Enslaved People Named: None
In June 1800, Jane Stephen, formerly Jane Stiles, and Benjamin Stiles signed a marriage settlement, with Samuel and Joseph Stiles as her trustees. In the agreement it was noted that Jane (as Jane Stiles) had previously had a marriage settlement dated March 29, 1792, with Alexander Stephen, and with Samuel and Joseph Stiles as her trustees. That original settlement apparently stated that the trust created by it would be used for the benefit of both parties during their joint lives, and by the survivor during his or her life, with the remainder to their issue, and if the issue (children) should die during the life of the survivor, the entire estate, with its increase, would become the absolute property of the survivor, free from the trust.
Because Jane Stephen now intended to marry Benjamin Stiles, it was agreed between them that “the said rents, profits, produce and proceeds including the labour and the fruits of the labour of the slaves, making part of such personal estate,” both that she possessed at the time of the original settlement and that she had come to possess or be entitled to since that time, was to be “settled in a legal manner” in trust for the use of Jane and Benjamin during their joint lives, and with the same inheritance conditions as the previous settlement.
Signed by Jane Stephen, Benjamin Stiles, Samuel Stiles, and Joseph Stiles. Witnessed by Jos. Stiles and Sam’l S. Lighbourn. Recorded in Bryan County Superior Court on April 5, 1808.
[NOTE: No enslaved people were named in this document, though they were obviously included based on the wording. Also, it was not explicitly stated that Alexander Stephen had died, though it certainly seems likely.]
Bryan County, Georgia, Deeds & Mortgages, v. A-D 1796-1829, Book C (1807-1815), page 43-4; digitized microfilm accessed through catalog, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4K-K39S : 26 May 2024), image 286-7 of 600; microfilm #007899046, citing original records of Bryan County Superior Court.