Fourth Generation Inclusive

Historical Documents of Genealogical Interest to Researchers of North Carolina's Free People of Color

Tag: emancipation

February 15, 2013

A useful citizen.

State of N Carolina, Craven County   } December Term 1799.

The Worshipful the County Court of Craven The Petition of Nancy Handy a free person of Color humbly sheweth to this Worshipful Court, that during the Time she was a Slave and the property of Wm. T. Howe She conceived and did bear Two children to wit Louisa and Betsy and that she by certain allowance and indulgences granted to her by her said Master did gather together & accumulate cash in sufficient quantity to purchase her self and said children and that the aforesaid Nancy did purchase from her aforesaid master her aforesaid Children, and your Petitioner states that she has always endeavourd to conduct herself as a peaceable citizen, and an useful one to the community by encreasing the number of good & valuable Citizens of the State, and your Petitioner therefore prays that the worshipful Court would grant the freedom of the said Children according to act of Assembly is such case made and provided.   Benj’n Martin atty for the Children

Miscellaneous Records, Craven County Records, North Carolina State Archives.

[Sidenote: For a detailed account of Nancy Handy’s purchase and emancipation of her children, see Bill Hand, Remembering Craven County: Tales of Tarheel History (2006), p. 79-81. — LYH]

Leave a comment
February 8, 2013

To prevent him from becoming the property of his own children or sold off from them.

Craven County, June Term 1797,

To the Justices of the Court of Sd. County, The Petition of Margaret Moore, a free negro woman, Humbly sheweth, that your petitioner has been possessed for seven years past of a negro man slave named Jack Fennel, with whom she has lived several years as a wife, & by whom she has had a number of children.

That she has acquired, chiefly thro’ the industry, labour & economy of said slave, a plantation containing two hundred acres of land, on which he has built her a good house & grow many valuable improvements; that the said farm is stocked with cattle, hogs &c.

That the said Slave has otherwise rendered her several meritorious services;

That her duty prompts her not to detain her said husband in bondage, & to endeavour if she can  do it to prevent him from becoming on her death the property of his own children, or, being otherwise sold off from them.

She therefore prays that Your Worships would grant her a license authorising her to emancipate & set free the said negro Jack Fennell & as in duty bound &c.    T.N. Martin att: Pet.

Miscellaneous Records, Craven County Records, North Carolina State Archives.

Leave a comment
February 5, 2013

Dave Dickinson.

“Dave Dickinson or Dickerson (ca. 1790-after 1850) was a black plasterer and bricklayer active in the Albemarle region in the early 19th century who spent much of his life as an enslaved artisan but was manumitted late in his life. He worked for a planter clientele wealthy enough to build houses with plastered walls. Because of the records kept by these clients and their use of Dickinson’s full name (rather than just a first name as was the case for many enslaved artisans), an unusual amount of his work is documented. There are numerous references to artisans named Dave and Davy, Dickinson and Dickerson, probably referring to the same man but possibly to two different men.

“The first references to Dave Dickinson appear in the memorandum books kept by planter James C. Johnston when he was building his Hayes Plantation House near Edenton. Johnston recorded many payments to workmen, usually by name and only rarely by task, and did not generally distinguish between enslaved and free workmen. Among Johnston’s payments to artisans are those to Dave Dickinson in 1816 and 1817, some as small sums, others as ‘wages’ of $30 and more. Johnston did not identify Dickinson’s trade, but he may have been involved in plastering. During the spring and summer of 1817, Dickinson was at work along with Benjamin French, a plasterer who had come from New York to execute the refined plasterwork at Hayes.

“A plasterer named Dave Dickerson — probably the same man — was mentioned by Chowan County planter Clement Blount in 1837. Blount and his cousin Ebenezer Pettigrew of Tyrrell County were both in need of plasterers. Blount wrote to Pettigrew on June 6, 1837, that he had obtained ‘the promise of Dave Dickerson to go on the 15th July if nothing turns up to prevent him. I think he is industrious and will do the work well.’ In the meantime, Blount was looking out for another plasterer. ‘The fellow Jack Moody [?] I was telling you of I did not know who had the control of him, I have since been informed the Brandy bottle controls him.’ Two months later, Blount had had no success. While waiting to see if Dickerson had finished ‘Mr. [James?] Johnston’s work,’ Blount visited Johnston’s house ‘to see if he was done, and he has not done one stroke of work there yet and has gone to Washington County to Plaster a House for Mr. Harrison at Lees Mills, which is treating you and myself very ill.’ (Blount decided to employ another plasterer, Benjamin Balfour.) In a time when skilled artisans were scarce, even such wealthy and influential men as Blount and Pettigrew were often at the mercy of workmen such as Dickinson, who served a far-flung planter clientele according to his own schedule.

