Capt. John GARTH, Patriot (1762-1835) and Sarah GRIFFITH (1770-1857) -Married about 1796

Old Glory

Edna OTWELL > Edwin OTWELL > Maurice OTWELL > John F. OTWELL > Quintilla GARTH-OTWELL > John GARTH

John GARTH, eldest child of Thomas GARTH and Judith BOCOCK, was born 15 August 1762 in Albemarle Co., Virginia.

MILITARY SERVICE: In 1832, John applied for and received a Revolutionary War pension. These papers document an interview in which he describes his service.  He served as a private in the Virginia Militia; serving 5 tours – 2 months each between 1778 and 1781. (It is likely that he was recruited at age 16 by Col. Charles LEWIS and was in the Albemarle Barracks when the British and Hessian prisoners arrived 19 January 1779.) Four tours were at the Albemarle Barracks which were not well supplied during this time and the regiment threatened to mutiny for lack of guns and clothing. John was a private in Captain LEAK’s company and in Col. LINDSLEY’s regiment and his last tour was with LAFAYETTE when they retreated in Virginia in 1781.

Signature on pension record

Interesting note - John wrote to his brother Jesse GARTH of Charlottesville, Virginia on 5 November 1813 about the War of 1812 (I do not find any documents saying he served in this war) and described the defeat of British in "Canady" and valor of Jonson's Regiment of mounted militia against the "British regulars"; tells of cowardice of PROCTOR; relates death of "Tecomse" [Tecumseh] by severely wounded Col. T. JONSON; hopes government will now support the war "hart and hand". This letter is in the library of William & Mary College, Virginia.

FAMILY LIFE: At 19 years old, John married Ann Harris RODES (1763-?) in 1782 in Albemarle. She was the daughter of his father’s close friend John RODES. They had at least 6 children: Sarah, Rodes, Judith, Nancy, Thomas and Ann. His parents gave him 294 acres of their tract at Blue Run, but they didn’t stay in Virginia. In March 1789, they moved to the “land of dark and bloody ground” soon to be known as Kentucky. Indian raids were common. They settled on 374 acres near today’s Georgetown in Scott Co.

In 1792, John was on the first board of magistrates for then Woodford County (now part of Scott Co.). He also was appointed as captain of the 12th Regiment of the Kentucky Militia. Ann died by 1795.

John next married our ancestor Sarah GRIFFITH (1770-1857) about 1796. They had at least 8 children: Daniel, Samuel, our ancestor Quintilla OTWELL, Jefferson, Mildred SUTPHIN, Lucinda GRAVES, John Madison and Albert Gallatin. John appeared on the 1800 Kentucky tax list, the 1810, 1820 and 1830 censuses in Scott Co.

After his father’s death in 1812, he inherited land in Virginia which he sold in order to purchase more land in several counties in Kentucky. Like many land owners of this era, John also owned slaves.

2 Nov 1809, Kentucky Gazette, Kentucky Digital Library
John's Advertisement

DEATH: John died 9 November 1835 in Scott Co., KY and is buried in the family plot at now named Walnut Hall Farm, a working farm SE of Georgetown. The original house and this small cemetery were documented as late as 1953, but the stones had been partially destroyed. By 1981, it was confirmed that the gravestones had all been removed.


Excerpt from Transcribed Will of John GARTH, 1833
Found on Familysearch.org

26 Dec 1835 Kentucky Gazette, Kentucky Digital Library
Estate Sale Advertisement

 

Sarah lived with her sons until her death in 1857. The farm remained in the GARTH family until 1905.

Visit John's on-line memorial:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=141903016

This also ends the GRIFFITH research.

Reference

Davis, Rosalie Edith. The Garth Family: Descendants of John Garth of Virginia, 1734-1986. Dexter, MI: Thomson-Shore, 1988. Print.

Quintilla GARTH-OTWELL (1801-1852)



Monument at Georgetown Cemetery with names Wm. & Quintilla Otwell and Martha DORSEY
Photo courtesy of laribel of www.findagrave.com
2 Smaller stones near monument are daughter Martha's husband and child

Edna OTWELL-SIM > Edwin OTWELL > Maurice OTWELL > John Franklin OTWELL > Quintilla GARTH-OTWELL

Quintilla Garth was born in Scott County, Kentucky on January 13, 1801.  Her parents were John Garth and Sarah Griffith.  After John's first wife, Ann Rodes, died he married Sarah Griffith.  "Quint" means 5 and Quintilla was John's 5th daughter.  In the Garth household there were at least 15 children, from John's two wives, who were raised in the home.  John Garth's will listed the home as a mansion house.

On the 1810 and 1820 Scott, Kentucky Censuses, Quintilla would have been recorded with a check mark under the age category listed under her father, John Garth, head of household.  Around 1821 she married William Otwell in Scott County.  They had at least six children who were listed as John Franklin, Thomas, Martha, Emily, Mary Ann and Sarah Jane.

