Tuesday, December 17, 2013

David Nutter...and family...

I have West Virginia roots…deep roots that stretch back to the 1700’s.  I can’t say that they have been all that difficult to find because my great grandmother had pretty good notes about her family’s ancestry.  What has been difficult, is to ascertain which family belongs with which.

One of these confusing family lines is that of my 4th great grandmother Elizabeth “Betsy” Nutter.  Anyone who has spent any time in genealogical research has to realize that Elizabeth might be one of the most common names and the most common nickname was Betsy.  Betsy was born on 21 Jun 1790 in Monroe Co., VA today, WV.  She died on 20 Apr 1869 in Leander, Fayette Co., WV.  On 19 Apr 1810, she married Thomas Jefferson Legg in Monroe Co., VA.  She was daughter of David Nutter who was most likely born in 1769 in Somerset Co., MD and died in 1851 in Nicholas Co., VA (WV).  You might say, that David Nutter is probably one of the main causes of all the confusion.

David married Ruth Cottle on 13 Jan 1789 in Monroe Co., VA.  She was the daughter of William Cottle and his wife Elizabeth.  They quickly, as was customary, started their family and had 10 children between 1790 and 1810 when she died on 10 July 1810 probably from childbirth with her youngest daughter, Malinda.  She was buried at the Old Rehoboth Methodist Church in in Union, Monroe Co., WV – you can view what is left of her gravestone at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=22084644

David and Ruth’s children were:
  • Elizabeth “Betsy” Nutter b. 21 Jun 1790 d. 20 Apr 1869 m. Thomas Henderson Legg
  • Matthew Nutter b. 1791 d. aft 7 Jun 1860 m1 Sarah Cochran m2 Nancy Elkins m3 Margaret “Peggy” Hall
  • Elijah Nutter b. 1792 d. abt 1860
  • Hannah b. 1793 d. aft 1870 (As far as I know…she never married but still had five children)
  • Jane Nutter b. abt 1795 d. Sep 1871 m. Steven O’Dell
  • William b. abt 1799 d. aft 1850 m. Elizabeth Curren m2 Margaret Jones
  • Ruth E. Nutter b. 1 Dec 1801 d. 30 Jan 1876 m. Hiram Pierson
  • Nancy Myra Nutter b. 1802 d. 1848 m. Samuel Dorsey, Sr
  • David Nutter, Jr b. 1807 d. aft 1880 m. Leah Buckle
  • Malinda Nutter b. 1810 d. Feb 1850 m. John Duffy McClung

Seven years after the death of his wife, David Nutter married Christina O’Dell on 3 Aug 1817, daughter of Jeremiah O’Dell and Rachel Walters.  She was b. 28 Jan 1790 and d. 19 Aug 1891.  She was just five months older than David’s oldest daughter.

They had the following children:
  • Grandison McCutcheon Nutter b.  31 Jul 1815 d. 17 Nov 1904 m. Christina Pitsenbarger
  • Rachel Nutter b. 10 Jun 1821 d. 8 Jan 1904 m. Alexander Brown, Jr
  • Elinor Nutter b. Jun 1823 d. aft 1906 m1 Sinnett Williams m2 Andrew Brown
  • John B. Nutter b. 2 Aug 1826 d. 18 Jun 1896 m. Elizabeth Pitsenbarger
  • Ginsette Magdaline Nutter b. abt 1827 d. ? m. Abraham Neff
  • Jeremiah “Jerry Nutter b. Jun 1830 d. 1909 m. Susan Miller
  • Levi William Nutter b. 13 Nov 1833 d. 13 Jun 1882 m. Magaret Backus


Within these 17 children of David Nutter, you can find some of the most prominent families of Nicholas & Fayette Co., WV.  My own family includes Nutter, Legg, Pitsenbarger, Amick and Shawver but O’Dell, Dorsey, Brown, and McClung are also prominent families.  If you go a little deeper, you will also find Ramsey, and Walker.  The lines get even more tangled the more you dig in.  You might say that David Nutter with his 17 children was definitely one of the founding fathers of Nicholas and Fayette Co., WV.

My line goes back to him this way:

Florence Christine Shawver m. Ora Silas Gage (my great grandparents)
George Christian Shawver m. Rebecca Jane Pitsenbarger
Elizabeth Matilda Legg m. George William Shawver
Elizabeth "Betsy" Nutter m. Thomas Henderson Legg
David Nutter m. Ruth Cottle - my 5th great grandparents



1 comment:

  1. I'm just discovering this branch of my family through their dau. Ruth Nutter (my “MtDNA” line) & Hiram Pierson.
    On findagrave they have the date, 10 July 1810, but haven't been able to find any documentation on that. Have you?

    ReplyDelete