Mitchusson Family Wills in Caldwell County, Kentucky

The Mitchusson line is not a blood line for me, but a number of the Mitchusson’s married into some of my family lines through the years.  So, when I saw these two wills with slave names mentioned, I wanted to add these to the records as well, since there are so many slave names mentioned.  I believe there maybe be a connection to this family through my Ford family, but so far I cannot connect the Ford’s that married into the Mitchusson family with the Ford’s that married into my Beard family, but I keep looking just in case.  You can access my online family tree that has a number of these Mitchusson’s listed at this web link: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=popfraley

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William Mitchusson, 1789-1842

William Mitchusson, was born March 31, 1789 in Craven County, South Carolina the son of William Mitchusson, 1755-1819, and Permelia Ford, 1761-1814.  William was number six of the eleven children that William and Permelia are known to have had.  The first eight children were all born in Craven County, South Carolina.  The next one in Montgomery County, Tennessee which I believe may have been born there after they left South Carolina on their way to Kentucky.  The Mitchusson family arrived in Caldwell County, Kentucky sometime around 1796 or 1797 and their last two children were born in Caldwell County, Kentucky in 1799 and 1802 respectively.

The only wife I know for William Mitchusson was Sally P. who is mentioned in his will, but I do not know her maiden name, only that she had a son named Francis Green Sasseen, 1821-1910.  Apparently William did not have any children or at least any that lived past childhood and I don’t know if he had a wife before Sally either.   Family records state that William died on March 31, 1842 in Caldwell County, Kentucky.

What I really like about William’s will is that he is freeing most of his slaves and he had a few too.  In the codicil there had been two more slaves born since he had written his will and he names them and their mothers, which I find very interesting as well.

So on with this will which I found in the Caldwell County, Kentucky Will Book B, 1835-1889, compiled by Brenda Joyce Jerome.   Book B, page 53 - William Mitchusson - Will was written December 2, 1841 and a codicil was added on March 26, 1842.  The will was recorded in court on May 16, 1842.  William mentions his wife Sally P. Mitchusson, he mentions his wife’s son F. G. Sasseen and his brother Drury C. Mitchusson; but no children are mentioned at all.  I believe he did not have any children with Sally or any other possible wife before her.  The executors were: his brother Drury C. Mitchusson and his friends, Charles H. Webb and William Johnson; witnesses were: F. H. Rackerby, Sanford Duncan, Jr. and Charles H. Webb.  Codicil witnessed by Marcus M. Tyler and Charles H. Webb.

The following slaves are to be set free, Bold George, Alexander, Larkin, Ned, Amy, Rine alias Marinda, Dick alias John, Richard Lyon, Jane alias Mary Jane, Henry, Thomas, Charles, Susan and Ellen and any of their future increase.  His wife Sally P. Mitchusson was to get the negro girl Mariah.  The farm on the road leading from Princeton to Hopkinsville he gives to all the slaves he set free for their use and benefit forever, to be equally divided among them according to the sire of the different families.  Other properties to be sold and the money’s to be put in a joint fund for the freed slaves for them to use to buy horses and supplies for the running of a farm.  He mentions the following small slaves who he is setting free as all being under the age of eighteen, namely: Dick, Jane, Henry, Ellen, Thomas, Charles and Susan.  After reaching the age of eighteen they are to be liberated as state previously.    The codicil states that since he wrote his will there have been two male births in his black family, namely: Edward son of Amy and Frederick son of Rine alias Marinda.  Both are to be liberated like the others.  Amy and Rine are not to be hired out, but are for his wife’s use and benefit only.   None of the negroes are to be sold for the payment of any of his debits, his negroes are to be the last thing used to cover any outstanding debts if needed.

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James Ford Mitchusson, 1787-1858

This next will is for James Ford Mitchusson, who was born June 28, 1787 in Craven County, South Carolina and is also a son of William Mitchusson, 1755-1819, and Permelia Ford, 1761-1814.  James was number five of the eleven children that William and Permelia are known to have had.   Family records state James died on August 12, 1858 in Caldwell County, Kentucky and is buried at the Mitchusson-Chambers Cemetery in Hopson, Caldwell County, Kentucky as is his wife, Elizabeth E. Young, 1789-1852.

