Showing posts with label Garrett. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Garrett. Show all posts

Friday, June 2, 2017

From the Probate Files: Thomas Ward - Bertie County, North Carolina, 1796

At the end of my Monday post about his second wife, Pheraby Sowell, I promised to look into her husband Thomas Ward's will which he made in March of 1795.* Although he described himself as "being sick and weake in body" at the time it wasn't presented in Bertie County probate court until the November court term of 1796. It's clear from its provisions that Thomas was a wealthy man who was able to bequeath land, slaves, livestock and beds and furniture to his surviving family members.

I have transcribed the parts of the will that mention Pheraby in red.


In the name of God amen (March fourteenth year of
our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety five)
I Thomas Ward of Bertie County and state of North
Carolina being sick and weake but of sound of body
but of sound and disposing mind and memory thanks
be unto God for the same and calling to mind the
uncertainty of this mortal life and knowing it is
appointed once for all men to die, do make and or-
dain this my last will and Testament in manner and
form ^as^ followith ----
Item First  I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife
Pheraby Ward one negro woman named Sufia half
of my hogs three cows and calves four ewes and lambs
one horse called Springer one bridle & saddle one bed and
furniture to dispose of as she shall or may think proper
I also lend my beloved wife two negroes one negro man
named Black Dave one Girl named Hester all my
plantation utensils and Kitchen furniture that I have


not given away to the several Legatees in their legacies
during her natural life with the uses of my houses &
plantation I now live
Item  I give and bequeath unto my daughter Winiford
Holley one negro woman Pegg and her increase one bed
and furniture one large Iron pott two cows and calves which
said property is now in her possession. I say to her and her heirs
forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my son Michael Ward
one negro boy named Simon one Stear one bed and furni-
ture all which is now in his possession Except the negro boy
I say to him and his heirs forever I likewise lind my son
Michael Ward the plantation whereon he now lives his na-
tural life and after his death I give and desire the said
land and plantation unto my Grandson William Ward
son of the said Michael Ward I say to him and his heirs
forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my son James Ward four
hundred acres of land whereon he now lives one negro boy
Go one bed and furniture one Gun one cow & calf which
is now in his possession I say to him and his heirs forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my son Isaac Hill Ward
one Negroe boy named Charles one bed and furniture
two cows and calves to him and his heirs forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my son Joshua Ward the
Land plantation whereon I now live with all my 
Land adjoining thereto two negroes (to wit) Yellow


David and one boy named James one bed & furniture
one paid of Grist Mill Stones one paid of hand mill stones
one whipsaw one croscut saw one yoke of oxen cart
and wheels & one brandy Still I say to him and his heirs
forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my daughter Mary
Garrett one negro girl named Jumima to her and
her heirs forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my Daughter Martha
Luten one negro girl named Rose one bed ^and^ furniture
one Linnen wheel two cows and calves four head of 
Sheep all which she hath now possession of and one
walnut desk I say to her and her heirs forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my daughter Pheraby
Sparkman one negroe boy named Daniel one bed
and furniture on linnen wheel two cows & calves and
one looking Glass all of which she hath heretofore received
I say to her and her heirs forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my daughter Elizabeth
Ward one negro woman named Lidia and her child
named Rachel one bed and furniture one Linnen 
wheel two cows and calves two ewes and Lambs
I say to her and her heirs forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my daughter Ann Outlaw a
Negroe woman named Dinah one bed and furniture 
one Linnen wheel two cows and calves which she hath
heretofore received and two ewes and Lambs I say to her & to her


heirs forever ----
Item  I give and bequeath unto my daughter Elendar
Ward one Negroe man Black David one Negroe Girl
named Hester after the death of my beloved wife
Pheraby Ward likewise on bed and furniture one Linnen
wheel two cows & calves two ewes and Lambs - I say
to her and her heirs forever I also will and desire that
the house before mentioned in my beloved wife's Legacy
shall be given & I do hereby give and bequeath them
to my said Daughter Elendar Ward (after the decease of
my beloved wife to her and her heirs forever ----
Item  I hereby inpower and direct my Executors to make
a good and lawfull Rite and Title To Jeremiah Freeman
for a certain messuage or tenement track or parcel
of Land which I now hold under entry which land Jno.
Freeman dec'd bought of Michael Brittain the said Jere
miah Freeman paying to them the cost and Expense
of saving the same ----
Item  I will and desire that all my just debts and
funeral charges be paid and discharged and that
the remainding part of my Estate that hath not
before been mentioned be sold and my Just
debts funeral charges & be paid & discharged out
of the money arising therefrom and that the 
remainding part be equally divided amongst
my six children Joshua Ward  Martha Luten  Pheraby
Sparkman  Elizabeth Ward  Ann Outlaw  Elendar


