Robert Luttrell: Virginia Militia

Robert Luttrell is the great-great-grandfather of John Daniel Littrell.

Robert Luttrell, was listed as a member of Captain John Ball's Company of Fauquier County, Virginia Militia. ^{1 i}

In the same source as for Robert above there is also a Rodhom Luttrell (spelling may vary). This is not the son of Robert as he would have been just 8 years old in 1775. ⁱⁱ We believe that he is an unidentified cousin or uncle of Robert, probably the namesake relative of Robert's son, Rodhom, our ancestor. ²

So far there is nothing to indicate that during Robert’s activation the company did more than local activities of muster.

1 We have little information on Robert and Capt. Ball's Company.

2 Since some have identified Robert as the step-father of the younger Rodhom, not his biological father, it is also possible that this is the younger Rodhom's real father.

i John P. Alcock, #32 Fauquier County: 1759-1799, We have little information on Robert and Capt. Ball's Company.

ii Some youths did travel with and serve in some position as drummers or horse groomers, but there is little reason to suggest that here. In addition, in spite of traveling with cousins who were veterans claiming Veteran Land Grants we never find record of our Rodhom, Robert's son, doing so.

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The above information is from: Military Role Call: The Littrell Family of Mississippi County, Missouri, The Littrell Family Journals Volume IV. (click here)
also:  Littrell Family Veterans Video

reposted from 2016:  32

Family Members Serving In the War Of 1812:

The John Lantroop described here is the
great-great-grand-Uncle of our grandpa John.

“Beginning in 1813, Virginians suffered from a British naval blockade of the Chesapeake Bay and from British troops plundering the countryside by the Bay and along the James, Rappahannock, and Potomac rivers. The Virginia militia deflected a British attempt to take Norfolk in 1813, and engaged British forces throughout the war.” http://www.historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HM1HB6_the-war-of-1812-winfield-scott_Dinwiddie-VA.html

Records show that John Lanthrop (Lantrip, Landtroop) of Dinwiddie County, Virginia served during the War of 1812:

• John Landtroop, Pvt. 83 Regiment (Scott’s) Virginia Militia, Roll Box 121, Microfilm M602   (The 83rd was a State Militia unit out of Dinwiddie County, Virginia)
• John Landtroop, Pvt., 6 Regiment Virginia Militia, Roll Box 121, Microfilm M602   (The 6th was a Federal Militia ???)

It appears that the two above may be two separate persons serving in two separate units, or perhaps the same person serving in two separate units. The limited information we have at the moment gives us no dates of service or discharge, but our John Lantrhop did come from Dinwiddie County, Virginia.

According to the Society of the War of 1812 in Virginia a company of the 83rd Regiment was attached to the 6th Virginia Regiment once the 83rd reached the Norfolk, Virginia area. For this reason many of the 83rd appeared on the muster/pay rolls of both units. They were on the state militia payroll for their duty with the 83rd and were on the Federal payroll when attached to the 6th.

note: see Battle of Norfolk:

Since John appears on the roles of both the 6th Regiment and the 83rd Regiment we can assume that he was at the formation of the 83rd in Dinwiddie County, marched with the unit to Norfolk, Virginia, where the commander of American forces was preparing for the siege/battle of Norfolk. In April 1813 the commander combined and divided all forces gathered there into 3 new regiments, one of which was the 6th Regiment. From this we know he was at the Battle of Norfolk. We do not know if the 6th Regiment was engaged in hostilities on Craney Island or the taking of Hampton,  or entrenched in the defense of Norfolk.

John had a son also named John, but he died in 1810.

From “Soldiers of the War of 1812 (Research Notes Number 19)” Library of Virginia:

“In his reminiscences, Captain Henry Brush described with precision what newly enlisted recruits wore during the War of 1812. Soldiers were outfitted for service in unbleached, tow-linen hunting shirts and trousers. On their heads they wore low-crown hats, on the left side of which were black cockades about two inches in diameter. A small silver eagle (about the size of a quarter) was fastened in the center of each cockade. Each soldier strapped a leather girdle around his waist, where he carried a tomahawk, a knife, a cartridge box, a bayonet, and a quart-sized tin canteen. He was armed with a musket and shouldered a linen knapsack with a blanket lashed to the top. Both were covered with oilcloth to protect them from wet weather. A soldier’s arms and pack together weighed about thirty-five pounds, and troops traveled an average of twenty-five miles a day on foot. Writing home to his wife, one soldier confessed:  “My limbs were so stiff and sore at the end of each day’s march that I could hardly walk… ”

A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped
symbol of distinctive colors which is usually worn on a hat.