“Dave Dickinson was evidently enslaved for most of his life, but operated almost as a free man. An intriguing entry in the United States census of 1840 listed in Edenton one David Dickinson who, according to the check marks on the census form, was head of a household that included no free people, white or of color, but four slaves — the total number of people cited for the household. Three members of the household were occupied in manufacturing or a trade. It is possible though unusual that the census taker might list a slave household in this way, perhaps thus identifying the household of a well known person living essentially as a free man. (There are also a few other heads of households listed in Edenton in the same census in which no free persons are included, and the total number of household members is the same as the number of enslaved people. Whether these listings were errors or actually represented households of enslaved persons is unknown.)

“In 1846, Joseph D. Bond of Chowan County petitioned for the emancipation of ‘a negro slave known by the name of Davy Dickinson,’ who was then aged 50 and had maintained a good character and given meritorious service. The court granted the petition in 1847. The United States Census of 1850 listed in Edenton a free black bricklayer named Davy Dickerson, aged 60, owner of $200 worth of real property, and with no family members listed as free people. (He may have been living alone or may have had a family who were still enslaved). How long he lived as a free man or who his family members were is not yet known.”

Author: Catherine W. Bishir.  Published 2009.

As published in North Carolina Architects and Builders: A Biographical Dictionary,  http://ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu  (All rights retained.) This web site is a growing reference work that contains brief biographical accounts, building lists, and bibliographical information about architects, builders, and other artisans who planned and built North Carolina’s architecture.  

Leave a comment
January 26, 2013

He might have saved his own had he not tried to save his master’s instead.

Peter Thomejeux of the town of Newbern merchant Maketh oath that his Servant Martial a mustee or person of mixed blood has during a period of years served him with uncommon faithfulness.  That he has during that time been entrusted with the care of a Store in which were large quantities of goods & often Sums of money & has even withstood the temptation such trust gave rise to. That he has attended him with care & affection during many long journies of sickness. That having been Suffered to have under his master’s eyes; he had hoarded up a sum almost sufficient to reimburse his master his purchase money. Which property was destroyed by the late fire, altho’ he might have saved it had he not endeavoured to save his master’s goods in preference to his own. That for these services this deponent pray a license to reward his said slave’s fidelity by setting him free. /s/ Thomezuen

Sworn to in open court this 16 Dec 1791

Miscellaneous Records, Craven County, North Carolina State Archives.

Leave a comment
January 24, 2013

Having the desier to travel to Virginia to seek better imployment.

North Carolina Perq’s County }  This may Cartefy that the Bearer Hereof a Negro man named Ben is a free Negro who formerly belonged to Mr. Jonathan Sharrod Deceased who having Many Slaves & no Children alive not Desiering his Slaves Should Serve another Master Did in his will Generously give them freedom Which if Disputed may be found on Record in the Court of the Said County aforsaid & the aforenamed Negro Man having a Desier to travel to Virginia to Seek better imployment we the Subscriber Do Cartefy that the Said Negro is a free man has Ever Sence his working for himself behaved Very honest ther fore we the Subscribers Do Recommend The Said to Such Gentlemen as Shall imploy him.

Witnes our hands this 21 Januy 1774   /s/ Richard Ratlieff

[On reverse] Benj’a Sanders’ man Taffeys Certificate

Records of Slaves and Free Persons of Color, Miscellaneous Records, Perquimans County, North Carolina State Archives.

Leave a comment
January 23, 2013

Free-Issue Death Certificates: SPAULDING.

Emaline Blanks.  Died 21 January 1929, Whites Creek, Bladen County. Colored. Widow of Sam Blanks. Born 1838 in NC to Iver Spaulding and unknown mother. Buried Whites Creek. Informant, John Blanks, Clarkton NC.

Angeline Campbell.  Died 31 December 1921, Whites Creek, Clarkton, Columbus County. Colored. Widow of Dan Campbell. Born about 1848, Columbus County, to Iver Spaulding and Mary [illegible]. Buried Mitchell graveyard.  Informant, Israel Campbell.

