In October 1848, James B. Mell and his wife Anna Maria Mell, plus her trustee George W. Walthour, petitioned the Liberty County Superior Court, sitting in Equity, against Edwin H. Bacon. The complainants cited their marriage settlement, dated October 12, 1836, and October 18, 1847. They stated that on October 12, 1836, contemplating marriage between Anna Maria Mell, then Anna Maria McIntosh, and her intended husband Albert T. Bacon, they executed a marriage settlement with Charles West and Barrington King to be Anna Maria’s trustees. Bacon put into the trust that was created “the following named negro slaves named Tom, Hetty, Georgia, Cook, Hannah and Doll and their future issue and increase, also an undivided portion of twenty one slaves bequeathed by the last will and testament of the late James Nephew Esqr to the children of the late W. Hamden McIntosh and also all other estate real and personal of whatever nature and description of which [she] was then entitled unto or to which [she] might thereafter become entitled to.” She was to hold this property for her natural life, with full authority to dispose of it as she pleased, but if she were to die without children, the property was to go to Albert T. Bacon. In 1858, she and James Mell petitioned the court to replace the trustees Charles West and Barrington King and appoint George W. Walthour in their place, which was done.
The petitioners also stated that after they married, Albert T. Bacon died in October 1843, and she, “having entire confidence in the honesty and integrity of her said husband’s brother Edwin H. Bacon Esqr of the said County of Liberty,” she consented to his taking full control of her trust property and receiving all the rents and profits as her agent until the previous February, when the trust property was delivered by him to George W. Walthour. However, she complained, he had rendered no account of the money he had received during the time that he was her agent. Moreover, without any legal authorization, he had sold [an unspecified part of] the real estate from the trust but never gave her the proceeds. The petitioners requested that he be made to reveal the amount he had received and waht he had done with it.
Further, on October 18, 1847, Anna Maria Bacon and James B. Mell executed a deed of marriage settlement with George W. Walthour as the trustee. Put into the truste\ were “twelve negro slaves therein named and the future issue and increase of the female slaves and all such future estate real and personal as might thereafter be acquired by your oratrix during her coverture with the said James B. Mell by inheritance or otherwise.” After this, they applied to Edwin H. Bacon “in a friendly manner and requested him to come to a full fair and just account” with them. However, they charged, Edwin H. Bacon had collaborated with “divers other persons at present unknown to your orators and oratrix,” and had refused to make any account of his doings with relation to the trust and was pretending that he never had charge of the trust property and that he never sold any part of it or received any of the rents, etc. They asked that he be compelled to come to court and swear whether or not what they had alleged was true.
The Court did issue a subpoena compelling Edwin H. Bacon to appear on December 5th.
In response, Edwin H. Bacon stated that he believed the marriage settlement between his brother Albert T. Bacon and Anna Maria was a true copy but to be certain, asked for the petitioners to produce the original. He believed there was a substitution of the original trustees but again asked for proof. He said he believed his brother had died intestate in October, 1843, and said that on his death bed, he brother “as his dying request entreated this defendant to take charge of his estate and manage it for the benefit of hi swife and only child. Whom he left him surviving.” In compliance with this, and at the request of the widow, he did administer his brother’s estate and had the property inventoried and appraised. He added, “at the request of the said Anna Maria the negroes settled upon her by said deed of marriage contract were kept together with the property of the said Estate and worked together.” He said that she had also requested that the proceeds should be applied to support herself and her child, and for part of the time, a sick brother of hers, and then the remainder, both from the estate and her trust property, was to go to payment of debts on the estate.
Bacon stated that he had agreed to do all of this under the condition that he be allowed to charge “the usual commissions allowed by law to administrators and overseer’s wages as a compensation for his trouble to which condition the said Anna Maria consented.” He added that this was all done verbally, with no written contract, and that at the time of his brother’s death, the estate was almost insolvent and “but for the arrangement thus made the payment of the debts would have condemned his entire estate.” He stated that he had submitted the required annual reports as estate administrator, and that those included the trust property.
He then said that at Anna Maria’s request, he had sold a tract of land on the Alatamaha and that she also asked him to sell a tract of pine lad near Darien, and that after receiving a small amount of the purchase money for her own use, she directed that the balance be applied to the estate debts. At this point, he said, he asked her to place her instructions in writing, and on June 6, 1846, she gave him a “written instrument expressing her wish to have her late husband’s debts paid as soon as possible, and directing him to appropriate not only her share of the crops, but also the money arising from the sale of her land on the Alatamah to Col. Green to that object reserving out of the latter amount thirty dollars for her own use and further requesting this defendant to sell the tract of pind land to appropriate the purchase money and any other monies of hers this defendant might receive to the same object.” He then entered the document as a court exhibit, saying he had sold the tract of pine land to James Smith for $150 in March 1847, of which Anna Maria received $50, for which she gave him a receipt, which he also entered as an exhibit.
Edwin H. Bacon further said that after Anna Maria married James B. Mell in October 1847, Mell demanded his wife’s share of the crop from Bacon. Bacon said he asked Mell if they had a marriage settlement, which Mell initially denied, but then admitted but would not allow Bacon to see. Bacon said he had been told by several persons that there was a reason why Mell would not show him the settlement, but that he did not know what it was, though he thought it was with the purpose of entrapping him. He added that in 1847, Anna Maria had run up bills “to a considerable amount.” For his part, he had sold the crop and had credited the proceeds to the estate as usual. He entered as an exhibit “a copy of the inventory and appraisement of the estate of the said Albert T. Bacon, together with a list of the hands who worked and have [left blank] of the said Anna Maria and of said estate together with copies of his annual accounts kept with said Estate and filed with the Court of Orindary of Liberty County…”
In closing, Bacon denied confederating with anyone. In an amendment to his statement, he said that there was some cotton sold from the crop of 1847, amounting to $30.80, that was not included in the account current of Messrs Way and King and by mistake not credited as it should have been. Two-thirds of it should have been credited to the estate. He added that some of the furniture, books, bedding, etc, that had belonged to the estate of A.T. Bacon and had been left by Edwin Bacon in Anna Maria’s hands had not been accounted for by her or by James B. Mell, leaving Bacon unable to come to a just settlement of accounts. He further charged that Anna Maria had disposed of some cattle belonging to the estate without his knowledge or consent, and that it was supposed to be accounted for in the settlement of the estate. Finally, he said that he had in his possession a lot of old hoes that had been used by “the negroes of the complainant Anna Maria Mell,” and that since they were purchased with the joint fund, he did not know if he ought to surrender them or not.
The judge determined that Edwin H. Bacon had clearly received written instructions from Anna Maria to work the estate and her trust property together. He concluded that, although Bacon should have kept separate accountings, he did not intend to deceive Ann Maria and this failure on his part did not injured her. After reviewing the facts in the case, he decided that E.H. Bacon had fairly accounted for the profits and the proceeds from sales and he dismissed the cases. However, he said, Bacon should have maintained a separate accounting of the two accounts, and thus he did not asks the petitioners to pay the costs of the case.
Recorded in Liberty County Superior Court on June 24, 1841.
Source: Superior Court proceedings, Vol. 5, 1842-1855, Liberty County, Georgia, pages 408-430; database with images, “Liberty County Superior Court Proceedings, Vol 5 1842-1855,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3H3-QG3J : accessed 8 Feb 2023), Family History Library Film 008628085, item 2 of 2, images 578-590 of 658.