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

2011: A year in Review

This time last year I set 5 goals for myself. They were really only supposed to run for the month of January, because I could never imagine setting a WHOLE YEARS WORTH of GOALS for myself like many of you diligent genealogy people out there. But of course, they ended up running for the entire year, so no harm done. Here was my list from Jan 2011 and my progress to date (along with any future goals I might add to each):

1) To scan all of the genealogy documents that my cousin Richard sent me on the Binns and Brooks sides of my family and enter the information into my genealogy database:

I scanned all 95 pages he sent me. Most of it was genealogy his Aunt Rubye (Binns) Brashears had compiled back in the 1950s and then his own additions from the 80s. These were scanned in .tif format and pages from the same group were also saved as a .pdf file for easier reading. Much of this information I already had in my database. I didn’t find any new information in what he sent me. One of the files was a type-written genealogy of the Binns surname and information about the family coming from England compiled by “The Media Research Bureau” – whatever that is. This compilation did mention my particular line. It had a very short bibliography, but no references cited in the text, so it would be hard to determine what information came from what source, but I might be able to use them as a future guide, especially for research in England. A future goal might include typing up a transcript of this text (or finding an online version of it which is searcheable; or possibly converting the scan to OCR text – something I’ve never done before).

2) To enter all of the Binns, Anthony, and Pye names references from the Wilkes County Georgia books I copied from the Library into my excel spreadsheet. Determine the major Binns family lines in Wilkes Co. GA

Ok first of all, let me say that I didn’t even know I had a spreadsheet! But alas I see that I did, in fact, start one in Jan of 2010!!! I don’t see anything with a 2011 date, so it doesn’t look like I added anything from 2011. In fact, I think most of this stuff in on my “To SCAN” list. So chances are this was not even started. Guess it will be marked as a future goal.

Oh and guess what? I bought one of the books from a genealogy conference I went to (NGS in Charleston) which mentions my Binns family in VA! Reviewing that deed book will be added to a future goal.

3) To read Christine Rose's Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures book

Yeah, I read this off and on throughout the first 6 months of the year and then I got bored with it. I didn’t learn anything new. So I ordered myself 3 new books – Helen Leary’s North Carolina Research book, Val Greenwoods, The Researcher’s Guide, and something else, probably Elizabeth Shown Mills’ Evidence Explained (the big one) that would probably be more interesting. Add those to goals for 2012, especially since it sounded like the bookclub in Second Life was really good this year with “The Researcher’s Guide.

4) Get back to working with some cousins on James Godwin Sr and Jr (not necessarily father and son) of North Carolina, including putting all relevant documents online on the Wiki site

This was our best accomplishment. I worked with 5 other researchers on this project throughout the year. We pulled land grants, deeds, wills, and estate files from Sampson and Johnston Counties (North Carolina) and abstracted them. I created an online abstract form using Google Docs (thanks to Thomas MacEntee’s webinar on Google Forms), which saved the information into an online, shared spreadsheet. And then I created a Word Doc which pulled the information from the online spreadsheet into an abstract Word Doc (automatically) which we then were able to save to our Godwin wiki site. As it turns out the Sampson County (North Carolina) deeds are now online at the Sampson County Register of Deeds.  Whoo hooo     !!! That was a big help. So far we have over 100 deeds transcribed.

My colleagues on this project are all descendants of this line except for me and Lori – to me it is worth it to work with excellent researchers such as Lori, Sara, Tracy, Charlie and Ashley even if I am not related to this line because by finding records and Godwins who belong to their line, we are finding ones that do NOT belong to ours!

One of them started mapping land grants and deeds with a Deed-Mapper like software. We also incorporated Google Earth to see where the land would sit in modern day. We also managed to sort out who all of the progenitor’s (James Godwin who died in 1801, Sampson Co., NC and who married to Elizabeth Dawson?) children were. I thought this was a huge accomplishment. We challenged each other in all sorts of aspects. And it was a joy to work with them and I hope it continues. Oh yeah and we’ve incorporated DNA into the mix as well. That’s how we know that Lori and I are not related to their lines.

