The estate inventory of John McPherson, made in December of 1806, lists enslaved ancestors at Laureum, Pine Comfort, Cotton Hall and Heneka Hill Plantations in Prince William Parish, Beaufort District, and Newton on Pon Pon in Colleton District, SC.
This document was indexed by Khalisa Jacobs.
In this remarkable document, enslaved people are listed in families (some noting 3 generations), and African slaves are listed by name.
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This document was indexed and made searchable by Khalisa Jacobs.
Beaufort District: Slaves at Laureum, Pine Comfort, Cotton Hall and Heneka Hill Plantations
Enslaved ancestors listed in Beaufort District were listed by families and in groups that may have been extended families. We have maintained those groupings here.
Listed in Beaufort District were:
Laureum Plantation:
July & his wife Beck, & four children, named Sylvia, July, Jemmy & August $1550 Moses & Luda and five children, named Senty, Nelly, Penny, Poorman and Nancy $1550} $3100
Charles & Judy, & six children, named Sylvia, Cressy, Clarinda, Hannah, Jupiter & Jemmy $1600 Old Maria & her son Warick $450 Old John & Mary, & four children, named Sandy & Tom (grown up) & Tenah & Jack $1520} $3570
Scrub & Amey & six children Hester & Binah, (grown up) & Simon, Renty, Davy & Bella $1650 January & Juno, & three children, named Patty & Betty & York $1150} $2800
Jupiter & Babet & seven children, named Murriah & her child Alexander, Sambo, Rose & Chamont (who are grown up) & Rachel, Phoebe & Caty $2350 Monday $400} $2750
Amey & three of her children who are grown up, named Broughton Collin & Dianah & a boy named Sampson $1500 Bob & Dido, & one child named Molly $800 Bella (Tom the Carpenter’s wife) $300 Polydore $400 Ishmael $400 Tom – Carpenter $400 Noah – Carpenter $600} 4400
William (Carpenter) $600 Prisey (his wife) & her child Lydia $500 Wall a Cook $600 Chloe $250 Sam house boy $350 Nelson, house boy $300 Israel, Coachman $450 Ned, the Groom $600 James, Hostler $400 Charles, Attendant, also Shoemaker $350 Little Andrew, house boy $250 Nanny – House Maid $300 Ralph Black Smith – Jemima his wife dairy woman with the following children, Ambrose, Joy, Dennis, Catey & Rachel $1450} $4450
Pine Comfort:
Old Affey $150 Peggy a young woman about 13 years old $250} $400
Madge an Old Woman $150 Joe a fine boy about 14 years old $250 Jack $200 George $200} $800
Old George (Carpenter) $100 Four motherless children, who have been brought back to Laureum, Hercules, Harriett, Louisa & Selena $400} $500
Cotton Hall, Heneka Hill:
Cuffey a prime fellow (at Mr. Brailsfords) $400 Kit the Driver, Doll his wife, with their five children named Rose, Sibby, Pattey, Molly, Israel $1200 Judy, Venus, Bella $750 Betty, Jack & Jenny $850 Catoe, Susannah & two children Titus & Betty $800 Old Jack, Hagar, & two children named Pender & Scipio $500} $4500
Old Kate $150 King & Elsey, his wife $600 Moses, Juliet, & one child Jacob $700 Peggy, Aaron & Tommy $800 Charlotte & son Sam $500 Prince & Bella $600 Mary $150 Renta & one child named Rivers $400 Frank, & one boy named Buck $550 Amelia, & her four grown children Tinkny, Juba, Ishmael, Sandy, Amey, Sarah, Peter $2200 Shem $300 London $300 Mary & two children, named Evans & Joseph $500 Roebuck $300 Sibbey $250 Mary $300} $8600
Barbary & Paul, & two children named Polly & Susan $800 Hellen & Ben & five children named Doll, Rachell, Leah & Adonis, & Ben Billey & Marian being two children of Helen grown up $2200} $3000
Maria & two children named Hannah & Maria $700 Polly & Prince $700 Nelly & four children, Betty, Amey & Little Nelly & Sue $1300 Jim $400 Nella & Margaret & two children Little Cymon & Antony $850 Ben $200 June & Biner & two children Barbary & Tim $850 Harry & Molly, & two children Sue & George $500 London & Harriett $700 Elsey & Shrub $200 Tener & her two children, Phillis & Jane & her grandson Adam $750 Andrew & Suddy $700 Old Dick Charlotte, his wife $200 Celia $150 George & Venus $400 Lucy, Phoebe, Stepney & Senty Sam & Peggy $1300 Jenny & Miley $600 Tener & two children, Little Tinkney & Hester $750 Isaac $300} $11,050
December, Fortimore, & three children, Nanny, Diana & Plenty $950 Cromwell (Carpenter) $500} $1450
Penda (Cromwell’s wife) & two children named Toby & Peggy $800 Judy (Cromwell’s Mother) $50} $850
Paris & Rebecca $700 Sam $400 Old Affey & 2 children, William & Chloe, Rosey, Tissey & Isaac $1300} $2400
