I James B. Woodard of the County of Wilson, State of North Carolina, being of sound mind but advanced in years, & aware of the uncertainty of life, do make, constitute & declare this to be my last will & testament in manner & form as follows.
First, it is my desire that my burial expenses & just debts be paid by my executor, hereinafter named, out of any money on hand at my death, the sale of my perishable estate & the proceeds of my notes, bonds & accounts.
Second, I give & devise to my Eldest daughter Elizabeth Ann Stancil wife of Thomas Stancil the land on which she now lives, known as the Atkinson land containing about two hundred & twenty acres more or less and adjoining the lands of Larry Lassiter, Hilliard Thomas & others, to have and to hold to the said Elizabeth Ann Stancil her heirs & assigns. I also give and bequeath to my said daughter Elizabeth Ann Stancil, the following Slaves, negro man Elvin, woman Feriba & girl Dellah and their increase from this time, & also I give to my said daughter Elizabeth Ann one bed bedstead & bed furniture, which bed bedstead & bed furniture is at this time in said Elizabeth Ann’s possession, the said slaves above named, bed, bedstead & bed furniture, to have & to hold to the said Elizabeth Ann Stancil her heirs and assigns.
Third. I give & devise to my son Gray W. Woodard the upper lot or portion of my land, being in the Northeast corner, bounded as follows beginning at a pine at a corner of the Martha Parker line in the plot of the division of Johnathan Tartts decd land, recorded in Edgecombe County, thence down the old Thomas line to a black gum in a marsh, thence up the various courses of the said marsh to a ditch, thence in a direct line the course of the ditch to a Stake in the upper line of Catherine Smiths lot or portion in the aforesaid division, thence up the said line to D a corner in said division a post oak & pine, thence up the line of said plot to the beginning, to have and to hold to the said Gray W. Woodard his heirs & assigns. I also give & bequeath to my son Gray W. Woodard negro man Amos to have & to hold to the said Gray W. Woodard his heirs & assigns, and I also give & bequeath to my son Gray W. Woodard one bed, bedstead & bed furniture, one horn bridle & saddle, which bed, bed stead & bed furniture, horn, bridle & saddle the said Gray W. Woodard has in his possession.
Fourth. I give & devise to my son John B. Woodard the middle part of my land, included in the following boundaries, beginning at corner D, a post oak & pine thence in a southerly direction with the line of the aforesaid plot to E a corner pine, thence with the lower line of the Catherine Smith lot to the branch, the dividing line between Robt Bynum & myself, thence up the various courses of the dividing line to the corner A a sweet gum, thence with the line of the plat to L thence with the old Thomas line to the black gum in the Marsh, the aforesaid corner in Gray W. Woodard’s above-devised tract, thence with the above line of Gray W. along the marsh & ditch & on to upper line of Catherine Smiths lot, a stake, thence with said upper line to the beginning, to have & to hold to my son John B. Woodard his heirs & assigns.
I also give & bequeath to my son John B. Woodard negro man London to have & to hold to the said John B. Woodard his heirs & assigns & I also give to my son John B. Woodard one bed bedstead & furniture his choice, one horn bridle & saddle.
Fifth. I give & devise to my son George W. Woodard the balance of my home tract of land on which my dwelling and improvements are bounded as follows beginning at E a pine, a corner in the aforesaid plat, in the lower line of Catharine Smiths lot, thence with the said lower line to the branch, the dividing line between Robt Bynum & myself, thence with the branch to the lower line of said plat Bynum’s Corner, thence to H, a lightwood post a corner, thence with the line of said plat to the beginning to have and to hold to the said George W. Woodard his heirs & assigns. I also give & bequeath to my son George W. Woodard the following slaves, Howell & Jessee to have & to hold to the said George W. Woodard his heirs & assigns and I also give to my son George W. Woodard one bed bedstead & furniture, second choice, one horn bridle & saddle.
Sixth. I give & bequeath to my daughter Margaret P. Batts wife of W.W. Batts the following slaves Sarah, Florence, Phebe, Mary & young Sarah and their increase from the present time, to have & to hold to said Margarett P. Batts her heirs & assigns. I also give to my daughter Margarett P. Batts one bed, bedstead & furniture which she has in her possession.
Seventh. I give & bequeath to my daughter Mary J. Edwards wife of W. H. Edwards the following slaves, Harriett, Debba, Ben, Ned, Rose & Fanny and their increase from this time, to have & to hold to said Mary J. Edwards her heirs & assigns. I also give to my daughter Mary J. Edwards one bed bedstead & furniture which she has in her possession.
Eight, It is my will and desire that should I before my death, purchase the inheritance or fee simple in the portion of my land given to John B. Woodard & known as Catharine Smiths lot, in which I now have but an estate for life, that the same shall insure to his benefit & go to the said John B. Woodard & his heirs.
Ninth, It is my will and desire that all of my farming tools, including my blacksmiths tools, carpenters tools & coopers tolls shall be divided equally between my three sons George W. Woodard, John B. Woodard & Gray W. Woodard, by three disinterested neighbors selected by my executor.
Tenth. I give to my son George W. Woodard my patent cider mill, cider press and all the necessary fixings pertaining to the cider press & mill including the barrells.
Eleventh. I give to my three daughters Mary J. Edwards, Margarett P. Batts & Elizabeth Ann Stancil all of my stock of horses, hogs, cattle, sheep & poultry, not otherwise disposed of in this my will to be equally divided as near as possible by three disinterested freeholders, said freeholders to be appointed by my Executor.