5) Continue evaluating some Family Finder DNA test results of some Godwin relatives.

It has proven to be quite a challenge to keep up with some of my Godwin Family Finder testers. I actually took the test myself in July, thinking I would have more time to “play” with it while I was on summer break from school. Boy was I in for a big surprise! I caught on pretty quick though and figured out how to work with it. Unfortunately I wasn’t very proactive with blogging about my experiences, so that will definitely be high on the priority list for 2012!  There were also a lot of challenges because ftDNA kept making changes to its site and things “stopped working.” Fortunately as a project administrator I was only helping 1 person with their results and she caught on pretty quickly with how to deal with her brother’s results; she also caught on to when things “stopped working.”

I’m going to leave my goals for 2012 for the next post. Oh and as a side note, did you know that when I write a post and set a goal in it, I tag that post with the label of “goal?” That way I can easily find all the goals that I posted and shared with you, my readers. You can see the label on the right side of the page under the “Other Misc Items” category. Speaking of, that reminds me, one of my goals for next year is definitely going to be to create a very cool family history / genealogy related blog header!!!

What about you?

Did you set some genealogy goals for yourself in 2011?

How did you do in working towards them?

What worked well for you in achieving them?

What didn’t work well for you?

Did you work with a genea-buddy?

Please feel free to write your own blog post and link back to it in a comment below or tell me about it in a comment below.

I look forward to hearing about your goals!

---

Photo - Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com (This is what the website told me to write. It is copyrighted, but the website says I can use it as long as I link back to their site). 

Sampson County NC Deeds are now Online!

Earlier I wrote two blog posts about the Sampson County, North Carolina deed indexes (grantors) that related to my Godwin family Sampson County, North Carolina, Deed Index, Grantors - GODWIN and Sampson County NC Deed Index - GODWINS

I spent the better part of a year combing through microfilms and paying $0.25 a page to xerox hardly readable microfilmed pages of deeds to and from my Godwin family members. I tried to keep up with what I had xeroxed and what I had gleaned just from reading the abstract books and kept the information updated in my spreadsheet/database.

This year 2011 brought in a nice surprise: I learned that the deeds had been digitized and posted online for the public! The scanned images were much nicer and very easy to read and had the book and page numbers stamped right on them.

Since discovering the Sampson County Register of deeds website, I have been working with other researchers studying the Godwin family and we have abstracted over 70 deeds and posted them to our private Wiki page. The website is not the most intuitive to use, so I have outlined some quick directions below:

1. Go to this link:http://www.sampsonrod.org
   
2. Go to the bottom and click the Disclaimer link
   
3. Click on the green link that says "Scanned Index Books (Imaged Index)
4. In the first drop down box, select "2-Land (Inception of County - 1977)"
5. Beside Subtype, keep "1-Grantor" selected and click the "Next" button
   
6. Beside Select Year Range, keep "Inception of County - 1940" selected and click the Next button
   
7. In the Input Name box, keep the Human/Corporation in the box and then beside that in the empty box, type "Godwin", then click the "Search"
   
8. A bunch of names pop up on the left hand side
   
9. You can start with "051 - Godwin" and click on that to bring up the index for that name
   
10. Also check the "059 - Goodwin" list as well because at least one deed from Budd Goodwin to David Goodwin was actually a Godwin
    
11. To view the deeds, go back up to the top of the page and type in the book and page number, then click the "view" button.
    
12. You can go back up to the top left and switch to grantee and do the same kind of search on Godwin

Many other North Carolina counties are indexing and scanning their old deeds and posting online as well. Cumberland County is one of them and can be accessed here. 

James Godwin of Sampson Co NC

I've had the great fortune of working with some very good researchers (and librarians I might add ;-) these past few months on trying to piece together the various Godwin lines that were found in Randolph, Sampson, Edgecombe, and Johnston counties of North Carolina in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

One family of particular interest is James Godwin who married Elizabeth (last name believed to be Dawson). James Godwin died about 1801 in Sampson Co., NC. His estate records have been found and reviewed at the NC State Archives. His estate was divied out to 8 heirs - Milley, Elias, Aaron, William, and James Godwin; also, Rachel Watson, Rhody Beaman, and Silvey Beaman. Additional court records mentioned that minor heirs Charles, Allen, and Wiley Godwin chose Joseph Dawson as their guardian in 1802.

