last will and testament

The last will and testament of London Woodard.

Acclaimed Primitive Baptist preacher London Woodard made out his last will and testament on 14 November 1870.

After directing a “decent burial,” Woodard itemized the household goods and farm implements left to his “beloved wife,” Penelope Lassiter Woodard.

His three sons, William, Hardy, and Haywood Woodard, were to divide his land equally and receive one beehive and one axe each.

Daughter Treasy Woodard received the late nineteenth-century equivalent of a bedroom set.

The rest of his property was to be divided among his children Howell, Elvin, Rose, Pharibee, Sarah, Amos, Harriet, London, Treasy, and Penina Woodard.

 

The last will and testament of Rosetta Barnes.

Rosetta Barnes‘ undated will divided her property among her children. Daughter Wadie Barnes Rountree was to receive her mother’s “sewing machine and all … wearing clothes.” Son Henry Barnes received a bedstead and bed, as well as all her real estate, comprised of her “lots and house in ‘Grab Neck‘ a colored suburb of the town of Wilson.” Son Toby Barnes also received a bedstead and bed. Everything else was to be divided equally among her children.

——

On 18 August 1866, Short Barnes and Rosa Barnes registered their two-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace.

In the 1870 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: farm laborer Short Barnes, 35; wife Rosa, 21; and daughter Rena, 5.

In the 1880 census of Taylors township, Wilson County: farmer Short Barnes, 50; wife Rose, 45; and children Nancy, 14, Waity, 12, Martha, 10, Toby, 8, and Joseph, 6.

On 13 January 1891, Alexander Rountree, 21, of Taylors township, son of Rose Rountree, married Waity Barnes, 20, of Wilson township, daughter of Short and Rosa Barnes, in Wilson. Nestus Bagley, Warren Ellis, and Jesse S. Barnes were witnesses.

In the 1900 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: Rose Barnes, 59, and children Renner, 29, Toba, 24, Jose, 21, James, 17, Henry, 11, Bill, 9, and Maggie, 7.

In the 1910 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: widow Rosetta Barnes, 60, and sons Tobe, 27, widower, and Henry, 21, both wagon factory laborers. Rosetta reported that five of her ten children were living.

Roseter Barnes died 29 January 1914 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was 70 years old; lived on Nash Street; was single [in fact, was widowed]; worked as a midwife; and was buried in Wilson [most likely, Vick Cemetery.] Henry Barnes was informant.

Wadie Rountree died 7 July 1926 in Wilson township, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was born 8 February 1873 in Wilson to Short Barnes and Rosa Barnes; was married to Alex Rountree; and was buried in Wilson [probably, Vick Cemetery.]

Joe Barnes died 29 September 1933 in Wilson township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was 53 years old; was born in Wilson County to Short Barnes and Rosa Etta Barnes; was a widower; worked as a farmer; and was buried in Wilson [probably Vick Cemetery.] Informant was James Barnes.

Tobe Barnes died 5 January 1955 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 3 February 1881 in Wilson County to Short Barnes and Rosa Farmer; was married to Hannah Barnes; and worked as a farmer. He was buried in Rest Haven Cemetery, Wilson.

Will of Rozetta Barnes (undated), North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.

The last will and testament of Henry Cotton.

We have already examined the wills of Henry Cotton and his wife Temperance Moore Cotton as transcribed in Wilson County will books. Now, however, we see a copy of Henry Cotton’s original will, drafted on post office letterhead by Samuel H. Vick (who was in between stints as postmaster) and witnessed by mail carrier John H. Clark.

Will of Henry Cotten (1895), North Carolina, U.S. Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.

Wills and estates.

Even when they owned property, most African-Americans in Wilson County in the 19th and early 20th centuries, even the wealthiest and most prominent,  did not execute wills, and their estates passed informally to their descendants as “heir property.” (A major contributor to loss of land and wealth among African-American families.) Some bucked the trend, however, and this post comprises a running list of such wills and estates featured in Black Wide-Awake.

Men and women born enslaved are marked with an asterisk. Free people of color are indicated with a circumflex (^).

Last will and testament of Ella Clark Gaston Hinton, executed 15 August 1946.

Wills

Estates

The last will and testament of Clinton F. Goffney.

Clinton F. Goffney was a few days shy of his 29th birthday when he executed his will; “the uncertainty of [his] earthly existence” likely alludes to a terminal illness.

Goffney’s mother Lucy Ann Barnes Goffney had died just days earlier, but as her only child, he knew he stood to inherit a one-acre lot she owned adjacent to G.W. Suggs, Samuel H. Vick, Charles Bynum, and James Battle. Goffney left this land and all the rest of his property to his uncle, Frank O. Barnes of Durham, North Carolina.

