documenting my very southern genealogy from the plantation to the frontier
Earlier this year, while researching William Shaw, I discovered that Thomas Taylor was my 5th great grandfather. That whole line was kind of giving me a headache after having to lop off an entire line of the wrong Shaws, so I set it aside for a while. Recently I've been researching Thomas's family, and found … Continue reading Will of Thomas Taylor, 7 August 1815, Davidson County, Tennessee
William Jones was my 9th great-grandfather. His daughter, Jane (or Joane) Jones married Henry Liles, who is also named in these wills. They were Kinchen Liles' grandparents. William was illiterate, as evidenced by his signing with his initials. He dictated two wills, one in January of 1722, and another in May of that year. He … Continue reading The Two Wills of William Jones, 1722, Chowan County, North Carolina
Kinchen Liles was my 5th great-grandfather. He died in 1813 in Wake County, North Carolina. The paper trail on his probate shows one way in which enslaved people were used as an income stream for slaveholders. Kinchen was around 47 when he died, apparently unexpectedly, as he left no will. Kinchen left behind a wife, … Continue reading Kinchen Liles and a man named Joe
Daniel Denison, was not my direct ancestor. He was the brother of George Denison, my 8th great-grandfather. However, I try to at least skim the wills of my ancestor's siblings in order to record names of spouses and children, and in case there is any other information of interest. Daniel's will names his second wife … Continue reading Will of Daniel Denison, 7 October 1747, Stonington, Connecticut
John Johnston was my 5th great grandfather. I have only recently begun to research him as part of my pandemic project of breaking down brick walls. I know that he was born in Pennsylvania, and that his father was most likely also named John Johnston. This first John Johnston was in the Nashville area by … Continue reading Will of John Johnston, 23 April 1849, Davidson County, Tennessee
A few days ago I ran across pages from a Lanier family Bible, kindly posted to Ancestry by another user. I downloaded and transcribed the pages, and in the process found a list of "Age for Collored People." Based on other information in the Bible, I believe these people were enslaved in Davidson County, Tennessee, … Continue reading A Few People Enslaved by the Lanier Family of Davidson County, Tennessee
Joel Dickinson was another brother of my ancestor, David Dickinson and a son of Daniel Dickinson. Joel left a will dated December 19, 1792 in Wayne County, North Carolina, naming 15 enslaved people. To wife Mary: negro man Ben, negro women Esther and Sare (Sarey or Sarah) To son Isaac: three negroes, Banner, Lige and … Continue reading Slaves Held by Joel Dickinson, Wayne County, North Carolina
While browsing through Wayne County estate files to sort out Dickinsons, I ran across several records naming enslaved people. Though these are not my direct ancestors, from here on out, I've decided to post any slaveholding records I find that might be helpful to other researchers. Isaac Dickinson (or Dickerson) was the son of John … Continue reading Slaves Held by Isaac Dickinson, Wayne County, North Carolina
John Dickinson was my 7th great-grandfather. He was a "Gentleman Planter" in colonial Northampton County, North Carolina. This is another line of my family that may go back to early Quakers. There was certainly a Quaker John Dickinson who married a Rebekah Powell in 1724 in Talbot County, Maryland. Many online trees trace my John … Continue reading Will of John Dickinson, 4 February 1742, Northampton County, North Carolina
Working my way back through Dickinsons, I came to Daniel Dickinson, my 6th great-grandfather, who died about 1779 in Wayne County. Like his son, David, he seems to have died unexpectedly without leaving a will. His estate file contains a letter, however, naming his heirs. As most of Daniel's wealth was held in the form … Continue reading Slaves Held by Daniel Dickinson, Wayne County, North Carolina
A Long Way to Tennessee 