Edited research guide based on a message posted to Poythress mailing list hosted by Rootsweb by Barbara Poythress Neal on 6/28/2010

The sources below will be helpful for identifying and possibly locating Poythress families in Dinwiddie County Virginia during the last half of the 1700s.

There were Poythress families galore in Dinwiddie at the time Lewis Poythress was born, around 1765-66 per his affidavit given in May 1846 at age 80.

Some Poythress researchers are convinced Lewis’ father was Thomas Poythress, however I think we should consider possibilities among ALL the Poythress families then in Dinwiddie. Those would include, as far as I know, the following Poythress names, with some specific references you could check when you are in Dinwiddie County:

In this guide, I will capitalize POYTHRESS for spotting it more easily, and I will separate the three SOURCES of info with a line like this:

= = =

[Source #1]

From TLC Genealogy’s index-only book, “Dinwiddie Co, VA Surveyor’s Platt Book (1755-1796) and Court Orders (1789-1791): An Every Name Index”

POYTHRESS names from the Surveyor’s Platt Book of 1755-1796. NOTE: for these page number references, you can see in a below source how Thomas Hughes will present the info from these Platt Book

page-references:

— POYTHRESS with no first name, p.26 & p.32

— POYTHRESS, Edward, p.4

— POYTHRESS, Francis, p.9

— POYTHRESS, Hanna, p.15 (2 references on that pg)

— POYTHRESS, Peter, p.27

— POYTHRESS, Peter of Prince Geo Co, p.32

— POYTHRESS, William, p.4

and the following POYTHRESS, names are listed in the Court Order Book of 1789-1791:

— POYTHRESS, Benjamin, p.126 (2 references) This page would be in Nov Court 1789.

— POYTHRESS, Peter, p.85 This page would be in Aug Court 1789.

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[Source #2}

Thomas Hughes’ book, “Dinwiddie County, VA Data 1762-1865”

Hughes section of the book for the Dinwiddie Co, VA Surveyor’s Platt Book 1755-1865, with page numbers as in the Platt Book

NOTE: these correspond to the above index in TLC Genealogy’s above book:

— p.4: 18 April 1753, John Williams 38 ac[res] both sides of Reedy Br[anch] adj[oining] William POYTHRESS, William Cryer, Samuel Gordon, & Edward POYTHRESS. This certificate was afterwards altered to the name of Zacharias Fenn.

— p.15 [two entries on the same day on this page]:

March 18, 1761, Robert Hutchings, 16 ac[res] adj[oining] Hanna POYTHRESS, John Grant, Abner Griggs & Richard Taylor

[Bpn note: I do not know of any relationship between Richard Taylor and Lewis’ 2nd wife Rebecca B Taylor; Rebecca’s father was David Taylor, son of Penelope Goodwin & Thomas Taylor, who I estimate was born about 1708?]

March 18, 1781, John Hardy, 96.75 a[cres] adj[oining] Hanna POYTHRESS, John Grant, William Featherstone, William Eppes, James Merrymoon & Zachery Overby.

— p.27: August 15, 1772, Buffington Darwell, 32 ac[res] in Bath Parish on SS [southside] Butterwood Cr[eek] adj[oining] Peter POYTHRESS and Glover’s line.

— p.32: 1778, Peter POYTHRESS, Esq. of Prince George, 13 ac[res] in Bath Parish on SS [southside] Butterwood Cr[eek] adj[oining] Peter Wynne.

Hughes’ book also has a section re “List of Probable Kinships from Personal Property Tax Rolls of 1782-1820” The list has no explanation of how he came up with these probably kinships. To try to figure that out, I looked at the Binns-Genealogy-scans of the 1782 Personal Property Tax Roll of Dinwiddie Co, VA — the only year I’ve seen for Dinwiddie.

The 1782 (and presumably the other years Hughes examined) records were all completely handwritten, showing just after the name of the taxed-person [or the estate] being charged with the tax, beginning on the same line (and extending to additional lines when more space was needed) some taxed-persons’ entries show an additional full name – with NO notation of why his tax is being paid by the taxed-person.

Traditionally in Virginia records, this 2nd full name on the line with the taxed-person has been the name of the taxable-head-of- household’s SON who is also of taxable age.

When the surname of that 2nd full name is different from the taxed-person, it seems to me that it could tend to indicate a stepson, perhaps from the wife’s former marriage, or some other relative in the household who has reached the taxable age.

If that understanding is correct, then this list of “Probable Kinships” helps us to figure out which Poythress was married to Delphy, who had formerly been married to a Wilkinson /Wilkerson.

[Also some entries in the original 1782 scans also include after the taxed-person a series of first names only; these would be the slaves regarding whom the taxed-person is paying an additional tax.

Hughes did not include these slaves’ first names at all in his compiled book.]

