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Biographies

The Duvall Family

By Steven R. Butler, Ph.D.

Introduction | Mareen Duvall | Lewis Duvall

It is a verifiable fact that Elizabeth Duvall, my fourth great-grandmothers on my mother's side of the family, was married on Christmas Day 1817, in Laurens County, South Carolina, to one of my fourth great- grandfathers, Thomas Davis. Although I have no documentary evidence of Elizabeth Duvall's parentage, I believe, based on my DNA matches to other Duvall descendants, that Elizabeth was almost certainly a daughter of a man named Lewis Duvall, who resided in Laurens County, South Carolina during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. I also believe, despite a lack of documentary evidence, that the aforesaid Lewis Duvall was almost certainly a descendent (grandson or great-grandson) of the well-known Mareen or Marin Duvall, "the immigrant," of Ann Arundel County, Maryland.

Mareen or Marin Duvall, "The Immigrant"
Died 1694)

From Charles H. Browning, ed., The American Historical Register and Monthly Gazette of the Patriotic Hereditary Societies of the United States of America (Philadelphia: he Historical Register Publishing Company, I895), pp. 1474-6.

Marin Du Val, usually written Mareen Duval, the first emigrant and ancestor ofthe American Duvals, Duvalls and DuVails-for the name is spelled in several ways among his descendants-was a French Huguenot, who having fled from Normandy, his native land, on account of religious persecution to England, about the middle of the seventeenth century emigrated to this country and settled in Maryland, in what is now Prince George's county. The exact year of his arrival is not certainly known, but on August 25,1659, a tract of land on the south side of South river, Anne Arundel county, was surveyed for him and called "La Val" or "Du Val," containing many acres, to which he acquired a title. This was resurveyed September 9, 1765, with a tract called "Godwill" or "Goodwill." At the time of the decease of Mareen Duval, in August, 1694, he was proprietor of many tracts of land in Maryland, which were devised to his children, as appears by his will, dated August 2, 1694. He was married three, and it has been stated four, times. It is certain, however, he had no children by his last wife, who survived him, and married Rev. Jacob Henderson. She was buried in the chapel in Darnells' Grove, and with her Martha Duval, daughter of Lewis, one of the sons of Mareen Duval. The original settler, Marin Duval, is buried in what is now the garden of Mr. Gabriel Duval's home, but the tombstone has become defaced with age. On the death of his first wife in this country, he married a second time, an English lady, by whom he had also six children; the eldest son by this marriage, as the eldest son by the first, being named Mareen. The fourth Mareen (Marin) was known as "Western Reserve Mareen," and he late in the last century went to Virginia, and from him, I have been informed by the descendants of "Ralph Ringwood" (Irving's name for Governor W. P. Duval), descended all the Virginia, Kentucky and Florida Duvals and Duvalls. With the death of Justice Gabriel Duvall, of the United States Court, in 1840, passed away the many unwritten traditions of the family, of which he was well informed, and with the destruction of "Old Hall," in Prince George's county, Md., by fire, were destroyed many of his memoranda papers, etc., together with original portraits and relics of the Duval family. Marin or Mareen Duval1, as has been stated, had twelve children-six sons and six daughters-all living at the time of his death, and are mentioned in his will, dated August 2, 1694, and probated August 13 of the same year, viz.: Mareen2, John, Eleanor, Samuel, Susannah, Lewis, Mareen3, Catharine, Mary, Elizabeth, Johanna