Annie O'Neal's Will, Johnston Co., NC 1829

The will of Annie O'Neal

Annie O'Neal was the wife of Zachariah O'Neal who wrote his will in Johnston County, North Carolina in March 1796. Annie wrote her will August 17th, 1829 and it was proved in Johnston County February 1835 court.

I recorded the will of Zachariah O'Neal and his wife Annie because I was looking for the parents of my ancestor Moses O'Neal who wrote his will in Johnston County, North Carolina in 1813. Zachariah O'Neal wrote his will in 1796 which would be an appropriate time for Moses' father to have written his will. Unfortunately, Moses was not mentioned as a child of Zachariah O'Neal.

I have still included Annie's will below with the hopes that it will help another O'Neal researcher. In order to save copying costs, I photographed Annie's will with my iPhone. The transcript is below.

Will of Anna O'Neal, 1835, Johnston Co NC Original Will Records, C.R. 056.801.8, North Carolina State Archives, Photographed by Ginger R. Smith, March 2014; p. 1

Will of Anna O'Neal, 1835, Johnston Co NC Original Will Records, C.R. 056.801.8, North Carolina State Archives, Photographed by Ginger R. Smith, March 2014; p. 2

Will of Anna O'Neal, 1835, Johnston Co NC Original Will Records, C.R. 056.801.8, North Carolina State Archives, Photographed by Ginger R. Smith, March 2014; p. 3

Will of Anna O'Neal, 1835, Johnston Co NC Original Will Records, C.R. 056.801.8, North Carolina State Archives, Photographed by Ginger R. Smith, March 2014; p. 4

The will of Anna O'Neal, written 17 Aug 1829, proved Feb 1835. 

Transcribed by Ginger R Smith, ginger.reney@gmail.com, 28 Sep 2014

In the name of God Amen I Ana Oneal of

the County of Johnston and State of

North Carolina do this 17th day of August

1829 make and ordain this my last 

will and testament in manner and form 

as followith first give and Bequeath to

my son Stephen Oneal fore negros by

the name of Lewis Bransill Charity and Mary

to Him and His Heirs for ever-------

2nd I give and Bequeath to my son Stephen

ONeal all my House hold and kitchen furniture

of every kind and all my stock of every kind

Consisting of Horses Hogs and Cattle and 

all my working tools of every kind. Also two 

Hundred and ninty acres of Land in said

County and adjoining the Lands of Josiah &

Holloman and other for Him and His Heirs

for ever.

3rd I give to my son Micajah Oneal

fifty dollars in money for him and his heirs 

for ever

4th I give to Aley Baley seventy five 

Dollars for she and her heirs for ever

5th I put in the Hands of Stephen ONeal

and Benjamin Haut? my Executors to this

will five negros by the name of Annicka

Gatsey Zilla Terrell and Hennery to be sold 

at _______ of Six Months and when sold

my executors pay the Amount of said bond

into the hands of the guardian of Lurry? 

Haust, Henson Haust, and Willey Haut orphans

of William _ Haust ___ which sum my

daughter Lurry Earp Owes to the above orphans 

to the amount of fore hundred and fifty Dollars

6th my will is that if the said negros over 

pays the sum of fore hundred and fifty 

dollars which my daughter owes to said 

orphan then the residue of said money 

to be equally divided between Lurry

Haust, Hinson Haust, and Willey Haust 

orphan of William _ Haust Est?

7th I appoint my beloved son Stephen

Oneal and Benjamin Haust Executors to 

this my last will and testament in 

witness where I do here unto set

my hand and seal this day and date

above written

              Anna (Her X Mark) ONeal

Attest

Richardson Oneal

A Richardson

State of North Carolina

Johnston County

February Term 1835

Then was the Execution of this deed duly

proven in open court by the oaths of Richardson ONeal one of

the subscribing witness - and Allen Richardson the other ______

witness having been proven to be out of the State his signature 

was duly proven and said will ordered to be recorded. 

          Test Rm Sanders CC

I wasn't sure at first if this Anna was the same Annie, wife of Zachariah O'Neal because Anna only mentioned a couple of the children that Zachariah had mentioned in his will. Did the children die or move away? Or did Anna feel that they had already received their legacies?

Children mentioned in Zachariah's Will (1796):
1. Thomas
2. Winney
3. Creasey
4. Edee
5. Lodowick
6. Stephen
7. Micajah
8. Aley Houst

Children mentioned in Annie's Will (1829):
1. Stephen
2. Micajah
3. Aley Baley (is this the same as Aley Houst above? - the Haust orphans are mentioned)
4. Laurie Earp?

Also, Zachariah willed several negros to his wife Anna named Dick, Peter, and Jinnie. However, in Annie's will, she mentioned negros Lewis, Bransill, Charity, and Mary to go to her son Stephen; and Annicka, Gatsey, Zilla, Ferrell, and Hennery to be sold. What happened to Dick, Peter, and Jinnie? Were they redistributed to Annie's children prior to her writing her will? Did they die? Were they sold or given away to others?