——

C.C. Goffney, 35, married Lucy Ann Barnes, 24, on 7 March 1900 at Lucy Barnes‘ house in Wilson.

In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: teamster C. Columbus Goffney, 36; wife Lucy Ann, 24; son Clinton, 7; and brother-in-law Frank O. Barnes, 17, tobacco stemmer day laborer.

In the 1910 census of Wilson, Wilson County: house carpenter Christopher Goffney, 44; wife Fannie [sic], 33; son Clinton, 16; Freeter Mosely, 19, insurance agent.

In the 1916 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Goffney Clinton F (c) cook h 410 E Green

Clinton F. Goffney registered for the World War I draft in New York City, Manhattan County, New York. Per his registration card, he was born 28 February 1897 in Wilson, N.C.; resided at 514 Lenox Avenue, New York, N.Y.; his father was born in Cherokee, N.C.; his employer was Mr. Moore, Clarissa Apartment House, 2400 Seventh Avenue; and his nearest relative was mother Lucy A. Goffney, 147 Suggs Street, Wilson.

In the 1922 and 1925 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Goffney Clinton (c) tobacco wkr h 704 Suggs

Lucy Ann Goffney died 11 February 1922 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 15 February 1876 in Wilson to Edwin Barnes and Lucy Ann Barnes; was the widow of Columbus Goffney; lived at 704 Suggs; and was buried in Wilson [likely Vick Cemetery.] Clinton Goffney was informant. [Lucy Gaffney’s estate consisted of a house and lot valued at $1400 and “B&L stock” valued at $200.]

Goffney died 4 June 1927 in Wilson. Per his direct certificate he was born 28 February 1893 to Columbus Goffney and Lucy Barnes; was single; worked as a day laborer; lived at 704 Suggs; and was buried in Wilson [most likely, in Vick Cemetery]. Informant was Frank O. Barnes, Durham.

Will of Clinton F. Goffney (1922), North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.

The estate of Theophilus Eatmon (1851).

Eatmons (also “Eatman”) settled in what is now the Rock Ridge area of Wilson County by the mid-1700s. They are thought to descend from brothers John and Thomas Eatmon, but exact relationships between various Eatmon lines, which often intermarried, are murky.

This post is the second in a series featuring documents from Eatmon/Eatman family estate files. [Sidenote: Evidence suggests Theophilus Eatmon was my great-great-great-great-grandfather via a son, Toney Eatmon, he fathered with an unknown free woman of color. Unsurprisingly, Toney did not inherit from him.]

——

On 4 October 1848, Theophilus Eatmon drafted a will that, among other things, distributed his enslaved property:

  • to wife Beedy Eatmon, a woman named Fan
  • to daughter Nicy Eatmon, Vilet and Elisa
  • to daughter Charity Dalton, Betty and Rachel
  • to daughter Elisha Eatmon, Jack, Leace, and Pink
  • to daughter Tempy Eatmon, Marge and Belford
  • to son Marshel Eatmon, Atsey

On 25 May 1849, Eatmon executed a codicil: Betty was to go his granddaughter Caroline Boykin, wife of Willie Boykin.

Theophilus Eatmon died in 1851 in what is now western Wilson County. As was customary, the community of enslaved people living on his farm were dispersed among family and neighbors under hire agreements. As the March 1851 account of hire of slaves below shows, Eatmon enslaved more than the eleven people named in his will; those unnamed, including Bob, Reuben, Willis, Anaca and her children, and Mary and her children, were to be sold. The estate file does not contain records of such sales, however.

The estate did not settle smoothly. A lawsuit by Theophilus’ granddaughter Aquilla Eatmon triggered a countersuit by Eatmon’s executor Absalom B. Baines against Aquilla and a neighbor named Hardy W. Boykin. Per depositions given by Boykin and Aquilla, Aquilla and her cousin Caroline Eatmon had cared for their grandfather in his old age. In 1844, Theophilus, who was illiterate, called Boykin to his house to write up two promissory notes. Though he had promised the girls “a negro each,” he decided to give them $400 instead, which “would buy a tolerable good one” or even “a pretty good one” once the amount accrued some interest. Believing they would be upset, Theophilus wanted to keep these gifts secret from his children. With some misgivings, Boykin drafted the documents and gave them to Caroline’s mother Charity Dalton for safekeeping. (Boykin was anxious not to antagonize the Eatmon children, but generally did Theophilus’ bidding. He described the old man as a competent farmer who owned more than 20 slaves and 2000 acres and only occasionally drank to excess.) A few years later, upset about Caroline’s choice of husband, Theophilus sought to pull the notes back. Caroline snatched her note, put in her bosom, and declared she had been promised a negro and did not think she ought to give it up. Aquilla also refused to return her note. Theophilus settled with Caroline per the terms of his 1849 codicil, but left nothing for Aquilla and never paid her note.

