The Liberty County Superior Court, in chambers and sitting in equity, was petitioned by Henry W. Bacon, his wife Julia A.C. Bacon, her next friend Edmund B. Way, and Julia Bacon (minor child of Henry and Julia) with her next friend and guardian Edmund B. Way.
The petitioners stated that Henry W. Bacon and Julia A.C. Bacon married around 1839 and until recently lived together with their only child, Julia Bacon. They separated via a deed of separation, with Julia represented by her trustee Edmund B. Way. In 1832, Henry W. Bacon had conveyed in trust to Edward Way for the benefit of Julia A.C. Bacon, and Edward Way was later replaced by Edmund B. Way. The remaining property consisted of a 200-acre tract of land in McIntosh County on which Henry W. Bacon was then living, $1000 in cash, and “the following negroes viz: Jenny, Samuel, Mary and Anne.”
They added that Henry W. Bacon had “sold and disposed of three negroes, named in Exhibit A. viz. Joe, Jack and Abram” and had paid the trust estate’s debts via the proceeds. Edmund B. Way, Julia’s trustee, was suing the people who were “now in possession of said slaves, for the purpose of recovering them for the said Estate.” In order to divide their joint property now that they were separated, Julia and Henry had agreed that Edmund B. Way, as trustee, should convey to Henry W. Bacon the land in McIntosh County as well as “the said negroes Mary and Anne in fee simple” and give him $200. He was also to have “the negroes Jenny and Samuel” during his lifetime, and after his death they were to go to his child Julia Bacon if she were to survive him; also “the money in the hands of the said Trustee, after deducting the costs and expenses of this proceeding and the trover suits above named, be invested for the benefit of the said Julia Bacon.”
For his part, Henry W. Bacon, “who is now in possession of three negroes viz: Charles, Wesley, and Nanny” was to deliver them to trustee Edmund B. Way “and that the said Trustee should pay up the costs and stop the proceedings for the recovery of the three negroes above named.” Edmund B. Way had been asked by Henry and Julia to do the division but wanted a court decree. Recorded in Liberty County Superior Court on September 26, 1860.
Source: Superior Court proceedings, Vol. 6, 1855-1864, Liberty County, Georgia, pp 413-5; database with images, “Liberty County Superior Court Proceedings, Vols 6-7 1855-1885,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3H3-7SJG : accessed 14 Oct 2022), Family History Library Film 175262 (DGS 008628086), images 236-7 of 702.