The other day at work, I had a patron ask about a Tolson family who lived in New Bern. Doing a quick search, I discovered they originally came out of Carteret County. While trying to determine if two families were related, I discovered in the estate files of Mrs. Sidney Tolson a list of slaves belonging to the estate.
Some of the heirs of Sidney Tolson were suing the other heirs and left a court case that eventually went to the Supreme Court of North Carolina by way of the Carteret County Court of Equity. In the case, the plaintiffs stated that Sidney Tolson (formerly Oglesby) inherited one half of the interest in a slave named Rose by the will of her father, Thomas Oglesby. Sidney’s brother Levi Oglesby inherited the other half interest in the slave Rose.
After Thomas Oglesby died, Sidney Oglesby married George Tolson. George and Levi Oglesby made an arrangement where Rose and her increase (i.e. children) would be raised alternately between Levi and George. When George died in 1825, he left a will leaving one bequest as follows: “The negroes that is undivided between me and Levi Oglesby I lend unto my wife that should have been my share after there was or had been a division, during her natural life or widowhood and then, if there should be a girl or woman fall to the lot I should have had, I give it to my two daughters, Fanny and Liddy to be equally divided between them…and for all the rest of said negroes after the death of my wife or her widowhood I give them unto all of my children, both sons and daughters to be equally divided among them.”
From the time of Thomas Oglesby’s will in 1795 and George Tolson’s will in 1825, Rose had 14 children. Upon the death of George Tolson, the Tolson heirs and Levi Oglesby divided the slaves. Levi drew the lot with Rose (the mother), Enoch, Jerry, Demps, Charity, Dave, Bill, and Tilda. The heirs of George Tolson drew Orra, Owen, Jacob, Jack, Moses, Mary and Ned.
Since the Tolson lot included a female slave (Mary), Fanny and Liddy were suing the other heirs for Mary and her increase in addition to their lot of the remaining slave. In the case they mention that Mary’s children were Esther, Caroline, Roman, Washington, Furney, and Laura.
The remaining slaves of George Tolson and Sidney Tolson were Jacob, Edward, Moses, Jackson, Owen, Thomas, Jerry, Orra, Rose, Violet, Java, Allice, Malline, Ann, Charity, Edward, Margaret, George, Edney, and two others whose names they could not remember.
So in this court case we have at least three generations beginning with the slave Rose:
I. Rose, living in 1795
a. Enoch,
b. Jerry,
c. Demps,
d. Charity,
e. Dave,
f. Bill,
g. Tilda,
h. Orra,
i. Owen,
j. Jacob,
k. Jack,
l. Moses,
m. Ned
n. Mary,
(1). Esther,
(2). Caroline,
(3). Roman,
(4). Washington,
(5). Furney,
(6). Laura
[I have no known Tolson or Oglesby line, I am just posting this for others who may.–VTJ]