Houseworth & Associates

Recently I took the opportunity to research Walters Houseworth, a man born around 1800 with many descendants but no ancestors--at first. (The earlier blog entry is here.)

The earliest record I was able to find in his name was an 1830 deed from Orange County, Virginia. The transaction was the sale of land by Joseph and Susan Hiden to Walters Houseworth and John Williamson. The land was a lot near the Orange County Courthouse. Walters's connection to John Williamson wasn't made clear in the deed. I thought that if they purchased a lot in town together, Houseworth and Williamsons may have been business partners. So I moved along to find more information that was specific to Walters's family.

In researching another Virginia topic recently, I decided to see if there was anything in the same resource for the last few Virginia families I've researched, of which Walters was one. And I did find something else for Walters.

The result was over 100 pages of court documents for a legal suit brought by Joseph Hiden against Walters Houseworth, John Williamson's heirs, and a man named Hugh Stephens.

The documents explain that the land the Hidens had sold in 1830 was a lot of land and a workshop. Apparently Houseworth and Williamson only paid half the amount, with Williamson taking out a note for the remainder. John Williamson died in 1831, at which time Hugh Stephens began using the wagon makers shop. Stephens moved to Fredericksburg about a year and a half after Williamson's death, and Hiden began taking care of the property again. Part of the issue was that Stephens believed he had purchased the property whereas others believed he had only rented the shop. It's stated among the documents that John Williamson's wife as well as his only child had passed away during the suit. Williamson's remaining heirs were his brother Christopher or Christian "Kit" Williamson and his sister Mary Williamson. The determination of the suit was that the property be sold at public auction to satisfy the unpaid debt.

Within the court files we also learn that John Williamson's wife Elizabeth was the daughter of Ezekiel Wilhoit. John Williamson and Elizabeth Wilhoit had been married in Orange County in December of 1829. They were not married very long before John's death; two years at the most if John did die in 1831.

Other documents in the case packet are unrelated to Hiden's suit but mention Valentine M. Houseworth. Valentine had earlier been named guardian of a Columbia Henley. However, a note dated August 22, 1842, states that Valentine had been dead more than three months.

All of this information comes from one court case, and it's an excellent example of why some of us are never "finished" with genealogy. The more you learn, the more people your circle encompasses. And these threads weave together without end.