Would like to exchange information and share research efforts with anyone researching these families of Henry County AL: BENNETT; CHITTY; GRACE; and HARVEY.

My email address has changed, and the AOL address no longer works. Please contact me at CyberHighway address.

i'm trying to do a family tree i just started and dont know where to begin. Did our family have slaves. were we slaves i want to know the answers to these questions. just curious

Hi Jasmine,

My name is Steve. I was once a teacher at Abbeville High School and taught several Chitty students during my time there--Alphonso, "Mad Dog" and many more. I also drove a bus route on the upper Old River Road and had many Chitty students that rode my bus route as well. Are you from Henry County?

In Henry County in 1855, just 6 years before the War for Southern Independence (Civil War) began, a Mr. H. E. Chitty had 30 slaves according to United States Census records. The Chitty Plantation was on the old River Road between Shorterville and Haleburg, and more toward Shorterville on its south side. I remember as a child seeing the old Chitty plantation house as I went to the doctor at Ft. Gaines, Georgia.

Start your tree with your parents, full names, marriage dates, and if they have passed, that date. Then go to your grandparents, then great-grandparents until you can go as for back as possible. If your family were among those Africans that were slaves, you might want to research H. E. Chitty and maybe find a list of his slaves in a will or journal. Also, go to the cemeteries that your ancestors attended church and look for graves with the Chitty name. You have a VERY interesting and special history. It is such a refreshing thing, me as an old teacher, to see an African American searching their family tree. We have woefully lost SO MUCH WONDERFUL HISTORY that was that of the African Americans in Henry County.

Feel free to call on me and best of luck!
Steve

Thanks for the response i am really interested in finding my black family members but i only have limited resources. The library and the internet. I'm in college so I have no money really. Only to live off of. So if you could do anything to help i would appreciate it.

Jasmine;

I'm sorry to say that I do not have any slave records, or estate records of Howell Edward CHITTY. I can tell you that he was born in Barnwell Co SC, and was brought to AL as a baby by his parents, Edward CHITTY and Mary Elizabeth, who settled in Dale Co AL.

I do not have any names of CHITTY slaves at this time, but will be on the lookout for them. I do have a list of slaves belonging to Col. James BENNETT in 1860. He lived next to the CHITTYs.

When I was growing up in Fort Gaines GA (across the river from Henry Co AL), I knew black CHITTYs and they told me that they were of my ancestor's slaves. That was in the late 70's, so there may still be a CHITTY in Fort Gaines that knows more of the history.

Will post here any CHITTY slave info that I find!

The following are "Colored" CHITTY marriages.

CHITTY GROOMS:
Jake m. Mollie HOLMES 26 Jun 1886
Jake m. Caroline SPANN 15 Dec 1870
Lewis m. Annie THOMAS 12 Oct 1893
Ned m. Mamie CULP 13 Nov 1898
Warren m. Martha Jane PORTER 1 Mar 1871
William m. Maggie SAMPSON 17 Mar 1901

CHITTY BRIDES:
Amanda m. Joseph BALKUM 14 Aug 1884
Ella m. Bart GRIFFIN 24 Dec 1896
Jennie m. William WILLIAMS 3 Dec 1891
Leila m. Alex KNIGHT 21 Dec 1898
Mary m. Thomas OFF/OSS ? 4 Aug 1872

More thoughts on your research, Jasmin.

Howell E. CHITTY died 23 Oct 1868. He probably did not have a will since he was not "of sound mind" for several years before his death. If he had one, I don't have a copy of it. And, because he died after the Civil War, there would not be any slaves listed in the accounting of his estate.

I'm about out of ideas, so here's my last--and probably best--shot. Call Information for Fort Gaines, GA. Ask for James DANIELS in Fort Gaines. He has done histories of all of the Black churches there. He's also a teacher, and may know the CHITTYs. He will help you any way he can, I'm sure. He may know of someone in Henry Co AL or Clay Co GA that can be of help to your research.

Katie

This is from the 1850 Henry Co AL Slave Census. Unfortunately, it's just numbers, no names. These are the slaves listed for Howell E. CHITTY.

Number - Age - Sex - Color
1 55 M B
1 40 M B
1 47 M M
1 50 F B
2 40 F B
2 20 M B
1 18 F B
1 11 F B
1 14 M B
1 10 M B
1 13 M B
1 2 F B

The "M" for Mulatto means for mix of any races, and for Native American mixed with Black or White. Can also mean full blood Native American.

Howell E. CHITTY is said to have been part Native American. His grandfather, John CHITTY (b. ca 1730 VA, d. 1805 Barnwell Co SC), is said to have been married to a Native American. Her name was Frances.

Some possible CHITTY family traits:
Height can run in the family (women sometimes reaching 6 feet). Upper eyelids fold over lower inside corners of eyes. The peculiar ability to squat (comfortably for long periods) with feet together and directly under the body with knees together. Also, looking younger than real age throughout life. Recessive gene brown eyes that suddenly appear without brown-eyed parents---or the mail man. Cancer, and intestinal problems have been noted, but origin uncertain.

I have the youthful look (which isn't too bad) and none of the other traits. I have one son with the eyelids (although blue eyes) and the squat and height. My other son does not possess any of the traits.

Howell E. CHITTY was declared a lunatic in the 1850's and died in 1868. He is buried beside his father, Edward CHITTY, on McRAE Hill. Curiously, neither man's wife nor children are buried there. Their graves are set apart from all the others on McRAE Hill.

The children of Howell E. CHITTY and Rebecca HARVEY were:

1. George Moye (1836-1837)
2. Belmyra Lujam (1838-1882) m. Richard Alexander SOLOMON
3. Howell Edward Jr (1840-1866)
4. Benjamin Irwin (1842-1892) m. Sara Emaline HALL
5. Margaret Elizabeth "Mollie" (1844-?) m. BONNER
6. Rebecca McKay "Mack" (1847-?) m. Richard A. SOLOMON (2nd wife)
7. Henry Sobiask (1849-?)
8. Lucretia Winnifred (1851-1918) never married
9. Eliza Caroline "Mitty" (1852-1924) m. Thomas BENNETT
10. James Johnson (1855-1925) m. Anne Irwin CHEATHAM
11. Martin Cooper (died young)

Sobiask may be an attempted spelling for something else. Rebecca HARVEY had two brothers with similar names: Thomas Sepious; and Thaddeus Sabuske.

All I have been able to put together is that the peculiar name probably comes from a novel published in 1803 by a British writer named Jane PORTER. The name of the book was "Thaddeus of Warsaw". The central character was Thaddeus SOBIESKI."