THE KIDDS of AMELIA, DINWIDDIE & NOTTOWAY Cos., VA 1750-1850
THE KIDDS OF AMELIA, DINWIDDIE & NOTTOWAY COs., VA 1750-1850 by Reiley Kidd, Seattle, WA and William R. Kidd, Newport News, VA (version of February 2018) INTRODUCTION Benjamin3 Kidd1 of Middlesex County, Virginia died in 1761. Shortly thereafter, two of his sons migrated south, and settled in the southeastern corner of Amelia County, VA, near Namozine Creek; their land was within a mile or two of the Dinwiddie County line, and just a few miles north of Nottoway County. The older son, Benjamin Jr., left little trace of his time there, and appears to have returned to Middlesex County. The younger son, George Kidd, remained in Amelia County for the rest of his life. He and his wife Elizabeth raised a large family, including 6 sons, and this couple are the progenitors of many descendants scattered across the U.S. today. Colonial records are difficult to research, since few records have survived, and because most records that have survived relate to individuals with more education and wealth than our ancestors had. Research of this particular family is even more difficult, because they moved back and forth between Amelia County and the two adjacent counties, each just a few miles from where George4 Kidd settled in 1763. Two of these counties, Dinwiddie and Nottoway, are among the "burned records" counties, meaning that most early records have been destroyed or lost.2 Genealogical research in such situations is akin to working on a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle in which many pieces are missing – regardless of how hard one works, the picture will never be complete, and some guesswork and imagination will be required.
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