NASH FAMILY

Members of the Nash family were

1    i. John, born say 1752.

ii. James, born say 1754, a "Mulata" boy bound apprentice by the 1 September 1761 New Hanover County, North Carolina court: _ah Hand brought into Court a Mulata boy born of ___ oman, Named James Nash praying he may be bound __ him [Minutes 1738-69, 203].

2    iii. Thomas, born say 1762.

 

1.    John¹ Nash, born say 1752, was taxable in Chesterfield County on 1 tithe and a horse in 1792 and 1793 and 2 tithes and 2 horses in 1794 [PPTL, 1786-1811, frames 145, 183, 219]. He may have been the father of

i. Moses, born say 1773, a "Mulatto" taxable in Chesterfield County in 1805, 1806 and 1807, called Moses Ash in 1811 when he was laborer living with his wife and 3 children on Samuel Davis's land, called Moses Nash from 1812 to 1816 when he was in the list of "Free Negroes," living on Samuel Davis's land [PPTL, 1786-1811, frames 603, 641, 689, 824; 1812-27, frames 20, 67, 110, 157, 238]. He and Nathaniel Stewart were sureties for the 4 March 1812 Chesterfield County marriage bond of Mima Norton and Isham D. Valentine.

 

2.    Thomas Nash, born say 1762, (called Thomas Ash) was head of an Opelousas, Louisiana household of 7 "other free" in 1810 [LA:316] but was counted as white in Natchitoches in 1820 [LA:92] and 1830: born 1760-70, head of a household of 5 persons [LA:58]. He was the father of

i. Mary, born 6 June 1781, daughter of Thomas Nash, married James Groves [Wise, Sweat Families of the South, 120] who was head of a Natchitoches, Louisiana household of 3 "other free" in 1810 [LA:325].

 

Mecklenburg County, Virginia

1.    Elizabeth Naish/ Nash, born say 1775, was taxable on her son Irbey and 2 horses in 1812 [PPTL, 1806-28, frame 293] abd was head of a Mecklenburg County household of a white woman 26-45 years of age in 1820 [VA:141a]. She rented land in Mecklenburg County from Jacob Chavis from about 1800 to 1819 [LVA chancery file 1819-006]. She was the mother of

i. ?Mary, born about 1787, a 63-year-old "Mulatto" counted in the 1850 Mecklenburg County census [VA:139b].

ii. ?John, born about 1794, registered in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, on 28 October 1826: a free mulatto about thirty two years old, five feet six and three eighths Inches high...born of a free Woman in this County [Register of Free Negroes 1809-41, no.16, p.20]. He married Olive Ivey, 1823 Mecklenburg County bond.

iii. Irbey, born about 1795, head of a Mecklenburg County household of 3 "free colored" in 1820 [VA:141a]. He married Ann Dunston, 1830 Mecklenburg County bond, and was counted with Ann as "Mulattos" in the 1850 Mecklenburg County census [VA:138b].

iv. ?Willie, bound by the Mecklenburg County court to Jacob Chavous, wheelwright, on 12 October 1807 [Orders [Orders 1807-9, 239].

v. ?Archibald, bound by the Mecklenburg County court to Jacob Chavous, wheelwright, on 12 September 1808 [Orders [Orders 1807-9, 467].

vi. ?Banister, married Temperance Dunston, 1835 Mecklenburg County bond.

vii. ?Luvenia, born say 1808, married John Chavous, 24 February 1829 Mecklenburg County bond.

 

NEAL FAMILY

Members of the Neal family were

i. John, born say 1738, a "Mulatto boy" valued at £10 in the 1 April 1748 inventory of the King George County, Virginia estate of Robert Rankins. He was called a "Mulatto Boy named Jno. Neal under indentures for 31 years from his birth" in the 2 June 1749 inventory of the King George County estate of George Harrison [Inventories 1745-65, 28, 45], perhaps the John Neal who was taxable on 3-4 horses in Franklin County, Virginia, from 1787 to 1794: called a "Molatto" in 1787, "Free" in 1794 [PPTL 1786-1802].

1    ii. William, born say 1740.

 

1.    William Neal, born say 1740, was a "mulatto" taxable in New Hanover County, North Carolina, in 1763 [SS 837] and in Brunswick County, North Carolina, in 1769 [SS 837]. He may have been the father of

i. Arthur, head of a Richland District, South Carolina household of 5 "other free" in 1800 [SC:60].

ii. S., head of a Brunswick County, North Carolina household of 2 "other free" in 1810 [NC:226].

iii. Nancy, head of a Darlington District, South Carolina household of 6 "other free" in 1810 [SC:669].

iv. James, head of a Darlington District, South Carolina household of 4 "other free" in 1810 [SC:669].

v. Benjamin, head of a Marlboro District, South Carolina household of 5 "other free" in 1800 [SC:60], 4 in Richland District in 1810 [SC:177].

 

Another member of a Neal family was

i. Benjamin, emancipated by Philip Neale in Craven County about 1800 [http://familysearch.org/search/catalog/1273813, Pre-Civil War slave related papers; film 008358133, frame 679 of 1209], purchased 100 acres in Craven County on the south side of the Neuse River and southwest side of Back Creek, a prong of Adams Creek, on 7 April 1809 for $90 [DB 37:732], and was head of a Craven County, North Carolina household of 3 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:65]. His daughter Hepsey Neil married Peter George, "colurd people," 27 September 1822 Craven County bond, William Howard surety, and received a deed of gift from her father Benjamin Neale of all his land and property on 18 November 1830 in consideration that Peter maintain him for the remainder of his life. He sold 100 acres in Craven County on the west side of Back Creek, a branch of Adams Creek, for $50 on 4 February 1833 [DB 53:254, 443].

 

NEWMAN FAMILY

1.    Maria Newman, born say 1735, was the servant of Thomas Maccatee on 10 June 1755 when she confessed in Charles County, Maryland court that she had a "Mollatto" child. The court bound her four-month-old son William to her master until the age of thirty-one [Court Record 1755-6, 127, 180]. She was the mother of

2    i. William¹, born in February 1755.

ii. ?Benjamin, head of a Montgomery County, Maryland household of 10 "other free" in 1790.

3    ii. ?Isaac, born before 1776.

 

2.   William¹ Newman, born in February 1755, was a "Mulatto" head of a Charles County household of 4 "other free" in 1790, 6 in 1800 [MD:515], and 3 in 1810 [MD:303]. He may have been the William Newman (born before 1776) who was a "man of colour" taxable on 2 horses in Harrison County, Virginia, from 1814 to 1818 [PPTL 1809-18, frames 222, 294, 387, 411] and head of a Randolph County, Virginia household of 2 "free colored" in 1830 [VA:130] and 1840 [VA:273]. And he may have been the father of

i. John, a "man of colour" taxable on a horse in Harrison County, Virginia, from 1814 to 1818 [PPTL 1809-18, frames 222, 294, 387, 411].

ii. Samuel, born about 1798, married Susanna Cook, 15 May 1822 Randolph County bond. He was head of an Eastern District, Monongalia County household of 6 "free colored" in 1830 [VA:362], a 52-year-old "Mulatto" counted in the 1850 census for the eastern part of Monongalia County in 1850 with "Mulatto" Susanna (both born in Virginia) with $100 real estate [family no. 116].

iii. Elisha, born about 1799, head of a Randolph County household of 12 "free colored" in 1840 [VA:272], a "Mulatto" farmer with $1,000 real estate when he was counted in the 1850 census for Barbour County and had $1,500 in real estate in the Philippi, Barbour County census in 1860 [VA:51].

 

3.    Isaac Newman, born before 1776, was a "Free Negro" taxable on 2 horses in Loudoun County, Virginia, in 1813 [PPTL 1813-25], a "man of Colour" taxable on 3 horses in Harrison County, Virginia, from 1814 to 1818 [PPTL 1809-18, frames 222, 293, 320, 387, 411] and head of an Eastern District, Harrison County household of 8 "free colored" in 1830 [VA:324a]. He may have been the father of

i. Timothy, born about 1803, head of a Harrison County household of 5 "free colored" in 1830 [VA:324a], a 47-year-old "Mulatto" counted in the Barbour County census with (wife?) Elizabeth and $800 real estate [VA:90b, family no. 1232].

ii. Alexander, head of a Harrison County household of 2 "free colored" in 1830 [VA:324a].

 

NEWSOM FAMILY

Chickoree School in Logan County, Ohio, about 1910

Mary, Suninu and Vada Newsom in rear center, Clara Newsom on far left

 

1.    Moses¹ Newsom, born about 1710, was the (white) son of Thomas Newsom of Isle of Wight County, Virginia, and his wife Elizabeth who named him in her 18 September 1752 Southampton County will [WB 1:175]. He purchased 150 acres on the south side of the Nottoway River in Isle of Wight County from his father for 5 shillings on 21 February 1736 and sold this land "conveyed to sd Moses Newsom by Thomas Newsom, father of the sd Moses" on 22 July 1745 [DB 5:94; 7:143]. This part of Isle of Wight County became Southampton County when it was formed in 1749. On 20 August 1744 he purchased 150 acres near this land, just across the county line in Northampton County, North Carolina, on the south side of the Meherrin River near Kirby's Creek. He sold half this land on 25 February 1757 and purchased another acre on Ivey Branch from Over Jordan for 2-1/2 shillings for use as a water grist mill on 3 November 1760 [DB 1:135; 2:365; 3:87]. He died before May 1764 when his wife Judah was granted administration of his estate on £150 bond in the Northampton County court [NCGSJ XIV:157]. The court sold the grist mill and the other 75 acres of her land on 20 October 1766 to pay her deceased husband's debts [DB 4:7]. Judah was apparently African American since their children were counted as African American. They were most likely

2    i. John, born say 1731.

3    ii. Moses², born say 1735.

iii. James¹, born say 1740, purchased 103 acres in Southampton County on 3 December 1761 near Nathan Stancell's corner, which was near the land of (his brother?) Moses² Newsom and sold this land on 9 October 1769 [DB 3:158; 5:21]. He was a "Black" member of the undated colonial muster of Captain James Fason's Northampton County Militia [Mil. T.R., box 1, folder 3] and was a Northampton County taxable in 1780 on an assessment of £370 [G.A. 46.1]. He received voucher no. 2106 for £8 in Halifax District on 20 September 1781 and another voucher on 13 February 1782 for military service in the Revolution [North Carolina Revolutionary Pay Vouchers, 1779-1782, http://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2WT-P2XV, Newsome, James]. He was head of a Northampton County household of 5 "Black" persons 12-50 years old and 5 "Black" persons less than 12 or over 50 years old in Dupree's District for the 1786 state census, 11 "other free" in 1790 [NC:74] and 10 in 1800 [NC:463].

4    iv. Booth, born before 1760.

v. Robert, enlisted in Quinn's Company in the North Carolina Line on 31 May 1779 for 3 years. Booth Newsom received his final pay [Clark, The State Records of North Carolina, XVII:235; DAR, Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution, 150, 546]. His heirs received warrant no. 1074 for 274 acres on 21 February 1822 for his service in the Revolution [North Carolina and Tennessee, Revolutionary War Land Warrants, 1783-1843, Roll 14:William Hill Warrants, 1811-1837 frame 430 of 540 http://ancestry.com].

 

2.    John Newsom, born say 1731, a resident of Southampton County, purchased 150 acres near Kirby's Creek in Northampton County on 7 January 1752 and sold 15 acres of this land on 2 August 1769 [DB 2:84; 4:266]. He was a "Black" member of Captain Fason's Northampton County Militia [Mil. T.R., box 1, folder 3]. In September 1774 he bought 100 acres in Northampton County adjacent to William Crumpler [DB 6:45] and was taxable in Northampton County on an assessment of £562 in 1780 [GA 46.1]. He, called John Sr., and his wife Martha made a deed of gift of their 150 acres on Kirby Creek to (their son?) Amos Newsom of Southampton County on 2 October 1782 [DB 7:121]. John and Martha may have been the parents of

i. Amos, born say 1756, a resident of Southampton County when (his parents?) John and Martha Newsom made a deed of gift to him of 150 acres of their land near Angelico Branch of Kirby Creek on 2 October 1782. He was head of a Northampton County household of 4 "Black" persons 12-50 years old and 4 "Black" persons less than 12 or over 50 years old in Dupree's District for the 1786 state census, 6 "other free" in 1790 [NC:74], 7 in 1800 [NC:463], 11 in 1810 [NC:737], and 6 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:248].

5    ii. Ethelred, born say 1760.

iii. Simon, born say 1762, received voucher nos. 5518, 5592, and 7743 for a total of £27 in Halifax District between 11 February and 23 July 1782 for military service in the Revolution and a fourth voucher for £9 on 24 July 1787 [North Carolina Revolutionary Pay Vouchers, 1779-1782, http://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2WT-PKXC, Newsom, Simon]. He was head of a Northampton County household of 1 "other free" in 1810.

iv. Randall, born before 1776, head of a household of 10 "free colored" in District 8 of Martin County in 1840.

 

3.    Moses² Newsom, born say 1735, received a grant for 480 acres in Northampton County on 4 March 1761 and sold this land on 3 February 1768 [DB 4:147]. He was listed among the "Black" members of the undated colonial muster of Captain Fason's Northampton County Militia [Mil. T.R., box 1, folder 3]. On 10 August 1778 he repurchased 462 acres adjoining John Newsom's line which was part of the land he sold (or mortgaged?) in 1768. He sold 22 acres of this land on 12 February 1780 and sold a further 314 acres adjoining James Newsom's line on 6 April 1785 [DB 6:256: 7:47, 236]. He was taxable in Northampton County on an assessment of £2,430 in 1780 [GA 46.1]. On 15 January 1783 he received voucher no. 4717 in Halifax District for £2,000 for services to the military in the Revolution [North Carolina Revolutionary Pay Vouchers, 1779-1782, http://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2WT-54R1, Newsom, Moses]. And on 2 January 1790 he received State of North Carolina warrant no. 3716 for 640 acres for serving in the Revolution [North Carolina and Tennessee, Revolutionary War Land Warrants, 1783-1843, N.C. Revolutionary Warrants, frame 429 of 456 http://ancestry.com]. It is not noted on the warrant, but this was probably for the service of one of his sons who died in the Revolution. (There is probably more information in the Secretary of State Military Papers at the North Carolina Archives: SR.13.30.41856, A:61; B:236; K:90, 92; VII:68.) He was head of a Northampton County household of 9 "Black" persons 12-50 years old and 7 "Black" persons less than 12 or over 50 years old in Dupree's District of Northampton County in 1786 for the state census, 14 "other free" in 1790 [NC:74], and 10 in 1800 [NC:463]. He may have been the Moses Newsom who entered tracts of 100 acres and 125 acres on Potts Branch near Thomas Ivey in Robeson County on 19 April 1791 [Pruitt, Land Entries: Robeson County, I:45, 53]. This was near the land of (his nephew?) Ethelred Newsom. Between 1796 and 1802 he married Winnifred Walden, widow of John Walden. Winnifred was granted administration on John Walden's Northampton County estate in 1796, but Moses Newsom was the estate representative named in the 6 February 1802 account of sales [CR 71.801.20]. Moses Newsom's 17 September 1805 Northampton County will was proved in December of that year. He left 50 acres on Little Swamp near the Roanoke River to his wife Winnie, one silver dollar to George Artist, named some of his children: Tabitha Cumbo, Henry Newsam, and James Newsam; divided the residue among other unnamed children; and named his son Nathaniel Newsom executor [WB 2:297]. His widow Winnifred Newsom petitioned for her dower the month he died in November 1805. She stated that he had about 600 acres of land on Kerby's Creek and Angelica Branch and asked that infants James and Henry be bound to their brother Nathan Newsom. She also stated that he had fraudulently conveyed all his real estate to his sons James and Henry just before he died. The account of Moses Newsom's estate apparently included money he had as administrator of John Walden's estate. The account included:

21 February 1806--paid Herod Walden his legacy due from his father's estate:                       ,42/7/4

9 March 1808--judgment and cost in favor of Sally Walden:                                      ,29/0/8

27 December 1806--paid to Joel Newsom, his part of the estate due him of William Walden's estate:    £8.12.10

12 August 1808--paid to Drury Walden as adm^r of Sarah Walden as her legacy:                                                      £9.6.1

15 February 1806--paid to Howell Wade his legacy                                                                                                                             £8.12.10

--Cordall Newsom's account:                                                               £3.11.8

--paid Herod Walden's legacy:                                                                                                                       £8.12.10

--Nathaniel Newsom's account:                                                                                                                      £8.0

--Moses Newsom, Jr., account:                                                             £2.17.6

3 September 1806--paid Howell Wade his legacy:                                              £43.4.4

--paid Joel Newsom his wife's legacy:                                                                                                          £4/15/11

Nathaniel Newsom, Jesse Newsom, Nathan Byrd, Moses Newsom, Joel Newsom, Winnifred Newsom, Omy Banks, Exum Allen, James Keemer, Noah Franklin, Henry Newsom, Wily Byrd, Nathan Newsom, William Hawley, Else Byrd, George Artist, Amos Newsom, and Howell Wade were buyers at the sale of the estate. Nathaniel Newsom as executor paid £14 to Patsey Walden for her note on demand of 24 September 1797, Harwood Walden's note of 24 September 1797 for £33, Cordall Newsom's account of £4, and Howell Wade's account of £2 [North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979, http://familysearch.org/search/catalog/457090, film 5138608, image 77]. Winnifred Newsom left a 4 November 1807 Northampton County will, proved in December 1807, by which she gave part of her land to Harwood Dukes (head of a Northampton County household of 5 "other free" in 1800 [NC:435] in return for his lending money to her son by her previous marriage Harwood Walden, and she gave Harwood Walden the remainder of her land. She also divided four head of cattle among the unnamed children of Howell Wade and Joel Newsom and made small bequests to her daughter Penny Newsom and granddaughters Winnie Walden and Lucy Newsom [WB 2:353]. Drury Walden was her executor [WB 2:353]. Moses Newsom's children were identified in a chancery suit in Champaign County, Ohio, brought by Henry Newsom on 30 July 1832 against the heirs of (his brother) James Newsom. They were Nathaniel Newsom of North Carolina, Moses Newsom of North Carolina, Nathan Newsom of Pennsylvania, Naomi Banks (wife of Cyrus Banks) of North Carolina, Cloe Rand (wife of Micajah Rand) of North Carolina, the heirs of Joel Newsom, the heirs of Tabitha Cumbo (late Tabitha Newsom), the heirs of Martha Artist (late Martha Newsom), and Turner Byrd of Logan County in right of his mother Judith Byrd, deceased (late Judith Newsom) [Court of Common Pleas, Champaign County reel 14-344, pp. 344-52]. Moses Newsom's children were

i. Jesse, head of a Northampton County household of 3 "other free" in 1800 [NC:463]. He died on 5 November 1807, and his widow Lucy gave her right to the administration of his estate to his brother Nathaniel Newsom. The estate included a judgment of £18 against Moses Newsom, Sr., and £3 against Moses Newsom, Jr. He owed Nathaniel Newsom, as executor of Moses Newsom, deceased, £58.14 and £9 to Nathaniel Newsom. Lucy Newsom, Nathaniel Newsom, Moses Newsom, Sarah Newsom, George Artist, Cordall Newsom, Cordall Reed, and Semore Newsom were buyers at the sale of the estate [Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998 (database on-line)].

6    ii. Nathaniel¹, born say 1765-70.

iii. Chloe Rann, sister of James Newsom and wife of Michael Rann. On 15 August 1839 Michael and Chloe Ran gave power of attorney to Henry Newsom to receive her share of the estate of James Newsom who died intestate in Champaign County, Ohio. They did not receive their share, so Michael, after the death of his wife, sued Joshua Marmon, the executor of Henry Newsom's estate, in the Court of Common Pleas of Logan County in April 1847 and won his case. The case went to the Ohio Supreme Court on Marmon's appeal. Marmon objected to the ruling on various grounds and objected to Chloe's testimony because "Henry Newsom and his sister Chloe Rann are negroes or Mulattoes having more negro than White blood" [Logan County Supreme Court, July Term, 1846, 238-40, 245, 254].

iv. Tabitha Cumbo, who was deceased when Moses² Newsom made his will. Her children named in the will were Jinny, Henry, and John Cumbo. Henry, John and Jensy Cumbo were named in the Champaign County suit for partition. By 1832 when the suit was filed, Henry and John were living in North Carolina; Jensy had married John Newsom and was living in Logan County.

v. Martha Artist, wife of George Artist. Her heirs (sons) Kinchen Artist of Logan County and Newsom Artist of North Carolina were named in the Champaign County suit for partition as well as in George Artis's 30 December 1819 Northampton County will [WB 3:296]. She apparently died before 21 April 1807 when George was married to Hannah Archer, widow of Luke Archer.

vi. Nathan, born about 1776, registered in Southampton County on 25 June 1802: age 26, Mulatto, 6', free born [Register of Free Negroes, 1794-1832, no. 229], head of a Northern Liberties, Ward 7, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania household of 2 "free colored" in 1820. He was living in the state of Pennsylvania when the suit for partition was filed in Champaign County.

vii. Moses³, Jr., born say 1776, head of a Northampton County household of 1 "other free" in 1800 [NC:463], 3 in 1810 [NC:737], and 1 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:248]. He made deeds of trust for the 24 acres on which he was living on 5 September 1830 and 28 August 1835 in which he called himself "Moses Newsoms son" [DB 28:176, 308]. His 25 May 1840 Northampton County will, proved in June 1846, named only his nephew Everett Banks [WB 5:48].

viii. Joel, born 1776-94, head of a Northampton County household of 7 "other free" in 1810 [NC:737] and 9 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:248]. He was apparently the husband of Penny Newsom who received a hat by the 4 November 1807 Northampton County will of Winna Newsom who called Penny her daughter. His heirs listed in the Champaign County suit for partition were Angelina Artist (wife of James Artist of Logan County), Henry Newsom of North Carolina, Moses Newsom of North Carolina, Lucy Hunt (wife of John Hunt of North Carolina), and four others whose names were unknown to Henry Newsom at the time of the Champaign County suit. John Hunt (age 59) and Lucy Hunt (age 51) were "Mulattos" listed in the 1850 Northampton County census with (his father?) Drury Hunt (age 84).

ix. Judith Byrd, whose only heir was Turner Byrd of Logan County when the Champaign County suit was filed.

x. James², died intestate and unmarried in Logan County, Ohio, before 6 August 1832 when (his brother) Henry Newsom was granted administration on his estate on $1,600 security [Administrative Docket Book B:3, 22]. On 30 July 1832 Henry brought suit against James's heirs for partition of his land. The land included 200 acres which James had purchased by deed of 29 January 1817 and four lots in the town of Milford which he had purchased by deed of 4 February 1818 [Court of Common Pleas, July Term 1836, Champaign County reel 14-344, pp. 344-52].

7    xi. Henry¹, born say 1787.

 

4.    Booth Newsom, born before 1760, was listed in the colonial muster of Captain James Fason's Northampton County Militia [Mil. T.R., box 1, folder 3]. He enlisted for 9 months in Lieutenant Col's Company in the 10^th North Carolina Regiment on 20 July 1778 [Clark, The State Records of North Carolina, XVI:1126] and was listed as a "pioneer" in the roll of Lieutenant William Davidson's Company in the Revolution on 23 April 1779  [NARA M246, Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783, http://fold3.com/image/10200387]. Between 1 September 1784 and 1 February 1785 he received the final pay for his own and Robert Newsom's service in the North Carolina Continental Line [Clark, The State Records of North Carolina, XVII:235]. He was taxable in Northampton County on an assessment of ,215 in 1780 [GA 46.1], head of a Northampton County household of 1 "Black" person 12-50 years old and 2 "Black" persons less than 12 or over 50 years old in Elisha Webb's District in 1786 for the state census, head of a Northampton County household of 3 "other free" in 1790 [NC:74] and 8 in 1800 [NC:463]. He may have been the Boothe Newsom who was declared an insolvent debtor by the Halifax County court on 28 November 1844 [Minutes 1832-46, vol. 2]. Perhaps his children were the Newsoms counted in the census for Halifax County, North Carolina, in 1820:

i. Patience, born before 1776, head of a household of 9 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:159].

ii. Seymour, head of a Northampton County household of 1 "other free" in 1810 [NC:737], 7 "free colored" in Halifax County in 1820 [NC:159] and 9 in 1830. He was permitted to carry a gun by order of the 17 August 1840 session of the Halifax County court [Minutes 1832-46, vol.2].

iii. Arthur, born about 1790, an eight-year-old "base born child" bound out by the Halifax County court on 21 August 1798 [Minutes 1796-8]. He married Tempy Ash, 13 April 1820 Halifax County bond, and was head of a Halifax County household of 8 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:159].

 

5.    Ethelred¹ Newsom, born say 1760, may have been named for Ethelred Taylor who sold John Newsom his land on 7 January 1752 and witnessed the will of Jacob Newsom in Southampton County, Virginia, on 2 October 1771 [WB 3:240]. He enlisted in Quinn's Company of the 10^th North Carolina Regiment on 24 June 1779 [Clark, State Records of North Carolina, XVI:1126] and was called "Netheneldred Newsom of Robeson County" on 18 April 1792 when he appointed Jacob Rhodes his attorney to receive his final settlement for serving in the war [NCGSJ XIV:111]. He entered 100 acres on the east side of Five Mile Branch near Thomas Ivey in Robeson County on 24 December 1787 and another 200 acres on 12 September 1788 [Pruitt, Land Entries: Robeson County, I:12, 18]. He purchased land by deed proved in Robeson County on 2 July 1801 [Minutes I:331] and was head of a Robeson County household of 3 "other free" in 1790 [NC:50], 3 in 1800 [NC:408], and 4 in 1810 [NC:241]. He was in Northampton County in 1800 when he was counted in the census with 6 "other free" in his household. He sold 320 acres in Chatham County on the west side of the Haw River on 18 November 1817 [DB V:89]. His 20 December 1820 Robeson County will, no probate date, named his wife Lucy and left land to his grandsons [WB 1:325]. Lucy transferred land to Nelson Roberts by deed proved in May 1838 Robeson County court [Minutes 1829-39]. Ethelred's children were

i. a daughter, married ____ Terry, mother of Newsom Terry. Her husband was probably Philip Terry, head of a Cumberland County household of 4 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:191], who may have been a son of David Terry, head of a Sampson County household of 4 "other free" in 1790 [NC:51].

ii. Mary Roberts, mother of Ishmael Roberts who was also named in the Chatham County will of his grandfather Ishmael Roberts [CR 22.801.16].

iii. Sarah Roberts, mother of Ethelred Roberts, and wife of Aaron Roberts according to Aaron's free papers recorded in Owen County, Indiana [DB 3:280].

8    iv. ?Henry³, born about 1800.

 

6.    Nathaniel¹ Newsom, born 1765-70, was head of a Northampton household of 3 "other free" in 1790 [NC:74], 6 in 1800 [NC:463], 11 in 1810 [NC:737], and 7 "free colored" in 1820. His wife was Edy Hawley whose father Benjamin Hawley named her and her daughter Charlotte Newsom in his 9 July 179_ Northampton County will, proved March 1805 [WB 2:276]. Nathaniel's 31 July 1835 Northampton County will was proved in September the same year. He left land in Northampton County and land in Logan County, Ohio, to his children [WB 4:37]. Edith, born before 1786, was head of a Northampton County household of 3 "free colored" persons in 1840. His children were

i. Nathaniel², received 157 acres where his father lived. He died in Northampton County before June 1844 when his widow Franky and husband Jonathan Hathcock petitioned the court to lay off her dower in 150 acres and appoint a guardian to their daughter Edy Newsom [North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998; http://ancestry.com]. Franky Haithcock, born about 1820, was a "Mulatto" head of a Northampton County household with Edith Newsom (age 17) in 1850.

ii. Willis, received the land he was living on.

iii. Dorothy Archer, received land in Logan County, Ohio.

iv. Sally Byrd.

v. Charlotte, married Sterling Haithcock, 24 November 1813 Northampton County bond.

vi. Edith Roberts.

vii. Elizabeth Newsom.

viii. Tilitha Hawley.

 

7.    Henry¹ Newsom, born say 1787, underage in 1805 when his father Moses made his 1805 Northampton County will, was head of a Northampton County household of 2 "other free" in 1810 [NC:737] and in 1816 was taxable on 100 acres in Champaign County, Ohio, based on military title [Champaign County Genealogical Society Newsletter July/Aug/Sep 1999: 90]. He made a 4 September 1841 Logan County will, proved 28 October 1841, by which he devised to his wife Dorothy 70 acres of his land on the north side of the road leading from Zanesfield to Middleburgh. The profits from the remainder of his farmland was to be used to pay for the education to his youngest sons John and Henry. When John reached the age of twenty-one and at the death of his wife, all the land was to be divided between John and Henry who were also to receive 40 acres of land in Mercer County adjoining land he had deeded to Judith and Nancy Newsom. He left $1 each to his children Priscilla Dick, Nathan Newsom, Levina Witsell, Martha Byrd, Eliza Allen, and divided the remainder of his estate equally between his children: Lydia, Ann, Judith, Nancy, Alice, John and Henry. Buyers at the sale of his estate included Sterling Heathcock (Haithcock), Owen Byrd, Green Allen, Kinchen Artis, Peter Byrd, Joshua Hunt, David Hunt, Joseph Allen, Martha Newsom, William Dempsey, Matthew Newsom, Leonard Whitfield, Benjamin Hawley, Hardy Wade and Jonathan Bowser [Administrative Docket Book B:146, 263-270]. He was the father of

i. Lydia.

ii. Ann.

iii. Judith.

iv. Nancy.

v. Alice.

vi. Priscilla Dick.

vii. Nathan, born about 1811, counted in the 1860 census for Jefferson Township, Logan County, Ohio with Doratha Newsom, born about 1791, and $3,650 real estate [OH:43].

viii. Levina Witsell, probably wife of Felix Whitsel who was a buyer at the sale of Henry Newsom's estate [WB, 270].

ix. Martha Byrd.

x. Eliza Allen.

xi. John.

xii. Henry⁴.

 

8.    Henry³ Newsom, born about 1800, received twenty lashes by order of the 7 December 1829 Cumberland County court, and on 11 June 1830 he took the oath of an insolvent debtor. He obtained "free papers" in Cumberland County on 15 and 17 March 1834 and recorded them in Owen County, Indiana, on 10 November 1845: he is the son of Lifsy Newsom, a free born woman of colour...is married to one Polly George, a free born woman of color and has seven children namely: Isham (about fifteen years old), Dred (about thirteen years old), Lifsy (about eleven years old), Sarah (about eight years old), Henry (about five years old), Martha (about four years old), and Elijah (about fifteen months old)...he is of dark complexion...about thirty four years old about five feet five inches high...for many years a resident in this Town. His wife Polly also obtained free papers in Cumberland County (on 19 March 1834) and recorded them in Owen County on 10 November 1845: wife of Henry Newsom, daughter of Elizabeth George, a Freeborn woman of colour, about thirty two years old, of a tolerably light complexion...said Polly & her mother are coloured persons of free parentage [DB 8:433]. Henry was head of a Franklin Township, Owen County, Indiana household of 7 "free colored" in 1840 [IN:25]. He called himself Henry A. Newsom on 12 December 1835 when he speculated in corn futures, contracting with the inhabitants of Township Nine of Owen County to deliver 350-3/4 bushels of corn three years from that date [DB 8:433]. He probably profited from this trade since he offset this obligation by contracting with other parties to supply this corn in January 1838 after the price of corn fell 30-40% in Cincinnati as a result of the Panic of 1837 [Circuit Order Book 13:148-149; Buley, R.C., The Old Northwest Pioneer Period, 1815-40, 2 vol. Indianapolis: n.p. (1850):273]. In 1845 he and his son Dred O. Newsom were sued in Owen County for $36 in corn and pork which they failed to deliver on 29 May 1843 [Orders 4:120].

 

Other members of the Newsom family were

i. Stephen, born say 1758, a "Negro" taxable in Southampton County from 1787 to 1790 [PPTL 1782-92, frames 643, 765].

9    ii. Hannah, born say 1768.

iii. Aaron, born about 1772, taxable in Greensville County from 1799 to 1804 [PPTL 1782-1807, frames 247, 266, 276, 289, 305, 323], a "Free Negro" taxable in Meherrin Parish, Brunswick County, Virginia, from 1810 to 1815 [PPTL 1799-1815, frames 477, 520, 559, 637, 675, 730]. He received £10 by the 14 October 1790 Greensville County will of Thomas Stewart [WB 1:181-3]. Molly Stewart charged him with breach of the peace, but the case was dismissed by the Greensville County court on 10 May 1802 [Orders 1799-1806, 217]. He and his wife Christian of Brunswick County, Virginia, sold his part of the Greensville County estate of Jesse Jones to Henry Stewart on 13 October 1806 [Greensville County DB 3:507]. He registered in Petersburg on 30 August 1794: a dark brown man, five feet ten inches high, twenty two years old, appears to have been born free & raised in Greensville County [Register of Free Negroes 1794-1819, no. 89] and recorded the certificate in Brunswick County, Virginia court in January 1826. He was married to Susan Newsom by January 1826 when she registered in Brunswick County: Wife of Aaron Neusum, a free bright mulatto woman, about 27 years old, 5 feet 4 inches high with long bushy hair [Wynne, Register of Free Negroes, 81-2]. He was head of a Freetown, Brunswick County household of 4 "other free" in 1810 [VA:769] and 7 "free colored" in 1820 [VA:664].

10   iv. Sarah, born before 1776.

v. James³, born before 1776, head of a Botetourt County household of 9 "free colored" in 1820.

vi. Nelson, head of a Northampton household 1 white male over the age of 16 in 1790 [NC:75] and 3 "other free" in Sampson County, North Carolina, in 1800 [NC:521].

vii. Cordall, born about 1784, married Sarah Tabor, 19 May 1808 Southampton County bond, Joel Tabor surety. He registered in Southampton County on 1 August 1810: age 26, dark Mulatto, 5'6", free born and Sarah Newsom registered the following day: age 20, Mulatto, 5'4-1/2" free born [Register of Free Negroes, 1794-1832, nos. 806, 820].

viii. Henry², born about 1787, head of an Owen County, Indiana household of 2 "free colored" in 1840 (a man and woman over 55 years of age) [IN:24] and a 63-year-old "Black" man, born in North Carolina, living in Harrison Township, Vigo County, Indiana, in 1850 with 48-year-old "Black" woman Mary Newson [IN:542].

ix. Elias, born about 1791, married Winny Artis, 2 September 1811 Southampton County bond, Joshua Artis surety. He registered in Southampton County on 25 August 1818: age 27, Mulatto, 5 feet 5-1/2 inches, free born, and Winny registered on 26 April 1819: age 32, wife of Elias Newsom, 5 feet 3-1/2 inches high, rather of a bright complexion, free born [Register of Free Negroes 1794-1832, no. 1157, 1177].

x. Etheldred², born about 1793, registered in Southampton County on 13 August 1816: age 23 dark complection, 5 feet 6 1/2 inches high, free born [Register of Free Negroes 1794-1832, no. 1023].

xi. Carter, born about 1794, registered in Southampton County on 13 January 1817: age 23, Black, 5 feet 6 inches high, free born [Register of Free Negroes 1794-1832, no. 1044].

 

9.    Hannah Newsom, born about 1768, was living in the lower district of St. Luke's Parish on 22 May 1798 when the Southampton County court ordered the overseers of the poor to bind out her illegitimate son Anthony Newsum [Minutes 1793-99, 347]. She registered in Southampton County on 19 November 1831: bright (Colour), 5 feet 1/4 inch high, free born [Register of Free Negroes 1794-1832, no. 1931]. Hannah was the mother of

i. Anthony, born about 1785, a 16-21 year old taxable in Greensville County in 1800, taxable in James Wilinson's household in St. Luke's Parish, Southampton County, in 1805, listed in his own household in 1807 and 1811 [PPTL 1792-1806, frame 823; 1807-21, frames 54, 173, 198] and head of a Southampton County household of 6 "other free" in 1810 [VA:88]. He registered in Southampton County on 2 August 1810: age 25, yellow, 5 feet 9 inches, free born [Register of Free Negroes 1794-1832, no. 813].