If I were to continue researching this family, these are the steps I would take:

1. Review the Johnston Co Deed records to determine family relationships 
2. Research the 8 children of Zachariah O'Neal to determine why they were not mentioned in their mother Annie's will of 1829 - did they die or did they move away ?
3. Research Aley Houst, Aley Baley, and Laurey Earp and determine their connection to the Houst orphans

Two William Godwins

DNA is a wonderful thing. Family Tree DNA is for the self-starter who isn't afraid to get their hands dirty. AncestryDNA on the other hand, is geared more towards folks who want all the tiny leaves of their family tree to just fall into their lap. No shovel required.

This is fine and dandy, but some of those leaves are falling from the wrong tree if you get my drift.

One of the issues that my Godwin surname project is having is trying to go through page after page of matches to Godwins from the South East, particularly, GA, FL, and AL. We're talking upwards of three to four hundred matches, just on the Godwins alone. It seems this SE group of Godwins were a prolific bunch! Oh, and guess what? They liked to marry their cousins too, making it even more difficult to sort through their matches.

But, I digress. As I was saying... If you have taken the AncestryDNA test, then you know that many of your matches have a tree uploaded to their profile that you, as their match, have access to. Unfortunately, as you are probably aware if you've ever tried to do any research with Ancestry.com, many of those trees are WRONG!

The two biggest errors I am finding in these Godwins trees are:

1. Everyone descends from James Godwin and Mary Parker - who IS this couple anyways? There were several message board posts and articles written in the "Huckleberry Historian" AKA the Sampson Co., NC newsletter that said so and so Godwin was the son of this couple, reference X deed. Let me tell you, this X deed does NOT exist. When I queried the author of these articles and posts, he could not procure the deed. I actually found a copy of the deed he cited and there is absolutely NO reference to any family members at all whatsoever. When I queried him further about the deed he stopped answering my emails. Typical.

2. William Godwin who married Pheriby and died in Conecuh Co., AL between 1840-1850 and William Godwin who married Winnefred and died in Johnston Co., NC in 1845 are one in the same person and they both are the sons of James Godwin and Elizabeth Dawson. This is the problem I would like to address in this post.

There are actually two William Godwins. 

Any genealogist would know this if they did the research.

William Godwin # 1:
There is a William Godwin who lives in GA and AL who is married to a woman named Pheriby. No one knows her last name. That's ok. This William Godwin died in Conecuh Co (now Escambia Co) Alabama in the mid 1840s. His parents are UNKNOWN at this time. We are trying to use DNA analysis to determine who his parents might have been.

William Godwin # 2:
There is also a William Godwin who lives in Johnston Co., NC who is married to a woman name Winnefred. Again, no one knows her last name either. That's ok too. This William Godwin died in Johnston Co., NC on 24 Jul 1845 (actually I'm not sure where this date came from, but it's "accepted."). This William Godwin did not leave a will, but there are estate files pertaining to his death on file in Johnston Co., NC from 1847. His parents were James Godwin and Elizabeth _____ [Dawson?].

If you descend from either of these two families, please correct your trees with the above information. I would like to prevent this mistake from being copied over and over again. If we can set the record straight, then maybe the CORRECT information will start to be copied.

If you would like documentation for the above information, please email me.

Online Deed Records - North Carolina

The Register of Deeds Office - A Free Alternative  

Many Register of Deeds Offices are digitizing their historical deeds and land grants and putting them online. Several North Carolina counties have already been digitized. Here is a list of counties who currently have their deeds digitized and available to download from the web FOR FREE.


Alamance County - still in the process of being digitized, goes back to 1849 (as of June 2014)
Alexander County - Digitized deeds going back to 1847
Alleghany County - Digitized deeds going back to 1859
Anson County - digitized deeds going back to 1749
Ashe County - digitized deeds going back to 1799
Chatham County - digitized deeds going back to 1771
Cumberland County - - digitized deeds going back to 1754
Duplin County - digitized deeds going back to 1749. And they have the land grant maps!
Edgecombe County - digitized deeds going back to 1759. Sign in as a guest, then click the Online Index Books link at the top of the page. (Index only. No access to deed images at this time).
Forsyth County - digitized deeds going back to 1849
Guilford County - digitized deeds going back to 1771. 
Iredell County - Digitized deeds going back to 1788. Select “Search Online Records” in center of page, Sign in as a Guest, and click on Indexes Prior to 1964 tab
Johnston County - digitized deeds going back to 1789, land division records, plats
Jones County - digitized deeds going back to 1784
Lincoln County - digitized deeds going back to the 1700s. Click the "Old Index Book" tab
Martin County - digitized deeds going back to 1771
Mecklenburg County - digitized deeds going back to 1763 (See instructions in the comments below)
Mitchell County- deeds have been digitized but not indexed. Go to "Search Deeds;" Then scroll down to "Non-Indexed Deed Images." Click "re", then click the book and page nos and the deed image should appear.
Orange County - digitized deeds 1752-1969
Pitt County - digitized deeds going back to 1792
Sampson County - digitized deeds going back to 1784
Stokes County -  digitized deeds going back to 1787
Wake County - digitized deeds going back to 1785

Check back with this site often for updates to newly added Counties! - 


You can also follow my Pinterest Board - North Carolina Deeds and Land Grants - to receive updates to newly added counties.

Many thanks to everyone writing in with new updated links!!!