and Benjamin. They are probably named in the order of their birth, Mareen being mentioned in the will as the eldest son and Johanna as his youngest daughter and Benjamin the youngest son. The eldest Mareen, Jr., John, Eleanor and Susannah were married in the lifetime of their father. Samuel in 1697. The other children were under age at the time of their father's decease, as appears by his will, and were probably thechildren of his last wife but one. Lewis Duval, b. about 1676, m. March 5, 1699, Martha Ridgley; Mareen, b. 1678, m. October 21, 1701; Catherine, b. 1680, in. October 22, 1700; Mary, b.1682, m. February 5, 1701; Elizabeth, b. 1684, m.; Johanna, b. 1685, m. August 12, 1703; Benjamin, b. 1688, m. , 1713.Mr. Justice Gabriel Duval, in his family records, states that Mareen, Jr., the elder, John and Samuel having been provided for during the lifetime of their father, his large personal estate was divided between his children. He also gave to seven of them^150 sterling and other legacies. Mareen2 Duval, the eldest son of Mareen the emigrant, married many years before his father's death ; his wife's name was Frances ; they had several daughters and one son, namedMareen3, who also had many sons and daughters. Mareen4, his son, commonly known a "Western Branch," was twin with1476 The American Historical Register.Samuel4, born June 22, 17 14. This Samuel4 Duval was the father of John Pierce Duval, who removed to Virginia and became a member of the legislature. Mareen Duvall, last mentioned, had a daughter named Kegia, who married Cornelius Duval, a descendant of Mareen2, and they removed to Kentucky. Mr. Justice Gabriel Duval, the historian of the family, states that it is more than probable that some of the first Mareen Duval's children came from France with him. In Scharf 's "History of Maryland," referring to the times preceding the American Revolution, it is stated that at a meeting held in Upper Marlborough, Md., in November, 1774, a committee of Freemen was appointed" to carry into execution within the said county (Prince George's) the Association of the American Congress." On this committee appears the name of Marsh Mareen Du Vail, the descendant and namesake of the original Huguenot settler, Marin Duval or Duvall, and is interesting to the genealogist as showing how names are changed and misspelled in documents and records. The name was certainly in the French Marin, and Mr. Charles W. Baird, the Huguenot historian, accepts the name Marin, and writes that "the origin of the name du Val was probably in Lorraine from la Ville Remiremont (Vosges)." The earliest mentionI find is Richard Du Val, Normandy, 1261. Sieur de France. In Fairbairn's "Book of Crests," that of the Duval andDu Vails is given as follows: "A lion sejant perpale, ar. and gules supporting a shield" (page 22, crest 13). Mr. H. R. Du Val states that this crest has always been born by his family both in England as well as is in this country. Other branches of the family, however, adopted other crests. Mr. H. Rieman Du Val has still in his possession his ancestor's sword, which bears the "hall mark" of 1667. Mareen, the second son of that name of the Huguenot settler, married Elizabeth Jacob, October 21, 1701. They had the following children, who are the third generation: Mareen, b. November 14,1702; Susannah, b. September 12,1704; Elizabeth, b. July 20, 1706; Samuel, b. November 27, 1707; Anne, b. May 8, 1709; Benjamin, b. April 4, 171 1 ; John, b. February 20,1712-13; Jacob, b. April 19,1715; Mary, b. March 22,1717;Lewis, b. December 3, 172 1 ; Gabriel, b. September 13, 1724. Unfortunately, the descendants of Mareen Duvall have been so prolific that despite my best efforts, as well as the efforts of other researchers, our precise line of descent from him has been lost to history.