 

10.    Sarah Newsom, born before 1776, was head of a Northampton County household of 3 "other free" in 1800 [NC:463] and 4 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:248]. She may have been the mother of

i. Felson, born about 1806, bound an apprentice farmer to Samuel Stancell by the 8 September 1813 Northampton County court [Minutes 1813-21], counted as a 44-year-old blacksmith in the 1850 Northampton County census in household number 484.

 

Endnotes:

1.    In May 1763 another Amos Newsom signed a petition to the North Carolina Assembly to repeal the law which placed additional tax on free Negroes [Saunders, Colonial Records of North Carolina, VI:982-3]. He was probably the (white) brother of Moses¹ Newsom [Genealogy of Virginia Families IV:499].

2.    Harwood Dukes was head of a Northampton County household of 5 "other free" in 1800 [NC:435] and administrator of the Northampton County estate of (his father) William Dukes [North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998, Ancestry.com database on-line]. He was counted as a white slaveowner starting in 1810.

3.    There was also a Jinny Byrd who received her Northampton County, North Carolina "free papers" on 14 March 1835 and registered in Logan County, Ohio: Jinny Newson, wife of Everett Byrd, bright complexion, 37 years old, was born  free [Turpin, Register of Black, Mulatto, and Poor Persons, 11].

 

NEWTON FAMILY

1.    Abraham Newton, born say 1700, was a "Mulatto" slave who was purchased by his wife Elizabeth Young, "a free Mulatto" woman of Norfolk County. She died in November 1743 and left a will (not recorded) which gave him his freedom. The Legislative Council ordered him set free [Hall, Executive Journals of the Council, V:196, 215]. Their children were probably

i. Henry, born say 1723, taxable head of a Norfolk County household with Benjamin and William Newton in Western Branch District in 1759 [Wingo, Norfolk County Tithables, 1751-65, 133].

2    ii. Benjamin, born say 1725.

3    iii. William¹, born say 1730.

 

2.    Benjamin Newton, born say 1725, was taxable in the household of (his brother?) Henry Newton in 1759 and head of a Norfolk County household in 1761: taxable on (his wife?) Elizabeth Newton and (brother?) William Newton. He was taxable on Elizabeth in 1765 and 1767 and taxable on his own tithe until 1774 [Wingo, Norfolk County Tithables, 1751-65, 133, 167, 190; 1766-80, 15, 72, 88, 106, 150, 213, 228]. Benjamin and Elizabeth may have been the parents of

i. Sarah, born say 1752, a tithable in Richard Carney's household in Norfolk County on the north side of Western Branch in 1770 (called Sary Neowton) [Wingo, Norfolk County Tithables, 1766-80, 107].

ii. James, born about 1754, a "Mulatto" apprenticed to Josiah Deans of Norfolk County to be a carpenter on 10 December 1769 [DB 25:52] and was one of 8 tithables in William Deans's Norfolk County household in 1770: William Deans, Sr., Josiah Deans & negroes James, Neowton, Dempo, Will, Sam & Lead - 8 [Wingo, Norfolk County Tithables, 1766-80, 107]. He was taxable in Norfolk County from 1795 to 1812: called a "M"(ullato) starting in 1798, a labourer living on Western Branch in a "List of Free Negroes and Mulattoes" in 1801 [PPTL, 1791-1812, frames 144, 255, 359, 384, 467, 650, 728, 778].

4    iii. Thomas, born say 1770.

iv. Wilson, a "free Mulatto" bound by the Princess Anne County court as an apprentice to John Williams on 10 August 1772 to learn the trade of blacksmith [Minutes 1770-3, 298].

v. William², born say 1784, a "M"(ulatto) taxable in Norfolk County from 1802 to 1817: a "B.M." (Black Man) living on Western Branch and taxable on a "free Negro" tithe in 1816 [PPTL, 1791-1812, frames 434, 486A, 581, 694, 746; 1813-24, frames 105, 145, 263]. On 19 December 1804 he purchased 13 acres in Portsmouth Parish at the head of the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River which had formerly belonged to Andrew Mackie, adjoining Lydia King's, from Robert and Pheraby Cox for $130, with Thomas Newton (signing) as a witness [Orders 1804-5, 88a]. He married Margaret Nickens, 30 March 1805 Norfolk County marriage [Ministers' Returns, 1787-1840, 34].

 

3    William¹ Newton, born say 1730, was tithable in Henry Newton's Norfolk County household in 1759, in Benjamin Newton's household in 1761 and tithable in Richard Carney's household with Sary Newton on the north side of Western Branch in 1770 (called William Neowton), taxable on 2 tithes in the same district as the Bass family in 1774 and taxable on 1 tithe in the same district as the Bass and Hall families in 1778 [Wingo, Norfolk County Tithables, 1751-65, 133, 167; 1766-80, 107, 237, 267]. He may have been the father of

5    i. James², born about 1773.

 

4.    Thomas Newton, born say 1770, was taxable in Portsmouth and Elizabeth River Parishes in Norfolk County from 1789 to 1817: called a "M"(ulatto) starting in 1798; a labourer living on Western Branch in a "List of Free Negroes and Mulattoes" in 1801; a "B.M." (Black Man) taxable on a horse and 4 cattle in 1815 [PPTL, 1782-1791, frames 647; 1791-1812, frames 87, 231, 255, 359, 384, 434, 564, 694; 1813-24, frames 105, 263]. On 15 December 1795 he purchased 1 acre from Andrew Mackie for £3 in Norfolk County at the head of the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River adjoining the main road and John Cooper's land and another acre from Mackie adjoining this on 18 December 1798, with James Newton (signing) as witness. In November 1805 he purchased 7 acres adjoining Richard David's mill and Thomas Archer's land from John Cooper for $100, and on 12 December 1810 he sold this land to Thomas Archer for $105 [DB 36:40; 37:168-9; 42:173; 45:113-4]. He was head of a Norfolk County household of 9 "other free" in 1810 [VA:820]. On 21 July 1823 the Norfolk County court granted him and Willis Bass, "free mulattos," permission to keep a firelock, powder and shot [Minutes 1822-1823, 165]. He was married to Franky Collins when her father Kinner Collins made his 1823 Princess Anne County will which named his granddaughter Patsey Newton [WB 3:368-9]. He was father of

i. Patsey.

ii. ?Mary, born about 1801, registered in Norfolk County on 17 May 1824: age 22 years, 5 ft 4-3/4 in, a mulatto woman, Born free [Register of Free Negroes & Mulattoes, 1809-1852, no. 293]. She married Richard Anderson (free blacks), 4 December 1824 Norfolk County bond, Isaac Fuller security. She registered again as Mary Anderson on 19 August 1833 shortly after the "not Negro" law was passed: age 32 years, 5 ft 4, Indian complexion, Indian descent [Register of Free Negroes & Mulattoes, 1809-1852, no. 906].

iii. ?Elizabeth, born about 1803, registered in Norfolk County on 17 May 1824, the same day as (her sister?) Mary: age 20 yrs, 5 ft 2-3/4 in, a mulatto woman, Born free [Register of Free Negroes & Mulattoes, 1809-1852, no. 294]. She was called a "free woman of colour," when she married Benjamin Godwin, 10 September 1830 Norfolk County bond, Samuel B. Browne security [Marriage Bonds, 1829-33, 64]. Benjamin Godwin, born about 1780, registered in Norfolk County on 30 June 1815: 5 feet 8 Inc. and an half, Of a Dark Complexion, 35 Years of age, freed by Robert Godwin of Nansemond County. Elizabeth Godwin registered again on 19 August 1833 the same day as (her sister?) Mary Anderson: age 30, 5 ft 1-3/4, Indian complexion, Indian descent [Register of Free Negroes & Mulattoes, 1809-1852, nos. 100, 905].

 

5.    James² Newton, born about 1773, was taxable in Portsmouth and Elizabeth River Parishes in Norfolk County from 1795 to 1812: called a "M"(ulatto) from 1798 to 1802, a laborer on Western Branch in the list of Free Negroes and Mulattoes in 1801 [PPTL, 1782-91, frames 144, 359, 384, 432, 564, 581, 694, 728, 746, 778]. In November 1805 he leased land in Norfolk County in Portsmouth Parish near Hall's Mill for ten years from John Cooper for $8 the first two years, $10 the third year and $15 the remaining seven years [DB 42:173]. He registered in Norfolk County on 15 July 1833: 60 years, 5 ft 9 in, Indian complexion, Indian Descent [Register of Free Negroes & Mulattoes, 1809-1852, no. 898]. On 19 August 1833 the Norfolk County court certified, "upon satisfactory evidence of white persons," that Frances the wife of James Newton was not a free Negro or Mulatto but of Indian descent [Minutes 24: 43-4]. He (making his mark) left a 13 May 1837 Norfolk County will, proved 18 September 1837, by which he lent all his property to his wife Frankey Newton and at her death to be equally divided between his eight unnamed children [WB 6:35]. James and Frances may have been the parents of

i. Sally, born about 1801, registered in Norfolk County on 15 July 1833: 32 yrs, 5 ft 4 in, Indian complexion, Indian descent [Register of Free Negroes & Mulattoes, 1809-1852, no. 899].

ii. Mary, born about 1802, registered in Norfolk County on 17 May 1824: 22 yrs, 5 ft 4-3/4 in, a mulatto woman, Born free [Register of Free Negroes & Mulattoes, 1809-1852, no. 293].

iii. Eliza, born about 1804, registered in Norfolk County on 17 May 1824: 20 years, 5 ft 2-3/4 in, a mulatto woman, Born free [Register of Free Negroes & Mulattoes, 1809-1852, no. 294].

iv. Henry², born about 1805, registered in Norfolk County on 26 July 1828: 5 ft 5-1/2, 23 years, a dark mulatto, Born free, registered again on 22 January 1833: 28 years, 5 ft 6-1/2, Born free and registered again six months later on 15 July 1833 after the "not Negro" law was passed: 28 years, 5 ft 7 in, Indian complexion, Indian descent [Register of Free Negroes & Mulattoes, 1809-1852, no. 415, 882, 900].

v. Allen, born about 1807, registered in Norfolk County on 15 July 1833: 26 yrs, 5 ft 9-3/4, Indian complexion, man of Indian descent [Register of Free Negroes & Mulattoes, 1809-1852, no. 894]. He leased 14 acres from Willis Bass by deed proved in Norfolk County court on 15 November 1830 [Minutes 22:87]. He ("a free man of color"), signing, married Fanny Bass ("a free woman of color") in Norfolk County on 24 April 1841, with Stephen Manning making oath as to Fanny's age and Joshua Livesay minister [Marriages 1840-53, 4; Marriage Bonds, 1840-43, 54].

 

Other members of a Newton family in Virginia were

i. Isaac, born say 1752, head of a Richmond County, Virginia household of 3 "other free" and 2 slaves in 1810 [VA:411], taxable in Lunenburg Parish, Richmond County, from 1804 to 1814, taxable on a slave over the age of 16 in 1811, a levy free "free black" in 1813 with (his wife?) Judith Newton who was above the age of 16 [PPTL, 1782-1817, frames 208, 224, 251, 318, 350, 372].

ii. John, born about 1756, the runaway servant of William Brown on 13 July 1776 when Brown advertised for his return in the Virginia Gazette: about 20 Years of Age, 5 feet 5 or 6 Inches high, slender made, is an Asiatic Indian by Birth, has been twelve Months in Virginia, but lived ten years (as he says) in England, in the service of Sir Charles Whitworth. He wears long black Hair, which inclines to curl, tied behind, and pinned up at the Sides; has a very sour Look, and his Lips project remarkably forward...He has been at Richmond, Williamsburg, and in other Parts of the Country, in the Service of Mr. George Rootes of Frederick, and Col. Blackburn of Prince William, of whom I had him; and as he is a good Barber and Hair-Dresser, it is probably he may endeavor to follow those Occupations as a free Man. Whoever takes up said Servant...shall have eight dollars reward; and if delivered to me at Westwood, in Prince William, further reasonable Charges [Virginia Gazette, Dixon & Hunter edition, p. 2, col. 2].

 

NICHOLS/ NICHOLAS FAMILY

1.    Margaret Nicholas, born say 1690, was presented by the Princess Anne County court on 2 February 1708/9 for having a "Mullatto" child, and on 7 February 1710/11 the court ordered that she pay a fine of £15 or be sold by the churchwardens for five years. On 6 March 1710/11 the court ordered the sheriff to search for her because she had escaped from the churchwardens when they were endeavoring to sell her. On 9 May 1712 her master Tully Smyth sued Lewis Purvine for keeping his servant for twenty-one days, but the jury accepted Purvine's excuse that she was his servant at the time. On 2 April 1714 she was convicted by the court for having another "Molatto" child. The court ordered that she serve her master Tully Smyth three months for absenting herself from his service and also for having a child in his house and ordered that she be sold for five years for the benefit of Lynhaven Parish after her service was completed. The sheriff sold Margaret before 1 November 1721 when the sale was recorded in court [Minutes 1691-1709, 491; 1709-17, 48, 53, 92, 151; 1717-28, 115, 121, 124]. She was apparently the mother of

i. Samuel, born say 1714, a "free mullatto" who sued Henry Chapman for trespass in Princess Anne County court on 2 June 1742. He was called a "free Negro" when he recorded his livestock mark in Princess Anne County on 30 April 1746. He was called Sam Nichols when he won a judgment for 23 shillings against Lewis Thelaball in Princess Anne County court on 18 July 1750. On 22 November 1752 the court ordered John Chapman to post ,50 security for his good behavior towards Sam, and on 19 June 1753 the court ordered Sam to post ,50 bond for his good behavior towards John Chapman. On 16 October 1759 the court bound "free Mullatto" Nanny Duncan to him as an apprentice [Minutes 1737-44, 174; 1691-1709, 17; 1744-53, 214, 341; 1753-62, 25, 365]. He was probably the ancestor of Sam Nichols, head of a Norfolk County household of 1 "other free" and 3 slaves in 1810 [VA:913].

 

NICKENS FAMILY

Armstead S. Nickens, Representative from Lancaster County in the House of Delegates.

Son of Armstead Nickens and Polly Weaver, grandson of Elijah Weaver.

Photo in the courthouse of Lancaster County, Virginia.

 

1.    Richard¹ Nickens, born say 1660, was called "Black Dick" when he and his wife Chriss were freed "after the finishing of the Crop that is now on the Grounde" by the 4 June 1690 Lancaster County will of John Carter, proved 11 December the same year. Carter gave each of them a cow and calf, three barrels of corn and peas, and allowed them to farm some of the land he had purchased from Nicholas Wren for their lifetimes. Chris's unnamed youngest daughter was also freed as were slaves Diana and "little Chriss" when they reached the age of eighteen years [WB 8:5]. Dick and Chris were free by July 1691 since they were not included in the inventory of Carter's estate, and six barrels of corn and peas paid to them were charged against the estate. "Chrisses boy Robbin" was still a slave since he was listed in the inventory [Inventories & Wills No. 8, 3-5, 22-8, 33]. Dick was taxable on 1 tithe in Christ Church Parish, Lancaster County, in 1699 (Black Dick), 4 in 1700 (Black Dick, listed next to Colonel Robert Carter), 3 in 1701 and 1702 (Free Dick), 4 in 1703 (Free Richard), 2 in 1704 (Richard Yoconohawcon), and 4 in 1706 (Free Dick). Richard Yockenahawken sued Thomas Gilchrist for ,4.16 on 11 July 1706 in a suit titled "free dick v. Gilchrist." He may have been infirm or deceased by 2 April 1707 when the suit was titled Criss Yockenahawken against Thomas Gilchrist. And El^z Yockohoc was taxable that year on 2 tithables in Christ Church Parish. His wife Chris appears to have been head of the household by 1707. Thomas Gilchrist's suit against Chris Yockenhawken was dismissed by the Lancaster County court on 2 February 1706/7 when neither party appeared, and her suit against Gilchrist was dismissed on 13 August 1707 for the same reason. The court ordered her to pay Benjamin George for attending seven days as her witness. She was called Negroe Criss Yockenawken when she petitioned the court on 11 February 1707/8, and she may have been identical to "Criss a free negroe woman" who was owed 200 pounds of tobacco by the estate of William Flinston, deceased, for funeral charges on 10 March 1708. She was called Christian Yocconhockon, executor of the last will of Thomas Harvey, deceased, on 13 January 1708/9 when Robert Gibson sued her for 1,800 pounds of tobacco, and the court attached her effects to secure the debt: a feather bed and furniture, 2 iron pots, a brass kettle, 3 old chests, 2 trays, 3 pewter dishes, an iron pot, an  old gun, a pewter plate, 2 brass candlesticks and 2 cows. On 9 March 1708/9 she was called a "free negroe woman" when she confessed to the court that she had received into her dwelling house divers goods stolen by several of the Honorable Robert Carter's white servants. The court ordered that she receive thirty lashes, but the punishment was remitted when she begged for clemency and made a promise of good behavior towards Carter in the future. Carter's servants were ordered to serve him an additional year. Robert Gibson's case against her as executor of Thomas Harvey's estate continued until 15 June 1710 when Gibson sued Isaac Rowden as executor of the estate for the same debt of 1,800 pounds of tobacco. The case against Rowden was dismissed on 13 February 1711/2 when a jury found that Rowden had never been the executor. Cris Yockenhawken was again called executrix of the last will of Thomas Harvey on 9 June 1714 when Robert Gibson's suit against her was dismissed by the court. On 8 April 1713 Dick was called Richard Nicken, when his son Edward Nicken made oath that he had died without leaving a will. (A separate sheet of paper was inserted in the court order book after Edward's appointment as administrator of Richard Nicken's estate which was a copy of the attachment of Christian Yockenhawken's estate on 2 March 1708/9.) Chris died before 10 April 1717 when the court bound her eight-year-old orphan Martha Yockenhocken to Mrs. Elizabeth Pasquett [Orders 1696-1702, 93, 128, 153; 1702-13, 12, 55, 108, 151, 159, 162, 167, 169a, 171, 174a, 177, 179a, 183, 185, 202a, 205a, 206, 214, 229a, 243a, 279, 302, 302a; 1713-21, 3, 38, 56, 185]. The children of Richard and Chris Nicken were

2    i. Edward¹, born say 1680.

3    ii. ?Elizabeth¹, born say 1685.

4    iii. ?Christian¹, born say 1687.

iv. Martha¹, born about 1708, brought a successful suit against Elizabeth Pasquet for her freedom and freedom dues in Lancaster County on 13 July 1726 [Orders 1721-9, 214]. She paid 5 shillings to the estate of John Hutchings in 1727 [Deeds & Wills 1726-36, 56].

 

2.    Edward¹ Nicken (Richard¹), born say 1680, was called Edward Yockenhawken in 1709 when he was a Christ Church Parish taxable on 1 tithe. He was called Edward Nicken on 12 December 1712 when he was sued in Lancaster County court by David Williams, and he was called the son of Richard Nicken on 8 April 1713 when he made oath that his father died without making any will and gave security for the administration of his father's estate. He returned the inventory of the estate to court on 13 May 1713. He was taxable as Edward Nicken from 1715 to 1719: "a negro" in 1716 and 1717 when he was taxable on 1 tithe, and called Edward Nicken in 1720 when he was taxable on 2 tithes. The court called a "free negroe" on 9 November 1715 when he was presented by the grand jury for selling cider at his house, but found him not guilty [Orders 1702-13, 231, 293, 298, 301, 302; 1713-21, 3, 115, 118, 137, 168, 223, 258, 302, 335]. He purchased 50 acres in Christ Church Parish, Lancaster County, from Peter Kilgore for 4,000 pounds of tobacco on 6 March 1713/4 and sold this land to Charles Burges, merchant, for £20 on 20 March 1722. On 2 November 1722 he purchased 40 acres bounded on the west side by the mouth of a small creek on the Corrotoman River adjoining the house of John Yerby and purchased another 50 acres adjoining his land and the land of Colonel Robert Carter on 13 September 1726. On 5 March 1730 he sold 80 acres on the southside of the eastern branch of the Corrotoman River adjoining Colonel Carter's and Robert Schofield's land to Charles Burges for £20 with Simon Showcraft as a witness [DB 9:478-9; 11:212-5, 222-3; 305-6; 12:147-9, 169-70]. On 18 July 1723 Abraham Shoecraft acknowledged in Northumberland County court that he was indebted to him for 1,500 pounds of tobacco [Orders 1719-29, 109]. He sued Arthur Howard in Northumberland County court on 18 November 1730 [Orders 1729-37, 25]. He was involved in over twenty court cases in Lancaster County between 1713 and 1731: sued by Eliza Denton, Nicholas Terkleson, John Tarpley, Patrick Chalmers, Richard Ball (Gentleman), Thomas Wilson (mariner), Maurice Jones (Gentleman), Ezekiel Gilbert, Thomas Edwards, John Taylor, Matthew Zuill and William Rauken. He sued Laughley Brannan, Richard Harrison, William Wright, Francis Wright, Thomas Wells, John Yerby, John Nichols, and Arthur Howard. He sued Thomas Pinson for 6,400 pounds of tobacco due by account and Pinson sued him for 2,950 pounds of tobacco due by account. The court appointed Captain Thomas Carter to settle the accounts [Orders 1713-21, 10, 84, 131; 1721-9, 23, 100, 106, 111, 116, 122, 126, 149, 159, 176-8, 191-2, 201, 207, 220, 231, 233, 236, 241, 264, 271, 316; 1729-43, 6, 8, 33, 40]. His 21 September 1735 Lancaster County will was proved 12 November the same year, Richard and Elizabeth Weaver and Simon Shewcraft witnesses. The will (which he signed) left his estate to his wife Mary during her widowhood, but if she remarried the estate was to go equally to his son Tun, daughter Sarah, sons John, Robert and Aner Nicken. And he left 5 shillings each to his sons Edward, Richard and James Nicken. He appointed his wife and John Yerby executors [DW 1726-1736, 355]. He owed James Donnellan's Store 299 pounds of transfer tobacco on 11 April 1747 when merchant David Galloway obtained a judgement against the store in Lancaster County court [Orders 1743-52, 127-128]. Edward's children were

i. Tun.

ii. Sarah.

5    iii. John¹, born say 1720.

6    iv. Robert¹, born say 1721.

v. Aner, born say 1723.

7    vi. Edward², born say 1725.

8    vii. Richard³, born say 1727.

9    viii. James¹, born say 1729.

 

3.    Elizabeth¹ Nickens (Richard¹), born say 1685, may have been the unnamed daughter of Chris (Nickens) who was freed by the 4 June 1690 Lancaster will of John Carter. She was called Elizabeth Yockohoc when she was taxable on 2 tithes in Lancaster County in 1707 [Orders 1702-13, 179a]. She may have been identical to "Black Betty, a free negroe woman" who bound her daughter "Cris a negroe girle" to Thomas Yerby in Lancaster County until the age of twenty-one to read the bible on 14 April 1711 [Orders 1702-13, 281a]. On 9 October 1709 "free Negro" Elizabeth Nicken consented to the indenture of her son "Richard Nicken Negro" to John Pledge to serve until the age of twenty four, with Robert Schofield (Edward Nicken's neighbor) as one of the witnesses [Deeds, Etc. 1700-15, 417-8]. She was called Elizabeth Nigings of Lancaster County on 16 May 1711 when she bound her son Richard Niggins as an apprentice carpenter to Henry and Ann Tapscott in Northumberland County "of her own free & Voluntary will" [Record Book 1710-13, 21]. She was called "Elizabeth Nicken a free negroe woman" on 9 November 1715 when the Lancaster County court presented her for having an illegitimate child [Orders 1713-21, 115, 137]. Elizabeth was the mother of

10    i. Richard², born in August 1705.

ii. ?Murrough, born say 1708, sued Robert Scofield for trespass, assault and battery in Lancaster County court on 9 June 1731, and was awarded 6 pence and costs [Orders 1729-43, 40, 44, 90].

11   iii. ?Catherine /Kate, born say 1710.

iv. ?Mary, presented by the grand jury in Lancaster County on 12 November 1742 for living in fornication with James Donnelane's servant John Holmes and having illegitimate children. But the case was dismissed at the next court in December [Orders 1729-43, 364, 369].

vi. ?Thomas, born say 1720, living in Northumberland County when he made his 22 April 1778 will, proved 14 September the same year. He left a cow and a colt to his wife's grandchild Ann Weaver Kelly and the remainder of his estate to his wife Ann [RB 10:375]. His estate was valued at £159 [Orders 1776-80, 494]. His wife was Ann Weaver, named in the 30 November 1777 Lancaster County will of her brother Isaac Weaver [WB 20:120]. Anne Nicken was taxable on a horse and 5 cattle in Northumberland County in 1782 [PPTL 1782-1812, frame 235].

12   vii. ?William¹, born say 1727.

 

4.    Christian¹ Nicken (Richard¹), born say 1687, may have been identical to "little Chriss," a slave freed by John Carter's 4 June 1690 Lancaster County will when she reached the age of eighteen. She and Dinah were listed in the inventory of Carter's estate: "till they be free 18 years of age" [Inventories & Wills No. 8, 5, 27]. She was called "Young Criss a free negroe woman" on 10 August 1709 when the Lancaster County court bound out her son Robin to Edward Carter until the age of twenty-one, and she was called Christian Nicken when she was presented by the Lancaster County court on 11 November 1713 for bearing an illegitimate child. She confessed to having another illegitimate child on 9 August 1727, refused or was unable to pay her fine and received twenty-five lashes [Orders 1702-13, 218; 1713-21, 26; 1721-9, 252]. Her children were

i. Robert¹/ Robin, born say 1707, perhaps identical to "free Robin a Mulatto" who was in company with Valentine Bell and Robert Scofield when Bell killed a heifer that had wandered into his cornfield according to Bell's testimony in Lancaster County court on 19 December 1728 [Orders 1721-9, 310-1].

13   ii. Elizabeth², born about 1711.

iii. Christian², born say 1727, released by the Lancaster County court from serving Thomas Burnet on 9 June 1749 [Orders 1743-52, 189].

 

5.    John¹ Nicken (Edward¹, Richard¹), born say 1720, purchased three turkeys and three dunghill hens at the sale of the Lancaster County estate of Robert Hill on 18 February 1763 [DW 1758-63, 251-2]. On 18 June 1763 the Lancaster County grand jury presented him for not listing his wife as a tithable, but the court dismissed the case the following month [DW 1758-63, 251-2; 1763-4]. He was a taxable head of household in Lancaster County in 1775 and 1776 with James Nicken and taxable with (his son?) John Nicken, Jr., from 1777 to 1781 [Tithables 1745-95, 14, 18, 20, 35, 42, 51]. He was taxable in Northumberland County on 9 cattle and a horse in 1782 [PPTL 1782-1812, frame 235] and head of a Lancaster County household of 7 "white" (free) persons in 1783 [VA:55]. He was taxable in Lancaster County from 1783 to 1801: taxable on 2 free males in 1790, 3 in 1791, taxable on Benjamin and Bartley Nicken's tithes in 1794 and 1796 [PPTL, 1782-1839, frames 16, 74, 86, 121, 144, 216]. On 16 February 1790 his suit against George Phillips for debt was submitted by the Lancaster County court to referees who awarded him £3.14. He received a certificate of freedom from the Lancaster County court on 19 April 1796 which stated that that he had been a servant until the age of twenty-one. On 17 April 1798 he was exempted by the Lancaster County court from paying levies for the future on his person [Orders 1789-92, 107, 125, 256, 347; 1792-9, 12, 423]. He was the father of

14    i. ?James³, born say 1743.

ii. John², Jr., born say 1756, taxable in the Lancaster County household of (his father?) John Nickens, Sr., from 1777 to 1781 [Tithables 1745-95, 51, 57]. He served in the Virginia Navy during the Revolution [Stewart, The history of Virginia's navy of the revolution, 231, citing Auditor's Account book XXIX:78, LVA] and was head of a Lancaster County household of 1 "white" (free) person in 1783, listed next to John, Sr. [VA:55]. He may have been the John Nicken whose suit against Amos Nicken for trespass, assault and battery was dismissed by the Northumberland County court on 16 June 1784 [Orders 1783-5, 187]. He was called John Nickens, Jr., when he married Ann Mills, 17 September 1791 Lancaster bond, Richard Nicken surety. He was taxable in Lancaster County from 1783 to 1813: in the list of "free Negroes & Mulattoes" in 1813. (His wife) Nancy Nicken was listed after him [PPTL, 1782-1839, frames 16, 276, 230, 319, 350, 385]. He was a "free mulatto" head of a Northumberland County household of 10 "other free" in 1810 [VA:990].

iii. Bridger, born say 1773, called the son of John Nicken in Lancaster County court on 26 September 1789 when his father suggested to the court that he was insane (and thus not subject to be taxed) [Orders 1789-92, 71]. He was taxable in Lancaster County from 1786 to 1788, in 1805, and from 1813 to 1816: in a list of "free Negroes & Mulattoes in 1813 [PPTL, 1782-1839, frames 36, 53, 274, 385, 421] and head of a Lancaster County household of 4 "other free" in 1810 [VA:355],

iv. Benjamin², born about 1772, taxable in Lancaster County in 1794, adjoining John and Bartley Nickens [Tithables 1745-95, 51]. He married Mary Nickens, daughter of Amos¹ Nickens, 11 April 1796 Northumberland County bond, and was taxable in Northumberland County in the same district as his father-in-law Amos Nickens, Sr., from 1797 to 1803 [PPTL, 1782-1812, frames 465, 472, 487, 501, 524, 532, 546]. He registered in Lancaster County on 20 June 1803: s/o Jno., Age 31, mulatto, rather dark [Burkett, Lancaster County Register of Free Negroes, 1].

v. Bartley, born say 1774, taxable in Lancaster County from 1792 to 1803 [PPTL 1782-1839, frames 98, 203, 242]. His 20 December 1804 Lancaster County will, proved 16 April 1805, gave Uriea? Nicken, son of Robert Nicken, his house "where my father now lives" and gave £12 to Elizabeth Nicken, daughter of John Nicken. Richard Nicken was one of the executors [WB 28:89].

vi. Armstead, born about 1781, registered in Lancaster County on 16 September 1805: Age 24, Color mulatto [Burkett, Lancaster County Register of Free Negroes, 2]. He married Polly Weaver, 21 January 1819 Lancaster County bond, John C. Pinn surety. He was taxable in Lancaster County from 1800 to 1813: listed after Richard Nicking and before Robert Nicking, Jr., in 1800, listed before Ellen Nicken in 1813 [PPTL frames 204, 217, 273, 319, 380, 385], head of a Lancaster County household of 2 "free colored" in 1820 and 5 in 1830.

 

6.    Robert² Nicken (Edward¹, Richard¹), born say 1721, was presented by the Lancaster County Court on 18 May 1763 for not listing his wife as a tithable, but the case was dismissed the following month [Orders 1756-64, 483]. He purchased 3 acres on the east side of the eastern branch of the Corrotoman River in Lancaster County from William Stamps on 21 October 1763 [DW 17:24]. He was sued in Lancaster County court by Thomas Pollard on 16 March 1769 for £4.10 due by promissory note, sued by Mungo Harvey on 16 December 1773, and on 19 January 1777 the grand jury charged him with adultery [Judgments, 1768-78, frames 745-8; Orders 1768-70, 8, 9; 1770-78, 371, 421, 439]. He was head of a Lancaster County household of 3 "Blacks" in 1783 [VA:55] and taxable in Lancaster County from 1782 to 1800 [PPTL, 1782-1839, frames 5, 29, 74, 98, 174, 189, 203]. He may have been the father of

15    i. James², born say 1737.

16    ii. Nathaniel¹, born say 1745.

17    iii. Benjamin¹, born say 1760.

iv. Daniel, born say 1780, taxable in Prince William County from 1796 to 1813: called a "yellow" man in 1809 and 1813 [PPTL, 1782-1810, frames 315, 441, 444, 578, 667, 709] and head of a Prince William County household of 3 "other free" in 1810 [VA:506].

 

7.    Edward² Nicken (Edward¹, Richard¹), born say 1725, and his wife Susannah sued George Miller for trespass, assault, and battery in Lancaster County court on 22 June 1754. Miller delayed the case until 17 April 1756 when it was dismissed because Nickens failed to prosecute [Orders 1752-56, 233, 254, 288, 317, 435]. He was deceased by 18 February 1757 when his son Edward Jones Nicken was bound apprentice in Lancaster County with the consent of his mother. On 17 February 1758 she bound their daughter Lucy to Henry Tapscott. Susannah's petition against John Mott was dismissed by the court on 10 May 1751 [Orders 1756-64, 40, 118, 247]. Perhaps Susannah was related to Elizabeth Jones, a white woman, who confessed to bearing mixed-race children in Lancaster County court in 1716, 1719 and 1721 [Orders 1713-21, 140, 142, 300, 311, 346; 1721-9, 2]. Two of Edward and Susannah's children were

18    i. Edward Jones Nicken, born say 1748.

ii. Lucy, born say 1752.

 

8.    Richard³ Nickens (Edward¹, Richard¹), born say 1727, was head of a Northumberland County household of 4 "black" persons in 1782 [VA:37], taxable on his own tithe and 4 cattle in Northumberland County in 1782 [PPTL, 1782-1812, frame 232] and taxable in Lancaster County from 1784 to 1786 [PPTL 1782-1839, frames 23, 30]. He may have been the father of

19    i. Amos¹, born say 1750.

20   ii. Limas, born say 1752.

iii. Moses, taxable in Lancaster County in 1786 [PPTL, 1782-1839, frame 36], a "Black man" taxable on a horse in Augusta County from 1791 to 1796 [PPTL 1782-95, frames 387, 462, 499, 539; 1796-1810, frame 32], and a "free Negro" taxable on 2 horses in the west district of Rockingham County from 1797 to 1799 [PPTL 1795-1813, frames 161, 236, 257].

iv. Edward⁴, born say 1760, sued Ezekiel Tapscott in Lancaster County on 21 July 1785 for £2 due by account and Charles Purcell on 17 August 1786 [Orders 1783-5, 111; 1786-9, 18; Judgments 1702-1785, frame 395]. He was taxable in Lancaster County in 1786 [PPTL, 1782-1839, frame 36] and a "Black man" taxable in Augusta County in 1795 [PPTL 1782-95, frame 539]. He was granted a certificate of freedom by the Lancaster County court on 16 January 1797 [Orders 1792-9, 327] and was a "free Negro" taxable in Rockingham County, Virginia, in 1798 and 1799 [PPTL 1795-1813, frames 236, 257] and a "B.M." taxable in Augusta County in 1800 [PPTL 1796-1810, frame 201]. He was "a coloured man," who brought David Nickins, a Baptist Minister, to Ross County, Ohio, in 1804 or 1805 to the farm of Benjamin M. Kerrin (Kern) [Turpin, Register of Black, Mulatto, and Poor Persons, 25, 27]. David Nickens was head of a Washington Township, Pickaway County, Ohio household of 6 "free colored" in 1820 and 11 in Ross County, Ohio, in 1830.

v. Abraham, born say 1760, a "Black man" taxable on a horse in Augusta County from 1793 to 1803, listed with 3 horses in 1802 [PPTL 1782-95, frames 462, 499, 539; 1796-1810, frames 32, 70, 107, 152, 201, 246, 298, 343]. He moved to Ross County, Ohio, where he resided on the farm of Benjamin Kerns in the Fall of 1805 with his wife Polly and children: Rachel, Kissy, Betsey, Nathaniel, Bill, James, Sam, and Palt [Turpin, Register of Black, Mulatto, and Poor Persons, 16].

vi. Jacob, a "Black man" taxable in Augusta County from 1794 to 1796 [PPTL 1782-95, frames 499, 539; 1796-1810, frame 32], a "free Negro" taxable in the western district of Rockingham County from 1797 to 1799 [PPTL 1795-1813, frames 161, 236, 257], a "black" taxable in the 2nd District of Augusta County from 1800 to 1803, in 1807 and in 1813 [PPTL 1796-1810, frames 201, 246, 298, 343, 539].

vii. Isaac, born about 1772, a "Black man" taxable in Augusta County from 1794 to 1796 [PPTL 1782-95, frames 499, 539; 1796-1810, frame 32], a "free Negro" taxable in Rockingham County in 1798 [PPTL 1795-1813, frame 236], registered in Orange County, Virginia, on 27 August 1799: Isaac Nickins, a negro, 27, black complexion, 5'5", born free in Northumberland County; a "B.M." taxable in the 2nd District of Augusta County in 1801, 1803, and 1805 [PPTL 1796-1810, frames 246, 343, 442]. On 5 November 1816 he purchased "three negroes, a woman Jean, a boy Owins, and a girl Dicy" (his wife and children?) in Jackson County, Tennessee, and recorded the purchase in Ross County, Ohio [Turpin, Register of Black, Mulatto, and Poor Persons, 21].

