in the name of God Amin

I, Mary Hinnant of the County of Wilson and State of North carolina being of Sound mind and memory but considering the unscertainty of my earthly existence do make and declare this my last will and testament in manor and form following that is to say

that my exutor (hereinafter named) shall provide for my Boddy a decent burial sutable to the wishes of my Relations and friends and pay all funeral expenses together with my Just debts howsoever and to whom ever owing out of the moneys that may first come into his hands as a part or parcel of my estate

Item – I lend to my sister Martha Hinnant sixty two Acres of land the plantation whereon I now liv during the turm of her natural lif also I lend her five negro slaves namly Samuel Martha Hilinda Gray & Charita also one gray Mair also all my house & property of every description during her natural life.

Item. I giv to my Sister Rhoda Atkinson sixty two Acres of land which I heretofore lent to my sister Martha to her and to her Heirs forever

Item – I giv to my Neffew James T. Atkinson one negro man Sam to him and to his Heirs forever

I giv to my neffew Alvin H. Atkinson my bed and furniture to him and to his Heirs forever

I giv to my Brother Hardy Hinnant Children fifty Dollars in money each namly William Ransom & Aby to them and there Heirs forever

I giv to my nease Polly Atkinson one pine Chest to her and to her heirs for ever

and further it is my will and desire that after my death that the ballance of my property not heretofore given away be sold and after all my Just debts is paid that the money arising from said Sale be equally divided between Rhoda Atkinson Jessey Hinnant James Hinnant & Alvin H. Atkinson to them and to their Heirs for ever

and lastly – I do hereby constitute and appoint my trusty Friends Alvin H. Atkinson and James Hinnant my lawful executors to all intents and purposes to execute this my last will and testament according to the true intent and meaning of the same and every part and Cluse thereof hereby Revoking and declareing uterly void all other wills and testaments by me heretofore made in witness whereof I the said Mary Hinnant do here unto set my hand and seal this the twenty Second day of February A.D. one thousand eight hundred and fifty five     Mary (X) Hinnant

Signed sealed published and declared by the said Mary Hinnant to be her last will and testament in the presence of us   Willie Deans Hardy H. Williamson

Inventory of Mary Hinnant’s “personable” property.

——

State of North Carolina, Wilson County

In the name of God amen I Martha Hinnant being weak in body but in perfect health & memory & calling to mind the mortality of my body and knowing it is appointed for all persons once to die do make and ordain this my last will and testament in manner as follows

In the first place I give my body to be buried in a decent and christian like manner and my soul I commend to God that gave it

Item 1^st After my death I give and bequeath to my beloved brother Jesse Hinnant one stear and cart one [illegible] Ten head of hogs Twelve Barrels of corn and two blade stacks of the crop now on hand and the first part of wheat now on hand also one hundred and fifty Dollars in money to him and his heirs forever

Item 2^nd After my death I give and bequeath to nephew Jas. H. Hinnant one negro boy by the name of Amos also one Bed Bedstead & furniture and fifty Dollars in money to him & his heirs forever

Item 3^rd After my death I give and Bequeath to my nephew James T. Atkinson one bed & furniture to him and his heirs forever

Item 4^th The ballance of my property after my death consisting of three negroes namely Hardy Henry & Allen also my stock of all descriptions and my crop and every thing that is not given away in legacies I leave to be sold and the money arising from the sale of my property with my notes and accounts I leave to be equally divided after having my just debts and legacies between my beloved sisters Rhoda Atkinson and her six children viz, Alvin H., Martha, Patience, Polly, James T. & Mourning

I constitute and appoint my beloved nephew and worthy friend James T. Atkinson Executor to this my last will and testament

In witness whereof I hereunto to set my hand and affix my seal this 10^th June 1858   Martha (X) Hinnant {seal}

Assigned sealed and acknowledged in the presence of us Jesse Fulghum, Riley Rentfrow

——

In fact, Martha Hinnant sold Allen to her brother Jesse Hinnant in 1861 for $800. He was 13 years old.

Amos, the only enslaved man not to be sold per Martha Hinnant’s will, is likely the man who is listed in the 1870 census of Spring Hill township, Wilson County: black farm laborer Amos Hinnant, 30; wife Linday, 25; and sons Haywood, 9, and Burruss, 3. (The last three are described as white, which was almost certainly an error.) Amos Hinnant, son of Thomas and Charity Hinnant, had married Malenda Barnes, parents unknown, on 5 March 1968 in Wilson County. (Amos’ mother Charity may have been the woman referred to in Mary Hinnant’s will. On 14 July 1866, Charity Hinnant and Allen Williamson registered a cohabitation that had begun only the previous Christmas. Was this the same Charity? She does not appear in later records.) In the 1880 census of Spring Hill township, servant Haywood Hinnant, 16, lived in the household of Bryant R. Hinnant next door to his parents Amos, 45, and Lendy Hinnant, 34. In 1897, Malinda Hinnant filed for a Civil War widow’s pension on the basis of her husband’s service in Company K, 14th United States Colored Heavy Artillery.

North Carolina Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 [database on-line], ancestry.com; Records of Slaves and Free People of Color, Wilson County Records, North Carolina State Archives.