Twelfth. I give to my friend Jesse Baker pastor of the White Oak Baptist Church [in Saratoga] one hundred dollars to be paid to him out of any monies belonging to my estate in the hand of my executor.
Thirteenth. It is my will and desire, that all the residue of my estate, after taking out the gifts & devises, shall be sold at public auction by my executor and if there should be any surplus after the payment of my debts, legacies & expinces, that such surplus shall be equally divided between my three daughters, Elizabeth Ann Stancil, Margarett P. Batts & Mary Jane Edwards, Share & Share alike.
I do hereby appoint my friend Robt Bynum my executor, to execute this my last will & testament according to its true meaning & intent. Should Robt Bynum fail from any cause at present unknown, from acting as my executor, it is my desire that my nephew William Woodard should act in his stead Carrying out the true intent & meaning of this my last will & testament.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal this the 22 day of June A. D. 1863. /s/ Jas. B. Woodard {seal}
In the presence of the following witnesses who sign at my request & in my presence /s/ William Thomas, Robt. Bynum
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James B. Woodard’s will — drafted six months after the Emancipation Proclamation — included bequests of 18 enslaved people, at least seven of whom — Howell, Elvin, Feriba, Sarah, Amos, Harriett, and London — were the children of London Woodard (1797-1870) and his first wife, Venus (??-circa 1845). In 1854, J.B. Woodard sold London to London’s second wife, a free woman of color named Penelope “Penny” Lassiter. London received his license to preach shortly after the Civil War ended and founded a church in Wilson that still bears his name.
- Howell Woodard was born about 1818. In the 1870 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: Howell Woodard, 52, Rodah, 40, and children (and possibly grandchildren) London, 23, Harriet, 20, Venus, 19, Ferebee and Virginia, 17, Mary, 14, Sarah and Penelope, 12, Rodah, 10, Puss, 6, John, 8, Kenny, 5, Fanny, 1, and Martha, 1 month. Rhoda and their children appear to have been enslaved elsewhere. Howell Woodard died before 19 March 1874, when his wife was remarried to Abram Farmer.
- Elvin Woodard was born about 1822. On 4 April 1866, he and Deby Barnes registered their cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace. In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: Elvin Woodard, 47, Deber, 48, and children William, 23, Sylvia, 18, and Amanda, 16. Debbie Barnes Woodard had been enslaved elsewhere.
- Ferebe Woodard was born about 1828. In the 1870 census of Gardners township, Wilson County: Benj’n Artis, 46, farm laborer; wife Phebee, 42; and children Mary, 2, Julia, 6, Sarah, 17, Debby, 18, and Benjamin, 20.
- Sarah Woodard was born about 1838. In 1866, she and Warren Rountree [brother of Hilliard Ellis, below] registered their 16-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace. In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Warren Rountree, 40; wife Sarah 32; and Florence, 18, Rhebecca, 17, Mary, 11, Howell, 7, Sallie, 5, Lou, 2, and Warren Jr., 20.
- Amos Woodard was born about 1840. In the 1870 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: Amos Woodard, 30, farm laborer. He married Carrie Ellis, daughter of Hill and Ferbee Ellis, on 27 March 1871 at Hill Ellis’ home.
- Harriet Woodard was born about 1842. In 1866, Harriet Woodard and Alfred Woodard registered their ten-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace. In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Alfred Woodard, 40; wife Harriet, 28; and children Ned, 14, Rosa, 15, Zilly, 4, London, 3, and Minny, 2 months. Harriet died before 13 February 1873, when her husband Alfred married her widowed sister Sarah Woodard Rountree.
- London Woodard Jr. was born about 1844.
The remaining ten were mostly London and Venus Woodard’s grandchildren. Take a look again at Woodard’s distributions. Sometimes he kept mothers and children together. Other times, children were paired with their aunts instead.
- Dellah — circa 1867, Della Woodard, daughter of Ben Woodard [Artis] and Fereba Woodard, married Henry Woodard, son of Lewis Shallington and Pleasant Woodard, in Wilson County.
- Jesse
- Florence — probably the daughter of Sarah Woodard and her husband, Warren Rountree, who was enslaved elsewhere. See the 1870 census entry above.
- Phebe — probably the daughter of Sarah Woodard and her husband, Warren Rountree. See the 1870 census entry above — she is perhaps “Rhebecca.”
- Mary — probably the daughter of Sarah Woodard and her husband, Warren Rountree. See the 1870 census entry above.
- young Sarah — possibly, the daughter of Sarah Woodard and her husband, Warren Rountree, who was enslaved elsewhere. However, she does not appear to be the “Sallie,” age 5, listed in the 1870 census entry above. More likely, she was the daughter of Ferebee Woodard and her husband, Benjamin Artis, who was enslaved elsewhere. See the 1870 census entry above.
- Debba — probably the daughter of Ferebee Woodard and her husband, Benjamin Artis, who was enslaved elsewhere. See the 1870 census entry above.
- Ben — probably the son of Ferebee Woodard and her husband, Benjamin Artis. See the 1870 census entry above.
- Ned — probably the son of Harriet Woodard and her husband Alfred Woodard, who was enslaved elsewhere. See the 1870 census entry above.
- Rose — though London and Venus Woodard had a daughter Rose, based on the way she listed in the will, this Rose appears to have been a child in 1863. She was probably the daughter of Harriet Woodard and her husband Alfred Woodard. See the 1870 census entry above.
- Fanny