Ward ----
Item  Lastly I constitute and appoint my friend
Solomon Cherry and my three sons Isaac H. Ward  James
Ward and Joshua Ward Executors to this my last will
and Testament and I do hereby Revoke disallow and
make void all my former wills and Testaments heretofore
by me made and ratifying this and no other to be my
last will and Testament
Signed Sealed & Delivered }          Thos. Ward
in the presence of . . . .        }
Gen Wm. Watford
Jona. Spivey
Jno. Campbell

State of No. Carolina     }    Nover. Term 1796 ----
     Bertie County           }   The last will and Testament
of Thomas Ward dec'd. was proved in open Court
by the Oaths of Wm. Watford & Jonathan Spivey
two of the subscribing witnesses and ordered to be
recorded ----                                     George Grayble



Next week I'll look at Pheraby's probate records from 1813.

Thomas and Pheraby/Feriby are the great grandparents of my great great grandmother Martha Heath Hardy, the wife of J.T.S. Warren.



*Actually I got it wrong, confusing him with another ancestor, who died five years after making the will presented in probate. (I've corrected the original post.)


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Friday, March 17, 2017

From the Probate Files: Abraham Heath - Warren County, Georgia, 1808

It's clear from his 1807 will that my fifth great grandfather Abraham Heath had prospered during his lifetime. If my count is correct he named 30 enslaved persons he bequeathed to his wife, children and grandchildren. (Only his wife, two of his sons and a grandson merited the epithet "beloved".)



["Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-893T-8QSY?cc=1999178&wc=9SBQ-W3V%3A267818601%2C267885001 : 20 May 2014), Warren > image 104 of 362;
county probate courthouses, Georgia.]


     In the name of God, Amen, I, Abraham Heath
of the County of Warren & State of Georgia, planter being
weak in Body but in perfect mind & memory, thanks be given
to Almighty God calling to mind the mortality of my Body and
knowing that it is appointed for all Men once to die, do
make & ordain this my last Will & Testament (That is to say
principally and first of all I Recommend my Soul to God that
gave it and my Body I Recommend to the Earth to be buried
in a Christian like manner at the discretion of my Executors
nothing doubting that at the General Resurrection I Shall receive
the Same again by the mighty power of God, and as touching the
worldly goods wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me with in 
this life I Give devise and dispose of in the following Manner 
and form (Viz)
First I Give and bequeath to my Son John Heath one Negro Man
     named Isaac, one woman named Dice and one Negro Boy Named
     Tillman with their Increase to him & his heirs forever.
Item I Give to my Daughter Sally Chapple, the following Negroes one
     woman named Fanny Girl Mary Girl Lydia, Girl Ambry & Boy
     Henry with their Increase to her and heirs forever
Item I Give to my Son Benjamin Heath three negroes Viz Mymsy
     and her two Sons Henry & Charles with their Increase forever
Item I Give to my beloved Son William Heath two negroes Viz Jeffrey
     and Turner to him and his heirs forever
Item I Give and bequeath to my Grand Daughter Polly Clower one
     negro Girl named Sarah
Item: I Give to my beloved Grandson Stephen B Clower one Negro
     Boy Isaac
Item I give to my Grand Daughter Linney Clower one Negro
     Boy Sam
Item I Give to my Grandson Green Clower one Negro Boy Charles
Item I Give to my Grandson Abraham H Clower one Negro Woman
     Milley with her Increase
Item I Give to my beloved Son Adam Heath one Negro Man
     Ranger, two hundred Acres of Land which he has titles
     for one Black Gelden and one Gray also one Bed and
     furniture
Item I Give ^and bequeath^ to my Daughter Elizabeth Heath two Negroes Beck
     and Child Clary
Item I Give to my Daughter Polly Heath one Negro Girl Hannah
     also one Bed & furniture with Bed Sted to her and her &
     her heirs forever
Item I Give to my Daughter Frances B Highfield one Negro Woman
     Named Silvia with her Increase to her & her heirs forever
Item I Give to my Son Richard Heath, One Negro Boy Named
     Jacob, one Sorrel Filley and one Bed & furniture with Sted
Item I Give to my Son Abraham Heath One Negro Boy Nathan
     and one Bed and furniture with Bed Sted
Item I Give to my Grandson Abraham Heath Chappell
     one Negro Boy Ephraim.
Item I Give and bequeath to my beloved wife Winnyford
     Heath two Negro women Anckey & Amy to Enjoy the same
     free from any Incumberances forever I also Lend
     my Wife all the Rest of my Estate both Real and personal
     during her Natural Life or Widowhood and after [?]
     [?] marriage, it is my Request that my Sons Richard
     and Abraham jointly should heir my Real Estate