Additional Information: Check out these helpful posts

Reading land grants in North Carolina which uses Metes and Bounds
Finding Land Grants using the North Carolina State Archives' Online Catalog (MARS)
North Carolina Land and Property from the FamilySearch.org Wiki
Why Use Deeds and Land Grants in YOUR research

Why Use Deeds and Land Grants in YOUR research

William Godwin to Nathan Godwin, Sampson County, NC, Deed 1792 (Book 9, p. 172)

Why use Deeds?  

Deeds are a very valuable resource to have in your research toolbox. The primary use of Deeds is to tract the transfer of land from one person or persons to another. In addition, Deeds can be used to learn about familial relationships and to learn who one's neighbors might have been which can be helpful when tracing persons of the same name. Deeds can tell you who lived where and when.

How did North Carolinians Obtain Land and What is the difference between a Land Grant and a Deed?

In North Carolina, in order to obtain land, a person had to first obtain a Land Grant from either the Lords Proprietors of North Carolina (who worked for the King of England) or the North Carolina Secretary of State's Office. The Patent often contained a description of the land, what it was bounded by, ie, waterways, and the names of the people who owned adjacent land. Plat MAPS were drawn up and included in the files. After the patent was in hand, they could do what they wanted with the land - live on it, improve it, will it to their children, or sell it. When the land was sold, it was recorded in a Deed. The Deeds contained information about who was selling (the Grantor), who was buying (the Grantee), and anyone else involved. Such information would include where the Grantors and Grantees currently or previously lived, who had ties or claims to the land, ie, wives who may have a dower interest; and who the neighbors were.

Deeds can help you determine kinship. In 1788, Jonathan Godwin took out a land grant in Sampson County for 50 acres on the East Side of Black Mingo Creek. In 1801, Nathan Godwin sold 50 acres on the East Side of Black Mingo Creek to Elizabeth Bagley, the land previously patented to Jonathan Godwin in 1788. Since there are no deeds of sale from Jonathan Godwin to Nathan Godwin, it could be implied that Nathan had received this 50 acres of land via inheritance from Jonathan Godwin who died in 1791 leaving his widow Rachel in charge of his estate.

Terminology involved when a person applied for a Land Grant

1. ENTRY:  This is an application that a person filled out to apply for a PATENT to occupy and purchase vacant land
2. WARRANT:  This is issued once the ENTRY is approved, telling the county surveyor to measure the tract of land
3. PLAT:  This is drawn up by the surveyor describing the land in metes and bounds
4. PATENT:  This is the final document written by the Secretary of State conveying the surveyed land to the applicant. Also known as a GRANT

How do I Obtain Copies of Deeds and Land Grants?

The North Carolina State Archives has most recorded deeds on microfilm organized by county and date. These books do not contain the actual "original" deeds because those went home with the person who purchased the land. Some of you may have found some original deeds in your family's possessions. The Archives also has the original Land Grants that were issued by either the Crown or the Secretary of State which have been microfilmed as well. (Some books have not been microfilmed and are available for research).

If you live in North Carolina, you can visit the Archives and pay $0.25 a page to print out a microfilm copy of a deed, or you can order deeds via their online ordering system for $2.00 each and get copies of deeds mailed to your house. This assumes you have already consulted a microfilm copy of that county's deed index and know what book and page number you need, or you have identified the book and page number from an abstract book.

If you live outside of North Carolina, you can order copies of deeds at $20.00 each, which is a pretty steep price to pay.

The Archives has all of its Land Grants indexed in their online catalog system (MARS). I have written a post about how to find Land Grants using the MARS system here.

Alternatives to ordering deed records from the Archives include ordering the microfilm from your local Family History Library for a small fee of less than $10. The microfilm can then be viewed at your local Family History Library during the time you have the film on loan from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, UT. This process can take some time because you have to order the index first which is on a microfilm all by itself. Then you have to order a separate film for the book and page number containing the deed of interest.

The Register of Deeds Office - A Free Alternative - many North Carolina Register of Deeds Offices are digitizing their historical deeds and land grants and putting them online. Several North Carolina counties have already been digitized. Click this link for a list of counties that have already been digitized.


Additional Information: Check out these helpful posts

Reading land grants in North Carolina which uses Metes and Bounds
Finding Land Grants using the North Carolina State Archives' Online Catalog (MARS)
North Carolina Land and Property from the FamilySearch.org Wiki

The Distribution of Jonathan Godwin's Estate, part 3

On July 10th, 1788, Jonathan Godwin received two patents from the State of North Carolina for 46 and 47 acres each of land lying in Sampson County on the East side of the Little Cohera River and the East side of the Black Mingo River. 

When Jonathan Godwin died in 1791, his widow, Rachel, was allowed to keep his estate in her possession. No mention, however, was made of what was contained in his estate. In 1792 Richard Godwin took an inventory of Jonathan's estate which included only one tract of land containing 50 acres. You can view the contents of his estate in The Distribution of Jonathan Godwin's Estate, part 1. No description of the land included in the inventory was provided. If Jonathan Godwin received two tracts of land, each approximately 50 acres from the State of North Carolina in 1788, but only one tract appeared in his estate records, then what happened to the other 50 acre tract of land he received from the State in 1788?  