Stationed at Fort Norfolk 1812 to 1815

The Virginia Militia line infantry were issued smooth bore flint lock muskets. The uniform for the line infantry was a blue hunting frock with red trim, and blue pants with red trim. The hat was a round hat with a cockade and a red and black plum. The men were required to provide their own uniform.

The Virginia Militia was the beginning of the Virginia National Guard. They were farmers, shop workers, and the average men of Virginia. Every male citizen of Virginia between the ages of 18 and 45 years old was required by law to be a member of the militia They would be assigned to a militia company within their county and would drill with this unit about once a month to learn how to be a militia soldier. The companies would be called up by the company captain's name and county. Everyone in that company would report for active duty. Each company would have about 100 men in the company.

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Note
Part of index to: Pay Rolls of Militia Entitled to Land Bounty Under the Act of Congress of Sept. 28, 1850 (Richmond, 1851) and: Muster Rolls of the Virginia Militia in the War of 1812 (Richmond, 1852) which supplements Pay Rolls. This collection is also available on microfilm.
War of 1812 pay rolls and muster rolls.

Muster Rolls, p.679
Pay Rolls, p.156
Muster Rolls, p.210

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The above is new information for the Littrell Family “Military Roll Call”. Once research is completed John will be added to MRC.

reposted from 2016: 57

Richard Luttrell, Jr.:Virginia Militia

Richard is not a direct ancestor of ours. He is the brother of
Grandpa John’s great-great-grandfather, Robert Luttrell.

Pvt. Luttrell served under Major George Rogers Clark in the successful campaign northwest of the Ohio in 1778-79 (The old Northwest Territory) during the American Revolution. His service earned him two land grants following the war.

In July 1778, Col. Clark's militia including Richard Luttrell and about 175 men crossed the Ohio River at Fort Massac and marched to Kaskaskia, taking it on the night of July 4. Cahokia, Vincennes, and several other villages and forts in British territory were subsequently captured without firing a shot, because most of the French-speaking and American Indian inhabitants were unwilling to take up arms on behalf of the British. To counter the militia advance, Henry Hamilton reoccupied Vincennes with a small force. In February 1779, Clark's militia returned to Vincennes in a surprise winter expedition and retook the town, capturing Hamilton in the process.

In 1980 Richard would be appointed Ensign in the Fauquier Militia by Thomas Jefferson.

The above information is from: Military Role Call: The Littrell Family of Mississippi County, Missouri, The Littrell Family Journals Volume IV. (click here)
also:  Littrell Family Veterans Video

reposted from 2016: 41

When did James Luttrell (Latterell) arrive in America?

James Loterell, Lotterell, Luttrell, Littrell, Captain William Piper, Captain Robinson

Our first proven ancestor to America was James Luttrell, LOTERILL, LITTRELL who was transported to Northumberland County, Virginia  in 1671. Since that time the name has been found in recordings spelled several various ways, i.e.  LITREL(L), LITTREAL, LUTRAL, LUTERAL, LUTREALL, LUTTERAL, LUTTREALL, LITTRELL, LOTERILL.  In fact, the surname in the final estate settlement proceedings of James LOTERILL in Northumber1and County, Virginia is spelled "LITTRELL" and. "LUTTRELL".

James Luttrell died in 1698. Court held 15 July 1698 in Northumberland County, Virginia and  20 July 1698, shows the intestate proceedings of James Luttrell's estate in 1698, adm. by his wife, Susannah. A Parish record indicates that after Susannah's death [c.1707] a guardian is appointed for one of her sons [John, apparently not of age]. The guardian's named is John Tullous.  Northumberland County, Virginia, Order Book 1678-98, page 827: Court held 15 July 1698 and Order Book 1678-98, page 828: Court held 20 July 1698. Which shows the intestate proceedings of James Luttrell's estate in 1698, adm. by his wife, Susannah.

Many have speculated on the connection between the Luttrell’s and John Tullous, but in spite of some conclusions put forth by some there is no evidence defining or establishing that relationship.

