Tags
Davidson County, Elston, Enslaved, Enslavers, Goss, North Carolina, Slavery
I’ve just found the will of my 5th great grandfather, Frederick Goss (1766-1833) and the estate inventory of his widow, Sarah (Elston) Goss (1772-1837) in Davidson County, North Carolina. Frederick’s 1833 will includes the following:
“I give & bequeath unto my beloved wife Sarah my negro slaves namely James Catharine & Lett, to her use and benefit during her life time & then the said James & Catherine [no mention of Lett] to be sold by my executors and their proceeds to be divided among my lawful heirs.”
The inventory of Sarah’s estate includes “A list of the sale of the property of Sarah Goss deceased sold the 9th day of June 1837.”
Interspersed between the sale prices of such items as “one stone jug 30 cents,” “candlemold and scissors 5 cents,” and “1 side saddle 9 dollars and 50 cents,” the list also includes:
James a negro boy purchased for $601 by James Lee. (Lee also bought one “coverlid,” two quilts, one “needleworked counterpin,” and one “bed cord” for a total of $8.33.)
Catharine a negro girl purchased for $402 by Julian Leach.
Irena a negro girl purchased for $300.25 by William Harris.
The 1830 Census lists Goss enslaving 12 people: one boy under age 10, two male youths between 10 and 23, one young man between 24 and 35, and one man between 36 and 54. There were also four girls under age 10, two girls/young women between 10 and 24, and one woman between 36 and 54. Which of these twelve were the four individuals listed in the estate documents? And what happened to the others?
I wish I knew James, Catharine, Lett and Irena’s ages. What were their relationships to each other? I don’t know if Lett (listed in Frederick’s will) is the same person as Irena in Sarah’s estate inventory. The three enslavers who purchased these three people at the sale aren’t names I recognize from my family research and I don’t know if they were local. Did these four people remain in the area or were they uprooted and sent far away? So many unanswered questions, but I hope this little bit of information is helpful to someone.
I have many ancestors who were enslavers. Most were on my maternal grandmother’s side, but some, like Frederick and Sarah Goss, were ancestors of my paternal grandmother, and at least one was an on my paternal grandfather’s side. It’s a daunting task, but this post is a very small first step to share information on the souls who were held in bondage by my ancestors. There will be more.
Sources
Wills (Davidson County, North Carolina), 1823-1969; Index to Wills, 1823-1955; p. 239. Author: North Carolina. Superior Court (Davidson County); Probate Place: Davidson, North Carolina
Wills and Estate Papers (Davidson County), 1663-1978; Author: North Carolina. Division of Archives and History (Raleigh, North Carolina); Probate Place: Davidson, North Carolina
Relationship
Frederick (1766-1833) and Sarah (Elston) Goss (1772-1837) 5th great grandparents
Fernita “Neatty” (Goss) Bodenhamer (1795-1863) 4th great grandmother
John Bodenhamer (about 1837-1863?) 3rd great grandfather
Clementine “Clemmie” Esther (Bodenhamer) Owen (1854-1925) 2nd great grandmother
Stella Lee (Owen) Miller (1881-1942) great grandmother
Esther Jane (Miller) (Stephenson) Hare (1914-1975) grandmother
William Edward Stephenson Hare (1933-1961) father
Me
Generations of Nomads 
Interesting and different topic…Will you be adding to the lists of your enslaver ancestors and their enslaved in future posts? 🙂
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Thanks, Diane. Yes, this is a subject I’ll be continuing to work on. I haven’t even scratched the surface yet.
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This is incredible and painful, Kim. It would be cool if their descendants could be traced but that would be impossible, I’m sure. It wouldn’t change anything but might be helpful to their healing from the weight of the horrible past.
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It is painful, Anne. I hope that by putting my limited information out there, it may help someone add another piece to their puzzle. There are lots of obstacles to finding information on enslaved ancestors, but it’s not impossible. The genealogy community is pretty amazing, and there’s lots of sharing of information happening.
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Agree with Ann, a painful legacy to share but one that may help descendants of those enslaved to discover their heritage — as happens so often on “Finding Your
Roots.”
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Thanks, Molly. There are so many ways to assemble the information. It may be that someone recognizes an ancestor through the name of one of the men who purchased James, Catharine or Irena. Who knows?
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I know of one specific slave named Eliz. She was 7 years old when she left N.Y. in 1783 with Ebenezer Ward, his wife and 2 children. She got off the ship in Annapolis. And then??? I have no idea. I wish I knew.
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I know of one specific slave named Eliz. She was 7 years old when she left N.Y. in 1783 with Ebenezer Ward, his wife and 2 children. She got off the ship in Annapolis. And then??? I have no idea. I wish I knew.
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