At least one of those tracts of land was identified as being sold by Nathan, Rachel, and Dred Godwin to John Dormond in 1795 (See Part 2). This tract was on the East side of the Little Cohara River. What about the 2nd tract he received on the East side of the Black Mingo River? It is not possible to search the deed records by land description. However, since Nathan, Rachel and Dred Godwin sold the first parcel of land, I thought maybe they might have sold the 2nd one as well. I started my search by looking for Nathan, Rachel or Dred as the grantor in the Sampson County Deed Records (they are on microfilm at the North Carolina State Archives). Since the land was sold after Jonathan's death in 1791, I restricted my search to records after 1791. 

I found one other deed from Rachel Godwin but it was on the Beaverdam Swamp. This was land she had inherited or purchased from Thomas Bullard who was presumed to be her brother. I then moved on to Nathan. There were actually two Nathan Godwins living in Sampson County at this time and they were both buying and selling land quite often. I had to read through each deed in which Nathan was the grantor to find either 1) a description of 50 acres of land on the East side of the Black Mingo being sold or 2) land originally granted to Jonathan Godwin by patent bearing date of 1788. 

I finally found one deed from Nathan Godwin to Elizabeth Bagley which satisfied both of the above requirements. The deed was for 50 acres of land lying on the East side of Black Mingo which was originally granted to Jonathan Godwin by patent bearing date of 1788! (See deed images and transcript below. Click on the image to make it bigger). 

Sampson County, North Carolina
Nathan Godwin to Elizabeth Bagley

To all to whom these presents Shall come greeting know ye that I Nathan Godwin Junior of Sampson County and State aforesaid planter for and in consideration of the sum of Twelve pounds ten shillings L12.10 current money of the State to me in hand paid by Elizabeth Bagley of Sampson County and State aforesaid the receipt whereal I do hereby acknowledge that I have bargained and sold and by these presents do fully freely and absolutely give grant convey assign and set over to her the said Elizabeth Bagley forever One certain tract or parcell of land lying and being in the county of Sampson containing fifty acres of land more or less situated and lying on the East side of Black Mingo and on the North side of the Beaverdam swamp beginning at a post Oak on the side of mingo Swamp thence South 31 East 120 poles thence a pine thence South 59 West 63 poles to a pine thence North 31 West 120 poles to a Stake thence to the Beginning it being a tract of land granted to Jonathan Godwin by patent bearing date the 10th of July 1788. To have and to hold the same bargained lands and premises together with all buildings fencings houses water ___ and Improvements thereunto belonging unto it and Elizabeth Bagley her heirs, executors, Administrators and assigns forever and I disavow? Nathan Godwin Junior for himself his heirs, Executors, administrators and assigns forever the said bargained lands and premises unto the said Elizabeth Bagley her heirs Executors administrators and assigns against any person or persons whatsoever shall come and I the said Nathan Godwin myself my heirs Executors administrators and assigns will and shall warrant and forever defend the same bargained land and premises unto the said Elizabeth Bagley her heirs and assigns forever and by these presents. 

In witness whereof I the said 
Nathan Godwin have herunto set his hand and affixed his seal this the 26th day of January one thousand eight hundred and one 1801.

Signed sealed and Delivered in the presence of
Nathan Godwin
John Godwin
Micajah Godwin

Nathan Godwin Junior (seal)

State of North Carolina
Sampson County, Feburary court one thousand eight hundred and one then was the within deed from Nathan Godwin to Elizabeth Bagley was proved in open court by the oath of Micajah Godwin and ordered to be registered. 
H Holmes, Clk

State of North Carolina Sampson County then registered this third day of April Anna Domino one thousand Eight hundred and one 
O Holmes Regr

There are several important pieces of information included in this deed: 

1)  This land was located on the East Side of the Black Mingo and contains 50 acres. This is the exact description given of one of the tracts of land that Jonathan Godwin received from the State of North Carolina in 1788. 

2) This land was granted to Jonathan by patent bearing date July 1788, thus further confirming that this is the same tract of land Jonathan received from the State in 1788. 

3) Nathan Godwin is the sole grantor on this deed. However, Micajah, Nathan, and John Godwin were listed as witnesses. It is possible they were relatives of Nathan. 

4) Nathan is listed as "junior" in this deed. At first this threw me off because I was surmising that this Nathan Godwin was the son of Jonathan Godwin. However, many new researchers make the common mistake of believing that someone listed as "junior" is the the son of someone with the same name. This is not necessarily true. More likely, there was another man with the same name who was older, thus he was probably called "Senior" and this younger Nathan was therefore called "Junior." I mentioned earlier that there was another Nathan living in Sampson County at the same time. He was older; probably around Rachel and Jonathan's age. This Nathan was also called "Junior" in the 1795 deed he sold along with Rachel and Dred to John Dormond as discussed in Part 2 of this post series. 

Conclusion: 

In this series of blog posts, I discussed Jonathan Godwin's Estate which was inventoried by Richard Godwin in Sampson County, North Carolina in 1792 and the land grants which he received prior to his death and their subsequent distribution by his heirs. 

According to the land grants, Jonathan Godwin received two patents of 50 acres each from the State of North Carolina for lands lying on the East side of the Little Cohera River and on the East side of the Black Mingo River. 

