• 1760:
  
• One of John's possible fathers, Ezekiel Dewitt married Maria Keller on 6 Apr 1760 in Kaatsbaan, Ulster Co., NY.  (ancestry.com)
• 1768:
• Ezekiel DeWitt was living in the area around today's Confluence, PA in Turkeyfoot Township in Bedford Co. (later Somerset Co.), Pennsylvania:  
• According to authentic records, namely, the testimony of Rev. Capt. John Steel, who visited this locality in April, 1768 the following persons were then resident at or near Turkeyfoot: Henry Abrahams, Ezekiel Dewitt, James Spencer, Benjamin Jennings, John Cooper, Ezekiel Hichman, John Enslow, Henry Enslow and Benjamin Pursley. Some of these doubtless lived within the bounds of Addison Township (which was created in 1800.)  (REF)  This area is very close to subsequent sightings of Ezekiel listed below.
• Click HISTORY to read a chronologial history of the region and DETAILED to read more about the details.
• The Turkeyfoot is the junction of  the Castleman's river and the Laurel Hill Creek, also known as the North fork, with the Youghiogheny river [pronounced yah-kuh-GAIN-ee.] . (REF)
  
• Here is the map of the region as of 2004:
• 
  
• 1776:
• John's possible father, Ezekiel Dewitt was living in Ohio County, Virginia in 1776 when the settlers gathered to decide upon the location of their future court:
  

  In compliance with the provisions of said Act of the General Assembly, and of certain instructions addressed to him, John McColloch, Esq., summoned the landholders within the county to convene, on the 27th day of December, 1776, at the cabin of Ezekiel Dewitt, Esq., situated on Buffalo Creek, for the purpose of electing and constituting a committee in said county, and also to make choice of a place where county courts were to be held in future in said county. The convention met at the time and place mentioned, and by a vote of the majority of those present decided in favor of Black's Cabin, situated on the water of Short Creek.   The present site of West Liberty was originally improved by Abraham Vanmetre. His daughter Ruth married Reuben Foreman, and another daughter named Hannah married Providence Mounts. Foreman and Mounts laid out the town of West liberty, which was organized November 20, 1787. It was the first town organized in the Ohio Valley.  (History of Wheeling and Ohio Co, WV, printed in 1902: REF)

• As you can see below, Ohio County is VERY close to Westmoreland Co., PA where John Dewitt was first detected in 1790.  Note that in 1776, (map) the southwest corner of PA was simply Westmoreland Co.  This map is a 2004 map.
  
• 
• but in 1780, Ohio County was part of Virginia, and was MUCH bigger:
• 
  
• 1780: Map of Pennsylvania Counties:
• County 11 is Westmoreland Co. and county 9 is Bedford Co.
  

• 1781:
• Virginia State Library List of Rev. Soldiers includes Ezekiel DeWitt, who was paid off at Ft. Pitt (Pittsburgh) with his son.  (ref)
• Ezekiel had a license for keeping an ordinary (tavern) in Washington Co., PA.  (ref)
• Westmoreland county (11) had been divided up in July 1781 to form Washington (12) and Fayette (13) counties.

• 1782:
  
• Census, Hopewell Twp lists 400 acres of land, 2 horses, 4 cows, 2 slaves. Land grant for 400 acres dated 24 Feb 1782. (REF)  There is a Hopewell township in Washingto Co., PA.  I assume this is the location.  (REF)
• Where is Hopewell Township?
  
  There is a Hopewell township in Beaver Co., PA.  Is this the location?  (REF)  In 1800, Hopewell Township did not exist in Beaver Co., however. (REF)  Beaver County, Pennsylvania is located in the southwest part of the state, and was carved out of Washington and Allegheny Counties in 1800.... so in 1782, Hopewell Township would have been in a different named county.  In 1814, the southern townships were reorganized into four approximately equal quarters and given the names Hopewell, Moon, Green and Hanover Townships. (REF)
  
  There is a Hopewell township in Washington Co., PA (REF).  It is the seventh of the list of original townships of Washington County, formed July 15, 1781, embraced at the time of its erection the territory of the present townships of Hopewell, Independence, Cross Creek, and Jefferson, and part of that of Mount Pleasant.  (REF)

• Just for reference: History of Washington county, PA: website

• Nov 26, 1782, Ezekiel DeWit, Hopewell Twp, 2 slaves. W.VA Society, Sons of Revolution, p466:

• 1786-7:
• From Cheryl Gallagher (4/12/04):
  I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but Cathy Green also believes we  descend from Ezekiel DeWitt.  When I was in PA, I stopped by the courthouse  in Washington Co.  I only found 2 references to Ezekiel DeWitt - Deed Book  1D, p. 86 deed to Casper Rumenagh recorded 7 Aug 1787 and Deed Book 1C, p. 31-33  deed to Joseph Jones recorded 26 Apr 1786.  They did not mention  any other DeWitts.
• From Cheryl Gallagher (4/18/04):
  While I was in Westmoreland Co, PA a couple of years ago, I made a point to stop by Confluence, in Someret Co, just in case we do descend from Ezekiel.  I went to the courthouse in Washington Co hoping to find some deed that listed family members but I only found 2 deeds and no family members were listed (darn).  I think I read somewhere that Ezekiel did have a son named John but he was married to someone else (ie not Nancy Culbertson).  I can't find this but I'll keep looking.  Of course, Nancy could be a second wife...
• 1790:
  

• In the 1790 census for Westmoreland Co, PA in Hempfield Township, John Culbertson and a John Dewit were listed next to each other which I assume means they lived next to each other. (Westmoreland Co, is county 11 above and below.)  The date was 14 April 1790. So I guess what had happened is that John DeWitt fell in love with Nancy Culbertson, and married her. Then they settled down in the house next to her father. John Dewit was listed as living with one female who we can assume was Nancy.  I viewed the census record at Ancestry.com but was unable to find the month and day date of the census.  However their first son Thomas is said to have been born in 1789, so why was he not listed as an infant when the census was taken in 1790?  Perhaps Thomas was not born in 1789?  There is obviously more to the story than was passed down through the years. (Click on Culbertson to see my CulbertsonAncestry website.)
• 1790 Map of Pennsylvania Counties:
• County 13 is Fayette Co., county 12 is Washington Co., county 11 is Westmoreland Co.  and county 9 is Bedford Co.
• 
• In 1790, Virginia had changed too!

