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 in the middle of a sentence where the bottom edge has been trimmed away.
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
Transcription notes: spelling, capitalization and punctuation follow the original. Words in [square brackets] are editorial notes; [?] marks an uncertain reading and [illegible] marks words that could not be read.
In the Name of God amen
I John Fornes of the County of Craven and State of North Carolina Being of sound mind and perfect Memory Blessed be God do make and Constitute this my last will and testament as followeth
First I will that all my just debts shall be paid
2d. I lend unto my beloved wife Charity three Negroes viz. Ginney, Dick & Rachal also I lend unto my beloved wife Charity one horse one Cart her choice bed and furnature [furniture, bedding] two cows & Calves ten hed of Sheep all my Stock of hogs My house and plantation with all [struck through: my] land lying in the longcodd [?] neck & as much of my house hold and Kitchen [interlined: furnature] & plantation tols [tools] as ma[y] be deemed nessesary for her own use [underlined: during her natural life]
3d. I then give unto my daughter Betsey Lee one dollar
4th. I then give unto my daughter Anna Mills one dollar
5th. I then give unto my Sun [son] Thomas Fornes one dollar Dollar
6th. I then give and bequeath unto my bloved sun Jessey Fornes all my lands situated between Pollard’s Swamp and the horsepen pocoson also My Negro man David My Negro boy Dick My Negro Woman Ginney with all her children viz. Major and Rachal and all her hereafter increace [increase]
7th. I then give unto my beloved son William [interlined: Fornes] all my landes on the North side of Pollard’s swamp
8th. I then Give unto My beloved son Abner Fornes all my lands lying between the horsepen pocoson and the longcodd [?] pocoson and adjoining the Chapman’s Land My Re[?] [the bottom edge of the page is cut off here, and the rest of the will is not in the folder]
[Back, written upside down and unrelated to the will:]
Received of John Fornes one hundred
May
About the original
John Fornes “lent” his wife Charity, for her lifetime, three slaves, Ginney, Dick and Rachal, along with a horse and cart, her choice of bed, two cows and calves, ten sheep, all his hogs, his house and plantation and the land in the “longcodd neck,” and whatever household goods and tools she needed. To use the word “lend” meant that she had the use of them only while she lived; afterwards they would pass to others under the will. He left one dollar each to his daughters Betsey Lee and Anna Mills and his son Thomas Fornes, which usually meant that they had already received their share. His son Jesse Fornes received the lands between Pollard’s Swamp and the Horsepen Pocosin, and also “My Negro man David, My Negro boy Dick, My Negro Woman Ginney with all her children viz. Major and Rachal and all her hereafter increase,” evidently after Charity’s life interest in Ginney, Dick and Rachal. William Fornes received the lands on the north side of Pollard’s Swamp and Abner Fornes the lands between the Horsepen Pocosin and the “longcodd” Pocosin next to the Chapmans.
This page tells us what the other estate papers in this folder leave out: Major and Rachal were the children of Ginney, and Dick was still a boy when the will was written. The same five people, David, Dick, Ginney (Jinney), Major and Rachel, were hired out by the estate in 1840 and 1842 (see the March 1840 sale and the March 1842 hire account), mostly to Charity Fornes and Jesse Fornes, which fits the will: Charity had the use of Ginney, Dick and Rachal, and Jesse was to have them all in the end. It also explains why Jesse Fornes called himself executor and gave a receipt for his “legacy” in 1842.
The place name read as “longcodd” (perhaps “Long Cod” or “Longcod”) is uncertain. On the back, written the other way up, are the start of an unrelated receipt, “Received of John Fornes one hundred,” and the word “May”; the sheet seems to have been used earlier for that.
Source: 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. Roach Family Papers (#346), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, Box 1, Folder b (Inventories, Wills, and Estates, 1783–1868). Collection guide. Digitized folder: ECU Digital Collections, 0346-b1-fb.
Images courtesy of East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University. View in ECU Digital Collections: 35994.
Part of the Roach Family Papers collection on East Carolina Roots.