James and Elizabeth had twelve children, namely: Sinai Young Mitchusson, Mary S. Mitchusson, William Young Mitchusson, Permelia Ann Ford Mitchusson, Nancy Young Mitchusson, Abraham Young Mitchusson, Elizabeth Ann Mitchusson, Buly Mitchusson, James Ford Mitchusson, Jr., Johnnie Horace Mitchusson, Emily Caroline Mitchusson and Ninian Edward Mitchusson.  James’ wife, Elizabeth was still living and is on the 1850 census which was taken July 26^th that year.

James F. Mitchusson is found on the 1850 slave schedules in Caldwell County, Kentucky with 26 slaves ranging in age from 65 to 7 months old.  The following picture shows the 1850 slave schedule so that you can see the age and sex of each slave that he owned.

James had a lot of slaves as you can see from the above schedule, but he did not set his slaves free like his brother, William did in his will just ten years earlier.  This will was also found in the Caldwell County, Kentucky Will Book B, 1835-1889, compiled by Brenda Joyce Jerome.   Book B, page 178 - James F. Mitchusson - Will was written July 27, 1852, 1st codicil added October 30, 1854, 2nd codicil added October 12, 1855, 3rd codicil added November 20, 1856, and the will was finally recorded August 16, 1858 in Caldwell County, Kentucky.  James does not mention his wife, so I am assuming she had already passed away before he wrote his will, but she was still alive in 1850 as she is listed on the 1850 census schedule.

James mentions the following children in his will, daughters: Sinai Mitchusson Carson (her husband Milton H. Carson), Permelia Mitchusson Hopson (deceased), Nancy Mitchusson, Eliza Mitchusson Massey (her husband George S. Massey), Emily Mitchusson Chambers (her husband William Chambers) and Nancy Mitchusson, sons: William Y. Mitchusson, Abram Y. Mitchusson, James F. Mitchusson, Jr. and Ninian E. Mitchusson, granddaughter: Elizabeth Ann Hopson (she died between the date of the first codicil and the second codicil);  Executors: sons, W. Y., A. Y., J. F. and N. E. Mitchusson, and son-in-law, George S. Massey.

There are a number of slaves listed and some have approximate ages, some have relationships stated and some died or were born from the writing of the will to the codicils added later, which makes this will very interesting as well.  Two old slaves were, Ralph and Lucy and he was going to free them but they would have had to leave the county and they did not want to, so he let them stay with one of his children of their choice.  Ralph choose James F. Mitchusson and Lucy choose Emily Mitchusson.  They were both to receive $5 each annually for the next five years for their use and benefit.

Sinai Mitchusson receives: Maria and her increase, Philip or Field as he is commonly called, Celia and Fanny, Dick age 12 to 15 years born between 1837 & 1840 (later given to Ninian E. Mitchusson)

William Y. Mitchusson receives: Smith age 15 or 16 years born between 1836 & 1837, Bob and John

Permelia Mitchusson receives: Lucinda and her increase, Emeline (later given to Nancy Mitchusson) and her three youngest children, Minerva (to go to granddaughter Elizabeth Ann Hopson, who died by the next codicil so she was given to Emily Mitchusson), Rhody and Mary Jane

Nancy Mitchusson receives: Clara and her increase, Jenny (later given to Emily Mitchusson) and her two children Jack and Dave

Abram Y. Mitchusson receives: Sam age 19 or 20 years born between 1832 & 1833, Letty and her daughter Lucy, Randle/Randall (died in the fall of 1856)

Eliza Mitchusson receives: George Ann and her increase, Betty daughter of Tish and Charles son of Jenny

James F. Mitchusson receives: Ned, Sally age 12 to 14 years born between 1838 & 1840, Lutitia with her two children George and Alexander, Charity

Emily Mitchusson receives: Sylva age 10 to 15 years born between 1837 & 1842 and her increase, Mary age 8 to 10 years born between 1842 & 1844 daughter of Emeline, Henry and Ben, Ellen age under 2 years born between 1852 & 1854 youngest child of Jenny

Ninian E. Mitchusson receives: Tom age 12 to 15 years (later given to Abram Y. Mitchusson), Jacob and wife Priscilla and all their increase thereafter and also their son Frank (he died after 1852 and before November 25, 1856), Susan daughter of Lutitia

There are 43 different slaves listed and the known slave families listed in the will were the following: 

Emeline and her children: Minerva, Rhody and Mary Jane

Jenny and her children: Jack, Dave, Charles and Ellen

Lutitia and her children: Susan, George and Alexander

Tish and her daughter Betty

Letty and her daughter Lucy

Jacob and Priscilla and their son Frank

The transcript of the will of James Ford Mitchusson follows.