 

9.    James¹ Nickens (Edward¹, Richard¹), born say 1729, "orphan of Edward Nicken," was bound as an apprentice shoemaker to John Hubbard in Lancaster County until the age of twenty-one on 11 February 1736 [Orders 1729-43, 161]. He and his wife Margaret received 200 acres on the east side of Potecasi Creek in Society Parish, Bertie County, North Carolina, by deed of gift from her parents Edward and Margaret Carter on 10 May 1750 [DB G:354]. James and Margaret were taxed as "fr. Muls." in the 1750 Bertie County summary list filed with the central government [CCR 190], and in the 1757 list of John Brickell [CR 10.702.1 Box 1]. This part of Bertie County became Hertford County in 1759, and James was taxable there on 2 tithables in 1768, 3 in 1769, 2 in 1770; on 200 acres, 3 horses, and 3 cattle in District 3 in 1779 and 200 acres and 1 poll in 1784 [Fouts, Tax Receipt Book, 35; GA 30.1, 64.1]. He was head of a Hertford County household of 3 "other free" in 1790 [NC:27]. Perhaps his children were

i. Carter, born say 1748, taxable in Hertford County in 1768 and 1769, on 2 persons in 1770, and taxable on 2 horses and 2 cattle in the 1779, listed next to James Nickens in the Hertford County property tax list filed with the central government [Fouts, Tax Receipt Book, 13; GA 30.1]. He was in a list of militia men drafted from Hertford County in the 3^rd Division commanded by Major George Little between 1778 and 1780 [Troop Returns, Box 5, Folder 20] and was paid £11.12 for services to the Revolution on 1 August 1783 [Haun, Revolutionary Army Accounts, vol. I, Book 4:232; http://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2WT-5RZP].

ii. William², born say 1750, died in Wilson County, Tennessee, in 1820 leaving ten children [Wilson County Quarterly Court Minutes 1830, 34]. In 1833 his sons Marcus, Andrew and Calvin presented a petition to the General Assembly of Tennessee stating that their parents were from Portugal, had settled in the United States many years since and that "their colour is rather of the mixed blood by appearance." They asked to have the same rights as other citizens of the state. One supporting statement said that their grandfather was from Portugal and another that their father bore the name "of a desent of the Portagee" [Tennessee Legislative Petition 77-1831]. In the 1880 census two of their siblings listed North Carolina as the place of birth of their parents. He was probably related to Rhoda Nickens who was a 70-year-old "Mulatto" listed in the 1850 census for Wilson County, Tennessee, near the Shoecraft and Archer families.

iii. Edward⁴, born say 1761, enlisted in the 10^th North Carolina Regiment for 3 years and was mustered in January 1779 [Clark, The State Records of North Carolina, XVI:1127]. He received pay for service in the 6^th and 10^th Regiments of $239 from 5 August 1777 to 1 August 1780 [NARA, U.S. Revolutionary War Miscellaneous Records (Manuscript File), 1775-1790s, Records Pertaining to Troops of particular States, 14403, frames 30-32 of 397; http://ancestry.com].

iv. Richard⁵, born say 1763, taxable on 1 poll in Captain Joseph Bridgers's Hertford County Company in 1784 adjacent to James Nickens [GA 64.1]. His field adjoining Thomas Cotten was referenced in Cotten's 18 April 1787 Hertford County will [P.C. # 122.2 by NCGSJ XI:251] and may have been the Richard Nickens who was taxable in Princess Anne County in 1794 and 1795 [PPTL, 1790-1822, frames 91, 121]. His suit against Powers Etheridge in Norfolk County court for trespass, assault and battery on 11 March 1796 was dismissed at defendant's costs [Orders 1797-9, 19b, 66b]. He was head of a Hertford County household of 8 "other free" in 1800.

v. Malachi, born about 1765, living in Hertford County on 19 May 1781 when he enlisted in Carter's Company of the 10^th North Carolina Regiment for 1 year and was discharged on 19 May 1782 [Clark, The State Records of North Carolina, XVI:1127]. He was about 56 years old on 13 November 1821 when he testified in Hertford County court that he was a common laborer living with his wife Margaret and a 17-month-old child (his grandson?) Manuel Murfee. James Smith testified on his behalf [NARA, S.41925, M805, frame 0198]. Malachi was head of a Hertford County household of 5 "other free" in 1790 [NC:26], 3 in 1800, and 3 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:190]. He was one of the "Sundry persons of Colour of Hertford County" who petitioned the General Assembly in November- December 1822 to repeal the act which declared slaves to be competent witnesses against free African Americans [NCGSJ XI:252].

v. Willis, head of a Hertford County household of 4 "other free" in 1810, deceased by 1815 when the administrator of his estate, Nicholas Askew, was taxable on 100 acres in Hertford County [T&C, Box 5].

 

10.    Richard² Nickens (Elizabeth¹, Richard¹), born in August 1705, was "6 years old next August" on 16 May 1711 when he was apprenticed by his mother Elizabeth Nigings of Lancaster County to Henry and Ann Tapscott in Northumberland County to be a joiner carpenter [Orders 1710-13, 21]. He was probably the Richard Nickens who was number 37 in the muster roll of Major William Shergold's Regiment of Currituck County, North Carolina Militia in the 1750's in the same list as Simon Shewcraft, a witness to Edward¹ Nicken's 1735 Lancaster County will [Clark, Colonial Soldiers of the South, 657-8]. He was taxable in Currituck County on 3 tithes in 1751, 2 tithes in 1752 [CCR 190] and called "Richard Nickins of Currituck County Tailor" on 26 March 1751 when he purchased 70 acres in Pasquotank County on the south side of Great Swamp near the Great Swamp Bridge on 26 March 1751 [DB B:144]. This land is located in present-day Camden County. He was called Richard Nickin of Pasquotank when he purchased 50 acres adjoining this land near the Great Swamp in adjoining Currituck County on 19 April 1768 for £48, another 50 acres adjoining this land a year later on 1 September 1769, and another 120 acres on 1 June 1771 for £60 [DB 2:44, 135, 318]. His 2 February 1774 Currituck County will was proved 20 June the same year; his wife Rachel and son Edward were his executors. His estate consisted of several hundred acres of land, a slave woman named "Sooke," and four guns. He left land "near the great swamp" in Pasquotank County to his daughters and his shoemaking tools to Edward Nickens. The will named his children and grandchildren: Philip, Edward, Roland, and Proskate Nickens [WB 1:92-94]. His children were

21    i. Edward³, born say 1730.

ii. Leah Rael, perhaps the wife of Jesse Rowals, head of a Hertford County household of 11 "other free" in 1790 [NC:25].

iii. Margaret Nickens, head of a Currituck County household of 3 "other free" in 1790 (called Margaret Mekins) [NC:22]. Margaret Nickens was awarded £30 by the Norfolk County court on 17 May 1787 in her suit for debt against Simeon Smith and Thomas Williams [Orders 1786-7, 97a].

iv. Rachel Hall, received the use of her father's land in Pasquotank County near the Great Swamp Bridge. On 8 June 1780 she and her husband Absalom Hall sold the 50 acres her father left her in his will by Camden County deed for £20 [DB B:134].

 

11.    Catherine /Kate Nicken (Elizabeth¹, Richard¹), born say 1710, "a negro woman named Kate Nicken," was living in Christ Church Parish, Lancaster County, on 8 May 1728 when the court presented her for having a bastard child. Valentine Bell was security for the payment of her fine [Orders 1721-29, 270, 275, 278]. Her children may have been

i. Stephen, born say 1732, obtained an attachment against the estate of Thomas Loney for about £2 on 10 July 1753 in Northumberland County court. On 14 April 1789 the court exempted him from paying taxes due to his old age and infirmity [Orders 1753-56, 21; 1786-90, 480]. He was taxable on himself and a horse in Northumberland County from 1787 to 1798: taxable on a slave from 1791 to 1798, exempt in 1793 and 1794 [PPTL, 1782-1812, frames 322, 330, 352, 367, 381, 395, 411, 425, 447, 479]. On 9 May 1796 the Northumberland County court certified that he was a "mulatto man" residing in the county who was born free [Orders 1796-7, 26].

22   ii. Frances, born say 1750.

 

12.    William¹ Nicken (Elizabeth¹, Richard¹), born say 1727, was presented by the Lancaster County court on 20 May 1763 for not listing his wife as a tithable, but the case was dismissed the following month. He was sued by David Galloway in Lancaster County for a debt of £6 on 1 July 1765. He was not found, so the sheriff executed the judgment on his securities Peter Rouse and Mary Nicken [Judgments, 1764-5, frames 386-93]. Thomas Pollard sued him for £3 on 16 March 1769 and William Schofield, Jr., sued him in a case of trespass upon the case for £15 in April 1769. He was not found, so the sheriff reported that he had left the summons at William's "mansion house." On 17 August 1769 he sued James Hill for trespass, assault and battery and was awarded 20 shillings. John Heath won a case against him for £8.19 on 16 April 1771. Jesse Crowther won a case against him for 306 pounds of tobacco on 19 September 1771, and he won a case against Crowther for 21 pounds of tobacco and 76 shillings for his costs in defending Crowther's suit against him. He was sued by George Brown on 15 October 1772 and by Charles Carter, Esquire, on 19 November 1772. He was charged with breaking and entering the house of John Mason and stealing meat on 29 June 1772, but the court ordered him discharged on hearing the evidence. On 22 January 1773 he was charged with breaking into the store house of Anthony McQuhan and stealing £30 and was sent to Williamsburg for trial. Robert Nicken was one of the state's witnesses against him [Orders 1770-78, 4; 1756-64, 483; 1764-7, 145, 199, 213; 1768-70, 8, 46, 55; 1770-78, 4, 53, 67, 96, 112, 122, 136, 156, 230, 277, 284, 295, 303; 1778-83, 4-6, 5b; Court Papers, 1771-1774, frames 697-8, 788; Judgments, 1767-9, frames 582-3; 1768-78, frames 102-4, 221-2]. He was acquitted by the grand jury at Williamsburg according to a notice in the 22 April 1773 issue of the Virginia Gazette [Purdie & Dixon edition, p.3, col. 1]. He confessed in York County court on 17 May 1773 that he owed £10 to Thomas Mason, Esquire [Judgments & Orders 1772-4, 266]. He may have been the William Nickens who was found not guilty by the Richmond City court of robbing James Spruce, a slave the property of Thomas Davidson, of £5.14 while they were on board the schooner Polly Sly [Hustings Court Orders 1787-92, 519]. His children James, Mary Ann, Dick and William Nicken were named by the Lancaster County court on 21 January 1772 when it ordered them bound apprentices while he awaited trial. The court bound out Mary Ann, William, James, Leroy, and Sarah Ann as apprentices on 18 February 1773 [Orders 1770-78, 292, 299-300]. He was taxable in Lancaster County in 1775 [Tithables 1745-95, 15]. An indictment by the Commonwealth against him was dismissed by the Lancaster Count court on 16 June 1780 [Orders 1778-83, 57]. His children were

i. Richard⁴, born about 1751, listed as William Brent's Lancaster County tithe in 1775, and listed as John Clayton's tithe in 1776 [Tithables 1745-95, 14, 18]. He was listed as a seaman aboard the ship Tempest during the Revolution on 7 December 1779 [Brumbaugh, Revolutionary War Records, 32]. He was in the personal property tax lists in Lancaster County from 1784 to 1794: taxable on 3 slaves in 1787, taxable on Philip Boyd's tithe in 1792 and 1793 [PPTL, 1782-1839, frames 23, 45, 62, 97 109, 121, 157; Tithables 1745-95, 51]. He registered in Lancaster County on 17 October 1803: Age 52, Color mulatto...born free [Burkett, Lancaster County Register of Free Negroes, 1]. He married Elizabeth Hamilton, 20 August 1806 Lancaster bond, John Nicken surety, and was head of a Lancaster County household of 4 "other free" and a slave in 1810 [VA:355]. He made a deposition (signing) in Lancaster County court on 14 December 1819 for a pension for his services. He stated that he enlisted in the Revolution for 3 years, went to Hampton with Captain Pollard and was placed on board the galley Hero, commanded by Captain Barrett, where he served 18 months, then on board the ship Tempest under command of Captain Celey Saunders where he also served 18 months and was honorably discharged at Chickahominy Ship Yard by Lieutenant Steel when the ship was laid up. He always resided in Lancaster and Northumberland counties except when he served in the Navy. His final pay as a seaman of £69 was drawn by Colonel Heath on 2 August 1783 [NARA, M881, http://fold3.com/image/286914564]. He received Virginia State pension no. 307 [Legislative Petitions, Nicken, Richard, Digital Collection, LVA]. He was said to be 82 years old when he applied for a federal pension in Lancaster County court on 17 December 1832 [NARA, S.5830, M805, reel 0615, frame 0187]. He received bounty land warrant no. 1477 [Brumbaugh, Revolutionary War Records, 360]. His age was estimated as upwards of 80 years on 7 January 1834 when he testified for John Jackson's pension application that they became acquainted when they served on the same ships [Revolutionary War Rejected Claims, Jackson, John (seaman), p.14, Digital Collection, LVA]. His 17 January 1835 Lancaster County will, proved 16 March 1835, named his niece Zelia Nicken and her children Assenath and Nancy Nicken [WB 28:329].

ii. Mary Ann, born say 1760, bound to Bridger Haynie in Lancaster County on 18 February 1773 [Orders 1770-78, 299], perhaps the Molly Nickens who registered in Fredericksburg on 9 June 1820: a dark Mulatto aged sixty years, five feet one 1/2 inches high Born free, and was deceased shortly after she renewed her registration on 13 June 1834: a dark Mulatto aged seventy four years, five feet one and a half inches high, who was born free. (dead) Fredericksburg City Certificates and Registry of Free Negroes, 1790-1862, 187, 256].

23   iii. James⁵, born about 1763.

iv. ?Leroy, bound with William Nicken to Richard Hutchings in Lancaster County on 18 February 1773 [Order 1770-78, 300], charged with felony in Lancaster County on 12 January 1786. The principle witness against him failed to appear, but he being "conscious to himself that he is guilty" consented to receive thirty-nine lashes and an hour in the pillory rather than be tried in the General Court. On 2 November 1789 the Lancaster County court found him guilty and sent him to Richmond for further trial for breaking and entering the store of John Digges at night and stealing goods valued at 20 shillings [Orders 1786-9, 1; 1789-92, 75-6]. He was a "free Mulatto" laborer of Saint Anne's Parish, Essex County, on 26 March 1791 when he was accused of entering the house of Mace Clements in the Town of Tappahannock and stealing a hat, coat and breeches, but the proof against him was not sufficient to send him for further trial [Orders 1790-4, 22]. He was a "free negro" charged on 25 June 1791 by the Hustings court in Fredericksburg with stealing £15-20 from the house of Elizabeth King Allason. He was sent to the district court for trial [Orders C, 1787-1800, 152].

v. ?Sarah Ann, bound to Richard Hutchings in Lancaster County on 18 February 1773 [Orders 1770-78, 300].

vi. William, bound to Richard Hutchings in Lancaster County on 18 February 1773 [Orders 1770-78, 300]. He was called William Neakins, when he, Nathaniel and James Neakins were seamen aboard the Dragon according to an affidavit by a fellow seaman, John Davis, who testified for the bounty land claim of James Jennings on 7 February 1834 and named five of the officers and fifty-two members of the crew who served faithfully for 3 years and were discharged at the Chickahominy Ship Yard [Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants, Jennings, James (p.9), Digital Collection, LVA]. He received bounty land warrant no. 337 for service in the Virginia State Line where he served in the artillery as a drummer. T. Graves received his final pay of £83 on 24 May 1783 [Brumbaugh, Revolutionary War Records, 360; Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants, Nickins, William, Digital Collections, LVA; NARA, M881, Roll 1094, frames 843-4 of 1764; http://fold3.com/image/23282720].

 

13.    Elizabeth² Nicken (Christian, Richard¹), born about 1711, called "Betty a negro child the Daughter of Criss, a free negro woman," was five years old on 19 September 1716 when she was bound apprentice to Charles Craven in Northumberland County [Orders 1713-19, 180]. She may have been identical to "Black Betty" whose suit against John Yerby for her freedom was dismissed on 14 June 1721 because she failed to prosecute [Orders 1713-21, 350]. And she may have been identical to Elizabeth Nicken who was presented by the Lancaster County court on 19 November 1764 for concealing three tithables. The case was dismissed on 17 December 1764 [Orders 1764-7, 76; Judgments, 1765-7, frames 41, 54]. Betty Nicken was a blind woman living in Wiccomoco District, Northumberland County, on 14 October 1788 when the court allowed her 400 pounds of tobacco for her support [Orders 1786-90, 442]. She may have been the mother of

i. Martha², born say 1745, mother of Rhoda Nickens, who was bound apprentice to (her grandmother?) Betty Nickens on 21 October 1765 in Lancaster County [Orders 1764-7, 168]. Martha married Aaron Weaver in Northumberland County on 7 February 1766 [Weaver, Aaron (M): Free Negro Affidavit, 1800, African American Narrative Digital Collection, LVA].

 

14.    James³ Nickens (John¹, Edward¹, Richard¹), born say 1743, sued Peter Marsh in Lancaster County court on 21 May 1764 [Orders 1764-7, 39]. He was taxable in Lancaster County in John Nicken's household in 1775 and 1776 [Tithables 1745-95, 14, 18]. A James Wicking or Nicking was listed as one of the seamen aboard the galley Dragon who were wanting provisions for 30 days on 2 September 1779. He was called James Nickens when he received a discharge for 3 years service as a seaman aboard the ship Dragon in the Revolution on 24 June 1780. He assigned (signing) his right to his land warrant to Joseph Sanders on 4 July 1783 [Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants, Nickens, James, Digital Collections, LVA; NARA, M805-0615, frame 0192]. He was taxable in his own household Lancaster County in 1781 [Tithables 1745-95, 14, 18, 37], taxable there from 1782 to 1786 [PPTL 1782-1839, frames 5, 16, 23, 38] and head of a Lancaster County household of 9 "Blacks" in 1783 [VA:55]. He obtained a certificate of freedom for himself, his wife and children in Lancaster County on 4 December 1786 which he recorded in Fauquier County on 29 April 1806. Included with the papers were a pass for himself and son James to travel unmolested and a pass for himself and two of his grandchildren Elizabeth and John Watkins to travel to Alexandria in 1806. They also certified that his wife Sarah was free and born of a free woman in Northumberland County [DB 16:380]. He was a "Mulatto" living on North River and taxable on 2 tithes and a horse in Culpeper County from 1789 to 1796: listed with James Nickens, Jr., in 1794 and 1796 [PPTL 1782-1802, frames 305, 335, 416, 433, 495, 528, 566, 608]. On 24 July 1789 he leased for £5 annually 100 acres from William Allason of Fauquier County by Culpeper County deed during the natural life of himself, his wife Sarah and his son James who was then under twenty years of age. He also agreed that within two years he would build a twenty-foot-square house, 16-foot-square kitchen, 20 x 16-foot stable, 30 x 20-foot barn, and plant 50 apple and 50 pear trees. (Moses Watkins and his wife Judie rented 100 acres on the west side of the Hatyman River from Allason under the same terms eleven days prior to this on 13 July 1789) [DB P:243, 249]. He was called James Nickens, Sr., when he was taxable in Fauquier County in 1797, listed as a "free Negro" there in 1807, called James Nickens, Sr., in 1809, a "Molatto" in 1810, taxable on a horse in 1812, 1814, and 1815 [PPTL 1797-1807, frames 13, 116, 137, 819: 1809-1819, frames 117, 285, 405, 481]. He and James Nickens, Jr., were sued for debt in Fauquier County court by William Allason on 22 May 1797. They acknowledged they still owed him 4 of an original debt of £49.15 from 5 November 1796 [Orders 1797-8, 97]. He was a "F. Negroe" head of a Fauquier County household of 8 "other free" in 1810, called James Nickens, Sr. [VA:368] and 11 "free colored" in 1820. On 3 September 1834 James Nickens, Elizabeth Nickens, and Judy Watkins appeared in Frederick County court to apply for the survivors' pension of their father James Nickens and their brother Hezekiah Nickens, a seaman in the Virginia State Navy who died during the war. They testified that their father died about 1825, their mother Sally was also deceased, and they were their only heirs [Court Minutes 1834-38, 61]. The application of his heirs for bounty land was denied based on the fact that a James Nickens of Stafford County had already received bounty land and was receiving a pension. Their lawyer sent a letter requesting an abstract of James Nickens's pension application and asked if it was for land or navy service [Revolutionary War Rejected Claims, Nickens, James, Digital Collections, LVA; NARA, M805-0615, frame 0192]. He was the father of

i. Hezekiah¹, born say 1758, serving as a seaman aboard the Gloucester in the Revolution on 5 July 1779 and served for 3 years. He, Nathaniel and Richard Nickins were issued spirits aboard the Tempest on 9 December 1779 [NARA, M804, Roll 988, frame 976 of 983; http://fold3.com/image/17885364]. James Nickins and others drew his warrant no. 8396 [Brumbaugh, Revolutionary War Records, 14, 70, 361]. His final pay of £57 was drawn by Captain Sanders on 31 January 1787 [NARA, M853, http://fold3.com/image/286702512].

ii. Elizabeth², born say 1762, a "free Negro" taxable on a horse in Fauquier County in 1807 [PPTL 1797-1807, frame 819], perhaps the Elizabeth Nickens (55-100 years of age) who was head of a King and Queen County household of 6 "free colored" in 1830.

iii. James⁵, Jr., born say 1763, probably the second tithable in James Nickens Sr.'s Culpeper County household in 1789, a "Mulatto" taxable in Culpeper County from 1794 to 1796 [PPTL 1782-1802, frames 528, 566, 608], taxable in Fauquier County from 1797 to 1807: listed as a "free Negro" in 1807, a "F. Negro" listed next to Richard Nickens, "F. Negro," in 1810, a "F. Negro" taxable on Barney/ Barnett Nickens in 1811 and 1812 in Enoch Withers's District [PPTL 1797-1807, frames 13, 116, 137, 211, 359, 819; PPTL 1809-1818, frames 94, 165, 262, 405, 481], head of a Fauquier County household of 11 "other free" in 1810 [VA:368] and 9 "free colored" in 1820. He married Peggy Burden (alias Timbers), a "free Mulatto...people of Colour," 17 July 1793 Culpeper County bond, John Hickerson surety [Afro American Historical Assocation of Fauquier County, Objectid ARCH.00834]. He registered in Fauquier County on 28 November 1827: age _4, 5'6", dark Mulattoe man, born free [Register of Free Negroes, 1817-65, no. 97].

iv. Judy Watkins, born say 1766.

 

They were apparently the ancestors of

i. Patsey, born about 1793, registered in Fauquier County on 28 August 1829: age 36, 5'2-1/2", a Mulatto Woman [Register of Free Negroes, 1817-65, no. 110].

ii. Hezekiah², born about 1799, registered in Fauquier County on 28 November 1827: age 28, 5'10-1/2", dark Mulattoe man, born free [Register of Free Negroes, 1817-65, no. 98].

 

15.    James² Nicken (John¹, Edward¹, Richard¹), born say 1737, sued Edward Ingram for freedom from his indenture on 11 September 1764 in Northumberland County court. He was called James Nicken alias Bateman when the court ordered him to serve Ingram for four more years [Orders 1762-66, 411, 435]. He may have been bound out as an apprentice for 31 years because he was the son of a white woman. Easter/ Hester Bateman, daughter of Jane Bateman, was bound to Captain Maurice Jones, deceased, on 13 August 1733 when the Northumberland County court set her free because the indenture was not sufficient and also ordered that she receive 25 lashes for having an illegitimate child in Wiccocomoco Parish [Orders 1729-37, 21, 23, 50, 82, 105]. James Bateman, James Nicken, Edward Nicken and Hezekiah Nicken were serving aboard the Gloucester on 4 November 1777 when the keeper of the public store was ordered to deliver them articles of clothing, "on their paying for the same" [U.S. Government Printing Office, Naval Documents of the American Revolution, 11:160, http://ibiblio.org/anrs//docs/E/E3/ndar_v11p05.pdf]. And they were listed on board the Gloucester shortly before it was dismantled on 5 July 1779 [Brumbaugh, Revolutionary War Records, 14]. James Nickens (making his mark) and Willis Bass were bondsmen for the 18 December 1786 Norfolk County marriage of Willis Bass and Jemima Nickens. On 10 April 1835, about the same time as the Fauquier County branch of the family applied for bounty land for the service of James Nickens, Jemima Bass of Norfolk County applied to the Norfolk County court which certified that she was the widow of Willis Bass and only heir of her father James Nickens and his brother Nathaniel Nickens [Court Minutes 24:139]. She was 66 years old when she deposed that she was a resident of the county of Norfolk, that during the Revolution James Nickens and his brother Nathaniel Nickens served on board a vessel named the Caswell and were regularly discharged after the war. Nathaniel Nickens died leaving no wife or child. The nearest relative he left was James Nickens who was also a seaman, and James Nickens died leaving her as his only child and heir [Revolutionary War Rejected Claims, Nickens, James, Digital Collections, LVA; NARA, M805-0615, frame 0192]. He was the father of

i. Jemima, born about 1769, married Willis Bass, 18 December 1786 Norfolk County bond, Willis Bass and James Nickens sureties, and was head of a Norfolk County household of 6 "free colored" in 1830.

ii. ?Margaret, married William Newton, 30 March 1805 Norfolk County marriage [Ministers' Returns, 1787-1840, 34].

 

16.    Nathaniel¹ Nickens (Robert², Edward¹, Richard¹), born say 1745, was listed aboard the Tempest on a 7 December 1779 return of spirits provided to the ship [Brumbaugh, Revolutionary War Records, 32, 70, 371]. He served as an ordinary seaman aboard the ship Tempest under Captain Celey Saunders for 3 years ending in July 1780 according to an affidavit he received from Captain William Saunders on 25 July 1786. He assigned his right to all his claims and his bounty land to William Bigger in Lancaster County court on 30 July 1786 [Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants, Nicken, Nath^l, Digital Collections, LVA]. He was also listed as a seaman aboard the Dragon with James and William Neakins according to an affidavit by a fellow seaman aboard the ship, John Davis, who testified for James Jennings on 7 February 1834 and named five of the officers and fifty-two members of the crew [Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants, Jennings, James (p.8), Digital Collection, LVA]. He was head of a Lancaster County household of 3 "Blacks" in the 1783 census, listed next to Robert Nickens [VA:55] and taxable in Lancaster County from 1782 to 1786: listed with 2 tithables in 1784, charged with Moses Cook's tithe in 1786 [PPTL, 1782-1839, frames 7, 23, 38]. He was probably identical to Mat Nicken, a seaman whose final pay of £59 was received by William Bigger on 1 August 1786 [NARA, M880, Roll 4, http://fold3.com/image/286702512]. He assigned his right to all his claims and his bounty land to William Bigger in Lancaster County court on 30 July 1786 [Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants, Nicken, Nath^l, Digital Collections, LVA]. He was sued in Lancaster County by Hillery Curtis for two debts of 800 pounds of tobacco on 17 August 1786 with Nathaniel Nicken, Jr., as his security [Orders 1786-9, 19]. He was married to Hannah Nicken according to the registration of his daughter Elizabeth in Orange County, Virginia, in 1811. He was the father of

i. ?Nathaniel², Jr., born say 1763, sued by Hillery Curtis for a debt of £800 in Lancaster County court on 17 August 1786 [Orders 1786-9, 19].

ii. Elizabeth³, born about 1764 according to the affidavit of her father Nathaniel Nickings when she married George McCoy, 10 March 1788 Orange County, Virginia bond, 11 March marriage by Rev. George Eve. She registered in Orange County on 14 March 1811: I was acquainted with Hannah Nicken, mother of Betty Nicken alias Betty McCoy, upwards of forty years ago. W. H. Stanard [Nicken, Hannah (F): Free Negro Affidavit, 1810, African American Narrative Digital Collection, LVA].

 

17.    Benjamin¹ Nickens (Robert², Edward¹, Richard¹), born say 1760, was taxable in the lower district of Prince William County from 1782 to 1813: called a "yellow" man in 1809 and 1813 [PPTL, 1782-1810, frames 27, 52, 77, 142, 236, 274, 315, 368, 444, 510, 598, 709]. He and his wife Betsy, "formerly Betsy Lucas," obtained certificates of freedom in Prince William County on 5 August 1805 [Orders 1804-6, 204]. He was head of a Prince William County household of 1 "other free" in 1810 [VA:506]. He was the father of

i. Betsy Lucas, born about 1778, registered in Fredericksburg on 11 June 1805: Prince William County. The bearer hereof Betsy Lucas (wife of Charles Lucas and daughter of Ben Nickens) was born in the said county of a free woman. She is about twenty seven years of age, five feet two inches high of a light mulatto complexion [Fredericksburg City Certificates and Registry of Free Negroes, 1790-1862, 98].

ii. ?Daniel, taxable in the lower district of Prince William County from 1797 to 1800 and from 1809 to 1813, called a "yellow" man in 1813 [PPTL, 1782-1810, frames 341, 368, 405, 444, 598, 645, 709, 737, 740], head of a Prince William County household of 3 "other free" in 1810.

 

18.    Edward Jones Nicken (Edward², Edward¹, Richard¹), born say 1748, was called "son of Edward Nicken, deceased" when he was bound an apprentice shoemaker to John Nicholds in Lancaster County on 18 February 1757 [Orders 1756-64, 40]. He enlisted as a seaman in the Virginia State Navy on 1 August 1777 for 3 years, served aboard the Tartar, and received bounty land [Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants, Nicking, Edward, Digital Collections, LVA]. He was an able seaman who assigned his final pay of £84 to James Allen on 5 August 1786 [NARA, M880, Roll 4; http://fold3.com/image/286914548]. He was serving aboard the Gloucester on 5 July 1779 and drew bounty land warrant no. 2427 [Brumbaugh, Revolutionary War Records, 14, 217]. He was taxable in the lower end of New Kent County on the south side of Warrenny Road from 1782 to 1815: taxable on a slave named Roger in 1785; taxable on a slave in 1792; removed to Richmond in 1794; taxable in New Kent County on a slave in 1796 and 1804; called a "FN" in 1806; taxable on 2 free males in 1809; listed as a "Person of Colour" with his unnamed wife in 1813. His children may have been Edward Neekins, Jr., and Bartholomew Neekins who were taxable in New Kent County in 1820 [PPTL 1782-1800, frames 36, 100, 190, 213; 1791-1828, frames 372, 409, 432, 455, 476, 491, 503, 516, 574]. Perhaps his widow was Nancy Meekins, head of a New Kent County household of 5 "free colored" in 1830. His children may have been

i. Edward, born say 1790.

ii. Bartholomew, born say 1800.

iii. John, head of a New Kent County household of 5 "free colored" in 1830 at the Charity School.

iv. Carter, head of a New Kent County household of 3 "free colored" at the Charity School.

 

19.    Amos¹ Nicken (Richard³, Edward¹, Richard¹), born say 1750, purchased a spinning wheel at the sale of the Northumberland County estate of William Lattimore on 2 May 1771 [RB 8:386]. He was a "free" head of a Northumberland County household of 4 "Black" persons in the 1782 census [VA:37]. On 10 November 1783 he was presented by the Northumberland County court for failing to list himself as a tithable [Orders 1783-5, 107, 423]. He was taxable in Northumberland County from 1782 to 1807: listed with 2 tithes in 1794, 1795, 1797, 1800 and 1801; called Amos, Sr., starting in 1802 [PPTL, 1782-1812, frames 234, 249, 264, 279, 295, 314, 336, 344, 359, 374, 388, 402, 419, 433, 453, 465, 487, 501, 524, 532, 546, 586, 595, 614]. He purchased 25 acres in Northumberland County in the Parish of Great Wicomico adjoining the churchyard for £23 on 20 February 1772 and 10 acres adjoining this land on 7 December 1793 [RB 9:3-4; 14:723]. His 6 April 1807 Northumberland County will, proved 8 June the same year, named his wife Sally and grandson Darius and left his land and personal estate to his son and executor Amos Nicken [RB 17:529]. Sally was probably the sister of John Pinn who mentioned her in his 9 July 1785 Northumberland County will [Northumberland County Wills and Administrations, 80]. Amos was the father of

i. Amos², born about 1775, registered in Northumberland County on 12 June 1809: blackman, about 34 years old, 5 feet 8-1/2 Inches high [Register of Free Negroes and Mulattos, #43]. He was probably first taxable in Northumberland County in 1794 when he was one of 2 unnamed tithables in the household of his father Amos¹ Nickens. He was taxable in his own household, called Amos Nickens, Jr., adjoining Amos Nickens, Sr., in 1802; listed as a "Blk" taxable from 1809 to 1812 [PPTL, 1782-1812, frames 419, 532, 641, 658, 673, 687]. He was called A. Nickens when he married Elizabeth Causey, "daughter of William Causey," 5 July 1800 Northumberland County bond, Joseph Mott security; and called Amos Nickens when he married, second, Caty Griffin, 6 March 1810 Northumberland County bond, Joseph Weaver security. He was head of a Northumberland County household of 7 "other free" in 1810 [VA:990]. He and his wife Catherine sold 40 acres "being the land his father left near Wiccomoco Church" on 25 June 1813 and another 10 acres on 16 December 1815 [DB 19:275; 20:113]. He purchased 27 acres in Lancaster County on 13 May 1819 [DB 14:723]. He deposed that he was 92 years of age on 18 April 1850 (born 1758) when he testified for the Revolutionary War pension application of John Parrott that he saw Parrott in the service while he (Amos) was serving as a substitute for his father [NARA, S.8932, M804, http://fold3.com/image/25169861]. His Northumberland County will was written on 15 October 1850 [WB A:25].

ii. Mary, born say 1778, "daughter of Amos Nicken," married Benjamin Nicken, 11 April 1796 Northumberland County bond, Asa Swanson security.

 

20.    Limas/ Elimaleck¹ Nickens (Richard³, Edward¹, Richard¹), born say 1752, was head of a Northumberland County household of 5 "black" persons in 1782 [VA:37], was taxable in Northumberland County in 1782 and 1783 [PPTL, 1782-1812, frames 232, 250] and was presented by the Northumberland County court for failing to list himself as a tithable on 10 November 1783 [Orders 1783-5, 107, 423]. He was taxable in Lancaster County in 1785 and 1786 [PPTL, 1782-1839, frames 30, 36], was a "B.M." (black man) taxable in the 2nd District of Augusta County in 1796 [PPTL 1796-1810, frame 32] and was a "free Negro" taxable in the west district of Rockingham County, Virginia, from 1797 to 1799 and in 1802 [PPTL 1795-1813, frames 161, 236, 257, 372]; and Amalik/ Emilick was a "B.M" taxable in Augusta County on 2 tithes in 1800, 2 tithes and a horse in 1801 and 3 tithes and a horse in 1802 in the same list as Moses, Isaac, Abraham, Edward and Jacob Nickens [PPTL 1782-95, frame 539; 1795-1810, frames 201, 246, 298]. On 23 November 1801 the Orange County, Virginia court certified that he and Moses Nickens were free and allowed them to hire themselves out [Orders 1801-3, 179]. Amlick and his wife Sarah and their children: James, Agnes, Lot, Easter, Amlick, and Moses resided in Ross County, Ohio, on the farm of Benjamin Kerns in 1804 according to a certificate of residency he obtained from Kerns on 18 August 1812 and recorded at the Ross County courthouse [Turpin, Register of Black, Mulatto, and Poor Persons, 17]. He was head of a Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio household of 6 "free colored" in 1820. Amlick and his wife Sarah were the parents of

i. William³, born say 1775, a "Black" taxable in Augusta County in 1803 and 1804 [PPTL 1796-1810, frames 343, 391], "a black man," and his wife Rose and four or five unnamed children living in Ross County, Ohio, about 1807 according to a certificate of residency signed by William Lewis and recorded at the Ross County courthouse [Turpin, Register of Black, Mulatto, and Poor Persons, 17]. Rosan was head of a Ross County household of 11 "free colored" in 1830.

ii. James⁶, born after 1775, head of a Ross County household of 12 "free colored" in 1830.

iii. Agnes.

iv. Lot, born after 1775, head of a Ross County household of 5 "free colored" in 1830.

v. Jacob, head of a Rockingham County, Virginia household of 9 "free colored" in 1820.

vi. Easter.

vii. Amlick².

viii. Moses, born before 1776, head of a Jefferson, Madison County, Ohio household of 4 "free colored" in 1820.