——

In the 1850 slave schedule of Nash County, Theophilus Eatmon claimed 19 enslaved people: women aged 45 [Fanny?], 35, 24, 21, and 20; girls aged 15, 12, 11, 10, 8, 6, and one month; men aged 25 and 19 [Robert?]; and boys aged 15 [Jack?], 11, 10 [Willis?], 7 [Joseph?], and 5. The imbalance in the numbers of men and women suggests relationships off-plantation for most.

I have found relatively little evidence of the post-emancipation lives of Theophilus Eatmon’s enslaved community.

  • Jack

Jack Williamson was a son of Toney Eatmon. Born about 1835, his mother was Hester Williamson. Was he the Jack listed above? Likely not, as evidence established that Jack was owned by Thomas Williamson, then Thomas’ son Garry Williamson.

  • Bob

On 29 August 1866, Robert Eatmon and Viney Eatmon registered their seven-year cohabitation with a Nash County justice of the peace.

In the 1870 census of Chesterfield township, Nash County: farmer Robt. Eatmon, 38; wife Vinah, 35; Turner Eatmon, 65; Lannie [Fannie] Eatmon, 60; Willis, 30, Joseph, 18, Henry A., 10, Reuben, 6, and Mahala Eatmon, 3.

In the 1880 census of Bailey township, Nash County: farmer Robt. Eatmon, 52; wife Viny, 38; father Crawford Eatmon, 71; mother Fanny Eatmon, 82; nephew Rubin, 15, and niece Hellen, 13. [It does not appear that Crawford Eatmon, who may be the same person as Turner above, was enslaved by Theophilus.]

In the 1900 census of Bailey township, Nash County: farmer Robert Eatmon, 67; wife Vinie, 50; and niece Lizzie, 14.

  • Reuben
  • Belford
  • Ga[illegible] L[illegible]
  • Atsey
  • Rachel and child
  • Mary and child
  • Vilet and Lisa

In 1860, Theophilus Eatmon’s daughter Elisha Eatmon (also referred to in records as Selitia or Delitia) was accused harboring an enslaved girl named Violet who had run away from Berkley Cone. Is this the same Violet?

Or: in the 1880 census of Oldfields township, Wilson County: farmer Lewis Freeman, about 55; wife Katy, about 25; and Violet Eatman, about 78.

  • Willis

(My great-great-grandfather ) Willis Barnes, born about 1841, was also a son of Toney Eatmon. Is this him? Probably not. Though about the same age, my Willis was a married man with several children by 1870, unlike Willis Eatmon.

In the 1870 census of Chesterfield township, Nash County: farmer Robt. Eatmon, 38; wife Vinah, 35; Turner Eatmon, 65; Lannie [Fannie] Eatmon, 60; Willis, 30, Joseph, 18, Henry A., 10, Reuben, 6, and Mahala Eatmon, 3.

  • Betty
  • Anaca and three children
  • Fanny and child Marge

Fanny Eatmon had at least two children, Robert, born about 1832, and Margie Ann, birth year unknown. Robert reared Margie Ann’s children Reuben, born about 1863, and Mahala/Helen, born about 1867. Henry Eatmon also may have been Margie’s son.

In the 1870 census of Chesterfield township, Nash County: farmer Robt. Eatmon, 38; wife Vinah, 35; Turner Eatmon, 65; Lannie [Fannie] Eatmon, 60; Willis, 30, Joseph, 18, Henry A., 10, Reuben, 6, and Mahala Eatmon, 3.

In the 1880 census of Bailey township, Nash County: farmer Robt. Eatmon, 52; wife Viny, 38; father Crawford Eatmon, 71; mother Fanny Eatmon, 82; nephew Rubin, 15, and niece Hellen, 13.

On 30 November 1884, George Smith, 22, of Wake County, son of Lucy Smith (now Debnam), married Ellen [sic] Eatman, 17, of Wake County, daughter of Margia Ann Eatman (now [illegible]), in Marks Creek, Wake County. Robert Eatmon, Helen’s uncle, gave permission for the ceremony.

In addition to their blood relationship, Helen Eatmon had been bound as an apprentice to her uncle Robert Eatmon.

Reuben Eatman died in Bailey township, Nash County, on 4 June 1922. Per his death certificate, he was 57 years old; his mother was Margie Eatman; he was married; and he worked as a farmer. He was buried in Wilson County. Frank Eatman was informant.