Some Freeman Family Wills

I have found some will abstracts in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina and Caldwell County, Kentucky for some of my Freeman family who owned slaves.  The Freeman’s are from my Dad’s side of the family through his father’s mother.  I will be writing about them and stating their relationships to me from the oldest will to the newest will.  Just a brief little history about my Freeman family follows.  My oldest known Freeman ancestor was James Freeman who was born about 1710 and died sometime before 1767 possibly in Bertie County, North Carolina.  James was my 7^th great-grandfather and I have yet to find his wife’s name.  I believe he was the father of the following five sons: John Freeman, 1734, Aaron Freeman, 1736, Michael Freeman, 1738, Allen Freeman, 1740, and David Freeman, 1742.  The years listed for these five boys are approximations of their possible birth years.  John was married to an Ann Freeman who was probably a cousin; Allen was married to a Tabitha and then a Barbara; I don’t have any wives names for Aaron or Michael, and David was my 6^th great-grandfather.

The Freeman family started out in Bertie County, North Carolina which is the first records I find for them and then went over to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina before heading south and west in the ensuing years.  The following map shows where these two counties in North Carolina are located.

The Freeman’s in Mecklenburg County were all members of the Steele Creek Presbyterian Church just like the Bigham’s I wrote about last time, and quite a few of them are buried there at the adjoining cemetery as well.   I have often wondered if they like the Bigham’s might have come as a group with some Scotch-Irish Presbyterians from Ireland and help to start up this church.

This church is still in existence today and the following little history I found on their website located at: http://www.steelecreekpres.org/ “Steele Creek Presbyterian Church was organized in 1760 and celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2010.  The first Sanctuary was a small log cabin located in what is the present-day cemetery.  It is the second oldest church in Mecklenburg County and was the largest rural Presbyterian Church in the country during the mid-twentieth century.  Five houses of worship have served the congregation, and the present Sanctuary was dedicated on April 17, 1889.  It is built of bricks handmade from materials in the surrounding area.  Both the Sanctuary and Cemetery are recognized as Historical Landmarks.   There are over 3,000 members, friends, and family resting in the Cemetery. Included are a signer of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, four Generals, numerous Revolutionary and Civil War patriots, more than twenty-five ministers, and the parents of Rev. Billy Graham.”  The following is a picture of the church and cemetery, taken from their website.

The following pictures were at www.findagrave.com and you can see how old some of the tombstones are.   There are 70 Freeman burials listed in the Steele Creek Cemetery on FindaGrave.

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Allen Freeman, 1740-1807

Now on with the wills starting with, Allen Freeman, born about 1740 in Bertie County, North Carolina and died before April 1807 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.  He was my 6^th great-granduncle and was the probable son of James Freeman.  I know Allen Freeman was married at least twice, first to Tabitha and then to Barbara, but I still don’t know what their maiden names were or their marriage dates yet.  I will just need to keep digging.  He had at least seven children with Tabitha and four children with Barbara.  The records on www.findagrave.com say he is buried at Steele Creek Cemetery, but apparently in an unmarked grave.

Allen Freeman wrote his will on January 24, 1807 and it was brought to probate in the Court Term of April 1807.   That means he would have died sometime between January 24^th and April of 1807.  He mentions his wife Barbara Freeman, his sons: Gideon Freeman, William Freeman, Allen Freeman and Charles Freeman and his daughters: Nancy Wagstaff, Sarah Freeman and Susannah Garmon who are the children of his first wife.  He states that the children of my present wife are daughters: Jemima Freeman and Peggy Freeman and son: Isham Freeman.  Witnesses were: Charles T. Alexander and Jeremiah Cloutz.

From the inventory and guardianship records in Mecklenburg County, there is one other child that is not listed in the following abstract, who was named John Freeman.  He needed a guardian so that means he would have been under 14 years of age normally.  The will abstract also says “the residue is to be divided among my 12 legatees”, but only 11 were listed.  I need to try and find the original will so I can read it myself and see if all of the children are listed and maybe John was just left off for some reason.