 

21.    Edward³ Nickens (Richard², Elizabeth¹, Richard¹), born say 1730, was probably a shoemaker like his father since he was required by his father's will to make his mother's shoes. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War who was deceased by 5 December 1792 when a petition by his son and heir Richard Nickens was placed before the North Carolina General Assembly [LP 117 by NCGSJ IV:174]. Warrant no. 4317 for 640 acres was issued to the heirs of Edward Nicken on 14 December 1797 for his services as a private in the Revolution. Richard Nickens, "heir of Edward Nickens," sold his right to the warrant for $500 on 11 March 1797 [North Carolina and Tennessee, Revolutionary War Land Warrants, 1783-1843, Roll 07: Revolutionary Warrants, frame 324-5 of 608, http://ancestry.com]. His oldest children: Philip, Edward, Roland, and Proskate were named in his father's Currituck County will [WB 1:92-94]. His children were

i. Philip, born say 1762.

ii. Edward⁵, born say 1765, perhaps the Edward Nickins who was head of a Hertford County household of 6 whites in 1810 [NC:96].

iii. Roland, born say 1767.

iv. Proskate/ Prescott, born say 1768, purchased 25 acres near the Great Swamp Bridge in Currituck County from John and Dolly Northern for £5 on 27 June 1791, land which Richd Nickens, deceased, gave to his daughter Leah Rail. And on 5 January 1793 he sold for £200 the 25 acres he purchased from the Northerns as well as 25 acres near Moyock Mill which he was devised by his grandfather's will after the decease of his aunts Margaret and Leah [DB 6:155, 260]. He was head of household of 4 "other free" in Captain Lewis's District of Hertford County in 1800.

v. Richard⁶, born say 1770, not named in the will of his grandfather Richard Nickens, but named as the son of Edward Nicken in his own petition to the General Assembly. On 27 June 1791 he purchased from John and Dolly Northern 100 acres of land in Currituck County "which Rich^d Nickin Deces^d Give to his Son Edward Nickin by his will." On 13 February 1793 he and his wife Elizabeth sold 10 acres of their land and another 160 acres near the Great Swamp about a year later. And in 1794 he sold land near the Great Swamp Bridge which his grandfather Richard Nickens had devised to his father Edward Nickens [DB 6:167; 7:18, 46-48]. He was head of a Currituck County household of 3 "other free" in 1790 (called Richard Mekins) [NC:22] and 8 "other free" in Captain Lewis's District of Hertford County in 1800. Betsy Nickens who was head of a Pasquotank County household of 2 "other free" in 1810 [NC:916].

vi. ?Jonathan, born say 1780, married Kesiah Blizzard, 18 January 1803 Duplin County bond, Solomon Carter surety. He purchased 146 acres in Duplin County on the east side of the Northeast Cape Fear River and the north side of Matthews and Juniper branches from Alexander Carter on 10 November 1811 [DB 4A:392]. He was head of a Duplin County household in 1810 (counted as white) [NC:690] and 8 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:189]. He sold land by deed registered in Dobbs County between 1810 and 1819 [DB 24:98; 26:370] and was a 70-year-old "Mulatto" counted in the 1850 Duplin County census with 60-year-old white wife Keziah.

 

22.    Frances Nicken (Christian, Elizabeth¹, Richard¹), born say 1750, a "free Mulattoe, was living in Lancaster County on 17 March 1785 when she asked the court to bind her daughter Charlotte to Hannah Nicken [Orders 1783-5, 94]. Frances was head of a Stafford County household of 2 "free colored" in 1830. She was the mother of

i. Charlotte, born say 1780.

ii. Polly Nicklens, born say 1793, married William Balfour, "free persons of colour," 26 December 1812 Fredericksburg bond with the consent of her mother Frances Nicklens.

iii. ?Sarah, born say 1799, married William Skinker, "both free persons of colour," 19 October 1820 Fredericksburg bond. William Skinker was head of a Stafford County household of 5 "free colored" in 1830.

 

23.    James⁴ Nickens (William¹, Elizabeth¹, Richard¹), born about 1763, was bound to James Pollard by the Lancaster County court on 18 February 1773. He enlisted in the Revolution for the length of the war while resident in Lancaster County and was sized in April 1781: age 18, 5'1-1/2" high, yellow complexion, a planter, born in Princess Anne County, engaged Mar 80 in Essex County, former service: served for 18 months in Buford's detach^t [The Chesterfield Supplement or Size Roll of Troops at Chesterfield Court House, LVA accession no. 23816, by http://revwarapps.org/b81.pdf (p.23)]. He was serving in the Revolution in July 1781 when forage was delivered to him at Prince Edward County courthouse on several days in July 1781 for the wagon and riding horses used in the Revolution [NARA, M853, http://fold3.com/image/286751367]. He was tried in Lancaster County court for felony on 2 February 1790. He consented to corporal punishment rather than be tried at the district court in Richmond. The court ordered that he receive twenty-five lashes, leave the county within five days, and never return [Orders 1789-92, 101]. He was taxable in Prince William County from 1796 to 1798 and from 1806 to 1813: called a "Dark" man in 1805 and 1806, a "yellow" man in 1809 and 1813 [PPTL, 1782-1810, frames 315, 341, 368, 598, 645, 709], taxable in Essex County in 1795 [PPTL, 1782-1819, frame 266] and head of an Essex County household of 3 "other free" in 1810. He was about 59 years old and living in Falmouth on 27 April 1818 when he made a declaration in court to apply for a pension. He stated that he served as a seaman for 3 years on board the ships Tempest, Revenge and Hero which were then commanded by Captains Muter and Westcott, but he had forgotten the name of the captain of the Tempest. He received a discharge which he had lost. He then enlisted in the land service at Lancaster courthouse, was marched by Nicholas Currell to the headquarters of Baron Steuben at Cumberland courthouse, remained there some time and was then placed under Captain Drury Ragsdale and Fleming Gains of Colonel Harrison's Regiment of Artillery which was marched to join the Southern Army under General Green in South Carolina where he was in the Battle of Eutaw Springs. After the war he returned to Virginia and had resided there ever since. He was a 62-year-old "Free Man of Color," said to be living alone in Stafford County on 16 August 1820, when he repeated much of what he had stated in his 27 April 1818 declaration, did not mention any sea service, but added that he was stationed in the rear at the Battle of Eutaw Springs where he was in charge of baggage belonging to Fleming Gains and John T. Brooke, officers in Harrison's Regiment. His pension for service in the artillery commenced on 27 April 1818. On 27 April 1818 Charles West testified before Judge William Dade of Stafford County that James Nickens enlisted on board the sally Norfolk Revenge and served aboard that vessel with him for 2 years and 3 months, and on 13 October 1818 John T. Brooke certified that James Nickens was a soldier in the 1^st Regiment of Artillery under Colonel Charles Harrison [NARA, S.38262, M805, reel 615, frame 0192]. James Nickers, private, was issued bounty land warrant no. 7391 for 200 acres which he assigned to John Metcalf, and James Nickins received warrant no. 1716 for service in the State Navy [Brumbaugh, Revolutionary War Records, 8, 312, 360]. He was head of a Stafford County household of 6 "free colored" in 1820, 1 "free colored" over the age of 55 with a white woman aged 30-40 in 1830, and a pensioner living in Stafford County, age 85, head of a household of 1 "free colored" man and woman 55-100 years of age in the 1840 census. He was about 72 on 7 November 1831 when he appointed an agent in Washington to apply for bounty land for his service under Corporal Lieutenant Gains at the Battle of Eutaw Springs. He deposed that he entered the service in 1776 for the term of the war in Colonel Harrison's Regiment of Continental Artillery, but his file included the discharge by (Captain) James Markham of James Nickens, a seaman belonging to the ship Dragon, on 24^th June 1780 for 3 years in the service and James's assignment of his right to the bounty land to Mr. Joseph Sanders on 4 July 1783 [Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants, Nicking, James, Digital Collections, LVA]. He may have been the father of

i. Frances, head of a Stafford County household of 2 "free colored" in 1830.

ii. Barny, head of a Stafford County household of 4 "free colored" in 1830.

 

Other members of the Nickens family were

i. Nelly, sued John Cottrell in Northumberland County court for debt on 9 June 1789. The case was referred to referees who awarded Nelly 55 shillings for her account on 11 July 1791 [Orders 1786-90, 530, 537, 567, 571; 1790-5, 34, 38, 101, 152].

ii. Julius Nickern, born say 1761, married Susanna Prewit, 20 June 1782 Pittsylvania County bond. She was probably related to Samuel Prewet, head of a Campbell County household of 2 "other free" in 1810 [VA:882].

iii. Susan/ Suckey, born about 1761, taxable on "f.N." Abraham Nickings's tithe in North Farnham Parish, Richmond County, from 1805 to 1809 [PPTL 1789-1829, frames 234, 270, 292], and head of a Richmond County household of 10 "other free" in 1810 [VA:408]. She may have been the mother of Suckey, Sally and Lucy Nickings who were listed as "free blacks" in Richmond County in 1813 [PPTL 1789-1829, frame 356]. She was a 55-year-old Mulatto spinster listed in the Richmond County List of Free Negroes and Mulattoes in Farnham in 1816 with Sucky Richardson (age 21), Cirus Nickens (8), Betty Nickens (7) and Peter Nickens (4) [List of Free Negroes and Mulattoes Richmond County 1816, African American Narrative Digital Collection, LVA]. Abraham was probably the Abraham Nicken who registered in Middlesex County on 20 September 1827: age 39, Black complexion, Born Free [Register of Free Negroes 1827-1860, pp. 1, 17]. He registered in Fairfax County on 16 June 1834: a black man about forty five years of age, five feet nine and a half inches high, this day produced a certificate of register from the county of Middlesex from which it appears he was born free in the county of Northumberland [Register of Free Negroes, 1822-61, no. 250]. Abram was head of a King and Queen County household of 8 "free colored" in 1830.

iv. James, head of a Ward 5, New York City household of 5 "other free" in 1810.

v. Robert⁴, born about 1763, enlisted in the Revolution while resident in Lancaster County as a substitute for 18 months in 1780 and was sized in April 1781: age 18, 5'8" high, black complexion, a farmer, born in Frederick County [The Chesterfield Supplement or Size Roll of Troops at Chesterfield Court House, LVA accession no. 23816, by http://revwarapps.org/b81.pdf (p.23)]. On 5 April 1785 Doctor Ball received his final pay of £14 for serving in the infantry [NARA, M881, Roll 1094, frames 845, 846 of 1764; http://fold3.com/image/23282733]. He was taxable in Lancaster County in John McTire's household in 1779, in John Davis's household in 1787, taxable in his own household in 1794 and 1795, called Robert Nickens, Junr. [Tithables 1745-95, 33, 51, 57] and taxable from 1796 to 1804 [PPTL, 1782-1839, frames 144, 189, 216, 256]. He was granted a certificate of his free birth by the Lancaster County court on 16 February 1796 [Orders 1792-9, 256]. He posted bond to marry Elizabeth Gray, 12 August 1786 Lancaster bond, but married Nancy Howe/ Haw(s), spinster over the age of 21, 5 March 1793 Lancaster bond. Nancy registered in Lancaster County on 19 September 1803: Age 31, Color mulatto...born free. Elizabeth Gray registered on 21 January 1811: Age abt. 42, Color mulatto...born free [Burkett, Lancaster County Register of Free Negroes, 1, 5]. He was in a list of soldiers whose names appeared on the Army register but had not received bounty land by 7 January 1835 [Brumbaugh, Revolutionary War Records, 259].

vi. Polly Armstead Nickens, born about 1767, married Charles Lewin, 1 January 1805 Lancaster County bond. Polly Lewin was head of a Lancaster County household of 7 "free colored" in 1830.

vii. Rose, born before 1776, head of an Alexandria household with a slave aged 14-26 years old in 1820.

viii. Lucretia, born say 1788,  head of a King George County household of 13 "free colored" in 1830 and mother of Molly Boulware who registered her certificate of freedom from King George County court in Fredericksburg on 5 May 1831: Molly Boulware a bright Mulatto woman aged about 23 years, five feet two & a half inches high was born free in Lancaster County and a daughter of Lucretia Nickins [Fredericksburg City Certificates and Registry of Free Negroes, 1790-1862, 240].

ix. William, taxable on a horse in Essex County from 1802 to 1813 when he was counted in a list of "Free Negroes & Mulattoes" over the age of 16 in St. Ann's Parish [PPTL, 1782-1819, frames 348, 483, 510].

x. Walker, listed as a "Free Negro & Mulatto" in Essex County in 1814 [PPTL, 1782-1819, frame 547].

xi. Martha², born say 1774, married Nathan Mackling (Maclin), 10 February 1790 Halifax County, Virginia bond, Robert Hill surety, 11 February marriage.

xii. Catherine, born about 1789, registered in Northumberland County on 14 August 1829: a bright Mulatto, forty years of age, five feet six and a quarter of an inch high, born of free parents in Northumberland County [Nicken, Catherine (40): Free Negro Certificate, 1829, African American Narrative Digital Collection, LVA].

xiii. Nancy, a "Free Mulattoe" charged by the Hustings court in Fredericksburg on 17 September 1807 with stealing a hat belonging to Charles Wardell but found not guilty [Orders F, 1807-11, 14-15, 24].

xiv. Elizabeth⁴, married Thomas Spriddle, 11 August 1817 Northumberland County bond, Joseph Weaver security.

xv. Catherine Nigenes, head of a Washington, D.C. household of 1 "other free" in 1800.

xvi. Joseph, born 1776-1794, head of a Lancaster County household of 6 "free colored" in 1820. He married Polly Kent Wiggins, daughter of Ann Wiggins, 26 January 1821 Lancaster County bond.

 

Endnotes:

1.    Many of the "Negros" listed in John Carter's inventory had descriptive names such as "Arromack Dick...Black Franck...Barbados Dick...Mandingo Nanny...new Ned...Black Will" [Inventories & Wills No. 8, 24].

2.    Perhaps Elizabeth Nickens failed to list the female members of her household as tithables. No free women were listed as tithables in Lancaster County in the surviving colonial tax lists of 1745 and 1746 [Tithables 1745-1795], so this may have been the first time the court was enforcing the 1723 amendment which made female members of African American and Indian households tithable.

3.    There were apparently three members of the Nickens family named James who served in the Revolution:

James³ Nickens, born say 1743, father of Hezekiah who also served, received a discharge for 3 years service as a seaman on 24 June 1780. He was taxable in Lancaster County until 1776, not listed from 1777 to 1780, and taxable again in 1781. He obtained a certificate of freedom for his family in Lancaster County in 1786 and recorded it in Fauquier County. However, when he applied for bounty land, he was denied because someone by the name of James Nicking/ Nicken (of Stafford County) was already drawing a pension. 

James⁴ Nickens of Stafford County, born about 1763, was apparently the one who served in the artillery and was sized in April 1781: age 18, 5'1-1/2" high, yellow complexion, a planter, born in Princess Anne County, engaged Mar 80 in Essex County, former service: served for 18 months in Buford's detach^t. He received a pension and land warrant based on both sea and land service. He was tried for felony in Lancaster County.

The third James Nickens may have been identical to James² Nickens, alias Bateman, born say 1737, who appeared in Lancaster County court in 1764. A James Bateman was a seaman aboard the Gloucester with James Nickens and was entitled to bounty land. He may have been the brother of Nathaniel Nickens and father of Jemima Bass who married Willis Bass in Norfolk County, James Nickens bondsman.

 

NORMAN FAMILY

1.    Elizabeth Norman, born say 1695, confessed in Prince George's County, Maryland court on 24 March 1712/3 that she had an illegitimate child by James Carr and was ordered to serve her master Benjamin Belt a year for the trouble of his house and was the servant of Benjamin Belt in March 1714/5 when she confessed to having another child. On 23 August 1715 the court ordered Belt to keep her and her "Mallatoe" child until the November court, and the court sold her and her child to Richard Keene, the constable for Patuxent Hundred, for 3,600 pounds of tobacco later that year on 22 November. Five years later on 22 November 1720 she confessed to the court that she had an illegitimate child by a "Mullato man of William Digge's," and the court sold her to her master for seven years and sold the child to William Maccoy until the age of thirty-one. On 28 August 1722 she confessed to having another "Malatto" child, and the court ordered her sold to Richard Keene for seven years and gave her child to William Harris until the age of thirty-one. She may have been the mother of two children listed in the inventory of the estate of William Harris on 1 July 1730:

1 Mollatto Girl named Beck 9 years old - £12

1 Mollatto Girl named Jane 5 years old to be free at 16 year old - £0.15 [Prerogative Inventories & Accounts 1730-1732, 16-17].

In March 1749/50 the court allowed her 200 pounds of tobacco a year for her support, rejected her petition on 25 June 1751 to have a doctor, but paid Doctor Richard Smith 800 pounds of tobacco on 26 November 1751 for removing a cancerous tumor from her arm. She received 400 pounds of tobacco for her support on 23 November 1756 [Court Record 1710-5, 285, 693, 721, 790; 1715-20, 4; 1720-2, 20-1, 84, 622-3; 1748-9, 133; 1751-4, 71, 157, 355]. She may have been the mother of

2    i. Beck, born about 1720.

3    ii. Jane¹, born say 1722.

 

2.    Beck (no last name), born about 1720, may have been identical to "Melattow Rebeccah" who was living at Samuel Selby's when she was presented by the Prince George's County court on 25 March 1739/40 for having an illegitimate child by information of the constable for Mount Calvert Hundred [Court Record 1738-40, 566]. And she may have been the "Mollatto Beck" whose "Molatto" daughter Jane was bound by the Prince George's County court to Joseph Bladen until the age of sixteen on 22 June 1742 [Court Record 1742-1743, 3]. On 25 November 1746 the court convicted "Mullatto Beck belonging to Samuel Selby" of "Mullatto Bastardy" and bound her six-week-old daughter Henrietta to Samuel Selby for thirty-one years [Court Record 1746-7, 200-1]. She may have been the mother of

i. Jane², born 1 March 1741/2, bound to Joseph Bladen, called "Mulatto Jane" and serving until the age of twenty-one when she was listed in the Prince George's County inventory of Mr. Richard Keene on 1 October 1754 [Prerogative Inventories 60:156-162].

4    ii. Henrietta, born about October 1746.

 

3.    Jane¹ Norman, born say 1722, was called "a Mallatto woman named Jane (no last name) Living at Mr. Richard Keen's" on 23 August 1737 when she confessed to the Prince George's County court that she had an illegitimate child by a "free Mallatto." The court ordered that she receive twenty lashes and serve her master an additional year and a half and sold her two-month-old son James to Edward Swann until the age of twenty-one. She had another child by a free person before 28 November 1738 when the court ordered that she receive fifteen lashes and serve her master twelve months for the trouble of his house, bound her male child to Keene until the age of twenty-one years, and ordered Keene to give the boy a year of schooling and a decent suit of clothes at the end of his indenture. She may have been the "Mallatto Jane" who confessed to the Prince George County court on 25 March 1739/40 that she had an illegitimate child. The court bound her two-month-old female child to Peter Albino until the age of sixteen [Court 1738-40, 569]. She was called "Jan Molato Norman" on 26 November 1745 when the court bound her son Joseph to Richard Keene until the age of twenty-one. On 28 June 1748 and 28 March 1748/9 she was convicted of having illegitimate children by a free person. On 27 November 1750 she was called "Mollatto Jane belonging to Richard Keene" when she confessed to having another child named Basil who was bound to Keene until the age of twenty-one [Court Record 1736-8, 497, 504; 1738-40, 176, 192, 200; 1744-6, 248, 279; 1747-8, 168; 174; 1748-9, 181; 1749-50, 244]. She was the mother of

i. James¹, born in June 1737.

ii. Joseph¹, born about 26 August 1745, three months old when he was bound to Richard Keene until the age of twenty-one.

iii. Jane³, born about 1745, a nine-year-old "Mulatto" girl bound to serve until the age of twenty-one when she was listed in the inventory of the Prince George's County estate of Richard Keene on 1 October 1754 [Prerogative Inventories 60:156-62].

iv. Bazil¹, born in 1750, taxable in Hampshire County, Virginia, from 1796 to 1801: taxable on 3 tithes and 3 horses in 1796, 2 tithes in 1798, his own tithe in 1799 and 1800, called a "Negro" in 1801 [PPTL 1782-99, frames 426, 519, 594; 1800-14, frames 40, 59].

5    v. ?Phebe, born say 1752.

vi. ?Catherine, head of a Montgomery County, Maryland household of 6 "other free" in 1790.

 

4.    Henrietta (no last name), born about October 1746, daughter of "Mullatto Beck," was bound by the Prince George's County court to Samuel Selby until the age of thirty-one. She was apparently identical to Henrietta Norman who confessed to the Prince George's County court on 27 August 1765 that she had a "Mulatto" child. The court ordered that she be sold for seven years and bound her two-month-old child Ailce to her master William Deakins until the age of thirty-one [Record 1764-5, 195, 200]. She had two more children who she was charged with on information of William Deakins on 25 November 1766 and 28 March 1769 [Court Record 1766-1768, 15, 167; 1768-1770, 170, 174]. She was the mother of

6    i. ?Bazil², born about 1760

    ii. Ailce, born June 1765.

iii. William, born about 28 January 1769, two months old on 28 March 1769 when he was bound out by the Prince George's County court until the age of twenty-one [Court Record 1768-70, 174].

 

5.    Phebe¹ Norman, born say 1752, was a "free negroe" living in Frederick County, Virginia, on 7 September 1784 when the court bound her children Ralph (six), Loise (eight), James (four) and Elizabeth (two) to Gerard Briscoe [Orders 1781-4, 573]. She was the mother of

i. Bazil³, born say 1772, "son of Phebe a free negroe," bound by the Frederick County, Virginia court to Gerard Briscoe on 7 September 1784 [Orders 1781-4, 570], probably the Bazil Norman who was taxable in Randolph County, Virginia, from 1814 to 1829: in a list of "Free Negroes & Mulatters over 16 years" in 1814 and 1815, a "Coul^d taxable in 1817 [PPTL 1787-1829, frames 444, 466, 484, 494, 505, 519, 536, 720], head of a Randolph County household of 4 "free colored" in 1830 (born before 1776) [VA:130].

ii. Loise, born about 1776.

iii. Ralph, born about 1778.

iv. James, born about 1780.

v. Elizabeth, born about 1782, head of a Frederick County, Virginia household of 3 "other free" in 1810 [VA:575].

vi. ?Phebe², born 16 April 1783, a "Negro child" bound by the Frederick County, Virginia court to Robert Glass on 6 December 1791 [Orders 1791-2, 308].

 

6.    Bazabel² Norman, born 12 July 1760, was taxable in the same list as James Norman in a list of "free Negroes" in Frederick County, Virginia, in 1802 [PPTL 1782-1802, frame 856] and head of a Frederick County, Virginia household of 7 "other free" in 1810 [VA:569]. He gave his age as 57 the 12^th July last on 14 May 1818 in Washington County, Ohio court when he made a declaration to obtain a pension, stating that he enlisted in Maryland in 1777. He gave his age as 63 on 25 July 1820 and was living in Roxbury Township, Washington County, Ohio, when he made a second declaration in court, stating that he served in the 7^th Maryland Regiment and owned 100 acres of land, 2 old horses, and owed $125 to Joel Adams, $20 to Aquilla Norman, $6 to Charles Norman and several other debts. His only family living with him was his 63-year-old wife, a son 1 month shy of 21, and a granddaughter about 8 years old. He died on 17 July 1830, and his widow Fortune Norman applied for a widow's pension on 2 August 1837. She stated that she married her husband near the Montgomery County, Maryland courthouse in September 1782, but there was no person living who could testify to their marriage but her brother James Stephens who testified that he saw them married by Reverend Thomas Reed in September 1782. Fortune died on 30 February 1841. Her heirs listed on 3 October 1846 were Rebecca Grayson, Acquilla Norman, Bazil Norman, James Norman (who had died leaving children Lucinda Baldwin, a widow, and Columbus Norman of Roxbury) and Joseph Norman (who died leaving children Sarah Ann, Mary Ann and Betsy Norman who were all minors). They stated that they lived in Virginia and moved to Ohio about twenty-five to thirty years previous [NARA, W.5429, M804,   http://fold3.com/image/25355603]. Basil and Fortune were the parents of

i. Rebecca Grayson.

ii. James², born say 1787, taxable in the same list as Bazil Norman in a list of "free Negroes" in Frederick County, Virginia, in 1802 [PPTL 1782-1802, frame 856], head of a Hampshire County household of 2 "other free" in 1810 [VA:770], father of Columbus Norman and Lucinda Baldwin who was probably related to Ned Baldwin, head of an Anne Arundel County household of 5 "other free" in 1810 [MD:74].

iii. Acquilla, a resident of Union, Washington County, Ohio, and heir of Basil and Fortune Norman on 16 January 1847 when he appointed an attorney to collect any pension due him.

iv. Bazil⁴, born about 1800, a "Mulatto" born in Virginia and counted in the 1850 census for Decatur, Washington County, Ohio, with "Mulatto" wife Sarah and a 23-year-old child born in Ohio [family no. 1].

v. Joseph², head of a Frederick County, Virginia household of 4 "free colored" in 1830, father of Sarah, Mary Ann and Betsy Norman.

 

Other members of the Norman family were

i. John, born say 1765, bound his "Negro" son John to Robert Mitchell in Richmond City, Virginia, on 20 June 1793 [Hustings Court Deeds 1792-9, 69 by Gill, Apprentices of Virginia, 186-7].

ii. James, a "free Negro" taxable in Richmond City from 1788 to 1796 [PPTL 1787-99].

iii. Lilly, born say 1773, a "Mulatto" living in Hamilton Parish on 22 August 1774 when the Fauquier County court ordered her bound to Judith Neale Grant [Orders 1773-80, 203].

iv. Delpha, "Mulo." head of a King and Queen County, Virginia household of 7 "other free" in 1810 [VA:172].

v. Reuben, head of a Warren County, North Carolina household of 5 "other free" in 1800 [NC:822].

vi. Samuel, head of a Warren County, North Carolina household of 2 "other free" in 1790 [NC:78].

 

NORRIS FAMILY

1.    Ann Norris, born say 1740, confessed to the Fairfax County court on 17 June 1760 that she had a "base born Mulatto child," and on 15 July the court ordered her sold for five years and bound (her son) Samuel Norris to her mistress Ann Jenkins [Orders 1756-63, 474, 489]. She was the mother of

2    i. Samuel¹, born in January 1760.

ii. ?William¹, born say 1774, taxable in Hampshire County on 2 horses from 1791 to 1795 and in 1799 in the same district as Samuel Norris (no race indicated) [PPTL 1782-99, frames 243, 255, 327, 343, 594], perhaps the William Norris "Negro" who was taxable in Loudoun County from 1810 to 1821 in Cameron District, the same area as members of the Newman, Kennedy, Hill and Gowins families [PPTL 1798-1821].

 

2.    Samuel¹ Norris, born in January 1760, a "base born Mulatto child," was bound to Ann Jenkins by the churchwardens of Trinity Parish, Fairfax County, on 15 July 1760 and bound to Ann Jenkins of Truro Parish on 19 June 1764 [Minutes 1763-5, n.p.]. He was taxable on his own tithe and a horse in Hampshire County from 1787 to 1805: called a "Mulat" in 1801 [PPTL 1782-99, frames 106, 136, 167, 181, 243, 255, 327, 343, 408, 426, 500, 520, 594; 1800-14, frames 59, 200, 222, 310]. On 17 September 1796 he was summoned by the Hampshire County court to show cause why his children should not be bound out [Horton, Hampshire County Minute Book Abstracts, 1788-1802, 24]. He was taxable in Randolph County from 1809 to 1820: called a "Mul^o," "Col^d," or "man of Colour" starting in 1813, listed with 2 tithes in 1814 and 1815, called "Sr." starting in 1818 [PPTL 1787-1829, frames 387, 402, 414, 422, 437, 448, 466, 484, 494, 505, 536]. He was counted as white in the 1810 Randolph County census (as were members of the Male and Cook families) [VA:428], 9 "free colored" in 1830 [VA:130] and 1 "free colored" in 1840 [VA:272]. He was probably the father of

i. William², born about 1791, taxable in the same district as Samuel in Randolph County in 1812 and from 1816 to 1829: called "Col^d" in 1817, a "man of Colour" or "free Mulatto" thereafter [PPTL 1787-1829, frames 422, 484, 494, 505, 536, 584, 639]. He was age 36-55 when he was head of a Randolph County household of 7 "free colored" in 1820 [VA:272], 8 "free colored" in 1840 [VA:272], a 59-year-old "Mulatto" stonemason with $1,500 real estate counted in the 1850 census for Barbour County, West Virginia, with (wife) Anna [family no. 283].

ii. Samuel², born about 1793, a "Col^d" or "free Mulatto" taxable in Randolph County from 1817 to 1829 [PPTL 1787-1829, frames 484, 505, 519, 536, 584, 615, 639, 655, 701, 720], head of a Randolph County household of 7 "free colored" in 1840 [VA:272], a 57-year-old "Mulatto" counted in the 1850 Barbour County, West Virginia census with (wife?) Phebe [family no. 279].

iii. James, say 1804, a "free Mulatto" or "free Negro" taxable in Randolph County in 1820, 1821, 1828 and 1829 [PPTL 1787-1829, frames 536, 556, 655, 701, 720], head of a Randolph County household of 4 "free colored" in 1840 [VA:273].

iv. Isaac, born 1804-1814, head of a Randolph County household of 6 "free colored" in 1840 [VA:272], a 44-year-old "Black" man counted in the 1850 Barbour County census with $400 real estate [VA:22a].

 

NORTON FAMILY

1.    Elizabeth Norton, born about 1734, registered in Petersburg on 20 August 1794: a brown Mulatto woman, five feet one inches high, sixty years old or upwards, born free and raised in Chesterfield County near Petersburg [Register of Free Negroes 1794-1819, no. 72]. She may have been the ancestor of

i. Jacob, born say 1760, enlisted in Hogg's Company of the 1^st North Carolina Regiment as a musician in 1777 and died 28 July 1778 [Clark, The State Records of North Carolina, XVI:1123]. He was a "man of colour" who died in Revolutionary War service and left no heirs according to a deposition by Charles Wood in Orange County, North Carolina, in 1820 [The North Carolinian, p. 2578]. His warrant for 640 acres for his service was given to the president and trustees of the University of North Carolina on 21 August 1820 [North Carolina and Tennessee, Revolutionary War Land Warrants, 1783-1843, Survey Orders (Nos. 1-3992), no. 460 (http://ancestry.com)].

ii. William, enlisted as a musician in Bowman's Company of the 1^st North Carolina Regiment in 1777 and died before September 1778 [Clark, The State Records of North Carolina, XVI:1123]. On 1 July 1801 his widow Winnie Norton received 640 acres for his service [N.C. Archives, S.S. file 1876, warrant 3062, call no. S.108358; http://archives.ncdcr.gov/doc/search-doc; North Carolina and Tennessee, Revolutionary War Land Warrants, 1783-1843, Survey Orders (Nos. 1-3992), no. 41 (http://ancestry.com)].

iii. Thomas, a "free" taxable head of household with David Norton and Nick Harris in the Dinwiddie County list of Braddock Goodwyn from 1793 to 1796 [PPTL, 1791-99 (1793 A, p.10), (1794 B, p.10) (1796 A, p.10].

iv. Sealer, born about 1768, registered in Petersburg on August 19, 1794: a dark brown Mulatto woman, five feet eight inches high, twenty six years old, born free & raised in Chesterfield County [Register of Free Negroes 1794-1819, no. 54].

v. Sarah, head of a Randolph County, North Carolina household of 3 "other free" in 1790 [NC:99].

vi. William¹/ Willie, head of a Halifax County, North Carolina household of 3 "other free" in 1800 [NC:330] and 4 in 1810 [NC:39].

vii. William², a cooper, counted with his wife Elizabeth in a list of "free Mulattoes" living on Bears Element Creek in Lunenburg County with Eppes Allen and Betsy Hobson in his household in 1802 and 1803 [Lunenburg County Free Negro & Slave Records, 1802-3, LVA].

viii. Aaron, counted in a list of "free Mulattoes" in James and Ritter Stewart's household on Beaver Pond in Lunenburg County in 1802 [Lunenburg County Free Negro & Slave Records, 1802-3, LVA].

ix. Polly, mother of Mima Norton who married Isham D. Valentine, "free persons of color," 4 March 1812 Chesterfield County bond, Nathaniel Stewart and Moses Nash securities. Polly was taxable on 2 tithes in Chesterfield County in 1811. Isham Valentine, Nathaniel Stewart, and Moses Nash were counted in the Chesterfield County list of "Free Negrows of Colour" in 1813 [PPTL, 1812-1827, frame 67].

x. Peter, a "Molatto" taxable in Chesterfield County in 1805 [PPTL, 1786-1811, frame 620].

 

NORWOOD FAMILY

1.    Theophilus¹ Norwood, born say 1700, was the Carteret County deputy marshall and kept the ferry at the head of North River in 1728 [Minutes 1723-47, 8a, 10b]. He married Elizabeth Johnson, a daughter of William¹ Johnson, and was named in her father's 5 November 1726 Carteret County will [SS Wills 1722-35, 140]. He and Elizabeth's brother, Jacob Johnson, purchased 130 acres in Carteret County on Core Sound on the east side of North River from (Jacob's uncle?) Richard² Johnson on 2 October 1724. He sold his half of this land to Jacob on 6 June 1727. He purchased 160 acres on the west side of the head of North River on 3 June 1727 from William Russell, and he and his wife Elizabeth signed over their right to this land to Richard Russell on 3 September 1729 [DB C:113, 171; D:20-23]. He was listed in the muster roll of Colonel Gabriel Powell's Battalion of South Carolina Militia in the 1759 Cherokee Expedition, Captain John Hitchcock's Company [Clark, Colonial Soldiers of the South, 896, 917, 930]. Theophilus and Elizabeth's children were

i. William, born before 5 November 1726 when he was named in the will of his grandfather William Johnson.

2    ii. ?Ann Norwood, born say 1730.