Delila Spaulding.  Died 4 Jul 1920, Whites Creek, Bladen County. Colored. Married to Henry W. Spaulding. Born 1860 to Ben J. Moore and Mary C. Moore. Buried Mitchell Graveyard. Informant, U. Steph. Moore, Clarkton NC.

In the 1850 census of Cape Fear South West Side, Bladen County: Iver Spaulding, 28, farmer; wife Mary, 23; children Henry W., 6, Emeline, 5, and John W., 3, and Angeline Spaulding, 1; William, 17, and Daniel Jacobs, 20; and John Freeman, 15.

Lucy J. Blanks.  Died 6 May 1915, Welchs Creek, Columbus County.  Black.  Widow. Day laborer. Born about 1860, Columbus County to David Spaulding and Mary J. Ransome.  Buried Welchs Creek.  Informant, R.O. Spaulding.

Henry Spaulding. Died 4 October 1924, Whiteville, Welch Creek, Columbus County. Colored. Widower of Deliah Spaulding. Farmer. Age 72. Born Welch Creek to David Spaulding and unknown mother.  Buried Mitchell Cemetery.  Informant, Stephen More.

Robt. O. Spaulding. Died 12 December 1936, Clarkton, Columbus County. Colored. Widower of Jane Tucker Spaulding. Preacher and farmer. Born 11 December 1849, Columbus County to David Spaulding and Mary Ransom. Buried Mitchel cemetery. Informant, Al Spaulding.

In the 1850 census of Columbus County: David Spaulding, 21, wife Mary, 20, and son Robt. O., 6 months, plus Lydia Webb, 9.

Caldonia Freeman.  Died 12 June 1922, Bogue, Columbus County. Black. Widow of James O. Freeman. Born 1 June 1842, Elkton NC, to John Spaulding and Penelope Moore, both of Elkton. Buried Mitchell cemetery.  Informant, Jonathan Spaulding.

Jonathan Spaulding. Died 10 November 1926, Whiteville, Columbus County.  Colored. Married to “Bettie Ann.” Age 70.  Born Bladen County to John Spaulding and unknown mother.  Buried Mitchell cemetery.

Delila Spauldwin.  Died 18 August 1921, Clarkton, Columbus County. Colored. Married to Henry D. Spauldwin. Born 10 May 1850 to Jno. Spauldwin and Penny Smith.  Buried Mitchels Cem. Informant, A.D. Carter, uncle.

In the 1850 census of Cape Fear South West Side, Bladen County: John Spaulding, 33, farmer; wife Penelopy, 26; and children Caledonia, 8, Delphia, 6, Elvy, 5, and Edith, 2.  In the 1860 census of Bladen County: John Spaulding, 43, farmer; wife Penelope, 35; and children Caladonia, 18, Delphia, 17, Elvy, 14, E.M., 13, Delila, 9, and Penny, 2; plus Mariah More, 9.

J.A. Spaulding.  Died 10 April 1911, Salisbury, Rowan County. Resided 309 S. Vanderford. Negro. Married. Baptist minister. Born 12 Oct 1856, Columbus County, to Benjamin Spaulding and unknown mother. Buried Oaksdale cemetery, Salisbury. Informant, Mrs. Lulu Spaulding Kelsey, Salisbury.

Annie J.T. Spaulding. Died 17 April 1927, Welches Creek, Columbus County. Colored. Married to Robt. O. Spaulding. Born 29 August 1857, Columbus County, to Benj. Spaulding of Columbus County and Maria Spaulding of Bladen County. Informant, Robt. O. Spaulding.

Henry Ivan Spaulding.  Died 21 March 1929, Welches Creek, Columbus County. Colored. Married to Fannie Spaulding. Age 65 years, 5 months, 20 days. Farmer. Born Columbus County to Benj. Spaulding of Columbus County and Maria Lowry of Robeson County. Buried Mitchel cemetery.  Informant, Jack Spaulding.

In the 1850 census of Columbus County: Benj. Spaulding Jr., 23, wife Maria, 20, and daughter Frances, 2, plus Daniel Webb, 5, and George Freeman, 6. In the 1860 census of Columbus County, Benj. Spaulding, 35, farmer; wife Mariah, 34 (born Cumberland County); and children F.E., 12, M., 10, B., 7, John, 5, A.J.L., 3, and Rhoda, 1; plus Daniel Webb, 16 (born Brunswick County.)

