The Gauntt name has been spelled various ways including Gaunt and Gant. Some researchers for the Gauntt family line believe our ancestors were originally from Ghent, Belgium. At some point they settled in Lincolnshire, England.
In the early 1600s Peter Gauntt, who was born in England, migrated to the Plymouth Colony in the America. He was one of the first settlers in the Sandwich community founded in 1637 and a member of one of the first two Quaker Meetings established in America. Unfortunately he and his family suffered much religious persecution there. His son, Hananiah Gaunt, married Dorothy Butler and left to settle first in Long Island, New York and finally in New Jersey.
Three of Hananiah's grandchildren (Israel, Zebulon Jr and Sophia Mathis) migrated to North Carolina in 1753. Israel married a widow named Hannah outside of the Quaker customs ("out of unity") and was removed from the Society. Israel & Hannah moved to Newberry County, South Carolina where he was a blacksmith and successful farmer and landowner. He is recognized by the DAR for providing provisions to the Patriots during the Revolutionary War.
Jacob Middleton Gauntt, one of the sons of Israel and Hannah, is believed to be the builder of the oldest surviving frame house in Newberry County, South Carolina. The house has been restored by the Newberry Historical & Museum Society. For more information and pictures, see the Gauntt House on the Images page.
Sophia Gauntt, daughter of Jacob M. Gauntt, married Robert Neal. They had five children. By age 40, she was a widow raising four minor children and never remarried. She became a successful farmer on her own.
Her son, John Calvin Neal, was a Confederate veteran and successful farmer and landowner. He was the father of Nellie Neal who married Samuel P. Crotwell.
Highlighted names show the direct ancestor line of Selma Crotwell.