Aycock

The last will and testament of James S. Aycock (1836).

James S. Aycock’s farm lay on “the south side of the new Road leading to Stantonsburg” from Black Creek in what was then Wayne County. On 3 November 1836, he executed a last will and testament that provided, among other things:

  • wife Belinda Aycock was to receive “one Negro Woman by the name of Hannah” outright
  • wife Belinda Aycock was also to receive “one Negro Man by the name of Arthur” and “one Negro Woman by the name of Matilda” until daughter Kezia Aycock turned 21 years of age

  • all three were to be sold upon Belinda Aycock’s death or remarriage and the proceeds distributed to James S. Aycock’s children

 

Lane Street Project: in memory of Clarence Aycock (1912-1945).

I’ve spoken of the database I am developing of likely burials in Vick, Odd Fellows, and Rountree Cemeteries. My spreadsheet draws upon death certificates, obituaries, and other sources — most distressingly imprecise. The term “Rountree Cemetery” on these documents may refer to Vick, Odd Fellows, or Rountree. Some documents broadly refer only to burial in Wilson. However, in the absence of official burial records for any of the cemeteries, we make do.

This series honors the men, women, and children who never had grave markers, or whose stones have been lost or stolen or destroyed. Graves believed to be in Vick Cemetery, which the City of Wilson stripped of remaining markers in 1996, will be identified with a Vick Cemetery logo.

In the 1920 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Pet Acock, 41, grocery store drayman; wife Mattie, 33; and children Ruth, 17, tobacco factory worker, Pet Jr., 15, Clarence, 7, and Amanda, 5.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 414 South Lodge, tobacco factory laborer Mattie H. Acock, 45, widow; son Clarence, 18; daughter Mandy, 16; grandson Alphonsa, 4; roomer Ruth Newsome, 24, widow; and her children Lyda M., 5, and Edna, 2.

In 1940, Clarence Robert Aycock registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 10 December 1913 in Wilson; lived at 305 Reid Street; his contact was sister Mandy Aycock; and he was unemployed.

Clarence Aycock died 20 January 1945 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 10 December 1912 in Wilson County to Pat Aycock and Mattie Lamb; was single; lived at 404 Lodge Street; worked as a laborer; and was buried in Rountree Cemetery. Ruth Baker was informant.

Military histories of soldiers of Company C.

“This description, or extract from the official records, is to be considered strictly confidential, and is furnished to the disbursing officer to enable him to detect frauds. He should question each claimant fully as to military history, and, in cases of deceased soldiers, the heirs should be questioned as to the military history of husband, father, brother, or son, as the case may be.

“Before making disbursements the disbursing officer should be fully satisfied that the parties claiming the money are the persons they represent themselves to be. In case of doubt as to the identity of the soldier, payment will be refused, and the disbursing officer will reduce to writing the questions and answers, and at once transmit the same to the Adjutant General of the Army, with a full report.”

  • Isaac Acot [Aycock]

Isaac Aycock named Wilson County natives Jerry Borden and Henry Borden as men who had enlisted at the same time and served in Company C of the 14th Regiment, United States Colored Heavy Artillery.

  • Henry Borden [Barden]

Wilson County native Henry Borden named Wilson County natives Edward Borden and Dennis Borden. The kinship relationships between Jerry, Edward, Henry and Dennis Borden is not known, but all likely had been enslaved by Arthur Bardin or his kin.

Confidential Lists for the Identification of Claimants, U.S. Freedmen’s Bureau Records of Field Offices 1863-1878, http://www.ancestry.com.

The estates of Jesse and Patience Aycock.

Revolutionary War veteran Jesse Aycock (1743-1823) lived in the Nahunta area of Wayne County, N.C., but owned property in what would become Black Creek township, Wilson County. This property included the land upon which Lower Black Creek Primitive Baptist church stood; he bequeathed the parcel to the church in his 1822 will.

The Aycocks attended Lower Black Creek P.B., as did their slaves. Church records mention a woman Hannah owned by Jesse Aycock, and Briton(?) and Peter, owned by Aycock’s second wife, Patience Aycock.

Jesse Aycock drafted his will on 7 November 1822. To his wife Patience, he left a lifetime interest in “four negroes by names Jacob Peter and two by name of Haner.” (In other words, the four were Jacob, Peter, Hannah, and Hannah.)

Aycock owned additional slaves, as evidenced by a subsequent provision: “I leave all my Negroes that I have not lent to my wife to be sold with Balance of my Estate.” The proceeds were to be used to pay off his debts, and any remainder was to be distributed among his children and grandchildren.

Further, after Patience Aycock’s death, Jesse Aycock’s enslaved people were to be sold, with “Peter and Haner to be sold together.” (Presumably, they were a married couple and perhaps were elderly.)

Jesse Aycock died in 1823, leaving many dozens of heirs by his first wife and an estate whose settlement dragged on for decades.

Patience Aycock drafted her will on 4 June 1824. Though she had life estates in her husband’s slaves, she could not devise them to anyone, and her will only mentions a woman named Rose, who was to go to her son Joel Newsom.

The inventory of Patience Aycock’s estate, made in November 1827, confirmed that she owned only one enslaved person outright:

“An Inventory of the Property of Patience Acock Deecast Late of Wayne County Taken the 3rd of November 1827 by Hardy Williamson”

Will of Jesse Aycock (1822), Wayne County, North Carolina, U.S. Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com; Estate of Patience Aycock (1827), Wayne County, North Carolina, U.S. Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.

State vs. Jack Aycock.

Jack Aycock married Letha Daniel on 17 December 1866 in Wilson County. In the 1870 census of Black Creek township, Wilson County: Jackson Aycock, 23; wife Litha, 26; and daughter Kate, 1.

I have not identified Amanda Aycock.

Bastardy Bonds, 1866, Miscellaneous Records, Wilson County Records, North Carolina State Archives.