One way I like to try track men of the same name is by their land records. Fortunately, we believe there were only two James Godwins in Sampson Co between 1770-1800 - James Sr and his son, James Jr, so this was not that difficult to do. James Godwin Jr removed to Johnston Co by the time he was old enough to buy and sell land, so that made it easier as well.

In all, I found land grants totalling 800 Acres for James Godwin Sr. He sold one tract of land before his death, leaving 650 Acres to be divided up among his heirs when he died and his estate was settled in 1801. It just so happens that as we were reviewing deeds for his children, I noticed at least one tract from most all of the heirs being sold between 1804 and 1807 for 80 acres.  And a couple of the deeds mentioned that it was either land that had been a patent to James Godwin with the year listed or that it had been land that had been left to that heir as legacy; sometimes it said by "his father" and sometimes it just said it was left to him "by James Godwin."

One deed that has baffled us was from Silas Godwin in 1806. It was for 98 acres (which by the way one other deed was for 71 acres, so there were 6x deeds for 80 acres, + 1x for 71, + 1x for 98 = 649 Acres); However this deed differed from the others because it was from Silas Godwin and Elizabeth Godwin. We are not sure who this Elizabeth Godwin is.

Elizabeth Godwin was the wife of James Godwin who was still living at the time. Her share of the estate is unknown to us at this time. (James Godwin did have land that he purchased in addition to the land grants, so she could have received part of that). Elizabeth Godwin was also the name of Silas' wife. So was this Elizabeth Godwin Silas' wife or mother? And if she was his mother, why wasn't she listed on the deeds of the other heirs? 

Secondly, if you recall, Silas was not mentioned as an heir in the estate records mentioned above. We have determined that he was the same man as Charles listed above. He would have been 2 years older than Allen and 4 years older than Wiley also mentioned above, and he would have been 22 years old when he and Elizabeth Godwin sold this land in 1806, so he was not a minor.

Lastly, it is possible that Silas was a grandson of James and Elizabeth Godwin and therefore a minor which required the co-sign of Elizabeth Godwin, his Grandmother. If this is the case, then that means that Silas/Charles is an heir mentioned above in the estate who did not receive or sell a lot that was drawn from the estate and could possibly be the (dead) father of this minor Silas; or Elias Godwin, who also was listed in the estate but who also did not receive/sell a lot drawn from the estate.

I could really use some input here. Who is this Elizabeth and why did she put her name on Silas' deed?

Sampson County NC Deed of Jonathan Godwin to Abigail Lee

Last week I posted about the estate records of Jonathan Godwin, 1791, from Sampson County, North Carolina. According to the inventory taken from his estate, he had 50 acres of land in his possession when he died. I'm going to talk about this mysterious tract of land in a later post.  

For today's post, I want to highlight a tract of land containing 150 acres of land that Jonathan Godwin purchased in 1771 from John Strickland and sold in 1787 to Abigail Lee. I have included a copy of the deed below and a transcript of the deed itself. 

Scan of Sampson County deed from Jonathan Godwin to Abigail Lee, 7 July 1787, from the Sampson County Record of Deeds, 1774-1792, Volumes 5-8 (Microfilm call no. 087.40002) from the North Carolina State Archives, 109 E. Jones Street, Raleigh, NC. 

