Mam-ma's Southern Family

Saying the names of the enslaved brings them to life. As I find these people in my ancestor’s records, I shall bring them to the light and say their names. They are an important part of the history of my ancestor’s lives and their livelihood. I am currently studying the life of Jemima Porter who married Daniel Coor around 1784 in North Carolina. [1] Fast forward, she died sometime before 18 February 1839, when George Madison Barnes began settling her estate. He, with sureties Samuel T. Scott and W. K. Perkins, posted the bond of twenty thousand dollars, which indicates an estate of large value. [2]   Bond, George M. Barnes, Jemima Coor Estate On the same day, the following men were ordered to appraise her estate: Edwin R. Brown, Moses Norman, Chas. J. Hendry, Andrew J. Cassity and Samuel H Aby. Aby, Brown, and Norman swore and signed the authorization for the appraisal. [3] E. R. Brown, P. H. Aby, and MD Norman performed the appraisal and issued the following list of the perso...

This is my third year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails Into the Past . I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. Before the Civil War, several of my mother’s southern families showed prosperity. In 1850, Dempsey Welch, of Copiah County, Mississippi, had a real estate value of $2400. [1] This number was only his real estate, however he also had the ownership of thirty-seven enslaved persons ranging in age from age 43 to one month old. [2] The value of his personal property was not included in the 1850 census. Ten years later, his real estate value was listed as $15,000 while the personal value was left blank. [3] This total value probably included personal property as well.  The number of slaves he owned in 1860 totaled fifty-two. [4] The next page: Dempsey died in December 1864...

I am working on this year-long prompt, hosted by  Amy Johnson Crow . I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either  Mam-ma’s Southern Family  or at  My Trails Into the Past . I’m looking forward to writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. I do not have many wills for my direct lines on my mother’s side of the family. I have some cases where the estate was probated intestate. Here is one will for my 4x-great-grandfather, James Loveless of Greenville County, South Carolina, who died in 1846. [1]   I had previously written about James' will in 2013 but I have not done more with this research. Looking at this again is a very good idea and when I visit the Family History Library next month, this would be a good subject to work on.  James Loveless (1771-1846) died sometime in between 28 Aug 1845 when he signed the will and 13 Jul 1846 when the will was recorded. He was my fourth great-grandfather on my maternal gr...

I am continuing the discussion about my 5th Great-grandfather, Robert Lancaster, of Shelby County, Kentucky and his estate. Previously I have discussed the bond and naming of Josiah Lancaster as administrator, about the farm animals and equipment, and about the household goods. Now my attention is on the twelve slaves that were listed. In the inventory conducted for the estate of Robert Lancaster, these slaves were listed with their values: The slaves listed in the Robert Lancaster estate inventory 1 negro man naimed Henry                          800      00 1 negro man naimed Edmund                    800     00 I negro man naimed Charles             ...