Contributed
by Lela Hite Newell
[email protected]
Alexander
Hite, Sr. was born 1806 in Virginia, he moved to Licking County, Ohio,
with his father in 1812. His father died when Alex was 17 years. Alex was
already working and living with the Haas family as a blacksmith. He moved
to Schuyler County in 1843, with him came his wife Arrabellah Mathews and
their six children. Alexander had two half brothers named Harrison Hite
and Abraham Hite, Jr. These two brothers also moved to Schuyler County
about 1850.
Abraham
Hite, Jr. was in the Civil War joining the 78th, A Company in Schuyler
County in 1862, and he served until 1865. He was wounded during the
last days of the war and would be disabled for the rest of his life.
He married Anna Bevard in Schuyler County and they had five children born
near Camden, Illinois. In 1877 he and his family moved to Kansas.
Harrison
was born in 1813 in Ohio and married to Polly Stout in Licking County,
Ohio. His wife and 10 children moved with him to Schuyler County, Illinois.
He would stay there the rest of his life, working as a farmer and blacksmith.
Their children were Christian, Mary Jane, Abraham L., Magdalene, William,
Jeremiah, Elizabeth, Oren, Henry, Margaret, Oscar, and Lydia.
The
father of these three boys was Abraham, Sr., born 1773 in Virginia or Pennsylvania;
he fought in the War of 1812 and died in Ohio 1823. He married first Mary
Fetter (Feather), daughter of George. Mary was the mother of Alexander,
Sr. She died soon after his birth. Abraham, Sr. then married Jane Hughes,
daughter of Elias and Jane (Sleeth) Hughes. Jane was the mother of Harrison,
Elizabeth, Mary Ann and Abraham, Jr. Of the two girls Elizabeth married
John Stewart and Mary Ann married Abraham Stout. The sisters with their
families would move to Michigan and live beside each other.
Alexander,
Sr. farmed a small piece of land just outside of Rushville, Schuyler County,
for a few years and then in 1852 he and his family decided to move to California.
It took them a year to outfit two wagons and prepare for the overland trip.
They had 10 children at this time that would move with them and they had
to haul a lot of supplies. It would be a six-month trip; they arrived in
California, September 19, 1853. Their children were Abraham E., Alexander,
Jr., Elizabeth S., William, Absolum George, Mary Fetter, Isaac Newton,
Rachel Dunlap, Sarah E., John Garman, Anna Arabella, and Daniel Oren.
They
bought land six miles south of Sutter's Fort. They farmed and raised stock
and fruit trees. With the help of his sons Alex had a very nice farm. It
stayed in the family for five or six generations, before the City of Sacramento
swallowed it up.
Alexander
died 30 Dec 1885, and his wife died 23 Jul 1899; both are buried in Sacramento,
Sacramento County, California.
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