The Will of Thomas Hyman: An Abstract

Craven County, North Carolina
Record of Wills (Loose), 1760-1890

Will Book B: 287 - 288.
Written 25 April 1807; proved December Term 1807
In the name of God, Amen. I THOMAS HYMAN of the County of Craven, give my wife PATSEY, during her life, one third part all my lands including the buildings where we reside, and the negroes STEPNEY, DINAH, BIG TOM, MOLLY, SAM, FIELDER, CAMBRIDGE, CHARITY, RACHAEL, and blacksmith, GODFREY; to my son, SAMUEL, all my lands situate in Craven County upon Hancocks Creek, Northward of Bounder neck gut and the south prong of said gut; to my daughter ANN, all that part of my lands situate in Craven County upon Hancocks Creek, Southward of Bounder neck gut, and southward of the south prong of said gut; to my son SAMUEL the negroes, NELLY, AFFRICA, BOB, BEN, BIG BILL, ABRAHAM, SUKEY, LITTLE BILL, DAVID, and my half of negro LARRY, owned by WILLIAM CONWAY and me; to my daughter ANN, the negroes, TILL, LITTLE TOM, NOAH, TOBEY, JACOB, AMERICA, ADAM and HETT; to my son SAMUEL my interest and property in the Stock, debts, tools and other property belonging to the partnership of WILLIAM CONWAY and me in the Blacksmith business excepting only my interest in the negroes WILLOUGHBY and PHOBE, which I give WILLIAM CONWAY, the residue of my estate to be equally divided among my wife and two children.
I[f] my children die under the age of twenty one, without issue living at their decease, the shares go to the surviving child; i[f] both my children should die under the age of twenty one and without issue living at the time of their decease, I give to BETSEY COART, daughter of my former wife, all the negroes I obtained by my marriage with her mother and the residue of the negroes & personal property given to my children & the profits arising from the same, not applied towards the maintenance and education of my children. I give upon the death of my children, as aforesaid, to my wife; my lands, upon the death of my children, I give my nephew WILLIAM CONWAY; I appoint my wife PATSEY and WILLIAM CONWAY Executors Newbern the 25th day of April 1807.
[Signed] THOMAS HYMAN
Witnesses: WM HOLLISTER, ABNER K. WEST
State of North Carolina, Craven County, Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions, December Term 1807; THOMAS HYMAN deceased was proved by the oath of WILLIAM HOLLISTER, a witness, and WILLIAM CONWAY, one of the Executors. Ordered that letters testamentary issue to said Execr and that said Will be Recorded.
Attest
J.G. STANLY, CC

Note: This article has been expanded and updated with new research. To read the current, comprehensive version and explore my latest projects, coaching, and storytelling services, please visit my official author platform at: debranewtoncarter.com.

Amanuensis Monday: The Will of Thomas Hyman

Welcome to the first Amanuensis Monday as we focus on the Descendants of Abraham and Rhoda (Whitehead) Hyman.

Amanuensis?

For those who may be joining us for the first time, you may wonder what is "Amanuensis Monday?" 

"Amanuensis: one employed to write from dictation or to copy manuscript....Latin, from (servus) a manu slave with secretarial duties. First Known Use 1619." [1]

Each Monday, we will examine a document that guides us on our quest for the origins of the African American HYMAN family in Craven and Carteret Counties, North Carolina.

For the purpose of maintaining the integrity of our research, we must approach each individual, each relationship, as new information. We must set aside any biases or prior beliefs about the family so that we can reconstruct the family group within the context of its society.

The Will of Thomas Hyman

In order to do so, we must first look to the will of Thomas Hyman [2], the white owner of those recorded in the Census as slaves, but believed to be indentured servants by family historians. 

Thomas Hyman's

Will

[       ]

Recorded in Book

of Wills (letter B)

folios 287 & 288 --

Attest J.G. Stanly

 In the name of God, Amen. I Thomas Hyman of the County of Craven, being of sound, disposing mind and memory do make this my last testament.

I give my dear wife Patsey, during her life, one third part all my lands including the buildings where we reside. I give my said wife the following negroes, viz. Stepney, Dinah, big Tom, Molly, Sam, Fielder, Cambridge, Charity, Rachael, and blacksmith, Godfrey, to her and her heirs forever. 

I give to my son, Samuel, all that part of my lands situate in Craven County upon Hancocks Creek, which lies to the Northward of Bounder neck gut and the south prong of said gut, to him, his heirs and assigns forever--

I give to my daughter Ann, all that part of my lands situate in Craven County upon Hancocks Creek, which lies to the Southward of Bounder neck gut, and southward of the south prong of said gut, to her, her heirs and assigns forever.