 

2.    Ann¹ Norwood, born say 1730, a "Woman of Mixt blood," appeared in Carteret County on 5 March 1750 and requested that her children Ann and Sampson be bound to James Shackleford. Her children were

i. Sampson, born about 1748, bound to James Shackleford on 5 March 1750 with the consent of his mother [Minutes 1747-64, 181].

ii. Ann², born about 1749, ordered bound to James Shackleford on 5 March 1750 with the consent of her mother. She was head of a Carteret County household of 2 "other free" in 1790 [NC:129].

iii. Esther, born about 1752, eighteen years old in June 1770 when the court ordered her bound to James Shackleford [Minutes 1764-77, 388].

iv. Theophilus²/Foy, born about 1753, a six-year-old "Molato" boy of Nan Norwood, a "Molato" woman, ordered bound to Keziah Shackleford on 6 September 1759 [Minutes 1747-64, 251]. His age was estimated at fifteen years in June 1770 when he consented to his indenture to William Fulford [Minutes 1764-77, 388]. He enlisted for three years in Carteret County in September 1778: place of abode: Straights, born: Straights, 5'8", 27 years of age, Mulatto [N.C. Archives Troop Returns, Box 4, folder 37, http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll26/id/654/rec/163].

v. Sophia/Phias, born about 1755, a "Molato" girl of Nan Norwood, ordered bound to Keziah Shackleford on 6 September 1759 [Minutes 1747-64, 259]. She was fifteen years old in June 1770, called Sophia Norwood, when she was ordered bound to William Fulford [Minutes 1764-77, 388].

vi. Obed, born about March 1758, a "Molato" boy of Nan Norwood, ordered bound to Keziah Shackleford on 6 September 1759 [Minutes 1747-64, 259]. His age was estimated at thirteen years in June 1770 when James Shackleford asked that he be bound to him as a cooper [Minutes 1764-77, 388]. He was called Obid Norward when he enlisted for 3 years in Carteret County in September 1778 [N.C. Archives Troop Returns, Box 4, folder 37, http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll26/id/651/rec/162]. He married Nelly Neale, 3 August 1810 Craven County bond.

vii. Betty, born about 1760, ordered bound to Keziah Shackleford on 5 March 1761 [Minutes 1747-64, 259].

viii. ?Tabitha, born about 1765, five years old in June 1770 when the court ordered her bound to James Shackleford (no parent named) [Minutes 1764-77, 388]. She was head of a Portsmouth, Carteret County household of 7 "other free" in 1810 (called Tabitha Nored) [NC:440] and 4 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:128].

ix. ?Alice, born about 1768, one year and nine months old in June 1770 when the court ordered her bound to James Shackleford (no parent named) [Minutes 1764-77, 388]. She was head of a Carteret County household of 3 "other free" in 1810 (called Alice Nored) [NC:435].

 

NUTTS FAMILY

Members of the Nutts family were

i. William, born say 1750, an Indian living in Accomack County on 25 October 1774 when he and Nathan Addison's slave Jacob were charged with felony [Orders 1774-7, 270, 277].

ii. Daniel, born December 1760, a four-year-old "Mulattoe" bound to Major Joynes by the Northampton County, Virginia court on 11 September 1765 [Minutes 1765-71, 11]. He was head of an Accomack County household of 4 "other free" in 1810 [VA:45].

iii. Edmund, born Christmas 1774, bound by the Northampton County court to Margaret Addison on 12 February 1782 [Minutes 1777-83, 336]. He was a "free Negro" taxable in Northampton County from 1798 to 1803 [PPTL, 1782-1823, frames 251, 270, 312, 353]. He married Mary Bibbins, 18 June 1800 Northampton County bond, Southy Collins security, consent of Nanny Bibbins, and was head of an Accomack County household of 8 "other free" in 1810 [VA:45]. He was called an Indian when his wife Mary was counted as a "free negro" in Accomack County in 1813 [PPTL 1782-1814, frame 833].

iv. Thomas, head of an Accomack County household of 5 "other free" in 1800 [Virginia Genealogist 2:158].

v. Bridget, married Toby Stephens, 7 September 1804 Northampton County bond, Ben Dunton security.

vi. Sabra, married Isaac Stephens, 16 August 1809 Northampton County bond, Isaac Stevens, Sr., security.

vii. Ariena, born say 1779, married Peter Beckett, 10 January 1800 Accomack County bond, Babel Major, surety. Babel Major was head of an Accomack County household of 6 "other free" in 1810 [VA:43]. Ariena may have been the Arena Becket who married Thomas Bibbins, 2 August 1800 Accomack County bond, Peter Bibbins surety.

 

OATS FAMILY

Members of the Oats family were

i. Charles, born say 1752, called Charles Oats alias Jackson when he was presented by the York County court on 15 November 1773 for failing to list himself as a tithable in Bruton Parish [Judgments & Orders 1772-4, 436, 442]. He was a "free negro" who was accused of breaking into a cellar in Williamsburg which belonged to James Smith. On 9 August 1776 Smith placed an ad in the Virginia Gazette offering a reward for his capture, stating that Charles had a wife in Back River [16 August 1776, Supplement, Purdie edition, p. 1, col. 2].

ii. William, a drummer listed in the payroll of Captain Nathaniel Morris's Company of the 9^th Virginia Regiment commanded by Colonel George Matthews in May and October 1777 [NARA, M246, http://fold3.com/image/9682293 and 23225254]. He was taxable in Northumberland County from 1810 to 1812: called William P. Oats in 1811 [PPTL 1782-1812, frames 658, 673, 688] and a "free mulatto" head of a Northumberland County household of 4 "other free" in 1810 [VA:991].

iii. John, head of a Dauphin County, Pennsylvania household of 1 "other free" in 1790.

 

OKEY FAMILY

The Okey family descends from Mary Vincent, wife of John Okey, an early resident of Sussex County, Delaware. Before marrying John Okey (a white man), Mary had a son named Aminadab Hanser by a slave in Accomack County, Virginia, about 1664. See the Okey and Hanser family histories in Free African Americans of Maryland and Delaware, http://freeafricanamericans.com/Kelly-Owens.htm]. A mixed-race man named Aminadab Okey appeared in the Sussex County, Delaware, records in 1713. Perhaps he was another mixed-race child of Mary Okey.

1.    Aminadab Okey, born say 1680, may have been the "strang Child...which is not Certainly known Whose it is" who was living at John Okey's house in March 1682 when the Sussex County court bound him to Henry Bowman. Aminadab Okey was sued by Aminadab Hanser in Sussex County court on 3 May 1704 [Horle, Records of Sussex County, 155, 1191]. He and Aminadab Hanser were neighbors. On 9 April 1713 he was required to give £100 security to Aminadab Handsor in Sussex County court to guarantee that he would abide by the arbitrators' decision regarding the removal of a fence. And Aminadab Hanser's wife Rose mentioned Aminadab Okey's land adjoining hers in her 8 December 1725 deed of sale [DB D-4:225-6; F-6:220-2]. Aminadab Okey died before 1734 when the account of his estate was recorded in Sussex County court. The account totalled £44 and included £22 for the sale of land [Orphans Court 1728-44, 65]. He was most likely the ancestor of

i. Robert¹, born say 1698, living on land adjoining Samuel and Ann Hanser on 20 May 1733 when they sold 124 acres near Rehoboth Bay, Sussex County. He was named in the 11 June 1742 Sussex County, Delaware deed of his son Samuel who sold land which had formerly belonged to Aminadab Okey and Robert Okey [DB G-7:34-5; H-8:14]. He died before 3 September 1745 when his daughter Sabria and her husband John Parsons petitioned the Sussex County court to divide his land among his heirs [Orphans Court 1744-51, 17].

2    ii. Joseph, born say 1725.

iii. Saunders, born say 1750, and his wife Mary, "melattoes," registered the 20 October 1771 birth of their daughter Rhoda at St. George's Protestant Episcopal Church, Indian River [Wright, Vital Records of Kent and Sussex Counties, 101]. He was taxable in Lewes and Rehoboth, Sussex County, in 1774 and a delinquent taxable in 1787 [Delaware Archives microfilm RG-2535, Sussex County Assessments]. He married, second, Johannah Hansor, widow of Nehemiah Hansor about 1786.

iv. Robert², born say 1752, taxable in Lewes and Rehoboth Hundred, Sussex County, in 1774. He was called a tanner on 2 February 1789 when he and Jennett Okey, spinster, purchased as tenants-in-common 4 acres in Lewes and Rehoboth Hundred on the edge of the Rehoboth Road [DB O-14:161]. He was head of a Sussex County household of 9 "other free" in 1800 [DE:438] and 11 in 1810 [DE:462].

v. Betty, head of an Accomack County household of 4 "other free" and a slave in 1810 [VA:117].

 

2.    Joseph¹ Okey, born say 1725, purchased 212 acres in Broadkill Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware, from the sheriff on 5 August 1762 [DB I-9:390]. He was a "Molatto" taxable in William Burford's District, Granville County, North Carolina, in 1765. He was taxable on 2 tithes in 1769 and 1771 and was taxable on an assessment of £329 in Nap of Reeds District, Granville County, in 1780 [CR 44.701.19-20]. In 1786 he was called Joseph Oakey, Sr., in Nap of Reeds District when he was head of a household of 2 white (free) men over 60 or under 21 years and 4 white (free) women in the state census. He was taxable on 250 acres from 1786 to 1804 and taxable on 1 poll in 1786 but not free from poll tax by 1790. He was called Joseph Oakley in 1800 when he was head of a Granville County household of 8 "other free." He may have been the father of

3    i. Joseph², Jr., born say 1750.

ii. Micajah, head of a household of 1 white male under 21 years of age and 2 white females in Nap of Reeds District in the state census for Granville County in 1786. He married Sarah Perkinson, 3 October 1785 Granville County bond, William Cole surety. Administration of his Granville County estate was granted to Joseph Okey in February 1791 on £200 security [Minutes 1789-91, n.p.]. Ann Okey, Joseph Okey, Jr., and Sarah Okey purchased most items at the sale of the estate [Granville County, North Carolina, estate records, 1746-1919, http://familysearch.org/search/catalog/978482, film no. 7641300, frames 873-8 of 1886]. Sarah was taxable on 50 acres in Ledge of Rock District, Granville County, from 1805 to 1808 [Tax List 1803-1811, 142, 199, 212, 268]. She may have been the Sally Oakey who married Thomas Smith, 18 March 1809 Granville County bond, Augustine Anderson bondsman.

 

3.    Joseph² Okey, born say 1750, was listed in Captain William Blueford's Militia in Granville County, North Carolina: taxable on an assessment of £1,810 in 1780 [CR 44.701.19-20]. He was called Joseph Oakey, Jr. in 1790 when he was taxable in Dutch District of Granville County and called "Joseph Oakley, Jr.," in 1800 when he was head of a Granville County household of 8 "other free." He was taxable on 447 acres in Dutch District of Granville County from 1786 to 1796 and taxable on 250 acres from 1802 to 1804 [Tax Lists, 1783-9; 1786-91]. His 8 August 1804 Granville County will was proved by his wife Elizabeth in August 1805. He (signing) left 100 acres to his son Aaron, 150 acres to his son Willie and daughter Selah, and named his other children: Joseph, Susanna, Elizabeth, and Deborah [Original at N.C. Archives, CR.044.801.29; WB 6:201; N.C., Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998, Joseph Oakley/ Joseph Oakey, frames 837-858, 873 of 1886, http://ancestry.com]. His widow Elizabeth Okey was taxable on 250 acres in Ledge of Rock District in 1805 [Tax List 1796-1802, p.283; 1803-1811, 89, 142, 199, 212], and head of a Ledge Neck, Granville County household of 3 "free colored" women in 1820 [NC:18]. They were the parents of

i. Aaron.

ii. Selah, married Thomas Carey, 1 February 1823 Granville County bond.

iii. William⁴/ Willie.

iv. Joseph³.

v. Susanna.

vi. Elizabeth.

vii. Deborah, called Deborah Okey in August 1819 when she was one of the heirs of the estate of Joseph Oakey summoned to answer the Granville County petition of William P. Mangum but called Deborah Bass when she was summoned on 25 November 1819 [North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998, (Joseph Oakley/ Joseph Oakey), frames 837-858, 873 of 1886, http://ancestry.com].

 

OLIVER FAMILY

1.    Mary Oliver, born say 1692, was living in St. Stephen's Parish, Northumberland County, on 18 December 1712 when the grand jury indicted her for having a "Mulatto" child the previous May. She did not appear in court until 18 November 1713 when she was ordered to pay a fine of 500 pounds of tobacco [Orders 1699-1713, 812; 1713-19, 6]. She may have been the ancestor of

i. William¹, head of a Westmoreland County household of 12 "other free" in 1810 [VA:781].

ii. William², head of a Lancaster County household of 5 "other free" in 1810 [VA:355].

iii. James, "free negro" head of a Gloucester County household of 1 "other free" in 1810 [VA:665].

iv. Benjamin, "free Negro" taxable in Hanover County from 1787 to 1810 [PPTL 1782-1815].

 

ORANGE FAMILY

Members of the Orange family in North Carolina were

i. William, born about 1744, sized in the 3^rd North Carolina Regiment at Halifax (no date): age 36, 5'9", Black Complexion, enlisted for 12 months in Halifax County, born in North Carolina, a planter, serv^t to L^t Ashe [Troop Returns, box 6, folder 20; http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16062coll26/id/980/rec/2]. He received £12.14 in Halifax District per the Board of Auditors Report of 4 November 1782 [http://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2WT-P2Q2]. His heirs received warrant no. 2056 for 640 acres in 1788 for 84 months service [North Carolina and Tennessee, Revolutionary War Land Warrants, 1783-1843, Roll 04, frames 105-6 of 619; http://ancestry.com].

ii. Henry, head of a Hertford County household of 3 "other free" in 1790 [NC:26].

 

OTTER/ AUTER FAMILY

1.    Betty Otry, born say 1730, was living in Cumberland County, Virginia, on 27 July 1752 when the court ordered the churchwardens of Southam Parish to bind out her children Sarah and Ballard [Orders 1752-8, 25]. She was the mother of

2    i. Sarah, born say 1748.

ii. Ballard, born say 1750.

 

2.    Sarah Otter, born say 1748, was called Sarah Otway and was living in Cumberland County on 28 August 1775 when the court ordered the churchwardens of Littleton Parish to bind out her "mulattoe" children Kitty and Billy to Benejah Thompson. She was called Sarah Otry on 25 March 1776 when the court bound her "mulattoe" children Kitty, Billy, and Nancy to Bartlet Thompson. And she was called Sarah Otrey on 28 July 1777 when the court bound her "mulattoe" son James to Bartlet Thompson [Orders 1774-8, 339, 364]. She was called Sarah Otter in Chesterfield County on 7 May 1779 when the court ordered her children James and John Otter bound out [Orders 1774-84, 224]. She was called Sally Auter in Henrico County on 5 January 1793 when she consented to the marriage of her daughter Nancy Auter to William Moss. She purchased a lot of about 1-3/8 acres in Swansboro, Chesterfield County, in 1799 and was called Sally Allen alias Otter when she was taxable on the land until 1820 when it was divided among Royal (1/2 lot), Milley (1/2 lot), and Kittey Auter (32/40 lot) [Land Tax List 1791-1822, B lists]. She was counted in a list of "Free Negroes" in Chesterfield County in 1813 with 2 women in her household over the age of 16 [PPTL, 1812-1827, frame 83]. Her daughter Sarah wrote a letter (signing) to Colonel Benjamin Wilson of Cumberland County on 25 October 1800 for help in procuring certificates of freedom for the family. He sent a letter on 27 October 1800: to whom it may concern the Bearer Sarah Autre a Molatto woman formerly in my family aged about fifty years & now resides in Manchester. She was free Born to my Certain Knowledge. Ben Wilson. The dates of birth of her children Catherine/ Kitty, John, Martha and Sarah were certified in Chesterfield County on 7 November 1800 [Auter, Sarah (F): Free Negro Affidavit, 1800, African American Narrative Digital Collection, LVA].  She was the mother of

3    i. Kitty, born 11 March 1772.

ii. Billy, born say 1774, bound apprentice in Cumberland County on 28 August 1775.

iii. Nancy, born say 1775, bound to Bartlet Thompson on 25 March 1776, called Nancy Otter, a "poor orphan," when the Cumberland County court ordered the churchwardens of Littleton Parish to bind her to Benjamin Martin on 25 November 1782 [Orders 1779-84, 289]. She married William Moss, 5 January 1793 Henrico County bond.

iv. James, bound to Bartlet Thompson on 28 July 1777.

v. ?Henry, born say 1778, a "F. Negroe" taxable on 1 tithe and 2 horses in Chesterfield County from 1801 to 1804, a "Mulatto" taxable from 1805 to 1807, died before 1809 when his estate was taxable on a horse [PPTL, 1786-1811, frames 470, 506, 583, 620, 717, 753].

vi. John Auter, born 13 December 1779, registered in Petersburg on 26 July 1805: a brown Mulatto man, born 13 December 1779, five feet four and a half inches high, born free and raised in the County of Chesterfield [Register of Free Negroes 1794-1819, no. 345]. He was called Jack Otter when he was taxable in Chesterfield County from 1802 to 1804 [PPTL, 1786-1811, frames 506, 583]. John M. Auter married Elizabeth Banks, a free woman of colour, 30 March 1810 Petersburg bond, and second, Fanny Brandon, 17 February 1817 bond, William Brandon surety. John M. and F.M. Auter were in the List of Free People of Color in Petersburg in 1821 with children Henry and Mary [List of People of Color in the Town of Petersburg (p. 3), 1821, African American Narrative Digital Collection, LVA].

vii. ?Martha/Patty, born 11 October 1781, obtained a certificate of freedom in Chesterfield County on 26 August 1818: thirty five years old, yellow complexion, born free [Register of Free Negroes 1804-53, no. 263].

viii. Sarah, born 22 December 1783, 5 feet 2-1/2 inches high, brownish yellow. She married a member of the Tyree family. Her daughter Hardenia Tyree obtained a certificate of freedom in Chesterfield County on 6 October 1827: daughter of Sally Tyre who lived in Manchester for many years & that Sally Otter the mother of s^d Sally & Grand Mother of Hardenia Tyre also lived in Manchester until her death as a free person [Tyre, Hardenia (F): Free Negro Affidavit, 1827, African American Narrative Digital Collection, LVA].

 

3.    Kitty Otter/ Auter, born 11 March 1772, obtained a certificate of freedom in Chesterfield County on 16 March 1814 (and on 12 July 1819 and 11 June 1827): forty two years old, brown complexion, born free [Register of Free Negroes 1804-53, nos. 216, 340, 580]. She may have been the mother of

i. Royall Otter, born about 1793, obtained a certificate of freedom in Chesterfield County on 16 March 1814: twenty one years old, yellow complexion, born free [Register of Free Negroes 1804-53, no. 211].

ii. Betsey Otter, born about 1795, obtained a certificate of freedom in Chesterfield County on 16 March 1814: nineteen years old, yellow complexion, born free [Register of Free Negroes 1804-53, no. 214]. She married Ned Bowman, 7 March 1815 Chesterfield County bond, Martin Bowman security.

iii. Milly, married Watt Logan, "free persons of color," 27 May Chesterfield County bond, Royal Otter security.

 

OVERTON FAMILY

1.    Sarah Overton, born about 1700, was the mother of three "Mallatto Children" Bob Bow, Jack Spaniard Bow, and Spanial Bow who were bound to Edmund Chancey until the age of twenty-one by the Pasquotank County court on 12 July 1738. She was called a "Mallatto Woman" when she appeared in Pasquotank County court in October 1745 at the age of forty-five, stating that she was illegally held in servitude by Edmund Chancey. The court freed her from her indenture to Chancey after being allowed by the court to "go up the river to see for her age in a Bible there" [Haun, Pasquotank County Court Minutes 1737-46, 32, 179, 186; N.C. Apprentice Bonds and records, Pasquotank, G-Misc, 1716-1881, frame 360 of 2042; http://familysearch.org/search/catalog/766317]. Chancey left a Pasquotank County will on 15 March 1753 by which he bequeathed the remainder of the service of "Two Servants Jack Spanyerd boe and Spanyoll Boe" to his son Daniel Chancey and left the remainder of the service of Bob Boe, Rachel Boe, and Frank Boe and her two children to his daughter-in-law Rachel Chancey [North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998, Pasquotank, Wills, 1755-1773, frames 347-350 of 602, ancestry.com; Grimes, Abstract of North Carolina Wills, 114-7]. Her children were

i. Robert¹/Bob Bow, born 10 December 1729, about twelve years old in April 1742, called "Mallatto Boy Bob Boe, son of Sarah Boe a Servant Mallatto Wench belonging to the said Edmund Chancy," when the Pasquotank County court bound him to Chancy until the age of thirty one [N.C. Apprentice Bonds and records, Pasquotank, A-F, frames 1686-89 of 1944; http://familysearch.org/search/catalog/766317].

2    ii. Frank Bow, born say 1731.

3    iii. Rachel Bow, born say 1733.

iv. Jack Spaniard Bow, born November 1734.

v. Spanial Bow, born May 1738.

4    vi. ?Titus, born say 1742.

 

2.    Frank Bow, born say 1731, was the mother of two unnamed children who were servants of Edmund Chancey when he wrote his 15 March 1753 Pasquotank County will [North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998, Pasquotank, Wills, 1755-1773, frames 347-350 of 602, ancestry.com; Grimes, Abstract of North Carolina Wills, 114-7]. She was the mother of

i. Sue Bow, a "Mullatto Daughter," born 1 February 1747/8, ordered bound to Edmund Chancey by the July 1748 Pasquotank County court.

ii. ?Sarah Bow, born about 1751, a three-year-old "Mallatto" girl bound by the Pasquotank County court to Rachel Chancey in October 1754 [Minutes 1754-5, n.p.]. She was head of a Pasquotank County household of 8 "other free" in 1810 [NC:888].

 

And she may also have been the mother of following members of the Overton family:

5   iii. Jonathan, born about 1753.

iv. Caleb, born say 1758, enlisted in Moore's Company of the 10^th North Carolina Regiment on 30 June 1777 and was discharged on 6 June 1778 [Clark, The State Records of North Carolina, 15:724; XVI:1130]. He was deceased by 10 July 1820 when his heirs received a 274 acre land warrant for his service as a private in Captain Moore's Company of the 10^th North Carolina Line in the Revolution. They were Samuel, Lemuel, Rachel and Elizabeth Overton who assigned their rights to the land to James Freeman in Pasquotank County [North Carolina and Tennessee, Revolutionary War Land Warrants, 1783-1843, Roll 13: William Hill Warrants, 1811-1837, no. 408 (ancestry.com)].

6    v. Rachel², born about 1760.

7    vi. Lemuel¹, say 1762.

vii. John², born say 1763, enlisted as a private in Mills's Company of the 10^th North Carolina Regiment on 7 January 1782 and died on 9 September the same year [Clark, The State Records of North Carolina, XVI:1131]. His heirs Samuel, Lemuel, Rachel and Elizabeth Overton of Pasquotank County received 640 acres for his service in the Revolution [North Carolina and Tennessee, Revolutionary War Land Warrants, 1783-1843, Roll 13: William Hill Warrants, 1811-1837, no. 409 (ancestry.com)].

viii. Lovey, head of a Pasquotank County household of 5 "other free" in 1810 [NC:917].

ix. Samuel², born say 1766, head of a Perquimans County household of 1 "other free" in 1790.

 

3.    Rachel Bow/ Overton, born say 1733, was called "a Mallatto Wench named Rachael" on 26 September 1755 when Aron Jackson stated in Pasquotank County court that she had three children Daniel, Samuel and Parthenia by a "Negro Husband" during her indenture and asked the court to bind them to him [North Carolina Apprentice Bonds and records, Pasquotank County, G-Misc, 1716-1881, frames 356-362 of 2042; http://familysearch.org/search/catalog/766317]. Her Overton children were:

i. Daniel, born about 1749, about six years old on 26 September 1755 when he was bound to Aaron Jackson in Pasquotank County court. He enlisted for 3 years as a private in Raiford's Company of the 10^th North Carolina Regiment on 20 June 1779 [Clark, The State Records of North Carolina, XVI:1131]. His heirs Samuel, Lemuel, Rachel and Elizabeth Overton of Pasquotank County received 274 acres for his service in the Revolution [North Carolina and Tennessee, Revolutionary War Land Warrants, 1783-1843, Roll 13: William Hill Warrants, 1811-1837, no. 405; ancestry.com].

8   ii. Samuel¹, born about 1753.

9   iv. Parthenia¹, born about 1755.

 

4.    Titus Overton, born say 1742, was taxable with his wife in Bladen County in 1763, taxable on 2 "Mulatto" tithes in Cumberland County in 1767, was taxable with his wife ("Mulatoes") in Bladen County from 1770 to 1776 and was taxable in Bladen County on 500 acres, 3 horses, and 3 head of cattle in 1779 [SS 837; Byrd, Bladen County Tax Lists, I:32, 89, 123; II:90, 146]. He lived on the east side of the Northwest River according to a 3 February 1770 Bladen County deed from John Johnston to Silvanus Wilson for sale of 100 acres in Cumberland County where Titus Overton formerly lived [DB 23:227-8]. He received £2.2 for 21 days service in the Bladen County Militia between 1775 and 1776 under Captain James Council [Haun, Revolutionary Army Accounts, Journal "A", 22]. He was called Titus Overton, cooper of Bladen County, on 12 April 1783 when he purchased 100 acres in Cumberland County on the Northwest Branch of Cape Fear River on Locks Creek which Peter Shaver patented on 2 March 1754. The size of this plot was corrected to 125 acres by deed of 13 August 1804. On 28 February 1786 he sold 150 acres in this same area of Cumberland County on Harrison's Creek which had been conveyed to him by William Anderson by an unrecorded deed. He was called Titus Overton, planter, on 19 September 1792 when he sold 100 acres on the northeast side of the Northwest River near Beaverdam Pond which had been conveyed to John Johnston and his wife on 27 April 1767 and on which they were buried, and he sold 111 acres of his land on Locks Creek on 25 August 1804 [Cumberland County DB 11:66; 12:326; 20:245, 252; 28:151]. On 16 July 1791 he was appointed administrator of the Cumberland County estate of John Overton, a soldier in the North Carolina Line [NCGSJ XIV:115-6]. He was head of a Cumberland County household of 11 "other free" in 1790 [NC:31], 7 in 1800, and 1 in 1810 [NC:600]. Titus's children were most likely

i. John¹, died before 16 July 1791 when Titus Overton was granted administration on his Cumberland County estate on security of £60 [Minutes 1791-97, Saturday, 16 July 1791].

ii. Dyer, born before 1776, head of a Cumberland County household of 5 "other free" in 1810 [NC:570], and 7 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:181]. On 28 December 1811 he purchased 40 acres in Cumberland County on the northwest side of Cape Fear River [DB 26:540].

iii. Isom, purchased 133 acres adjoining Titus Overton on 26 July 1804 [DB 20:253]. His 20 November 1807 Cumberland County will, proved 18 December the same year, named his wife Charity, her unnamed child she was then pregnant with, and his sister Betsy Howard [WB A:109].

iv. Elizabeth, married William Howard according to the will of her brother Isom. William was head of a white Cumberland County household in 1810 [NC:602].

 

5.    Jonathan Overton, born about 1753 in Perquimans County, enlisted in Jones's Company of the 10^th North Carolina Regiment on 17 November 1781 [Clark, The State Records of North Carolina XVI:1131]. He was the apprentice of John Bateman of Chowan County when he entered the service as a substitute for him under Colonel Lytle. He was at sea for a while and then returned to Edenton. He was about 79 years old on 19 December 1832 when he made a declaration in Chowan County court to obtain a pension for 3 years service [NARA, S.8915, M804-1854, frame 0788]. He was head of a Chowan County household of 5 "other free" in Edenton in 1790, 9 "other free" in 1810 [NC:535] and 7 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:129]. He was described in a 1849 newspaper account as: a colored man, a soldier in the Revolution...at the advanced age of 101 years [Crow, Black Experience in Revolutionary North Carolina, 101]. He may have been the father of

i. James, born say 1775, married Nancy Bowe, 19 January 1809 Pasquotank County bond, and was head of a Pasquotank County household of 4 "other free" in 1810 [NC:918] and 7 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:285]. He was called "James Overton Freeman of color" when he purchased 3 acres in Pasquotank County about a half mile below Nixenton on 11 February 1839 [DB DD:89].

ii. David, born say 1778, head of a Chowan County household of 1 "other free" in 1800 NC:118], 1 "other free" and a slave in 1810 [NC:118] and 1 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:114].

iii. Jesse, born about 1780, a "Mulato" house carpenter apprenticed to Isacha Branch in Perquimans County on 14 February 1792 [CR 77.101.6] and head of a Pasquotank County household of 5 "other free" in 1810 [NC:918].

iv. Betsy, head of a Chowan County household of 3 "other free" in 1810 [NC:535].

 

6.    Rachel² Overton, born about 1760, was a twelve-year-old "Mullatto" girl bound to James Shannonhouse by the Pasquotank County court in September 1772, no parent named [Minutes 1768-75, Wednesday, September court, n.p.]. She was head of a Perquimans County household of 7 "other free" in 1790 [NC:31] and 6 in Pasquotank County in 1810 [NC:917]. She may have been the mother of

i. Bowden, born before 1776, head of a Pasquotank County household of 7 "free colored" in 1820.

ii. Benjamin, born say 1778, head of a Perquimans County household of 10 "other free" in 1810 [NC:961] and 10 "free colored" in 1830.

10   iii. Rachel³, born say 1790.

 

7.    Lemuel¹ Overton, born say 1762, was head of Perquimans County household of 2 "other free" in 1790 [NC:31], 4 in Pasquotank County in 1800, entry blank in Pasquotank County in 1810, and 13 "free colored" in 1820. He was the husband of a slave named Rose and father of children John and Burdock who were emancipated by order of the North Carolina General Assembly. They were probably his slaves since the owner's name was not stated [Byrd, In Full Force and Virtue, 298]. He enlisted in Moore's Company of the 10^th North Carolina Regiment on 30 June 1777 [Clark, The State Records of North Carolina, XVI:1130] and was living in Pasquotank County on 10 July 1820 when he appointed James Freeman his attorney to obtain a land warrant of 274 acres for his services as a soldier in the 10^th Regiment of the North Carolina Line [NCGSJ VII:93; North Carolina and Tennessee, Revolutionary War Land Warrants, 1783-1843, Roll 13: William Hill Warrants, 1811-1837, no. 413 (ancestry.com)]. He was deceased on 12 February 1822 when his son Lemuel was bound apprentice in Perquimans County [CR 77.101.6]. In the spring of 1822 his heirs John and Braddock Overton consented to the sale of his Pasquotank County land to satisfy the debts of the estate [North Carolina Estate Files, 1666-1979, Pasquotank County, Overton, Lemuel (1821)]. His children were

i. John³, son of Lemuel and his wife Rose, registered as a "free man of Colour" in Pasquotank County on 26 October 1830. His wife Abby (daughter of Tully and Betty Bowe) registered the same day [Byrd, In Full Force and Virtue, 191-2].

ii. Braddock, son of Rose and Lemuel, registered as a "free born" person in Pasquotank County on 1 November 1830. His wife Molly, daughter of Lemuel and Jenny Hall, registered the same day [Byrd, In Full Force and Virtue, 191, 193].

iii. William, "son of Lemuel" bound to Benjamin Jones in Perquimans County on 10 May 1819 [CR 77.101.6].

iv. Lemuel², bound to Jesse Murden on 12 February 1822.

 

8.    Samuel Overton, born about 1753, a "Mallatto," was about two years old when he was bound until the age of twenty-one to Aaron Jackson by the Pasquotank County court [N.C. Apprentice Bonds and records, Pasquotank, G-Misc, 1716-1881, frame 356 of 2042; http://familysearch.org/search/catalog/766317]. He was a "Molatto" Perquimans County taxable in 1771 [CR 77.701.1]. His freedom papers issued in Edenton in 1783 stated that he was a

Mulatto, Free man and is entitled to all the rights, privileges Immunities of a Citizen of the State of North Carolina [Crow, Black Experience in Revolutionary North Carolina, 33].

He was head of a Pasquotank County household of 3 "other free" in 1790 [NC:31] and 4 in 1800 [NC:634]. He was called a "free man of Colour" on 8 March 1825 when he made a declaration in Pasquotank County court to obtain a Revolutionary War pension. He stated that he was 96 years old, the father (grandfather?) of a 5-year-old boy, David, and that he had lost all his property by a fire in July 1824 [NARA, S.41928, M804-1854, frame 0826]. He may have been the father of

i. Susannah, head of a Pasquotank County household of 2 "other free" in 1790 (Susanna Everton) [NC:28] and 5 in 1810 [NC:917].

ii. David, born about 1820, called "of Samuel Overton a free person of color" when he was bound out in Pasquotank County on 5 March 1833 [

 

9.    Parthenia¹ Overton, born say 1755, daughter of Rachel Overton, was about nine months old on 26 November 1755 when the Pasquotank County court bound her to Aaron Jackson until the age of twenty one. She was head of a Perquimans County household of 10 "other free" in 1790 [NC:31], 12 in 1800 [NC:657], and 2 in 1810 [NC:917]. She may have been the mother of

i. Isaac, born about 1771, a 60-year-old who emigrated to Liberia from Elizabeth City, North Carolina, aboard the James Perkins in 1831 with Levina (age 40), Henry (16), Anna (8), Simon B. (age 29, a shoemaker and sawyer), Emeline (22) and Elender Overton (5) [http://fold3.com/image/46670323].

ii. Elizabeth, head of a Pasquotank County household of 1 "other free" and 4 slaves in 1810.

 

10.    Rachel³ Overton, born say 1790, was the mother of a number of children who were bound out in Perquimans County in 1819 and 1821 [CR 077.101.6]. They were

i. John⁴/ Jack, born about 1811, bound to James Leigh on 10 February 1819, registered in Pasquotank County about 1831: about Twenty Years of Age...black Complexion...Son of Rachel Overton, a free Person of Colour [Byrd, In Full Force and Virtue, 193].

ii. Livinia, "of color," bound to Sophia Barker on 10 February 1819.

iii. William, bound to James Leigh on 10 February 1819.

iv. Alexander, "colored son of Rachel," bound to Myles Elliot on 14 August 1821.

v. Miley, bound to Edward Wood on 14 August 1821.

vi. Parthenia², bound to Jesse Murden on 14 August 1821.

 

Virginia

1.    Mary Overton (Ovaton), born say 1728, was the servant of Alexander Waugh of Orange County, Virginia, in August 1746 when the court presented her for having a "malatto bastard" child [Judgments, August 1746, frames 0463-4, 0477-8, LVA microfilm reel 101]. She may have been the ancestor of

i. Ben, "free Negro" taxable in Albemarle County on a slave and a horse in 1807 and 1809 [PPTL, 1800-13, frames 349, 395], perhaps the "col^d" Ben Overton who was a "Fn" taxable in Richmond City in 1814 [PPTL 1799-1834].

ii. John, "Free negro" taxable on a horse in Caroline County in 1815 [PPTL, 1812-20].

iii. Isaac, "free negroe" taxable on a horse in Hanover County in 1814 [PPTL, 1804-24], perhaps the Isaac Overton who was a "Fn" taxable in Richmond City in 1814 [PPTL, 1799-1834].

iv. Marcia, "FN" taxable on a slave over the age of 12 in Richmond City in 1813 [PPTL, 1799-1834].

 

OWEN FAMILY

1.    Sarah Owen, born say 1744, gave consent to the Petersburg marriage of her daughter Anne Owens to James Valentine, 10 December Petersburg Hustings Court bond, William Cypress surety, 11 December 1785 marriage. She was the mother of

i. Anne, born say 1764.

ii. ?Dilcey, born about 1768, registered in Petersburg on August 19, 1794: a brown Mulatto woman, five feet one and a half inches high, twenty six years old, born free & raised in the County of Prince George [Register of Free Negroes 1794-1819, no. 64].

iii. ?James, born about 1775, registered in Petersburg on 19 July 1817: a free man of colour, five feet four and a half inches high, forty two years old, dark brown complection, born free in Dinwiddie County, a carpenter [Register of Free Negroes 1794-1819, no. 853].

iv. ?Polly, born about 1784, registered in Petersburg on 9 June 1810: a dark brown Mulatto woman, five feet three & a half inches high, twenty six years old, born free in Dinwiddie County [Register of Free Negroes 1794-1819, no. 580].

 

Other members of the family were

i. William, born about 1782, registered in Petersburg on 13 June 1807: a Brown Mulatto man, five feet two inches high, twenty five years old, raised in Sussex County with Mason Harwell, by trade a shoe maker, born free and registered again on 29 May 1812 [Register of Free Negroes 1794-1819, nos. 408, 706].

ii. James Owens, head of a Burke County, North Carolina household of 5 "other free" in 1810 [NC:349].

iii. Polly, born about 1776, registered in Brunswick County, Virginia, on 23 June 1823: about forty seven Years old, five feet five & a half Inches high...born free from the evidence of David B. Stith [Wynne, Register of Free Negroes, 55].

iv. Nathaniel, "m" head of a Brunswick County, Virginia household of 1 "other free" in 1810 [VA:726].