When he died in 1791, his widow was allowed to keep his estate in her possession. In 1792, only 50 acres of land was inventoried in his estate. In 1795, Jonathan's widow Rachel, Nathan, and Dred Godwin sold 50 acres on the Little Cohera, land that was originally patented to Jonathan Godwin in 1788, to John Dormond. In 1801, Nathan Godwin sold the 2nd tract of land containing 50 acres lying on the East side of the Black Mingo River to Elizabeth Bagley. This land was also originally patented to Jonathan Godwin in 1788. Therefore, both tracts of land that were originally granted to Jonathan Godwin in 1788 were accounted for and sold by his heirs in 1795 and 1801 respectively. This was determined by using original deed and estate records found at the North Carolina State Archives. 

Because Jonathan's widow Rachel was allowed to keep his estate in her possession following his death in 1791, I can assume that the Rachel Godwin who sold the 50 acres of land on the East side of the Little Cohera in 1795 was his widow. I am also surmising that because Nathan and Dred Godwin were listed on the deed as well (actually Nathan was the grantor and Rachel and Dred were co-signers), that the three of them were co-owners of the land and therefore heirs of Jonathan. More specifically, I believe Nathan and Dred were both sons of Rachel and Jonathan Godwin. This belief is further supported by Nathan Godwin selling the 2nd tract of land originally granted to Jonathan Godwin in 1788 lying on the East side of the Black Mingo to Elizabeth Bagley in 1801. Although there is no deed (that I could find) in which Jonathan sold this land to Nathan, I believe Nathan inherited it from his father, Jonathan Godwin either shortly before or after he died in 1791. 

By using original estate and deed records, I am able to hypothesize that Nathan and Dred Godwin were sons of Jonathan and Rachel Godwin. 

Can this be proved? 

Possibly...maybe a DNA test can provide me with more information? What do you think? Have I provided a good enough case to convince you that my family structure is correct?  

The Distribution of Jonathan Godwin's Estate, Part 1
The Distribution of Jonathan Godwin's Estate, Part 2
The Distribution of Jonathan Godwin's Estate, Part 3

The Distribution of Jonathan Godwin's Estate, part 2

On July 10th, 1788, Jonathan Godwin received two patents from the State of North Carolina for 46 and 47 acres each of land lying in Sampson County on the East side of the Little Cohera River and the East side of the Black Mingo River. 

When Jonathan Godwin died in 1791, his widow, Rachel, was allowed to keep his estate in her possession. No mention, however, was made of what was contained in his estate. In 1792 Richard Godwin took an inventory of Jonathan's estate which included only one tract of land containing 50 acres. You can view the contents of his estate in The Distribution of Jonathan Godwin's Estate, part 1. No description of the land included in the inventory was provided. If Jonathan Godwin received two tracts of land, each approximately 50 acres from the State of North Carolina in 1788, but only one tract appeared in his estate records, then what happened to the other 50 acre tract of land he received from the State? 

It appears as if one tract of land that was granted to Jonathan Godwin by the State in 1788 was sold by Nathan Godwin in 1795 to John Dormand. Rachel and Dred Godwin were co-signers on the deed. Nathan and Dred Godwin were probably sons of Rachel and Jonathan Godwin and this tract of land was probably the 50 acres of land that was left in Rachel's possession after the death of her husband in 1791 and probably the same 50 acres of land that was mentioned in Jonathan's estate inventory. The tract of land described below was the one that was located on the East side of the Little Cohara (River) on the Mill Branch. (Click each image to make them bigger - Transcripts below)

State of North Carolina, Sampson County Deeds

Nathan Godwin and others to John Dormond, 14 Dec 1795

This Indenture made this 14th day of December one thousand seven hundred and Ninety Five Between Nathan Godwin Junior of Sampson County of the one part and John Dormond of the same County at the other part and State of North Carolina Witnesseth that the said Nathan Godwin for and in consideration of the sum of Seven pounds to him in hand paid By the said John Dormond at and before the unsealing and delivery of these presents the Receipt whereof I as hereby acknowledge myself to be fully satisfied contented and paid Hath given granted bargained and sold unto the said John Dormond his heirs and assigns forever. One parcell or tract of land containing by estimation forty six acres of land be the same more or less it lying in Sampson County on the East side of Little Cohara and on the Mill Branch. Beginning at a pine near the corner of a pond thence South 55 West 86 poles to a Red Oak thence South 35 East 86 poles to a pine thence North 55 East 86 poles to a Stake thence to the Beginning. It being a parcell of land granted to Jonathan Godwin by patent bearing date July one thousand seven hundred and Eighty Eight in the thirteenth year of our Independence to have and to hold the said piece or parcell of land aforesaid with all woods, waters, house, orchards, gardens, advantages, privileages, and appertanances thereto belonging to him the said John Dormond his heirs and assigns forever the said Nathan Godwin for himself his heirs and assigns doth promise and agree to and with the said John Dormond his heirs and assigns forever that the said Nathan Godwin hath in himself rightful power to give grant sell and deliver and convey the said piece of land unto the said John Dormond his heirs and assigns forever and the said Nathan Godwin and my heirs will forever warrant secure and defend the just right and title to the above said tract and parcell of land and priviliges unto the said John Dormond his heirs and assigns forever against all lawful claims of any person _____ and all ____ of my kind whatsoever. 

