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BUCK SPRING PLANTATION

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  Vaughan, Warren County, North Carolina

 

PLANTATION NAME: BUCK SPRING PLANTATION
ASSOCIATED LINK(s):  
ORIGINAL OWNER: Nathaniel Macon (1758-1837)
BUILT: House built in 1781
ASSOCIATED SURNAMES: MACON, PLUMMER
HISTORY:

Nathaniel Macon was born December 17, 1758, Granville County, the area of which would later become Warren County, where his father had a home on Shocco Creek. His parents were Gideon Hunt Macon (1720-1761) and Priscilla Jones (1729-1802) who had moved from Virginia to North Carolina in the 1730s. Nathaniel married on September 29, 1783 in Granville Co. to Hannah Plummer who was born Aug. 25, 1760, and died Jan. 11, 1790, the daughter of William Plummer & Mary Hayes.  Gideon's 1761 will, left Nathaniel part of a tract of land "lying on both sides of Thomas Creek," and another "five hundred acres of land, lying and being on both sides of Hobquarters Creek". The land on Hobquarters Creek were the beginnings of what became his Buck Spring Plantation, which eventually grew to contain 1945 acres.  Nathaniel Macon served in the House of Representatives from 1791 to 1815, and from 1801 to 1807, he was the Speaker of the House. He served as a U.S. Senator from 1815 to November 1828 when he resigned from his seat.  He retired from politics, but in 1835, he became president of the state constitutional convention, and in 1836, he served as a presidential elector on the Democratic ticket of Van Buren and Johnson.  He died June 29, 1837 in Warren Co. and is buried next to his wife and son, on his old plantation land, in a gravesite which was covered with a large heap of flint stones so that the land would be left uncultivated, which he believed no one would go to the trouble of removing all of the flint in order to use the land, thereby preserving the burial site. The house and the seventeen hundred & twenty-four acre plantation were sold by Macon's executor, Weldon Edwards, to Francis A. Thornton in 1839. Thornton's executors conveyed the property to Robert L. Jones on Dec. 10, 1852, and the executor of the Jones estate transferred the property to George W. Robinson on Jan. 10, 1857. One thousand and fifty-three acres, including the homestead, were sold by Robinson's trustees to Simon Green on Dec. 19, 1860. The same tract was sold to the trustees of J. Herbert Taylor on June 7, 1889. Taylor divided the property further, selling 191 1/2 acres on which the house and outbuildings stand to Hilliard T. Howard (1856-1907) on Sept. 8, 1894. Howard was the son of James & Bettie Howard, Free African Americans living in Warren County; Bettie, who was said to have been the daughter of Nathaniel Macon and a slave woman according to family tradition,  and was in the possession of his grandson, Nathaniel Macon, who sold her to John Nicholson after Macon's death. There are a couple of women by that name among the Macon slaves, one of whom may have been her. Hilliard Howard died in 1907, and his will devised that his Buck Spring land be divided up between his 9 surviving children, who were all minors at the time.
Later, three of the tracts were conveyed to the Commissioners of Warren County on April 27, 1934. The dwelling and other buildings were included with these three lots.

Nathaniel and Hannah had 3 children:
1. Betsy Kemp Macon (1784-1827) -mar. Nov. 5, 1801 to William John Martin (1781-1828) son of William Martin & Nancy Long
2.  Plummer Macon (1786-1792)
3.  Seignora Macon (1787-1825) - mar. Oct. 19, 1804 to William Eaton (1783-1869) son of Thomas Eaton & Ann Bland, and grandson of William Eaton (1690-1759) & Mary Rives (1695-ca 1761)

Nathaniel Macon had 20 Slaves in 1790; by 1830, he had 56 Slaves. He also kept a family bible with the names and ages of his slaves.

 

SLAVE POPULATION: From the Will of NATHANIEL MACON, dtd Aug 10, 1833:
To my grandson WILLIAM EATON JUNIOR:
HARRY and his wife HESTER
old man FRANK and his wife DOLLY

To my grandson NATHANIEL M. MARTIN:
PHIL and his wife CHINA

I lend to my grandson in law Drury S.MARTIN:
GINNY and her daughter

Slaves EPHRAIM and LUCY to which grandchild they prefer

Half of remainder of Slaves to go to all the children of my late daughter BETSY K. MARTIN (except NATHANIEL M. MARTIN)

The other half, one third part to my grandson WILLIAM PATON JUNR.
The other two thirds to my grandchildren BETSY K. M. FIELD (wife of EATON FIELD) BUCKNER EATON and CHARLES PATON (children of my daughter SEIGNORA) to be equally divided between them.
 

An Inventory of the Estate of NATHANIEL MACON dec'd returned by his Executor W. N. EDWARDS to November Sessions 1837:
List of Slaves - Eighty in number-

Old Frank
Lucy
Ephraim
Polly
Minny
Dan
Harry
Sally
Phil
Nelly
Lew
Mary
Neaton
Effy
Cloe
Little Polly
Moses
Nelson
Billy
Priscilla
Aaron
Isaiah
Betty
Brown
Nancy
Huldy
Tempe
Easter
Katy
Maria
John
Miranda
Aggy
Mansfield
Owen
Robert
Cornelius
Milly
Molly
Willis
Eliza
Essex
William
Martha
Emanuel
Sprigg
Solomon
Amy
Cary
Betsy
Frederick
Nassery
Chana
Lucretia
Julia Ann
Phil
Lydia
Nathan
Isaac
Rhody
Littleton
Hannah
Weldon
Jacob
Willis
Peter
Perry
Janet
George
Clary

Also born since death of Testator:
Tony
Martha
Henry

Also:
Jenny & Child- in possession of Drury S. Marrow
Harriet- in possession of Col. Jos. Maclin & Wife
Susanna- in possession of Henry L. Martin
Matilda- in possession of Nath'l M. Martin
Rachel- in possession of Wm. K. Martin
Lucinda- in possession of William Eaton Jr.
 

