Mitts Family

The Germans did not come to the United States in any considerable number until the founding of Pennsylvania. At first religious sects found in that colony sanctuary from oppression and persecution; later others came in search of a dwelling place where they might find the opportunity to live and to rear families amid peaceful surroundings. Those Germans who resided in the Palatinate of the Rhine were so ravaged by wars, political unrest, and economic upheaval that many of them abandoned their native homelands and sought refuge in other countries. A goodly number fled to England; there a sympathetic government gave help in gaining entry into the North American colonies. More than seven thousand of them entered the port of Philadelphia between the years 1727 and 1775.

Among those who came during the latter decades of this period of transatlantic immigration was Adam Mitts. The exact date of his arrival is not known. He came to the port of Philadelphia on board a vessel that had carried passengers from his native Arnheim-on-the-Rhine, and had sailed from Rotterdam by way of Cowes, England. The first extant written record of him is contained in a list of members of Virginia Colonial Militia who received pay for the services at Rommey, Hampshire County, now West Virginia, in 1775. The Historical Register of Virginians in the Revolution observes that Adam Mitts may have seen further service as practically all of the colonial troops joined the army of the Revolution.

In Hampshire County, Virginia, Adam Mitts married Elizabeth Alkire, a native of that county and of German descent. The Alkire family, accompanied by Adam and Elizabeth Mitts, removed to the Commonwealth of Kentucky at an early epoch in the history of that state; and the names of two of Elizabeth's brothers, John and William Alkire, appear on the 1791 tax roll of Bourbon County. Bourbon County Will Book A, Page 245, contains the county commissioner's report of the inventory of the personal property of Adam Mitts. Date July 30, 1795, it lists household goods, horses, cattle, blacksmith tools, saddle bags, and one book. An itemized account of personal property sold is found on Page 246, and bears the signatures of the widow and of her brother, William Alkire, the executor. The final settlement of the estate was made October 27, 1808. Will Book C, Page 439, contains the report of the executor. The report states that John Alkire was paid in full for his services as guardian of his nieces and nephews and then lists the remaining assets of the estate.

As early as 1800 the names of Adam Mitts' elder sons, Jacob and John, appear on the tax rolls of Harrison County, Kentucky. The third federal census, that of 1810, reveals that the two brothers had moved northward into that part of Pendleton County that was to become Grant County. Another brother, Adam, remained with their mother in Harrison County, while three of the younger children joined their guardian uncle in Bath County. In 1820 the fourth federal census records that Jacob and John Mitts and their brother-in-law, Simon Nichols, were residing on farmlands near the present day community of Dry Ridge in the newly created county of Grant.

Children of Adam and Elizabeth Alkire Mitts.
1.  Jacob Mitts, 1775-1835, married in Harrison County, Kentucky on February 7, 1805, Mary Conyers. They removed to present day Grant County in 1806 and settled near the village of Dry Ridge, where they continued to reside until the fall of 1829. At that time they sold their farm and moved northward, settling in Ball Township, Sangamon County, Illinois where they survived the winter of the deep snow. It rained for several days until the ground was saturated, then the snow began to fall and continued to fall almost every day for six weeks. The family burned the rails from their fences and loose timber of every sort to keep from freezing. In spite of the hardship endured, all of Jacob Mitts' family except one son remained in Sangamon County. Discouraged by the heavy snow and extreme cold, that son, John Mitts, returned to Grant County and settled on a farm near Heekin, where his children were born. In 1854 the family left Grant County and settled in Jackson Township, Clark County, Missouri, where John Mitts spent his last years.

2.  Susannah Mitts was born about 1777. She married in Harrison County, Kentucky on September 22, 1795, George Nichols. They removed to Pendleton County, Kentucky in 1802, but following the death of George's father in 1806, returned to Harrison County to farm the land they had inherited from the elder Nichols.

3.  John Mitts was born about 1779 and married in Pendleton County Kentucky on Mach 26, 1812, Sarah Conyers. They settled on land in Grant County, Kentucky, but in the fall of 1833, migrated to Illinois and took up residence in Richfield Township, Adams County, where they spent the remainder of their days farming.

4.  Adam Mitts Jr. (1780-1832) married Jane Nichols in Harrison County, Kentucky on April 9, 1810. He remained in the vicinity of Curry Run, Harrison County, Kentucky, longer than any of his brothers. In fact he was the only one of the Mitts brothers to spend his entire adult life within the borders of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. His mother died in 1824, and during the following year he and his family joined his elder brothers in neighboring Grant County. It was not until September 1, 1831, however that he purchased and settled on a farm near Dry Ridge. A few months afterward he died. His widow, Jane (Nichols) Mitts, a native of Montgomery County, Maryland, like her husband, was of German descent. She continued to reside on that farm until her death on October 7, 1854, at the age of 66.

