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William
Hume
(About
1734 —
December 1809)
(Unknown)
Granville
(
—
)
The
constant in William Hume’s life seems to have been change.
He
was born in Fredericksburg,
Virginia
in about 1734. He died in December
1809 in
Campbell County, Kentucky. In between, he had three wives
(apparently outliving at least the first two of them), ten children (outliving
at least one of them), and lived in
Kentucky
(at least two places), back to Virginia
and then back to Kentucky
again.
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According
to an online genealogy, his first wife seems to have been Susan Elzephan,
a South Carolinian, also born in 1734.
They married in about 1753
when William was 19. We do
not know what happened to Susan, but William married again just two
years later, in 1755
to a woman whose last name was Granville
This wife died by about 1777.
Together,
they had two sons, both born in
Charleston,
South Carolina. First was John Hume, born
in about 1750 and second was Alexander Hume, born in about 1755.
Alexander
was a lieutenant in the Second South Carolina regiment and died in Savannah,
Georgia
on
October 9, 1777
in one of the first battles in the American Revolutionary War.
Marriage bond abstracts show the years of the
marriages, but none have been discovered validating the two years of
birth. I suspect the birth
dates shown above, though apparently accepted by other researchers, are
not accurate. |
Which
brings up a point.
While
there is no doubt from the records that William is the father of John and the
son of George and Elizabeth, there is much in the way of conflicting information
available about William’s children, and which ones were born to which wife.
I have sifted through the information and have arrived at the above
conclusions. Further examination of
primary records may lead to different connections.
Skepticism is warranted.
On
October 29, 1782,
William married again, this time in Virginia
to Sarah Benson. She was the widow
of a man named Baker. (A William
Hume listed in an Orange County, Virginia census taken in 1782.)
He had a household of six whites and four blacks.
William and Sarah had six children:
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Name
|
Birth date and place
|
Death date and place
|
|
Gabriel
Hume
|
Before
1775
Bourbon County,
Kentucky
|
Before
October 2, 1843
Callaway County,
Missouri
|
|
Stripling
Benson Hume
|
Before
1775
Pendleton County,
Kentucky
|
Before
February 3, 1840
Pendleton County,
Kentucky
|
|
Joseph
Hume
|
About
1775
|
1842
|
|
Pru
B. (Jefferson) Hume
|
About
1780
Kentucky
|
1842
Nacogdoches,
Texas
|
|
Elizabeth
Proctor Hume
|
1782
Virginia
|
March 4,
1867
Liberty, ,
Illinois
|
|
Joel
Hume
|
About
1799
|
December 13, 1849
Covington, ,
Kentucky
|
|
According
to one source, William moved to Bourbon County,
Kentucky
in 1793 and purchased land from Gerrard Hume of Campbell County, Kentucky
on
July 3, 1796.
An
abstract of Pendleton County
court records for the March Term of 1807 showed
that William Hume was the plaintiff in a
lawsuit for trespass against James Theobald, defendant on an action in
trespass.
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“During
the course of the trial the following evidence was heard: Robert
Childers stated that in the winter of the year 1805 he was at the house
of Stripling Hume in the county
of
Pendleton
in company with the plaintiff, defendant
and a certain Jeremiah Hyfield and hear it expressly agreed upon between
the ptff. and deft. that their title to the premises in the ptff's.
declaration mentioned were conflicting, and they jointly rented the said
premises to the sd. Hyfield who was to hold under their joint titles as
their lessee and that their titles were submitted and to referees by
them named to be examined into and a day named that he whose claim
should be best should derive the advantages & proceeds of the said
leased premises, and that the sd. Hyfield immediately made preparation
for the cultivation thereof by hauling logs thereon to build and the the
sd. Ptff. failed to attend the arbitrators to have his title
investigated and the dispute settled. It was also proven that the
said Hyfield never did take possession by residing on the premises; but
that shortly after the time of afsd. conversation and agreement as
proven by sd. Childers, the house upon the premises was burnt &
Hyfield determined to have nothing to do with them and "payed"
no further attention to the place. (Note: The logs hauled on
the land by Hyfield were later hauled off by defendants and the house
burned. No decision reached at this court.) |
William Hume was a
witness to the will of William Benson. The
will was written on
August 24, 1808
and was probated in April 1811 in Campbell County,
Kentucky. It mentioned William Benson’s
sons Thomas, Jayne and Zachariah and his daughters Betsy Hord and Polly Benson.
There is nothing in the will to indicate whether this Benson is related
to William Hume’s wife, Sarah Benson.
In
February, 1809, William Hume and William Benson were appointed as administrators
of the Estate of George Benson, who was termed as "supposed to be
deceased."
One
source said that William ran a store for a number of years.
He then returned to
Virginia
in 1805 for a visit. They then
returned to Campbell County,
Kentucky, where he died by December 1809 of pneumonia from the cold mountain crossing.
William
Hume's will follows:
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County
of
Pendleton, State of Kentucky.
I,
William Hume of Bourbon County being weak and low in health but of sound
mind and memory and wishing to dispose of my property, do constitute
this last will and testament revoking all others heretofore.
Item:
I leave all my lands and movable property to my wife Sarah during her
life or widowhood.
Item:
At her death I wish all my property to be equally divided amongst my six
children except my son Joel that is to have one featherbed and furniture
extraordinary and what will give him a good education.
Item:
If my wife Sarah should die before Joel becomes of age I wish either
Stripling B. Hume or Gabriel Hume to take him under their care.
Item:
I leave my wife Sarah and two sons Stripling B. Hume and Gabriel
Hume my executrix and executers as witness my hand and seal this
30 day of December 1808, Signed and sealed and delivered in presence of:
Edward Hord William x Hume
(Seal) mark
James Benson
Zachariah Benson
Elizabeth Hoard
William Benson
Pendleton County Court
March 19, 1810
The
foregoing will was proven by the oaths of James Benson and Wm. Benson,
two of the subscribing witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded
which is accordingly done.
Attest: Press G. Kennett,
C.P.C. |
Another
will (or perhaps another version of the same will) was probated in Bourbon County, Kentucky. It said:
|
WILL
OF WILLIAM HUME OF BOURBON
COUNTY
Being
weak and low in health....My six children, except my son Joel - he is to
have a liberal education. If my wife should die before Joel comes
of full age, then he is to be cared for by Stripling B. Hume and Gabriel
Hume. Executors: Wife, Sarah, Sons, Stripling and Gabriel
Hume. Witnesses: Edward Hord, James Benson, Zacharian
Benson, Elizabeth Hord, and William Benson.
Written
December 30, 1808; Probated
March 19, 1810
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Sarah Benson died before October 2, 1843.
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