The following is the transcript of the deed:

North Carolina

Sampson County

To all people to whom these presents shall come know ye that I JONATHAN GODWIN at the county and province aforesaid Know ye that I the said JONATHAN GODWIN for and in consideration of the sum of Sixty pounds specia money to me in hand paid by ABAGAIL LEE of Sampson County and province aforesaid Planter the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged myself hisword truly satisfied contented and paid and have given granted bargained sold conveyed and enforced confirmed assigned and set over unto the said ABAGAIL LEE her heirs and assigns forever.  A certain tract or parcel of land containing one hundred and fifty acres of land lying and being in the county of Sampson and province of North Carolina on the East side of Black Mingo Beginning at a Red Oak thence South 05? East 115 poles to a Black Oak thence North 40 East 155 poles to a pine thence North 50 West 155 poles to a pine on the Swamp side thence the courses of the swamp to the beginning including MATTHEW STICKLAND's improvements it being a tract of land that was granted to TIMOTHY LEE bearing date the 23 day of April in the year of our Lord and was conveyed by deed from TIMOTHY LEE to JOHN STRICKLAND and from JOHN STRICKLAND to ABAGAIL LEE to JONATHAN GODWIN and from GODWIN to ABAGAIL LEE to have and to hold the said tract or parcel of land together all orchards gardens Jenning’s timbers and trees thereon standing or growing all woods waters much all proffits and other things unto the same belonging or in any manner of ways appertaining unto the said ABAGAIL LEE her heirs and assigns forever for and clear form all in cumbrances whatsoever and the said JONATHAN GODWIN for himself his heirs executors administrators doth covenant promise grant and agree to and with the said ABAGAIL LEE her heirs and assigns in manner following that is to say the said JONATHAN GODWIN at the sealing & delivering of these presents that a good sufficient Right and title and estate of inheritance in the premises and that in full power and lawfull and authority do bargain and sell the same in manner as aforesaid unto the said ABAGAIL LEE her heirs and assigns forever and the said JONATHAN GODWIN for himself his hears Executors and administrators doth further promise and warrant that the said land and promises is free from the lawful claim and demands of any pursuant persons whatsoever and the same will warrant secure and forever defend the aforesaid lands and premises unto the aforesaid ABAGAIL LEE her heirs & assigns forever the Quit Rents due to the State Executed.

I on witnesses whereof I the said JONATHAN GODWIN have hereunto set my hand and seal this the Seventh day of July one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven 1787.

Signed sealed and

delivered in the presence of

NATHAN GODWIN

WILLIAM GODWIN

John Fields

             JONATHAN GODWIN {Seal}

Then the deed was proved in open court and recorded by the County Clerk:

State of North Carolina

Sampson County August Term One thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty seven 1787 then was the within deed from JONATHAN GODWIN to ABAGAIL LEE was proved in open court and ordered to be registered.

State of North Carolina

Curtis Ivey Clk Court

Sampson County represented in the Registers Office of the aforesd county in Book letter M Pages 16 and 17 the 16th day of April Anno domini 1789.  April 10, 1789.  By Owen Holmes Register

This deed provided me with a lot of valuable information. However, first I want to point out what I believe to have been a recording error. The deed mentions that the land was conveyed from Timothy Lee to John Strickland to Abigail Lee then to Jonathan Godwin. There is NO record of this land ever going to Abigail Lee prior to Jonathan selling it to her in this deed in 1787. In fact I can tract the ownership of this land easily through Land Grants and Deed Records. Update: upon further scrutiny, I can see that Abagail Lee was actually crossed out in this copy of the deed. 


The deed says this tract of land was originally a land patent granted to Timothy Lee, 23 April.  I used the NC State Archives online catalog system - MARS - too look up the original land patent going to Timothy Lee.  I found a land grant given from "The Crown" to Timothy Lee, 23 April 1763 for 150 acres on the East side of the Black Mingo, joining the swamp, including Matthew Stricklin's improvement, in what was at that time considered Duplin County, North Carolina. 


On the 17th of February, 1770, Timothy Lee sold this tract of land to John Strickland for 10 pounds. James Godwin and Duct Dees witnessed the deed. 


