Wednesday, August 31, 2016

The Hairston Family Reunion 2016: Winston-Salem, NC

Tonight is the night I head for Winston-Salem, NC.  I will be attending the Hairston Family Reunion which is held yearly. This will be my first time attending. The Hairstons is possibly the largest family clan in the United States. 

I discovered at least ten years ago that my maternal 2x great grandmother Martha Hairston Wilson, was of this clan.  The Hairston surname was listed on my great grandmother's death certificate.  This little information added thousands of ancestors to my family tree.  Their placement on the tree is unknown to me, as it has been difficult for me to find Martha in any documents.  What I know of her is that she married a J.W. Wilson and that she had been enslaved.  She was possibly born between 1830-1840.  My hopes is that this information will be revealed to me once I head over to Martinsville, Henry County, Virginia.

So I am packed and have some of my reading materials for when I have some down time. I hope that you will follow my journey to the ancestral lands of my people. 


I will be in Winston-Salem for three days and then travel to Havelock, North Carolina to attend the Patriot Isaac Carter Chapter- SAR Chartering Ceremony. It is the first chapter named after an African American Patriot of the American Revolution.  I am so pleased to have the opportunity to witness history and to meet some new cousins.

So as I go for now...I will be back with an update.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Rev. William Henry Cully: Probate Record # 3 & 4

A probate record can be a very revealing document as we have an opportunity to peer into the lives of our ancestors. We find out about the people close to them, the things they owned and many times we may find information that will break down brick walls.


This is a continuance of my Maternal 2x Great Grandfather's probate file.  If you are just joining my blog and want to see the beginning to catch up, the archives are to the right of this post.  You can start here:   http://www.thecullyfamily.com/2012/06/rev-william-henry-cully-probate-record.html



[Abstracted]


State of North Carolina,
Craven County

I, George W. Cully, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I believe W.H. Cully died without leaving any last will and testament: and that I will well and truly administer all and singular, the goods and chattels, rights and credits for the said W.H. Cully and a true and perfect inventory thereof return as provided by law; and all other duties appertaining to the charge reposed in me; I will faithfully and honestly perform with the best of my skill and ability.  So help me God.

Sworn and subscribed before me, this 29th
Day of September 1902 }

WM Watson C.S.C         }         George W Cully





STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, }  Before the Clerk of the Superior Court.
Craven County.
TO ALL WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME-GREETING:
IT BEING SATISFACTORILY PROVEN To the undersigned, Clerk of the Superior Court for Craven County, that W.H. Cully late of said County, is dead, without having made and published a Will and Testament and it appearing that George W. Cully is entitled to the Administration of the estate of said deceased, and having qualified as administrator according to law:
          NOW, THESE ARE THEREFORE TO EMPOWER the said Administrator to enter in and upon all and singular, the goods and chattels, rights and credits of the said deceased, and the same to take into possession whatsoever to be found, and all the just debts of the said deceased, to pay and satisfy, and the residue of said estate to distribute according to law.
          WITNESS, my hand and the seal of said Court, this the 29th day of September 1902
WM Watson Clerk Superior Court.


Now after these two documents, we are going to see more about the life of William H. Cully, and what he owned and how he lived.



Monday, June 11, 2012

Rev. William Henry Cully: Probate Record #2

If you are just joining us as we turn back the hands of time and peer into the probate record of my 2nd Great Grandfather William Henry Cully you can catch up by going to this link: http://www.thecullyfamily.com/2012/06/rev-william-henry-cully-probate-record.html



THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA,  }  IN THE SUPERIOR COURT

CRAVEN COUNTY                                      } Before W. M. Watson C.S.C

IN THE MATTER OF THE ADMINISTRATION of the ESTATE

W.H. Cully Dec’d

James B. Robinson being sworn, doth say: That

WILL AND TESTAMENT, and that Geo. W. Cully is the proper person entitled to

LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION on the Estate of the said W.H. Cully Further, that the value of said Estate, so far as can be ascertained at the date of this application, is about $1450 of which $1200 is real property, and $250 is personal property, and that

Nancy E Cully, Widow
Sarah Frances Whittington- North Harlowe, N.C.
Ambrose Evans Cully- Worcester-Mass.
Malvina Robinson- New Bern, N.C.
George W. Cully- Havelock, N.C.

Are entitled as heirs and distributes thereof.

          Sworn and subscribed before me, this

29th day of Sept 1902                  James B. Robinson

W M Watson
Clerk Superior Court.