Lewis Duvall
Abt. 1745-Abt. 1808

It is commonly believed that Lewis Duvall, the probable father of my fourth great-grandmother, Elizabeth Duvall, was born about 1745 in colonial Maryland. As a young man, he emigrated to South Carolina, where on July 13, 1770 he received a 200-acre royal land grant on "Duncan's Creek," located in the backcountry "Ninety-six District," within the bounds of what would become Laurens County in 1785. Our next record of Lewis Duvall consists of a small collection of official documents on file with the State of South Carolina Archives which confirm that during the American Revolution he served as Captain of a company of state militia "before and since the reduction of Charleston [by the British army] and that from 1780 through 1782 he also provided the troops with supplies and provisions, for which he was afterward reimbursed by the State of South Carolina in the amount of nearly 200 Pounds. Unfortunately, although we have no record of his service in his own hand, Robert Henson, one of the men in his command who later applied for a Revolutionary War pension, wrote this:

[Henson] enlisted in the Continental Line under Captain John Satterwhite or Satterwaite he does not now recollect which name he bore at Ninety Six Court House in the said State of South Carolina for the term of three years but before entering the service as hereafter mentioned, the said Satterwhite or waite resigned his commission & Captain Lewis Duvall took the command of the Company & marched under said enlistment into service at Ninety Six Court House to the best of his recollection in the month of June 1779 & from Ninety Six his said Company under Duvall & Samuel Rice was Lieutenant, & William Hamilton was Sergeant of the same & marched to Col Egill's [Edgill's or Edgehill's?] farm in the said state where the Tories had erected a sort of Fort around the dwelling at said farm & his Company, Capt. Slaughter's Company together with one other company under the command of Col. Marion marched against said Fort & killed & hung all the Tories in said Fort, about 50 or 60 in all. That his said Company under Duvall numbered sixty-eight privates besides officers to the best of his recollection & he remembers the name of William Higgins, Newton Higgins, Thomas Anderson, Isaac Davenport, William Goggin, William Creasy, John Lindsay, Thomas Saunders, Tenner Hudson & Joseph Hall, all of whom were privates in the said company under Duvall & he does not know that any of these men are now living. That his Company marched from said Fort to Ninety Six & had an engagement with the Tories at that place & dispersed then & halted a short time at this place & from Ninety Six his forces under Col Marion marched to Charlotte crossing the Saluda & Catawba Rivers & at Charlotte his forces had a skirmish with the Tories & killed some of them & from Charlotte after remaining a short time his men marched on as far as Guilford for the purpose of strengthening his forces & from Guilford his men returned to Ninety Six & had a brush with Tarleton's [Banastre Tarleton's] light Horse at Ninety Six & killed a good many of them, the remainder made their escape, there were under Tarleton at this place as he understood about three hundred men & from Ninety Six his Company under Duvall, Capt. Slaughter's Company together with 2 or 3 other companies under Col. Marion marched to Eutaw & had an engagement with Tories or enemy & he thinks his forces retreated with many killed about ten of his men. This took place after he had been in service a long time but does not remember how long but it was after he had marched through the Country to a great many others, some of which his forces halted a short time at & after his forces had had a great many skirmishes with the Tories & from Eutaw his forces of five or six companies marched on to Hanging Rock & had a skirmish with the enemy under Tarleton & killed about twelve of them. At this time a deserter was found in his ranks who was hung upon the spot. After remaining a short time to rest his forces marched on to King's Mountain near the line between North & South Carolina where they had a hot battle. His forces were joined by a great many troops & his forces retreated in the onset but then afterwards rallied & conquered the enemy. General Morgan's army he thinks formed his forces in this battle. Here he was wounded by a ball in the leg & was carried with the wounded from this place to Ninety Six Hospital & he understood that the enemy carried their wounded from the battle to Charleston & he was informed that the number killed & wounded in this engagement amounted to several hundred men. That he had been in service when wounded at this place about sixteen months & a few days. That he was, as has been stated, conveyed from said battleground to Ninety Six Hospital where he was confined of said wound seven weeks & a few days & was attended by one Doctor Mattan [?could be Mattox?] who extracted the ball from his leg & he recovered from said wound after being confined seven weeks and a few days in said Hospital & Doctor Mattan gave him a written discharge which he was directed to do by his Captain Duvall in the event he recovered from said wound & he had been eighteen months in service & said Hospital, that is he had served sixteen months & four days when wounded & was confined of said wound seven weeks & three days, making eighteen months from the beginning of his enlistment to the recovering of said wound & as soon as he was able to walk he left said Hospital with his written discharge as before stated & went to his brother James Henson & staid a few days & then set off for Virginia.

Sometime following his service in the Revolution, Lewis Duvall married a young woman named Teresa, whose maiden surname is believed by some researchers to be Crumpton. The couple reportedly had several children, one of whom I believe to have been my fourth great-grandmother, Elizabeth Duvall, wife of Thomas Davis.

Between 1784 and 1793, Lewis Duvall received five generous land grants from the State of South Carolina:

  1. June 12, 1784: 200 acres in the Ninety-six District, on the Reedy River.
  2. September 27, 1784: 300 acres located in Ninety-six District, on "on a Branch of Duncans Creek below the Indian Boundary bounded on south by Wm Taylor, East John McNees and John Howard west vacant." On December 4, 1784, Lewis' presumed son, Bailey Duvall, received a 640-acre grant adjoining his father's property.
  3. May 31, 1786: 540 acres in Ninety-Six District, "north of Saluda on Reedy River."
  4. October 12, 1786: 1,475-acres in the Ninety-Six District, on Duncan's Creek, in Laurens County.
  5. February 12, 1793: 903 acres on the Warrior And Beaverdam Creeks, in Ninety-Six District.

The total area of this land is 3,618 acres. Another researcher claims that Lewis Duvall received a further land grant of 1,425 acres, which is supposed to be recorded on page 206 of either South Carolina Land Grant Book 12 or 17, but it isn't. This same unnamed researcher also asserts that Duvall received a grant of an unspecified amount of acreage that is recorded on page 680 of South Carolina Land Grant Book 13, which does not contain that many pages.