Amanda Moore.  Died 14 November 1914, Welches Creek, Columbus County. Negro. Widow. Born 7 April 1849 to Amanuel Spaulding and Amanda Spaulding. Informant, Maggie Armstrong, Clarkton.

Andrew Thomas Spaulding. Died 17 July 1934, Whiteville, Welches Creek, Columbus County. Colored. Widower of Mariah Spaulding.  Age 75 years, 11 months. Farmer.  Born NC to Emmenel Spaulding and Susa Spries.  Buried Mitchell cemetery. Informant, Anna Dora Carter.

B.M. Spaulding. Died 5 Mar 1921, W. Creek, Columbus County. Colored. Widower. Farmer. Born 7 January 1845 to Emanuel Spaulding and Susan Spaulding. Buried Mitchel cemetery.

Evrit Freeman. Died 2 June 1942, Welchs Creek, Columbus County. Colored. Widower. Born Oct 1860, Columbus County, to John R.  Freeman and Sarah Jane Spauldin. Buried Mitchel Field.  Informant, Hanes Freeman.

In the 1850 census of Columbus County: Manual Spaulding, 37, farmer; wife Susan, 30, and children Sarah J., 12, Mary A., 10, Anna E., 8, Benj., 6, Madalaine, 4, Amanda, 1; plus Wm. Chavas, 2, and Wm. Skipper, 30.  In the 1860 census of Columbus County, Emanuel Spaulding, 48, farmer; wife Susan, 35; and children A.E., 18, Benj., 16, M., 14, Amanda, 11, Lany, 9, and A. T., 1.

Isabella Spaulding. Died 7 November 1932, Welches Creek, Columbus County. Colored. Widow of Iver Spaulding. Age 82. Born Columbus County to unknown father and Tierce Moore.  Buried Mitchell cemetery. “Casket shipped here from Ga.” Informant, L.L. Spaulding.

In the 1850 census of Columbus County: Benj. J. Moore, 64, farmer; wife Martha, 60; and children and grandchildren Thursey, 30, Owen, 17, James and John, 15, Benj., 12, Aaron, 8, Hardy, 12, Lucy A., 7, Isbel, 5, Sarah J., 3, and Maria, 4 months.

John W. White. Died 11 December 1920, Welches Creek, Columbus County.  Colored. Married to Etta White. Born 8 August 1848.  Farmer.  Born to Wiley White and Mary Spaulding.  Buried Mitchel Sem.

In the 1860 census of Columbus County: Willey F. White, 39, farmer (born Pitt County) with M.A., 20, John W., 14, and W.F. White, 7, plus W.S. Freeman, 7.

Benjamin Spaulding (1773-1862) was born into slavery in Duplin County. He married Edith Delphi Jacobs (1786-1871), who bore him ten children: William (1810-1883), Emmanuel (1813-1872), Armistead (1814-1890), Armstrong, John (1817-1894), Iver (1819-1886), Anna Eliza (1822-1906), Benjamin Jr. (1824-1864), David (1829-1864) and Henry (1831-1906).

Though Benjamin Spaulding was not formally freed by Samuel Swindale, Jr. until 1835, he lived essentially as a free man for many years before, as evidenced in census records and deed records.  He and Edith had several prominent descendants, including Dr. Aaron Moore (1863-1923), co-founder of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, Mechanics and Farmers Bank, and Lincoln Hospital in Durham, and Charles C. Spaulding (1874-1952), who led North Carolina Mutual’s expansion in the first half of the 20th century.

The Benjamin and Edith Spaulding Descendants Association maintains a website at www.spauldingfamily.com.

1 Comment
January 21, 2013

Thomas Sheridan.

“Thomas Sheridan (ca. 1787-1864) was an emancipated mulatto carpenter active in Bladen County during the antebellum period, whose only documented building is the Brown Marsh Presbyterian Church (1828) in that county.

“Thomas Sheridan’s family background illustrates the complexities of race and status in his era. Probably born in Bladen County, he may have been the son of Nancy Sheridan (a woman of color who was emancipated after his birth) and Joseph R. Gautier, a wealthy Bladen County planter and merchant of French Huguenot background. Gautier, who was frequently listed among the leading men of the Cape Fear region, was a political figure in Elizabethtown, a state senator (1791), and an early supporter of the University of North Carolina noted for having left his library of some 100 volumes (mostly in French) to the university’s library. Gautier was the owner of several slaves, including Thomas Sheridan and his brother Louis Sheridan, and probably Nancy Sheridan. Circumstantial evidence also indicates that Joseph Gautier and Nancy Sheridan had a long-term domestic relationship: many white men who had such relationships with their enslaved women often freed their enslaved family members and provided for them (although emancipation became increasingly difficult in the early and mid-19th century).

