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Chatham County NCGenWeb
Contributed Individual Wills & Estates
Will of OROON D. ALSTON- 1851
Chatham County Record of Wills 1834-1857
Will Book C, Page 294, 295
(Transcribed by Deloris Williams)
In the name of God amen, I ORAN D. ALSTON of Chatham County &
State of North Carolina do this the 5th day of May A.D. 1851 make ordain
and publish this my last will & testament in manner & form following viz
1st. I give & bequeath unto my wife MARIUM ALSTON all my estate both
real & personal consisting of lands Negroes stock of every kind with all
my household & kitchen furniture and every other article of property
together with all my bonds & cash & accounts during her life time.
2nd. I also give absolutely unto my wife MARIAM ALSTON the following
Negroes viz: ABNER, DEMPSEY, FIELDS, WESTLEY,JOHN, ADALINE & her
four children viz DANIEL, ANDREW, SOPHIA & RHODDA.
3rd. After the death of my wife MIRIAM ALSTON I give & bequeath unto
ORAN A. PALMER, MALINDA & all her children.
4th. I give & bequeath unto WILLIAM A RIVES, ROBERT E. RIVES, JOSEPH
PALMER & ORAN A. PALMER after the death of my wife MARIAM ALSTON all the
balance of my estate both real & personal to be equally divided between
them. Lastly I constitute and appoint my worthy nephews WILLIAM A. RIVES
& ORAN A. PALMER Executors to this my last will & testament revoking &
annulling all other wills & testaments by me heretofore made & executed.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal the day & date
above written.
ORAN D. ALSTON
Signed Sealed & delivered in the
presence of us.
JESSE MARLEY
OLIVER VESTAL
State of North Carolina
Chatham County
August Term 1851
This is to certify that the foregoing last will & testament of ORAN D.
ALSTON was duly proven in open court by the oaths of JESSE MARLEY and
OLIVER VESTAL the subscribing witnesses thereto and ordered to be
recorded Whereupon WILLIAM A. RIVES & ORAN A. PALMER the Executors
therein named appeared in open court & were duly qualified as such.
Teste W. P. TAYLOR CCC
Estate of OROON D. ALSTON
North Carolina
Chatham County
County Court, August Term 1851
To the Justices of said Court the Petition of MARIAM P. ALSTON humbly
shews that her husband OROON D. ALSTON late of Chatham aforesaid
departed this life in the month of May last without issue & leaving your
petitioner his widow surviving him.
That previously to his death he executed a will which as the present
term of this Court has been only proven & that WILLIAM A. RIVES & OROON
PALMER the Ex'rs therein named have qualified as such.
Your petitioner that being disastisfied with the provisions therein made
she has availed herself of the privilege allowed by law & disputes from
said will & at the present term of said Court has in proper person can
be her dispute to be duly recorded.
In virtue of these proceedings your Petitioner shews that she becomes by
law, entitled to one third part of all personal estate after payment of
debts &c of which her said husband died possessed.
Your petitioner further shews that her said husband was at the time of
his death possessed of a large personal property consisting of cash &
bond & debts owe him of household & kitchen furniture, stock of
different kinds, a premiere carriage, wagons & farming implements &
various other articles of property together with the following Negro
Slaves, viz:
PETER
WESLEY
REUBEN
ANDY
FIELDS
BEN
JOHN
DEMPSEY
ALLEN
PETER
DOCK
CHARLOTTE
VINY
ELIZA
JULIA
PHEBE
AGGY
LARY
ESTHER
POLLY
CLARA
DILSEY
SARAH
NANCY
SHEBA
RHODY
POLLY
MALINDA
ADELINE
SUSAN
MARTHA
CHARLOTTE
PRISCILLA
CHANEY
SILVIA
SOPHIA
JUDY
ELIZABETH
EMILY
RHODY JR.
VINEY
MARIAN
ELIZA
SARA & her baby
ALLEN
DAVE
ALSTON
JOE
JOHN
OROON
NORMAN
JOE
BILLY
LITTLE JERRY
BILLY
GEORGE
SIMON
DANIEL
ANDY JR.
EPHRAIM
NELSON
ALEXANDER
RILEY
DOCTOR
HOLLOWAY
HARRY
ABNER
ENOCH
BILLY
JERRY SENR.
HACKNEY's SAM
HENDERSON
LOTTY
Names and ages of Negroes belonging to the Estate of OROON D. ALSTON dec'd at the time of his decease:
WESLEY
JOHN
FIELDS
DEMPSEY
PETER
BEN
ADELINE
DANIEL
ANDREW
31
28
23
26
37
29
25
8
6
VINY
PRISSA
SARAH
ANTHONY
NARY
ANDREW (old)
ALLEN (old)
WILLIAM (old)
DONALDSON
55
12
29
30
20
35
69
56
48
DILCY
JERRY (an invalid)
MARTHA
JESSE
MARIAM
ELIZA
HOLLAWAY
AGNES
HARRY
32
14
10
7
4
2
34
34
34
SIMON
SUSAN
VINY
DAVID
PEGGY
JOSEPH J.