The following people received slaves in Allen Freeman’s will, his wife, Barbara Freeman was to receive the negro named Grace; son, Charles Freeman to receive the negro named Wood; daughter, Jemima Freeman to receive the negro girl named Matty; son, Isham Freeman the negro named Joe; and daughter, Peggy Freeman the negro named Charlotte.  What other slaves if any he may have had, must have already been given to his other children or sold, before he wrote his will.  I did however, find Allen Freeman’s estate inventory and there are other slaves listed and they were: negro Emanuel, negro Betty and negro Jenny.  Emanuel was worth $468 so he must have been a field slave, Betty was worth $181 and Jenny was worth $172, but it looks like they were being sold and not gifted to any of his children.

The following is the will abstract I found at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Will Abstracts and then just the one page from the inventory that mentions the three slaves who were not given to any of his children.

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David Freeman, 1742-1808

David Freeman, was born in 1742 and died April 27, 1808 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.  He was my 6th great-grandfather and was the probable son of James Freeman.    He is buried at the Steele Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery, just like his older brother Allen Freeman, but fortunately for me David has a tombstone, which picture I found at www.findagrave.com.   Also David’s wife my 6^th great-grandmother, Mary Frizzell Freeman, 1743-1779, also has a tombstone at Steele Creek.

David Freeman was married twice, first to Mary Frizzell, and second to Jane Barnett, 1745-1809, who was the widow of David Hayes, when she married David Freeman.  David and Mary had at least nine known children and I don’t believe David and Jane had any children together or if they did, they did not live very long.  The nine children of David and Mary were the following: James Freeman, ca. 1764-after July 1808; Sarah Margaret Freeman, 1766-1836, married James B. Bigham III (my 5^th great-grandparents); Anne Jane Freeman, ca. 1768-after 1860, married William Berryhill; Reuben Freeman, ca. 1770-1846, married Nancy (maiden name unknown); Jemima Freeman, ca. 1772-after July 1808, married David Stephenson who sometimes went by the surname of Stinson as well; Michael Freeman, ca, 1774-after July 1808; John B. Freeman, ca. 1776-before June 1806, married Amelia (maiden name unknown); David Freeman, Jr., 1778-1802, married Jane Hayes; and Hugh Freeman, ca. 1779-after 1820, married Lucy Murray.

The following is the will abstract I found at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Will Abstracts for David Freeman, he is giving a lot of land away, but no mention of any slaves.  I just wanted to show people that not everyone with property in the south had slaves.

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Michael Freeman, 1764-1842

Michael Freeman, was born March 22, 1764 in Bertie County, North Carolina and died February 9, 1842 in Caldwell County, Kentucky.  He was the son of John Freeman and his wife Ann Freeman and the grandson of James Freeman.  Michael was my first cousin seven generations removed from our common ancestor who was James Freeman.

I have yet to find Michael’s wife’s name, but he had at least seven known children, namely: Polly Freeman, ca. 1785-before December 1840, married Peter Fite; Jannett B. Freeman, ca. 1787-before December 1840, married a Mr. Wood; Peninah Freeman, 1789-1835, married Andrew Dunn; Matilda Freeman, ca. 1791-after 1840, married John Mercer; Eliza B. Freeman, ca. 1795-1862/1863, married a cousin, John Madison Bigham; David Bennett Freeman, ca. 1797-before 1840, married Pelina Kuykendall; and Michael Washington Freeman, 1801-1864, married Tabitha Cash.

Michael's, will was written December 3, 1840 and was recorded March 21, 1842, in Caldwell County, Kentucky.  He mentions the following family members, but does not mention a wife so whoever she was, she had died before he wrote his will.   His daughter, Polly Fite, deceased, left land in Carroll County, Mississippi of 163 acres on Hayses Creek; daughter, Jannett B. Wood was left the following slaves: Sylas and Charlotte and land on Eddy Creek; daughter, Penninah Dunn, deceased, heirs (her youngest child is Ararat); daughter, Matilda Mercer to receive slaves: Jenny and her children, also Martha Ann and Mary; daughter, Eliza B. Bigham to receive slaves: Friday and Luisa; son, Michael Washington Freeman land on Eddy Creek and slaves: Jackson and Hellen and all mills, because he paid a debt to the estate of Andrew Dunn, deceased; grandson, Michael Freeman Wood; grandson, John Freeman Fite; Grandson, William Freeman and Grandson, James Freeman; executors: son, M. W. Freeman and John Mercer

The following is the will abstract I found at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City:  Caldwell County, Kentucky Will Abstracts.