I give to my son Samuel the following negroes, Viz. Nelly, Affrica, Bob, Ben, big Bill, Abraham, Sukey, -- little Bill, David, and my half of negro Larry, owned by William Conway and me, to my said son & his heirs, forever.

I give to my daughter Ann, the following negroes, Viz., Till, little Tom, Noah, Tobey, Jacob, America, Adam and Hett, to her and her heirs forever.

I give to my son Samuel my interest and property in the Stock, debts, tools and other property belonging to the partnership of William Conway and me in the Blacksmith business excepting

only my interest in the negroes Willoughby and Phobe, which I give to the said William Conway. The residue of my estate I give to be equally divided among my wife and two children.

In case with of my children should die under the age of twenty one years, and without issue living at their decease, it is my will, and I do devise that the shares of such child in my estate under any clause of this will, go and vest in the surviving child. And in case both my children should die under the age of twenty one years and without issue living at the time of their decease, Then I give and devise to Betsey Coart, daughter of my former wife, all the negroes which I obtained by my marriage with her mother and the residue of the negroes & personal property given to my children & the profits arising from the same, which shall not have been applied for and towards the maintenance and education of my said children. I give upon the death of my children, as aforesaid, to my wife, & her heirs forever. My lands, upon the death of my children as aforesaid I give to my nephew William Conway, to him & his heirs forever. I nominate and appoint my wife Patsey and William Conway, Executors of this my last will and testament. In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Newbern the 25th day of April 1807.

Signed, sealed, published and      )            Thos Hyman (seal)

declared by Thomas Hyman as   )

His last will in presence of us      )

Wm Hollister, jp

Abner K West

State of North Carolina   Court of Pleas & Quarter 

Craven County                Sessions December Term 1807

The foregoing last Will and Testament of Thomas Hyman deceased was produced and the due execution thereof by the testator was proved by the oath of William Hollister one of the subscribing Witnesses thereto at same time William Conway one of the Executors therein named appeared and qualified. Ordered that letters testamentary issue to said Execr and that said Will be Recorded.

Attest

J.G. Stanly, C.C.

Sources

[1]  Merrium-Webster Online Dictionary, (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amanuensis : accessed 27 July 2015), "amanuensis." The definition includes an audio pronunciation by clicking on the speaker symbol.

[2] "North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970," Images, (http:FamilySearch.org : accessed 27 July 2015,) Craven County Courthouse, North Carolina.

Note: This article has been expanded and updated with new research. To read the current, comprehensive version and explore my latest projects, coaching, and storytelling services, please visit my official author platform at: debranewtoncarter.com.

Reuniting Nine Branches of HYMAN Descendants

It's difficult to believe that it's already been a year since I went on hiatus . . . not from researching, but just from blogging.

I am now more focused, more organized, and digging deeper through analysis, thanks to Thomas MacEntee's Genealogy Do-Over. I chose to do the "Modified Participant Option," which is more like a "Go-Over," and am now in the midst of Cycle 3. 

Besides working on reorganization, I have also participated in several webinars for genealogy and writing memoirs.

Yes! At times it feels like it's just too much for this genealogist, who also works at a full-time job, who's working on BCG Certification and writing a family history memoir, to sort and file the myriad documents collected over years of research only to find that I didn't catch it all the first time around, and am expanding from four surname binders to six!

How do I ever keep it all straight? 

To be honest, if you saw my office, you would be asking the same question. 

I began the process of applying for my credential in May 2013, not realizing that I still had much to research and analyze in order to prove the relationships in my Kinship Determination Project, aka the KDP. This has been the most challenging section of the seven-step process. 

In May 2015 I requested "my last" one-year extension, and I anticipate my work to be submitted within five or six months, with any luck.

Back to North Harlowe for HYMAN Family Reunion 2015

Also, this past May, my husband and I attended the HYMAN Family Reunion in North Harlowe, Craven, North Carolina. What a wonderful time we had, making so many new family connections, and visiting with cousins we had met years ago at the Peter James HYMAN Family Reunion in Beaufort, Carteret,  North Carolina. 

As we looked over a manuscript that a cousin is preparing for publication, it became clear to me that there is a need to complete the whole family tree, beginning with the will of their ancestors' masters, Thomas Hyman and his son Samuel, uniting nine branches of this family. 

I suppose everyone's African American genealogical dream would be to work back even further, to locate the plantation records and find the first African to cross over to the colony. And, how I would love to be able to locate any living descendants of the white Hyman family and learn about both sides, master and servant. 

