by Elder Joel Anderson, during whose tenure the location of the church was moved “a mile or two farther west.” The name of the church was changed to Providence. The next pastor of the church was one John Little, no doubt also one of the Dillahunty party from Chinquapin Chapel in Jones County. After John Little moved to Kentucky, Rev. Jesse Cox became the pastor of the church and remained so for the next 42 years. In writing of the church and its founder, Rev. Cox wrote:

I am now eighty-five years old, and too feeble to ride a distance of eighteen miles to preach to the church. This church has had three framed houses of worship destroyed by fire, and a brick house destroyed by the soldiers. It now has a comfortable house, and keeps up regular monthly meetings. The land occupied was deeded to the church by Joseph Hopkins in 1812. Six of the present members are descendants of the Dillahunty family. I heard Elder Dillahunty preach regularly once a month for about eight years; he was a man of small stature and was, being old, quite feeble. He was not an orator, but sound in the faith, of umblemished character, and commanded large congregations. Some of the members were among the best citizens of Nashville.

John Dillahunty is buried in a cemetery just in back of the golf course of the Belle Meade Country Club. Both he and his wife are buried there as well as one Dorcas Becton, who died in 1813. Her name too is one from the old Chinquapin Chapel in Jones County.

Dillahunty left a will which was probated in Davidson County, Tennessee, in 1816. The children of John Dillahunty were:

Samuel Dillahunty, remained in North Carolina

Daniel Dillahunty, remained in North Carolina

John Dillahunty, married Rachel Baker and remained in North Carolina

Thomas Dillahunty, married Sarah Becton and came to Middle Tennessee

Rachel Dillahunty, married Col. Joseph E. Johnston, son of Isaac Johnston

Mary Ann Dillahunty, married George West

Hannah Dillahunty, married a Quilling

Anna Dillahunty, married John Colvett II

William Dillahunty

Some of the Dillahuntys following the Westward Migration of the American people moved on to Missouri in the early 1800’s. Some remained in Tennessee and married into prominent families and became prominent in their own rights. One grandson Silas Dillahunty became a well known lawyer in the Maury and Giles County areas of Tennessee. The chapel at the old Baptist Hospital was dedicated to the memory of Rev. John Dillahunty. Edward Dillahunty was an educator in Maury county, being mentioned as “a lecturer on political economy and the law of nations.”

THE BLACKSHEAR FAMILY

Jesse Blackshear and his wife Hannah were members of the Dillahunty party that came from Jones County, North Carolina, to Williamson County, Tennessee, in the 1790’s. They seem to have settled in Williamson County immediately because they paid taxes there in 1800, the first year that taxes were assessed in the county after its formation in 1799.

Jesse Blackshear died in 1803 leaving in addition to his wife Hannah, minor children Luke, David, Elijah, Jacob, and Jesse. Note that they were all Biblical names. Ezekiel (another Biblical name) and possibly another child were of age at the father’s death. Zacheus German was appointed guardian for the minor children. In 1806, the widow Hannah Blackshear married Isaac Mairs. The inventory of the estate of Jesse Blackshear included 126 acres of land on the Big Harpeth River, bricklayer tools, shoemaker tools, three Bibles, two testaments, other books, a tame deer, and numerous other items.

The identity of Hannah is not known, but she would certainly seem to have been one of the Chinquapin Chapel families. It would not be surprising to find that she was the Hannah Huggins mentioned in the will of Luke Huggins as being his daughter. Note the name of one of her sons was Luke. It also is not known whether or not there were others of the Blackshear family of Jones County who were members of the Dillahunty party, but one Thomas Blackshear bought at the estate sale of Jesse Blackshear. He is not otherwise identified.

Most of the children of Jesse Blackshear came of age and married in Williamson County: Elijah to Diana McMahon in 1822; James to Susan Littleton in 1820; Jesse to Matilda Truett in 1820; and Ezekiel to Ishel Dobson in 1814. They then seem to have moved to other places. None of them are enumerated in the 1840 Census of Williamson County. Some did move to neighboring Marshall County, probably the part that was originally Bedford County. The 1850 Census of Marshall County lists several Blackshears in the neighborhood with Littles, Stanleys, and Huggins.

