Enslaved People Named: Agrippa, Caesar, Toney, Charlotte, and her child Nancy, Lydia and her two children Dye [alt: Die] and Peninna, Bella, Betty, and Agrippa, and Rose
Slaveowners: Daniel Sullivant Senior, Daniel Sullivant Junior
Date of Case: 1812
In 1812-3, the disposition of the estate of Daniel Sullivant Senior, “late of the County of Glynn,” was in dispute in Liberty County Superior Court. John Edward Fraser, Andrew Fairfield Fraser, and Simon Fraser, represented by their prochain ami [next friend] Simon Fraser, were the complainants; and Thomas Bacon Junior and Benjamin Mell, guardians of Daniel Sullivant, Eliza Sullivant, Mary Sullivant, Margaret Sullivant and Thomas Sullivant, were the defendants.
[NOTE: In these documents, the surname was spelled variously Sullivant, Sillavant, Sullavant]
The complainants stated that John Edward Fraser, Andrew Fairfield Fraser and Simon Fraser Junior, of Liberty County, Georgia, were the children of Simon Fraser and Sarah Fraser and the grandchildren of Daniel Sullivant Senior, a deceased planter of Glynn County, and that since they were under the age of 21, they were represented by Simon Fraser Senior, planter of Liberty County. They stated that Daniel Sullivant Senior owned certain tracts of land, and particularly one 800-acre tract in Crab Swamp in Liberty County, which had originally been granted to Stephen Williams. In his will, they said, Daniel Sullivant Senior had given these tracts of land to his son Daniel Sullivant, for his lifetime, and to his heirs “lawfully gotten upon any other woman, except his then present wife, Mary Sullivant, late Mary Clubb.” If he (Daniel Sullivant Jr) were to die without said children, the property was to be inherited by John Fraser, but Mary Sullivant, formerly Mary Clubb, or any of her children were to be “forever excluded from inheriting any part thereof.”
Daniel Sullivan Senior had also died possessed of “considerable personal property, consisting of negroes, and other things of considerable value,” and one half of “said negroes” and the whole of his other personal property was left to Daniel Sullivant and his heirs, again excepting any children of his then wife Mary. If Daniel Sullivant (Jr) were to die without any heirs not born of his wife Mary, then this property was to become the property of “his grandchild, or children, the issue of Sarah Fraser, the mother of your orators [the complainants].” The complainants stated that the one half “of the said negroes, so willed, devised and bequeathed as aforesaid, consists of the following named slaves; to wit, Agrippa, Caesar, Toney, Charlotte, and her child Nancy, Lydia and her two children Dye [alt: Die] and Peninna, Bella, Betty, and Agrippa, and Rose, of the value of six thousant dollars, and which negroes and estate is of the yearly value of eight hundred dollars.”
The complainants further stated that Daniel Sullivant Senior died in October 1794, leaving Daniel Sullivant Junior, his son, and John Edward Fraser, Andrew Fairfield Fraser, and Simon Fraser, his grandchildren and the children of Simon Fraser Senior and Sarah Fraser, Daniel Sullivant Senior’s daughter,” as his heirs. They noted that Daniel Sullivant Junior had died after that, and that his children by Mary Sullivant, formerly Mary Clubb — Daniel Sullivant, Eliza Sullivant, Mary Sullivant, Margaret Sullivant, and Thomas Sullivant — were expressly excluded from inheriting by Daniel Sullivant Senior’s will. However, Daniel Sullivant Junior, at the time of his death, did have children by his second wife, whom he had married after the death of Mary Clubb Sullivant, but those children had died sometime after Daniel Sullivant Junior had died, leaving the complainants as the only heirs of Daniel Sullivant Senior.
The complainants charged that, contrary to law, the heirs of Daniel Sullivant Junior by his wife Mary Clubb Sullivant — Daniel Sullivant, Eliza Sullivant, Mary Sullivant, Margaret Sullivant, and Thomas Sullivant, represented by their guardians Thomas Bacon Junior and Benjamin Mell — had taken possession of all of Daniel Sullivant Junior’s estate and of the yearly income. The complainants had hoped, they said, that after the deaths of Daniel Sullivant Junior’s heirs by his second wife, whose name was left blank, they would have been put in possession of the estate but the two guardians had not done so, operating under various pretexts.
The complainants asked the Court to summon guardians Thomas Bacon Junior and Benjamin Mell to testify as to what property Daniel Sullivant Junior possessed at his death that was inherited from his father, and that this property be turned over to them, along with the earnings “accruing from the work and labor of the said negro slaves.”
Daniel Sullivant Senior’s Glynn County will was included as exhibit A in the case.
[Begin Transcript]
In the name of God. Amen. I Daniel Sillivant Senr, late of Liberty County, but now of Glynn, planter, considering the certainty of death, but the uncertainty when it may happen; being also sound in mind & memory, do make this my last will & testament in manner & form following, viz.
Impr. I give and bequeath unto my son Daniel, during his life, & to heirs lawfully begotten (upon any other woman, except his present wife Mary Sillivant, late Mary Clubb) all my lands, or tracts of land, whatever, with their improvements, lying in Liberty County, & in case of his death without issue as aforesaid, the said lands to be inherited by, and to devolve to, my grandson, John Fraser, the son of Simon & Sarah Fraser, & in case of his death, to devolve to such other children as my said daughter, Sarah Fraser, may hereafter have, to them and their heirs forever. And I do hereby, for good and sufficient, reason, forever exclude the said Mary Sillavant, late Mary Clubb, or the heirs of her body, from ever inheriting any part of my lands, or personal property whatever.
