Othniel Minter

1778 - 1848  (70 years)

• Name	Othniel Minter
  Birth	1778	Henry County, Virginia, USA
  Gender	Male
  _UID	07446AD118DC418E8DF1C751A8B70E6DB97D
  Death	11 Jun 1848	Henry County, Virginia, USA   [1]
  Burial	Minter Family Cemetery, Dyer's Store, Leatherwood, Henry County, Virginia   [1]
  Notes	The following is copied from Don Chamberlayne's Minter Notes: Othniel (sometimes Orthniel, or Othinel) [4], born in 1778, was the fourth child and first son of John and Susannah Minter. In December, 1799, he married Joyce Stultz, born in 1785, a daughter of Adam and Mary (Gravely) Stultz. That Othniel was a son of John Minter is evident in a court record of Henry County provided by Merry Anne Pierson, D.A.R. registrar and person to contact <http://webpages.charter.net/chamberlayne/minter/sources.htm>. An image of the record can be seen here <http://webpages.charter.net/chamberlayne/minter/Link_John&2sons.pdf>, from the Henry County Minute Book, 1820-1849 in three volumes, vol. 2, p.217, Family History Library micro-publication no. 31981. The text of the court record in its entirety: "Orthniel Minter & Silas Minter who are legally entitled to administration upon the estate of John Minter dec'd this day came into court and renounced the same, whereupon the said estate was committed to the hand of Patrick H. Fontaine Sheriff of this County for administration." Note: The word renounce in the handwritten original is difficult to read and we may not have it right. The reader is advised to examine it in the attached document. That they relinquished their right to administer the estate, however, appears clear by its being handed over to the sheriff. Why the two brothers took the action they did is unknown here. (Note also the spelling of Orthniel.) Othniel was a Baptist minister and his name (with that spelling) is on record in the performance of numerous marriages in Henry County (ref. Virginia Anderton Dodd). As for the spelling, aside from the use of Orthniel in the court record above, Othniel has in its favor two factors: one, that it was spelled that way in numerous county marriages on record with him as the presiding minister, and two, that Othniel is an Old Testment name and it was an era of popularity of biblical names. (According to The Free Dictionary and Easton's Bible Dictionary, Othniel was the first judge of Israel after the death of Joshua.) Also, his record of service with the 4th Regiment of Virginia Militia in the War of 1812 [War service records online, Ancestry.com], shows the spelling as Othniel. Between 1801 and 1827 Joyce Minter bore thirteen children, four sons and nine daughters. Storm shows marriages of all thirteen, most yielding descendencies of varying extent. That Joyce was deceased by 1837 is indicated by the fact that Othniel remarried on June 12 of that year. His second wife was Mary 'Polly' Burgess [Dodd, p.36, p.113]. Previously in these notes, there was acknowledged uncertainty and confusion regarding the origins of this Mary 'Polly' Burgess. The matter has been clarified through the efforts of a descendant of the Burgess line, Mary Lund of Ohio, who is a person to contact <http://webpages.charter.net/chamberlayne/minter/sources.htm> regarding the Burgess family. She has presented a well-documented and persuasive case which appears to establish the identity of Othniel Minter's second wife. According to Mary Lund, Mary 'Polly' Weaver, daughter of John Weaver, married John Burgess (Jr.), born in 1771, a son of John Burgess, Sr. who brought his family to Henry County from Gloucester County in the early 1780s. John, Jr. died in 1836, age 65, leaving his widow 'Polly' (Weaver) Burgess, and two children, Mary D. Burgess, born 1828 or 1829, and John Henry Burgess, born in 1831. As is discussed below, the daughter, Mary D. Burgess, married a son of Othniel and Joyce Minter, William Leftwich Minter. John Henry Burgess (1831-1914) and his wife, Mary Dalton Foster, had ten children, of whom one was Mary Lund's grandfather, Robert Lee Burgess (1871-1962). Mary Lund has substantial documentation to support her interpretation of the Burgess line, which differs in one key respect from that which others in her family had believed, the difference pertaining to which of several John Burgesses married Polly Weaver. The reader interested in the Burgess line is encouraged to contact Mary. Othniel's son, William Leftwich Minter William Leftwich [5], son of the Rev. Othniel and Joyce Minter, was born about 1819, per the 1850 census. In 1843 he married Mary D. Burgess, the daughter of his father's second wife, thus his step-sister and of no blood relationship to him. Mary D., born 1828 or 1829, per the 1850 census which listed her as age 21, presumably resided in the Minter home from about the age of eight. A partial descendancy from William Leftwich and Mary D. (Burgess) Minter, drawing on the listing of Ken Storm and confirmed by descendants of each of the lines shown who preferred to remain anonymous, is as follows: [4] Othniel Minter, b. 1778 mar. Joyce Stultz in 1795 [5] William Leftwich Minter, b. abt 1819 mar. (1843) Mary D. Burgess [6] John L. Minter, b. abt 1843 mar. Fannie Ruth Davis [7] William Walter Minter, b. abt 1872 mar. Fannie Thornton [8] William Othniel Minter, b. 1908 mar. Fern Hughes [6] Martha Burgess Minter, b. abt 1861 mar. M. T. Smith Othniel's daughter, Tabitha (Minter) Harville The seventh child, sixth daughter, of Othniel and Joyce Minter was Tabitha [5], born about 1812. She married Merit Harville and they settled in Cedar County, Missouri. His name was given as Merritt Harvell in the marriage record (Dodd), and it was written Horvell in the 1850 census, but it eventually became settled on Harville. They named a son William Leftridge Harville, about 1836, thus using again the middle name that had occurred earlier in the lines tracing to Othniel's older sister Betsy. A descendant of Merit and Tabitha (Minter) Harville [5] is Mr. Kim Allen Morton [10], of Missouri, who is the person to contact <http://webpages.charter.net/chamberlayne/minter/sources.htm> regarding this line, as well as John and Susannah Minter, as was noted earlier (3C). The line from Merit and Tabitha to Kim Morton, per Kim Morton and Ken Storm: [5] Merit Harville, b. abt 1812 mar. Tabitha Minter, b. abt 1812 [6] William Leftridge Harville, b. 1836 mar. Chancy Elizabeth Bugg [7] William Leftridge Harville, Jr., b. 1863 