This tract of land came into Jonathan Godwin's hands in October of 1771, when John Strickland sold the same 150 acres on the East side of Black Mingo to Jonathan Godwin, of Edgecombe County. William Godwin and James Godwin witnessed the deed. That Jonathan Godwin was from Edgecombe County in 1771 was an important piece of the puzzle. This places him in an entirely different familial group and possibly distinguishes him from the Sampson County Godwins. I'm not sure what he did with this 150 acres of land in Duplin/Sampson County. He might have given it to a family member for them to build and live on, or he might have just sat on it. Unfortunately, I have found record of a Jonathan Godwin in both Edgecombe and Sampson Counties from the time he bought this land in 1771 to the time he sold it in 1787. I need to compile my findings into a spreadsheet and see where the overlap is in order to distinguish between the two men, if they are, in fact, two different men. 


This leads us to the land transfer described in the deed above in 1787 when Jonathan Godwin of Sampson County sold this 150 acres on the East side of Black Mingo to Abigail Lee on 7 July 1787. This deed was witnessed by Nathan Godwin and William Godwin. This tract of land was sold right before Jonathan died (his estate was settled in 1791). 


The two 50 acre tracts of land that Jonathan Godwin was granted in Sampson County in 1788 and what happened to them when he died are discussed in the following posts:

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

Estate Records of Jonathan Godwin of Sampson Co NC

This week I have chosen to focus on the probate record of Jonathan Godwin of Sampson County, North Carolina who died intestate about 1791. 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  know 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." So this could be the other 50 acre tract of land. 

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. 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 several original records and some abstract books 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. 

Sampson County NC Deed Index - GODWINS

In an earlier post, "Sampson County, North Carolina, Deed Index, Grantors - GODWIN," I described the Sampson County, North Carolina Deed Index for grantors microfilm that I reviewed at the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh. I included scans of the xeroxed pages pertaining to the Godwin family. Below is a transcription of the two pages I copied from the index.

I have copies of some of the abstracts pertaining to these deeds, as well as copies of some of the original deeds. (I have copies of the original deeds in the entries marked with an "*" below)

**Updated 4/27/2011** - Sampson County Register of Deeds now has all of its deeds digitized and available online to view and save. Click here to access the site. Refer to my blog post "Sampson County North Carolina Deeds are now Online" for details on how to use the site. 


