Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Looking for Scraps for my Mysterious Haithcock

When you've hit a brickwall with one of your ancestors what do you do? You grab at any little clue that might give you a lead to continue on. I have several of my lines that come from North and South Carolina that go back to the Revolutionary War era. One of those that have intrigued me most is my Haithcock line. There is a lot of information on the web about the Haithcock surname and its origins. That's good, but I still need to find that one man that links from my line to the Haithcock line that has been researched.

I've traced my line back to the north central portion of NC touching on the counties of Wilkes, Guilford, Randolph, and Chatham. My line goes back to when Charles Washington Riggins married Charlotte Haithcock in the 1790s. I've found countless posts on this marriage and this family, but very little on Charlotte's origins. A most mysterious post that has been shared by many researchers on the web makes one statement. Charlotte Haithcock's father was a scout for General Francis Marion during the Revolutionary War. I don't know where this statement originated from and how many times it has been circulated. I do know that one of those statements as gone as far as naming her father as "Scott" Haithcock, obviously twisting the word "scout" into the name Scott. I've contacted countless of these people asking for documentation or a clue as to where they got their information.

Not fully trusting any of these posts I have got to do my own research. Dutifully searching the web I found a list of General Francis Marion's regiment - pay roster - with no mention of a Haithcock. How do I know how complete this list is, and as a scout maybe he was not paid as a regular soldier. I've rented microfilm for all these counties and searched all kinds of records. So now I've taken to picking up any historical account I can find and reading it.


King's Mountain National Military Park

So I found this little pamphlet entitled, "Kings Mountain" put out in 1955 by the Kings Mountain National Military Park. I was willing to dig for any kind of information I could find that might tell something about that area of the country during the Revolutionary War. It was a very interesting read. It is so hard to find any historical account of what went on during this war other than a compiled history in a few paragraphs in a history book. I want details. Was General Francis Marion involved in this battle? Who were these men that fought this war in North and South Carolina? Could I find a clue about my ancestor - this Haithcock? Every little bit I read leads me onto some other reference. There's got to be a clue somewhere. My next read is to find the book on General Francis Marion by William Gilmore Simms. I've heard this is the best historical account written. If anyone knows of anything else that might educate me better on the history of this area during the War I would appreciate any suggestions.

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