Buckingham Notables: The Allens of Hunts Creek, Part IX

Photo by Joanne Yeck

Buckingham Baptist Church, site of Tillotson Parish’s mother church.

It may be the church referred to in William Hunt Allen’s will.

The Fall 2018 Issue of Central Virginia Heritage includes three Allen family wills transcribed by Jean L. Cooper. These wills inspired “The Allens of Hunts Creek.”

Need to catch up? Click here: Buckingham Notables: The Allens of Hunts Creek, Part I

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William Hunt Allen, 1806 will, continued

By 1806, the repetition of names in this Allen family had become a genealogist’s nightmare, with multiple William Allens living in Buckingham during the late 1700s through the early 1800s. Without the work of someone like Rev. Wicker, this tangle quickly becomes unwieldy—a classic, infuriating genealogical mess. A perfect example is the decoding the bequest of about 200 acres to be sold after William Hunt Allen’s death.

In addition to his primary plantation, William Hunt Allen owned property in Buckingham County, which he wished to be sold. He described the property not by name but by its boundaries:

. . . my land lying above the road which leads to Buckingham church and adjoining the lands of William Allen deceased, supposed to be about two hundred acres, shall be sold by the person who may have the charge of Wm. Allen’s estate for the equal benefit of Philip Allen and John Allen sons of the said William Allen deceased and the money arising from the sale thereof to be laid out in lands on the western waters and then equally divided, between the said Philip and John Allen.

Was “William Allen deceased” William Hunt Allen’s father who died in 1751/1752? He had a son Phillip and a son John, both mentioned in his Albemarle County will. Son John, however, died in 1754 and Phillip died in 1771. On to the next generation to find these legatees!

William Hunt Allen’s brother, Phillip, had a son named William who was born in Buckingham County c. 1765 and died 1800/1, making him deceased when William Hunt Allen wrote his will in 1806. This William Allen had a son Phillip (1795–1869) and a son John William (1800–1855)—both alive in 1806 to receive gifts from their great uncle. It was these two great-nephews who inherited 200 acres on the road to Buckingham church.

Another tract in Buckingham County consisting of 500 acres was left to two sons of Samuel Allen of Amherst County—Samuel Hunt and John Allen. Samuel Hunt Allen also inherited a “negro girl” named Mary, while his brother George Allen received and oddly qualified gift, the proceeds from the sale of a “negro man” called Jim, should he live until “next fall.”

Two other tracts of land in Buckingham County, totaling 225 acres, were left to a younger William Hunt Allen, son of Jesse Allen. He also inherited a “negro girl” named Charlotte. According to land tax records, covering 1809–1823, this William Hunt Allen was a nonresident of Buckingham County.

William Hunt Allen concluded his last will by appointing Col. Samuel Allen, William Allen (son of George), and William M. Allen (son of Col. Samuel) as his executors. Witnesses to the Buckingham County were Boaz Ford, Milly Chastaine (her mark), and William Ayres. Buckingham County Clerk Rolfe Eldridge recorded the document.

Coming next: Buckingham Notables: The Allens of Hunts Creek, Part X