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Hello, a newbie here! I’ve been doing genealogical research for a little over 30 years. While I’ve found much on all other family lines, my Hancock line remains a dead end. Hoping someone here can give me some ideas. My mother, her cousin and myself seem to have been looking in all the wrong places for years, and after having been sent photos of these Hancocks I have a feeling I know WHY I cannot seem to find anything on them. I’ll try and post these later.
Shortest version I can come up with: The earliest ancestor was William T. Hancock my gr-gr grandfather born in Halifax Co Va c. 1817-24, parents unknown. he came to Charlotte Co Va as an overseer for the Wilbon/Wilborn family per the 1850 census, married Catherine Holland 1850, lived in Campbell Co VA having purchased land there on the border of Campbell and Halifax from the Hancocks out of Red Hill/Appomattox. (Nathan M and Nathan H Hancock sued William for payment and Ive the court records showing he’d already paid for the property) His mother in law was Margaret Hancock who WAS from that line and married Richard Holland (another ancestor who remains a mystery). There is a genetic issue of male deafness in that Hancock line out of Red Hill and Wm. T. Hancock also had a son who was born deaf. These Red Hill Hancocks were also connected to the Harveys. There is nothing on William pre 1850. Ive scoured all of the Halifax Co Hancocks but none seem to have had a son that would fit my guy.
Older, now deceased relatives suggested he was “Portyghee” and either didn’t know anything about him or did, and for whatever reason, kept the info to themselves.
His son, my gr grandfather, Thomas Whitfield Hancock married a Covington, his second wife and they lived in Campbell Co VA, Amherst Co Va and Durham NC, my grandmother was born in Roxboro, Person Co NC. He was a farmer and also worked for various tobacco factories and I suppose they moved where there was work. The Covingtons with roots in Halifax Co VA, spent most of their lives in Durham NC.
If any of this rings a bell with anyone I’d appreciate any help!! Thanks!
SScott;37098 wrote: Hello, a newbie here! I’ve been doing genealogical research for a little over 30 years. While I’ve found much on all other family lines, my Hancock line remains a dead end. Hoping someone here can give me some ideas. My mother, her cousin and myself seem to have been looking in all the wrong places for years, and after having been sent photos of these Hancocks I have a feeling I know WHY I cannot seem to find anything on them. I’ll try and post these later.
Shortest version I can come up with: The earliest ancestor was William T. Hancock my gr-gr grandfather born in Halifax Co Va c. 1817-24, parents unknown. he came to Charlotte Co Va as an overseer for the Wilbon/Wilborn family per the 1850 census, married Catherine Holland 1850, lived in Campbell Co VA having purchased land there on the border of Campbell and Halifax from the Hancocks out of Red Hill/Appomattox. (Nathan M and Nathan H Hancock sued William for payment and Ive the court records showing he’d already paid for the property) His mother in law was Margaret Hancock who WAS from that line and married Richard Holland (another ancestor who remains a mystery). There is a genetic issue of male deafness in that Hancock line out of Red Hill and Wm. T. Hancock also had a son who was born deaf. These Red Hill Hancocks were also connected to the Harveys. There is nothing on William pre 1850. Ive scoured all of the Halifax Co Hancocks but none seem to have had a son that would fit my guy.
Older, now deceased relatives suggested he was “Portyghee” and either didn’t know anything about him or did, and for whatever reason, kept the info to themselves.
His son, my gr grandfather, Thomas Whitfield Hancock married a Covington, his second wife and they lived in Campbell Co VA, Amherst Co Va and Durham NC, my grandmother was born in Roxboro, Person Co NC. He was a farmer and also worked for various tobacco factories and I suppose they moved where there was work. The Covingtons with roots in Halifax Co VA, spent most of their lives in Durham NC.
If any of this rings a bell with anyone I’d appreciate any help!! Thanks!
Welcome to Saponitown. I was raised in person co and still live here. My wife has Whit(e)field lines. We can probably help with any Person/Durham co info you need. Was Thomas’ mother a Whitfield? Do you know if there are any family burials in Person or Durham Co.
Thank you Dreaminghawk!
Thomas’ mother was a Covington. Her parents, while Halifax Co VA born, spent most of their lives in Durham NC. I don’t know where the name Whitfield came from, but it may be a family name. I know little pre William T. Hancock c1850, so it’s anyone’s guess if there are actual familial connections to Person Co. Thomas, per census records wroked for tobacco companies in Durham as well as Richmond VA and I can only assume at this point, they were in NC for employment with a connection to the Covingtons too.
I did find recently that the “Wilbon” that William T. Hancock lived with in Charlotte Co Va as an overseer in 1850, actually came from Halifax Co Va as well. Edwin Davenport Wilbon/Wilborn if that rings a bell with anyone. To add: Edwin was related by marriage to William T. Hancock’s mother in law, Margaret (Peggy) Hancock-Holland.
I’d like to see if there is an actual birth record in Person Co for my grandmother if there are such records.
SScott;37108 wrote: Thank you Dreaminghawk!
Thomas’ mother was a Covington. Her parents, while Halifax Co VA born, spent most of their lives in Durham NC. I don’t know where the name Whitfield came from, but it may be a family name. I know little pre William T. Hancock c1850, so it’s anyone’s guess if there are actual familial connections to Person Co. Thomas, per census records wroked for tobacco companies in Durham as well as Richmond VA and I can only assume at this point, they were in NC for employment with a connection to the Covingtons too.