The greatest thing happened when I read this page.  I had not known my great grandfather Ambrose's middle name.  I had always thought it was Elander.  Well..There it is in black and white "Evans".  


Melvina Robinson, Sarah Frances Whittington, George W. Cully, Ambrose E. Cully, are the children of Nancy E & William H. Cully.  James B. Robinson was the witness sworn and was the husband of Melvina.


It is a wonderful thing to see your ancestors names in writing.  This document gave supporting evidence that all of the Cully children minus Ambrose, remained in Craven County, NC after Reconstruction, and that my Great Grandfather Ambrose had decided to migrate northward.


My mother had written down that Ambrose was given timberland when he migrated to Worcester, and that his father was a White plantation owner.  Through my research, I discovered that William H. Cully was not white but he did own land. I am giving this information, because it is so important that when you are writing family history, that you research and document everything.  You need to make sure the stories are correct.  So let's see what we find out tomorrow.

Saturday, June 09, 2012

Rev. William Henry Cully: Probate Record #1

My 2nd Great Grandfather William H. Cully was born in 1833 to William H. Cully, Sr. and Mary Barker in New Bern, North Carolina.  


William's father, William H. Cully, Sr was born free in 1800 to his mother Prewilla Cully who had been a free person of color.This family line may not have ever been in slavery or they were free at least since the 1700's. [More research will need to be done as the family stories handed down are that the Cully's were of Native American Heritage and Irish Born.  The Cully's assimilated into the African American population as early as the 1800's, and were labeled as mulatto.


My 2nd Great Grandfather William H Cully died in 1902 as I had found in a New Bern, NC newspaper announcement.  This was the first document that I had found that recorded his death.





So of course I was ecstatic when I came across William's probate record from 1902, which included 24 pages.  It has given me much more insight on the lives of my ancestors as farmers and land owners in the town of New Bern.  


The first page of William Henry Cully's probate record:


[Abstracted]


STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA,
Craven COUNTY
In the matter of administration of the estate of
W. H. Cully deceased,
To W.M. Watson, CLERK SUPERIOR COURT CRAVEN COUNTY
Take notice, that the undersigned, widow of W. H. Cully deceased and respectfully asks that George W. Cully may be appointed as the administrator of said estate in her stead.
This 31st day of August 1902
Nancy E Cully
X
Mark

Witness:
James B Robinson


George W. Cully, the administrator of the estate is the son of William H. & Nancy Cully.  James B. Robinson, witness is the son-in-law who married their daughter Melvina.  Seeing these few family names confirmed that I had the correct family that I was researching. 

Let's see what the next page has to reveal...

Friday, June 08, 2012

Part #5: Daniel Gilliam Found in the Paper Trail: Wanted Dead or Alive


Welcome back...If you are new to this post you can see the one prior to this at the following link..http://www.thecullyfamily.com/2012/06/part-4-daniel-gilliam-found-in-paper.html



STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
TO THE SHERIFF OF Craven COUNTY-Greetings:

WE COMMAND YOU, that of the Goods, Lands and Tenements of Danl Gilliam in the hands of Hannah Gilliam his admx you cause to be made the sum of
10.69
which lately, in our Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions for the County of Craven, was adjudged and taxed in the suit in which Hannah Gilliam [unreadable] – Plaintiff, and [Unreadable] – Defendant, for the COSTS and CHARGES in said suit expended, wherof the said, Hannah Gilliam, admx was convicted, as appears to us of record; and have you the said monies before our said Court, to be held for the County of CRAVEN, at the COURT-House in Newbern, on the second Monday of December next, then and there to render the Costs and Charges aforesaid.  Herein fail not, and have you then and there this Writ.

Witness William G. Bryan, Clerk of our said Court, at Newbern, the second Monday of September A.S., 1867, and in the Ninety 20 Year of our Independence.
Issued the [blank] day of [Unreadable] A.D., 1867
W G Bryan Clerk.


Petition For Year Provisions
1867


Apparently this Year Provision was not satisfied.  Daniel Gilliam was a man that did not have anything substantial to care for Hannah, as he only had goods, no lands or tenements.  I am not surprised especially after almost two years after slavery.

I am just thankful that I had the opportunity to find  some paper-trail of the existence of my 2x Great Grandfather.  Initially the question I had about Daniel when I was learning more about Hannah is "Did Daniel migrate to Worcester, Massachusetts with Hannah?"  The answer was no as Hannah migrated to Worcester approximately in 1878.

So now that I have completed the probate file for Daniel Gilliam, my next task is to find out who the father is of Hannah's children.