The Blackshears were not one of the old Palatine families of Jones County, North Carolina, but they were of German origin, having come to New Bern, North Carolina, in the 1730’s or 1740’s. The progenitor of the clan there seems to have been Alexander Blackshear, who left a will dated October 3, 1785, in which he named his wife Agnes and children James, Eleanor Bailey, Elisha, Abraham, Sarah Clifton, and granddaughter Susanna Fordham. He left his Bible and “brass headed hand irons” to his son James, two Negroes to his son Abraham as well as the plantation on which he lived, and other lands to his son Elisha.

Alexander Blackshear’s wife Agnes executed her own will in 1793, leaving to her son Abraham one barrel of vinegar, her”gardean” to her granddaughter Agnes, eight barrels of corn to her son Elisha, her “lockit” and silver clasps to her daughters and granddaughter, and her share of the crop coming due to her daughters Eleanor Bailey, Sarah Clifton, and her granddaughter Susanna McKinsey.

James Blackshear, son of Alexander and Agnes Blackshear, became the father of James Blackshear, Jr., who was killed by Tories during the Revolutionary War. He along with his cousin Martin Franck had been appointed by the governor as lieutenants of troops to be raised in defense of the Province. Shortly thereafter they were captured by Tories, and each was tied to a stake and shot to death. The younger James Blackshear was also the father of Edward Blackshear, who became a wealthy land and slave owner. Another son of this James was David Blackshear who became a general during the War of 1812 and was a resident of Laurens County, Georgia.

The Blackshear family intermarried with all of the Chinquapin Chapel families, including Franck, Huggins, Stanley, and Koonce. It is not clear the direct line of descent from Alexander Blackshear to Jesse Blackshear who came to Williamson County. He no doubt was a grandson or great grandson of this North Carolina pioneer.

THE STANLEY FAMILY

Two of the most illustrious citizens of the Carolina Tidewater were John Wright Stanley and his son James. The elder Stanley was a wealthy merchant and shipping magnate who amassed a fortune as well as wielding considerable political influence as did his son James. As a testament to his wealth and influence the John Wright Stanley home in New Bern, North Carolina, has been preserved and restored to its original splendor. It is a national landmark and is open to the public so that its opulent interior and well manicured gardens may be viewed by all who are interested. This John Wright Stanley came from Virginia, with his family originally being from Maryland.

There was a James Stanley in neighboring Jones County, North Carolina, who was a large landowner and slave holder in his own right. He and John Wright Stanley lived too close together and shared too close a similarity of names for there not to have been a connection of some sort between the two men. The curator of the Wright Stanley House in New Bern contended that there was no connection. One would think that he may have felt that the Jones County bunch of Stanleys were not quite up to the social standards of the New Bern family. In any event, we want to direct our attention to the James Stanley of Jones County, North Carolina, whether or not he is related to Wright Stanley of New Bern. It is evident that some of his descendants were a part of the Dillahunty Migration to Middle Tennessee.

James Stanley of Jones County died in 1793. He left a will in which he identified his children as being:

James Stanley

Nathaniel Stanley

John Stanley

Olivet Stanley

Sarah Stanley

Elizabeth Stanley

Susanna Stanley

Winfred Stanley, and

Mary Stanley

His wife Winfred also survived him. Several of these children or their children made their ways to Middle Tennessee with John Dillahunty. Early Davidson County marriages include: Elizabeth Stanley to Soloman Williams in 1813; Wright Stanley to Sally Crockett in 1817; Hannah Stanley to John Brown in 1799; and James Stanley to Nancy Johnston in 1821. Meanwhile, early Williamson County marriages include the following: James Stanley to Elizabeth Dunham in 1806; Hannah Stanley to Thomas Cayce in 1815; Winny Stanley to Henry Allen in 1813; Sally Stanley to Francis McDonald in 1810; and Elizabeth Stanley to Andrew Ragsdale in 1821.

Several of the Stanley family lived in Williamson County, but perhaps the most prominent were Martin Stanley and his son Wright Stanley. His connection with James Stanley of Jones County is unknown. The former is believed to have built the antebellum home on the east side of Franklin Road near Spencer Creek known as the Bishop Soule house, it having been the home to Methodist Bishop Joshua Soule. This home is quite as substantial as the Wright Stanley home in New Bern, albeit not so well maintained.

