1800s

The will and estate of Barnes Simms (1805).

Barnes Simms (1764-1805), the son of Robert and Mary Barnes Simms, lived in the area between Black Creek and Contentnea Creek in what is now Wilson County. He executed a will on 6 September 1805 providing for the distribution of land, livestock, personal property, and people. Simms’ wife Martha was to receive, among other property, a “negroeman” named Laze and two women, Peggy and Agathy.

Further down, another provision encapsulates slaveholders’ purely transactional view of Black lives. Barnes directed that Toby, Hannah, Rose, and Violet remain with his family after his death — “and the benefits of the labour to be applyed to the use of raiseing and schooling of my Children until my son James attains to the age of nineteen years.” And then they were to be sold.

Also, Barnes directed “my negroes Harry, Sue, and Phillis be sold and their value to be applied toward the raising the legacies” elsewhere directed.

Simms died soon after, and his estate entered probate. On 12 December 1805, Etheldred Deberry bought Harry at an estate sale for just over $195 and Sue for $100. Thomas Barrow bought Phillis for $127.

After Simms’ youngest children reached maturity, another sale was set. There, his widow Martha Simms purchased Toby, Rose, and Hannah and three of her children for $1430.

Barnes Simms Will (1805), Estate of Barnes Simms (1808), North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.

The estate of Shadrach Dickinson.

The lands of Revolutionary War veteran Shadrach Dickinson [Dickerson] lay along Contentnea and Black Creeks in what were then Edgecombe and Wayne Counties. His small house is one of the oldest standing in Wilson County. Dickinson died in 1818 leaving a large estate that included numerous enslaved people.

A division of Dickinson’s “lands and negroes” took place in May 1819, and the report of that division shows that his children had received some of their inheritance while their father was alive.

Daughter Elizabeth Stanton received a seven year-old girl named Mourning in 1795; eight year-old Jack and ten year-old Lany in 1819; and, in the general division, Dick and Grace Sen’r.

Daughter Penny Barnes received Hester, 10, and Tamar, 8, in 1814, and Hannah in the general division.

Daughter Susanna Edmundson received Cely, 13, and Lucy, 9, in 1817; Jacob, 7, in 1818; and Anica and Cherry in the division.

Daughter Polley Thomas received Sam, 10, in 1797.

Son James Dickinson received Peter in 1809 and Harry and Clary in 1819.

Daughter Patience Dickinson received Peg and Levi in the general division.

Son William Dickinson received Dick and Grace Junior in the general division.

Daughter Martha Simms received Darkas, 9, in 1793; Arch in 1818; and Warum in the division.

Daughter Sally Jernigan received Jack, 10, and Diner, 6, in 1807; Dury, 6, in 1813; and Smitha in the division.

At least two of Shadrach Dickinson’s children — daughters Elizabeth Dickinson Stanton and Patience Dickinson Turner — migrated to Sumter/Pickens Counties, Alabama, carrying enslaved men and women with them and further sundering family ties strained by Dickinson’s estate distribution. Pickens County proved particularly inhospitable to African-Americans well into the twentieth century, and Sumter County is the poorest county in Alabama. Thousands joined the Great Migration out of the state, and it would not be surprising to find in Chicago and Detroit and Cleveland today descendants of Shadrach Dickinson’s enslaved.

Estate File of Shadrach Dickinson (1819), Edgecombe County, North Carolina Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.

African-Americans baptized at Lower Black Creek Primitive Baptist Church, part 2.

Lower Black Creek Primitive Baptist Church, founded in 1783, was the second church organized in what is now Wilson County. (It closed its doors in 2010.) The church’s nineteenth and early twentieth-century records include names of enslaved and freed African-American members, who worshipped with the congregation as second-class Christians even after Emancipation.

This page records baptisms “under the Care of Elder Reuben Hays” from 1803 and 1808 and includes references to nine enslaved African-Americans. (Don’t let “servant” fool you.) As Primitive Baptists did not practice infant baptism, the nine were, if not adults, then nearly so, and thus were all born in the 1700s. Some may have lived to see Emancipation, but even if they remained in Wilson County, I have no way to identify them further.

  • Dick, a servant
  • Lewis, a servant
  • Jane, a servant
  • Dick, a servant
  • Will, a servant
  • Harry, a servant
  • Beck, a servant
  • James, a servant
  • Salath, a servant

Copy of documents courtesy of J. Robert Boykin III. Originals now housed at North Carolina State Archives.

Exploring the kinships of men and women enslaved by the Moore-Flowers family.

We examined the connection between John H. Clark‘s father Harry Clark and Isabel Taylor here. Harry and Isabel were children of Annis Taylor, and all had been enslaved by Henry Flowers.