In witness whereof I the said Nathan Godwin doth hereby hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal the day and year first and before written.

Signed sealed and delivered in the presence of: 

Benjamin Dormond

James Beaman

Nathan Godwin (seal)

Dred Godwin (his mark) (& seal)

Rachel Godwin (seal)

State of North Carolina

Sampson County November Term One thousand Seven hundred and Ninety six then was the within deed from Nathan Godwin and others to John Dormond was proved in open court and ordered to be registered

Hardy Holmes, clk

State of North Carolina

Sampson County Registered in the Registers office at the aforesaid county this the nineteenth day of January anna domino 1798

O. Holmes Regr

There are several important pieces of information included in this deed: 

1)  There are three signatures on the deed - Nathan, Dred, and Rachel Godwin; I believe this is significant and provides evidence that Dred and Nathan Godwin were sons of Rachel and Jonathan Godwin

2) This land was located on the East Side of the Little Cohara on the Mill Branch and contains 46 acres. This is the exact description given of one of the tracts of land that Jonathan Godwin received from the State in 1788. 

3) This land was granted to Jonathan by patent bearing date July 1788, thus further confirming that this is the same tract of land Jonathan received from the State in 1788. 

We still do not know what happened to the other tract of land that Jonathan received from the State in 1788. My next step is to look through the Sampson County deeds to see if it was bought of sold. Because Rachel was his widow and Nathan and Dred were presumed to be sons of Jonathan, I started by looking at deeds carried out by them. 

I will discuss this process in Part 3. 

Afterword: 

The Sampson County deeds are all online now at the Sampson County Register of Deeds. They can be downloaded for free! Check it out!

The Distribution of Jonathan Godwin's Estate, Part 1
The Distribution of Jonathan Godwin's Estate, Part 2
The Distribution of Jonathan Godwin's Estate, Part 3

The Distribution of Jonathan Godwin's Estate, part 1

In this series of posts, I show how I used original estate and deed records to track the distribution of land originally patented by Jonathan Godwin in Sampson County, North Carolina in 1788; I also try to build a case to suggest that Nathan and Dred Godwin were the sons of Jonathan and Rachel Godwin.

In this post, I will look at the estate record of Jonathan Godwin of Sampson County, North Carolina who died intestate about 1791. (Intestate means he did not leave a will). He left behind a widow, Rachel Godwin, who is believed to be the sister of Thomas Bullard and daughter of Jeremiah Bullard. His estate record, however, was only a single page and did not mention either his widow Rachel, or any of his children. The only clues I was able to glean from this record were the following:

1. Richard Godwin was the administrator of the estate 
2. There was only 50 acres of land in the possession of the estate

Estate records are housed at the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh, North Carolina. They can be requested by call number in the form of a two digit county code (Sampson County's code is 87), followed by a "508" which is the 3-digit code for estate records, followed by the number of the box in which the folder is housed that contains the surname of interest. The box number is not  known when you request the file, but should be noted for future reference.

The estate file of Jonathan Godwin[1] contained only a single page with writing on both sides. One side stated that it was an inventory of his estate recorded in that court's term; The other side is an actual inventory taken by the administrator, Richard Godwin. Here are the scans of the front and back copies of the single page. (Click on the image to make it bigger). The transcript follows below:

Back side:

"Inventory of the Estate of John Godwin dec’d, May Term 1791"

Front side:

"Sampson County the 15^th of Feb 1792

An inventory of the Estate of Jonathan Godwin Deceased
50 Acres of Land
3 Head of Horses
1 Heifer
12 Head of Sheep
48 Head of Hog
3 Beds and Furniture
4 Dishes, 5 Basons
6 Spoons and 4 Plates
3 Knives and 7 Forks
2 Pots and 1 Kettle
2 Spinning Wheels
2 Pairs of Cards

1 Chest 12 Bottles
2 Jugs 1 Hackle
2 Chairs 2 Ploughs
2 Axes 1 Iron wedge
3 Weeding Hoes 1 Grubbing Hoe
2 Augers 1 chissel and Gouge
1 Griddle and fire Tongs
1 Box Iron and Heater
1 Mares Saddle

Richard Godwin" (signed)

[End of Transcript]

There was actually another document included in this file at one time pertaining to Jonathan's widow. Supposedly, it got lost when it was sent off for microfilming [2] 

In an estate record of 15 February 1791, Rachel Godwin, the “widow of Jonathan Godwin, deceased,” was allowed to keep the estate in her hands, "she entering into bond with good security for 250 pounds." Tenders Richard Godwin and Philip Tew were approved as sureties. This is a crucial piece of evidence tying both Jonathan and Rachel together as husband and wife.  

Jonathan actually owned two tracts of land, both 50 acres a piece, however only one of these tracts of land was included in his estate inventory. He may have given the other tract of land to one of his sons prior to his death.  Nathan Godwin, presumed to be a son of Jonathan and Rachel Godwin, sold a 50 acre tract of land to Elizabeth Bagley in 1801, it being a tract of land "granted to Jonathan Godwin by patent bearing the 10th day of July 1788." This could be the other 50 acre tract of land and will be discussed in Part 3 of this post series. 

