The Sitton Families of NC, 1700s FTDNA project was created to examine the relationships between three families who lived in North Carolina in the 1700s and attempt to establish their possible origins.  The three families are:

Joseph Sitton, born about 1745 and died in 1832 in Missouri, who married Diannah Beck.

John Sitton, born about 1763 and died in 1843 in Georgia, who married Sarah Rigby.

Phillip Sitton, born about 1770 and died in 1843 in North Carolina, who married Winifred Bradley.

Hannah Sitton, born about 1767 and died in 1812 in South Carolina, who married William Dickson is also sometimes listed as a sibling of John and Phillip and her descendants will be encouraged to join the project as well. There may be additional Sitton families who resided in North Carolina during this time period who may be connected to these three families, and their descendants may also wish to join the project.

John (1763), Phillip (1770), and Hannah (1767) are believed to be the children of Phillip Sitton, died 1778, and Hannah (unknown).  Some researchers believe that Hannah was the daughter of George Hobson and Hannah Kinnison; others give Dasher as Hannah's maiden name.  Descendants of George Hobson and Hannah Kinnison as well as any relevant Dasher line are also welcome to join the project.  Autosomal DNA results showing Sitton descendant matches to descendants of George Hobson and Hannah Kinnison tend to support the theory that Phillip Sitton's wife was Hannah Hobson.

Many researchers believe that these families are related, either as sons or grandchildren, of a John Sitton of Prince George, Maryland, who married Elizabeth Pindell, and whose line goes through Benjamin Sitton of Connecticut to a John Sutton, who arrived in America around 1638 on the “Diligent of Ipswich” and lived in Massachusetts in the 1600s.  Others believe the North Carolina Sittons arrived from Scotland in the early 1700s and are unconnected to the New England Sutton/Sitton families.  These researchers believe the original family name may have been Seaton or Seton (Setton, Smeaton) and changed to Sitton when they arrived in America.  This project will seek to sort out the relationships of these Sitton families and other Sittons who resided in North Carolina in the 1700s.  While some of the descendants of these Sitton families continued to live in North Carolina, many others migrated to Georgia, Missouri, and other states.  Some Sittons who may be connected to these North Carolina families may have lived in Virginia or South Carolina as well as other states. 

Sitton is an uncommon name whose origins are still unsettled, and these Sitton families who lived in North Carolina in the 1700s at a time when there were very few Sittons in America may hold some important clues.

Because direct male Sitton descendants are limited in number, the project will attempt to facilitate analysis of the results of family finder (autosomal DNA) as well as Y-chromosome test results of potential descendants of these families.  Participants will be encourage to also join the Sutton surname project in the hope that some connections may eventually result from participation in that project.  At present, however, there do not appear to be any clear connections between the descendants of Joseph Sitton or Phillip Sitton to any other participants in the Sutton project. 

Participants in this project will be able to more easily identify family finder matches who are members of the project, using the advanced search tools at FTDNA that allow users to search for autosomal DNA matches within specific projects they have joined. Y-chromosome and mtdna results will be posted in the traditional formats provided by FTDNA.   Since FTDNA does not generate project results for autosomal DNA (family finder) project participants, results will be reported on the results page and grouped by most distant Sitton ancestor to help members identify others who may also be descendants.  Participants will also be able to communicate through the project-only activity feed as questions arise or new results are uncovered.  See the goals section of this project for more information on possible family links that will be explored.

Project participants will be asked to provide some information on their Sitton lineage to help group them within the project.  This project was created in August, 2015; updated July 2016.   Project updated June 2024.  Membership now at 46.