I did find recently that the “Wilbon” that William T. Hancock lived with in Charlotte Co Va as an overseer in 1850, actually came from Halifax Co Va as well. Edwin Davenport Wilbon/Wilborn if that rings a bell with anyone. To add: Edwin was related by marriage to William T. Hancock’s mother in law, Margaret (Peggy) Hancock-Holland.
I’d like to see if there is an actual birth record in Person Co for my grandmother if there are such records.
Did you give your grandmother’s name and birthdate? If so, I don’t see it. We have a close friend who works at the register of deeds office who can check on a possible birth certificate.
Perhaps Thomas’ mother’s mother was the Whitfield. Do you have her parents’ names?
Grandmother: Eunice V. Hancock born 8 Sept 1897 Roxboro, Person Co NC
Her parents : Thomas Whitfield Hancock & Eliza J. Covington both born in VA
Thomas’ parents : William T. Hancock & Catherine Holland both born in VA
Eliza Covington’s parents: Odin C. Covington & Alymyra Maddox both born in VA but lived most of their lives in Durham NC
Catherine Holland’s parents: Richard Holland and Margaret (Peggy) Hancock (descended from Anthony Hancock and Sarah Baker line)
I don’t know William’s parents or family history pre 1850 when he appeared in the 1850 census for Charlotte Co Va as overseer in the household of Edwin D “Wilbon”. Nor do I have any early info on his father in law, Richard Holland other than his mother was named Mary and maiden name was possibly Overstreet. His step father was Mark Ward of Campbell Co Va.
It’s William T. Hancock’s line that remains a mystery. The elders of the family claimed he wasn’t a Hancock but raised by them and offered up other surnames as a possibility (Thaxton, Clackston, Paxton, Brannon, Brandon etc) but none of them panned out. They weren’t really sure either to be frank. They said he wasn’t white but ‘Portyghee’, and claimed to not know more, and they may not have known more. I suspect he was a Hancock by birth as one of his sons was born deaf. He purchased his property in Brookneal Va from the line of Anthony Hancock and Sarah Baker of Va (his mother in law’s people). In that line there was a genetic deafness in the males as well. In that line are also Harveys who some have said were of mixed Native and white.
William T. Hancock just seemed to appear out of nowhere! In the past three decades of doing family research, there’s been no other line that’s been as maddening as this one has been. LOL
There were no official birth certificates in Person co. until 1912. The only record before that would be a possible church record but that would only be denominations that christened.
Dreaminghawk;37114 wrote: There were no official birth certificates in Person co. until 1912. The only record before that would be a possible church record but that would only be denominations that christened.
Thank You!
“They said he wasn’t white but ‘Portyghee’,”
One of the triracial isolates in southern Va was called “Portuguese”. Just like the High Plains Sappony of Person Co were called “Cuban” and OBSN of Alamance Co was referred to as “Little Texas” like they were Mexicans. Anywhere in the east where a community had skin that was too swarthy to be “white” but had no African characteristics, the local whites would come up with a name that explained it just as long as they didn’t have to admit that they were Indians. After all, all the ndns had been removed from this area in the 1830s…. they MUST be something else swarthy 😉
SScott;37098 wrote: Hello, a newbie here! I’ve been doing genealogical research for a little over 30 years. While I’ve found much on all other family lines, my Hancock line remains a dead end. Hoping someone here can give me some ideas. My mother, her cousin and myself seem to have been looking in all the wrong places for years, and after having been sent photos of these Hancocks I have a feeling I know WHY I cannot seem to find anything on them. I’ll try and post these later.
Shortest version I can come up with: The earliest ancestor was William T. Hancock my gr-gr grandfather born in Halifax Co Va c. 1817-24, parents unknown. he came to Charlotte Co Va as an overseer for the Wilbon/Wilborn family per the 1850 census, married Catherine Holland 1850, lived in Campbell Co VA having purchased land there on the border of Campbell and Halifax from the Hancocks out of Red Hill/Appomattox. (Nathan M and Nathan H Hancock sued William for payment and Ive the court records showing he’d already paid for the property) His mother in law was Margaret Hancock who WAS from that line and married Richard Holland (another ancestor who remains a mystery). There is a genetic issue of male deafness in that Hancock line out of Red Hill and Wm. T. Hancock also had a son who was born deaf. These Red Hill Hancocks were also connected to the Harveys. There is nothing on William pre 1850. Ive scoured all of the Halifax Co Hancocks but none seem to have had a son that would fit my guy.
Older, now deceased relatives suggested he was “Portyghee” and either didn’t know anything about him or did, and for whatever reason, kept the info to themselves.
His son, my gr grandfather, Thomas Whitfield Hancock married a Covington, his second wife and they lived in Campbell Co VA, Amherst Co Va and Durham NC, my grandmother was born in Roxboro, Person Co NC. He was a farmer and also worked for various tobacco factories and I suppose they moved where there was work. The Covingtons with roots in Halifax Co VA, spent most of their lives in Durham NC.
If any of this rings a bell with anyone I’d appreciate any help!! Thanks!
I have an 8th g-grandmother Mary Ann HANCOCK (b. 1636 in Albemarle, VA–Shenandoah National Park) from my COBB & JONES lines that extend from my DANIEL lines… Albemarle is about 90 miles due North of Brookneal, VA….
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