Estate File of Theophilus Eatmon (1851), Nash County, North Carolina Estate Files 1663-1979, http://www.familysearch.org; North Carolina, U.S. Marriage Records 1741-2011, http://www.ancestry.com.

The last will and testament of Jennie Farmer Braswell.

In a will signed 21 May 1907, Jennie Braswell left all her personal and real estate to her sister Venus Farmer.

——

In the 1900 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: widow Rhoda Farmer, 70; daughter Jennie Braswell, 40, widow; daughter Martha Wooten, 28; grandchildren Howard, 17, Rena, 15, Lulu, 13, Minnie, 7, Walter, 10, and Lily [Wooten?], 20; and Dennis A. Thadis, 33.

Will of Jennie Braswell (1907), North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com.

The estate of Isaac Scarborough, part 1.

We met James Scarborough and the people he enslaved here and here and here. His son Isaac Scarborough, born in 1780, came into possession of Scarborough House just before his death and passed it on to his younger daughter, Susan Scarborough Bryant.

Isaac Scarborough made out his first will in Edgecombe County on 21 August 1826. In it, he left twelve enslaved people to his wife Nancy Scarborough — Sooky, Harry, Agnes, David, Austin, Elsy, Jinny, Amy, Abel, Orange, Caswell, and Charlotte. [N.B.: Isaac Scarborough married two women named Nancy. The maiden name of his first wife is not known. Nor is her death date.]

In 1848, Scarborough married Nancy Barnes Tyson. In the 1850 census of Edgecombe County, Isaac Scarborough’s household included himself, his wife, their infant daughter, and Nancy Tyson’s children by her first marriage to Abner Tyson, and Scarborough reported 33 enslaved people.

Isaac Scarborough made out his will in October 1853. To his wife Nancy, he left a life interest in the tract of land on which they lived near present-day Saratoga, which he had purchased from Joab Horne in 1841, as well as the adjoining tract purchased from Louis Dilda in 1847. [These purchases totaled more than 1400 acres on White Oak Swamp.] Isaac also left Nancy outright “the following slaves (viz) Mary, Edith, Harriet, John, Himbrick, Abraham, and Gray Hilliard ….” and a life interest in Harry, Orrin, Rose, and Austin, who were to pass to their daughters Victoria and Isaac Susan after Nancy’s death. Isaac’s remaining enslaved people, who were not named, were also to pass to their daughters in equal shares.

Isaac Scarborough died in early 1857, and his estate entered a lengthy probate. The file is rich with references to the enslaved people whose lives were upended by his death.

In this post, we examine documents from 1858 through 1860, including hire lists and a receipt for the care of “a n*gger woman.”

First things first, to keep the plantation going and income flowing, some of Scarborough’s land was rented and enslaved people were hired out. (Those belonging to the estate, that is. The men and women bequeathed directly to widow Nancy Scarborough were not subjected to these transactions.)

For the period 6 March 1857 to 1 January 1858, widow Nancy Scarborough hired David and Ned for ten dollars each, a price that suggests their old age or disability. She was also paid by the estate for the care of four women with small children — Charlotte with three, Jinny with three, Debby with three, and Chaney with two. Joseph Payne hired Daniel ($139) and Lucy and her child ($40). Jacob Byrum hired Abel ($160) and Bill ($110), and James J. Taylor, Jesse ($95, Toney ($40.50), and  Mary ($70); John Felton, Hannah ($13.50); and Rufus W. Edmundson, Milly ($2.75).

At the end of 1858, the cycle started all over again, with people from Isaac Scarborough’s shifted around to spend a year with the highest bidder. Bill went to David Webb for $73. David went to Jonathan Weaver for $137.25. James Barnes took Abel for $175.25. Lewis S. Dilda took Daniel for $175.00. Jonathan Bulluck took Jesse ($127) and Milly ($12). Ned remained with Nancy Scarborough, who also took Augustin for $2.50. (Augustin’s absence from the previous year’s hire and his low lease rate suggests he was a young child, perhaps 6 or 7 years old.) Lucy and her child remained with Joseph Pane ($25), and Hannah with John Felton ($25.25).

Curiously, there’s a second account that appears to have been filed for the same year. The heading is somewhat ambiguous — is this account for the year that ended 31 December 1858? Patrick Bynum hired Bill ($140), Hannah ($42), and Milly ($43); Nancy Scarborough hired David ($141); James Barnes hired Abel ($178) and Daniel ($190); Hiram Webb, Jesse ($167); Jonathan Bulluck, Toney ($99.75) and Ned ($112); James J. Taylor, Mary ($85); and Isaac C. Moore, Augustin ($34.50). David Webb took in Jinny and her three children, and Nancy Scarborough took in Charlotte and her three children, Debby and her four children, Lucy and her two children, and Chaney and one child.

