PIATT-L Archives

From:
Subject: [PIATT] 1810 MO Statehood Petition
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 16:58:13 +0000

While poking around on rootsweb.com today I found at:

http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ar/state/history/terr/pet5.txt

a petition for statehood signed by many inhabitants of what became Missouri. The
petition begins:

<<From the books "Territorial Papers - Louisiana-Missouri Territory" 1806-1814,
Volume XIV pages 357-362

Petition to Congress by Inhabitants of the Territory

[Referred January 6, 1810]
To the honourable the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States,
In Congress assembled.
The Petition of the undersigned inhabitants of the Territory of
Louisiana,
Most Respectfully Sheweth....>>

There follows a number of names rearranged into an alphabetical listing which
includes JOHN PYATT and JACOB PYATT who added their names while living,
apparently, in Section 5. No geographical identification of Section 5 was found
with the petition. By using the find-on-page capability of my browser I was able
to reconstruct a chronological listing of a section of the list of signers from
Section 5. The number before the name represents the numerical order of the
person on the list.

30 Marshal Jons
31 Acquilla Wickersham
32 Jacob Wichersham
33 John Pruet
34 James Davis

35 Jonithin Husky
36 JONATHAN HILLLIBRAN
37 JOHN HILLIBRAN
38 Richard Everett
39 William Wickersham
40 ABRAHAM HILTERBRAND

41 Michael Null
42 John Jones
43 JOHN PYATT
44 JACOB PYATT
45 William Belew

46 Philip Shulch
47 Christus Shulch
48 Jacob Shulch
49 Solloman Ballew
50 Jonathan Hindrix

Piatt Family Newsletter 3:9 published the petitions of one JOHN PYATT in his
unsuccessful claim of 464 arpents of land on Negro Fork of the Merramac River in
what is now Missouri. The petitions covered the time period from 1806 to 1834.
The later petitions (apparently made by his heirs) refer to John as having died
on the land and included statements of three witnesses to JOHN PYATT's occupation
of the land. The witnesses were JACOB PYATT and two men named HILDERBRAND.

About 1999 or 2000 author Kenneth C Carstens of Murray State University in KY
published two books concerning the personnel with George Rogers Clark at Fort
Jefferson (KY) near what is now Wickliffe KY not far from Cairo IL. Not only was
JACOB PYATT named among the personnel but also more than one man named
HILDEBRAND. Fort Jefferson existed for about 18 months from 1780 to mid 1781.
During that time the JACOB PYATT there served in a capacity as a commissary and
also carried intelligence to and from Fort Pitt. He was always referred to as MR
in the Carstens books.

It is thought that the JACOB PYATT at Fort Jefferson was the one who eventually
settled in Adams Co OH. Geography and time suggest that there could be a
possible connection between the JOHN PYATT and (his son?) JACOB PYATT of the
statehood petition of 1810 and the (older?) JACOB PYATT of Fort Jefferson who is
thought to have gone to Adams Co OH. But is there enough time? Could the
lineage be JACOB IV, JOHN, JACOB? Setting a birthdate for the eldest JACOB at
1754 (is this right?) and allowing 20 years until JOHN's birth and 20 years until
JACOB's birth, would make the younger JACOB 16 in 1810.

Discussion is requested to test this theory (and it's only theory). I hope some
of you will pick it apart and share your views.

--
Laverne Ingram Piatt
Ontario, OH
lapiatt@.att.net

This thread:

• [PIATT] 1810 MO Statehood Petition by