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Norval Valentine Heskett / Hiskett 1805-1852
I have written a blog post about my most elusive ancestor, "My Search for Norval Valentine Heskett/ Hiskett", but decided to also post the information here
Norval Valentine Hiskett (Heskett, Hiscot) was born in Loudoun co, VA on 15 Feb 1805, to Benjamin Adam Hiskett and an unknown mother. All of this information comes from a family history written by my ggrandfather in 1947, and of course he cited none of his sources. The first record I have found of Norval was his marriage record to Massey Nickols / Nichols on 12 Feb 1829 in Marion county, Ohio. Where was Norval from his birth until 1829, and who were his parents? (I have found no proof that Benjamin Adam was his father)
Most Heskett researchers say that Nancy Nevin is Norvals mother, but I have pretty much ruled that out. Nancy Nevin was born in 1792. That would have made her 13 years old at Norval's birth. Also, Nancy and Adam were married on 23 Jan 1812 in Ross county, Ohio, when Norval was 7 years old. Again in the family history it is stated that Norval was raised by his grandparents in Loudoun county, VA, although it does not state whether it was maternal or paternal grandparents. I ordered the will of Benjamin Adam's father, Benjamin, from Loudoun county, VA, hoping there would be a mention of Norval, but there was no will, only a inventory and account, and no mention of Norval. I ordered a copy of Norval's father's will from Belmont county, Ohio where he settled after his marriage, and while all of the children from his marriage to Nancy were listed, no mention was made of Norval.
Norval and Massey had 7 children, and then on 19 Apr 1844, Massey died. The younger children, ages 5 and 6 were sent to live with other people.(per the 1850 census), non family members. Norval then went back to Loudoun county, VA in 1846 and married Emily Howell, then returned to Morrow county, OH. They had 4 children, only 2 surviving to adulthood.On 8 Feb 1852, Norval died in Morrow county, OH.
So, the things I need to find out are
1. Is Benjamin Adam Hiskett the father of Norval Valentine Hiskett? No other likely candidate has been found but I need to prove that Benjamin Adam is his father.
2. Who is Norval's mother? I have searched for an earlier marriage record for Benjamin Adam in Loudoun county, VA, and found none. What I suspect is that there was an earlier marriage, with the wife dieing at or soon after Norval's birth. However, there may be other siblings that I have not found out about.
3. Where was Norval between 1805 and 1829? I have found no evidence of him in Loudoun county, where his grandparents were, or Belmont county, OH, where his father lived.
Does anyone have ideas where I can look next? are there records I have not searched for?
Norval Valentine Hiskett (Heskett, Hiscot) was born in Loudoun co, VA on 15 Feb 1805, to Benjamin Adam Hiskett and an unknown mother. All of this information comes from a family history written by my ggrandfather in 1947, and of course he cited none of his sources. The first record I have found of Norval was his marriage record to Massey Nickols / Nichols on 12 Feb 1829 in Marion county, Ohio. Where was Norval from his birth until 1829, and who were his parents? (I have found no proof that Benjamin Adam was his father)
Most Heskett researchers say that Nancy Nevin is Norvals mother, but I have pretty much ruled that out. Nancy Nevin was born in 1792. That would have made her 13 years old at Norval's birth. Also, Nancy and Adam were married on 23 Jan 1812 in Ross county, Ohio, when Norval was 7 years old. Again in the family history it is stated that Norval was raised by his grandparents in Loudoun county, VA, although it does not state whether it was maternal or paternal grandparents. I ordered the will of Benjamin Adam's father, Benjamin, from Loudoun county, VA, hoping there would be a mention of Norval, but there was no will, only a inventory and account, and no mention of Norval. I ordered a copy of Norval's father's will from Belmont county, Ohio where he settled after his marriage, and while all of the children from his marriage to Nancy were listed, no mention was made of Norval.
Norval and Massey had 7 children, and then on 19 Apr 1844, Massey died. The younger children, ages 5 and 6 were sent to live with other people.(per the 1850 census), non family members. Norval then went back to Loudoun county, VA in 1846 and married Emily Howell, then returned to Morrow county, OH. They had 4 children, only 2 surviving to adulthood.On 8 Feb 1852, Norval died in Morrow county, OH.
So, the things I need to find out are
1. Is Benjamin Adam Hiskett the father of Norval Valentine Hiskett? No other likely candidate has been found but I need to prove that Benjamin Adam is his father.
2. Who is Norval's mother? I have searched for an earlier marriage record for Benjamin Adam in Loudoun county, VA, and found none. What I suspect is that there was an earlier marriage, with the wife dieing at or soon after Norval's birth. However, there may be other siblings that I have not found out about.
3. Where was Norval between 1805 and 1829? I have found no evidence of him in Loudoun county, where his grandparents were, or Belmont county, OH, where his father lived.
Does anyone have ideas where I can look next? are there records I have not searched for?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dawn Evans Stringer on
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I thought I would post an update with some new information that I have found. On Googlebooks I found the History of Morrow County Ohio (1911). In the biography of George William Heskett, one of Norval's sons from his first marriage, and my 3ggrandfather, it says of Norval , "...was born and reared in the old commonwealth of Virginia, whence he immigrated, with his father, Benjamin Heskett, Jr., to Ohio about the year 1827. The Heskett family was one of prominence and long-standing in Loudoun county, Virginia..." "After arrival in Ohio, Benjamin Heskett Jr., settled in Belmont county..." Norval V then settled on land of his father-in-law, in Morrow county. "...but after maintaining his home in this section of the state for several years he went to Missouri, later returning to Ohio and settling in the northern part of Cardington township where he passed the residue of his life..."
Here are a few thoughts I had.
1. When Norval's father wrote his will (in 1843), Norval's wife had inherited a large amount of land from her father in 1829, would Norval already having land have been the reason he was left out of his father's will? Was this a common practice of the times? Also, could his father have given him money for his move to Morrow county, and thus he would have already received an inheritance from his father? again, was this a common practice of the times?
2. I know that Norval was in Ohio in 1829 when he was married (I have a copy of the marriage record) I then have him on the 1840 census in Morrow county, OH. I had never found him on the 1830 census. All of his children list their birthplaces as Ohio. There was one daughter, Adelaide Amanda, who was born in 1830 and died 1849. She is the only child I do not have birth information for. Could she have been born in Missouri? This would narrow the time frame of the stint in MO as between 1829 (when he was married) and 1831 (when his son George William was born). He was not indexed in the 1830 MO census (that would be too easy), and I don't have a clue where in MO he might be, so I guess I will be flipping through page after page on the whole state looking for him.
3. Thanks to Teresa Dahlgren, I found what may possibley be my Benjamin's (both Jr and Sr) in Jefferson county, Virginia, which is now Jefferson county , West Virginia, before they moved to Loudoun county, Virginia. This could be the reason I was having such a hard time finding much about them in Loudoun county. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the elusive first marriage of Benjamin Adam (Jr) will be located in Jefferson county. I am working on tracking down tax records to see how long they were in that area. -
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