 

OXENDINE FAMILY

1.    John¹ Oxendine, born in February 1693/4, was called "John Figrow (Mallatto)" on 18 November 1719 when Judith Bowling, servant of Ann Hould/ Hoult, came into Northumberland County, Virginia court and swore that he was the father of "the child she was lately brought to bed with." He was the "Mulatto" servant of Ann Hoult/ Holt, called "John Oxendine alias Figro," on 6 January 1723/4 when he sued his mistress for his freedom from his indenture. William Wildey and his wife Elizabeth testified on his behalf, and the court ruled on 20 January 1724/5 that he should have been free from any service due his mistress in February 1723/4 (at the age of 31) [Orders 1713-19, 347; 1719-29, 133, 162, 167]. On 16 December 1725 John Hudnall sued him in court for a debt of 1,000 pounds of tobacco. He admitted to the debt on 26 July 1726 and was allowed until the following June to pay it [Orders 1721-9, 198, 222; 1724-26, 13, 42]. He was living in Northumberland County in the 1730's when the birth dates were recorded for his children Benjamin, Jenne, Clark, and John [Fleet, Northumberland County Births, 112]. He was living in Bladen County, North Carolina, on 27 August 1753 when John Johnson, Jr., entered 100 acres whereon John Oxendine was living. He was called John Oxendine, Senr., when his improvements on the east side of Drowning Creek were mentioned in the 5 March 1759 Bladen County land entry of his son John Oxendine [Philbeck, Bladen County Land Entries, nos. 805, 1126]. On 28 November 1758 the Bladen County court recommended him to the General Assembly as a person to be excused from paying taxes [Saunders, Colonial Records of North Carolina, V:1045]. His wife may have been Sarah Oxendine who was a white head of household in Bladen County in 1770, taxable on William Taner, a white man [Byrd, Bladen County Tax Lists, I:35]. John's children were

i. Benjamin¹, born 12 April 1733, sued in Cumberland County, North Carolina court by William Hodges on 18 April 1758 [Minutes 1755-59, 34].

2    ii. Jenne, born 14 February 1735.

iii. Clark, born 28 November 1736.

iv. John², born 10 June 1739, entered 100 acres on the east side of Drowning Creek on 5 March 1759 which included the improvements of John Oxendine, Senr. He was living in South Carolina on 25 February 1773 when he was presented by the Court of General Sessions for retailing liquor without a license [Journal of the S.C. Court, p.229]. He was taxable in Christ Church Parish, South Carolina, from 1786 to 1795: on 2 slaves in 1786 and on 6 slaves in 1794 [Tax Returns 1783-7, frames 112, 189; 1787-1800, frames 39, 153, 172, 194] and head of a Christ Church Parish, Charleston household of 2 white males and 3 slaves in 1790 [SC:558].

3    v. ?Charles¹, born say 1741.

vi. ?Cudworth, a taxable "Mulato" in Bladen County in 1768 and 1769 [Byrd, Bladen County Tax Lists, I:5, 14], head of a Liberty County, South Carolina household of 8 "other free" in 1800 [SC:806] and a Marion District household of 6 "other free" in 1810 [SC:83]. He was living in Georgetown District, South Carolina, near the Great Pee Dee River on 6 April 1792 when John Sanders recorded a plat for land adjoining his [South Carolina Archives series S213212, vol. 1, p. 260]. He and Archmack (Archibald?) Oxendine were among the "free persons of Colour" of present-day Liberty and Marlboro counties, South Carolina, who petitioned the legislature to repeal the discriminatory tax against "free Negroes" on 20 April 1794. Others who petitioned included the Evans, Gibson, Huelin, Shoemaker, Turner and Sweat families [South Carolina Archives, General Assessment Petition, 1794, no. 216, frames 370-374, Free People of Color ST 1368, series no. 165015, item 216]. Archibald Oxendine, born before 1776, was head of an Overton County, Tennessee household of 8 "free colored" in 1820.

 

2.    Jenne Oxendine, born 14 February 1735, may have been identical to June Oxendine, mother of Charity Oxendine and grandmother of Harry Oxendine who were bound to Thomas White when Charity had two illegitimate children in Bladen County. White sold their labor to Thomas Ingles who left North Carolina with Charity and her two children and claimed them as slaves in Mississippi. However, Thomas and Anna Ard of Bladen County, North Carolina, moved to Mississippi and recognized them there. They hired lawyer William Bridges and testified at her trial that Charity was born a free person in Bladen County, that her mother (a free person of color named June Oxendine) had lived at the house of Anna Ard's father, and that Charity's father had also been free. Charity won her case, but her son Harry Oxendine's lawyer Peter Vandorn of Claiborn County, Mississippi, failed to expeditiously prosecute his suit for his freedom in 1809, and Ingles took him away to New Orleans in the winter of 1811 to avoid the suit. Harry sued in New Orleans and also won his case. He was described as a "yellow man" by someone who knew him to be free and as a "sun burned brown" complexioned man by a man who thought him to be a slave [Aslakson, Making Race in the Courtroom, The Legal Construction of Three Races in Early New Orleans, 158, 170, 177, 234, 235, citing Oxendine v. McFarland, case no. 2992, January 9, 1812, Records of the New Orleans City/ Parish Court, 1806-1813, City Archives, New Orleans Public Library, New Orleans, Louisiana]. Thomas Ard was head of a Robeson County household of 14 whites and 6 slaves in 1790, 9 whites and 10 slaves in Liberty, Marion District, South Carolina, in 1800 and a resident of Jefferson County, Mississippi, in 1810. June was the mother of

4    i. Charity, born say 1750.

 

3.    Charles¹ Oxendine, born say 1741, received a patent for 150 acres northeast of Drowning Creek in Bladen County on 23 October 1767 [Hoffman, Land Patents, II:450] and was a "mixt Blood" taxable in Bladen County from 1766 to 1768 and a "Molato" taxable in 1770 and 1771 [Byrd, Bladen County Tax Lists, I:7, 35, 59]. He entered another 200 acres in Robeson County bordering his land by two land entries of 100 acres each on 22 January and 23 September 1793 [Pruitt, Land Entries: Robeson County, I:70, 85]. On 23 November 1797 he made an unsuccessful claim for payment for three steers he provided the army commanded by General Rutherford [NCGSJ II:151]. He was head of a Robeson County household of 11 "other free" in 1790 [NC:49] and 10 in 1800 [NC:409]. He made a 7 September 1808 Robeson County by which he left 150 acres to his son David and 200 acres and a grist mill to his daughters [WB 1:206]. His children were

i. Benjamin², executor of his father's will, head of a Robeson County household of 1 "other free" in 1790 [NC:50], 1 "other free" and 1 white woman in 1800 [NC:409], 2 "other free" in 1810 [NC:228], and 1 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:313]. The county sold 150 acres of his land for debt on 4 January 1809 [Minutes II:128].

ii. John³, head of a Robeson County household of 1 "other free" in 1790 [NC:48]. He entered 100 acres on the north side of Drowning Creek on 18 June 1794 [Pruitt, Land Entries: Robeson County, I:96] and sold land by deed proved in Robeson County on 1 January 1810 [Minutes II:174]. He was head of a Cumberland County household of 6 "other free" in 1800 and 9 in 1810 [NC:620]. He married Margaret Mainor, 30 October 1810 Cumberland County bond.

iii. Charles², head of a Robeson County household of 1 "other free" in 1790 [NC:48], 3 in 1800 [NC:409], 4 in 1810 [NC:232], and 5 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:301]. He was in the Eleventh Company detached from the Robeson County Regiment in the War of 1812 [N.C. Adjutant General, Muster Rolls of the War of 1812, 30; http://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p249901coll22/id/329635] and was probably the Charles Oxendine who was indicted for assault and battery and fined $15 by the Robeson court in 1837. Since he was unable to pay his fine, as a "free negro" he was liable to be hired out by the sheriff. He fought this judgment in the Supreme Court of North Carolina on the grounds that the law unconstitutionally discriminated against free persons of color. He had the help of two eminent Fayetteville lawyers, Robert Strange, a U.S. senator, and George E. Badger, later Secretary of the Navy and a Whig senator [Franklin, Free Negro in North Carolina, 86]. He was an 81-year-old "Mulatto" counted in the 1850 census for the Upper District of Robeson County with 80-year-old (wife?) Priscilla, a farmer with $130 real estate [NC:661, family no. 262].

iv. Jesse, entered 100 acres east of Drowning Creek and north of Mill Branch in Robeson County on 22 January 1793 [Pruitt, Land Entries: Robeson County, I:70] and purchased land by deed proved in Robeson County on 7 July 1801 [Minutes I:158]. He was head of a Robeson County household of 4 "other free" in 1800 [NC:409] and 8 in 1810 [NC:232].

5    v. Moses.

vi. Aaron, born after 1775, head of a Sumter District, South Carolina household of 5 "other free" in 1810 [SC:224a], 9 "free colored" in 1820 and 11 in 1830.

vii. David, head of a Robeson County household of 1 "other free" in 1800 [NC:409], 6 in 1810 [NC:230], and 6 "free colored" in Jackson County, Tennessee, in 1820.

viii. Nancy, born about 1765, living in South Carolina in 1795 when the 25 July issue of the North Carolina Central and Fayetteville Gazette offered a $10 reward to deliver to the subscriber in Georgetown, a mustie servant woman named Nancy Oxendine, she is a stout wench, of a light complexion about 30 years old. It is supposed she has been ??elks away by her brother and sister, the latter lives in Fayetteville [Fouts, Newspapers of Edenton, Fayetteville, & Hillsborough, 81]. Her brother John³ and sister Betsy lived in Cumberland County.

6    ix. Betsy, born say 1766.

x. Mary, perhaps the Polly Oxendine who was a 36-45 year old head of a Cumberland County household of 3 "free colored" in 1820.

xi. Catherine.

xii. Sarah.

 

4.    Charity Oxendine, born say 1750, had two illegitimate children in Bladen County. She and her children were bound to Thomas White who sold their labor to Thomas Ingles who left North Carolina with Charity and her two children and claimed them as slaves in Mississippi [See above under Jenne Oxendine]. She was the mother of

i. Henry², head of a Claiborne County household of 5 "free persons of color" in 1816, perhaps the Henry Oxendine who was counted as white in Pike County, Mississippi, in 1840: over the age of 80 years.

 

5.    Moses Oxendine was head of a Robeson County household of 3 "other free" in 1810 [NC:232] and 7 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:311]. His 20 September 1856 Robeson County will was proved in August 1857. He left 31 acres to his daughter Sylvanah and named her son Archibald [WB 2:122]. His daughter was

i. Sylvanah, mother of Archibald Oxendine.

 

6.    Betsy Oxendine, born about 1766, was living in Cumberland County in October 1786 when the court ordered that her child Nance Oxendine be bound out. She was the mother of

i. ?John⁴, born about 1782, "a Mullattoe Base Born Child," no parent named when he was ordered bound to Neil McRainy by the 28 October 1786 Cumberland County court [Minutes 1784-7, n.p.].

ii. Nance, born about 1787, a "mulato" girl about eighteen months old who was ordered bound to James Dyer, Esq., by the 28 October 1788 Cumberland County court [Minutes 1787-91, n.p.].

 

7.    Henry¹ Oxendine, born say 1765, was head of a Richmond County household of 5 "other free" in 1790 [NC:46]. On 22 June 1790 he entered 100 acres in Richmond County on Powells Branch of Rockey Fork of Hitchcock Creek [Pruitt, Land Entries: Richmond County, no. 544]. The April 1792 Richmond County court called him Henry Auxendine when it ordered the sheriff to sell his land to satisfy a judgment against him by Thomas Dockery, Esquire [Minutes 1779-92, 226]. And he was called Henry Auxendine when he married Sarah Collins in Richmond County between 1 December 1788 and 31 December 1789 [NCGSJ XII:168, citing T&C Co. Sett., Box 75]. He was head of a Robeson County household of 5 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:308]. He may have been the father of

i. Charles³, head of a Marion District, South Carolina household of 5 "other free" in 1810 [SC:83].

 

Other members of the family were

i. Bryant, left a nuncupative will in Robeson County on 11 February 1836 by which he left his unnamed wife all his property [WB A:300].

ii. David², head of a Robeson County household of 2 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:305].

iii. Hector, murdered by the White Home Guard in Robeson County near the end of the Civil War in May 1865 because he was suspected of helping General Sherman when his army marched through Robeson County [Blu, The Lumbee Problem, 52-53].

 

Endnotes:

1.    Margaret Mainor was probably the daughter of John Manor, head of a Sampson County household of 1 "other free" in 1790 [NC:53], and 4 in Cumberland County in 1810 [NC:603]. Jesse Maner (born about 1786), Isaac Maner (born about 1791), and Stephen Manor (born 19 October 1812) were "Mulatto" or "coloured" children bound apprentices in Cumberland County [Minutes 1801-4, 17 April 1801; Minutes 1823-7, 12 June 1824].

 

PAGE FAMILY

Several members of the Page family, perhaps siblings, were taxables in Norfolk County in the 1750s. They were

i. Sam, born say 1728, taxable in Norfolk County near Tanner's Bridge in 1752 [Wingo, Norfolk County Tithables, 1751-65, 31].

1    ii. Ann, born say 1730.

iii. Abraham, a "Free Negro" who was indentured to William Denby when Denby made his 2 September 1749 Norfolk County will [McIntosh, Brief Abstracts of Norfolk County Wills, 300].

iv. Rachel, born say 1734, a taxable "free negro" head of her own Norfolk County household in the District of the Borough of Norfolk on the South Side of Tanner's Creek to Spratt's Bridge from 1757 to 1765 [Wingo, Norfolk County Tithables, 1751-65, 122, 145, 217].

v. Margaret, born say 1736, a taxable "free negro" head of her own Norfolk County household in the District of the Borough of Norfolk on the South Side of Tanner Creek to Great Bridge in 1759 [Wingo, Norfolk County Tithables, 1751-65, 145].

vi. Sarah, born say 1745, a taxable in the east side of the Borough of Norfolk in 1765 [Wingo, Norfolk County Tithables, 1751-65, 217].

 

1.    Ann Page, born say 1730, was taxable in Ann James's household in 1754 in Norfolk County near Tanner's Creek and head of her own household from 1754 to 1765, called "free negro" in some years and "Mollata" in others [Wingo, Norfolk County Tithables, 1751-65, 92, 122, 145, 182, 217]. She may have been the mother of

i. Thomas, born say 1759, a "free Negro" ordered bound apprentice by the churchwardens of Elizabeth River Parish in Norfolk County court on 16 May 1760 (no parent named) [Orders 1759-63, 36].

ii. James, born say 1765, head of a Bertie County, North Carolina household of 2 "other free" in 1790 [NC:14].

 

Their descendants may have been

i. Maria, head of a Richmond City household of 2 "other free" and 2 slaves in 1810 [VA:345].

ii. Nathaniel, head of a Richmond City household of 2 "other free" in 1810 [VA:345].

iii. John, head of a Henrico County household of 2 "other free" in 1810 [VA:996].

 

PAGEE FAMILY

1.    Nanny Pagee, born say 1770, won freedom for herself and her children from a family named Hook by a judgment confirmed in the Virginia Court of Appeals in 1814. The jury in the case found that she was brought to Virginia from North Carolina by Thomas Jones illegally if she was a slave and that, from inspection, she was a white woman [Catterall, Judicial Cases, I:121]. She was probably identical to Nancy Pegee, a spinster counted in "A List of Free Negroes & Mulatters" in Botetourt County in 1804 [Orders 1800-4, Loose Papers, no. 48]. She was apparently the mother of

i. Polly, born about 1795, registered in Botetourt County on 7 August 1823: age 28, Bright Mulatto, 5 feet 5 inches high, Free as per certificate from Court of Bedford [Free Negroes &c Registered, no. 39].

ii. Daniel, born about 1798, registered in Bedford County on 7 August 1823: age 25, dark Mulatto, 5 feet 8 inches high, free as per copy Judgt. of Court of appeals and registered again on 9 June 1834: age 39, Dark Mulatto, five feet eight Inches high a Barber by trade, free as per Copy of Judgment of Court of appeals, by a Certificate from Charlotte County [Free Negroes &c Registered, nos. 40, 91].

iii. Celia, registered on 9 September 1828, age --, Mulatto, 5 feet 6 inches high, free by a decree of the Court of Appls Dated 22 June 1811 [Free Negroes &c Registered, no. 46].

iv. Judy, born about 1808, registered in Botetourt County on 9 June 1836: age 28, bright Mulatto, five feet 2 or 3 inches high, Born free [Free Negroes &c Registered, no.92].

 

PALMER FAMILY

1.    Ann Palmer, born say 1706, was the servant of Michael Gilbert of Cople Parish, Westmoreland County, Virginia, on 24 July 1724 when she acknowledged having a "Mulatto" child "begott of her body by a negro Man" [Orders 1721-31, 70a]. She may have been the ancestor of

i. Mary, living in St. Stephen's Parish on 14 November 1743 when the Northumberland County court indicted her for having a "Mulatto" child [Orders 1737-43, 367].

ii. John, head of a Loudoun County household of 5 "other free" in 1810 [VA:313].

iii. Betty, head of a Queen Anns County, Maryland household of 2 "other free" in 1790.

iv. Samuel, head of a Kent County, Maryland household of 3 "other free" in 1800 [MD:165].

 

Another Palmer family:

1.    Priscilla Palmer, born say 1702, a single white woman of Christ Church Parish, Lancaster County, Virginia, had a male child by Robert Carter's slave named "Mullatto Billy" on 26 March 1723 [Orders 1721-9, 98-100].

 

PARKER FAMILY

    Alice Parker, born say 1702, was indicted by the Northumberland County court on 19 July 1721 for having a "Mullatto" child in St. Stephen's Parish [Orders 1719-29, 44].

 

1.    Ruth Parker, born say 1706, a "Christian White Woman," was deceased by 2 March 1724/5 when the Accomack County court bound out her "Mullatto" daughter Sarah [Orders 1724-31, 22a]. She was the mother of

i. Sarah, born about 1725.

 

They may have been the ancestors of

2    i. Elisha, born about 1752-1759.

ii. Samuel, born before 1776, head of a Nansemond County household of 2 "free colored" in 1820 [VA:71].

iii. Milley, born before 1776, head of a Nansemond County household of 7 "free colored" in 1820 [VA:74A].

 

2.    Elisha Parker, born about 1752-1759, a "man of color," was about 80 years old on 20 November 1832 when he made a declaration in Gates County, North Carolina, to obtain a pension for his services in the Revolution. He stated that he was born in Nansemond County near the North Carolina line about 1752. He was said to have been about 75 years old on 10 February 1834 when he made a similar declaration in Nansemond County court, stating that he enlisted in Gates County about 1779 for 9 months under Captain Arthur Gatling, then enlisted as a substitute for Francis Speight and had been a resident of Nansemond County for the previous 45 years [NARA, S.11211, M804-1871, frame 0787]. He was head of a Gates County household of 4 "other free" in 1790 [NC:23] and 3 "free colored" in Nansemond County in 1820 [VA:79]. He may have been related to

i. Thomas, head of a Cumberland County, North Carolina household of 8 "other free" in 1810 [NC:605].

 

PARR FAMILY

1.    Anne Parr, born say 1732, was the servant of Archibald Stewart on 30 April 1754 when the Augusta County court adjudged that her bastard child was a "Mulato" and bound the child to her master [Orders 1753-5, 192]. She was probably the mother or grandmother of

i. Will, head of an Augusta County household of 8 "other free" in 1810 [VA:373].

 

PARROT FAMILY

Members of the Parrot family were

i. William, born say 1725, presented by the York County court on 20 November 1749 for failing to list himself as a tithable [Judgments & Orders 1746-52, 256, 277, 284], perhaps identical to William Parrot, "a slim negro man," who was taken up as a runaway and jailed in Norfolk County according to the 27 October 1775 issue of the Virginia Gazette. He claimed to have been freeborn about a mile from Williamsburg [Purdie edition, p. 4, col. 3].

ii. Sarah, born say 1727, presented by the York County court on 20 November 1749 for failing to list herself as a tithable [Judgments & Orders 1746-52, 256, 277, 284].

iii. Susan Jarvis, born say 1727, a "Poor Mulatto" woman living in York County on 17 December 1759 when the court ordered the churchwardens of Yorkhampton Parish to bind out her children because she was unable to provide for them [Judgments & Orders 1759-63, 103]. She was head of a York County household of 2 "other free" in 1810 [VA:876]. She was called Susanna Parrott alias Susanna Jarvis when she was sued by Thomas Fauntleroy in a case heard in York County court between May 1801 and May 1802. James Trice, Thomas Trice (of King and Queen County), John Bowden (of James City County), and Thomas Drewry were witnesses. The case was discontinued with each party paying their own costs [Orders 1795-1803, 457, 482, 483, 498, 516-8, 522].

 

PATRICK FAMILY

1.    Ezekiel Patrick, born say 1730, was head of a Georgetown District, Prince George's Parish, South Carolina household of 5 "other free" in 1790 and 7 in Liberty County in 1800 [SC:785]. He was living near Mill Swamp and Two Mile Branch in Georgetown District on 21 August 1797 when James Easterling recorded a plat adjoining his land [S.C. Archives, series S213190, 35:90; http://archivesindex.sc.gov]. He may have been the father of

i. David, head of a Bladen County, North Carolina household of 7 "other free" in 1800. He made a claim in South Carolina for services in the Revolution [S.C. Archives, series S108092, reel 115, frame 166; http://archivesindex.sc.gov].

ii. "Luke & John," heads of a Colleton District household of 10 "other free" and a slave in 1810 [SC:617].

iii. Sam, head of a Colleton District household of 4 "other free" in 1810 [SC:591].

iv. Right, head of a Colleton District household of 3 "other free" in 1810 [SC:591].

v. Jeremiah, head of a Colleton District household of 1 "other free" in 1810 [SC:617].

 

PATTERSON FAMILY

1.    Anne Patterson, born about 1732, was described as a "free mulatto woman" on 29 July 1750 when she registered the birth of her daughter Elizabeth in St. Peter's Parish, New Kent County, Virginia [NSCDA, Register of St. Peter's Parish, 100]. On 7 October 1765 the Henrico County court ordered the churchwardens of Henrico Parish to bind out her "Mulatto" children John, Sall, and Iris [Orders 1763-7, 525]. She was a 50-year-old "mulatto" living in Ward 3 of Richmond, Virginia, in 1782 [VA:114]. Her children were

i. Elizabeth¹, born 29 July 1750.

ii. John, bound apprentice in Henrico County on 7 October 1765, perhaps the John Patterson who was a "F.B." head of a Bedford County, Virginia household of 4 "other free" in 1810 [VA:469].

iii. Sall, bound apprentice in Henrico County on 7 October 1765.

iv. Rice (Iris?), born about 1762, a 20-year-old "Free mulatto" listed in Anne Patterson's Richmond City household in 1782 [VA:114].

 

2.    Susannah Patterson, born say 1740, perhaps a sister of Anne Patterson, was living in St. Peter's Parish, New Kent County in 1758 when the birth and baptism of her daughter Mary was recorded [NSCDA, Register of St. Peter's Parish, 98, 171]. She was head of a household with no whites, 1 dwelling, and 1 other building in the upper precinct of New Kent County in the 1785 census [VA:92] and was taxable in New Kent County from 1783 to 1810: taxable on a slave named Sam, 2 horses and 7 cattle in 1783; taxable on her son Jesse in 1784 and 1785; taxable on a horse from 1797 to 1800; taxable on a free male tithable, 2 slaves aged 12-16 and a horse in 1804; taxable on a free male tithable from 1805 to 1809; a "M" taxable on a slave aged 12-16 in 1810 [PPTL 1782-1800, 19, 55, 73, 75, 101]. Her children were

i. Mary, born 12 February 1758 and baptized 4 September the same year, "daughter of Susannah Patterson" (no race stated). She was living in New Kent County on 31 December 1776 when she registered the birth of her daughter Betsey Patterson (no race stated) [NSCDA, Register of St. Peter's Parish, 171, 174].

ii. Jesse, born say 1763, taxable in New Kent County from 1790 to 1820: called son of Susannah Patterson in 1784; a "Mulatto" taxable from 1790 to 1792 [PPTL 1782-1800, 55, 73, 150, 170, 191, 314; 1791-1828, frames 397, 409, 421, 433, 444, 456, 477, 491, 503, 516, 579], head of a New Kent County household of 1 "other free" in 1810 [VA:765] and 2 "free colored" in 1830.

iii. ?Moses, born say 1762, taxable in New Kent County adjacent to Susannah Patterson in 1783 and taxable from 1786 to 1794 [PPTL 1782-1800, 19, 89, 101, 149, 170, 191, 215].

iv. ?Dandridge, a "M"(ulatto) taxable in New Kent County from 1805 to 1820 [PPTL 1791-1828, frames 409, 421, 433, 444, 456, 491, 503, 516, 579].

v. ?Randolph, a "M"(ulatto) taxable in New Kent County in 1811 [PPTL 1791-1828, frame 466].

 

Their descendants may have been:

i. Elizabeth², a "free born Mulatto" apprenticed to Willoughby Old by the Princess Anne County court on 5 July 1770 [Minutes 1770-3, 12].

ii. Nancy, head of a Henrico County household of 4 "other free" in 1810 [VA:1015].

iii. Luvinia, born say 1785, "an Indian," married William Anthony, "a free black man," 7 March 1806 Henrico County bond, Thomas C. Richardson surety.

iv. Joseph, born before 1776, head of a Granville County, North Carolina household of 6 "other free" in 1810 and 11 "free colored" in Guilford County in 1820 [NC:113].

v. Jacob, head of a Currituck County household of 3 "other free" in 1810 [NC:88].

vi. Lucy, born before 1776, head of a Surry County, North Carolina household of 11 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:722].

 

PAVEY/ PEAVEY FAMILY

1.    Joshua¹ Pavey, born say 1725, was called Joshiah Pavee on 20 June 1745 when he made a successful appeal to the Craven County, North Carolina court [Haun, Craven County Court Minutes, III:463]. He was listed in the 27 November 1752 muster of the Wilmington Company commanded by Captain George Merrick [Clark, Colonial Soldiers of the South, 683]. He was taxable in New Hanover County on 4 Negro males in 1755 [T&C, Box 1, file T.O. 105]; a "Mulato" taxable on 5 white males and 2 Negro women in 1762; a "Mulato" taxable on 4 Negro men, 2 Negro women, and 1 Negro boy in 1763; and a "Mulato" taxable on 6 Negro men and 1 Negro woman in 1767 [SS 837]. He purchased 200 acres on the east side of the mouth of Nichols Creek and the Sound in New Hanover County on 28 April 1764, and sold half this land to Daniel Webb on 1 October 1764 [DB E:272, 274]. He was called a "Mulatto" and Daniel Webb was called a "free Negro" when the deed was proved in New Hanover County on 2 September 1766 [Minutes 1738-69, 274]. He was taxable in Bladen County (in the list next to John Webb) on 4 "Mixt Blood" males and a female in 1774 and taxable on 4 "Black" taxables (his wife and 2 sons) in 1775 and 1776 [Byrd, Bladen County Tax Lists, I:124; II:36, 47, 90]. He was taxable in Brunswick County on 9 cattle in 1782 [GA 46.1] and was head of a household of 1 male "Molatto" 21-60 years of age in the state census for New Hanover County in 1786. He was probably the ancestor of

i. Charles Peavy, taxable in Bladen County on a male and a female "Mixt Blood" in 1774 [Byrd, Bladen County Tax Lists, I:124], taxable on 4 horses and 9 cattle in Brunswick County in 1782 [GA 46.1] and head of an Onslow County household of 11 "other free" in 1790 (abstracted as Charles Perry) [NC:197] and 14 "other free" in Brunswick County in 1800 [NC:13A].

ii. James Pevee, head of a Fayetteville, Cumberland County household of 1 "other free" in 1790 [NC:42].

iii. Caleb/ Calop Peavy, entered 200 acres on the west side of Slap Arse Swamp in Bladen County on 11 November 1771 [NC Archives, SS file no. 774]. He was taxable on 9 head of cattle in Brunswick County in 1782, £17 valuation in 1784 [GA 46.1, 64.1] and head of an Onslow County household of 4 "other free" in 1790 (abstracted as Colop Perry) [NC:197], 3 "other free" in Brunswick County in 1800 [NC:13], and probably the C. Peavy who was head of a Brunswick County household of 7 "other free" in 1810 [NC:236]. Administration of his Marlboro County, South Carolina estate was granted to Ephraim Sweat on 3 April 1818 on $500 bond [Minutes of the Court of Ordinary, 125].

iv. Thomas Peavey, born say 1760, enlisted in Dixon's Company in the 1^st North Carolina Regiment in 1777 for the war, was omitted in January 1778, enlisted in Montfort's Company of the 10^th North Carolina Regiment on 24 June 1779 for the war [Clark, The State Records of North Carolina, XVI:1132, 1138; NARA, M246, http://fold3.com/image/10201106], head of a New Hanover County household of 1 "Molatto" 21-60 years old with 3 "Molatto" females for the state census in 1786, probably the T. Peavy who was head of a Brunswick County, North Carolina household of 4 "other free" in 1810 [NC:234].

v. Abraham, born say 1760, served in the Revolution and married Lydia ____ according to the pension application of their children in Alabama. Thomas Pavy/ Peavy, administrator of his estate, stated that they had eight children, Abraham died on 15 August 1837, and Lydia died on 13 October 1848. Their children living in 1854 were Nancy Hutcherson, Vicy Waller, Eli, Daniel, Helvy, McHail, Hyram and Thomas Pavy [NARA, W.10880, M804, http://fold3.com/image/25980528].

vi. Nehemiah, head of a Brunswick County, North Carolina household of 2 "other free" in 1810 [NC:236], 15 "free colored" in 1830 and 9 "free colored" in 1840. He enlisted as a musician in Mill's Company of the 10^th North Carolina Regiment on 6 February 1782 and completed his service in September 1782 [Clark, The State Records of North Carolina, XVI:1140]. On 12 October 1795 he received a military land warrant for 640 acres for his 84 months service as a fifer [N.C. Archives, S.S. 2240, call no. S.108.360]. He died before 26 May 1848 when his widow Sylvester Peavy relinquished administration on his Brunswick County estate to David D. Allen. She was allowed $190 for one year's provisions. Melvin and Joseph Peavy of Richmond County were indebted to Nehemiah at his death [North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979, http://familysearch.org/search/catalog/456760, film 4854064, image 731].

vii. J. Peavy, head of a Brunswick County household of 3 "other free" in 1810 [NC:234], probably Reverend Joshua² Peavy, born 3 July 1784 in Brunswick County, North Carolina. Although he was scarcely able to read, he started preaching in South Carolina and was ordained by Bishop Enoch George in 1821 in Alabama. He was described as being of "very dark complexion" (for a white man) [West, Rev. Anson, History of Methodism in Alabama, Nashville (1893): 206-9]. He married Martha Smith [Owen, Thomas McAdory, History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Chicago (1921): IV:1334], probably a daughter of H. Smith, head of a Brunswick County, North Carolina household of 8 "other free" in 1810 [NC:234].

viii. Hannah, married Amos Allen, 9 October 1817 New Hanover County bond. Amos was head of a Brunswick County, North Carolina household of 4 whites and 7 "free colored" in 1820 and a Davison, McIntosh County, Georgia household of 1 white male and 8 "free colored" in 1840.

ix. a member of the Peavey family who lost his case against an election inspector in North Carolina who refused to receive his vote. He claimed that his mother and grandmother were white women and that his father was a dark colored man with straight hair, his grandfather a dark red-faced mulatto, with dark straight hair [Catterall, Judicial Cases Concerning American Slavery II:198].

 

PAYNE FAMILY

1.    Francis¹ Payne, born say 1620, was a slave called "Francisco a Negroe" when Philip Taylor claimed him as a headright in 1637 [Nugent, Cavaliers and Pioneers I:74]. The relationship between some masters and their slaves before slavery became institutionalized is illustrated by an agreement between Taylor and one of his slaves who stated in Northampton County court that

Now Mr. Taylor and I have divided our corne and I am very glad of it now I know myne...owne ground I will work when I please and play when I please [Orders 1640-45, 457].

Thomas Yeoman, a poor white Northampton County planter, called him "Frank Capt. Taylor's Negro" in 1646 when he bequeathed him his estate consisting of 400 pounds of tobacco, 3 barrels of corn, and a shirt in gratitude for Francis looking after him while he was sick [DW 1645-51, 20].

Taylor died the same year and left Francis to his widow Jane who remarried and moved to Maryland with her husband William Eltonhead [DW 1645-51, 14 by Deal, Race and Class, 310-321]. On 13 May 1649 Jane called him "Francis Payne my Negro servant" when she gave him the right to a crop he was raising and the "power from tyme to tyme to make use of the ground and plantation" in return for 1,500 pounds of tobacco and six barrels of corn after the harvest [DW 1651-4, fol. 118]. This land was in Northampton County on Old Town Neck [Whitelaw, Virginia's Eastern Shore, 281-2]. A few months afterwards she agreed to sell him his freedom in exchange for three male servants with six to seven years to serve [DW 1651-54, fol. 118]. Still later that year Jane's husband wrote a letter to him about his progress in helping him acquire these three servants:

After my love to thee etc. I cannot heare of any servants in Yorke...But if you doe get your tobacco in caske, I question not but to gett them, when I come downe againe...I will bringe downe some caske with mee...your lovinge mayster [DW 1651-54, fol. 174].

A few months later Eltonhead received a bill for two servants "which is for the use of Francis Payne Negro towards his freedom," and within a year Payne completed the payments. He was free by 1651 when he successfully sued Joseph Edlowe of Maryland for a debt of 300 pounds of tobacco for a heifer Edlowe purchased from him, and he had to pay Randall Revell a debt of 400 pounds later that same year [DW 1651-54, 119, p.38, fol.50, p.69]. He purchased a mare in June 1655 and sold its colt to Anthony Johnson on 31 January 1660 [DW 1655-68, fol. 19; 1657-66, fol. 74]. His former mistress confirmed his freedom in the July 1656 Northampton County court

I Mrs Jane Eltonhead...have hereunto sett my hand that ye aforesd Payne (a negro) shall bee discharged from all hinderances of servitude (his child) or any that doth belong to ye sd Payne [DW 1654-55, fol.100].

By September 1656 he had married Amy, a white woman, who he gave a mare by deed of jointure. Later that year he sued John Gussall for failure to pay him rent [Orders 1665-56, 15; DW 1654-55, fol. 138; DW 1655-68, fol. 19, 21]. In 1665 he and Emmanuel Driggus were security for Hannah Carter when she was manumitted by her master, Francis Pigot [DW 1665-68, pt.2, 15]. He was called "Francis Pane Negro" in the Northampton County tithe lists on which he was taxable on 2 tithes in 1663 and only 1 tithe from 1664 to 1668. On 7 February 1669/70 William Morris complained to the court that Francis's wife Amy had scandalized his wife Mary by saying she had borne a Maletto child, but the case was dismissed at the next session of the court. Francis left a 9 May 1673 Northampton County will, proved 29 September 1673, by which he left all his estate to his wife Aymey Payne, and stated that it was his desire that she give a cow and calf to each of their godchildren, but Devrox Dregus (Driggers) was to have nothing [DW 1657-64, 176, 198; Orders 1664-74, 14, 42, 54, 75, 78, 217, 220-1].