James Godwin to Timothy Williams, deed, book 4, p. 282
Jonas Godwin to Joseph Godwin, book 5, p. 40
Wm Godwin to Geo Smith, book 5, p. 184
Joseph Godwin to Benjamin Daughtry, bk 5, p. 300
Wm Godwin to Arthur Herring, bk 5, p. 363
Wm Godwin to Arthur Herring, bk 5, p. 412
Wm Godwin to Jno Croom, bk 6, p. 185
Richard Godwin to James Hendley/Handley, book 7, p. 121; 1779
Nathan Godwin to James Hendley, book 7, p. 122 1779
Jonathan Godwin to Abagail Lee, book 8, p. 168; 1787 *
Joseph Godwin to Benjamin Daughtry, Book 9, p. 4
Richard Godwin to Ozias Beaman, book 9, p. 93 1791
Richard Godwin to Ozias Beaman, book 9, p. 95, 1791*
Richard Godwin to James Beaman, book 9, p. 97; 1791
William Godwin of Sampson co. to Nathan Godwin of sampson co, book 9. p. 172
Richard Godwin to Ozias Beaman, book 9, p. 400; 1793*
Jacob Godwin, Jr to James Anderson, bk 10, p. 189
Nathan Godwin to Samuel Strickland, book 10, p. 196
William Godwin to Stephen King, bk 10, p. 224
Nathan Godwin Jr, Dred Godwin, and Rachel Godwin to John Dormond, book 10, p. 243
Solomon Godwin to William Felows, bk 10, p. 358
Saml Godwin to Stephen King, bk 10, p. 492
Jacob Godwin to Stephen King, bk 10, p. 492
William Godwin to Stephen King bk 10, p 492
Aaron Godwin to Nathan Godwin, book 11, p. 64 (1798-1804)
Richard Godwin to Ephraim Page, book 11, p. 75; 1798 *
Saml Godwin to Wm Hobbs, bk 11, p. 152
Nathan Godwin Jr to Elizabeth Bagley, book 11, p. 326 1801
Rachael Godwin to Oziaus Beaman, book 11, p. 333 23 Aug 1797
Nathan Godwin to Lewis Adams, book 12, p. 43 (1798-1804)
Aaron Godwin to Kitchen Adams, bk 12, p. 197
Nathan Godwin to John Godwin, book 12, p. 313 (1798-1804)
Nathan Godwin to Jonathan Godwin, book 12, p. 314 (1798-1804)
William Godwin to Jonathan Godwin, book 12, p. 314 & 318 (1798-1804)
Wm Godwin to Jonathan Godwin, bk 12, p. 318
Saml Godwin to Jno Holland, bk 13, pp. 117
Nathan Godwin to Joel Godwin, book 13, p. 139
Wm Godwin to Joab Blackman, bk 13, p. 160
Nathan Godwin to Micajah Williford, book 13, p. 251
Silas Godwin to Henry Godwin, bk 14, p. 289
Elizabeth Godwin to Henry Godwin, bk 14, p. 289
Thos Godwin to Jno Godwin,bk 14, p. 363
Nathan Godwin to David Godwin, book 14, p. 431
Wm Godwin to Micajah Williford, bk 14, p. 461
Wm Godwin to Henry Godwin, bk 14, p. 476
Aaron Godwin to David Lee Jr bk 15, p. 8
Wm Godwin to Joseph Dawson, k 15, p. 95
Allen Godwin to Surrel Mobley, bk 15, p. 97
Jas Godwin to Surrel Mobley, bk 15, p. 99
Wm Godwin to Jno R Moore, lease? Bk 15, p.181
Grandberry Godwin to Thos Williford, bk 15, p. 265
Wm Godwin Sr to Wm Godwin Jr., bk 15, p. 312
Wm Godwin Sr to Jno Godwin, bk 15, p. 313
Henry Godwin to Surrel Mobley, bk 16, p. 403
Jno Godwin to Siho Barefoot, bk 16, p. 429
Willie Godwin to Dan'l Tew, bk 18, p. 137
Aaron Godwin to Nathan Tark, bk 18, p. 143
Nathan Godwin to Handy Godwin, bk 18, p. 273
Nathan Godwin to Royal Godwin, book 18, p. 274
Nathan Godwin to Dempsey Layton, bk 18, p. 351
Richard Godwin to Hardy Draughon, bk 18, p. 365
Solomon Godwin to Sam'l Peters, bk 19, p. 238
Wm Godwin to Henry Godwin, bk 19, p. 368
Joseph Godwin to Jas Garland, bk 20, p. 138
Richd Godwin to Jas Handley, bk 20, p. 229
Nathan Godwin to James Handley, book 20, p. 229
Nathan Godwin to Isaac McCamerbone, book 20, p. 255
Nathan Godwin to William Royal, book 21, p. 17
Nathan Godwin to Grandbury Godwin, book 21, p. 18
Nathan Godwin heirs to Robert Godwin, book 21, p. 285
Richd Godwin to Hardy Draughon, bk 21, p. 227
Jonathan Godwin to Hardy Draughon, bk 21, p. 229
Solomon Godwin to Wm New, bk 21, p. 253
Solomon Godwin to Joel Herring, bk 21, p. 309
Sarah Godwin to Joel Herring, bk 21, p. 309
Royal Godwn to Jno Godwin, bk 21, p. 343
Edmond Godwin to Wm Williford, bk 21, p. 523
Robert Godwin to Henry Godwin, k 21, p. 570
Robert Godwin to Cullen Register, bk 22, p. 124
Nathan Godwin heirs to David Godwin, bk 22, p. 386
David Godwin to Saml Phillips, bk 22, p. 398
Henry Godwin to Cyril Mobley, bk 23, p. 485
Jerusha Godwin to Jas C Draughon, bk 24, p. 430
Mary Godwin to Handy Godwin, bk 25, p. 69
Royal Godwin to Handy Godwin, bk 25, p. 69
Edmond Godwin to Jno Royal, bk 25, p. 408
Handy Godwin to Wm Godwin, bk 25, p. 451
Jno Godwin to Martin Jermigan, bk 26, p. 137
Royal Godwin to John Holly, bk 26, p. 150
Jonathan Godwin to Lewis Tew Sr., bk 26, p. 193
Wm Godwin to Lewis Tew Jr., bk 28, p. 81
Ransom Godwin to Jno Godwin, Atty, book 29, p. 61
Sally Godwin to Willie Keen, deed, book 29, p. 267
Edmond Godwin to Hezekiah Godwin, book 29, p. 347