OROON
JUDY
ABNER
5
3
1
20
23
4
2
1
18
RHODA
PETER (old)
CHARLOTTE (old)
ELIZA
ESTHER
AUSTIN
ELIZABETH
EMILY
JULIA
1
69
57
44
28
3
6 mos.
6 mos.
42
GLOUCESTER
LARY
CLARY
RODIN
SUSAN
JOSEPH
WILLIAM
CHINA
NORMAN
52
36
18
12
11
8
8
5
2
EPHRAIGM
NELSON
CHARLOTTE
HENDERSON
RILEY
SILVY
ALEXANDER
LINDA
WILLIAM
17
13
11
9
7
5
3
26
9
JERRY
POLLY
DOCTOR
ALLEN
RHODA
PRIMUS
POLLY
LETTUCE
SAMUEL
CHARLOTTY
46
22
1
22
20
2
18
16
64
66
O. A. PALMER} Exrs.
In pursuance of an order of the County Court of Chatham appointing the undersigned as Commrs. to divide the Negroes belonging to the estate of O. D. ALSTON Esqr dec'd; after being duly sworn we have assigned over & allotted to M.P. ALSTON widow of the dec'd one third of said Negroes as her share- viz:
ANDY & his wife SARAH valued at - $900
BEN & his wife & four children viz, DANIEL, ANDY, SOPHIA & RHODY - 2037
VINA - 100
PEGGY & her children, viz, ORAN, JOHN, JUDY - 950
PETER (miner) - 450
WESLEY - 750
DANIEL - 675
FIELDS - 700
ABNER - 200
NARY - 500
ANTHONY - 600
PRISSY - 500
AGGY - 300
SUSAN - 400
Total: $9062
Given under our hands & seals this 15th Oct. 1851.
N. A. STEDMAN
WM. M. ROSSON
WILLIAM D. WREN
DANIEL HACKNEY
M.P. ALSTONS, Third of Negroes
Recorded in Book J, Page 157, 1851
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Will of MIRIAM P. ALSTON- 1855
Randolph County, North Carolina
Will Book 10, Page 195
(Transcribed by Deloris Williams)
I, MIRIAM P. ALSTON, do make, publish and declare the following as my last will and testament.
I give and bequeath to JAMES WOODY my Negro slave ABNER.
It is my will that all the rest of my slaves shall be free and I therefore give all of my slaves (ABNER excepted) to my executor herein after named, in trust that he will remove them, as soon after my death as he can lawfully do so, to some free state to be there emancipated. And until he can so remove them, that he hire them, at private hiring, on the best terms he can, to such persons as he may deem suitable.
I will to my executors three hundred dollars to defray the expenses of the removal of my slaves to a free State as provided for in the preceding clause.
I will that my executors retain out of the hires of my Negroes and the foregoing bequest of three hundred dollars a full compensation for his trouble and services in removing said slaves to a free State and that he dispose of the residue of said $300 and hires for the benefit of said emancipated slaves in such manner as he may think will be most beneficial to them.
I will all the residue of my estate, both real and personal, to my three nieces, daughters of my deceased sister, SOPHIA. If either of them should be dead, leaving a child or children surviving, I wish such child or children to receive the portion to which the deceased mother would be entitled if living. And should one or more of them be dead, leaving no issue, then I wish the survivor or survivors to receive the portion to which the deceased would have been entitled, if living. And to enable my executors to make this distribution among my said nieces, I authorise them to sell any part of my estate real or personal, not herein before disposed of.
I nominate my friend JESSE MARLEY, Executor of this my last will and testament.
MIRIAM P ALSTON ("X" her mark)
Signed by the testator in presence of us, who in presence and at her request attest the same
A. HOLTON
LEVINA ALLRED
North Carolina
Randolph County
Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions
November Term 1855
The due execution of this last Will and testament of MIRIAM P. ALSTON is
proved in open court by the oaths of ALFRED HOLTON and LEVINIA ALLRED
the subscribing witnesses to the same, and ordered to be recorded.