2dly. I do give and bequeath unto Patience Girardeau my riding chair.
3dly. I do give & bequeath unto James Hamilton Couper, son to John and Rebecca Couper, my negro, or mulatto boy, named Sandy, to him & his heirs forever.
4thly. I do give and bequeath unto my said son Daniel one equal moiety, or half part, of all my negroes, & the whole of all personal property of every description besides, subject to the same regulations respecting his present wife Mary, and the issue of her body, as mentioned in the foregoing article respecting my lands; viz, that the said Mary Sillavant, late Mary Clubb, or the heirs of her body, shall not inherit any part of said negroes or property – but in case of the death of my said son Daniel, the said negroes and personal property shall then devolve to, & become, the property of my grandchild, or children, the issue of Sarah Fraser, subject to the regulation hereafter named.
5th. I do give & bequeath unto my grandson John, the son of Simon and Sarah Fraser, & equally to all the other children that my said daughter may in future have, the remaining half, or equal moiety, of all my negroes, to be equally divided among them, in manner & form following, viz, that the whole of my negroes shall remain in the hands of Daniel Sillivant, my son, for the term of three years after my decease; during which time the profits and emoluments shall be entirely to his use & benefit; at the expiration of which term of three years, a fair & equal division shall then take place, one half, or equal, share of which shall be delivered to my executors, hereafter named, for, and in behalf, & in trust, for my said grandson John, or grandchildren, by my said daughter Sarah Fraser: and I do hereby will & direct, that my executors shall employ said negroes, as to them may appear best, laying out the profits, or income, of said negroes towards the purchase of more salves; or in such other way as to them may appear best. When my said grandson, John, arrives at the age of fifteen years, my executors are then to deliver unto him the said negroes, with their increase and profits. Nevertheless, should my said daughter, Sarah, have more children before this delivery takes place, my executors are then directed to divide equally the said negroes, their increase, and profits; paying unto the sons their proportion at the age of fifteen years, and unto the daughters their proportion at their marriage, or at the age of fifteen.
I do further name and appoint my son Daniel Sillavant, with my friends, Peter Winn & John Couper Esqr of Liberty County, to be my executors, and to see the contents of my foregoing will carried into due effect; authorising them fully to do every lawful concerning the same. I do hereby declare the above to be my last will and testament, & do hereby revoke all former will, or wills, by me made. Witness my hand this 13th August 1794.
Signed, sealed, & declared to be the last will & testament of Daniel Sillvant Senr, in presence of John Couper, John Miller, John Edwards, Allan M. Kinzie.
Codicil to the within last will & testament. In addition to the within will, I Daniel Sillavant, being weak in body, but sound in mind, do direct the executors, within named, to my last will and testament to set free, in due & proper form, my negro wench named Nanny, with her female child named Rose; hereby revoking any part of my will that may appear to the contrary. Witness my hand this 2d day of October 1794.
Signed in the presence of, and declared for the above purpose John Couper, Cyrus Dart, Allan M Kinzie.
[NOTE: Appended to this exhibit was a statement that the will and the codicil were probated by Allan M Kinzie (or could be McKinzie) on Ocotber 11, 1794 before Glynn County Justice James Spalding and Glynn County Register of Probate Richard Bradley.]
[End Transcript]
Thomas Bacon Jr and Benjamin Mell were summoned to Liberty County Superior Court, sitting in equity, to answer to the lawsuit, in September 1812. They acknowledged through their solicitor that Daniel Sillavant Senior’s will was valid and that he had left the stated property to his son Daniel, also that Daniel Sullivant the elder had died in October 1795 [spelled out but previously stated as 1794] and that Daniel Sullivant the younger died sometime in 1810, leaving children by his first wife Mary, formerly Mary Clubb, who were now the wards of Bacon and Mell: Daniel, Eliza, Mary, Margaret and Thomas. They also stated that Daniel Jr had left children by his last wife, Esther, formerly Esther Osgood: Esther Ann Sullivant and John Osgood Sullivant, who had died after their father, Esther Ann in August 1810 and John in September 1810, both of them minors and not having made a will.
Bacon and Mell further stated that when Daniel Sullivant Junior had died, all of the property he had inherited from his father became the property of his children by his last wife, Esther. Since they had died intestate, all of this property descended to their half brothers and sisters as their heirs, and thus became the property of the children of Mary Sullivant by Daniel Sullivant. They added that the since the property, including “the negroes,” had been in their possession, as the children’s guardians, the profits had been $577.25 and that $511.68 had been expended “for their support & education & other necessary expenses.”
This case was marked as settled as of March 22, 1813. [Unfortunately, there was no information as to what the settlement was.]
Recorded in Liberty County Superior Court on March 27, 1813.
Source: Superior Court minutes, 1804-1820, Liberty County, Georgia, page 402-11; database with images, “Liberty County Superior Court Minutes 1804-1821,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3H3-W95H : accessed 10 June 2023), Family History Library Film 008628963, image 222-7 of 653.