The following is a picture of Michael’s tombstone located at the Hopewell Cemetery in Lyon County, Kentucky which is an adjoining county to Caldwell County on the southwest side.

Some Bigham - Wills in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

I have found four will abstracts in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina for some of my Bigham family who owned slaves.  I will be writing about them and stating their relationships to me from the oldest will to the newest will.  Just a brief little history about my Bigham family follows.  My oldest known Bigham family member was James Bigham and his wife Joan Reilley who were married at St. Catherine’s in Dublin, Ireland on December 1, 1713.  James and Joan were my 7^th great-grandparents on my Dad’s side of the family through his father’s, mother’s people.  James and Joan were both born in Ireland, more than likely, but other than their marriage date, I don’t know a lot about them.  James and Joan had at least five sons, also born in Ireland that I am aware of and there could have been more children, but so far these five sons are the only ones I know about for certain.   Their names were: Robert, James, William, Andrew and Samuel.   James, Jr. was my 6^th great-grandfather and he married Elizabeth Hayes in Ireland before coming to America. 

I do not know if the parents, James and Joan came to America, but I do know that their five sons came to America sometime after 1760.  From everything I have found so far it looks like they all came directly to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina because I have found land grants for some of them there starting in 1761.   The Bigham’s in Mecklenburg County were all members of the Steele Creek Presbyterian Church and quite a few of them are buried there at the adjoining cemetery.   I have often wondered if they might have come as a group with some Scotch-Irish Presbyterians from Ireland and help to start up this church.

This church is still in existence today and the following little history I found on their website located at: http://www.steelecreekpres.org/  “Steele Creek Presbyterian Church was organized in 1760 and celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2010.  The first Sanctuary was a small log cabin located in what is the present-day cemetery.  It is the second oldest church in Mecklenburg County and was the largest rural Presbyterian Church in the country during the mid-twentieth century.  Five houses of worship have served the congregation, and the present Sanctuary was dedicated on April 17, 1889.  It is built of bricks handmade from materials in the surrounding area.  Both the Sanctuary and Cemetery are recognized as Historical Landmarks.   There are over 3,000 members, friends, and family resting in the Cemetery. Included are a signer of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, four Generals, numerous Revolutionary and Civil War patriots, more than twenty-five ministers, and the parents of Rev. Billy Graham.”  The following is a picture of the church and cemetery, taken from their website.

The following five pictures were at www.findagrave.com and you can see how old some of the tombstones are.  Also three of the five known sons of James and Joan have tombstones here at Steele Creek and I am pretty sure the other two brothers are possibly buried here as well, but apparently their tombstones, if they had one did not survive.  Find-a-grave has 86 Bigham’s listed as buried in the cemetery at Steele Creek.

The following are the tombstones for Robert Bigham, 1714-1777, James Bigham, 1719-1790, my direct line and Andrew Bigham, 1725-1788.  Aren't these tombstones cool looking.

Robert Bigham, Jr. 1748-1815

Now on with the wills starting with, Robert Bigham, Jr. born about 1748 in Ireland, who was my 1st cousin 7 generations removed from our common ancestors.  Robert’s father Robert Bigham, Sr. was my 6th great-granduncle and Robert Sr.’s parents were James Bigham and Joan Reilley.  Robert was married to a woman named Martha who died the year before Robert.  They apparently only had the two children, Jane Bigham who married James Turner and their son, Robert Bigham who married Jane Matthews.  Robert and his wife Martha are both buried at Steele Creek.

