Notes for: Peter B. Haught
Peter B. Haught, presumably a descendant of Paul Haught of Holland, came into Monongalia Co, (W)VA, from Fayette Co, PA, and purchased a farm of 117 acres, on Statler's Run, on Sep 28, 1837. In 1845 he sold this land and lived in Greene Co, PA, for a short time, later relocating to Doddridge County, West Virginia, near the Ritchie County line. As explained below, his exact parentage has not been definitively determined.
According to the 1948 W. B. Haught genealogy, Peter Haught I was born in Rotterdam, Holland in 1720. He married there in about 1747 and sailed from there on the ship Patience, landing at Philadelphia on Sep 9, 1751, with his wife and daughter Elizabeth. Sometime prior to 1755, he settled near the present town of Moorefield, in what is now Hardy County, WV. His son, Peter Haught II, was born in the South Branch valley on July 1, 1755. (This is presumably the Peter Haut, age 95, listed in the 1850 Census of Monongalia County, along with six other household members.) Peter Haught I had another son by a second wife in 1790.
Peter Haught I had three brothers who also came to America: (1) Tobias Haught, who never married; (2) Henry Haught, who had sons John, Nicholas and Peter, the latter killed at Fort Meigs on Feb 23, 1813; and (3) Paul Haught, who is thought to be the ancestor of the Peter B. Haught (1809-1883) of this genealogy.
Paul Haught came to Statler's Run in 1776 and marked a settlement right on a tract of land near the location of his nephew, Peter Haught II, and Richard Tennant. There is no evidence of Paul's return to this settlement right, but two of his sons, John and Jacob, came and claimed the land as heirs of Paul Haught, and had it surveyed on April 6, 1785. Their patent on this tract of 324 acres is dated Oct 25, 1792. On April 4, 1800, they sold 169 acres of the tract to Peter Tennant (son-in-law of Peter Haught I), and on Oct 8, 1804, they sold the remaining 155 acres to Samuel Varner. John Haught and his wife Catherine acknowledged the deed in Monongalia County, while Jacob Haught and his wife Magdaline (Croushour) Haught acknowledged in Fayette Co, PA. John Haught lived in Monongalia County for a few years, owning land on Days Run, and on Dunkard Creek, near Blacksville. His deed for the Dunkard Creek land, to John Johnson, is dated Aug 2, 1806. He moved to Fayette Co, PA. Amos Haught, apparently another son of Paul Haught, was assistant to Samuel Hanway, Surveyor of Monongalia Co, and made two surveys of farm lands in November 1783. Peter Haught, who purchased land on Sandy Creek on March 7, 1815, must have been another son of Paul Haught, as both Peter Haught I and his brother Henry had sons whom they named Peter. [Haught, W. B., "Genealogy of the Haught Family of America," 1948, pp 1, 112 and 165]
Monongalia County marriage records show a marriage between Peter Haught and Elizabeth Jenkins on Aug 16 1803. A marriage bond was issued in Monongalia Co (W)VA on Jan 1 1838 for Peter Hought, Jr. and Rachel Wilson, daughter of William Wilson. The spelling Hought is presumably a variation or misspelling of Haught. ["Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine," Vol 64, No. 11, Nov 1930, p. 705]
Adding to the confusion of the many Peter Haughts in that region at that time is this entry from "Chronicles of Core," p. 5: "Certificates granted by the commissioners for adjusting the claims to unpatented lands on the westernwaters for the county of Monongalia in February, March and April 1781 include the following .... Peter Haught, Senior, 400 acres on Statlers Run, adjoining lands of Henry Smith, to include his improvement made in 1776." Core also makes reference (p. 6) to Richard Tennant, "the ancestor of a very large and important family still living in Monongalia country, came from Glasgow, Scotland, about 1760, selling his time for seven years to pay his passage. About 1769 he married Elizabeth Haught, who was of German descent, at Moorefield, Hardy County, Va.... after serving in the Revolutionary War for a time, came and settled on Jake Statlers Run. His brother-in-law, Peter Haught, came with him." [Core cites Wiley, in "History of Monongalia County, p. 26]
Another Elizabeth Haught of that time is also cited by Core (p. 45): "Elizabeth Piles (nee Haught) died March 18, 1834, aged 49 years, 6 months, and 27 days, and was buried in the Price Cemetery. She was the wife of John Piles, son of Zechariah Piles by his second wife, Susannah." Her age at death would put her birthdate at Aug 19 1784.
Very near the grave of Peter B. Haught is a marker for Nancy L. (Postlewait) Britton, who was born about 1853 in Ritchie County, a daughter of Isaac & Mary Ann (Haught) Postleweight. Mary Ann Haught was born about 1819 in Pennsylvania, parents not known, but thought to be George & Jane (Provence) Haught. But the proximity of her daughter's grave to that of Peter B. Haught would suggest a close relationship, perhaps siblings.
Other researchers have reported the parents of Peter B. Haught variously as [1] Jacob Haught (1767-ca 1849) & Magdalena Croushour (1767-1815), [2] Johan (or John) Peter Haught (ca 1786 - ca 1844) & Sarah Sally Carver (1794-1843), and [3] Paul Haught & unknown. For ourselves, until a definitive connection surfaces, the parents of Peter B. Haught must remain an unsolved mystery.