“In 1799, Joseph Gautier of Elizabethtown petitioned the North Carolina General Assembly to emancipate “two mulatto boys belonging to him.” Gautier explained that, “as their childhood would render fruitless a recourse to the county court, he prays the aid at the Legislature to establish by a law the freedom of said boys.” (Laws governing emancipation by county courts required demonstration of meritorious service, which a child could not have earned; thus Gautier appealed to the legislature. No matter what the status of the father, a child born to an enslaved mother was born a slave.) Gautier’s petition succeeded, and the legislature enacted a law that “the said mulatto boys be emancipated and set free from slavery, and henceforward be called and known by the names of Thomas Sheridan and Louis Sheridan.” In 1799, Thomas was about twelve years of age and Louis was about six. In the 1800 census of Bladen County, J. R. Gautier was listed as head of household with one white male, three “other” free persons–probably Nancy, Thomas, and Louis–and seven slaves. His will of 1800 left his plantation “at the marsh,” his household and plantation utensils, and five slaves to Nancy Sheridan, “my emancipated black woman” (suggesting that he himself had freed her, though no record has been found). He left three slaves to “her child” Louis Sheridan, a small amount of property to his (presumably white) nephew, Joseph Gautier, Jr., and £500 to Thomas Sheridan, no relationship specified. The terms of the will make it uncertain as to whether Thomas as well as Louis Sheridan was the son of Nancy Sheridan: Thomas might have been the son of Gautier with another woman, or even of Nancy and another father. In any case, Gautier freed and provided for young Thomas. Gautier died in 1807.

“Louis Sheridan (ca. 1793-1844), probably Thomas’s brother or half-brother, gained a good education and became an important merchant and large property owner in Elizabethtown with business connections throughout the state and even the nation. He owned as many as sixteen slaves. He also acquired many town lots in Elizabethtown, including those he sold as sites for the courthouse and for the Presbyterian and Methodist churches. Probably because of his father’s position and connections, Sheridan was aided by former governor John Owen and other leading men of the region and traveled widely for business to Philadelphia, New York, and elsewhere. Although he had initially opposed colonization, after the state placed tighter restrictions on free people of color in the 1830s, Louis Sheridan joined the Liberian colonization movement. He sold his slaves and moved with his family to Liberia in 1837, where he found a situation far less rosy than he anticipated and wrote (often negative) reports back to the United States. He remained there nevertheless and died there in 1844.

“Thomas Sheridan pursued the carpentry trade and remained in Bladen County. Although he doubtless built other structures, he is remembered chiefly as builder of Brown Marsh Presbyterian Church. The plainly finished, weatherboarded building is one of the few intact examples still standing of the state’s once numerous simple frame churches. A board in the church ceiling retains the chalked signature, “Thos. Sheridan,” and the date, probably 1828, possibly 1818. Within several years, in 1834, the Presbyterians in the county seat of Elizabethtown built a more substantial church on land deeded to the congregation by Louis Sheridan. Possibly the congregation employed Thomas Sheridan to build it, but this is not documented.

“According to the United States census of 1850, unlike his brother Thomas Sheridan did not become wealthy. He was listed as a mulatto carpenter, aged 62, with $30 worth of real estate. He headed a household that included his wife Agnes and their adult daughter, Martha. They lived in a rural neighborhood among primarily white farmers, plus a few other free artisans of color. In 1851 Sheridan remarried, to Lucy Oxendine of Robeson County, of a large Native American family. In 1860, Thomas Sheridan was listed as a farmer with a farm worth $200 and personal property worth $170, with his wife Lucy, aged 55. In his will of 1863 (probated in 1864), Sheridan left his farm, livestock, and household goods to his wife, then to his daughter Martha. He specified that his gun (for which in most areas a man of color had to obtain a special license) and his carpentry tools should be sold to pay for his funeral; and he left the lumber in his shop “to make my coffin.”

Author: Catherine W. Bishir. Published 2009.

As published in North Carolina Architects and Builders: A Biographical Dictionary,  http://ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu  (All rights retained.) This web site is a growing reference work that contains brief biographical accounts, building lists, and bibliographical information about architects, builders, and other artisans who planned and built North Carolina’s architecture.  

