Lytle Plantation, Randolph County, NC

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PLANTATION NAME:	LYTLE PLANTATION
ASSOCIATED LINK(s):
ORIGINAL OWNER:	Thomas Lytle (ca 1740-1794)
BUILT:

ASSOCIATED SURNAMES:	Lytle, Little, Glover, Stith, Grandison

HISTORY:	Thomas Lytle and his brother Henry were born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, probably in Upper Paxtang Township, which is modernly Dauphin County. It is unclear which of them was older, but both appear to have been born a few years either side of 1740. Their father’s name has never been satisfactorily determined, nor have they been tied through historical records or DNA evidence to other Lytles in the area. The name Lytle is nothing more than the Scottish pronunciation of “Little”, and therefore not uncommon. Many of the other Lytle immigrants arrived with the spelling of “Little” or “Litle”, but the spelling for some of these families changed to match the pronunciation. Thomas and Henry Lytle’s father apparently died at such an early age as to leave behind no written record of his name. No land record or marriage record, will or estate has been found for him in Lancaster County. Their mother, Elizabeth, was soon remarried to John Means (1723-1798), and had five more children, all born in Paxtang Township. It is not clear when the Lytles arrived in North Carolina. They likely came with a group of friends, relatives, and neighbors. There are several land entries for Thomas Lytle (as both “Lytle” and “Little”) in the 1780’s, but it is not certain whether a land entry from 1762 south of Salisbury, in Rowan County, is the same Thomas Lytle. Thomas Lytle appears in the 1761 tax list in Pennsylvania, and is no longer there in the 1779 tax list. Henry Lytle’s daughters, according to family records, were all born in Pennsylvania in the mid 1760’s. Both “Henry Little” and “Thomas Littell” appear in the 1768 tax list for Rowan County, along with other names which may be their relatives. Thomas Lytle and his wife, Catherine King, had no children. However, the provisions of his will and modern DNA tests showing matches of the slaves’ descendants to those of Thomas Lytle’s brother and half-brother, strongly suggest that all of his known slaves were his children (their mother’s name unknown). Thomas Lytle is listed with seven slaves in the 1790 census. Their names are known, so their mother was likely deceased at that time. Those slaves are: Frank, Esther, Joe, Sam, John (Jack), Parker, and Pink. An addendum to Thomas Lytle’s will calls for the oldest, Frank, to be freed at his wife’s death, and the remaining ones at his wife’s death. When Thomas’ executors petitioned the state legislature for Frank’s freedom, they were explicit in asking Frank to have the Lytle name. The Lytle slaves were accounted for by name, as an inventory of the estate around 1828. They are listed by family groups out to three generations, from the women Esther and Pink. It should be noted that Esther and Pink, having had children, were listed here, though both were freed. We know that they were freed, as three of Esther’s children and four of Pink’s children were free by birth, and therefore born after their mothers gained their freedom. The others were sold, to William Hogan and Henry Humphreys:

SLAVE POPULATION:	==================================================== Notes for the seven original slaves: 1. FRANK LYTLE Of the seven slaves freed by Thomas Lytle, Frank (1773-1869) was by far the most prosperous. This was mainly due to his much larger inheritance and by being set free much earlier than the others. As a blacksmith and farmer, he did quite well, as is evidenced by his buying and selling of several tracts of land in Randolph County, involving several hundreds of acres over the years. The mortality schedule of the 1870 federal census tells us that Frank died in September of 1869, and his age was given as 95. (Longevity is still evidenced in his descendants today). At this time he was still in possession of the original 200 acres assigned to him by Thomas Lytle, with the exception of 65 acres which were sold to his daughter, Dorcas Swaney. 