In January 1998, Richard Northcutt and Kyle Williams went to Salt Lake City in search of the ancestors of Francis Northcutt. This is the information we started with:
According to Francis Northcutt's pension application, he was born in Amelia County, VA in 1760, lived "many years" there, moved to Prince Edward County by 1777, to Charlotte County in about 1782, to Henry County in about 1790, and to Warren County, TN in about 1810. Francis was 74 years old when he related his history, and may not have remembered everything accurately, especially concerning his childhood. He could not, for example, remember his birthday.
Francis Northcutt had a sister named Rhoda, who married Barnabas Haley and moved to Rockcastle County, KY.
Francis Northcutt had a brother named John, who moved from Lee Co, VA to Warren County, TN in about 1806.
The earliest record we found of Francis Northcutt was a deed dated 10 Jul 1775 in which Francis Northcott (or Northcut) of Prince Edward County, Virginia bought 108 acres of land from George Walton of the same county. The land was in Charlotte County, Virginia, on the branches of Sandy Creek.
Francis Northcutt was found in the tax lists of Charlotte County from 1782 (the first year of the available lists) to 1784. In 1785, Francis is listed in Buckingham County, Virginia. In 1786 and 1787, Francis was back on the Charlotte County lists. From 1790 to 1816, Francis was on the tax lists of Henry County, Virginia.
From this information, we see that Francis was living in Prince Edward County in 1775, and moved to Charlotte County by 1782. Between 1787 and 1790, he moved to Henry County. This corresponds to his statements on the pension application. We also see that Francis did not move to Tennessee until 1816 or 1817. This is later than his statement in the pension application leads us to believe.
Our principle object was to discover who the parents of Francis Northcutt were. We found no firm evidence of a mother for Francis. One possibility is Betsy Northcutt, who in 1807 was a witness in a Henry County lawsuit in which Francis Northcutt was a plaintiff. But Betsy might have been the widow of William Northcutt, who had also lived in Henry County. There were three Northcutts in the right generation to be the father of Francis - Richard, William, and Nathaniel Northcutt. Richard Northcutt lived in Chesterfield, Powhattan, and Buckingham Counties, Virginia. He must have been related to Francis. Francis was in Buckingham County in 1785, and sold land there. But Richard was in the wrong counties. In 1773, when 13-year-old Francis was supposed to be in Amelia or Prince Edward County, Richard was in Buckingham County. So it is not likely that Richard Northcutt was the father of Francis.
William Northcutt was in Buckingham County in 1774, and moved to Charlotte County between 1774 and 1779. He moved back to Buckingham County in 1787, and to Henry County in 1794. He seems to have died there in 1800-1801. Although William seems to have been closer to Francis than Richard was, he was in the wrong county in 1774, when Francis was age 14, and therefore, is not likely to be the father of Francis.
The most likely father of Francis was Nathaniel Northcutt. Nathaniel lived in Prince Edward County in 1763, in Amelia and Buckingham Counties in 1764, back in Prince Edward County in 1768-1772, in Charlotte County from 1774-1786, and in Henry County from 1788 to 1789. He probably died in Henry county in 1789-1790. Although his early movements don't correspond exactly with Francis's pension application, they match better than those of William and Richard. It is probable that Francis did not recollect his childhood accurately. Nathaniel was the only Northcutt found in the available records of Amelia County, where Francis was supposed to have been born. He is also the only Northcutt in the available records of Prince Edward County. He is the only Northcutt who remained with Francis in Charlotte and Henry Counties until his death.
Edward Hailey, in his affidavit for Francis Northcutt's pension application, stated that the father of Francis Northcutt bought land for Francis in Henry County, Virginia. Francis bought land there in 1787, but the deed does not say who provided the money for the land. It is possible that Nathaniel Northcutt gave the money to Francis, and Francis bought the land in his own name. It is interesting, though, that "Nathan Northcut" was a witness to the deed.
Although there is no direct evidence that Nathaniel was the father of Francis, the circumstantial evidence is strong. Unless evidence to the contrary comes to our attention, we are convinced that Francis was the son of Nathaniel Northcutt.
It is more difficult to determine who the father of Nathaniel Northcutt was. William and Richard Northcutt were in the same generation with Nathaniel, and could have been his brothers. William Northcutt was the father of Terry Northcutt, a Revolutionary Soldier, and of William Northcutt, Jr.
The will of John Northcutt of Powhattan County, Virginia was dated 10 Oct 1778, and probated 16 Aug 1781. In his will, he mentions his wife Hannah, and "Richard Northcutt, Jr., son of my brother Richard." Because he named a nephew as an heir, it is unlikely that John had children of his own. It also seems likely that Richard, Sr., who was in Buckingham County in 1773 and 1774, had died by 1778. It was probably Richard, Jr. who lived with John And Hannah in Powhattan County in 1778, and moved in 1782 back to Buckingham County where he lived until 1803-1804.
So from the Northcutt information available in central Virginia, John and Richard were the only Northcutts old enough to be Nathaniel's father. John apparently had no children, which leaves Richard Northcutt as the possible father of Nathaniel. There are many records missing, however, and the circumstantial evidence is weak. It is possible, but uncertain, that Richard Northcutt was the father of Nathaniel Northcutt.
For Descendants of Nathaniel Northcutt, please see Northcutt Descendants.