Nine Branches of  Descent

• Abraham and Kitty (Brown) HYMAN
• William and Deborah Elizabeth (Dove) HYMAN
• Peter and Caroline (Borden) HYMAN
• Stephen and Betsey J. (Fisher) HYMAN
• Adam and Phyllis (Brown) & Jeffrie Ann (Cully) & Mary (Downs) HYMAN
• Merebee (HYMAN) and Lanan COLEMAN
• Rachel (HYMAN) and Hasty CHADWICK
• Charity HYMAN
• Jane HYMAN

If you descend from one of these branches and you would like to contribute to this project, please contact me. I would love to work with you!

Mixed Records in Estate Files: William Carter (1867)

When browsing documents in an estate file, you would think that all the records contained in that file would belong to the estate of the person recorded on the file's name. While looking at documents for the estate of my husband's 2nd great grand uncle, William Carter, I was surprised to find that the first five documents actually had nothing to do with his estate. Or was there some connection less obvious?

"North Carolina, Estate Files, 1663-1979," 
index and images, FamilySearch 
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VKJM-XLD : 
accessed 29 Aug 2013), 
William Carter, 1867; Image 5/32.

To the right is the main document in question. It is an application of Guardianship made by Effie Carter Dove on behalf of James Harrington Carter, Lena Stanley Carter and Willie Benjamin Carter, dated 1 June 1917.

How does a document drawn up fifty years after the deceased's file is closed end up within that file?

Let's start by taking a look at the relationship held within this document. Effie Carter Dove. She was the daughter of Enoch & Abigail (Hyman) Hargett, b. abt. 1892. She married first William Benjamin Carter, Sr.; and following his death, she married Jacob Dove. Using this information, we can see that she was the mother of these children, Willie Benjamin Carter being named for his father, who died abt. 1911; however, she did not make the petition until she was remarried. But that still doesn't answer the question of how this document would end up in William Carter's estate file of 1867.

William Carter was the great grand uncle of William Benjamin Carter, Sr. through the George Carter, Sr. branch. Their common ancestor is Isaac Carter (md. Sarah Perkins).

While these children might be considered heirs at law of William Carter's Estate (1867), there is no direct connection made through the documents contained within the file itself.

So the question remains...why would the records of William B. Carter, Sr.'s heirs be filed in the William Carter (1867) file? Could it be something as simple as they were both named William Carter? Perhaps.

This leads me to believe that in searching for estate records, it might necessitate browsing all the records for a given surname in a given locale to weed out the possibility of other such mix-ups. Otherwise, we might overlook some valuable evidence hiding within the folder of some other deceased ancestor.

Ministers & Preachers of Township 5: 1930: Presiding Elder Jacob S. Bell

Photos by: Mojo Warren

Courtesy of Find A Grave
Bayview Cemetery,
Morehead City, NC

It has taken some time to gather the supporting evidence for Jacob Shepard Bell, whom I first discovered through the 1920 U.S. Federal Census for Township 5, Craven, North Carolina. I was aware of the BELL connection to our CARTER and GEORGE family lines, and had heard the name before, but never realized that he had attained the influence he must have carried. I am certain that more relevant information regarding this man of God is out there, yet untapped. I will continue with my search, but feel it is time to present that which I have gathered to date.

1910: Township 5, Craven, NC;
Roll: T624_1104; Pages 5B, 6A;
Enumeration District: 0018; Images 786, 787;
FHL Number: 1375117.

 On April 21, 1910, Jacob S. Bell was enumerated as the head of a household of eleven residing on Mitchell's Creek. He was recorded as a black man, age 51, married for 28 years to Annie. Together they had 14 children, but in 1910, only 13 survived. Their marriage was recorded in the Carteret County Register of Deeds in Book 1882: Page 4: Jacob S. Bell (22) md. Ann Wallace (19) on 11 May 1882 in Morehead, NC. His occupation in 1910 was Clergyman/Teacher.

Progressing to the 1920 Census, I had anticipated finding Jacob S. Bell as a minister in the same location, perhaps a minister at Piney Grove AME Zion, the family church of the Carters and Georges, located on Temple's Point Road. By 1920, however, his family had relocated to Beaufort, Carteret, NC, which would possibly place him as a minister at Purvis Chapel, where the descendants of Peter James Hyman attend services.

On January 21, 1920 Jacob S. Bell was enumerated as a mulatto male, age 60, who owned a mortgaged house on Broad Street, Beaufort, NC. . . a preacher. His household consisted of himself, his wife Annie, and ten children: 3 daughters and 7 sons.