2. ESTHER LYTLE Esther Lytle (about 1775-about 1827) must have been very close in age to Frank, and it is even possible that she was older, but that Frank was freed first due to his being a man and able to make his own living independently. Esther’s age is estimated from the fact that by 1828 her oldest daughter Nancy had seven children and her next daughter had six children. Assuming a child every two years, starting at age 15 or 16, Nancy was probably born before 1800, perhaps about 1795. Esther would be 15 or 20 years older. Esther does not show up in any census record by name, but is no doubt one of Thomas’ seven slaves in the 1790 census. It is unknown who fathered her children, but she may not have begun to have children before Thomas died. Esther had seven daughters and five sons. The youngest four children were born free, as Esther was freed before their births. 3. JOSEPH LYTLE Joseph, or “Joe” Lytle, was born around 1780. There is no further mention of Joe after he was freed. 4. SAM LYTLE Sam Lytle was likely born around 1783. In the 1830 census, the numbers indicate he is living with a wife, four sons, and three daughters. He and his family have not been found after this census. 5. PARKER LYTLE Parker Lytle’s birth date is unknown. He is mentioned only once, in estate papers, and has not been found in any census or other record. 6. JOHN “Jack” LYTLE Jack Lytle was born around 1787. His wife was named Hannah. They and their family are found in Randolph County. Census records for Randolph County show the family there in 1840 and 1850. They had at least eight sons and three daughters. The daughters are not listed in the 1850 census. In 1860, the widow Hannah and some of the sons are found in the census for Ross County, Ohio. It is not known whether Jack died in North Carolina or Ohio. Two of his sons served in the Union Army during the Civil War, in the “Colored Troops”. 7. PINK LYTLE Pink Lytle was probably born around 1788. This is estimated from census records the number of children she had. Pink had six children born into slavery by 1812, and five children born free after being freed herself. She is found in the census records through 1840, and died before 1850. Like her sister Esther, it is unknown who fathered her children. ----------------------- Here is a typewritten summary of the families, except for Frank, whose descendants are in the hundreds (his wife and subsequent generations were considered white by the mid 1800’s). 2. ESTHER LYTLE, born about 1775; freed in 1816 Nancy, born about 1795; sold to Henry Humphreys Children: Elizabeth "Betsy", born about 1810; sold to Henry Humphreys Samuel, born about 1825; sold to Henry Humphreys Branson, born about 1812; sold to Henry Humphreys Mary "Polly", born about 1814; sold to Henry Humphreys Henry, born about 1816; sold to Henry Humphreys Christina, born about 1818; no further record, may have died Sarah, born about 1820; sold to Henry Humphreys Litty, born about 1822; sold to Henry Humphreys Esther, born about 1824; sold to Henry Humphreys Alford, born about 1826; sold to Henry Humphreys Nancy, born about 1828; sold to Henry Humphreys Sally, born about 1796; sold to Henry Humphreys Children: Sam, born about 1815; sold to Henry Humphreys Cynthia, born about 1817; sold to Henry Humphreys Andrew "Andy", born about 1819; sold to Henry Humphreys Frederick, born about 1821; sold to Henry Humphreys Ben, born about 1823; sold to Henry Humphreys Henderson, born about 1825; sold to Henry Humphreys Moses, born about 1827; sold to Henry Humphreys Margaret "Peggy", born about 1797; sold to Henry Humphreys Children: Esther, born about 1814; sold to Henry Humphreys Robert "Bob", born 1815?; sold to Henry Humphreys; this may be Bob Lytle/Littler who appears in the 1850 and 1860 census: wife, Elizabeth, born 1814, son William, b. 1834, dau. Julia, b. 1835 Ebalina, no further record, may have died Sally Ann, born about 1820; sold to Henry Humphreys Fanny, born about 1800; sold to William Hogan Children: Esther, no further record, may have died Zenith LYTLE, born about 1828; somehow free, married