THE WITTENS AND CECILS

These two families were so intermingled by marriage for several
generations after they came to the Clinch Valley that I will write
of them in a single sketch. The Wittens were of Teutonic origin;
but left Saxony and migrated to England as early as the ninth
century. There they became identified with the Anglo-Saxons, who
had conquered the Britons and gave the name England to ancient
Britain. The Cecils were of purely Celtic blood, and natives of
the British Isles. Tradition and documentary evidence reveal that
the progenitors of the Whitten and Cecils in America came from
England with the Calverts, and settled in Maryland, then Lord
Baltimore's colony.

In 1766, Thomas Witten and Samuel Cecil, men with large fami-
lies, and neighbors and kinsmen, moved from Maryland to the
region now called Southwest Virginia. Thomas Witten's wife was
Elizabeth Cecil, a sister of Samuel Cecil.

(note: Thomas Witten was the first white man to take up permanent residence
with his family within the limits of the present Tazewell County.)

Witten located temporarily at what is now known as the "William
Allen Place", on Walkers Creek, in the present Giles County,
Virginia, on the road between Poplar Hill and White Gate in said
County. Cecil pitched his tent where the town of Dublin, in Pulaski
County, is now located. He lived there until he died, in 1785, and
there he and his wife are buried.

John Witten, the eldest son of Thomas, who had married before
he left Maryland, stopped on the way out and located near the
Peaks of Otter, in Bedford County. Later he came on to the Clinch
And located at the place where John C. St. Clair now lives, four
Miles west of the county seat. The log cabin he used for a dwelling
afterwards returned with his family to Bedford, and in 1820 con-
veyed his valuable farm at the foot of Paint Lick Mountain to his
brother, Thomas Willen, Jr. John Witten has a number of descend-
ants in Bedford and Amherst counties, but they spell the name
" Whitten."

In the spring of 1767, Thomas Witten moved on from Walker's
Creek with his family to the "Crabapple Orchard" tract on Clinch
River, and with him came John Greenup, who had married Eliza-
beth, the eldest daughter of Witten. He also brought out five
unmarried sons, Thomas Jr., James, Phillip, Jeremiah and William.
The latter was a small boy when his father settled on the Clinch,
and James was then only fifteen years old. After attaining man-
hood, Phillip married Ruth Dickerson and moved to Witten's Land-
ing on the Ohio River. William, the youngest son of the first
Thomas, married and moved to the Saquatche Valley, in Tennessee.

When trouble began with the Indians, about 1772 or 1773,
Thomas Witten and his sons, assisted by their neighbors, built a
stockaded fort on the Clinch, near Pisgah. This was one of the
first three forts built in the present bounds of Tazewell County,
and was a place of refuge for all the inhabitants of the neighbor-
hood when the Indians made hostile incursions to the Clinch
settlements.

Two of Thomas Witten's sons, Thomas, Jr., and James, gained
much local distinction because of their performances as soldiers and
scouts. Thomas, Jr. was not only conspicuous as an Indian fighter,
but was also an ensign in the service of the United Colonies in the
Revolutionary War. He served as ensign in one of the companies
from Montgomery County that protected the border from savage
invasions while the Revolution was in progress. In recognition of
his services he was granted a pension of $24.00 a month by the
United States Government, which he received until his death. To
show that he was highly esteemed in civil life by his fellow-citizens
he was elected one of the first members from Tazewell, along with
David Ward, to represent the county in the Virginia General Assem-
bly, serving at the sessions of 1801-02 and 1802-08. He married his
cousin, Eleanor Cecil, and fixed his home at the place where Allen
Higginbotham now lives at the east end of Paint Lick Mountain.