1 Comment
January 21, 2013

“It was always my intention to free the child.” — the road to hell.

The worshipfull the County Court of Edgecombe May Term 1796: Approving me to take the Deposition of George Ogg in a matter Depending in our said County wherein William Leigh is Plaintiff and George Brownrigg is Defend’t. In Obedience thereto I have attended at the house of Solomon Sessums and taken said Ogg’s Deposition.  It is as follows – The Deponant after being Duly Sworn on the Holy Evangelist of Almighty God Deposeth and sayeth that he had oftimes heard Mr. Robert Bignall sens Dec’d say that a Certain Yellow or Mulatto Boy Named Harry now in the Possession of George Brownrigg was the son of William McClellin formerly a merchant in Tarborough and was at a certain Age (Twenty one years he Believ’d) Intitled to his Freedom and Further this Deponant sayeth not.  Given under my hand and seal this 30th day of May 1796.  /s/ Exum Philips JP

Records of Slaves and Free Persons of Color, Edgecombe County, North Carolina State Archives.

Leave a comment
January 20, 2013

Please free our sister.

To the Worshipfull, The Justices of the County Court held for the County of Craven of the term of June AD 1798 –

The Petition of Ann G. Daly Administratrix of the Goods & Chattels &c of John Daly esq’r dec’d & Guardian of Ann G. Daly & Sidney Maria Daly, children of the said John Daly dec’d, Robert Donnell & Eliz., his wife & Guardian of John Daly, son of sd. John Daly dec’d & John Sears, humbly Sheweth to your worships that the said Administratrix has at present in her possession a certain female mulattoe slave named Mary about the age of twenty years, which Slave in strictness of law makes a part of the personal estate of the said John Daly dec’d.  Your Petitioners further shew that the said Mary has always been reputed to be the child of the said John Daly dec’d, and in that light treated & regarded by the said John in his life time.

Your Petitioners further state that it was the full determined and avowed intention & desire of the said John to give or procure for the said Mary her freedom, and that to the effect the said John hath repeatedly & uniformly expressed himself during his life and at the hour of his death.

Your Petitioners further state that the said Mary is a Girl of excellent Character, that she is industrious Sober & honest & has always behaved dutifully and affectionately towards the whole family.  Your Petitioners feel themselves bound to state that, (John Daly, Ann G. Daly & Sidney M. Daly, three of the children of John Daly dec’d are under age & that to remove all objections that may arise an amount of the interest they have in the said Mary your Petitioners, Robert Donnell & Jno. Sears, are ready to give any security the Court may require either for their or the indemnification of the said Administratrix.  Your petitioners therefore pray that taking the promises into consideration your worships would pass an order granting the said Ann G. Daly Administratrix as aforesaid a license to make free & emancipate said Mulattoe female slave named Mary.  And your Petitioners in duty bound Shall ever pray, /s/ Ann G. Daly, Robert Donnells, and Jno. Sears.

Granted.

Miscellaneous Records, Craven County Records, North Carolina State Archives.

Leave a comment
January 19, 2013

By the assistance, industry, economy and prudence of his wife.

State of North Carolina, Pasquotank County  }  June Term 1797

To the Worshipful the County Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions for Pasquotank County The Petition of Thomas Sylvester a Freeman of Colour Humbly Sheweth That he some years agoe took to wife a Negroe Woman Slave by the Name of Joan the property of a certain Jeremiah Symons who hath borne him four Children, to wit Abba, Nancy, Jerry and Annaretta. That by the Assistance, Industry economy & prudence of his said Wife Joan he hath been enabled to raise a sufficient Sum to purchase her and her Children from their said Master.

May it therefore please your worships taking your Petitioners Case under your consideration to prepare Order for the liberation & emancipation of the said Joan, Abba, Nancey, Jerry and Annaretta by the names of Joan Sylvester, Abba Sylvester, Nancey Sylvester, Jerry Sylvester and Annaretta Sylvester agreeable to the Power of Authority in your Worships Vested by the Act of the General Assembly in such Cases made and provided and Your Petitioner as in Duty bound shall ever pray &     Will Blair for the Petitioner

In the 1790 census of Pasquotank County, Thomas Sylvester is listed as the head of a household of four “other free” people.

Records of Slaves and Free Persons of Color, Pasquotank County Records, North Carolina State Archives. US Federal Population Schedule.

3 Comments