Henry STITH: Jane STITH, born about 1848, married James GLOVER: Amy E. GLOVER, born about 1866 John L. GLOVER, born about 1867 William P. GLOVER, born about 1869 Cornelia STITH, born about 1850 John, born about 1825; sold to Henry Humphreys Polly (Mary?), born about 1805; sold to William Hogan Children: Parker, no further record, may have died Reuben, born about 1825; sold to William Hogan Catharine "Kate", born about 1808; sold to Henry Humphreys Child: Esther, born about 1825; sold to Henry Humphreys George, born about 1810; sold to William Hogan John, born about 1815; sold to William Hogan Temple LYTLE, born free in 1818 Kizziah LYTLE, born free about 1820 Calvin LYTLE, born free about 1822, married Julia Ann PHILLIPS in 1843 Jane LYTLE; Child: Harris LYTLE, born about 1858 Tom LYTLE, born free, died about 1825 3. JOSEPH "Joe" LYTLE, born about 1780, no known children 4. SAM LYTLE, born about 1783, no known children 6. JOHN "Jack" LYTLE, born about 1787, freed in 1816, married Hannah Stephen LYTLE, born about 1823, served in the Civil War John LYTLE, born about 1825 Joseph LYTLE, born about 1827 Franklin LYTLE, born about 1832 James LYTLE, born about 1833 Alfred LYTLE, born about 1835 Solomon LYTLE, born about 1840, died in the Civil War 7. PINK LYTLE, born about 1788 Anna LYTLE, born about 1805; sold to William Hogan Child: Rufin LYTLE, born about 1825; sold to William Hogan Rebecca "Beck", born about 1806; sold to William Hogan Lydia, born about 1808; sold to William Hogan Charles, born about 1809; sold to William Hogan Sandy, born about 1811; sold to William Hogan Sylvia, born about 1813; sold to William Hogan Andrew, born about 1815; no further record, may have died Jesse LYTLE, born free about 1817, married Mary: Children: Luezer LYTLE (female), born about 1843 George LYTLE, born about 1845 Alexander LYTLE, born about 1847 Mary LYTLE, born about 1851 Tabitha LYTLE, born about 1854 William C. LYTLE, born about 1856 John H. LYTLE, born about 1858 Laura LYTLE, born about 1860 Jane Y. "Jenny" Lytle, born free, about 1819; several children, then married Alfred Chavis Children: Tom LYTLE Alexander LYTLE, born about 1837 Sandy H. LYTLE, born about 1839 Jesse LYTLE, born about 1841, died 1922, married Maria HOOVER: Joseph LYTLE, born about 1857, married Lucy: Clarence LYTLE, born about 1883 Samuel LYTLE, born about 1885 Harold LYTLE, born about 1888 Beatrice LYTLE, born about 1894 Louisa LYTLE, born about 1899 Dora C. LYTLE, born about 1864, married Charles W. GRANDISON: Beaulah GRANDISON, born about 1884, married A. W. BELOE James LYTLE, born about 1869 William F. LYTLE, born about 1873 Louisa LYTLE, born about 1842, married George H. McCAIN in 1868: Cornelia McCAIN, born about 1863 (who's her father?) Martitia LYTLE, born about 1842 William F. LYTLE, born about 1844, married Mary HOOVER Lucy Ann LYTLE, born about 1844 Sally E. Lytle, born free about 1818 Mary S. Lytle, born free about 1821
RESEARCH NOTES:	I have lots of records of the Lytle Plantation of Randolph County. It was referred to by that name at least once. Thomas Lytle had seven slaves. All were eventually freed but not all of their children were. The seven were: Frank, Esther, Joe, Sam, Jack, Parker and Pink. I have approximate birthdates for all of them. Esther and Pink had children and grandchildren who were sold and/or freed. I enclose two original images from an 1828 court case in Randolph County listing these two women and their children. They are organized by family groups, and I can clarify them in more detail if need be. Thomas Lytle bought the land around 1765 and died there in 1794. His widow and all the slaves were on the land until the estate was settled around 1828. The land would have been in Rowan County until Guilford was split off in 1771, and there until Randolph was split off in 1779. I have traced the descendants of a few branches, mostly Frank, to the present days. Frank’s descendants are today all considered white; the other branches are all African-American. Regards, Rik Vigeland Canby, Oregon
MISCELLANEOUS:	File submitted by Rik Vigeland ; Will of Thomas Lytle 1794, WB 2,Pg. 2