Richard GODWIN deed to Ozius Beaman, Sampson Co., NC, 1791

Transcription of the following deed copied from the Sampson County, NC Deed Records, 1791-1798, Volumes 9 & 10, (microfilm) -- Book 9, p. 95-96, 31 Dec 1791 – located at the North Carolina State Archives, 109 E. Jones St., Raleigh, NC. Transcribed by Ginger Smith, 10 April 2009.
Note 4/10/09 GS: The first land grant patented to Richard Godwin mentioned below was probably the 100 acres granted to Richard Godwin on 10 Nov 1784, grant no. 801, entry no. 1342, entered 26 Dec 1782 for Duplin County; This record can be found in the Duplin County Land Warrant book no. 56, p. 279 or in Land Warrant file no. 2600 at the NC State Archives.

Richard Godwin to Ozius Beaman.
This indenture made this 31st day of December one thousand seven hundred and ninety one in the 15th year of our independence Between Richard Godwin of North Carolina and County of Sampson of the one part & Ozius Beaman of the County of Wayne and state aforesaid of the other part Witnesseth that for and in consideration of the sum of two hundred and seventy five silver dollars to me in hand paid by the said Ozius Beaman the Receipt whereof I do herby acknowledge that I am therewith herewith fully satisfied Contented & paid Have bargained sold and by these presents do fully freely and absolutely give grant Bargain sell alien? convey and confirm assigned forever one certain tract or parcel of land situate in Sampson County formerly Duplin County and state aforesaid it being part of a tract of land granted to Richard Godwin by pattent bearing date the 10th day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty four, 1784 it being by estimation one hundred and sixty acres of land more or less and bounded at Fallawith lying on both sides of Starling swamp. Beginning at a pine on the west side of the said Swamp below The mouth of Jumping Run and Runs south crossing Starlings 180 poles to a pine By the head of a Branch thence West 180 poles to a white oak by a pond Thnce North to a stake by the Run of Starling swamp thence up said Swamp To a pine near the Cowford thence a North Course to the old line and thence to the beginning also one certain tract or parcel of land lying in the county aforesaid and on the north side of Starling swamp it being part of a tract of land Granted to John Starling as by patant doth appear bearing date the 11th Day of July Annadomino 1789 containing forty Acres of land more or less of the said Pattent beginning at Richard Godwin upper corner tree and runs North to Thomas Bullard’s corner to a stake thence West along a line of marked trees to a pine thence South along a line of Marked trees to Richard Godwin’s line thence East along the said line to the Beginning to have and to hold the said bargained lands and premises with All and singular the Improvements profits privileges conveniences advantaged And benefits and all the appurtenances thereunto belonging unto the said Ozieus Beaman his heirs executors administrators and assigns forever to his and his only Proper use and behalf and I the said Richard Godwin for myself his heirs Executors and administrators doth command and agree to and such the said Ozius Beaman his heirs and assigns Do warrant and defend the said land and premises and every part and Parcel thereof free and clear from all encumberances of What sa___ mature or kinds Sa___ on as ample manner to all extents and purchased as of the most learned? In the law can devise hereby covenanting to warrant and forever defend The said lands and premises against the lawful claim or claims of any person Or person whatsoever In witness whereof I the said Richard Godwin have hereunto set my hand and seal affixed the day And the date and year first above written as mentioned as above said Signed Sealed and Delivered in the presence of Sherwood Holly, James Godwin, Lewis Jackson
(signed) Richard Godwin (seal)

The deed between Richard Godwin and Ozius Beaman, 1791


Related Posts:
Index to Sampson County Deeds - Godwins

Richard GODWIN deed to Ozius Beaman, Sampson Co., NC, 1793

Transcription of the following deed copied from the Sampson County, NC Deed Records, 1791-1798, Volumes 9 & 10, (microfilm) -- Book 9, p. 400 -- by Ginger Smith, 10 April 2009.