5.  Mary Mitts born about 1782, married Jonathan Marsh in Harrison County, Kentucky on April 7, 1800.

6.  Margaret Mitts (1783-1860) married in Harrison County on April 9, 1805, Simon Nichols, a brother of George Nichols and of Jane (Nichols) Mitts. Shortly thereafter they removed to the Dry Ridge vicinity in present day Grant County, Kentucky, where Simon Nichols acquired considerable acreage. In addition to his agricultural pursuits, Simon Nichols served in Captain Thomas Childers' Company of Kentucky Mounted Volunteer Militia during the War of 1812 and served as the first coroner of Grant County.

7.  Deborah Mitts (1785-1856) accompanied her guardian uncle to Bath County, Kentucky, where she married on June 7, 1804, William G. Cantrall. Soon after their marriage they removed to the vicinity of New London, Huron County, Ohio, and went from thence first to Pickaway County, Ohio, and finally to Illinois. On November 1, 1824, they arrived in Fancy Creek Township, Sangamon County, Illinois, and settled on farmlands on the banks of Cantrall's Creek, where they continued to reside for the remainder of their lives.

8.  Dorothy Mitts (1788-1858) also accompanied her guardian uncle to Bath County, Kentucky and was married there on September 13, 1806, to Abel Powell. They migrated to Pickaway County, Ohio, and from that place went to Sangamon County, Illinois, arriving in Fancy Creek Township on June 27, 1828. Both died on the farm they had settled near Cantrall, Illinois.

9.  Christina Mitts was born about 1790 and never married. She made her home with her mother and her brother, Ada.

10. Cyrus Mitts (1793-1852) was born while the family was enroute to Kentucky. As a lad he joined his guardian uncle, John Alkire, in Bath County, Kentucky. There he married on September 22, 1818, Martha Burbridge. In 1821 he and his family removed to Pickaway County, Ohio, where members of his mother's family had settled in Deer Creek Township. Seven years later they removed to Sangamon County, Illinois, arriving in Fancy Creek Township on June 27, 1828. In August 1852, Cyrus Mitts was killed in an accident near his farm home. A team of horses he was driving became frightened and ran away. In trying to control them, he was thrown under the wagon and its tongue struck him in the back as he fell.

From the files of  Mr. James R. Glacking who passed away in 1999.

Dear Beulah,
In my searches through the web I stumbled upon your wonderful Grant County site and would like to congratulate you on the wealth of information you have managed to compile.

I would however, like to correct one very frequent assumption which we have recently proven wrong: my ancestor Benjamin Nichols is not the son of a Reuben Nichols who came from Germany. As a matter of fact, this Nichols family is not of German descent, but Scottish. My grandmother has always told me so, based on what was told to her. Moreover, she stated that Benjamin’s father was named John. I have tried for a very long time, and recently succeeded, to find out how this German Reuben story came to be. As it turns out according to some of my relatives, that some of our earlier researchers while attempting to find Benjamin’s father (who is one of our brick walls), located this Reuben arriving in New York from Germany. As his arrival date more or less matched what they supposed Benjamin’s father’s arrival would have been (assuming that Benjamin’s father was the immigrant ancestor, again, no proof of that), they couldn’t prove Benjamin’s parentage to Reuben but also couldn’t disprove it, plus the fact that Reuben moved to Maryland where Benjamin was born, it was taken as a most probable ancestor. Somehow over the years, the “most probable” part slipped out from family histories and the assumption turned to accepted fact. However, I have never believed in this story. I have always suspected that as probability goes, we are more likely descendant of the immigrant Simon Nicholls from Scotland, who had a son John (born in Maryland and therefore not the immigrant ancestor), who in turn had a son named Benjamin, born about the same time as our Benjamin, and whose whereabouts the Nicholls researchers could not trace any further after birth – they too believe the same as I. Moreover, my grandmother had also mentioned that we have strong Norwegian blood in the family but she didn’t know exactly where. One more clue of Scottish ties. The Vikings who invaded Scotland and Ireland were mostly of Norwegian extraction, a few Danish – but the greater part of the Danes invaded farther south, in England.

Recently a couple of my cousins joined the Nichols DNA Project and to everyone’s surprise (except mine) the results show that we are genetically related to Simon Nicholls. We do not have proof yet that he was indeed Benjamin’s grandfather, but I believe that this is the most likely scenario. However, we do know that we are related on some level – if not directly to Simon, then to one of his siblings or cousins back in Scotland.

I would greatly appreciate if you could correct the History section for the Nichols Family in your site, as well as any other place mentioning this ancestry (such as the Mitts Family history section). These incorrect assumptions once they gain a life of their own are very hard to put down, but I’m trying my best.

Thanks in advance and kind regards,

Karen Nichols-Rexwall
Sweden
June 21, 2008

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Beulah Wiley Franks
Grant County Coordinator, KY/ALHN