The 50 acres tract of land that WAS included in his inventory above was sold by his widow Rachel Godwin, along with Nathan and Dred Godwin, in 1795 to John Dormond. This deed of sale will be discussed in Part 2 of this post series. I believe the Nathan and Dred Godwin who were included on this deed with Rachel Godwin were sons of Jonathan and Rachel Godwin. This land was a "parcel...granted to Jonathan Godwin by patent bearing date July 1788." Jonathan Godwin was only granted a total of two tracts of land and the descriptions match up, so I believe these two tracts of land to be those originally belonging to Jonathan, one of which was given to his son Nathan prior to his death and the other passed down to his widow Rachel and sold between Rachel and her sons Dred and Nathan to John Dormond after Jonathan's death. 

I had to use a combination of original deed and estate records in order to start piecing together this family. The family of Jonathan and Rachel Bullard Godwin is a very controversial one and my construction of their family is actually very different than what has been previously portrayed and accepted as fact by other researchers. However, I am confident that I have sufficient evidence and I have already written up several proof statements backing up my claims. Living in North Carolina where my Godwin family originated from has been very helpful; in addition, having such easy access to the North Carolina State Archives has also been a tremendous help in my research. 

Sources: 

[1] Estate Records of Jonathan Godwin, 1791, North Carolina State Archives, Sampson County, NC, Series of Original Loose Documents of Estate Records, 1784-1923; Call No. 087.508.23; Copied 20 January 2007;

[2] Bizzell, Oscar. Sampson County Court Minute Abstracts, 1784-1800, p. 117. This information was included in Bizzell’s Abstracts, however, the Raleigh archives does not have the actual documents from 1784 to 1794. The microfilmed court records start at 1794. Jerome Tew said these records were removed from Clinton for publishing, however, they were never returned, thus lost. Bizzell copied this abstracted information from an earlier typed abstract of the court minutes.

The Distribution of Jonathan Godwin's Estate, Part 1
The Distribution of Jonathan Godwin's Estate, Part 2
The Distribution of Jonathan Godwin's Estate, Part 3

The North Carolina Troops Index is Now Online!

Back in October, I let my readers know that the The North Carolina Office of Archives and History had released the latest compilation of North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster, Volume 18.  The full set, when completed, will comprise of 20 volumes. Each volume is available for sale from the NC Historical Publications Shop for $50.00 each.

This compilation was started in 1961 “with the purpose of researching, compiling, and publishing service records for every North Carolinian who served in the Civil War.” The rosters are arranged numerically by regiment or battalion an dthen alphabetically by company and include histories on each unit.

Information on soldiers at the time of enlistment include:

·         County of birth

·         Residence

·         Age

·         Occupation

Information on soldiers during service include:

·         Promotions

·         Whether he was wounded, captured, or killed

·         Whether he deserted or died of disease

The best news so far is that now there is a master cumulative INDEX available for the first 18 volumes! And it’s online!

The index contains the volume and page number for every soldier listed – for his individual service record and for everywhere else he is mentioned. It does not contain company and regiment information, but does contain a cross-reference tab for those hard to spell names.

Here is a screenshot of the first page you come to when accessing The Index. It contains the instructions on how to search for your ancestor: (Click on the photos to make them bigger)

This is what a list of search results looks like when I searched for my ancestor’s surname of Godwin:

This is what the Cross-Reference looks like for the surname Godwin:

  

Who knew there were so many variations on the Godwin and Goodwin surname?

Check it out for yourself!

Copies of The Roster are held at the following locations near Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill:

Duke University, UNC, Meredith College, NCSU, Peace College; Durham Public Library North Carolina Collection, Orange County (Main Library), Olivia Raney Library, and State Library of North Carolina.

Digitization of the “North Carolina Troops” index was made possible by a joint project between the NC Historical Publications and the NC Department of Cultural Resources Information Technology Application team. 

Identifying Land Grants Using the NC State Archives’ online MARS Catalog

In 1795, Nathan Godwin, Dred Godwin, and Rachel Godwin sold 46 acres of land in Sampson County, North Carolina to John Dormond for seven pounds. The land was located “on the east side of the Little Cohara and on the Mill branch.” Although I searched high and low, I could not find any deed records in which Nathan, Dred, or Rachel Godwin were grantees, having purchased this 46 acres of land from someone else.

In North Carolina, much of the land that came into the hands of the settlers up until the end of the 18^th century (and even well into the 19^th century) was purchased NOT from existing owners, but from the State of North Carolina (1777-1959). Prior to the Revolutionary War, settlers purchased land from the Lord Proprietors (1663-1729), including Lord Granville, and the Crown (1729-1776). Records relating to these land purchases are kind of confusing, so it is important to know what time period and approximate location your ancestor might have purchased land.

If you have an ancestor, or ancestors, like mine above, who came into land with no story behind how it came into their hands, then chances are they may have been involved in a land grant purchase.  All land grants issued by the Crown, the Lord Proprietors, and the State came from the Secretary of State’s office. Those issued by Lord Granville were issued by the Granville Office. Records from both offices are indexed by the North Carolina State Archives and are accessible online via their MARS online catalog. Navigating the online catalog can be a bit tricky, so follow these steps below for a sure success.