James Witten was distinguished while a youth as the first among
his equals as a woodsman and hunter; and even before he reached

Colonel Wilkinson Witten son of James Witten, the scout and
Pioneer, born Aug. 12th, 1807, died March 26th, 1878. He was one of
the most esteemed and useful citizens of his day; and represented
Tazwell County several times in both houses of the Virginian General Assembly.

his majority was recognized as the most skillful and daring scout
employed by the military authorities against the Indians. Bickley
says: "He was brave and generous to a fault. When any duty
requiring bravery, firmness and prudence, had to be preformed,
James Witten was the man invariably chosen, as he possessed these
qualities in an eminent degree. Many incidents of interest are
related of him, which should be preserved." These incidents,
unfortunately, were not related by Bickley; and his descendants,
who have been called upon to pass through troublous times, have
failed to preserve the many noble and daring deeds of their gallant
ancestor. He married his cousin, Rebecca Cecil, daughter of
Samuel Cecil, in 1783, and located his home at the place where
Colonel Wilk Witten, his grandson, afterwards lived and died, on
Plum Creek, three miles west of the county seat. Very near and
in view of the spot where he built his first cabin home, the dust of
this pioneer hero is resting beneath a bluegrass sod that grows on
soil his strong arms reclaimed from a wilderness waste. His grave
is marked by a rude marble slab, but cattle and other animals, I am
informed, are free to graze and trample upon and about it. His
numerous descendants, hundreds of whom now live in Tazewell
County, should not permit such neglect of the last resting place of
their gallant ancestor, but should erect a suitable monument there
to perpetuate his memory.

Jeremiah Witten, though older than his brothers, Thomas and
James, held no official rank as a soldier, but he preformed faithful
service as a private. I have before me certain data which tends to
Show that he was a member of Captain William Russell's company
And was with him at the battle of Point Pleasant. After his return
From the Lewis expedition to the mouth of the Kanawha, he per-
Formed garrison duty at his father's fort at the Crabapple Orchard,
his name being on the roll of the garrison stationed there in October,
1774. He married, and located his home on Plum Creek, at the
place where the late, lamented T.E. George lived; and he has many
descendants now living in Tazewell County.

William Cecil, son of Samuel Cecil, married his cousin, Ann
Witten, daughter of Thomas Witten, about the year 1773. He
And his wife made their home on the Clinch at the place where Otis
E. Hopkins now lives. I once had in my possession a patent for
this boundary of land that was issued by authority of George III.
to William Cecil, and which bore date 1774. This is the oldest 
patent for land in Tazewell County I have ever seen. William Cecil
was my great-grandfather and I am named from him. His brother,
James Cecil, later, settled at the head of Baptist Valley, where he
Built the house now owned and occupied as a residence by Fullen
Thompson. This is, possibly, the oldest house in Tazewell County
that is now used as a dwelling. The two brothers, each, reared a
large family of children. They were not conspicuous as soldiers,
but, no doubt, did their duty as frontiersmen when the Indians
invaded the settlements.

William and Ann Cecil had six daughters and two sons. Susan
married Alex Sayers; Rebecca never married; Elizabeth married
William Price; Linnie married Crabtree Price; John married Linnie
Witten, who was his double first cousin and a daughter of James 
Witten the scout; Nancy married Buse Harmon; Samuel married
Sallie Poston; and Sally married James Caldwell. The Prices
Moved to Missouri; and the Caldwells moved to Tennessee.

Samuel Cecil, son of William Cecil, the pioneer, born in 1788, died in 1868. 
He was one of the finest charaters Virginia has ever produced.

Captain John Cecil, son of William Cecil, was a prominent figure in 
the Civil and military life of the county. He was for many years a 
member of the county court; and represented the county in the
Virginia House of Delegates at the sessions of 1808-09, 1810-11
and 1811-12. While the War of 1812 was in progress he raised
a company of volunteers and was made captain of the company,
but the Government declined to muster it into service. After he
married, Captiain Cecil made his home on Little River, known as the
Maiden Spring Fork of Clinch River. He there acquired what is
Now one of the most beautiful and valuable farms in Tazewell
County. He sold the place to John Baylor for Confederate money
during the Civil War, and thus lost his splendid estate.

