Enslaved People Named: Becky, Berry, Emily, Milley, Martha, Matilda, George, Mary, Margaret, Augustus, Matthew, Chloe
On November 20, 1839, William Dearing, of Athens, Clark County, Georgia, put into trust for his daughter Margaret Ann Harden, formerly Dearing, wife of Thomas H. Harden, of Bryan County, “the following named twelve negroes, slaves, to wit, Becky, Berry and his daughter Emily, Milley and her child Martha, Matilda and her four children George, Mary, Margaret and Augustus, Matthew and his wife Chloe, together with the future issue and increase of the female slaves. Dearing noted that this was based on the March 29, 1836, marriage of Thomas H. Harden and Margaret Ann Dearing. The trustee named was Thomas H. Harden, and was to be used for Margaret Ann’s benefit and that of any children she had or was to have during Margaret and Thomas’ lifetimes. After her death, it was to be used for the benefit of any of their children alive at her death. Thomas H. Harden could sell or otherwise dispose of any of the enslaved people named, as long as the money from such sale was invested in property for the trust. Recorded in Bryan County Superior Court on March 17, 1840.
Bryan County, Georgia, Deeds & Mortgages, v. E-G 1830-1853, Book E (1830-40), page 407-8; digitized microfilm accessed through catalog, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4K-VSGM-H : 4 Aug 2024), image 224 of 682; microfilm #007899047, citing original records of Bryan County Superior Court.