For decades the children of James and Susannah have been identified as: Richard, James, John, and Thomas. Thomas is identified as the Warden in St. Ann's Parish in Maryland, but the evidence has not survived the original claim.

Researchers have always identified James as the indentured servant James Loterell, who arrived in Maryland in 1677 on Captain William Piper's ship [1 of 17], as the father of Richard and three brothers. Our line of the family has always been identified as descending from James’s son Richard. After his arrival it isn’t until the probate papers for James in 1698 that we find our James Luttrell, AKA James Loterell, 21 years later. The probate papers of James has him as 'a land owner and Tobacco planter' in Northumberland Co., Virginia [not a great distance from Maryland].

There is, however, a problem with the identification of James Luttrell as the immigrant aboard William Piper’s ship and that is the discovery of another James Luttrell. Six years earlier another James Luttrell, AKA James Latterell, arrived in America as an indentured servant aboard Captain Laurance Robinson’s ship.

So with that in mind lets examine which one is most likely to be the land owner and Tobacco planter' in Northumberland Co., Virginia who died in 1698.

1677 Captain Piper’s James Loterill: the Maryland James [#5198]  Previously believed to be the Tobacco Planter. What has been overlooked is that Captain Piper delivered his 'cargo' to the shores of Maryland, but in order for him to receive his bounty land he was supposed to deliver them to Virginia. He subsequently sold his rights to the cargo to a Captain Walker. This transpired in 1677, but what did Captain Walker do with his new Bond Servants?. In order for the James on Captain Piper's ship to be the Northumberland James he would have had only 21 years to complete his term as an indentured servant (usually seven years barring any penalties), raise capital and purchase land, and rise to the level of 'a land owner and Tobacco planter'. Such a rise would have had to occur in 14 years following his servitude, not an impossible task, but likely?

1671 Captain Robinson's James Latterell: the Virginia James [#5222] James arrived as 1 of 27 indentured servants aboard the ship of Captain Laurance Robinson’s ship in 1671. Captain Robinson delivered his cargo to Northumberland, Virginia and received payment [1350 acres] for his cargo on March 23, 1671. This earlier arrival date gives him an additional 7 years to obtain his freedom and establish his position. In the absence of contrary evidence it appears that the James Latterell who arrived in 1671 is most probably our James Luttrell (m. Susannah), who died in Virginia in 1698.

With a James Luttrell in Maryland and our James Luttrell in Virginia what do we make of the previous identification of the 4 brothers: James, John, Thomas, and Richard? We know that our James had at least two sons, John and Richard. We have no evidence that there were not also two other sons James and Thomas, but we assume that the Thomas in Maryland is the son of the Maryland James Luttrell.

Thomas's position would seem indicate that his father James remained in Maryland. This indication could be wrong, Thomas could have returned to Maryland as a young adult and eventually obtained his position, but the more probable conclusion is that he was born and raised in Maryland.

Did the Maryland James Luttrell have other sons besides Thomas? We don’t know because we don’t know to what degree the two immigrants were mingled into one person. We do find other Luttrell’s in Maryland but have not identified their connections as we know our ancestor, Richard Luttrell, is a Virginian. What became of the Maryland James is speculative at this point.

A more probable scenario would be that the James Latterell [#5222] arriving as 1 of 27 indentured servants aboard the ship of Capt. Laurance Robinson in 1671 is the Northumberland County, Virginia James Luttrell. Capt. Robinson received payment [1350 acres] for his cargo on 3-23-1671. The delivery point of this 'cargo' and earlier arrival date makes it more likely that this is the Northumberland James Luttrell [& Susannah]:

more on James Luttrell and Captain Robinson.

Robinson, Laurance. Publication 23 March 1671/1672. Location:
Northumberland County.
Description: 1350 acres on a fresh water branch of Muddy Creek, adjoining the land of Griffin Savage &c. Source: Land Office Patents No. 6, 1666-1679 (pt.1 & 2 p.1-692), p. 390 (Reel 6).

Indentured Servitude and Colonial Migration: James Luttrell

It was imperative that the colonial population continually increase. The landed gentry and English investors needed both labor and exploration to increase the value of their colonial investments. The early reputation of the colonies as a brutal and unforgiving environment did not encourage a working class migration.

In an attempt to increase the population of the colonies a system of “headrights” was established. Any adventurer willing to pay his own passage to the colonies was to receive 50 acres of Virginia land. Any person who paid the passage for someone else would receive the grant for that persons 50 acres. (Thus when James Luttrell was transported by Captain Robinson along with 27 others, Captain Robinson received 1350 acres (27X50=1350)).