B. F. HOOVER CCC
State of North Carolina
Randolph County
Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions
May Term 1857
A paper writing purporting to be the last will and testament of MIRIAM P ALSTON deceased, and which is in the words and figures following, to wit,
[copy of will is repeated]
is on motion ordered to be propounded for probate in open court, by JESSE MARLEY the executor therein named, whereupon the Court directs the following issue to be made up and submitted to a jury, to wit, To the said paper writing or any part thereof and if so what part the last will and testament of MIRIAM P ALSTON dec'd or nots. And on motion it is ordered that a citation issue to JOHN MARLEY and THOMAS MARLEY, two of the heirs at law and next of kin of said MIRIAM P ALSTON dec'd, who since within the limits of this State, to appear at the next Term of this Court to see proceedings in this cause, and to make themselves parties to this said issue if they shall think proper. And it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court, that the other next of kin and heirs at law of MIRIAM ALSTON dec'd to wit the heirs at law and next of THOMAS RAY, PATY TEAGUE, the heirs of RACHEL MARLEY, (the said JOHN & THOMAS MARLEY excepted) to wit BENJAMIN MARLEY and the heirs at law and next of kin of POLLY BRANSON and ELIZABETH UNDERWOOD, POLLY SILER, JANE STEWART, ELIZABETH McDANIEL, FRANKEY BECK, NANCY ALLDRIDGE, REBECCA McDANIEL, and the heirs at law and next of kin of SOPHIA WOOD, to wit, the heirs at law and next of kin of SAM'L WOOD dec'd, JOHN L. WOOD and others whose names are unknown; REUBEN D. WOOD & his children SUSAN wife of LEVI, SOPHIA who is married and whose husband is not known, and other children, names not known, FRANCES HOUSE, ALFRED H. WOOD, VIRGINIA wife of AMBROSE PETTY and MARY wife of GEO. W. PETTY, reside beyond the limits of this State, it is ordered that publication be made in the Asheboro Bulletin a paper printed in the Town of Asheboro for six weeks notifying them and all other persons interested in the estate of MIRIAM P ALSTON dec'd to appear at the next term of this Court to be held in the town of Asheboro on the 1st Monday of August next and then and there to see proceedings in this case and to make themselves parties to said issue if they think proper so to do.
Witness B. F. HOOVER Clerk of our said Court at office the 1st Monday in May 1857.
[Papers in the files indicates that some of her family resided in Washington County, Texas]
North Carolina
Randolph County
Court of Equity
Fall Term 1860
To the Hon. the Judge of said Court
JESSE MARLEY Executor
vs
JOHN MARLEY & Others
In obedience to the order of reference made in this cause at Spring Term 1860 I caused due notice to be served on H. B. MARLEY and WM. S. EDWARDS that I would execute said order at my office in Asheboro on the 1st day of June 1860, where they attended, and from the evidence submitted I report that there has come to the hands of JESSE MARLEY, executor and to the hands of his executors, the present plaintiffs, or might have come to their hands by the exercise of due diligence, for the hire of the slaves and the $300 appropriated by the will to the removal of the Negroes, including interest (see exhibit A annexed) - $4015.81
Deduct credits as per exhibit B. - 2204.66
Balance due to Negroes - 1811.15
Under the clause of the will directing the executor to dispose of the residue of $300, and hires for the benefit of said emancipated slaves in such manner as he may think will be most beneficial to them, the executor JESSE MARLEY dec'd decided to pay once 1/18th each, of the surplus to the emancipated slaves PETER, ANTHONY, WESLEY, FIELDS, PRISCILLA, SUSANNAH, NARY, AGATHY and DAVID. And three eighteenths of said surplus to BEN, for himself and his family, three eighteenths to ANDREW for himself and his family and his mother and three eighteenths to PEGGY for herself and family. And the present plaintiffs entertain the same views. The aforesaid sum of $1811.15, being their divided will give
ANTHONY
WESLEY
FIELDS
PRISCILLA
SUSANNAH
NARY
AGATHA
DAVID
BEN & Family
ANDREW & Family & Mother
PEGGY & Family
Total:
100.62
100.62
100.62
100.62
100.62
100.62
100.62
100.62
301.86
301.86
301.86
$1811.16
And the said MARLEY, on the 21st May 1859, put into the possession of the REV. WM. SLAUGHTER and the REV. P. TABLER, of Franklin County, Ohio, five horses, two wagons and one carriage together with harness to be disposed of to the best advantage and the proceeds divided among said emancipated slaves as follows-
PEGGY and her five children to share, equal to three single ones
BENJAMIN, his wife & seven children to share also as above
also ANDREW, his wife and child and mother to share as above
The remaining ones to share equal.
The receipt of the said SLAUGHTER & TABLER are filed.
All which is respectfully submitted.
JONATHAN WORTH CME
June 1st 1860
Note: The entire Estate of Miriam P. Alston is 153 pages, but these are some of the more informative pages concerning her slaves.
Please also read the additional extraordinary follow-up research done on the slave families "The Story of the Slave Cemetery with Unknown Graves"
© 2022 to Present by Deloris Williams & Sue Ashby for the NCGenWeb Project
