They Had Names

African Americans in Early Records of Liberty County, Georgia

Liberty County Estate Inventory – Peter Vandyke

Location: Liberty County, Georgia
Deceased: Vandyke, Peter
Date Sworn: 1792-06-12
Appraisers: David Rees, Staffd [Alt: Stafford] Somarsell [alt: Somarsall], Thomas Blacksell [signed with his mark]
Estate Administrator: not listed
Court Officer: not listed
Date Recorded: not listed
Recording Official: not listed
Total Value of Property Appraised: 125 pounds, 11 shillings, 2 pence
Value of enslaved persons: 105 pounds
Comments: Amounts in pounds, not dollars.

Enslaved Person NamedValueDescription
Jack15“Fellow”
Jetto30“Fellow”
Dinah and two (unnamed) children60“Wench”

Find the digitized original at:”Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93L-PPV?cc=1999178&wc=9SYT-PT5%3A267679901%2C268032901 : 20 May 2014), Liberty > Wills, appraisements and bonds 1790-1850 vol B > image 198 of 689.

These antebellum estate inventories and appraisals generally included all the deceased person’s “property,” including enslaved persons. Only those names are documented here for historical and genealogical purposes. Anyone interested in the actual property owned by the deceased may find it at the link at the bottom of the page. Names are listed in the original order, as this often gives very valuable information about family groupings or the age of children (who may be listed in age order).