Edith Fordham’s estate reaped a momentary windfall a year before the Civil War ended. Confident that the Confederacy would prevail, four buyers paid a total of more than $11,000 to purchase seven enslaved people from her administrator, William Barnes. William J. Barnes bought Ned for $1950; Mahala Barnes bought Joe for $2025; David Sharpe bought Lucinda for $2025; and John Sharpe bought Gray, Bunnie, Hilliard, and Nancy for $5775.

In May 1865, all seven went free, and the Confederate dollars with which they were purchased crumbled to dust.

Estate File of Edith Fordham, Wilson County, N.C., U.S. Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.