John Chilton (d-1744)

Research done is as follows:

John Chilton, son of Mark and Sarah (Keys) Chilton, described himself as a planter of Prince William County when on 17-18 July 1733 he sold to Richard Blackburn 764 acres which had been granted to his deceased father on 15 Feb. 1728. On 18-19 Sept. 1733 he sold to Blackburn another tract granted to his father 24 Feb. 1728/9.

He sold to Thomas Chilton, Gent., of Cople Parish, Westmoreland County, the 102 acres on Powell's Run by deeds dated 21-22 Nov. 1733. By 11-12 Aug. 1738, when he sold to William Davis his half of the 800 acres patented by Mark Chilton and William Linton, he had moved to Prince George's Co., Md.

Although the records are not specific, it was undoubtedly this John Chilton who died in 1744 in Prince William County. On 26 March 1744 James Turner gave bond for 50 as administrator of John Chilton. The inventory of his estate was made 31 March 1744 and showed a valuation of 12.7.0.

No record of his marriage or children has been found but it is likely that he was the father of the several Chiltons who were mentioned in the Loudoun County records a generation later:

1 Mark... married first Mary ----, then Rachel ---. Died 1801/2.
2 Charles. He married Nancy ----.  Died 1795. 
3 William. Admin. to brother, John's, estate in 1767.
4 John.  He married Martha ----, died in 1767.
5 George. married first Sarah ----, then Ann Owsley. Died 1771.
6 Thomas. married Jane ----. Died 1808.
-John Frederick Dorman, The Chilton Families of Virginia and Maryland, Vol 15, # 1, 1971.
Thomas Chilton, of Cople Parish, b. 1699; d. 1775; in 1733 Thomas bought a large tract of land in Prince William County, Va., from John, son of Mark Chilton (supposed to be a brother of the first John of Westmoreland). Deed recorded in Prince William County. "John Chilton, planter, to Thomas Chilton, of Westmoreland County, Va., a tract of land on south side of Powell's Run in this county." -Colonial Families of the United States, page 90-91.

A summary of what happened to this family might be helpful. It appears the family stayed close together until after the son, John Chilton, died in 1767. Within two years, Charles and Thomas had moved south to Pittsylvania and Halifax Counties, Virginia. The last mention of William was found in 1769. George died in 1771 and his wife eventually remarried. The oldest son, Mark Chilton, stayed until John's wife, Martha, died in 1772. By this time her children were old enough to take care of themselves. Mark had joined Charles and Thomas in southern Virginia by the following year. It appears that the children of John Chilton (died 1767) were the only ones who stayed in the area.

This closeness gives added credence that they were in the same family. They physically lived close to each other. It was only through death that they began to move to different locals. And even then they moved together.


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(c) 1999, Jeff Carter