The will of Henry Flowers’ maternal grandfather, Edward Moore, who died in 1783 in Nash County, reveals interesting bequests, including “… to my loving Daughter Judah Flowers one Negro girl Named Nell …” and “… to my loving Daughter Elizabeth Moore one Negro [Wench?] Named Annis ….” Both Nell and Annis were already in possession of Moore’s daughters.

Judith Moore Flowers’ husband John Flowers legally owned Nell. John Flowers died intestate in early 1806, and his widow Judith quickly remarried Edward York. When the enslaved people belonging to Flowers’ estate were distributed in December 1807, York took possession of Primus, Nell, Annis and Will on Judith’s behalf. (Others distributed were Peter, Dorcas, Abram, Mourning, Jacob, Frank, Toney, and Joan.)

It appears that Nell passed from Edward and Judith Moore Flowers York to Judith’s son Henry Flowers and is likely the “old Negro woman Nelly” who died in 1845, per Henry Flowers’ estate records. 

And what about Annis? 

Recall that Edward Moore bequeathed an Annis to his daughter Elizabeth Moore. Was she the same Annis who, 24 years later, was part of John Flowers’ estate? And was this Annis connected to Annis Taylor, who was part of Henry Flowers’ estate in 1845? These and other shared names among the enslaved people belonging to the Moore-Flowers deserve a closer look.

For example, here is the bequest of Henry Flower’s grandfather, also named Henry Flowers, to John Flowers in his 1788 will:

 

Henry “Senior” directed that John receive a man named Primus (after the death of Henry’s wife Nanny) and three boys named Peter, Abraham, and Frank. Primus is surely the man Edward and Judith York took in 1807. It is possible that this is same Frank who is described as “old” in the lot drawn by John’s granddaughter Charity Flowers Taylor and her husband William in the 1849 distribution of the estate Henry “Junior.”  And Peter is probably the Peter named in the lot drawn by Nancy Flowers Mann and her husband Claiborne in the 1807 distribution of John Flowers estate. The Manns moved to Mississippi some time after 1820, and may have taken Peter with them. There is also a Peter in the estate of Henry Flowers Jr. Was he perhaps a son, grandson or nephew of the first Peter?

Henry Flowers Will (1788), John Flowers Estate Record (1806), North Carolina Wills and Estates, 1665-1998 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com. Many thanks to Katherine Elks for bringing my attention to these possible connections, which I began to explore here. Stay tuned.

The estate of Isaac Daniel.

Isaac Daniel’s homeplace was at the site of modern Daniels Chapel Free Will Baptist Church, on Frank Price Church Road, northeast of Black Creek (and once part of Wayne County). Daniel made out his will on 13 January 1809. Among its provisions:

  • to beloved wife Mary Daniel, a negro woman woman named Crease
  • to wife Mary Daniel during her lifetime or widowhood, a negro boy named Everett
  • to wife Mary Daniel, negro woman Dinah and “her five younges children” Rose, Gin, Rachel, Lige, and Willie until his daughter Elizabeth Daniel comes of age, and then for Dinah and her children (and any increase) to be divided equally among Isaac and Mary Daniel’s six children, David, Elizabeth, Isaac, Patsey, Polly, and Jacob.

Isaac Daniel’s father was also named Isaac Daniel, which makes for confusing documentation, as we’ll see.

In March 1815, Wayne County Court divided the enslaved people belonging to Isaac Daniel’s estate. Son David Daniel drew Lot No. 1, Rosa and Clary ($440). Son Jacob Daniel drew Lot No. 4, Dinah and Sarah. Daughter Elizabeth Chance drew Lot No. 2, Jim ($375). Son Isaac Daniel drew Lot No. 3, Rachel and Peter. Daughter Martha Hooks drew Lot No. 5, Lige ($290). Daughter Polly Daniel drew Lot No. 6, Willie and Robbin ($425).

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Though this 1817 document is found in Isaac Daniel’s estate file, it appears to relate to the estate of his father Isaac Daniel. This Isaac’s children were Isaac and Jacob Daniel, who predeceased their father; Elizabeth Daniel Rountree; and Solomon Daniel. Isaac the first had owned four enslaved people — Sally ($275), Leah ($275), Sharper ($275), and Iredal ($200). The heirs of Isaac Daniel Jr. (the Isaac above) received Sharper. Elizabeth Rountree received Leah. The heirs of Jacob Daniel received Iredal. Solomon Daniel received Sally.

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Beginning in December 1814, Jacob Fulghum, guardian of Isaac Daniel’s minor sons, kept a log for several years of “the hire of the Negroes belonging to Jacob and Isaac Daniel.” (This appears to refer to Isaac the second and his brother.)

Dena and children were named as enslaved people belonging to Jacob Daniel. Dena’s youngest was born between 28 December 1814 and 28 December 1815. By 1821, Dena’s children Jack and Sary were old enough to be hired out on the own.

Isaac Daniel’s enslaved people were Rachel and Peter.