THE HUGGINS FAMILY

The origin of the Huggins family of Chinquapin Chapel is thought to have been Maryland via Oslow County, North Carolina. They were in Jones County before it was carved out of Craven. Early records show that Luke Huggins was acquiring and selling property in the 1740’s. The most that we know of the early Huggins family comes from the will of Luke Huggins which was dated March 8, 1784. In his will he named his wife Nellie (a nickname for Eleanor) and the following children:

Phoebe Huggins, born ca 1745, married John Shelfer

Sarah Huggin, married a Stanley

Nelly (Eleanor) Huggins, born ca 1749, married John Littleton

James Huggins; born ca 1753, married Elizabeth Blackshear

Luke Huggins, Jr.

Isaac Huggins

Esther Huggins

Jacob Huggins, born ca 1740, married Frances Cooper

Hannah Huggins, married Jesse Blackshear and settled in Williamson County

Thomas Huggins

Charles Huggins, probably married Sarah Little in Davidson County in 1799, and

Temperance Huggins, married Abraham Little ca 1790 and settled in Williamson County.

James, Luke, and Michael Huggins are listed as having served in the Revolutionary War from North Carolina.

Evidence that several of the Huggins name were a part of the Dillahunty migration from Jones County, North Carolina, to Middle Tennessee, is reflected in the several Huggins marriages in early Davidson County, Tennessee, records: Charles Huggins to Sarah Little in 1799; Elizabeth Huggins to Mark Phillips in 1819; Jonathan Huggins to Elizabeth W. Smith in 1820; and Sally Huggins to Martin Brown in 1808.

Only two Huggins appear in the Williamson County records. One was Charles Huggins, presumably the same as the one who married Sarah Little in 1799. The other was Reuben Huggins, who is unidentified. There are, however, records of Huggins in Davidson County, Rutherford County, Bedford County, and Marshall County, all of Middle Tennessee.

THE LITTLE FAMILY

The primary interest of this writer is in tracing his Little ancestry. He is descended from the Abraham Little who married Temperance Huggins ca 1790 in Jones County. They came to Williamson County as a part of the Dillahunty Migration. At the death of Temperance Huggins Little her obituary said that she was one of the first settlers of Williamson County. At least two histories of Jones County verify the fact that Abraham Little was a Baptist preacher.

This Abraham Little appears to have been a junior. There was another Abraham Little listed in the 1779 taxables of Jones County. This same person is listed as a resident in the petition to carve Jones County out of Craven County as a separate county in that same year. This same Abraham Little appears in the 1786 Census of Jones County with one male over 16 in the household, presumably himself, four males under 16, presumably sons, and four females, presumably his wife and three daughters. This is pure speculation, but his children may have included:

Abraham Little, Jr., the Baptist preacher who married Temperance Huggins

John Little, who appears in both Jones count and Williamson County records as a neighbor to and in close association with Abraham Little, and

Sarah Little, who married Charles Huggins in 1799 in Davidson County and later appears in Williamson County in the early 1800’s as a neighbor to Abraham Little.

Abraham Little, the preacher, appears to have been born around 1770 in Jones County, North Carolina. He married Temperance Huggins there probably ca 1790. At least two of their children were born in North Carolina. A third child was born in Tennessee in 1798. Therefore, they must have migrated to Williamson County in 1796 or 1797, which agrees with the Temperance Huggins Little death notice.

Temperance Huggins Little was almost certain to have been the daughter of Luke and Elinor (Nellie) Huggins of Jones County. His will is of record there and was probated in 1784. He names 12 children with Temperance being named as the last of his “last five children.” According to her death notice she was born in 1777, making her seven years old at her father’s death.

The children of Abraham Little and his wife Temperance Huggins Little were:

Eleanor (Nellie) Little, born 1794, in North Carolina, married Lazarus Gatlin Arpil 16, 1816. The 1850 Census gives her age as 56. Her husband Lazarus Gatlin was also born in North Carolina. They are two of the earliest members of the Mill Creek Baptist Church, the second oldest Baptist church in Nashville.

Susannah (Susan) Little, born 1795 in North Carolina, married Ansley McMahon November 8, 1820. Both Susan Little McMahon and Ansley McMahon are probably buried in the McMahon cemetery on the Dunklin Bowman place on Spencer Creek Road near Franklin, Tennessee.

Elizabeth (Betty, Betsy) Little, born ca 1798 in Tennessee, married James Grimes April 16, 1816. She must have had a double wedding with her sister Eleanor since they were married on the same date.