Robert Bigham wrote his will May 2, 1815 and it was probated in the August Term of Court in 1815.  He mentions the following people in his will, daughter: Jane Turner; son Robert Bigham, to receive a negro boy named Eli; and the will also mentions a negro woman named Rose who can have her choice of going with his daughter, Jane or his son, Robert and if she doesn’t want to go with either of them then she is to be sold, but if she stays she gets a spinning wheel.  He also mentions his brother, Joseph Bigham, and the executors were to be his son, Robert Bigham and his son-in-law, James Turner, and witnesses were: Thomas J. Greer and John Taylor.  

The following is the abstract I found in the following book at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Will Abstracts, 1791-1868, Books A-J, by Herman W. Ferguson, SLFHL Book #975.676 P2f

Samuel Bigham, 1753-1823

Samuel Bigham was born in about 1753 in Ireland and he was my 1st cousin 7 generations removed from our common ancestors.   He was the son of Andrew Bigham who was my 6th great-granduncle and Andrew’s parents were James Bigham and Joan Reilley.   Andrew Bigham married a woman named Agnes in Ireland and they are both buried at Steele Creek.  I believe Samuel may also be buried there but there is not a tombstone for him that I am aware of.  Also I don’t believe Samuel was ever married.

Samuel Bigham wrote his will in 1821, it was probated in the February Term of Court in 1823.  He mentions the following people: his brothers, William Bigham and John Bigham and his sister, Mary Bigham to divide the proceeds of the sale of his property which was consisting of the following: negroes, James, Julia, Sarah, Clarissa and Elias and their increase, the executors were: John Weeks and Samuel’s brothers, William Bigham and John Bigham and the witnesses were: Ephraim Kendrick and Robert Sturgeon.

The following is the abstract I found in the following book at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Will Abstracts, 1791-1868, Books A-J, by Herman W. Ferguson, SLFHL Book #975.676 P2f

William Bigham, 1756-1824

William Bigham was born February 19, 1756 in Ireland and he was my 1st cousin 7 generations removed from our common ancestors.   He was the son of Andrew Bigham who was my 6th great-granduncle and Andrew’s parents were James Bigham and Joan Reilley.   Andrew Bigham married a woman named Agnes in Ireland and they are both buried at Steele Creek.  I believe William may also be buried there but there is not a tombstone for him that I am aware of.  Also I don’t believe William was ever married.

William Bigham wrote his will on September 16, 1823 it was probated in the August Term of Court in 1824. He mentions his brother, John Bigham, who is to receive half interest in the plantation whereon we now live, and William’s interest in the Alabama lands, as well as the following negro girls: Harriett, July, Linda, Hannah, Amy and Myra, and boys Cato, William, Madison, Valentine and Mingo.  Old Linda is to be set free, but she is to remain in the care of my brother John.  Should John marry, she is to have the choice of continuing to live in his home or to herself, in either case she is to remain under his protection.  The executors were: John Weeks and John Bigham and the witnesses were: Ephraim Kendrick and Benjamin Morrow.

The following is the abstract I found in the following book at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Will Abstracts, 1791-1868, Books A-J, by Herman W. Ferguson, SLFHL Book #975.676 P2f

John Bigham, 1755-1826

John Bigham was born about 1755 in Ireland and he was my 1st cousin 7 generations removed from our common ancestors.   He was the son of Andrew Bigham who was my 6th great-granduncle and Andrew’s parents were James Bigham and Joan Reilley.   Andrew Bigham married a woman named Agnes in Ireland and they are both buried at Steele Creek.  I believe John may also be buried there but there is not a tombstone for him that I am aware of.   John married a woman named Lavina in about 1824, but they did not have any children, at least any that may have lived.

John Bigham wrote his will on January 1, 1826 it was probated in the May Term of Court in 1826.  He mentions the following people.  To his wife, Lavina Bigham he gave the plantation on which they lived, all livestock, farming utensils, household and kitchen furniture, stores of grain and fodder, and the following negroes: boys, Jim, Jo, Cato, Mose and Mingo, and girls Harriett, Clow, July, Susannah, Hannah, Claicy and Miry (Myra).  It is my will that old negro Luce shall have her freedom and maintenance on my place.  (I wonder if the one called Linda in William’s will is the same as the one called Luce in this will???) Executor was his friend John Weeks, and the witnesses were: Benjamin Morrow and Eleazar Alexander.

The following is the abstract I found in the following book at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Will Abstracts, 1791-1868, Books A-J, by Herman W. Ferguson, SLFHL Book #975.676 P2f