They Had Names

African Americans in Early Records of Liberty County, Georgia

Colonial Georgia Estate Inventory – John Jones

Parish: St. John
Deceased: Jones, John (identified as a “dealer”)
Notification Date: 1773-06-25
Date Sworn: 1773-08-06
Officer: Roger Kelsall, J.P.
Appraisers: Simon Munro, Donald Fraser, Thomas Bilney
Estate Administrator: Mary Jones (widow), John Forbes, Roger Kelsall
Inventory Date (if given): 1773-08-31
Total Value of Property Appraised: 102.10.0 pounds
Value of enslaved persons: 102.10.0 pounds
Comments: All value amounts are in pounds. Only the enslaved people in the inventory are listed below. Please see the original for other parts of the inventory. This document also includes a letter in which Mary Jones swore that John Jones had died intestate.

Enslaved Person NamedValueDescription
Chloe
Nanny
65.0.0“Woman and child”
Dick45.0.0“Boy”
Phillis30.0.0“Girl” [Alt: Phyllis]
Sam25.0.0“Boy”
Sue17.10.0“Girl”

Source: “Colonial Government, Estate Records, RG 49-1-1, Georgia Archives,” Colonial Estate Records, held by Georgia Archives Virtual Vault; accessed online at: https://vault.georgiaarchives.org/digital/collection/corp/id/2601/rec/185.

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).