Ann (Wallace) Bell

Born: 1868 in Wildwood, NC

Father: Hasty Wallace.

Mother: Hanah Ward.

Informant: J.H. Bell (sic)

Died: February 25, 1923 at 2:55 a.m. in Morehead City, Carteret, NC of a cerebral hemorrhage due to hypertension at age 55.

In 1930 Jacob S. Bell was found in Morehead City, which is located 18.6 miles south of Township 5 (North Harlowe) along Highway 101, 3.89 miles west of Beaufort. By this time, his first wife Ann had died, and he was remarried to Frances M., a 53-year-old negro woman, residing on North 12th Street. His age at first marriage was recorded as 21 (to Ann Wallace), and hers as 30 (md. 1900 to ?). I was unable to locate any marriage record for them in Carteret County, nor was I able to find her death certificate nor burial record at Find A Grave.

There, in 1930, the then 71-year-old owned a home worth $2000, and his occupation was enumerated as Presiding Elder, Methodist Church. None of his children were present in the household at that time.

The following is a composite of his household from 1900-1930:
Jacob S. and Ann (Wallace) Bell: CH:

1. Crisous "CAC", (son) b.  Feb. 1883 in Wildwood, NC; d. Nov 24, 1915 in Morehead City, NC of Tuburculosis.
2. Daisy V[iolet?], (dau.) b. Aug. 1884;
3. Philip, (son) b. May 1889;
4. Jesse H., (son) b. June 1890;
5. Ervin H., (son) b. abt. 1890;
6. James F., (son) b. Sept 22, 1891 in Wildwood, NC; d. Nov 8, 1948 in New Bern, NC of cerebral hemorrhage. 
7. Sarah H., (dau.) b. Jan 1893;
8. Fannie A., (dau.) b. Oct. 1894;
9. Iredell H., (son/dau.) b. July 1896;
10. Carl, (son) b. May 1899 in Wildwood, NC; d. April 13, 1921 in Morehead City, NC of Tuberculosis.
11. Theodore R., (son) b. Sept 20, 1900 in Wildwood, NC;
12. Charley Malachy, (son) b. abt. 1904;
13. Jacob H., (son) b. abt. 1906;
14. John S., (son) b. abt. Nov. 1909.

In 1900, 9 children had been born to Jacob & Annie, with 9 children surviving. 

In 1910 it was recorded that they had 14 children, but only 13 surviving. So, between 1900 and 1910, one child died; and, since additional vital records have not been located, it narrows down to either Daisy, Philip, Jesse or Fannie.

Rev. Jacob Shepard Bell
Born: April 2, 1860
Father: Ander Bell*, b. Wildwood, NC
Mother: Orlas Fisher*, b. Wildwood, NC
Informant: F. M. Bell
Died: August 3, 1932 in Morehead City, Carteret, NC

Ministers and preachers of Township 5: 1910: Issac Hyman

1910 revealed only one, but one very interesting "Clergyman" in Township 5, Craven County, NC. . . . .

my husband's great grandfather,

Isaac Hyman.

Isaac Hyman married Malinda Jane Weston on August 15, 1881 in Craven County.  In 1900 Isaac was enumerated as a Farmer (b. abt. 1855), and lived with his wife (b. abt. 1866) and two daughters, Hannah Jane (b. Feb. 1882) and Thanie [Othenia] (b. 1885). 

1910; Township 5, Craven, NC;
Roll: T624_1104; Page 3B; Enumeration District: 18;
Image 782; FHL #: 1375117.

In 1910, Isaac was recorded as a widower; so, Malinda Jane must have died before April 18, 1910, the date the Census was taken in Cahooque. Death Certificates in North Carolina didn't come along until 1914, and no obituary is recorded in the New Bern-Craven County Obituary Index. 

The oldest daughter, my husband's grandmother, Hannah Jane, married 2. Hezekiah Carter in 1905, and was living with him, her three step-children, her son from her first marriage, and their first two children on Mitchells's Creek at the time of the 1910 Census. She was expecting their third child, Chester (my father-in-law), who was born that December. Thaney could not be found in 1910.

The church affiliation was most likely Hyman Chapel AME Zion, which was started by his father (William) and uncles (Abraham, Peter, Stephen and Adam).

Isaac remarried to Priscilla Fisher on April 9, 1913, and died on October 28, 1930. On his death certificate he was recorded as being a laborer. 

Wordless Wednesday--Hannah Jane (Hyman) (Fisher) Carter

Hannah Jane (HYMAN) (FISHER) CARTER
28 Feb 1899 - 31 Aug 1964
[My husband's paternal grandmother]