Janet Witherspoon

Janet and her husband John were 1st cousins; both descended from James Witherspoon and Luyse Welsh.

"She died on 30th of Sept. 1734, when two days out from Belfast, Ireland, while enroute to South Carolina on board the ship 'The Good Intent,' and was 'interred in the raging ocean.'"

--Witherspoon, Joseph B. The History and Genealogy of the Witherspoon Family (1400-1987). Fort Worth, Tex: Miran Publishers, 1988. Print. p. 37. J5

From “History of Williamsburg County, SC” - PDF - page 10-11

In 1734, John Witherspoon and his seven children, six of whom were married and brought children of their own, came up Black River as far as Potato Ferry; and, from thispoint,settledinvariouspartsoftheTownship. Robert Witherspoon, grandson of John, in 1780, wrote the fol lowing account of the Witherspoon Colony, the original manuscript, of which this is a true copy, is in the posses sion of the descendants of the late Dr. J. R. Witherspoon, of Alabama.

"John Witherspoon and Janet Witherspoon were born in Scotland about the year 1670. They lived in their younger years near Glasgow, at a place called Begardie, andweremarriedin1693. In1695,theyleftScotlandand settled at Knockbracken, in the Parish of Drumbo, County of Down, Ireland, where they lived in comfortable circumstances and good credit until the year 1734. He then removed with his family to South Carolina.

"We went on board the ship called 'The Good Intent' on the 14th of September, and were detained by head windsfourteendaysintheLoughatBelfast. Onthesec ond day after we set sail, my grandmother, Janet, died and was interred in the boisterous ocean, which was an affecting sight to her offspring.

"Weweresorelytossedatseawithstorms,whichcaused our ship to spring a leak; our pumps were kept inces santly at work day and night for many days together and ourmarinersseemedmanytimesattheirwits'end. Butit pleased God to bring us all safe to land, except my grand mother, about the first of December.

"But toreturn,— my grandfather and grandmother had seven children. Their names were as follows, viz.:Janet (or Jennet), David, James, Elizabeth, Robert, Mary, and Gavin. Their daughter Janet was born in Scotland and was married to John Fleming in Ireland. They had a large family of children born in Ireland and brought seven of them to this place, Williamsburg, viz. : Isabella, John, Elizabeth, James, Janet, Penelope, and William. My uncle, John Fleming, died in 1750, in a good old age; my aunt Janet died in 1761 in the sixty-sixth year of her age. My uncleDavidwasbornin1697,marriedtoAnn Pressley and brought with him to this place two children, viz.: Sarah and Janet. He died in the year 1772 in the sixty- seventh year of his age. ...

• Reference: WikiTree Genealogy - SmartCopy: Sep 15 2016, 21:58:59 UTC