Ann Little, born ca 1801, married William W. (Billy) Robb. She was enumerated in the 1850 Census of Nashville with husband William W. (Billy) Robb. They lived on Walnut Street. He was a shoemaker. According to family records he was a Methodist preacher. In 1812 in Williamson County a William Robb was apprenticed to Joseph McBride to learn to be a cabinet maker. Ann Little had an illegitimate child in 1820. On some lists of the children of Abraham Little she is omitted, perhaps because of this unfortunate occurrence.

Sarah (Sally) Little, married William Grimes April 15, 1813.

Hannah Huggins Little, married Samuel Inman July 10, 1813.

Martin Stanley Little, born 1805, married Mary Dobson September 13, 1829.

Eliza Little, born July 7, 1806 (tombstone), married Martin Stanley December 28, 1828.

Lucinda Little, born January 1807 (tombstone), married Charles Peach. Buried in Peach cemetery two miles north of Leipers Fork near Peach Hollow Road.

John Milton Little, born 1811, married Mary (Polly) D. Knight. Buried in the Saunders/Sanders cemetery on Concord Road near Concord Baptist Church.

Jane A. Little, born May 1, 1814, died May 4, 1892, married Jonathan Jackson (Jack) Peach.

Thomas W. Little, born January 5, 1816 (tombstone), died May 5, 1868 (tombstone), married Mary Ann King. Buried in the Stanley family cemetery on Spencer Creek Road.

James Huggins Little, born 1818, died after 1870, married first Mary Stanley and second Nancy Locke.

Isaac Newton Little, married Elizabeth White October 31, 1833.

Charles Little, married Sophronia Butter (sic). They moved to Weakley County, Tennessee and later to Gibson County, Tennessee.

MISCELLANEOUS

Others from Jones County, North Carolina, who appear in Middle Tennessee census records include: George and Asa Becton who are listed in the Davidson County Militia and also a Koonce.

According to Davidson County probate records, John Beckton died in 1803, and John Koonce in 1807. Both estates held a number of slaves, evidencing some amount of affluence. James H. Koonce died in 1816, leaving a will in which he named his wife Polly Koonce, four children, mother Elizabeth Koonce, sister Argent Koonce, and deceased father John Koonce.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bejach, Wilena R. and Gardiner, Lillian J. , Williamson County Marriage Records, 1800-1850, privately published and undated.

Blackshear, David, “Some Blackshear Family Genealogy,” Hyatt Collection, Lenoir Community College Library, Kinston, NC.

Carraway, Gertrude S., The Stanley Family and the Historic John Wright Stanley House, Hall Printing Co., High Point, NC, 1969

Clayton, W. W., History of Davidson County, J. W. Lewis & Co., Philadelphia, 1880

Harriett, Julia Pollock, History and Genealogy of Jones County, NC, Owen G. Dunn Co., New Bern, NC, 1987

Goodall, Grace Miriam Gramms, miscellaneous genealogical records of Huggins family

Henderson, Surena B., Jones County Fact and Folklore, 200 Years. 1799 to 1879, Trenton, NC

Lynch, Louise G., Miscellaneous Records of Williamson County, Vols. 1 through 7

Marsh, Helen C. and Timothy R., Davidson County, Tennessee Wills & Inventories, Vol. 1, 1783 – 1816, Southern Historical Press, Inc., Greenville, SC, 1990

Probate and Land Records of Jones County, NC, and Craven County, NC

Ramsey, Robert W. Carolina Cradle, The University of North Carolina Presss, Chapel Hill, NC, 1967

Stanfill, Latayne Colvett, Colvett Family Chronicles, The History of the Colvett Family of Tennessee 1630 – 1990, Heirloom Press, Glendale, CA, 1991

Stanley, James B., “The Huggins Family,” Files of the Learning Resources center, Lenoir Community Colege, Kinston, NC

Ware, Charles Crossfield, A Carolina Landmark, privately published, 1962

Whitley, Edythe J., Dillahunty File from the Edythe J. Whitley Collection at the Williamson County Public Library, Franklin, TN

Williamson County Historical Society, 1850 Census of Williamson County

Wood, Lillian F., “Palatine Settlers on the Neuse and Trent Rivers,” East Carolina Historical Journal, Vol. , page 52

---