On an unspecified date in 1859, the estate paid Anna Walston two dollars “for A visit to A n*gger woman.”

For the year following 30 December 1859: Bill ($125) and Jinny and two children went to David Webb; David ($50), Hannah ($50), and Milly ($50) to Nancy Scarborough; Abel ($179) to James Barnes; Daniel ($170) to William Gardner; Jesse to Hiram Webb ($180); Tony ($111), Ned ($139), and Ashley ($25) to Jonathan H. Bulluck; Augustin ($62) to William Woodard; and Mary and a child ($60) and Lucy and two children ($30) to John Harper. Nancy Scarborough agreed to payment for the care of Charlotte and three children, Debby and five children, and Chaney and one child.

On 9 January 1860, James J. Taylor received a ten-dollar credit from James Barnes, guardian of Isaac Scarborough’s minor heirs. Why? The unnamed woman he had hired the previous year had had a child, thereby diminishing her usefulness.

On 2 June 1860, Joshua Walston received two dollars for “Services rendered by my wife in attending to negro woman in 1859.”

A receipt for care of women with children during 1859 and 1860:

In December 1860, again, the community is picked over and divided up for the next year. David Webb hired Bill ($120) and Jinna and two children ($10); Nancy Scarborough hired David ($50) and Ashley ($46); James Barnes hired Abel ($175); William Felton hired Daniel ($170); Hiram Webb hired Jesse ($150); Elbert Felton hired Toney ($111) and Ned ($135); Isaac Moore hired Augustin ($64); Garry Bargeron hired Hannah ($55) and Charlotte and her two children ($45); and David Amason hired Milly ($37). Nancy Scarborough agreed to take payment for care for Debbie and her five children, Lucy and her two children, and Mary and her two children.

As seen, members of Isaac Scarborough’s enslaved community were moved from year to year as their hire arrangements began and ended. Given Saratoga’s proximity to the county line, it is not surprising that several of the men who bid for their services lived beyond Wilson County in Pitt and Edgecombe Counties. Thus, we see that, even when a community was not broken up by sales, the death of an enslaver profoundly destabilized communities.

Estate of Isaac Scarborough (1859), North Carolina Estate Files 1663-1979, http://www.familysearch.org.

A guide to the wills and estate records of Wilson County enslavers.

Wills and estate records contain some of the most useful material for researchers of enslaved people. Here, a running list of enslavers’ wills and estate records featured in Black Wide-Awake.

Wills

Detail from 1860 federal slave schedule of Wilson County, North Carolina.

Estate records

The estate of Edith Joyner Barnes.

Edith Joyner Barnes, widow of Jesse Barnes, was mother of several of Wilson County’s wealthiest men, including county founder, farmer, slave trader and military man Joshua Barnes.

Edith Barnes’ 1848 will included these provisions:

  • a negro boy named Tony to grandson Jesse Barnes, son of Dempsey D. Barnes

  • “old Negro man Isaac” had “the priviledge of choosing for his master either of [her] three sons Elias Barnes William Barnes or Joshua Barnes his wife Violet to go with him” with money from her estate to support them for their lifetimes

  • “two negroes named Judy and Toppy,” valued at $600, to son Joshua Barnes

Edith Barnes died in 1849, and her estate entered probate. At November Term 1849, her sons petitioned the county court for the partition of the enslaved people not named in Edith’s will — Harry Sr., Harry Jr., Elisa, Hannah, Violet, Short, Celicia [Cecilia?], Cherry, Cass, Anarchy, Squire, Bob, Ginny, Mark, and Eny.

The estate file does not contain the order responding to the petition, or a distribution per its terms.

——

N.B.: Isaac Barnes and Vilet Barnes registered their nine-year cohabitation with a Wilson County justice of the peace in 1866. In the 1870 census of Stantonsburg township, Wilson County: Isaac Barnes, 35; wife Violet, 25; children Warren, 9, and Joseph, 4; Della Amerson, 21, and child Margaret, 1; and Larrence Barnes, 21. This young couple were children when Edith Barnes made her will in 1848 and could not have been the “old man Isaac” and wife Violet referred to.

Edith Barnes Will, North Carolina Wills and Probate Records 1665-1998, http://www.ancestry.com; Edith Barnes Estate File (1849), Edgecombe County, North Carolina Estate Files 1663-1979, http://www.familysearch.org.