Cutlip
       Connection

First, a few long-winded remarks and then the will:

If there is one thing CUTLIPs have, it's "Georges." I have a cousin George CUTLIP. I have an uncle George CUTLIP. My mother's father was George CUTLIP. His father was George CUTLIP and his father was Samuel CUTLIP the son of George CUTLIP the son of George CUTLIP! I have a dozen George CUTLIPs in my database and that's not counting the women: Georgeanne, Georgia, etc. [For what it's worth, George means "farmer" and goes back to the ancient Greek word for "earth-tiller" -- "georgas." Remember ge-ography: writing about the earth? And, ge-ology: study of the earth? "Ge" = Earth. Variations of the name George occur in all European languages: Italian, Spanish, French, German, English, etc.]

The following will is on file at the courthouse in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio. When the will was made, Ross County was more than twice the size it is now. Most of PeePee Township became Pike County in 1815 ... a small strip on the east was cut off and joined with pieces of other counties to form Jackson County at about the same time ... an extreme southern strip was joined to Scioto County. What all this means is that the political boundaries shifted. Records for the area were kept in Ross County up to 1815, then in Pike County later. George didn't move ... but the county line did!

For those who must have the small details I will explain more fully later. For now take my word for it. When George died he was living along the banks of Beaver Creek about 1.5 miles south southwest of where the present town of Beaver, Pike County, Ohio stands. You can find Beaver on almost any Ohio map. It is just west of the Jackson County line in Pike County. You will see the Appalachian Highway running south of Beaver. This highway runs through what was originally CUTLIP and STEWART land. Samuel CUTLIP married Jane STEWART (next door neighbors) in 1815 right after Pike County was formed. So, theirs is one of the first marriages listed in Pike County records.

Finally, I know you can't wait to ask: In 1785 a trail-blazer named Peter Patrick marked an overland trail from the east into the area by "blazing" trees [chopping off a section of bark] and putting his initials in the white part of the trunk: P.P. To reach the fertile bottom lands along the Scioto River you just followed the P.P. trail to P.P. Creek and PeePee Creek to the Scioto River. PeePee Creek and PeePee Township still exist today ... of course, the township is greatly reduced in size. Once it encompassed all of Pike County. Today it's just one of a dozen or so townships.

If you read many wills of the time you will soon discover that the first few lines are the formula of the time. Today they may sound religious. At the time everyone's will started very much like this one does before getting down to specifics. The square brackets indicate where I had some trouble reading the handwriting. When we get a website going, I'll scan in the handwritten will and y'all can make your own guesses as to what it says.