 

Another Payne Family

1    i. Rebecca, born say 1720.

ii. William, born say 1750, a "Mulatto" boy bound to William Hancock, then to Robert Wooding, Gent., who then sold the indenture to Joseph Gill in May 1764. The Halifax County, Virginia court ordered him returned to Wooding [Pleas 4:266, 279]. He may have been the "Mulatto" William Payne who was taxable in Culpeper County from 1787 to 1802: taxable on 2 slaves in 1789, 1 in 1792, 2 in 1793, 1 from 1795 to 1801, perhaps the father of John Paine who was a "Mulatto" taxable in Culpeper from 1796 to 1802 [PPTL 1782-1802, frames 194, 305, 434, 566, 608, 609, 648, 692, 693, 742, 785, 823, 867].

iii. Francis, head of a Gloucester County household of 5 "other free" in 1810 [VA:666], listed with his unnamed wife as "Mulattoes" in Gloucester County in 1813, over the age of 45 in 1815 [PPTL 1800-20].

iv. Evan, born say 1757, a "mulatto" listed among fourteen deserters from Lieutenant John Tankersley's troops for whom Tankersley offered a reward for their delivery to King George courthouse in the 3 October 1777 issue of the Virginia Gazette [Purdie edition, p. 3, col. 1]. He was taxable in Fauquier County from 1802 to 1806: a "free Negro" listed by John Pragle in 1804, a "Mulatto" taxable on (his son?) Jarrot Payne in 1805, a "free negro" taxable on Jarrett and Jesse Payne and 3 horses in 1806 [PPTL 1797-1807, frames 413, 632, 659, 768, 791],

v. Benjamin, born about 1762, enlisted in the Revolution as a substitute from Buckingham County in 1782 and was sized about the same time: age 20, 5'6" high, yellow complexion, born in Buckingham County [The Chesterfield Supplement or Size Roll of Troops at Chesterfield Court House, LVA accession no. 23816, by http://revwarapps.org/b81.pdf (p.61)].

vi. Joshua, born about 1762, a black complexioned soldier, 5'4" high, a farmer born in Westmoreland County who entered the war as a substitute in King George County on 4 April 1781 to serve for two years in the Navy [The Chesterfield Supplement or Size Roll of Troops at Chesterfield Court House, LVA accession no. 23816, by http://revwarapps.org/b81.pdf (p. 25)]. He was listed in the muster of the 5^th Virginia Regiment in September 1782 [NARA, M246, Roll 113, frame 664 of 752]. John White received his final pay of £17 on 31 July 1783 [NARA, M881, Roll 1089, frame 1201 of 1808; http://fold3.com/image/286702828]. He was head of a Rockingham County, North Carolina household of 5 "other free" in 1800 [NC:491].

vii. Barbara, born about 1772, indentured to William Allason who gave her a certificate in Fauquier County on 2 January 1795: a Molatto woman born under law directing Molattos to serve to the age of thirty one years, became my property in 1772 and sserved til 22 or 23, very black complexion & middling height might be about 22 or twenty three years [DB 12:103].

viii. Thomas, head of a Prince William County household of 6 "other free" in 1810 [VA:510].

ix. Joanna, "Free Negroe" head of a Fauquier County household of 2 "other free" in 1810 [VA:375].

x. Ben, a "Mulatto" head of a 96 District, Abbeville County, South Carolina household of 1 "other free" in 1790 [SC:57].

 

1.    Rebecca Paine, born say 1720, was living in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on 1 April 1741 when the court presented Francis Chandler for cohabiting with her. He was the husband of Margaret Chandler, a "Mulatto" woman. Rebecca was called a "Molatto" on 12 May 1746 when she agreed to serve William Bayley for four years to pay a debt of £10 she owed him [Orders 1739-43, 100; 1743-7, 137]. She may have been the mother of

2    i. Virgin, born say 1745.

3    ii. Lawrence, born 4 October 1748.

 

2.    Virgin Payne, born say 1745, was the mother of Rice and John Payne whose births were recorded in St. Paul's Parish, King George County (no race indicated) [St. Paul's Parish Register]. She was the mother of

i. Rice, born 28 August 1766, registered in King George County on 25 November 1800: a dark mulatto man, aged about thirty two years, five feet seven inches high...Slender make...born in this County of a free Woman [Register of Free Persons, no.18]. He was head of a Prince William County household of 4 "other free" in 1810 [VA:515].

ii. Jack, born 13 October 1772, registered in King George County on 5 February 1804: a dark mulatto man, aged about twenty eight years, short and curled hair, five feet ten Inches high, well set, though not corpulaent, born of a free mother of this County [Register of Free Persons, no.38].

iii. ?Polly, born about 1793, registered in King George County on 3 September 1818: a Black woman about 25 years of age, about 5 feet, stout made, born free [Register of Free Persons, no.52].

 

3.    Lawrence Payne, born 4 October 1748, registered in King George County in November 1794: a mulatto man born October the 4th 1748 about five feet nine inches high, was bound by indenture to Langhern Dade to serve the term of thirty one years. And his wife Susannah registered the same month: the wife of Laurence above, is about fifty two years old, about four feet six inches high, of a dark yellow colour, served to the age of thirty one years & is now free [Register of Free Persons 1785-1799, no.1, 5]. He was head of a Rockingham County household of 4 "other free' in 1810 [VA:36]. Their children may have been Elizabeth, Alice, and Lett (no last name) who registered at the same time as Lawrence and Susannah. They may have been the parents of

i. Charles, born about 1765, black complexion, a planter born in Westmoreland County, who entered the Revolution in King George County as a substitute for three years on 4 April 1781 [The Chesterfield Supplement or Size Roll of Troops at Chesterfield Court House, LVA accession no. 23816, by http://revwarapps.org/b81.pdf (p. 25)]. He registered in King George County on 10 November 1801: a dark mulatto man aged about thirty five years, about five feet six inches high, rather spare...born in this County of free parents [Register of Free Persons, no.36]. He died before 5 August 1802 when Lawrence Payne was granted administration on his King George County estate with Henry Brandican as security [Orders 1799-1805, 346].

ii. Alice, born about 1768, registered in November 1794: a mulatto woman, twenty six years old, about four feet six inches high, was bound by indenture to Townshend Dade, Gent., of this County to serve till eighteen years old & is now a free woman [Register, no.3].

iii. Elizabeth, born about 1770, registered in November 1794: a mulatto woman, twenty four years old & about five feet high, was bound to William Lord & his wife of this County to serve till the age of eighteen years, & is now a free woman [Register, no.2].

iv. Lett, born about 1773, registered in November 1794: of a dark yellow colour, twenty one years old 7 about five feet high, was born free & of course is a free woman [Register, no.4].

v. Lawrence, Jr., head of a King George County household of 1 "other free" in 1810 [VA:212].

 

PEACOCK/ POE FAMILY

1.    Mary Peacock, born say 1693, was a white servant with three years and three months to serve when she was listed in the 20 July 1712 inventory of the Richmond County, Virginia estate of Colonel Samuel Peachey [Wills & Inventories 1709-17, 170-2]. She was called the servant of Samuel Peachey on 5 August 1713 when the Richmond County court ordered her to serve him or his assigns an additional year for having an illegitimate "Mulatto" child. The court also ordered that upon completion of her service, she pay £10 to the churchwardens of North Farnham Parish or be sold by them for five years [Orders 1711-6, 123]. She may have been the ancestor of

2     i. Jane, born say 1710.

ii. William, head of a Kent County, Maryland household of 5 "other free" in 1800 [MD:164, 165].

 

2.    Jane Peacock/ Poe, born say 1710, was a "Molatto" presented by the York County court for not listing herself as a tithable on 20 November 1727 (called Jane Peacock) and on 17 November 1735 (called Jane Poe). She was called "Jane Po alias Peacock" on 20 August 1744 when Landon Carter, Esq., sued her in York County for a cow and a calf of the value of 40 shillings. The court ruled that they were her property and dismissed the suit [OW 16:489; W&I 18:237, 245; 19:302, 317]. She was the ancestor of the Poe family (q.v.).

 

PENDARVIS FAMILY

1.    Joseph¹ Pendarvis, born say 1675, was a white planter of Colleton County, South Carolina, who wrote a will on 11 February 1735, proved 17 March the same year, leaving 1,009 acres near Green Savanna and a plantation on Charleston Neck to the "children of a Negro woman named Parthena deceased that lived with me." Their children, underage when Pendarvis wrote his will, were James, Brand, William, John, Thomas, Mary, and Elizabeth [Moore, Wills of the State of S.C. 1670-1740, I:300]. Their daughters Mary and Elizabeth married white planters, and their descendants were considered white [Koger, Black Slaveowners, 13]. Joseph and Parthena were the parents of

2    i. James, born say 1718.

ii. Brand, born say 1720, married Ursetta Jennings in Orangeburgh in 1748.

iii. William¹, head of a South Orangeburgh District, South Carolina household of 5 "other free" and a slave in 1790 [SC:102].

iv. John, head of a South Orangeburgh District, South Carolina household of 4 "other free" and a slave in 1790 [SC:102].

v. Thomas.

vi. Mary.

vii. Elizabeth.

 

2.    James Pendarvis, born say 1718, married Catherina Rumph (a white woman) on 3 September 1741 in Orangeburgh. He was taxable on 3,250 acres and 113 slaves in St. Paul's Parish, Charleston District, Colleton County, from 1785 to 1787 and taxable on 4,710 acres and 123 slaves in 1792. He died about 1797 when his estate was taxable on 4,709 acres and 151 slaves [South Carolina Tax Returns, microfilm AD 941, frames 100, 179; AD 942, frames 19, 67, 82, 146, 218, 231, 288]. He was the father of

i. William², a minor whose estate was taxable on 39 slaves in St. Paul's Parish in 1785 and 59 slaves in 1799.

 

Other members of the family were

i. Joseph², taxable in Winton County on 100 acres and 44 slaves in 1788 [South Carolina Tax Returns, microfilm AD 942, frame 33] and head of a household of 6 "other free" and 41 slaves in 1790 in the south part of Orangeburgh District [SC:102].

ii. Joseph³, Jr., head of a Colleton District household of 5 "other free" in 1810 [SC:618].

 

PENDERGRASS FAMILY

1.    Richard¹ Pendergrass, born say 1750, was a "Mulatto man servant" (called Richard Pendergast) on 27 April 1767 when his master Gideon Patteson of Cumberland County, Virginia, warned buyers at the sale of Samuel Jones of Halifax County that the indenture of Richard Pendergast had been conveyed to him to secure a debt [Virginia Gazette, May 7, 1767, Purdie & Dixon, p. 3, col. 2]. Richard was called "Negro Rich^d Pendegrass" on 17 March 1781 when he was listed as one of General Cornwallis's prisoners at his Guilford courthouse headquarters [NCGSJ V:81]. He was taxable in St. Lawrence District of Caswell County in 1790 [NC:83] and head of a Person County household of 3 "other free" in 1800 [NC:601]. He (signing) sold 4 acres in Person County adjoining Edward Chambers' land for $20 on 12 December 1803 [DB C:437]. He died before 25 December 1817 when he left a Caswell County nuncupative will by which he made bequests to his daughters Sally Roe of Person County and Nancy Curtis of Caswell County and stated that he had already provided for his other children [WB H:132]. He was the father of

i. ?Richard², born before 1776, married Elizabeth Curtis, 6 December 1798 Person County bond, Richard Pendergrass (Sr.?) surety, and was head of a Person County household of 3 "other free" in 1800 (called Richard, Jr.) [NC:601]. He married, second, Mary Roberts, 26 November 1800 Person County bond, Julius Justice surety, and was head of a Sumner County, Tennessee household of 10 "free colored" in 1820 and 4 "free colored" in Clinton County, Illinois in 1830.

ii. Nancy ("colored"), married James Curtis, 19 February 1800 Person County bond, Byrd Rogers surety.

iii. Sarah, married John Roe, 2 March 1802 Person County bond.

 

PERKINS FAMILY

Members of the Perkins family were

i. Isaac¹, born say 1690, called Isabee Parkins when Winslow Driggers was taxable in his Baltimore Hundred, Somerset County, Maryland household in 1725 [List of Taxables] and called Isaac Perkins when he was taxable in Murderkill Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, in 1729 and 1730 on his own tithe and the tithe of Winsley Driggers [Delaware State Archives, RG 3535, 1726-1742, frames 354, 364].

1    ii. Esther, born say 1710.

iii. William, born say 1728, no race indicated when he was tried for felony in Accomack County on 22 September 1746: found guilty of "taking but not breaking" (in). On 24 November 1747 he was charged with stealing 8 yards of linen, given 25 lashes, and ordered to leave the county within six days [Orders 1744-53, 221, 224, 233, 236]. He was probably the William Perkins who was indicted in Sussex County, Delaware court on an unspecified charge in February 1747/8 [DSA, RG 4815.017, General Sessions Court, 1741-53, frame 330], a taxable "Molatto" in Little Creek Hundred, Sussex County, on a cow and calf and 3 shoats in 1796. He was head of a Sussex County household of 6 "other free" in 1800 [DE:343] and 6 in 1810 [DE:300].

 

1.    Esther¹ Perkins, born say 1710, was in Accomack County on 8 December 1730 when Thomas Blair, Gentleman (her master?), paid her fine for having a bastard child. She was apparently the mother of "George a Mulatto aged Ten Years...Keziah a Mulatto aged three years last April and Jemima aged four years last Xtmas" (no last names) who were bound to James Gibson by the court on 25 June 1745 "until lawfull age" [Orders 1724-31, 201, 115a]. Esther was said to have been deceased by 1 June 1748 when her son Jacob was bound as an apprentice in Accomack County: "Mulatto Boy Son of Esther Perkins, dece^d," but later that month on 25 June 1748 Jacob was called the orphan of Darkey Perkins, dece^d [Orders 1744-53, 273, 277]. An Accomack County chancery case identifies her as the "free moletto" mother of three servants who were bound by the Accomack County court to James Gibson who was deceased in 1751 when they made a crop of tobacco, corn and flax on his land: Joshua (about 18 or 19 years old), George (about two years younger than Joshua) and Keziah Perkins (about two years younger than George) [Chancery file 1754-001, LVA, http://virginiamemory.com/collections/chancery]. George and Keziah were listed in the 30 April 1751 inventory of Gibson's estate: Mullato boy named George a Servant: £0.5, Cusiah a Mulatto Girl (no value listed) [W&c 1752-7, 47-49]. She was the mother of

2    i. ?Darky, born about 1728.

3    ii. ?Ann, born say 1730.

4    iii. Joshua¹, born about 1732.

5    iv. George¹, born about 1735.

6    v. Keziah, born in April 1737.

vi. Jemima, born in December 1741.

vii. ?Jacob¹, born in December 1745, called a "Mulatto Boy Son of Esther Perkins, deced," aged two years last Christmas, when he was bound as an apprentice shoemaker to George Bundick, Jr., on 1 June 1748 and then called "Mulatto Boy Orphan of Darkey Perkins deced" later that month on 28 June when he was bound to James Gibson, but again called Mulatto son of Esther when he was bound to Southy Littleton on 28 May 1754 and when he was bound to William Morgan on 25 March 1755 [Orders 1744-53, 273, 277; 1753-63, 45, 83].

viii. ?Arcadia, born about 1746, a six-year-old "Mulatto" bound to George Hope on 29 January 1752 [Orders 1744-53, 570]. ix. ?Jemmy (James), born about 1748, a four-year-old "Mulatto" bound as an apprentice shoemaker to George Hope in Accomack County in 1752 [Orders 1744-53, 571].

x. Samson, born in December 1751, Mulatto son of Esther Perkins, bound to Southy Littleton on 28 May 1755, to Thomas Webb on 25 February 1755 and to David James to be a weaver on 26 April 1757 [Orders 1753-63, 45, 81, 184]. He was a "Molatto" taxable in Pitts Creek, Worcester County, in 1783 [MdHR, MSA S1161-11-9, p.4].

 

Esther may have had a sister or daughter who had a child in Accomack County:

i. Joshua³, born say 1760, a seaman in the Revolution according to Scarborough Bloxam, a midshipman aboard the Accomac, who testified that Joshua enlisted in the war, served on board the vessel during the Revolution and was discharged [Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants; Bayly, Robert, Digital Collections, LVA]. He received bounty land warrant no. 93 for 100 acres and Sally Perkins received no. 8241 for his service [Brumbaugh, Revolutionary War Records, 193, 363]. His only heir Sally Perkins applied for his pension in Accomack County on 29 March 1834 [Orders 1832-36, 21, 313].

 

2.    Darky (Dorcas) Perkins (Esther¹), born about 1728, was six years old in September 1734 when she was bound apprentice to James Gibson by the Accomack County court (no parent named) [Orders 1731-36, 133]. She was deceased by 27 January 1746/7 when the Accomack County Court recorded that the charges brought against her by the churchwardens abated due to her death [Orders 1744-53, 181]. She was the mother of

i. ?Jacob¹, born in December 1745, called a "Mulatto Boy Son of Esther Perkins, deced," aged two years last Christmas, when he was bound as an apprentice shoemaker to George Bundick, Jr., on 1 June 1748 and then called "Mulatto Boy Orphan of Darkey Perkins deced" later that month on 28 June when he was bound to James Gibson, but again called Mulatto son of Esther when he was bound to Southy Littleton on 28 May 1754 and when he was bound to William Morgan on 25 March 1755 [Orders 1744-53, 273, 277; 1753-63, 45, 83].

 

3.    Ann Perkins, born say 1730, was granted a patent for land in Bladen County, North Carolina, on 25 April 1767 and 100 acres on Beaver Dam Branch of the Raft Swamp on 22 March 1772. She sold 50 acres on a branch of Raft Swamp on 12 December 1768 and sold another 100 acres on Beaver Dam Branch of Raft Swamp to William Lowry, son of James Lowry, on 18 February 1775 [N.C. Land Records, 1772-74, 7:72; Bladen County DB 23:71, 481]. She was taxable in Bladen County on 2 "Mulatoes" in 1771: her son Jordan Perkins and Thomas Sweat [Byrd, Bladen County Tax Lists, I:60]. She was the mother of

i. Jordan¹, born say 1758.

ii. ?Olive, born say 1762, married Ephraim Sweat according to the 18 April 1811 Opelousas, Louisiana marriage bond of their son Gideon Sweat [Opelousas license no.6].

iii. ?Nancy, born before 1776, head of a St. Landry Parish household of 6 "free colored" in 1820 [LA:108].

 

4.    Joshua¹ Perkins (Esther¹), born about 1732, was two years old on September 1734 when he was bound to James Gibson by the Accomack County court (no parent or race indicated) [Orders 1731-36, 133]. He owned land in Bladen County, North Carolina, on the province line adjoining land entered by Benjamin Davis before 20 October 1761 [Philbeck, Bladen County Land Entries, no. 1210 (called Joshua Parkins)]. He purchased 125 acres in Bladen County on Wilkerson Swamp, a branch of the Little Pee Dee River, on 1 November 1768 and sold this land on 26 April 1770. This was part of a tract of 250 acres, the other half owned by Robert Sweat in 1754 and sold by Philip Chavis in 1768. And he was granted 100 acres on Wilkerson Swamp on 22 Dec 1769 [Bladen DB 23:80, 121, 104-5, 424-5, 147-8]. These lands are on the present-day border of Robeson County near the county line of Dillon and Marlboro counties, South Carolina. He was a "Mulato" taxable in Bladen County with his wife and sons George and Isaac in 1768 and 1769 [Byrd, Bladen County Tax Lists, I:7, 17]. He was taxable in Washington County, North Carolina, in 1787 (called Joshua Perkins, Sr.) but not in 1788, perhaps because he was over age [Creekmore, "Early East Tennessee Taxpayers," East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications, (1963):108; Tennessee Ancestors, 5:37].

Joshua and his children's race and color were described in detail in an 1858 Johnson County, Tennessee trial in which his great-grandson, Jacob F. Perkins, sued John R. White for slander because he called him a "free Negro." The race of Joshua's great-grandchildren was not self evident since Joshua and his descendants had married white or light-skinned women. Eighteen elderly deponents, many who had known the family when they lived near the Pee Dee River in South Carolina (where Joshua had apparently moved after selling his Bladen County land), deposed that they had known Joshua/ Jock and his children: George, Jacob, Joshua, Isaac, Lewis, and Polly. He kept race horses and a ferry by Roan's Creek and associated with "decent, respectable" white people like Landon Carter. In 1785 he moved back to North Carolina; in 1793 married, apparently for the second time, Mary/ Polly Black who was fair skinned, called a Scotch woman; and died on 10 April 1801 [The Perkins File in the T.A.R. Nelson Papers in the Calvin M. McClung Collection at the East Tennessee Historical Center, depositions of Anna Graves and John J. Wilson]. He was apparently the Joshua Perkins who was in Marlboror County on 2 September 1791 when the court allowed him £3 for the support (probably during an illness) of his wife who the court record referred to as Elenor [Minutes 1785-1807, n.p.]. However, she gave her name as Mary Perkins when she testified in Marlboro County on 22 October 1792 that

Isaac Perkins & Lewis Perkins of said County are her children and that she Believes her Grandmother was a white woman. And that no part of her family was ever considered or believed as being under the disabilities of the law so as to make them liable to pay a public Tax any sooner than the whitest man in this State.

And Mary Bailey testified the same day that

she has been personally acquainted with Mary Perkins the Mother of Isaac & Lewis Perkins forty years and the mother of Mary Perkins was a white woman and Born in England, and that she never heard that any of the family was Considered a free Negro, Mustizoes or Mulattoes [DB AA:316].

The Johnson County court decided that Jacob F. Perkins was indeed a "free Negro" [Johnson County, Tennessee, Circuit court Minutes 1855-58, July 17, 1858, 427], but it considered depositions from fifty-nine persons before making this decision. The depositions provide the physical descriptions of many members of the family as well as a description of their life in the white community. Sixteen of twenty-two elderly deponents who had actually seen old Joshua Perkins said he was of African descent:

Can't say whether...full blooded. The nose African. Believe they were Africans...always claimed to be Portuguese. All married white women [The Perkins File, deposition of John E. Cossen].

as black as any common mulatto. Hair short and curled and kinky...[The Perkins File, deposition of Larkin L. White].

He was a very black and reverend negro...[The Perkins File, deposition of Reuben Brooks].

black man, hair nappy...Some called Jacob (his son) a Portuguese and some a negro...I helped Jock shell corn. He was said to be a hatter [The Perkins File, deposition of John Nave, 88 years old].

Knew old Jock (Joshua) in North Carolina on Peedee...right black or nearly so. Hair kinky...like a common negro [The Perkins File, deposition of Abner Duncan, 86 years old].

However, six persons who had seen old Joshua Perkins said he was dark-skinned but not African. They seem to have argued in their depositions that the Perkins family must have been something other than African - Portuguese or Indian - since they were relatively affluent and had good relations with their white neighbors:

dark skinned man...resembled an Indian more than a negro. He was generally called a Portuguese. Living well...Kept company with everybody. Kept race horses and John Watson rode them [Ibid., deposition of Thomas Cook, 75 years old].

mixed blooded and not white. His wife fair skinned...They had the same privileges [Ibid., deposition of Catherine Roller, 80 years old].

Hair bushy & long - not kinky. Associated with white people...Associated with...the most respectable persons. Some would call them negroes and some Portuguese [Ibid., deposition of John J. Wilson, about 70 years old].

He was known of the Portuguese race...Four of his sons served in the Revolution...Jacob and George drafted against Indians...they came from and kept a ferry in South Carolina [Ibid., deposition of Anna Graves, 77 years old].

They kept company with decent white people and had many visitors [Ibid., deposition of Elizabeth Cook, about 71].

I taught school at Perkins school house...they were Portuguese...associated white peoples, clerked at elections and voted and had all privileges [Ibid., deposition of David R. Kinnick, aged 77].

Some who testified in favor of the Perkins family had never seen Joshua Perkins and seem to have been genuinely confused about the family's ancestry:

I was well acquainted with Jacob Perkins (one of Joshua's sons). A yellow man - said to be Portuguese. They do not look like negroes. I have been about his house a great deal and nursed for his wife. She was a little yellow and called the same race. Had blue eyes and black hair. Was visited by white folks [Ibid., deposition of Mary Wilson].

One of the deponents, seventy-seven-year-old Daniel Stout, explained very simply how people of African descent could have been treated well by their white neighbors:

Never heard him called a negro. People in those days said nothing about such things [Ibid., deposition of Daniel Stout].

According to the depositions, Joshua and Mary's children were

7    i. George², born 22 March 1754.

8    ii. Jacob², born say 1756.

9    iii. Isaac³, born say 1758.

10   iv. Joshua⁴, born in November 1759.

v. Lewis¹, born say 1762, purchased 100 acres in Marlboro County on the northeast side of the Great Pee Dee River from Isaac Perkins for £50 on 8 November 1793 [DB AA:363], perhaps the Lewis Perkins who was taxable in Carter County, Tennessee in 1805 [1805 Carter County Tax List]. He was said to be a dark-skinned man with red complexion [The Perkins File, deposition of John J. Wilson]. A 65-year-old woman deposed in 1858 that she had known Lewis, and that Lewis [had] kinky hair [Ibid., deposition of Sarah Oaks], and a 69-year-old man deposed that Lewis [was] dark and bushy headed [Ibid., deposition of Goulder Hicks].

vi. Polly, perhaps the Mary Perkins, born before 1776, who was head of a St. Landry Parish, Louisiana household of 2 "free colored" in 1820 [LA:105], mother of Eady Perkins according to the 10 October 1825 Opelousas license for her daughter's marriage to James F. Carr [Opelousas license no.42]. She was called Edith Perkins when she married Stephen Goin of South Carolina on 17 November 1826 in Opelousas [License no.78]. James Carr, born 1776-94, was head of a St. Landry Parish household of 2 "free colored" in 1820 [LA:101].

 

5.    George¹ Perkins (Esther¹), born about 1735, was called "George a Mulatto aged 10 years" on 25 June 1745 when he was bound to James Gibson and called George Perkins a "Mulatto" servant on 28 August 1751 when he was charged in Accomack County court with absenting himself (running away) from the service of Andrew Gilchrist, administrator of James Gibson, for 30 days. He was made to serve twice the time he was away and additional time to pay for the cost of taking him up. Three months later on 27 November he was the servant of George Holden when he was taken up again after staying away for 13 days [Orders 1744-53, 522, 554]. He may have been the George Perkis who was in the Berkeley County, South Carolina Detachment of Captain Benjamin Elliot, drafted November 1759 and discharged January 8, 1760, in the same list with "Carter, a free Negro," Gideon Bunch, Ephraim Bunch, James Bunch, and Jacob Bunch [Clark, Colonial Soldiers of the South, 939]. He was living in Craven County, North Carolina, when he was acquitted of an unspecified charge by the October 1761 Craven County court. He was ordered to pay a little over £12 damages to Edmond Morgan on 13 June 1769 [Minutes 1761-62, 45a; 1766-75, 115b]. He was a taxable head of his own "Black" Craven County household in 1769 [SS 837] and head of a Craven County household of 4 "other free" in 1790 [NC:131]. He was called a husbandman on 27 February 1771 when he purchased 200 acres in Craven County on the west side of Cahoogue Creek for 60 barrels of tar. He sold half of this land and mortgaged the other half for £50 on 3 October 1774 and was called a "free Negro" when the deed was proved in September 1785 Craven County court [DB 19:202; 26:125-6, 130]. On 7 December 1782 he gave his son Isaac Perkins 50 acres on the south side of the Neuse River and west side of Cahoogue Creek at the head of Long Creek in Craven County "for fatherly love," and sold his son Isaac 100 acres on the south side of the Neuse River and west side of Cahoogue for £50 on 11 August 1787 [DB 24:265]. He was surety for the 3 February 1786 Craven County marriage of Sarah Perkins and Isaac Carter. He was the father of

i. Isaac², born about 1756, head of a Craven County household of 2 "other free" in 1790 [NC:131] and 2 "free colored" in Craven County in 1820 [NC:67]. He married Deborah Godett, 24 March 1784 Craven County bond. She was named in the 1803 Craven County will of her father George Godett [CR 28.801.20]. Isaac purchased for £1 the rights to the timber on the 100 acres where he was then living, sold by his father George Perkins to Bartholomew Howard on 3 October 1774. He entered land on the south side of the Neuse River and west side of Macock's Branch on 9 December 1813 [DB 35:172; Grants 4:177] and was taxable on 250 acres and no polls in Craven County in 1815 [T&C, Box 3, frame 36 of 48]. He sold 40 acres on the south side of Bay River and west side of Trent Creek to Isaac Carter for $50 on 3 February 1827 [DB 47:16]. He was living with his wife Deborah, born about 1763, when he made a declaration in Craven County court to obtain a Revolutionary War pension on 13 May 1829. He testified that he enlisted for 3 years in May 1778 and was granted pension certificate no. 4666 on 30 November 1818. He still had 100 acres of land in his possession, and included with his pension application was a copy of his deed of 30 January 1827 by which he sold 150 acres on the south side of the Neuse River and head of Handcocks Creek near the head of Macocks Branch to Isaac Carter. Joseph Physioc testified that: from a long and intimate acquaintance with the General Conduct and Character of the Said Isaac Perkins, we do not hesitate to declare that (though a man of Colour) we do believe him to be too honest in principal to practice anything like a fraud. His lawyer, Samuel Gerock, called him a "Negroe Man, and Old Soldier of the Revolutionary Army" when he appealed for the restoration of his pension [NARA, S41,953, M804, roll 1911, frame 174 of 1034]. His 18 May 1830 Craven County will, proved in August 1830, left his land to his wife Deborah, to be divided at her death between the three sons of his nephew George Carter: William, Martin and George Carter, with the balance of his property to be divided between his sister Sarah Carter's children William, Isaac, Mehetable and Sarah [WB C:326]. George Carter, Edmund George, Jacob Dove, William Dove, Stephen Godett, Theophilus George, and Perry Johnston were buyers at the sale of the estate which amounted to about $115 on 4 September 1830. In May 1842 his heirs petitioned for partition of the 100 acres of land which was located on Cahooque Creek adjoining Anthony Brown and Peter Godett [N.C., Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998, Craven County, Estate Papers; http://ancestry.com].

ii. ?Sarah, married Isaac Carter, 3 February 1786 Craven County bond, George Perkins surety.

 

6.    Keziah Perkins, born about 1736, was bound as an apprentice to James Gibson in Accomack County. She may have been the mother of

i. Joshua², born about 1752, a member of Captain Windsor Brown's Virginia Company of troops in Williamsburg when Brown advertised in the 6 June 1777 issue of the Virginia Gazette that he had deserted. Brown described him as: a mulatto, about 5 feet 6 or 7 inches high, 24 or 25 years old, and is a straight made fellow; had on a short striped jacket, a felt hat bound round with French lace [Purdie edition, p. 3, col. 3]. He was in Captain Thomas Edmunds's muster of the 15^th Virginia Regiment in Morristown on 1 July 1777: listed as being sick in Virginia, but he was in the muster at White Plains on 1 September 1778 [NARA, M246, roll 113, frame 189 of 752; roll 110, frame 484 of 768].

ii. Nimrod, born say 1755, bound an apprentice shoemaker to William Sacker James in Accomack County on 28 August 1765 [Orders 1764-65, 489]. He was taxable in Accomack County in 1785 and 1790 [PPTL, 1782-1814, frames 154, 347], a "Mulatto" taxable in Northampton County in 1787 and 1788 [PPTL, 1782-1823, frames 74, 81], and head of an Accomack County household of 2 "other free" and a white woman in 1800 [Virginia Genealogist 2:13]. Zadock Bayley testified in Accomack County court on 1 July 1830 that he frequently went on board the Navy vessel Accomac and saw Nimrod Perkins ("b.m") serving as a drummer [Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants; Perkins, Nimrod, Digital Collections, LVA]. Nimrod was about 72 years old on 31 July 1832 when he testified in Accomack County court that he enlisted as a drummer on board the galley Diligence from 1777 until 1781 and that he had received a Virginia military land warrant for 100 acres [Orders 1828-32, 537; NARA, S.5904, roll 1912, frame 356 of 988; http://fold3.com/image/27174273].

11   iii. Cady, born say 1758.

iv. Abraham, born say 1760, a "free Negro" taxable in Accomack County from 1798 to 1812 [PPTL, 1782-1814, frames 363, 499, 698, 732, 796], head of St. George's Parish, Accomack County household of 7 "other free" in 1800 [Virginia Genealogist 2:159] and 8 in 1810 [VA:48].

12   v. Adam, born say 1765.

vi. Esther², born about 1773, ordered bound out by the churchwardens of Accomack Parish in Accomack County to Leah James on 30 May 1775 [Orders 1774-7, 352], head of an St. George's Parish, Accomack County household of 3 "other free" in 1800 [Virginia Genealogist 2:159]. She registered in Accomack County about 1832: born about 1773, yellow complexion, 5'5^3/4" high, born free in Accomack County [Register of Free Negroes, 1785-1863, no. 593].

vii. Oliver, a "free Mulatto" ordered bound out by the churchwardens of Accomack Parish to Shadrack Bayly on 30 May 1775 [Orders 1774-7, 354].

viii. Comfort, head of a St. George's Parish, Accomack County household of 5 "other free" in 1800 [Virginia Genealogist 2:160].

 

7.    George² Perkins (Joshua¹, Esther¹), was born on 22 March 1754 in Liberty County (present-day Marion County), South Carolina, according to his pension application [NARA, F.8113, M804, roll 1911, frame 53 of 1034]. He applied for a pension while living in Lawrence County, Kentucky, on 15 March 1834. He entered the service in Charleston and served four tours of ten days each in the militia under Lieutenant Richard Whittington in 1780. He lived for about twenty-six years (1787-1813) on the Watauga River in the part of North Carolina which later became Washington County, Tennessee, and lived in Lawrence County, Kentucky, for another twenty-one years (1813-34). A copy of his 5 April 1780 Bladen County marriage bond to Keziah Manning, with John Cade (one of the captains he served under) as bondsman, was included in Keziah's application for a widow's pension [NARA, M804, roll 1911, R.8113, http://fold3.com/image/25570360]. (Mark and Moses Manning were considered white residents of present-day Liberty and Marlboro counties, South Carolina, on 20 April 1794 when they supported a petition to the legislature to repeal the discriminatory tax against "free Negroes") [S.C. Department of Archives and History, General Assessment Petition, 1794, no. 216, frames 370-374, Free People of Color ST 1368, series no. 165015, item 216]). George was taxable in Washington County in 1788 and received a grant for 100 acres in Washington County on Little Doe Creek near Roans Creek from the State of North Carolina on 17 November 1790 and another 100 acres on the Watauga River on 16 October 1797 [Creekmore, Tennessee Ancestors, 5:37; Carter County, Tennessee DB A:141, 149]. He purchased 200 acres in Washington County, Tennessee, on Little Doe Creek of the Watauga River on 24 May 1793 [Washington County DB 2:273-275]. He sold 200 acres of this land on 21 October 1795, another 100 acres on 28 December 1797 [Carter County DB A:104, 136], sold 100 acres on the Watauga River on 10 February 1804, 100 acres on Roans Creek on 26 November 1804, 50 acres on Little Doe Creek on 26 August 1805, and another 50 acres in this area on 10 April 1807 [Carter DB A:468-9, 532-3; B:16, 108-9]. He died in Lee County, Iowa, on 16 November 1840 and Keziah died on 12 August 1849 according to their only surviving child Ann Graves [NARA, R.8113]. Their children were

i. Stephen², born 6 September 1783, purchased 190 acres on Doe River on 12 September 1806 and sold this land on 10 August the same year [Carter County DB A:111-3]. He married Catherine Summa and had eleven children. He was head of a Campbell County, Tennessee household of 8 "free colored" in 1830.

ii. Anna Graves, born about 1780, 77 years old in 1858 when she made a deposition in Missouri for the Johnson County, Tennessee trial of Jacob F. Perkins [The Perkins File, deposition of Anna Graves].