Following list of about 123 Slaves with their dates of birth were found
Nathaniel Macon Bible:
KATE born 1743
HUMPHREY born 1740
GEORGE born 1755
FRANK born 20 Feby 1754
BOB born 1756
ISBELL born 1754- dead
LUCY born 1759
EPHRAIM born 8 May 1765
TITUS born 1769
POLLY born 1769
MINNA born 1773
VENUS born 1772
ANTHONY born 1778
ADAM born 1782
DAN born 1782
TOM born 1783
SABRINA born 1779
NELLE born 1779 - dead
HARRY born 1785
GREAT ESTHER born 1780
TANSY born 1785
FRANK born 26 Dec'r 1785
ESTHER born 20 Dec'r 1787
JANE born 1788
JAMES SPRIGG born 12 Feby 1789
BETTY born 20 June 1791
JOHN born 1793
SOLOMON born 1794
JAMES born 1795
STEPHEN born 1796
BILLEY born 1796
HANNAH born Sept 1796
SALLEY born 26 April 1798
PLEASANT born 1799
PRISCILLA born 1798
NELLE born 5 Jany 1800
ANNA born 10 June 1800
PHILL born 1799
CLAIBORNE born 8 April 1801
NORVAL born 20 April 1801
LEWIS born 10 May 1801
JOHN born August 1802
MARY born 3 March 1803
NANCY born 26 Oct'r 1804
WINNY born 2 june 1804
PATSEY born 8 July 1804
NEATON born 3 June 1805
SABRINA born 3 July 1805
OSCAR born 13 January 1807
EFFY born 1780
CLOE born 1800
POLLY born 1802
MOSES born 1804
NELSON born 1806
BILLY born 1808
SPRIG born January 1810
PHOEBE born 25 April 1810
PRISCILLA born 2 June 1812
AARON born 19 March 1814
ISAIAH 20 July 1814
MAT 1 February 1816
BETTY bought of Mr. MYRICK JONES[?]
Negro of SALLY

 

MILLEY 20 May 1816 dead
BROWN 4 May 1817
NANCY 27 May 1817
HULDAH 28 January 1818
TEMPE 26 September 1818
ESTHER 19 January 1819
CATY 6 May 1819
MARIA 22 January 1820
JOHN 23 January 1820
MIRANDA 27 Sept'r 1820
MANSFIELD 7 Feby 1821
AGGEY 16 May 1821
OWEN 16 Jany 1822
ROBERT 14 June 1822
CORNELIUS 27 Jany 1823
RACHEL 23 June 1823
MILLEY 20 July 1823
SUSANNA 7 September 1823
CHEESMAN 8 October 1823
HARRIET 25 October 1824
LUCINDA 24 May 1825
GEORGE 31 August 1825
MOLLY 6 Sept'r 1825
PLUMMER 4 March 1827
WILLIS 1795
ELIZA 12 June 1827
ESSEX 28 July 1827
HENRY 31 July 1827
CRITTY 12 August 1827
WILLIAM 5 Jany 1828
MARTHA 15 April 1828
EMMANUEL 17 Jany 1829
SPRIG 20 May 1829
SOLOMON 3 June 1829
AMY 20 September 1829
WATLEY 28 Nov'r 1829
CAREY 1 Nov'r 1830
BETSEY 20 Feby 1831
FREDERIC 10 April 1831
NORSWORTHY 20 May 1831
CHINA 1804
MATILDA 15 Sept'r 1824
LUCRETIA 15 Oct'r 1826
JULIA ANN 25 Oct'r 1828
PHILIP 17 Apr 1830
LYDIA 29 Jany 1832
NATHAN 3 Sept'r 1832
ISAAC 17 Jany 1833
RHODA 9 March 1833
LITTLETON 22 March 1833
HANNAH 9th January 1834
WELDON 28 Nov'r 1834
LUCY 23 Jany 1835
JACOB 29 Feby 1836
WILLIS 28 March 1838
PETER 25 May 1836
GODFREY called FERRA 25 July 1836
JANETT 30 July 1836
GEORGE 29 Dec'r 1836
CLAUD[?] 18 Feby 1837
 

******************

From the Will of GIDEON MACON, Granville Co, NC, Dec. 1761:
To my son NATHANIEL MACON two boys, and one girl:
GEORGE
BOBB
LUCY

RESEARCH NOTES:
Researched & transcribed by Deloris Williams
MISCELLANEOUS: Will and Estate of Nathaniel Macon-1837; Slaves in Nathan Macon Bible; Nathaniel Macon Family Bible; Will of Gideon H. Macon-1761; National Register of Historic Places Application; Will & Estate of Hilliard T. Howard-1907; Nathaniel Macon biography; Will & Estate of Hilliard T. Howard

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