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This undated inventory was returnable to February Court 1822, but it is unclear whether it pertains to Isaac Daniel the first or second. In any case, it names two additional enslaved people — boy Laurance and girl Rena.

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On 13 December 1821, in another estate sale, Lawrence was sold to Barton Daniel and Serena to Sally Daniel.

Isaac Daniel Estate Records (1810), Wayne County, North Carolina Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com.

 

The estate of John Flowers.

We examined documents related to the people enslaved by Henry Flowers here. A look at the estate records of his father John Flowers, who died in 1806, reveals that several men and women had been held by the family for almost half-a-century.

Dr. John Vick and William Moore were administrators for John Flowers’ estate. As was common, they hired out four men (and rented out two plantations) for the years 1806 and 1807.

On 5 December 1807, a committee prepared a valuation of the twelve African-Americans comprising Flowers’ human chattel. They were Primus ($250), Peter ($450), Abram ($400), Frank ($425), Toney ($300), Jacob ($150), Will ($125), Annis ($5), Nell ($300), Dorcas ($300), Mourning ($200), and Joan ($175).

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The same day, the committee divided the enslaved into four lots, and Flowers’ heirs drew for them. The first lot — Primus, Nell, Annis and Will — went to Flowers’ widow, Judith, who had remarried to Edward York. The second lot — Peter and Dorcas — went to Claiborne Mann for his wife Nancy, Flowers’ daughter. The third lot — Abram, Mourning, and Jacob — went to son Edward Flowers. The last — Frank, Toney, and Joan — went to son Henry Flowers.

Nell, Annis, Peter, Abram, Toney, and Frank, and Jacob share names with enslaved people listed in Henry Flowers’ estate. In 1807, Nell was a woman in her prime. She is likely the Nelly who died forty years later during the probate of Henry Flowers’ estate. However, Annis, whose valuation in John’s estate likely indicates old age, appears to be a namesake for the other Annis listed with her children in Henry Flowers’ estate records. Census records indicate that the latter Annis was born between 1810 and 1818. Similarly, Henry Flowers’ Peter was born well after John Flowers’ Peter. There is insufficient evidence about Abram, Toney, and Frank.

John Flowers Estate File (1806), Nash County, North Carolina Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 [database on-line], http://www.ancestry.com.

Thanks again to Katherine Elks for alerting me to this rich trove of documents.

Another history of London Woodard and his church.

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Rocky Mount Telegram, 29 January 1960.

The take-away:

  • London’s Primitive Baptist is possibly the oldest African-American church in Wilson County.
  • London Woodard was born in 1808. In 1827, James Bullock Woodard purchased him for $500 from the estate of Julan Woodard.
  • In 1828, London Woodard was baptized at Toisnot Primitive Baptist.
  • In 1866, he sought permission to preach among his people.
  • In 1870, he was “dismissed” from Toisnot so that he could pastor the church he founded. He died lass than a month later.
  • London Church appears to have become disorganized after Woodard’s death, but in 1895, Toisnot P.B. dismissed several “colored brethren and sisters” who wanted to reestablish worship at London’s. The same year Union (now Upper Town Creek) P.B. released Haywood Pender, George Braswell, Dublin Barnes, and couple Charles and Rebeckah Barnes for the same purpose.
  • London Woodard married Pennie Lassiter, born free about 1810 and possessed of considerable property, including 29 acres purchased from James B. Woodard in 1859. [Penelope Lassiter was his second wife. His first, Venus, was enslaved.]
  • London and Pennie Woodard’s children were Priscilla (1846), Theresa (1848), Hardy (1850), Haywood (1852), William (1854), and Penina (1858). “Another child was probably named Elba, born in 1844; she was working for the John Batts family in 1860.” [London and Venus Woodard had nine children; Elba was not among either set.]
  • Many “old-time colored Christians” remained members of the churches they attended during slavery. Their children and grandchildren, however, gradually formed separate congregations.

——

  • Haywood Pender — in the 1900 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: Haywood Pender, 50, farmer; wife Feraby, 45; children Mollie, 39, and Ann, 8; and grandchildren Gold, 5, Nancy, 3, and Willie, 16. Haywood Pender died 15 July 1942 in Elm City, Toisnot township. Per his death certificate, he was born 6 October 1852 in Wilson County to Abram Sharp and Sookie Pender; was a farmer; was a widower; and was buried in Piney Grove cemetery, Elm City.
  • Dublin Barnes — in the 1880 census of Toisnot township, Wilson County: farmer Doublin Barnes, 25; wife Eliza, 21; daughter Sattena, 2; and Jane Thomas, 12, farmhand.
  • Charles and Rebecca Barnes — in the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: farmhand Charley Barnes, 50; wife Rebecca, 57; and children John, 26, William, 23, Annie, 17, Tom, 18, and Corah, 12.
  • George Braswell