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Nathan Tisdale’s order to Charles Roach to deliver his spinning machine to Col. Latham – New Bern, undated
A short written order, dated September 13 at New Bern but with no year. Nathan Tisdale asked Charles Roach to hand over Tisdale's spinning machine, with all its parts, to a Colonel Latham. The paper does not say why Roach…
Division of the perishable property left to Sally Roach among her seven daughters – about 1868
After the death of James Roach (his will was proved in Craven County in September 1866), his widow Sally Roach held his "perishable" property, meaning the movable goods and livestock rather than land, for her lifetime under his will. In…
Will of John Fornes of Craven County (first page only), naming his wife Charity, his children, and David, Dick, Ginney, Major and Rachal, his slaves – undated, before 1840
The first page of the will of John Fornes of Craven County, who died about the end of 1839. The rest of the will, including the date, his signature and the witnesses, is not in the folder; the page ends…
Levy by James Anderson, constable, on the property of Moses Nelson, with a list of goods sold to James Roach – undated, about 1820s
A small torn slip recording a levy, the seizure of a debtor's goods to satisfy a judgment, made by James Anderson on the property of Moses Nelson: some cattle and hogs, a clock, a hand mill, a grindstone, household and…
Will (last page) of Dollie Vincent, leaving her things to her sisters and nieces – undated, about 1866–1868
The last page of a will written by Dollie Vincent and signed by her, leaving her belongings to her sisters and their daughters. She gave away a cow and calf, a heifer, two numbered feather beds, a white counterpane, a…
List of notes and accounts owed, probably by the estate of John Fornes – undated, about 1840
An undated list, without a heading or signature, of notes and accounts that someone owed: notes to "the Clerk" (the reading is not certain), David Chapman, Osborn Clark, S. Street and Bryan Dawson, accounts of Bryan Dawson, William Blackledge, Jacob…
Chattel mortgage from E. F. Smith to John R. Bryan on a yoke of oxen and a cart – Craven County, 1901
A printed chattel mortgage, the kind of short loan paper common in eastern North Carolina farm country around 1900. E. F. Smith pledged a pair of oxen and a log cart to secure a debt of $30.50 owed to John…
Chattel mortgage from C. M. Roach on a mule and three bales of cotton – Craven County, 1883
Only one leaf of this mortgage survives in the scans. The opening lines, which would have named the person C. M. Roach owed and how much, are missing, so the lender is not known from this paper. The debt was…
African American Ancestry
Account of the hire of David, Dick, Major, Ginney and Rachel, slaves of the estate of John Fornes – March 3, 1842
This short account records the hiring out, for one year from March 3, 1842, of five slaves belonging to the…
Account of William Muckleroy against the estate of John Fornes for bringing home Abram, a slave – 1840–1841
William Muckleroy charged the estate of John Fornes ten dollars (written as 100 shillings) for "carrying home" a man named…
Account of the sale of John Fornes’s property, and hire of his slaves – March 3, 1840
The account of the public sale of John Fornes's personal property, held at his dwelling house on March 3, 1840,…
Account of sales of the property of Charles Roach Senr., deceased, by Polly Roach, executrix – April 20, 1821
The sale of Charles Roach Senior's goods six weeks after the inventory of March 2, 1821. Polly Roach, his executrix,…
More Genealogy Content
Corrections and Updates to Older Posts — dating back to 2007!
East Carolina Roots turns 20 next year. That's a lot of years, and a lot of posts written while I…Family Tree Fact-Checking Myself! Correcting the record about Laban Morris and Selah Averitt
Over the past few months, I've been excited as I thought I was pulling together a strong case for identifying…1786 Swift Creek Tax List
In April 2014, I ran a copy of the 1786 Swift Creek Tax List as it appeared in the Pitt…1844 Lenoir County, NC Tax List
I was so happy to find this on the NCDCR site. First time I've ever seen my ancestor Eli Cox's…NC Tax Lists at NC Digital Collections
North Carolina Digital Collections has scanned North Carolina Tax Lists and organized them for researchers. Check them out via the…1779 Craven County Tax List
Below is a transcription of names found on the 1779 Tax List. These original scans can be found here at…1775 Pitt County Tax List (Index with original images)
I've been meaning to get around to making an index and posting the images from the 1775 Pitt County Tax…Have you checked the 1840 Pensioners Census for your Revolutionary War ancestors?
I got an email from a fellow researcher of a common family from eastern North Carolina in which this person…
Cool stuff! I'm always interested in hearing about Bryans/Gatlins in Swift Creek/Vanceboro. Love the history.