“Indentured servants were men and women who signed a contract (also known as an indenture or a covenant) by which they agreed to work for a certain number of years in exchange for transportation to Virginia and, once they arrived, food, clothing, and shelter. Adults usually served for four to seven years and children sometimes for much longer, with most working in the colony's tobacco fields. With a long history in England, indentured servitude became, during most of the seventeenth century, the primary means by which Virginia planters filled their nearly inexhaustible need for labor. At first, the Virginia Company of London paid to transport servants across the Atlantic, but with the institution of the headright system in 1618, the company enticed planters and merchants to incur the cost with the promise of land. As a result, servants flooded into the colony, where they were greeted by deadly diseases and often-harsh conditions that killed a majority of newcomers and left the rest to the mercy of sometimes-cruel masters. The General Assembly passed laws regulating contract terms, as well as the behavior and treatment of servants. Besides benefiting masters with long indentures, these laws limited servant rights while still allowing servants to present any complaints in court. By the end of the seventeenth century, the number of new servants in Virginia had dwindled, and the colony's labor needs were largely met by enslaved Africans. …”  Indentured Servants in Colonial Virginia / by Brendan Wolfe and Martha McCartney

While this system encouraged migration to the colonies it along with a high mortality rate among servants failed to produce the numbers needed to sustain growth in the colonies.

The 27 persons that arrived in Northumberland County, Virginia in 1617 were “transported” there by Captain Laurance Robinson. We do not know where their voyage originated nor do we know the name of the vessel they traveled on. It is save to assume that they migrated from either England or Ireland. What we do know about their voyage is explained by examining the language used to describe their arrival, in particular the word “transported”.

The term “transported” had a specific connotation in 17th century Great Britain. It meant someone was banished, exiled, or deported.

The practice of the English government sending condemned men to serve their sentence in the penal colonies of Australia is well known, but the use of the practice to populate the American Colonies is virtually ignored in American History, even though upwards of 50,000 men were so condemned from 1614 to 1775. The use of the American Colonies to empty the prisons of England ended with Colonial independence. It never reached the numbers and notoriety of the use of criminals to populate Australian penal colonies established to replace the American Colonies.

The fact that an ancestor was a transported indentured person should not be taken as a shameful situation, even if their servitude was a result of a ‘criminal’ offense. These  ‘transported’ individuals may have been considered criminals in their time , but it is important to remember that those crimes could have been political, religious, or by today’s standards, trivial.

“From nearly the first landing on the American shores up until 1776 and the Revolution, the British first through a black market type system, then by a government sanctioned (Transportation Act of 1718) policy systematically emptied the gaols of felons not convicted of what we would now call “high crimes.” Petty theft, prostitution, robbery, arson, and bigamy were offenses that could land you in America the hard way. They filled boats arriving from America with tobacco (imagine the smell) with these convicts destined to serve their sentence in the plantations of Maryland and Virginia. Additionally, and not incidentally, the British also “transported” (that was the official sentence) political prisoners, POWs, and others not committing crimes.”      Convicts Transported to Colonial America | Bibliography

For example:

• poverty was a crime, as was being in debt
• one of many ‘myths’ surrounding George Washington was that he was taught to read by a transported convict who had been a schoolmaster
• one gentleman of high birth was transported for stealing books out of a library (no nickel fines there).
• bigamy

So, from what we understand of the terminology and history of the time we may conclude that our ancestor, James Luttrell, came from an impoverished background, may have been expelled to the colonies for some transgression, was probably very young* when he arrived, and in spite of these disadvantages raised himself up to be a land owner and tobacco farmer after obtaining his freedom from servitude.

additional source: Indentured Servants In The U.S

*orphans and some boys were put into servitude by their impoverished parents.

