They Had Names

African Americans in Early Records of Liberty and Bryan Counties, Georgia

Steven Dickinson – Liberty County Estate Inventory

Location: Liberty County, Georgia
Deceased: Dickinrson, Steven (or Stephen)
Date Sworn: 1783-05-13
Appraisers: John Lawson, Adam Alexander, Stafford Summersall
Estate Administrator: Mrs. Jane Mahan
Court Officer: John Andrews
Date Recorded: unknown (see comments)
Recording Official: unknown (see comments)
Total Value of Property Appraised: 139.13.0 pounds
Value of enslaved persons: 110 pounds
Comments: This inventory and the court documents found in Liberty County Probate Office loose files, not in the probate record book.

Note in the inventory: “Jem is in the hands of Mr. Shaw, considered by him as apertaining to the estate of Thomas Parkins. A fellow, Tom, on St. Johns in East Florida and a fellow Jacob, in South Carolina, [word “both” crossed out] captured by the [word “British” crossed out] American gallies [sic, galleys].”

NameValuationDescription
Joe5 pounds“An old Negroe fellow”
Laddy25“An old Negroe wench”
Jem50“A young fellow”
Joe30“An old fellow Little Joe”

Find the digitized original at: Loose Papers in folders by surname, Liberty County, Georgia, Probate Court; digitized images with typewritten indexes, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9Q4-C2SW : accessed 7 Jun 2026), “Georgia Probate Records, 1742-1990 -> Liberty -> Estate records 1775-1892 Busby, Bartholomew – Butler, Henry Dean, Ernest – Dunham, Thomas , images 348-351.