On the 1830 Census the family was in Fayette County, Kentucky with five children listed.  They were living on a 100-acre farm.  We next found Quintilla listed in the will of her father, John Garth, dated July 4, 1833.  She was listed as an heir to $1000 and 1/12 share of railroad stock.

Upon the death of her father-in-law, Francis Otwell, Quintilla's family moved back to Scott County in 1839.  Her family lived on a 150-acre farm known as the Frank Otwell Farm.  On the 1840 Census there were six children listed and on the 1850 Census, Quiintilla was recorded as 50-years old living with her husband and four daughters.

Quintilla Garth-Otwell died 10 days short of 51-years old on January 3, 1852.  She was buried in the Georgetown Cemetery, Scott County, Kentucky.

Visit her on-line memorial:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=98557306

William OTWELL (1798-1858)

William OTWELL's "Mark"

Edna OTWELL-SIM > Edwin OTWELL > Maurice OTWELL > John Franklin OTWELL > William OTWELL

William Otwell was born in Scott County, Kentucky on April 11, 1798.  His father was Francis (Frank) Otwell and his mother was unknown.  The old census reports only recorded the head of the family and did not list the names of the spouse and children.  We do know there were many children.  One brother was named Parker and a sister was named Mary Ann.

William married Quintilla Garth around 1821 in Scott County.  They had at least six children which included John Franklin, Thomas, Martha, Emily, Mary Ann and Sarah Jane.

On the 1810 and 1820 Censuses William was still in Scott County living with his parents.  He moved to Fayette County, Kentucky after the 1820 Census with his wife and lived on 100 acres of land.  Their first child, John Franklin, was born there in 1821.  William appeared on the 1830 census in Fayette with his wife, children, and 17 slaves.

In 1839 after his father's death, his family moved back to Scott County to the Frank Otwell Farm which was 150 acres located on the north-west side of the Leesburgh and Lexington Road (now known as Paris Pike).  He was listed as a purchaser of items from his father's estate records.  He was a farmer and he remained in Scott County the rest of his life.

In 1849, William was involved in a civil lawsuit OTWELL vs COOK in which precedence was set in the use of IOUs to offset other IOUs.

On the 1850 Census he was listed with his wife and four daughters.  The 1850 Slave Schedule recorded he was the owner of 21 slaves.

In June 1857 William made out his will and signed with an "X" leaving his estate to his children.  On January 12, 1858 William changed his executor from his son, John Franklin, to two non-family members.  In May 1858 his will was presented to the Scott County Court for disbursement.

William Otwell died May 18, 1858 at the age of 60.  He was buried in the Georgetown Cemetery in Scott County, Kentucky.

OTWELL Monument at Georgetown Cemetery
Photo courtesy of laribel from www.findagrave.com

Close up of text on monument
Photo courtesy of Ben T. CALVERT of www.findagrave.com

Visit his on-line memorial:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=98557164

Read more about the OTWELL Estates.

The Frank Otwell Farm

In the will of William Otwell, the Frank Otwell Farm consisting of 150 acres was to be divided equally to William's daughters, Martha Dorsey, Mary Otwell and Sarah Jane Otwell.

"The land given to my daughters is undivided and deeded to them and lies in Scott County, State of Kentucky.  If this land should fall short of 150 acres as described, I wish that it should be made up out of my estate to Martha, Mary and Sarah Jane."

Martha Otwell Dorsey quickly bought out her sisters' properties.  Mary and Sarah Jane moved to Georgetown, KY and both were deceased within a few years.

In 1878, Martha's husband, Benjamin Dorsey, willed the property to their "daughter Fannie Cromwell Dorsey and children".  In 1916, Fannie wanted to sell the property and divide the proceeds between herself and her older children.  The problem was she had several very young children. The family went to the Kentucky Court of Appeals and in Brock vs Brock, the court decided that all of the children were entitled to the proceeds even if they were born after Benjamin's death.  The property was sold outside the family.

Location of former OTWELL farm
From Google Earth, 2016

From the on-line HISTORY site:
Kentucky was granted statehood in 1792, becoming the first U.S. state west of the Appalachian Mountains. Frontiersman Daniel Boone was one of Kentucky's most prominent explorers and many immigrants followed the trail he blazed through the Cumberland Gap, known as the Wilderness Road. Although it sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War, the population was deeply divided, and many Kentucky residents fought for the North. Known primarily as an agricultural area into the 20th century, Kentucky is also a major U.S. coal producer and site of the military bases Fort Knox and Fort Campbell. It is also known as the home of the legendary Kentucky Derby horse race and bluegrass music, pioneered by Kentucky native Bill Monroe.

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