 

8.    Jacob² Perkins (Joshua¹, Esther¹), born say 1756, was taxable on 200 acres in Washington County, Tennessee, in 1787, 1788, and 1789 [East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications, (1963):108; Tennessee Ancestors, vol. 5, No.1 (April 1989):37, 82]. He purchased 200 acres on Little Doe Creek of the Watauga River in Washington County, Tennessee, on 11 May 1791 [DB 2:272-3]. He was a school teacher who married Nancy Graves, daughter of John Graves, a constable, and his wife Susan, a white woman [The Perkins File, deposition of James Bradley]. Johnson Hampton testified for the pension application of his son Jacob³ Perkins that Jacob² Perkins came to Carter County, Tennessee, about 1802 and that Jacob² told him he had lived in South Carolina near the Little Pee Dee River during the time of the Revolution. Jacob served in the Revolution under General Marion and was [a] respectfully up right honest man and was considered by his neighbors. John J. Wilson, who helped to bury him, testified that [Jacob] and wife were both members of the Babstez Church he was a respectable man and a good citizen and was regarded by his neighbors. His son Jacob³ Perkins testified that Jacob² Perkins also served several tours against the Indians after coming to Carter County (then Washington County, North Carolina). And he was married to Ann Graves by Jonathan Mulkey, a Washington County preacher while the county was still a territory of North Carolina (1790-96). He further testified that his father died on 4 April 1819, and his mother lived with him until her death on 8 November 1842 [NARA, R.8105, M804]. James Bradley deposed that he knew Jacob's children: Joseph, Sally, Esther, Joshua, Amos, John, Susan, and Keziah [The Perkins File]. In his 22 March 1819 Carter County, Tennessee will, he mentioned his wife Nancy and their children: Joseph, Joshua, Amos, Jacob, John, Sarah, Esther, Keziah, Lydia, and Susanna, and he asked that land he owned in Burke County, North Carolina, be sold and divided between William and Benjamin (no last name mentioned), the two children of his daughter Sarah [WB 1:387-8]. His children were

i. Joseph, brother of Joshua, Amos, Jacob, and John Perkins who entered land on Cranberry Creek in 1827 [Burke, The History of the North Carolina Country, 1777-1920, 212]. They were the original owners of the Cranberry Iron Forge in Watauga County [Arthur, History of Watauga County, 264].

ii. Sarah, mother of William and Benjamin Graves.

iii. Esther³.

iv. Joshua⁵, born in 1796, married Elizabeth Kite. They were the parents of Jacob F. Perkins, plaintiff in the 1858 Johnson County suit [The Perkins File, Plaintiff's Attorney's Notes/ Outlines of Argument]. Jacob F. Perkins was a school teacher. He clerked at elections, voted, and associated with whites.

v. Amos.

vi. Jacob³, born about 1799, about 53 years old on 16 October 1852 when he testified for a survivor's pension [NARA, R.8105, M804]. He was a school teacher [The Perkins File, deposition of Dr. John E. Cossen].

vii. John.

viii. Susan.

ix. Keziah.

x. Lydia.

 

9.    Isaac³ Perkins, born say 1758, purchased 50 acres in Marlboro County, South Carolina, on 3 March 1787 for £10 and sold 100 acres in Marlboro County on the northeast side of the Great Pee Dee River to Lewis Perkins for £50 on 8 November 1793 [DB A:82; AA:363]. He received a grant for 100 acres in Washington County on Campbell's Creek from the State of North Carolina on 17 November 1790 and was living in Granville County (Greenville?), South Carolina, on 19 January 1796 when he sold this land to Jacob Perkins [Carter County DB A:110, 147]. He purchased 100 acres in Greenville District, South Carolina, on 8 September 1796 and sold 200 acres there in 1797. On 29 March 1798 he sold by two deeds (signing) a total of 500 acres of land in Greenville County on the waters of "Guilden Creek of Enoree Reiver" which was land he had been granted on 1 December 1794 [DB D:320, 509, 511]. He was head of a Buncombe County, North Carolina household of 12 "other free" in 1800 [NC:183], 11 "other free" in Opelousas, Louisiana in 1810 (living near Gilbert Sweat) [LA:325], and 1 "free colored" over 45 years of age in 1820 [LA:108]. He married Hannah Sweat according to the 16 January 1819 Opelousas Courthouse marriage license of their son Stephen Perkins of South Carolina [Opelousas license no.3]. In 1849 his son Isaac Perkins and other members of their community were charged in Rapides Parish with illegally voting as men of color. A Mrs. Rebecca Ritchie testified that "in the year 1804, there arrived in St. Landry a number of families, who were known as the Carolina mulattoes." Among them were Isaac Perkins (father of Isaac, Lewis and Willis Perkins), the Dyal/ Dial, Sweat, Willis, Gibson, Drake, and Gibson Johnson families [New Orleans Crescent, 3 September, 1857, p. 1]. Isaac and Hannah's children were

i. George⁴, born say 1785, married Polly Ashworth, daughter of James Ashworth and Keziah Dial of South Carolina, 4 December 1810. George was head of a St. Landry Parish household of 5 "free colored" in 1820 and 10 in 1830 [LA:107, 27].

ii. Isaac⁴, born say 1787, married Sarah Singleton, 24 May 1810 St. Landry Parish bond; and second, Mary Sweat, 23 September 1811 Opelousas marriage [Opelousas marriage license no.3]. He was head of a St. Landry Parish household of 3 "free colored" in 1820 [Census p.108].

iii. Stephen³, born say 1790 (in Craven County, South Carolina), son of Isaac Perkins and Hannah Sweat, married Nancy Johnson, daughter of Isaac Johnson and Mary Willis, on 16 January 1819 in Opelousas [Opelousas marriage license no.3].

iv. ?Lewis², born say 1792, head of a St. Landry Parish household of 4 "free colored" in 1820 [LA:107].

 

10.    Joshua⁴ Perkins, born in November 1759 in present-day Marion County, South Carolina, was taxable on 1 poll in Washington County, North Carolina, in 1788 (called Joshua Perkins, Jr.) in the same list as George Perkins and Gilbert Sweat, and he was taxable on 100 acres in 1791 [Creekmore, Tennessee Ancestors, 5:37, 72, 81]. He was head of a Buncombe County, North Carolina household of 7 "other free" in 1800 [NC:183]. He married Mary Mixon according to the 2 October 1810 Opelousas marriage license of his daughter Sarah Perkins [Opelousas Parish Courthouse, marriage license no.14]. He was head of an Opelousas, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana household of 6 "other free" in 1810, 1 "free colored" over 45 years of age in 1820, and 1 over 45 years of age in 1830 [LA:26]. On 25 May 1830 he was called a "f.m.c." (free man of color) when he made a deposition for Gilbert Sweat, "f.m.c.," in a case held in St. Landry Parish in which he testified that he would be 71 years old in November 1830, was born on the Little Peedee River in what was then called Marion County, South Carolina, in the same area as Gilbert Sweat. About the year 1777 he helped Sweat run off with Frances Smith, wife of John Barney Taylor. They travelled the same route from South Carolina: to North Carolina, to Tennessee, to Big Black River, Mississippi, and finally to Louisiana about 1804. However, they sometimes did not see each other for several years at a time [Parish of St. Landry, case no.1533]. On 15 June 1837 when he was about 78 years old, his three daughters filed suit in the court of probate of St. Landry Parish to have a curator appointed to administer his estate because he was blind and supposedly feeble. They were Mary Perkins (wife of James Ashworth), Sarah Perkins (wife of Jesse Ashworth), and Elizabeth Perkins (wife of James Goings). He was living with his son Jordan Perkins at the time. The estate was said to contain considerable property, mainly cattle. The case was dismissed on 3 April 1840, apparently due to the death of Joshua. His children were

i. Sarah, born about 1791, daughter of Joshua Perkins and Mary Mixon, married Jesse Ashworth, "of South Carolina," son of James Ashworth, Sr., and Keziah Dial, on 2 October 1810 [Opelousas license nos.14, 17].

ii. Jordan, born say 1789, married Jinny Goen on 12 March 1814 in Opelousas [Opelousas license no.9] and was head of a St. Landry Parish household of 6 "free colored" in 1820 [LA:101].

iii. Mary, born about 1796, daughter of Joshua and Mary Perkins, married James Ashworth, Jr., son of James and Keziah Ashworth, on 23 September 1811 in St. Landry's Parish, Louisiana [Opelousas license no.13].

iv. Elizabeth, born say 1798, married James Goings, head of an Opelousas Parish household of 3 "other free" in 1810 [LA:305] and 7 "free colored" in 1820 [LA:101].

 

11.    Cady Perkins (Dorcas¹, Esther¹), born say 1758, was the mother of George Perkins who was ordered bound by the overseers of the poor to Sarah Bradford by the Accomack County court to be a farmer on 31 January 1792. She may also have been the mother of Stephen and Lott Perkins who were ordered bound to Caleb Harrison to be farmers on 1 March 1792. On 27 March Sarah Bradford brought a case against John Mears, George's former master, for detaining George in his service. After a hearing, the court ordered the overseers of the poor to bind George to Elizabeth Bradford [Orders 1790-6, 305, 324, 326, 343]. Cady was the mother of

i. George³, Sr., registered in Accomack County about 1832: born about 1780, a dark yellow, 5'8^3/4", born free in Accomack County [Register of Free Negroes, 1785-1863, no. 602].

ii. ?Stephen¹, registered in Accomack County on 29 September 1807: born 1 February 1780, a Dark Mulatto colour or Brown, 5 feet 5 Inches, Dark hair, Dark Eyes [Register of Free Negroes, 1785-1863, no.12].

iii. ?Lot, born 22 April 1785, registered in Accomack County on 29 September 1807: Dark Mulatto, 5 feet 6^1/2 Inches...Born Free [Register of Free Negroes, 1785-1863, no.8].

 

12.    Adam Perkins, born say 1765, was taxable in Norfolk County from 1791 to 1812: called a "N"(egro) in 1797; a labourer on Western Branch in a "List of Free Negroes and Mulattoes" in 1801, head of a household with males Nathan and Wright Perkins and females Annas, Betsey and Lucretia Perkins; called a "M"(ulatto) in 1802; taxable on a slave aged 12-16 in 1803 [PPTL, 1791-1812, frames 29, 88, 145, 231, 304, 384, 434, 468, 487, 582, 695, 747]. He was head of a Norfolk County household of 6 "other free" in 1810 [VA:820]. He purchased 5 acres in Norfolk County at the head of the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River for £7.10 on 4 September 1790, purchased another 7 acres adjoining Thomas Archer and John Weaver for £14 on 1 November 1797 (with James Newton as a witness) and purchased another 11 acres at the head of the Western Branch adjoining John Cooper's from John and Mary Weaver by deed proved in Norfolk County on 9 December 1805 for £40 [DB 32:87; 43:72-3]. He (making his mark) made a 20 March 1815 Norfolk County will, proved 15 May 1815, by which he lent his plantation where he was then living to his wife Anne during her widowhood and then to be divided among his four children: son Nathaniel the plantation where his father was living, son Wright his swamp land, and all his personal property to be divided among Nathaniel, Wright, Betsy and Lucretia Perkins. He appointed Nathaniel executor [WB 4:209-10]. Annias was a "B." (Black) taxable on 2 horses in Western Branch in Norfolk County from 1815 to 1817 [PPTL, 1813-24, frames 110, 148, 265]. Adam and Annias were the parents of

i. Betsey, born say 1790, married William Bass, 2 November 1812 Norfolk County bond, Adam Perkins surety.

ii. Nathan, borabout 1792, a "B.M." (Black Male) taxable in Western Branch in Norfolk County from 1815 to 1817 [PPTL, 1813-24, frames 110, 266]. He and a white woman named Celia Peake were indicted by the Norfolk County Superior court on 10 April 1822 for adultery and fornication and were each fined $10 [Superior Court Orders 1820-5, 161, 239, 242, 282-3]. On 17 May 1823 he acknowledged a deed of sale for his interest in 5 acres of land in Norfolk County [Minutes 18:103]. On 19 September 1825 he was in a list of "free Negroes" hired out by the sheriff to pay their taxes for the year 1823 [Minutes 19:154-5]. He registered in Norfolk County on 15 July 1833: age 41 yrs., 5 ft 7, Indian complexion, Indian descent [Register of Free Negroes & Mulattoes, 1809-1852, no. 901].

iii. Wright, born about 1799, registered in Norfolk County on 24 November 1831: age 32, 6 ft 3/4 in., a mulato, Born free and he registered again on 15 July 1833 after the "not Negro" law was passed: age 34, 5 ft 11^1/2, Indian complexion, man of Indian descent [Register of Free Negroes & Mulattoes, 1809-1852, no. 843]. On 18 August 1823 the Norfolk County court certified that he and Willis Bass, Jr., were of good character and granted them permission to keep a firelock [Minutes 18:177].

iv. Lucretia.

 

Endnotes:

1.    Full sequence Y-DNA testing shows that the descendants of Emmanuel Driggers and Joshua (Old Jock) Perkins share a common ancestor born about 1600 CE. Their Y-haplogroup likely originated in Angola and is a subclade of E-M96.

2.    It was normal practice for a master to pay any servant woman's fine. For example, on 26 July 1748 the Accomack County court ordered Isabella, "a free Negro Woman," to pay a fine of 500 pounds of tobacco or receive 25 lashes on her bare back "well laid on" for having an illegitimate child. However, Adam Main agreed to pay her fine, and the court bound her children Sam (age 3 months) and Sabria (age 2 years) to him [Orders 1744-53, 283-4]. Esther Perkins was probably related to Isaac and Joshua Perkins who owned land in Craven County, North Carolina, in 1738 and 1750 respectively [Craven DB 1:406; 7:88, 90, 98 100; Haun, Craven County Court Minutes, IV:93, 113]. Isaac recorded a memorial for 100 acres on Reedy Creek in Craven County, South Carolina, on 9 May 1761 based on a plat of 10 May 1756 [S.C. Archives Memorials 14:82; Colonial Plats 6:162] and was probably the Isaac Perkins who was head of a St. Thomas, Cheraw District, South Carolina household of 1 white male over 16, 2 under 16, 1 white female, and 2 "other free" in 1790, listed near Joshua Perkins who was head of a household of 5 whites and Mark and Matthew Driggers who were also counted as white [SC:46].

3.    Esther Perkins may been related to Isaac and Joshua Perkins who owned land in Craven County, North Carolina, in 1738 and 1750 respectively [Craven DB 1:406; 7:88, 90, 98 100; Haun, Craven County Court Minutes, IV:93, 113]. Isaac recorded a memorial for 100 acres on Reedy Creek in Craven County, South Carolina, on 9 May 1761 based on a plat of 10 May 1756 [S.C. Archives Memorials 14:82; Colonial Plats 6:162]. He was probably the Isaac Perkins who was head of a Cheraw District, South Carolina, household of 1 white male over 16, 2 under 16, 1 white female, and 2 "other free" in 1790 [SC:46].

4.    Landon Carter was taxable on 3,716 acres in Washington County, Tennessee, in 1795 [McCown, Washington County, Tennessee Records, Vol. I, Privately Printed, Tennessee (1964):135].

5.    Members of the Mixon family were in Craven County, North Carolina, between 1737 and 1756 [Haun, Craven County Court Minutes, II:107, IV:362] and were in Cheraw District, South Carolina, in 1790 [SC:46].

6.     Many thanks to Laurie Constantino for sharing TAR Nelson's trial notes and other Perkins  research.

 

PETERS FAMILY

1.    Mary Peters, born say 1688, was the "Mullatto Woman Servant" of Edward Couch on 5 July 1708 when she confessed to the Middlesex County court that she had an illegitimate "Mullatto" child and he paid her fine of 500 pounds of tobacco [Orders 1705-10, 178, 182]. She was apparently the ancestor of "mulattas" Molly, Lucy and Hannah Peters who Thomas Hardin gave to his wife Lucy Hardin "during the time of their servitude" by his 17 November 1759 Middlesex County will which was proved on 4 December 1759 [WB D:545-6]. She was the ancestor of

2    i. ?Edward, born say 1716.

3    ii. ?Catherine, born say 1723.

iii. Molly.

4    iv. Lucy¹, born say 1730.

v. Hannah, born say 1735.

 

2.    Edward Peters, born say 1716, sued Peter Flood in Surry County, Virginia court on 18 December 1753 [Orders 1753-7, 9, 227, 449] and he was sued for a debt of ,5.10 in Sussex County in October 1755 [Orders 1754-56, 252, 288]. He was married before 21 November 1758 when the Surry County, Virginia court issued a presentment:

Against...Edward Peters, for each and every of them not listing their wife's according to law supposing the said persons to be Mulattoes [Orders 1757-64, 135].

He may have been the father of

5    i. Aaron¹, born say 1737.

6    ii. Armstead, born about 1739.

7    v. Jasper, born say 1740.

8    iii. Anthony¹, born say 1741.

9    iv. Lucy², born say 1743.

 

3.    Catherine Peters, born say 1723, a "free negro," was charged in Surry County court on 19 July 1744 with murdering a bastard child. Richard and Tabitha Wiggins and Matthew and Mary Hubbard were witnesses when she was sent to Williamsburg for trial [Criminal Proceedings Against Free Persons, Slaves, etc., 1742-1822, 2]. In December 1744 the Surry County court clerk was paid for attending the trial [Orders 1744-49, 14]. She may have been the mother of

10   i. Rebecca, born say 1738.

ii. Samuel, born say 1740, brother of Rebecca Peters, bound apprentice by the churchwardens of Henrico Parish in August 1754 Henrico County court (no parent or race stated) [Orders 1752-55, 218].

11   iii. William¹, born say 1745.

 

4.    Lucy¹ Peters, born say 1730, was the servant of Thomas Hardin when he made his 17 November 1759 Middlesex County will. She was the mother of

12    i. William², born say 1750.

ii. ?James¹, born say 1760, perhaps the James Peters who was a seaman on the payroll of the galley Henry in the Revolution in an undated list before 8 April 1778. He received warrant no. 4368 [Brumbaugh, Revolutionary War Records, 15, 371]. Lieutenant Joshua Singleton certified on 16 August 1787 that James had served aboard the galley Henry from January 1777 until January 1780. He assigned his rights to the land to the land warrant to William Reynolds on 21 June 1787 with Philip Brownley as witness [Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants, Peters, James, Digital Collections, LVA]. He was presented by the grand jury of Middlesex County on 24 November 1783 for failing to list himself as a tithable [Orders 1783-4, 16; 1784-6, 7].

 

5.    Aaron¹ Peters, born say 1737, and (his wife?) Lucy were the godparents for the christening of Samuel and Sarah Blizzard's son Randolph in Albemarle Parish, Sussex and Surry counties, on 8 July 1764 [Register of Albemarle Parish, http://familysearch.org/search/catalog/376749, film 30161, image 130]. He lost a suit brought by Daniel Ellis in Sussex County court in December 1764 for ,10 due on a judgment obtained in Surry County court [Orders 1764-66, 168]. He may have been the father of

i. Aaron², born say 1762, drafted from the Third Division of the Hertford County Militia between 1779 and 1780 [T.R., Box 5, folder 20, frame 34 of 68], taxable on 1 free poll in Edgecombe County in 1815 [T&C, Box 4] and head of a Halifax County, North Carolina household of 11 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:161] and 14 in 1830 [NC:322]. On 19 February 1836 there were five suits against him in Halifax County court for debts [Minutes 1832-46].

13   ii. Gilliam, born say 1765.

14   iii. Isham, born say 1773.

iv. Cullen, born say 1775, head of a Halifax County, North Carolina household of 4 "other free" in 1800 [NC:336] and 7 in 1810 [NC:41].

 

6.    Armstead Peters, born about 1739, appeared in Surry County court on 15 May 1764 when he and William Walden were sued by the administrator of John Peter's estate for the price of articles which they purchased at the sale of the estate in 1762 but had not yet paid for [Orders 1764-74, 25, 33]. He was head of a Surry County household of 15 "Blacks" in Captain Lucas's District in 1782 [Virginia, Surry County, public records, Census of persons and buildings; http://familysearch.org/search/film/004131664, frame 23 of 49] and taxable in Cabin Point District of Surry County from 1782 to 1812: taxable on Jesse Peters's tithe in 1782; charged with Drury Walden's tithe in 1788; charged with Aaron Taylor's tithe in 1791; taxable on a slave named Phil over the age of 16 in 1793; taxable on slave Harry and 2 others from 1794 to 1804; taxable on James Taylor's tithe in 1801 and 1802 [PPTL, 1782-90, frames 350, 379, 458, 479; 603, 1791-1816, 15, 115, 166, 269, 302, 341, 421, 459, 598, 615, 674, 713]. He purchased 100 acres in Surry County on 26 September 1786, and he and his wife Jenny sold this land two years later on 2 June 1788. He purchased another tract of 100 acres on 28 December 1790 from John Debereaux [DB 12:218; 13:236, 295]. He married, second, Elizabeth Blizzard, 26 April 1792 Surry County bond. She may have been the Betsy Peters whose son Charles Pickett, born about 1788, registered as a "free Negro" in Surry County on 25 March 1807 [Hudgins, Surry County Register of Free Negroes, 32]. Armstead registered in Surry County on 6 October 1794: a mulattoe man...aged about 56 years, born free, of a yellowish complexion, about 5'10 or 11" high and pretty stout made [Back of Guardian Accounts Book 1783-1804, no.1]. He was taxable on 100 acres until 1803 when the Surry Tax Alterations recorded the transfer of this land [Land Tax List, 1782-1820]. He was a "free Molatto" shoemaker living on his own land in Surry County in 1803 with Betsy Peters, a weaver, and his children Betsy and Jincia Peters [A List of Molatto's in Surry County in the Year 1803, http://familysearch.org/search/catalog/1468651, film no. 4121845, frame 8 of 16] and head of a Surry County household of 5 "other free" in 1810 [VA:614]. Betsy was listed in Surry County in 1813 with 2 free "Negroes & Mulattoes over 16 years old" [PPTL, 1791-1816, frame 752]. His children were

i. ?Lucy³, born about 1770, registered in Surry County on 16 September 1800: a mulatto woman of yellowish complexion, aged about 30 years, 5'5" high, born of free Parents, residents of this county [Back of Guardian Accounts Book 1783-1804, no.63]. She registered in Petersburg on 9 July 1805: a Mulatto woman of yellowish brown complexion, five feet four and a half inches high, thirty five years old, has holes in her ears, raised in the County of Surry as appears by a certificate of her registry from the Clerk of that County [Register of Free Negroes 1794-1819, no. 299] and was head of a Petersburg household of 5 "other free" and 1 slave in 1810 [VA:125a].

ii. ?Patsy, born say 1773, mother of William Collins Peters who registered as a "free Negro" in Surry County on 27 August 1816: William Collins, alias William Collins Peters, a mulatto, son of Patsy Peters, and is free born, age ca 25...of bright complexion, long hair and 5'9" tall [Surry County Registry of Free Negroes, p.85, no.205].

iii. Betsy.

iv. Jincey.

 

7.    Jasper Peters, born say 1740, and Anthony Peters were sued in York County court by John Poe for trespass, assault and battery on 18 March 1765. They were found guilty and ordered to pay Poe 20 shillings. Jasper was sued for debt on 21 May 1770 [Judgments & Orders 1763-5, 357; Orders 1768-70, 471]. He and his wife Molly, "free mulattoes," baptized their daughter Ann Peters in Bruton Parish. He was an insolvent taxpayer on 2 tithes in James City County in 1768 [Tax Book, 1768-1769, 1768: p. 50; http://familysearch.org/search/catalog/412756, film 8359391, image 46 of 163]. His widow may have been the Mary Peters who was ordered by the York County court to be paid ,45 on 21 February 1780 for having two children in the Continental service [Orders 1774-84, 251]. Jasper and Mary were the parents of

i. ?Anthony², born say 1763, served 3 years as a soldier in the Revolution and received bounty land based on the affidavit of Lieutenant Wyatt Coleman of Dabney's Legion on 2 March 1786. He assigned his rights to the warrant to Jones Allen in the presence of William Eaton, a magistrate of York County [Revolutionary War Bounty Warrants, Peters, Anthony, Digital Collections, LVA]. He married Anne Carter, 10 June 1786 York County bond, James Ashby surety, and was taxable in Simon Gillett's York County household in 1784 and 1786 (perhaps identical to Anthony Jasper, a 16-21 year-old in Simon's household in 1785), taxable in his own household in 1788, 1789, 1793, 1794, 1798, 1799, 1800, 1803 (taxable on a slave), 1809, 1810, 1811, 1812, and head of a household of 2 "free Negroes & mulattoes over 16" in 1813 [PPTL, 1782-1841, frames 91, 107, 130, 394, 410]. He married, second, Druscilla Daily, daughter of Joseph Daily, 16 January 1790 Henrico County bond, Lewis Fortune bondsman. He testified in Henrico County on 20 April 1791 at the trial of Hugh Shavers (Chavis) who was accused of stealing from the home of Mary Williamson a bed, blanket and mirror which were later found in the possession of Toby Jackson of Richmond City. Anthony testified that at the end of February 1791 Chavers came into his shop to have his shoes mended and complained that Toby Jackson had purchased a bed and mirror from him but failed to pay the balance. (Toby Jackson was emancipated by deed proved on 3 July 1786 by his wife Rebecca Jackson, a "Mulatto woman" emancipated by Thomas Johnson by deed proved on 4 November 1782 [Orders 1781-4, 114; 1784-7, 509; 1789-91, 493]). He married, third, Peggy Johnson, both of Bruton Parish, 15 January 1793 York County bond, Henry Ashby surety. Anthony was head of a York County household of an "other free" man, 7 slaves and awhite woman aged 26-45 in 1810 [VA:304].

ii. Ann, born 18 March 1768, baptized 5 June 1768 [Bruton Parish Register, 32].

 

8.    Anthony¹ Peters, born say 1741, sued William Wilson in York County court on 15 March 1765 for a 31 shillings debt due by account. And he and Jasper Peters were found guilty by the same court for trespass, assault and battery against John Poe [Judgments & Orders 1763-5, 357, 361]. He may have been the father of

i. Sally, head of a York County household of 4 "other free" in 1810 [VA:880].

 

9.    Lucy² Peters, born say 1743, was a resident of Surry County, Virginia, on 9 January 1796 when her son Jesse registered as a "free Negro" [Back of Guardian Accounts Book, 1783-1804, no. 17]. She may have had a child by Edward Taylor whose son Aaron was called both Aaron Taylor and Aaron Peters. She was the mother of

15    i. Jesse, born about 1764.

ii. ?Aaron, born about 1770. See the Taylor family.

 

10.    Rebecca Peters, born say 1738, and her brother Samuel Peters were ordered bound out by the churchwardens of Henrico Parish, Henrico County, on 5 August 1754 (no parent or race stated). She was called a "Free Mulatto" on 3 November 1760 when the court bound out her children Anne and Elisha. Her "Mulatto" children Frank and Milley were bound out by the court on 1 February 1768, and on 7 August 1769 the court ordered her children Frank and Milley bound to Ann Vanderwall and ordered her daughter Rachel bound out [Minutes 1752-55, 218; Orders 1755-62, 479; 1767-69, 207, 491, 510]. She may have been the Rebecca Peters who was head of a Richmond City household of 4 "other free" and 1 slave in 1810 [VA:328]. Her children were

i. Elisha, born say 1759.

ii. Anne, born about 1765, registered in Henrico County on 1 July 1795: Nanny Peters a black woman about thirty years of age, about five feet two, three or four inches high, born free as appears by the certificate of Marks Vandewall [Peters, Nancy (Alias Nanny Peters, F, 30): Free Negro Certificate, 1795, African American Narrative Digital Collection, LVA].

iii. Frank, born say 1765.

iv. Milley, born say 1767.

v. Rachel, born say 1769.

vi. ?Betty, head of a Hanover County household of 3 "other free" in 1810 [VA:857].

 

11.    William¹ Peters, born say 1745, was surety for the 19 March 1785 Stafford County marriage bond of Hannah Peters and William Clark. Hannah's mother was living at Charles Carter's place in Frederick County on 7 December 1817 when her husband William Clark obtained free papers in Culpeper County: William Clerke, a Mulatto man, 50 or 60, 5'7", served in the Revolutionary War in 1780 and 1781...is a free man, who has a wife and several children, and wishes to visit his mother in law in Frederick Co., at Charles Carter's place [Madden, We Were Always Free, 195]. He may have been the father of

i. Joshua, a "free Negro" sadler in Harrisonburg from 1807 to 1812 [PPTL 1795-1813, frames 570, 634, 681, 697], head of a Rockingham County household of 4 "other free" in 1810 [VA:3], master of George McCoy who was apprenticed to him as a saddler when George registered in Rockingham County on 20 June 1815 [Rockingham County Register of Free Negroes, no.22, p.10], perhaps the husband of Sally Peters, a free woman of color who testified in Rockingham County on 12 December 1816 that Coleman and Nicholas Clerke were sons of William and Hannah Clerke (Clark) [Turpin, Register of Black, Mulatto and Poor Persons, 21].

ii. Hannah, born say 1764, married William Clark, 19 March 1785 Stafford County bond [Madden, We Were Always Free, 195].

iii. James¹, a "Mulatto" taxable on 2 tithes in Culpeper County in 1789, 1790 and a tithe and 2 slaves in 1796 [PPTL 1782-1802, frames 305-6, 335, 608].

iv. Reuben, born about 1776, a "free Negroe" taxable in Amherst County in 1805, 1806 and 1812, and from 1816 to 1821 [PPTL 1804-23, frames 71, 111, 239, 403, 503, 554, 541, 604], a "free Negro" who married Susanna Hartless, "a free mulatto," in Amherst County on 8 January 1812 [Marriage Register, 229], and a "free Negro" taxable on Irish Creek in Rockbridge County in 1813 [PPTL, 1811-1821, frame 155]. He registered in Amherst County on 17 September 1822: a free man of Colour aged about 46 years five feet seven inches high [Register of Free Negroes, no.13]. He purchased 141 acres on Pedlar River in Amherst County from John and Mary Clark on 8 April 1823 [DB R:39].

v. Thornton, born say 1785, a "blackman" taxable in Amherst County in 1806 [PPTL 1804-23, frame 111].

vi. Lucy⁴, born say 1789, head of a Spotsylvania County household of 4 "other free" in 1810 [VA:111b]. She married William Jones ("free persons of color"), 29 September 1810 Fredericksburg bond, James Ferguson surety. James Ferguson was head of a Spotsylvania County household of 4 "other free" in 1810 [VA:103b].

 

12.    William² Peters, born say 1750, married Henrietta Ridgway, 28 August 1780 Middlesex County bond, 12 November 1780 marriage [NSCDA, Parish Register of Christ Church, 171]. Henrietta was probably related to Thomas Ridgway, head of a Nansemond County, Virginia household of 7 "whites" in 1783 [VA:57] and a "Mulatto" head of household in 1784 [VA:74]. William and his wife Hany purchased 55 acres in Middlesex County, called "Jamuco," adjoining 10 acres of his own property adjoining the main road from William Bird of King William County for £12 on 25 March 1776 [DB 9a:355]. He left a 8 January 1782 Middlesex County will, proved 24 June 1782, by which he gave his mother Lucy Peters a cow (if she was still living when he died) and left his wife Hannah Peters all the rest of his estate. After the death of his wife the estate was to go to his wife's daughter Mary Dungee and then to James Peters if Mary died without heirs. He named as executors his wife Haney and John Dungee who posted bond of £300. His inventory included 10 cattle, 70 hogs, a horse, 2 beds, a pair of cart wheels, 4 chairs, a grubbing hoe and a handsaw [WB F:233, 244]. He was the father of

i. James, orphan of Hannah Peters, ordered bound out by the churchwardens of Middlesex County on 27 June 1785 [Orders 1784-6, 198, 268], a "Mulattoe" taxable in Middlesex County in 1810 and 1811 [PPTL 1782-1850, frames 244, 253].

ii. ?Betsey, in a list of "Free negroes" in Middlesex County in 1813 [PPTL 1782-1850, frame 272].

iii. ?Lucy, in a list of "Free negroes" in Middlesex County in 1813 [PPTL 1782-1850, frame 272].

 

13.    Gilliam Peters, born say 1765, was head of a Northampton County, North Carolina household of 1 white male and 2 white females in 1790 [NC:72], 5 "other free" in 1800 [NC:471], and 5 "other free" in 1810 [NC:741]. His Northampton County estate was administered on 4 March 1816. Purchasers at the sale of the estate, recorded in June 1816, included Mrs. Peters, Tabitha Peters, and Washington Peters [N.C. Archives Estate file, Peters, Gilliam: 1816]. His children may have been

i. Tabitha, married William Coley, 25 April 1818 Halifax County bond, perhaps the Tobby Cooley who married Henry Peters, 8 November 1826 Halifax County bond.

ii. Washington, born about 1790, head of a Northampton County household of 4 "free colored" in 1830 and a "Mulatto" laborer with 46-year-old Cynthia Peters and children in 1850.

 

14.    Isham Peters, born say 1773, was head of a Halifax County, North Carolina household of 10 "free colored" in 1820 [NC:161] and 5 in 1830 [NC:353]. His children may have been

i. David, born 1776-94, head of a Halifax County household of 6 "free colored" in 1830 [NC:353].

ii. Henry, born 1776-94, married Tobby Cooley, 8 November 1826 Halifax County bond, and was head of a Halifax County household of 4 "free colored" in 1830 [NC:353].

iii. Susan, born 1794-1806, married John Scott, Jr., 22 January 1822 Halifax County bond.

iv. Bur., born 1806-20, married 26 February 1824 Halifax County bond, Micajah Mitchum, perhaps the son of Mary Michum, head of a Halifax County household of 7 "other free" in 1810 [NC:38].

v. Thomas, born about 1810, a "Mulatto" counted in Halifax County in 1850, with his wife Catherine and children: Eliza, Isham, and Joshua.

 

15.    Jesse Peters, born about 1764, was taxable in Surry County, Virginia, in 1782: his tax charged to Armstead Peters [PPTL, 1782-90, frame 350]. He was a "Mulatto" taxable in Warwick County from 1787 to 1793: taxable on himself in 1787, a slave over the age of 16 in 1788 and 1789, in William Allen's household from 1790-1793 [PPTL 1782-1820, frames 237, 242, 248, 252, 254]. He married Sally Debreaux, 9 January 1796 Surry marriage bond, Armstead Peters surety, 15 January 1796 marriage. He registered in Surry County on 9 January 1796: son of Lucy Peters a free mulattoe, a resident of the county, a dark mulattoe man aged about 32 years, pretty well made short hair, 5'11" high [Back of Guardian Accounts Book 1783-1804, no.17]. He was a "free Molatto" planter living on John Debrix's land in Surry County in 1803 with Sally Peters, a spinner, and his daughter Kiza Peters [A List of Molatto's in Surry County in the Year 1803, http://familysearch.org/search/catalog/1468651, film 4121845, frame 8 of 16]. He was taxable in Surry County from 1802 to 1816: listed with 3 "free Negroes & Mulattoes" in 1813 [PPTL, 1782-90, frame 350; 1791-1816, frames 498, 540, 598, 636, 674, 713, 752, 863]. His wife Sally registered in Surry County on 20 August 1804: wife of Jesse Peters was born of free parents of this county to wit, John Debrix and Lucy his wife, the said Sally is of a bright complexion, aged about 30 years, her hair pretty long, she is 5'3/4" high. She registered again on 24 March 1838 at the age of 64 [Surry County Registry of Free Negroes, p.5, no.15]. Jesse was called a "Free man of Color" in his application for a pension in May 1835 in which he stated that he was 71 years old and fought at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse under Captain John Lucas [NARA, R.8146, M804, roll 1917, http://fold3.com/image/25933183]. He was the father of

i. Anna, born say 1800, married Richard Debrix, 21 January 1817 Surry County bond, with the consent of her father Jesse.

ii. Keziah.

 

Lancaster County

1.    John Peters, born say 1725, was an "Indian" sued by merchant George Ker in Lancaster County for failure to pay on a promissory note he signed (making his mark JP) on 3 November 1752 in which he promised to pay 408 pounds of tobacco for his purchases of a felt hat, a "primmer," garters, rum, brown sugar, pipes, and a pair of buckskin gloves [Judgments 1752-1753]. He was paid 1 shilling by the Lancaster County estate of Robert Hill which was due by John's account for 1762. In 1763 he and Major John Fleet had a dispute over their accounts for the years 1757 to 1763 which was settled by an arbiter. The dispute included 4,000 tobacco plants in the year 1759 which was not credited in Fleet's account [DW 1763-4, 17-18; DW 1764-70, 24a]. On 18 June 1763 the Lancaster County Court presented him for not listing his wife as a tithable but dismissed the case the following month [Orders 1756-64, 68, 483]. He won a suit against Moses Dameron and Stephen Miller for £1.15 in Lancaster County court on 21 March 1771 [Orders 1770-8, 76, 158]. He may have been the ancestor of

i. Molly, head of a Northumberland County household of 3 "other free" in 1810 [VA:991]. She registered in Northumberland County on 30 July 1814: light Mulatto, about 46 years, Born of free parents in Lancaster County [Register of Free Negroes, no.71].

 

Endnotes:

1    Aaron Taylor, whose tax was charged to Armstead Peters in Surry County in 1791, was probably identical to Aaron Peters who was taxable in Cabin Point District of Surry County in 1789 and 1790, the years Aaron Taylor was omitted from the list.

 

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