Navigate to the new North Carolina State Archives Homepage and click on the "For the Public" Link at the top: (Click on each photo to make them bigger).

Then click on the "Online Catalog and Finding Aids" Link on the left side of the page: 

Then click on the MARS online catalog link to access the catalog:

Once you have the MARS online search open, type in your ancestor’s name into the search box, then where it says "Class, Collection, Series" click on the “Browse” button. I have typed in "Nathan Godwin" in the search box . 

When you click the “Browse” button, a list of all of the indexed collections appear with subcollections hidden within the “+” signs. Scroll down to the bottom and click the “+” sign next to “State Records.”

Then click the “+” sign beside “Governor's Papers – Jonathan Worth (18 November 1802 – 5 September 1869) … University of North Carolina Board.” Then scroll down and check the box beside "Secretary of State Record Group."  All land grants, including the Lord Granville Grants, are now indexed within the State Record Group collection. All results will include those for the Granville Grants, which usually occurred before the Granville Land office closed in 1763.

Once you have selected the State Record Group collection, click the "done" link at the top left-hand side of the page. 

This will take you back to the search page. Now you can click the SEARCH button. 

I got 12 results for searching on Nathan Godwin in the Secretary of State Records.

Looking on the right-hand side you will see the Call Number, whether there is a digital image available for download[1], and the years involved. In the middle of the page, you will see the name and the file number associated with the name. This file number is required if you visit the Archives and you want to find the land grant in the microfilm. This collection is contained on microfilm and is organized by county first and then by file number.

Clicking on a title in the search results brings up a brief summary of the item.

Things to note are the County at the top, the person’s name, and the geographical names which are usually included in the description at the bottom and used for indexing purposes. At the bottom, we see the actual details of the land grant. In this example, Nathan Godwin applied for 150 acres between Black Mingo and Chokeberry Pond which was entered on February 6^th, 1793. The land was surveyed, found to be vacant, and returned to the Secretary of State’s Office and subsequently granted to Nathan Godwin on December 17^th, 1794, almost two years later. This grant (number 429) was copied into the Patent Book Number 86, page 311.

I checked the descriptions of all 11 of these land grants, but none of them mentioned the 46 acres on the Cohera River that was mentioned in the grant at the beginning of this post. I also did a search for Rachel and Dred (Netheldred/Etheldred) Godwin but found nothing.

I then changed my search criteria from “Nathan Godwin” to “Godwin, Cohera” to see if another Godwin had received a land grant on the Cohera River. But again, I got 0 results. Changing it to “Godwin, Coharie” gave me several results.

I clicked on Jonathan Godwin and found that he had received a land grant for 46 acres on the “East side of the Little Cohera [Little Coharie Creek] and on the Mile Branch.” This sounded exactly like the same land that Nathan, Rachel, and Dred were selling in 1795 to John Dormond – it was the same 46 acres (an odd amount for that time period) and it was on the “East side of the Little Cohera and the Mill branch.” Only the Mill / Mile branch description was a little off.

Doing a little bit more research, I learned that Rachel Godwin became the widow of Jonathan Godwin in 1791. I also learned that in 1788, Jonathan Godwin received another patent for 47 acres of land on the East side of Black Mingo and the North Side of Beaverdam Swamp. In 1801, Nathan Godwin sold land with this same exact description to Elizabeth Bagley. Since there are no deeds from Jonathan to Nathan Godwin, or from Jonathan to Rachel Godwin, it is possible that Nathan received the land through inheritance.

This is just one example of how land grants can be very useful in genealogical research. I find them to be a very good starting point, especially if you are trying to track parcels of land through several hands. We are fortunate that our land grants are indexed through the North Carolina State Archives’ website. If you visit their onsite location in Raleigh, you can use the card catalog which is organized first by surname, then by county – that is the county they lived in at the time the land grant was issued.

What about the terminology?

I get a lot of questions about the terminology involved in the Land Grant process. In case you were wondering yourself, here is a brief synopsis of how the Land Grant Process worked in North Carolina:

1. ENTRY:  This is an application that a person filled out to apply for a PATENT to occupy and purchase vacant land
2. WARRANT:  This is issued once the ENTRY is approved, telling the county surveyor to measure the tract of land
3. PLAT:  This is drawn up by the surveyor describing the land in metes and bounds
4. PATENT:  This is the final document written by the Secretary of State conveying the surveyed land to the applicant. Also known as a Land GRANT

You may be wondering why this is called a Land “Grant” Process but the end product is a “Patent.”  This is because it is a process involving the transfer of vacant land from a granting body to a private person.  

Have you checked out your land grants yet? If so, please share your experiences in a comment below, or feel free to email me.

For more information on using the North Carolina State Archives online catalog (MARS), check out their YouTube videos here. 

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[1] At this time, the only digital items that I know of in MARS are the colonial wills. The colonial wills (written before 1776) were filed with the Secretary of State’s office. Wills written after the Revolutionary War were filed with the county. Digital images require the user to download a proprietary viewer called “deja-vu” in order to view the images.  

To Cite This Post:

Ginger R. Smith, "Identifying Land Grants Using the NC State Archives’ online MARS Catalog" Genealogy By Ginger, 06 May 2013, (http://www.genealogybyginger.blogspot.com : accessed [date])