Note: I could not find the land entry/grant of Richard Godwin for 40 acres in Sampson County, NC that was referenced in this deed - probably because it was filed under Duplin County, the parent county of Sampson?

Richard Godwin to Ozius Beaman. This indenture made this 7th day of November one thousand seven hundred And Ninety three and for the 17th year of our independence Between Richard Godwin of North Carolina and County of Cumberland of the one part & Ozius Beaman of Sampson County and state aforesaid of the other part. Witnesseth for and in consideration of the sum of Ten Pounds to me in hand paid by the said Ozius Beaman the Receipt hereof I do herby acknowledge and myself heremuch? fully satisfied Contented & paid Have bargained and sold and by these presents do fully freely and absolutely give grant Bargain sell alien? convey and confirm assigned and let? over unto him the said Ozius Beaman his heirs and assigns forever one certain tract or parcell of land situate in Sampson County and state aforesaid it being partof a tract of land granted to Richard Godwin by pattent bearing date the 4th day of November 1782 being bounded at Fallars? beginning at a pine and agreed corner in Beaman's line thence a direct line to the swamp at the Camford/Cowford thence down the Various courses of said swamp to a stake in said swamp thence North along a line to the corner thence & to the beginning be the same forty acres more or less. To have and to hold the said bargained land and premises with all and singular the improvements proffits proverbally? conveyances? advantaged benefits and all the appert______ hereunto belonging unto him the said Ozius Beaman his heirs Executors administrators and assigns forever to his and their? only proper use and behold and I the said Richard Godwin doth for myself my heirs Executors and administrators covenant grant and agree to and with the said Ozius Beaman his heirs and assigns to warrant and forever defend the said land and premises against the lawful claimor claims of any person or persons whatsoever. In witness whereof I the said Richard Godwin have hereunto set my hand and applied my seal the day and date above written

Signed Sealed and Delivered

in the presence of

James Beaman

and

Jesse (his mark) Strickland

(signed) Richard Godwin

Related Posts:

Index to Sampson County Deeds - Godwins

Sampson County, North Carolina, Deed Index, Grantors - GODWIN

Last year I reviewed some deed indexes from the North Carolina State Archives. Most deed indexes are recorded on microfilm at the archives. Microfilm call no. 087.48352 contained the collection, "Sampson County, North Carolina Index to Real Estate Conveyances - Grantors and Grantees, 1754-1940, Volumes E, F, G." I photocopied the entries under the Godwin surname from deed books 4 to 29. I then scanned the two photocopied pages and included below:

This index has the grantor and grantee names, book number and page numbers listed.
Unfortunately this index does not have dates listed.

I transcribed this index in a later post "Sampson Co., NC Deed Index - Godwins" and entered the information into my North Carolina Godwin database.

Most of these deeds were abstracted by Max Peterson in the following books:
Abstracts Sampson-Duplin Deeds, Books 1-3: 1750-1774
Abstracts Sampson-Duplin Deeds, Books 4-6: 1762-1779
Abstracts Sampson-Duplin Deeds, Books 7-9: 1780-1794
Abstracts Sampson-Duplin Deeds, Books 10-12: 1794-1804

The original deeds can be found on the following microfilms:
Sampson County Record of Deeds, 1774-1792, Volumes 5-8, Call No. 087.40002
Sampson County Record of Deeds, 1791-1798, Volumes 9-10, Call No. 087.40003
Sampson County Record of Deeds, 1798-1804, Volumes 11-12, Call No. 087.40004

**Updated 4/27/2011** - Sampson County Register of Deeds now has all of its deeds digitized and available online to view and save. Click here to access the site. Refer to my blog post  "Sampson County North Carolina Deeds are now Online" for details on how to use the site.