Samuel Whitney Makes a Puchase.

Well, back to the Whitney line when it was in New Bern. Specifically, when my 2nd Great Grandfather, Samuel Whitney (1856--1916) made the jump to live in New Bern versus his childhood home in Swan Quarter, Hyde, NC.

Samuel purchased the land that eventually was passed down to his daughter Carrie and his eldest son Samuel back in  July of 1883.  Interesting note: Apparently he made the purchase before he married my 2nd Great Grandmother Sarah J Harris. Also, my 3rd Great Grandmother is referred to in the deed as Annie Harris. Family Oral History has been that her name is Amy Harris and that was also, evidenced on her daughter Sarah's death certificate. Still it was interesting to learn that when he purchased the property, Amy (or Annie as referred to on the deed) was granted life tenancy.

My 2nd Great Grandparents were married on August 8, 1883. Samuel was 23 and Sarah 22 at the time of their marriage.

Back to the deed. It reads on it that the land that Samuel purchased was part of a division of lands involved in a court case Wesley Grey vs. D Parker Scott. This peaked my curiosity so I emailed Victor T Jones of the Kellenberger Room of the New Bern Public Library to find out more about this case. Here's what he emailed me.

UNC-Chapel Hill has a collection of maps, including one from New Bern in 1913, that has the lot numbers for New Bern. The map can be found at the following (shortened) url: http://tinyurl.com/6bolmwl. On the map, find section “N” (Scotts Subdivision) and that is the section that is mapped in the Craven County Court of Equity minutes Fall Term, 1866, p. 53. The court case involves dividing the lands of the Scott family. The court determined that it couldn’t be done “without serious injury to the parties”, so the property was divided and sold at auction. The complete list of original purchasers is included in the minutes on pages 49-53, with the map appearing on page 53. Lot 100 was originally purchased by George Bryan for $50.00. The lot is on “Browns Alley” between Elm and Cedar Streets.

 

The plaintiffs in the court case were: Wesley Gray, Joseph Murphy and Mary Ann his wife, William Sullivan and Margaret his wife, and Wesley Vaughn and Martha his wife. The defendants were: David Porter Scott, Mary Eliza Scott, Edwin S. Hunter, William C. Hunter, Hiser V. Richardson, Nathanael R. Richardson, Lucy Cleve, Frances E. Green, Margaret W. Beecher, Mary E. Richardson, and Joshua Brinn. The case commenced Fall Term 1861, and was picked back up Spring Term 1866.

 

The plaintiffs were entitled to 1/16 part each as children and heirs of Reuben Gray, uncle of Joshua Scott.

The defendants David Porter Scott and Mary Eliza Scott were children of Adam Scott, uncle of Joshua Scott and entitled to 1/16 share each;

Edwin S. Hunter and William C. Hunter were the only children and heirs of Mehetabel Hunter, daughter of Adam Scott, and entitled to 1/32 share each;

Hiser V. Richardson, Nathanael R. Richardson, and Lucy Cleve were children and heirs of Amanda Richardson, daughter of Adam Scott, and entitled to 1/48th part;

Frances E. Green and Margaret Beecher are the only children and heirs of Joshua Scott, uncle of Joshua Scott and entitled to 1/8 part each;

Mary E. Richardson and Joshua Briner are the only grandchildren and heirs of Elijah Scott, father of Joshua Scott, and entitled to 1/8 part each.

 

So the heirs of Joshua Scott were his uncles and father: Reuben Gray, Adam Scott, Joshua Scott, and Elijah Scott (1/4) share each. The property was then divided among the surviving heirs of those 4 men.