mar. Annie Elizabeth Hunt [8] Era Jewell Harville, b. 1895 mar. Raymond Clark Morton [9] William R. Morton, b. 1923 mar. Violet Marguerite Gamble [10] Kim Allen Morton Othniel's son, Johnson William Minter After Tabitha, the next child of Othniel and Joyce Minter was Johnson William Minter [5]. He was born October 11, 1814, married Susan Previna Clark, was a physician, and died in Virginia in 1891. The presiding minister at the wedding in 1835 was Silas Minter, Johnson's uncle. This information is from a letter written in 1958 by his granddaughter, Ella Lou (Minter) Aegerter, daughter of Dr. William Leftridge Minter, transcribed in the Minter Genealogical Bulletin (pp.163-64). In the letter she described a book in her possession entitled Travel Letters from Palestine and the East, by the Rev. W. R. Minter, pastor of the Presbyterian church in Lincolnton, North Carolina (published in 1910). She wrote: "It is autographed to my father: For Dr. W. L. Minter from W. R. Minter." She also pointed out that the book was dedicated by its author to the author's father, John R. Minter. Ella Lou (Minter) Aegerter may not have realized that in the presentation of the book to her father by its author, and presumably in the friendship between the two men, two lines of Minters had crossed paths, the ancestral link between them apparently tracing back at least one generation prior to Anthony of Caroline County. From Samuel A. Minter, a descendant of John R. and W. R. Minter, it is learned that the author, William Ramseur Minter (1873-1943), was born in South Carolina, graduated from Davidson College in 1892, and after serving as pastor of the Presbyterian church in Lincolnton, and perhaps others as well, relocated to Austin, Texas, where he was the pastor of a large church there for 25 years before his semi-retirement to a smaller church elsewhere in Texas. The book was the product of a series of letters to the Presbyterian Standard, written at the request of its editor, consisting of observations on his travels to Egypt, Palestine, and other places in the region in 1910. The Rev. Minter's father, John Russell Minter (1833-1913), was a successful farmer and merchant in Sedalia, South Carolina. This line of Minters is believed to trace back to the migration first to North Carolina and later South Carolina of the third in a succession of John Minters in Virginia, the first of whom was a son of Richard Mintrene (Minter) who came to the colony in 1620 from Wales. This third John in the line, born in 1690, of Gloucester County, Virginia, was a contemporary, and presumably a cousin, of Anthony Minter, born about 1685, who settled in Caroline County. The line, according to Sam, consists of Richard [1] the adult immigrant to Virginia, John [2], 1619-1655, born in Wales and came to Virginia as a young child; John [3], 1650-?; John [4], 1690-1743, of Gloucester, who moved to North Carolina; William [5], 1736-1809; John [6], 1769-1846; William [7], 1797-1871; John Russell [8], 1833-1913; William Ramseur [9], 1873-1943; David Ramseur [10], 1912-1991; William Maynard [11], 1942- ; and Samuel Antonio [12], 1971- . The primary source on the earliest Minters in Virginia, carefully cited by Samuel, is a John B. Minter, whose work appears (to this novice on the subject) to stand as the essential reference. As is Samuel, John B. Minter is careful to note that substantial proof regarding the lineage of the earliest Minters is lacking, probably due to various fires which destroyed so many old documents in Virginia, but he offers convincing evidence of the likelihood of the connections. His work can be seen at Ancestry.com website of J. B. Minter: "The Oldest Minter Immigrants?" <http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jbminter2&id=I17>. Sam has prepared interesting descriptions of the four generations of males in the line preceding himself, as well as himself, and posted them on his website. The entry one for his great-great-grandfather, John Russell Minter, which provides links to the others, can be found at: http://wiki.abulsme.com/John Russell Minter <http://wiki.abulsme.com/John%20Russell%20Minter>. Sam's father, William Maynard Minter, has an original copy of Travel Letters from Palestine and the East, and Sam has made a copy, in .pdf format, available at the entry for his great-grandfather at his website: http://wiki.abulsme.com/William Ramseur Minter <http://wiki.abulsme.com/William%20Ramseur%20Minter>. Sam is a person to contact <http://webpages.charter.net/chamberlayne/minter/sources.htm> regarding his line of Minters. Leftwich, Leftridge, and Leftrich: variations on the same name? The names Leftwich and Leftridge have appeared frequently in the family lines from both siblings Elizabeth (Betsy) and Othniel Minter, in every case as a middle name. The first known use of any of the variants was the son of Othniel, William Leftwich, born in 1819. Another was Leftwich Watson, son of Othniel's sister Tabitha, in 1823. Daniel L., son of Obediah (Dupuy) Minter, born in 1834, has been listed both ways. Over the years, Leftridge seems to have been used more often than Leftwich, especially in the lines descending from Merit and Tabitha (Minter) Harville and Johnson and Susan (Clark) Minter. The origin of the name - or names - is unknown. A possible clue, however, can be seen in the census records for the area in the early 1800s. They show a number of persons of the surname Leftwich, probably all of a family, in Bedford County, which is near, but not contiguous to, Henry County, but show no one with the surname Leftridge. In the 1850 census there were some 209 Leftwiches in Bedford, and still no Leftridges. Also, Butler's records of men serving with the Virginia militia in the War of 1812 include several Leftwiches in the 10th and 91st Regiments of Bedford County. The name Leftwich may have been used by Othniel and Joyce Minter to honor someone of that surname, whether or not related to either of them, and others in the family, or possibly census-takers or courthouse clerks, might have written what they thought they heard, resulting in Leftridge. But that, of course, is just a guess. As for the name Leftrich, which was used by the wife of James Leffie Minter in reference to her husband's grandfather and great-grandfather (4A), there is the added possibility that she was simply misspelling "Leftridge."
  Person ID	I131	America
  Last Modified	16 Dec 2015