“Probable Kinships” shown for POYTHRESS-taxed-surnames & for other POYTHRESS kinships shown in Hughes book [Note: for 1782 entries, which I examined on the Binns Genealogy scans, I’m adding the slaves’ names]:

• Jones, John Jr

— 1782: John POYTHRESS & Joseph Hazelwood

— 1786: Edward Jackson, Daniel Elder, John Chambers & Charles Whitmore

• Parsons, Sterling

— 1800: Thomas Parsons & John Gibbs

— 1802: William Parsons, Gardner & Nathan Hawkins

— 1803: Peter POYTHRESS, Nathan Hawkins & Reader Floyd

— 1804: Nathan Hawkins & Reader Floyd

— 1806: William Parsons

— 1807: Right Miles

• “For Peter POYTHRESS” [1782 as seen on 1782 scan; no title shown such as “Colonel” This was not shown in Hughes’ book] – John Lamb,

Joe, bill, Sall, Biddy, Winny, China, Ned, Antony, Kate, Moll, Pat, Isham, Muria[?], Aggy, Matt, Sarah, Buk[?]

• POYTHRESS, Francis

— 1782: D.C. Meanly, Dick [Dick was slave added here from scan]

— 1793-1795: Reuben Wilkerson

• “Peter POYTHRESS”

– Matt, Moses, Scott,

Moll, Patt, Sarah, Pris, Jane, tab, Sid, Peg, Hannah,

Peter, Chance, Dilcie, David, Mingo, Stephen[ or Japhen?], Tab, Billy, Tab, Nelly, Lilly, Buk, Tom, Aggy

• POYTHRESS, John

— 1793-1795: William POYTHRESS

• POYTHRESS, Colo. Peter Estate

— 1787 – John Lamb

— 1789 – John Lamb

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[Source #3]

Thomas Hughes’ volume “Land Records [of] Dinwiddie Co, VA 1752- 1820” Hughes gives this info in the foreword: Dinwiddie Co, VA was formed in 1752 from Prince George Co, VA. All the early Courthouse records were lost during the Civil War. However, the Grants, Patents, and Land Tax Records, copies of which were kept by the Commonwealth of VA, are preserved in the VA State Library. The Grant and Patents were copied there and a very extensive study was made of Films J.R.3390 and J.R.3396 for this volume.

Hughes shows the following POYTHRESS listings from his extensive study of the Grants & Patents:

— on Hughes p.4, in his listing of Regal Government Land Grants in Dinwiddie Co, VA there is one POYTHRESS: William POYTHRESS 31/171 [no explanation of that column: perhaps Vol.31, p.171?] dated 3 Aug 1752, 531 acres [Hughes does not include any descriptions of the land, for anyone]

— on Hughes p.7, in his listing of Land Patents Granted in Dinwiddie Co, VA by the Commonwealth of VA there is one Poythress:

Peter POYTHRESS, A/328 [no explanation of that column: perhaps Vol.A, p.328?] dated 29 May 1780, 49 acres

— in Commissioners of Revenue records of land tax records 1782- 1820 on Hughes p.10-34 with 1782 Land Tax, and then p.35-189 an alphabetical listing by name order, with info re all the remaining years put at one place for that name:

— p.18 [thus 1782] Hughes lists the following, with the lines re Cryer and Hilton apparently referring to some of POYTHRESS’ land that was adjacent to those people. This is copied from Hughes’ book with indents as he shows them, enabling all the numbers of acres to show in a steady column on the right. My assumption is that “BW” may well stand for Bounty Warrant — beside some other peoples’ names Hughes would put another county in parentheses such as “(PG)” if the person was a resident of Prince George. but since this “BW” was not in parentheses, I don’t think it stands for Brunswick Co here. Hughes put:

POYTHRESS, Colo. Peter BW 1,000 acres Adj. Cryer 324 acres

Tommy Hilton 404 acres

— p.137 [thus years 1783-1820 land taxes] Hughes put the following. Note, I am converting Hughes’ fractions to decimals, so rather than putting 3/4, or spelled out three-quarters, I am putting .75 Also be aware that any parentheses are as shown by Hughes, and my own notes are in square brackets. Hughes showed 3 POYTHRESS men in this section:

• POYTHRESS, Francis:

— 1795-1806 taxed on 100 acres conv[eyed] by William Cross

• POYTHRESS, Patrick H:

— 1813-1815 taxed on 94.75 acres.

— 1816-1817 taxed on Archer Coleman live[?] 94.75 acres

— 1818-1819 taxed on 44.75 acres conv[eyed] 50 acres to Charles Clay [Bpn note: hmm, I’d like to see the original to see if Clay was shown with a period at the end of it: Clay. which perhaps could be an abbreviation for “Clayton” which is an alternative spelling of “Cleaton” back in that time period]

— 1820 taxed on 94.75 acres (improperly chg. last year) on Br[anch] of Namozene Cr[eek] 18 N CH. [18 miles north from the court house]

• POYTHRESS, Col. Peter:

— 1787-1792 taxed on 1,000 acres, 324 acres, & 404 acres

— 1793-1795 taxed on 1,000 acres & 404 acres

— 1796-1806 taxed on 1,000 acres