George Blackwell, a planter of Edgecombe co. NC, sat down in 1763 and drew up a will that helpfully named his wife and large brood of children.
Daughters Mary, Fanny and Selah, and sons Jesse and George Jr. seem to have been mostly grown and independent, as their father left them a shilling apiece "and no more than [s/he] hath already had". George Jr. was also named an executor of the will along with George Sr.'s wife, Ann.
More children named in the will include sons Hardea, Farabea, William, Abraham, Edmond, and one that seems to be James, as well as daughters named Patience, Amea, and Dorcas. Already we're at 7 named daughters and 8 sons. A sizeable family!
Now a few years later, in April 1767, George Sr.'s will is exhibited as recorded in the Court Minutes of Edgecombe county. A Thorogood Blackwell then apparently questioned the widow Ann's qualifications for being executrix of the will, but the court ruled in Ann's favor. By the way, Thorogood's profile on here has him born in 1760, but it seems unfathomable that a 6 or 7 year old boy went to court.
Now, this Thorogood Blackwell left a will of his own in 1832 Autauga co. AL. In it he directs that "John Booth, Charles Booth and William Booth be equal heirs with my lawful children", etc. etc. For whatever reason, Blackwell genealogists tied themselves into knots trying to come up with theories that these Booths were nephews in some way to Thorogood Blackwell, rather than the seemingly obvious solution that these were out-of-wedlock sons that he was providing for.
Here's where it gets interesting. A male-line descendant of that aforementioned William Booth matched 24/25 Y-DNA markers with a descendant of Abraham Blackwell of Chesterfield District, SC. Putting all this together, it's obvious that not only was Thorogood the biological father of William Booth (and, one presumes, also of Charles and John as well) but that Thorogood and Abraham were therefore closely related in the male line.
Now, both Thorogood and Abraham are listed on Wikitree as sons of George Sr. However, Thorogood is nowhere mentioned in George Sr.'s will. What gives? Why was he not left a shilling? We know from the Court Minutes that he seemed to challenge the widow Ann over the will. Was he an elder son from a previous marriage who'd been cut out of the will? The sheer size of George Sr.'s family would seem to suggest 2 or more wives, although it's not completely impossible that Ann was mother of all of them. In the 1800 census, we find Abraham and Thorogood both living in Chesterfield co. SC, with a Urias Blackwell (age 45+) living nearby. Who is this Urias? Where the hell did he come from? Is this another brother who got cut out of the will?
Also, what IS going on with those names?? Half the names seem like they're from a Quaker background and the other half something any Cavalier family would christen their children. Abraham served in the Revolutionary War, so if he was born a Quaker, he didn't stay one for long.