     and that Richard should have Big Negro Charles and
     Big Jack, and one Negro Girl Patience to be equally shared
     betwixt the afore mentioned Richard & Abraham, and the
     Rest of my personal Estate after my wifes death or Widowhood
     to be equally divided among all my children
     and I nominate and appoint my Son Adam Heath
     Solomon Slatter and Elisha Hest Executors to this my last
     will and Testament and futhermore I disannull and revoke
     all former will or wills by me heretofore made.
     Signed Sealed published pronounced and declared by --
     the Said Abraham Heath as my last will and Testament
     in the presents of us whose names are hereunto ? -------
    this 23'd day of November in this Year of our Lord one
    thousand eight hundred and Seven
                                                                      his
     Stephen W Burnley                            Abraham X Heath
     Britain Blunt                                                mark
            her
     Mary X Garrett
           mark

                                      Probate
Georgia
Warren County   }  Personally appeared Stephen W Burnley
and being duly Sworn and on the holy Avangelist and
God deposeth and Saith that he Saw Abraham [Heath]
make his mark and publish and declare this ?---------
of writings his last will and Testament [and at]
the time of his So doing he was of Sound disposing
mind and memory being then in his presence 
And in the presence of the other Subscribing [witnesses]
and at his Request they all became witnesses 
to the Same. Sworn to in open court this ?----
of January 1808
                                                          Stephen W Burnley
Septimus Weatherby
C.C.O.W.Co.

Next I'm going to see if I can find an inventory of his will.
                   



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Working on Wednesday: Abraham Heath (About 1740 - 1807), Revolutionary War Veteran & Planter

Returning home to the region around Surry County after serving his two years with the Virginia Line of the Continental Army my 5X great grandfather reunited with his family which included his young daughter Sallie, my fourth great grandmother.

[Virginia und Maryland. Dominia Anglorum in America Septentrionali. Homann Erben (Firm), Norimbergæ, 1759.
Source: Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C.]



From the existing online records we're not sure when Abraham moved his family to Georgia but, as this land record dated January 2, 1786 shows, he already owned some land in Burke County and this additional 200 acres was "on the Hurricane Branch, Adjoining his own Land and Land of Henry Hayman."

[Georgia, Headright and Bounty Land Records, 1783-1909," images, FamilySearch]


Six month later he was apparently given 550 acres in Wilkes County.

["Georgia, Headright and Bounty Land Records, 1783-1909," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYLH-3QF?cc=1914217&wc=M617-B38%3A200644801 : 20 May 2014), > image 293 of 448; State Archives, Morrow.]

Here's a 1804 map of Georgia.

[Georgia. Drawn by S. Lewis. D. Fairman sc. (Published by John Conrad & Co., Philadelphia. 1804)
Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection.]

[Detail of above]


Unfortunately the federal census records for 1790, 1800 and 1810 are missing, lost sometime before 1830, but Ancestry.com offers The Reconstructed 1790 Census of Georgia (originally published as Substitutes for Georgia's Lost 1790 Census) which lists Abraham Heath on page 166.

[The Reconstructed 1790 Census of Georgia. Ancestry.com]


In 1798 Abraham Heath is listed in a Property Tax Digest for Warren County* as the owner of 14 enslaved persons, nine of whom were subject to taxation.

[1798. Ancestry.com. Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Georgia Tax Digests [1890]. 140 volumes. Morrow, Georgia: Georgia Archives.]


His name also appeared in Burke County's Property Tax Digest** that same year.

[1798. Ancestry.com. Georgia, Property Tax Digests, 1793-1892 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Georgia Tax Digests [1890]. 140 volumes. Morrow, Georgia: Georgia Archives.]


It was as a resident of Warren County that Abraham Heath made his will on November 23, 1807.

[Administration (Of) Estates and Wills, 1798-1937; Author: Georgia. Court of Ordinary (Warren County); Probate Place: Warren, Georgia. Ancestry.com. Georgia, Wills and Probate Records, 1742-1992 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
Original data: Georgia County, District and Probate Courts.]


Signed Sealed published pronounced and declared by --
the Said Abraham Heath as my last will and Testa ------
in the presents of us whose names are hereunto ? -------
this 23'd day of November in this Year of our Lord o---
thousand eight hundred and Seven
                                                                 his
Stephen W Burnley                            Abraham X Heath
Britain Blunt                                                mark
       her
Mary X Garrett
      mark

I'll be taking a closer look at Abraham Heath's will on Friday. It's got a lot of information in it.


*Warren County was created out of parts of Burke, Columbia, Washington, and Wilkes counties in 1793.
**Column headings for this record. (Nice to see that Abraham is the "Reputed Owner")




© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.