• I have not found any reference to Ezekiel Dewitt in the 1790 census.

• 1792:
  
• According to the Colman / Earle Family Tree at Ancestry.com, Ezekiel Dewitt died in 1792.  He was married to Maria Keller. In this genealogy, his father was Jan Dewitt and his mother was Ariaantje Osterhoundt. No other information is available to prove that connection. (REF)
• Recently I have found information that puts doubt on the idea that Ezekiel was our John Dewitt's father. 
  
• Some references state that Ezekiel's son John's wife was Catharine Quick rather than Nancy Culbertson. (ref)
  

Please refer to the DeWittAncestry, the KingstonNYCLAN, the LongIslandCLAN, or the FrenchCLAN websites for discussion about the ancestors of John DeWitt.

• 1800: map of WV area
  
• There is no census record for Virginia in 1800. 
  
• No John Dewit is listed in PA in 1800 either.
• A John Culbertson is listed as living in Hopewell Township, Washington Co, PA in 1800
  
• Washington Co Map 1800
• But he supposedly died in 1797????  If he did, then Margaret Culbertson should be listed in the 1800 census, but I can not find her. One is listed (Margart Culbertson) in Cecil Co, MD but she is under 45.
• The West Virginia area before WV was WV in 1800 is shown below:

• 1807:
• The first settler at Muse's Bottom, Virginia, (See map above.) was John DeWitt (some of the old settlers pronounce it Doo-it), who built the first cabin, in 1807. (from "Pioneers of Jackson County", by John House, where it appears in the Section "Lower Sandy Valley".) 
  
• (Across the river in Ohio, there is also a DeWitt Run (a creek) across from Muses Bottom. (Did you see DeWitt Cemetery ?... It was not used for a few more years.))
• 1810:
• A John Dewit shows up in the 1810 census of Mason Co., VA
  

• 

• (which later became Jackson Co, VA and then in 1863... West Virginia.) with the following household mix:
  
• click to see entire record for John
• Note: If you try to find John Dewit in the ancestry.com 1810 census database, they have him cataloged as John Dinet.  On 4/14/04 and 8/8/07 I requested that they fix this error.
  

• From the Mason Co, VA 1810 Census
                                         |FREE WHITE MALES   |FREE WHITE FEMALES
                                         |    10  16  26     |    10  16  26    
           Head of Household             |to  to  to  to  45 |to  to  to  to  45 
  PG#  LN# LAST NAME       FIRST NAME    |10  16  26  44  up |10  16  26  45  up     
  377A 6   Buffington      Joel           .   2   .   1   1   .   1   1   1   1   
  377A 7   Buffington      Abraham        2   .   .   1   .   2   .   .   1   .   
  377A 8   Buffington      Jacob          2   .   .   1   .   1   .   .   1   .  
  377A 20  Dewit           John           .   1   1   1   .   2   1   .   1   .  

• males:
  
• (10-16): 1,
  
• (16-26): 1,
  
• (26-45): 1 and
  
• females:
  
• (0-10): 2,
  
• (10-16): 1,
  
• (26-45): 1 
  
• (Would this be: males: John, Jr, Thomas, John Sr. and females: Lydia & Nancy E.., Margaret or Martha, and mother Nancy??   It seems that one son, and two daughters are not present because by 1810 the following sons had been born: Thomas, John Jr., Alexander C., and the daughters: Margaret, Martha, Lydia, Nancy, Charlotte.)
• Note also that in the same area, Jacob and Abraham Buffington were living along with their father Joel Buffington.  Of course, Jacob and Abraham's sister, Magdalena, married John Dewitt's first son Thomas DeWitt.
• Again by 1810, Virginia's counties had moved around.

• 1811:
• A John DeWitt was listed as paying personal property taxes in Mason Co, VA.
• 1813:
• A John DeWitt was listed as paying personal property taxes in Mason Co, VA.
• 1814:
• A John DeWitt was listed as paying personal property taxes in Mason Co, VA.
• 1820:
• His wife Nancy "Duett" is found as the head of the family in the 1820 census of Mason Co., VA. with the following household mix:
  
• males:
  
• (10-16): 1,
• (16-26): 1 and
  
• females
  
• (10-16): 1,
  
• (16-26): 1,
  
• (26-45): 1,
  
• (45+): 1  (ref)
  
• John Dewitt has been listed as dying on 14 Jan 1820.
• In the Grant District Cemeteries Jackson County, WV Tombstone Inscriptions and Genealogical Information, it says "Dewitt, John Departed this life Jan 14, 1820, aged 61 yrs.
• By the statement, he was then born about 1758 assuming he was a few months more than just 61 years old.
  
• Rumor has it that he was buried in the Dewitt Cemetery near Murraysville, WV, (which is now located in Jackson Co, WV) but his grave has been destroyed sometime through the years (perhaps during the 1960s) due to collapse of the cliff due to nearby quarry activity.  In 1981 and 2008 I visited the cemetery and his gravestone was not evident.
• Again by 1820, Virginia's counties had moved around.
•