Convict Labor During the Colonial Period

Contributed by Emily Jones Salmon

In 1615, English courts began to send convicts to the colonies as a way of alleviating England's large criminal population. This practice was unpopular in the colonies and by 1697 colonial ports refused to accept convict ships. In response, Parliament passed the Transportation Act of 1718 to create a more systematic way to export convicts. Instead of relying on merchants to make arrangements on their own to ship felons to the colonies, the British government subsidized the shipment of convicts through a network of merchants, giving a contract for the service to one individual at a time. Between 1700 and 1775, approximately 52,200 convicts sailed for the colonies, more than 20,000 of them to Virginia. Most of these convicts landed and were settled along the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. Although many were unskilled and thus put to work in agriculture, particularly tobacco production, others with skills were sold to tradesmen, shipbuilders, and iron manufacturers, and for other similar occupations. Convict laborers could be purchased for a lower price than indentured white or enslaved African laborers, and because they already existed outside society's rules, they could be more easily exploited. Nevertheless, Virginia tried repeatedly to pass laws to prevent England from sending convicts, though those laws were overturned by the Crown. At the beginning of the American Revolution (1775–1783), colonial ports virtually ceased accepting convict ships. By 1776, when the last boatload of convicts arrived on the James River, many of the convicts had served their seven-to-fourteen-year terms and returned to Great Britain, while others had become honest citizens and blended into Virginia's colonial economy. MORE...

Fauquier County Luttrells: James Lotterell, died about 1698

Who are the Fauquier County Luttrells?
James Lotterell landed as an indentured servant on the shores of Northumberland County, Virginia, our first American ancestor. He served out his period of servitude and settled in an area that would become Fauquier County, Virginia.
He and the family he raised are our first ancestors and we will present their history in Fauquier County collectively until our direct ancestor migrates from the area.

James Lotterell was delivered directly to the shores of Northumberland County, Virginia by Captain Robinson. One of twenty-seven indentured servants, was delivered to the shores  by Captain Laurance Robinson who received payment [1350acres] for his cargo (the indentured servants) on 3-23-1671. James married Susannah and by the time of his death (1698) was "a land owner and Tobacco planter" with a sizable estate. James had at least two sons, Richard Lutterell, of Fauquier County, Virginia and John Luttrell [#3077] of Northumberland County Virginia. By the time of Susannah's death in about 1707 John Tullous is appointed as guardian for John (still a minor). The appointment of John Tullous as guardian has led many to assume that Susannah's maiden name was Tullous, but this assumption is

Our Ancestral Movements: From Virginia to Missouri

While we have been developing the story of the family’s Missouri migration from Lawrence County, Tennessee to the bootheel region of Missouri  we have seen more information falling in place on earlier migration stories:

• We know our Littrell cousin’s we’re at the founding of Boonesborough and the blazing of the Wilderness Road with Daniel Boone. They came through the Cumberland Gap as some of the first settlers in Kentucky.
• We know that our Littrell ancestor and his cousins migrated to Kentucky, and then to Tennessee, eventually settling in the same areas as other families that were their neighbors in Virginia.
• We know that our Littrell ancestor and his neighbors and cousins also came through the Cumberland Gap and were among the first settlers to the area around the, then nonexistent, community of Dunnville, Kentucky.
• We know that some of our Ezell Cousins, traveling with the Bumpass Party from Union County, South Carolina would be amongst the first settlers in the area of Giles County. An area that would eventually grow to be the town of Pulaski, the county seat of the newly expanded Giles County, Tennessee. Possibly also coming through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky then Nashville, Tennessee.
• We know that our Littrell ancestor from Dunnville, Kentucky and some of his cousins and neighbors would be amongst the first settlers in the newly formed county of Lawrence. Settling just miles from the Giles County, Tennessee settlers. Some of these settlers would be from the same families that migrated with our Littrell ancestor into Kentucky.
• We know that our Ezell ancestor, along with our Belew and Comer ancestors and some of their other Union County, South Carolina neighbors would move into the same area as our Littrell ancestor in Lawrence County, Tennessee just miles from their Ezell cousins and uncles in Giles County, Tennessee.
• We know that the same descendants of those Littrell, Comer, Belew, and Ezell families, and their neighbors would once again migrate into the same neighborhoods in another state. This time into the bootheel area of Missouri (see also) during the Great Depression leaving over a hundred years after their ancestors settled Tennessee. (see more)

These Virginia and South Carolina neighbors lived within miles of each other in their original neighborhoods and then in their new neighborhoods in Kentucky and Tennessee they once again were neighbors, and again in Missouri. In some cases they belonged to the same churches as each other in their state of origin and state of destination. They inter married with the same neighbors in both states and left families in their old neighborhoods with each migration. We can identify some moves as a group and some that were individual families moving over short periods of time.