The Liberty County Superior Court, in chambers and sitting in equity, was petitioned by Solomon Barnard and Ann Mary (formerly Walthour) his wife; William Curtis and Amanda his wife (formerly Walthour); Augustus S. Morrale and Charlotte C. (formerly Walthour) his wife; Augustus G. Walthour; Mary A. Walthour; and Alice, Taylor, Russel C. and Robert H Walthour minor children of the late George W. Walthour represented by their next friend Mary A. Walthour.
The petitioners stated that when Solomon Barnard married Ann Mary, the daughter of George W. Walthour, Walthour had advanced to his daughter the sum of $5400. In 1850, that money was invested in the 665-acre Oak Hill Plantation in Liberty County, bounded north by the North Newport River, east by land of John B. Barnard and Roswell King deceased, south by lands of John B. Barnard and Solomon S. Barnard, and west by land of Nathaniel Varnedoe deceased, Susan Cumming, and Charles C. Jones. It was also invested in land that was part of the FairField plantation, bounded north by Oak Hill plantation, south and east by land belonging to John B. Barnard, west by land of the late Nathaniel Varnedoe, containing 225 acres, and “in negro slaves Adam, Henry, Mary and Chance of whim, Mary and Chance are surviving, Adam and Henry having died.” All of this property was conveyed in trust to George W. Walthour to be held for the benefit of Ann Mary during her natural life, and after her death to her child or children by Solomon Barnard.
According to the petition, Walthour then died intestate in 1859 in possession of a large estate both real and personal and holding the deeds to the land and “negroes” mentioned above but not having had the chance to create the trust. William Lowndes Walthour and Andrew Walthour were appointed administrators of his estate. The petitioners wanted for their “lands and negroes” not to be considered part of Walthour’s estate and asked that they be conveyed to trustees for the trust benefiting Ann Mary, deducting this value from her inheritance from Walthour. They had requested this of Lowndes and Walthour but the latter had refused without a Court order, saying that they believed that the money had not been given to Ann Mary but loaned to her instead and that there had been no intent by Walthour to create a trust.
For their part, W.L. and Andrew Walthour responded on April 16, 1860 that when Ann Mary had married Solomon Barnard, George W. Walthour had advanced her the money, which had been invested in the land and “negroes.” They also said that they had found the deeds conveying this property to George W. Walthour among his papers, and they agreed that the intent was not to put this property into his estate but to convey it to trustees for Ann Mary. They were, they said, willing to carry this out with a Court decree.
Recorded in Liberty County Superior Court on September 29, 1860.
Source: Superior Court proceedings, Vol. 6, 1855-1864, Liberty County, Georgia, pp 423-7; database with images, “Liberty County Superior Court Proceedings, Vols 6-7 1855-1885,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3H3-7SFC : accessed 14 Oct 2022), Family History Library Film 175262 (DGS 008628086), images 242-4 of 702.