The following are deed records found in Laurens County, South Carolina:

  1. Lewis Duvall and wife, Teresa, to John Crumpton, September 13, 1785, for five shillings, 200 acres originally granted July 13, 1770. Recorded in Deed Book A, p. 213; on Duncan's Creek, a branch of the Enoree River, in what was then called Craven County.
  2. Lewis Duvall to John Simpson, for ten shillings, 1,475 acres, August 26, 1787, Deed Book B, p 434 Duncans Creek in Ninety-Six District. Originally granted December 4, 1786.
  3. Lewis Duvall to Andrew Parks, 300 acres, July 2, 1790, Deed Book C, pp. 240-41, located on Duncan's Creek in 96 District. Deed states that original grant was recorded in Bk ZZZ p. 303 (but no such book number can be found).
  4. Lewis Duvall to Elizabeth Dukes, 500 acres (of 903 acres granted in 1793), November 15, 1796, Deed Book F, p. 394, on Warrior Creek
  5. Lewis Duvall to John McClintock, 600 acres, 1797, Deed Book F, p. 438.
  6. Lewis Duvall and wife, Teressa, to John Ward, 136 acres (of 903 acres granted in 1793), December 19, 1793, Deed Book F, p. 518, on Warrior Creek, a branch of the Enoree River.
  7. Lewis Duvall to Hugh Crook, who paid $500 for 600 acres, Deed Book G, p. 470, on Warrior Creek, March 12, 1802.

    There is also a deed on file in Greenville County, South Carolina, dated March 7, 1788, in which Lewis Duvall and wife, "Theresey," for 100 Pounds Sterling sold 540 acres to Noakana Hudson, out of land, originally granted to Lewis Duvall by Governor Moultrie on September 4, 1786, on the Reedy River "at a ford near the dwelling house of said Duvall." This deed, recorded in Greenville County Deed Book A, p. 287, was witnessed by John Brashar and Daniel Richardson.

    In Laurens County Deed Book A, p.32, there is a deed in which one Richard Robinson agreed to lease land in Craven County to Robert Ross, hatter, The deed was witnessed in September 1772 by John McElroy, Francis Ross, & Lewis Duvall, who is also identified as a "hatter" in some Laurens County deeds. Here are some other public references to Lewis Duvall:

    " Laurens County Estate Book 1-A includes Lewis Duvall as a note holder against the estate of David McCulloch/

    " Abstracts of General Sessions Court Case Rolls, by Anne K. McCuen p. 29, cites an August 10, 1793 warrant issued against Lewis Duvall for "horse killing." The horse in question belonged to William Collence, Constable. Beny Duvall gave testimony in which he reported that Lewis Duvall and Betty Duke moved the horse to a different pasture. Frederick Croft, Sr. and Frederick Croft, Jr. pledged securities.

    The 1790 federal census for Laurens County, South Carolina shows the family of Lewis Duvall as consisting of one male under sixteen, three males over sixteen (one of which was Lewis himself, of course), and four females. There were also four enslaved persons in the household. The subsequent 1800 federal census for Laurens County shows the family consisting of one male under ten, one male age 10 to 15, one male 16 to 25, and one male over 45 (obviously Lewis himself), four females under ten, one female age 10 to 15, and one female from 26 to 44 years of age. There were no slaves listed this time.

    Lewis Duvall was not enumerated in the 1810 federal census for Laurens County, South Carolina, nor any other place in the United States. From the two available census records, we can see that Lewis and his wife, Teresa, had at three or four sons and five to eight daughters, Without providing any proof, one researcher, Maxine Allen of Springfield, Missouri, states that they had eight sons, and gives their names as:

    1. Bailey
    2. Alexander (1775)
    3. John (1780 - 1857)
    4. James (1785 - 1 Jan 1853)
    5. Lewis (1789 - Apr 1865)
    6. Jacob
    7. Benjamin
    8. William

    In 1854, a seventy-four-year-old man named John Duvall, who lived in Clinton County, Kentucky, claimed to be a son of Lewis Duvall and filed on behalf of his aged mother an application for arrears of a Revolutionary War widow's pension, stating under oath that although his father originally resided in Laurens County, South Carolina, he went to Illinois, where he (Lewis) died in the "American Bottom," the flood plain that lies between the Mississippi and Kaskaskia rivers, some forty-six years earlier (about 1808). John Duvall also stated that his mother's name was Elizabeth, which is curious because several deeds on file in Laurens County, South Carolina give the name of Lewis Duvall's wife as Teresa. Unfortunately, there is practically no evidence to support any of John Duvall' statements apart from the fact that Lewis Duvall was a captain of militia during the Revolutionary War.

    That Lewis Duvall died sometime between 1800 and 1810 is probably true as there are no further census records for him, but there are also no federal land grants for Lewis Duvall in Illinois during that time either, nor any other documents confirming that he passed away in that region.

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