Simon, Charles & Rachel $1000 Phoebe (blind) & Charles & Tirah $700 Toney (Carpenter) $400} 2100
Quash, Peggy & two children Vicey & Richard $800 Joe & Nella – grand children of Mary $450} 1250
Dick & Catey $700 Cyrus (Carpenter) $600 Morris $400 Israel (little) $250} $1950
Africans:
Mathew & Hester $700 Cuffy & Favorite $600 Luke & Adele $600 Summer & Fancy $600} 2500
Rock & Spring $600 September & Poplar $600 Mentor & Boon $600 Primus & Quaco $550 Jack & Handy $600 Julia & Agnes $600 Harry, Sophia & child $650 October & Smart $600 Quomina & Hynman $600 Cicero & Maria & child Clarissa $650 Caesar & Speed $550 Louisa & Tom $600} $7200
Mindstraight & Sancho $600 Mark & Lott $600 Augustus & Bristol $600 Robin & Charity $600} $2400
Nimble & Rosetta $600 Winter & Sumersett $550 Clifton and Rotterdam $550} $1700
Enslaved Families Listed at Newton On Ponpon, Colleton District, SC, 1806
“Appraisement of the Person Estate of the Late General John McPherson, at Newton On Ponpon – St. Bartholomews Parish – Made the 22d December 1806:”
John’s People – John (Driver) $600 Bess, his wife – Ester Molly, Betsey & Sarah $1400} $2000
Kate, Nancy & John, & Cyrus $650 Mungo, Rina, Jacob, Agrippa, Charles, Phillis $1100} $1750
Daniel, Sangro, Daniel, Stephen, Sharper, March, Tony $1600 Bella, Tena, Eighteen, Diana, Judy, Dick $1050 Will, Tyrah, Daniel, July $1100 Harriett, Hannibal, Belinda, Jenny $1050 Murriah $300 Hercules, Marianne, Cuffee, Amaretta & Tenah $1050} $6150
Sam, Maria, Patty $750 Grace & Plott $700 Hector, Gamester $800 Ben, Rose, Binah, Peggy, Lysia & Chamont $1350 Minus (Carpenter) Nancy, Minus, Cuba $1500 Jackey, Cudjoe, David $1200 Cato’s People – Cato (Driver) $600 Brancer, Daphne, Diana (Cato’ own child) $750} $7650
Ned, Tillah, Lysiah, Grace, Exeter $1200 Margaret, Will, Isaac $800 Billy, Myrtilla $650} $2650
Chloe, Adam & Daphne & an Infant $850 Rachel, Dido, Sammey, Frank $1050 Stepney, Nancy, Violet $900 Billy, Eliza, Martha $800 Plymouth, Tyrah, Bess, Diana $950} $4550
Clarinda, Hero, James $600 Mungo, Rose, Brancer $800 Katy, Plymouth, Tom, Rinah & Mary $1050 Qua, Tenah, Tyra $500 Celia, Tenah, Will, Peggy, George & George $1500} $4450
February $300 Brutus, Morris, Judy $1100 Amherst, Snow, Ben, Guy, Pompey, Jemmy & Rachel $1600 Harriet $300
Africans Under John: Bonaparte $300 Talleyrand $300 Burr $300 Justice $300} $4500
Manchester $300 Sam $300 Brighton $300 Peter $300 May $300 January $300} $1800
Africans Under Cato: Jefferson $300 Demserat $250 Snap $300 Duke $300 York $300} $1450
Herod $300 Sally $300 Bright Eyes $300 March $300 April $300 Fanny $300} $1800
The Research Potential of This Document
This document has enormous research potential for African American family research, for a number of reasons:
- Enslaved ancestors are listed in families, with some family groups extending to three generations, ex. “Tener & her two children, Phillis & Jane & her grandson Adam $750”
- Some adults are listed with their parents, ex. “Amelia, & her four grown children Tinkny, Juba, Ishmael, Sandy, Amey, Sarah, Peter $2200”
- Africans are listed by name at each plantation, ex. “Africans Under Cato: Jefferson $300 Demserat $250 Snap $300 Duke $300 York $300”
- Occupations of listed ancestors provide glimpses into their daily lives, ex. “Ralph Black Smith – Jemima his wife dairy woman with the following children, Ambrose, Joy, Dennis, Catey & Rachel $1450”
Source Citation
“South Carolina Estate Inventories and Bills of Sale,” online database at Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/image/256/308409945), Estate Inventories, Book D (1800-1810), Pp. 421-423, accessed 18 Mar 2017.
Thank you for this.
Another research potential is that it also offers names of estate administrators, which means that they also lived in surrounding area. Those whose family roots go back to a particular area of SC and who are researching their family’s surnames may also want to find plantation or estate holders with that same surname.
For example, on one of the inventory list, it gives Culbert as an examiner. Since I am trying to find out how my DNA matches that of a Culbert descendant, and I know that both of our roots are from that area, I now need to research other Culbert landholders in that area and hope that they, too recorded an inventory list.
Thank you so much for sharing this wisdom Cynthia!
Toni