A Lost Marriage:
Winston Shiflet and Mary Hatton
written by
Julia Crosswell
Information provided by David Hutchinson bhutchinson@mail.comet.net INVALID and Floyd Pace
The Story
Winston and Anderson R. Shiflett were the only two children of Joel and Sally (Grady) Shiflet. Winston was born in Albemarle County c.1790. He volunteered to serve in the War of 1812 in Albemarle County about April of 1813. By September, he was in Princess Anne County, where he met
Mary Hatton. Whether he already knew Mary, or this was a wartime romance, we can only wonder. In her pension application, Mary describes Winston as “rather large, six feet high, about 25 years old, a farmer born in Albemarle.”
We find a court document concerning Mary in Princess Anne County:
“At a court held for Princess Anne County the 6th day of
September 1813. Mary Hatton orphan of Thomas Hatton deceased, this
day made choice of John Robins as her guardian, who gave bond and
security according to Law.”
Four days later, on the 10th, a marriage bond was issued for Winston and Mary. John Robbins, her guardian, acted as surety. In her pension application, Mary states that she and Winston were married in the city of Norfolk, Norfolk County. Their honeymoon was barely over, however, when Winston died at Norfolk Borough, VA“in service” about the 15th day of November. Mary remained in Norfolk until March of the following year when she traveled to Albemarle County to live with Joel and Sally Shiflett.
Winston's parents must have thought highly of Mary, however brief
the marriage, because Winston's father signed as surety on the marriage
bond of Mary Hatton Shiflett, widow, to John S. Amiss on 31 July 1816 in
Albemarle Co. Even more telling, Winston's mother included a legacy
for Mary Amiss in her will, which she wrote sometime after 1838, more
than 25 years after Mary's marriage to her son. John Amiss died in November of 1885 and Mary Amiss filed a pension application against Winston's War of 1812 service on 26 Feb 1886. Mary and her second husband, John Amiss, are buried at the New Bethel Methodist Church Cemetery in Woodridge, Albemarle County, VA.
above information
would not be available to Shiflet researchers. What Shiflett researcher
would have thought to look in Norfolk County for a marriage
bond? Although the Winston Shiflet and Mary Hatton line is a dead end
for Shiflet genealogists (we think), this story highlights the importance of contact with
other researchers and the free exchange of information, which is
what these pages are all about!
Sources:
1. Researchers should not confuse this Winston Shiflet, son of Joel and Sally (Grady) Shiflet with the Winston Shiflett, b.c. 1792 on the Albemarle
/Orange County line who m. Mildred Shiflett, daughter of Bland Shiflett,
around 1812. This Winston also served in the War of 1812 but survived;
however his parents are unknown. He and Mildred had eight known children: Burnace (Bernard) b. 1816; Harrison Martin, b. 1818; Matilda b. 1826, Bird (Byrd) b. 1828, Louisa b. 1834, Diana b. 1836/7, Cary A. b. 1850, and Polly Ann b.c. 1820.
2. Shiflet (and variant spellings) 1700 to 1900. Extracted and Compiled by L.F. Shifflett and Barbara Shifflett Hensley. 1995.
3. Guardian Bond. Princess Anne County.
4. Claimant's Affidavit. Mary Hatton (Shifflet) Amiss's Widow's Pension File from the War of 1812.
5. Albemarle County Marriage Bond, 31 July 1816. Minister's return, 1 Aug 1816.
6. Albemarle County Will Book #17, pg. 87.
7. 1860 Augusta Co. Census, Family 741 page 23
| Name | Age | Occupation | Birthplace |
| Amiss, Richard | 29 | B. & Shoemaker | Culpepper, Va. |
| Amiss, Mary C. | 27 | | Culpepper, Va. |
| Amiss, George | 2 | | Aug. Co., Va. |
Image submitted by Floyd R. Pace.
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This page is part of the
Shiflet Family Genealogy Website and is maintained by:
Julia Crosswell / Fort Worth, TX / 1998 - 2006
Robert
Klein / Pasadena, MD / 2008 - present