Samuel Cecil, son of William, after his marriage with Sally
Poston, in 1814 built his home on the north side of and overlooking
the Clinch, and opposite the mouth of Plum Creek. The house is
still standing, is known as the Mays place, and is now owned by
Mrs. O.E. Hopkins, a great-granddaughter of Samuel Cecil. My
mother was born, reared and married to my father in this house.
Samuel Cecil did not care for public life, and was never an office
holder, civil or military, but was esteemed by all persons who came
in contact with him as one of the nicest gentlemen they ever met,
and was one of the best citizens the county ever produced. His home
was among the most noted in the county for it's delightful hospi-
tality, where the poor and humble received the same courteous
treatment as was extended to the richest and most distinguished.

It is apparent that my reason for writing about the Wittens and
Cecils in one sketch, because of their intermarrying, is well founded.
Thomas Witten's wife was Elizabeth, the sister of Samuel Cecil.
Three of her sons, John, Thomas and James, married daughters of
her brother Samuel; and two of her daughters, Keziah and Ann,
married sons of her brother, Samuel Cecil. This was a pretty liberal
exchange in the marriage relation of brothers and sisters already
closely related by a previous marriage. And it made the children
of each twain double first cousins of the children of all the other
twains. By blood they were practically brothers and sisters.

John Greenup, who married Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of
Thomas and Elizabeth Witten, remained with his family in Taze-
well only a brief while after the county was organized. He had
two grown sons, Thomas and Christopher, when the county was
formed. When the county court, at it's December term, 1800, recom-
mended certain citizens to the governor of Virginia for appointment
as officers of the militia, Thomas Greenup was named as one of the
captains of the 2nd Battalion of the 112th Regiment.

In 1801, John Greenup and his family, including Thomas and 
Christopher, moved to Kentucky. The Greenups became prominent
in the affairs of the State; and in 1804, Christopher Greenup was
made governor. He was inaugurated June 1st, 1804, and served
the State four years as it's Chief Executive. He was so highly
esteemed as a citizen that a splendid county in the Bluegrass State
was given his name. Greenup County borders on the Ohio below
the mouth of Big Sandy River.

My pictures of the  War Memorial in Greenup County Kentucky
[Click Here]

[Jean's notes]
I am the 6th great-granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson Witten , Jr who was also my 1st cousin 8xs removed and Eleanor 'Nellie' Cecil who was also my 6th great-grandmother and 1st cousin 8xs removed. Thomas Jefferson Witten , Jr was born January 23, 1753 in Frederick, Maryland and died October 06, 1841 in Tazewell, Co., Va. Served in Captain Daniel Smith's Company of Virginia Militia and fought at the battle of Point Pleasant October 10, 1774, he also served in the Revolutionary War as ensign in the Washington County, Virginia company of mounted riflemen under the command of Colonel William Campbell, and fought at the battle of King's Mountain October 7, 1780, was elected as one of the first members from Tazewell county to the General Assembly of Virginia and served from 1801-1802 and 1802-03. He was the son of Thomas J. Witten Sr and Elizabeth Cecil and  married March 29, 1774 his 1st cousin Eleanor 'Nellie' Cecil the daughter of Samuel White Cecil , Sr and Rebecca White. She was born July 29, 1754 in Prince George Co., MD and died April 10, 1836 in Tazewell, Va. They had a daughter Rebecca Witten who was born January 29, 1775 in Washington Co., Va and died August 28, 1843 in Floyd Co., Ky. She married on February 10, 1803 in Tazewell, Co., Va. to John Graham. He was born January 01, 1765 in Augusta Co., Va. and died April 20, 1835 in Floyd Co., Ky. John and Rebecca Witten Graham were my 5th great-grandparents. They are buried at the John Graham Cemetery at Emma, Kentucky.

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