  
  

  Father	John Minter,   b. Abt 1750, Powhatan County, Virginia, USA d. Abt 1833, Henry County, Virginia, USA (Age ~ 83 years)
  Mother	Susannah WILLIAMS,   b. Abt 1755   d. Aft 1850, Henry County, Virginia, USA (Age ~ 96 years)
  Marriage	Bef 1772
  Family ID	F24	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Joyce STULTZ,   b. 1785, Leatherwood, Henry County, Virginia, USA d. 12 Jan 1837, Henry County, Virginia, USA (Age 52 years)
  Marriage	7 Dec 1799	Henry County, Virginia, USA   [1]
  Children	1. Susannah "Susan" Minter,   b. 1801, Henry County, Virginia, USA d. 20 Dec 1855, Henry County, Virginia, USA (Age 54 years)   2. Nancy Minter,   b. Jan 1803, Henry County, Virginia, USA d. 12 Jan 1884, Henry County, Virginia, USA (Age ~ 80 years)   3. Delilah Jane Minter,   b. 1805, Henry County, Virginia, USA d. 16 Oct 1846, Saline County, Missouri, USA (Age 41 years)   4. Joseph K Minter,   b. 1807   d. Yes, date unknown   5. Franciana Minter,   b. 1809, Henry County, Virginia, USA d. Bef 1850, Cedar County, Missouri, USA (Age 40 years)   6. Elizabeth Ann Minter,   b. 1811, Henry County, Virginia, USA d. Yes, date unknown   7. Tabitha Minter,   b. 6 Sep 1812, Henry County, Virginia, USA d. 22 Mar 1894, Cedar County, Missouri, USA (Age 81 years)   8. Johnson William Minter,   b. 11 Oct 1814, Henry County, Virginia, USA d. 8 Sep 1891 (Age 76 years)   9. Lucy B Minter,   b. 18 Oct 1816, Henry County, Virginia, USA d. Yes, date unknown   10. William Leftwich Minter,   b. 1819, Henry County, Virginia, USA d. Between 1870 and 1880, Virginia, USA (Age 51 years)   11. Martha C Minter,   b. 1820   d. Yes, date unknown   12. Mariah G Minter,   b. 1 Aug 1825, Henry County, Virginia, USA d. Yes, date unknown   13. Stephen Hubbard Minter,   b. 21 Dec 1827, Irisburg, Henry County, Virginia, USA d. 1907, Irisburg, Henry County, Virginia, USA (Age 79 years)
  Family ID	F331	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	21 Nov 2014

  
  

  Family 2	Mary "Polly" WEAVER
  Family ID	F459	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	10 Jan 2015

  
  

• Sources

  [S66] findagrave.com, November 2014 and later.