William Piatt, the basketmaker, was born about 1790 in Virginia and died after 1850 in Crawford County, Missouri. He married in Ohio (or Indiana) in about 1812 (or 1814), as his first wife, Catherine Glass who was born c1794. William migrated to Ohio prior to 1820, and later lived in Indiana and Tennesee before moving to Crawford County, Missouri.
The known children of William and Catherine Piatt:
b: March 2, 1824, in Clark Co, OH d: 7 Sep 1910 Pike Twp, Carter Co, MO (buried Fremont, Carter Co, MO) m1: June 11, 1846, in Crawford, Co, MO Rachel Miller
Elizabeth Piatt b: 1831 m: 1 Sep 1846 Crawford Co, MO, Charles M Miller b: c1829 d: c1865 (s/o James Charles Miller and Amanda Pyatt)
James Celop Miller
Sarah C Miller
Mary Ann Miller
Charles M Miller
David F Miller
William Jackson Miller
Martha Miller
The book 'Index to New Jersey Wills, 1689-1890, by Ronald Vern Jackson shows Glass families in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Warren Co in NJ, with the earliest being James Glass whose will was probated in Essex Co, NJ, in 1819.
William and Catherine Piatt are found on the 1820 census of Clark County, Ohio, along with John Piatt. Around 1841 William had moved to Crawford County, Missouri. William married second Elizabeth Bennett on January 3, 1850, in Crawford County. A possible year of birth for Elizabeth is 1816 in Tennessee and she appears to have been a widow with children. The last known record of William Piatt is on the 1850 census of District 24, Crawford County, MO, where he appears as follows:
Piatt, W (looks like 'M') age 60 born VA / male / Basketmaker / cannot read/write
Piatt, C (is this supposed to be an 'E'?) age 34 born TN / female
Piatt, J age 11 born TN / male
Bennett, J age 7 born PA / male
Bennett, E age 4 born MO / male (this family enumerated #606/606 page 232 printed upper right (ancestry image 89/146) enumerator used initials only)
A few inconsistencies in this enumeration can be put down to the handwriting and the use of only first initials for all enumerations. This appears to be William Piatt with wife, Elizabeth, age 34 and her children from a previous marriage.
The parents of William are not known at this time but he was born at such a time that he cannot be far removed from his probable ancestry in New Jersey. The names William and Benjamin are oft used among Piatt families, and as such, only further the confusion. Anyone who can shed light on William's parentage, please reply.
Sources:
Vol 8 Piatt Family Newsletter
Laverne Ingram Piatt
Michael S Pyatt St. Louis, MO (descendant) MichaelSPyatt@aol.com
1850 census of Crawford Co, MO
To Do List:
Locate William Eggers on 1850 and later census
Locate David Callahan on 1850 and later census
Locate Charles Miller on 1850 census and Elizabeth Miller 1860 and later
