Henry D. Hatton Sr. (b. 1755- d. 1824)
MSA SC 5496-010457
War of 1812 Claimant, Prince George's County, Maryland, 1824
Biography:
Henry D. Hatton was born February 6, 1755 to Joseph and Mary Hatton in Maryland. Hatton had seven siblings; four brothers and three sisters. Henry Hatton married Emily Lyles, daughter of Col. William Lyles and Sarah Magruder. Hatton and his wife were the parents of two children, Henry and Mary. Hatton and his family lived in the Piscataway District of Prince George's County on land known as Hatton's Hill. He received a portion of his land through a bequest in his father's will. Hatton was a patriot of the Revolutionary War, having taken the Oath of Allegiance before Hon. Thomas Claggett. Hatton owned a sizable slave labor force consisting of forty men, women, and children in 1810.
During the War of 1812, two of Hatton's slaves, the brothers Henry Colbert (19) and Nace Colbert (22), escaped from his property and went onboard a British schooner. In August of 1814, Henry and Nace were seen on the shore of the Potomac River not far from Fort Washington, signaling a British vessel to take them off. Basil Hatton, a brother of Henry Hatton, reported that the two slaves left on their own accord and were not captured by the British. By 1820, Hatton's slave labor force consisted of thirty-three people. On February 11, 1824, Henry Hatton filed a claim for his two slaves.
Henry Hatton died November 15, 1824 in Prince George's County, Maryland. His estate was probated and divided amongst his children. In 1828, his estate filed another claim for his two slaves, Nace and Henry, on his behalf. Henry was found on the Halifax list, which listed those former enslaved persons living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Lewis Colbert was also listed on the Halifax list, whom the estate believed to be the same person as Nace Colbert. Many of Hatton's other slaves were passed on to his son and daughter, but were largely left in the care of Henry D. Hatton Jr., who was the trustee for his sister Mary.
After Hatton Sr.'s death, there was a long legal battle between Hatton's son Henry D. Hatton, Jr. and daughter Mary Hatton Weems and her husband William L. Weems over the terms of his will. In 1832, William L. Weems filed a bill in the Chancery Court against Henry D. Hatton Jr. to remove Hatton as the trustee for his wife Mary R. Weems. The younger Hatton wrote a letter of complaint to future president James K. Polk on October 8, 1834, asking for information regarding his sister Mary Hatton Weems. In the letter, Henry D. Hatton Jr. said that his sister was incompetent, and further stated that William L. Weems secretly married her to acquire property left in a trust by their father. The following year, Polk sent a response to Hatton's son, letting him know that his sister was deceased since March 29, 1835. During the case, the slaves Judson, Basil, and Tom, who formerly belonged to Hatton Sr., ran away from the employ of Henry Hatton Jr. In addition, the negroes Overton and George ran away but were captured and held in the jail. In 1836, William Weems provided further evidence of property he felt was entitled to his wife, which included land, slaves and stock. It was decided in January 1838 that Hatton would have to hand over half of all the property of his deceased father to William L. Weems. Henry Hatton Jr. appealed the case, but the case was dismissed.
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