Slaves of Maurice Smith, North Carolina

Location: Granville, North Carolina, United States
Surnames/tags: Slavery Black_Heritage Smith

This page's purpose is to record the people enslaved by Maurice Smith (1776-1835) and attempt to connect them to their families.

Maurice Smith was born in 1776 in Granville County, North Carolina.

When his father Samuel Smith died in 1800, Maurice inherited two enslaved people:

• George & Young Rose

In the 1820 census, Maurice was enslaving 28 people in Granville County.^[1]

When his mother Mary (Webb) Smith died in 1827, Maurice inherited three enslaved people:

• Ben - age 32
• Rachel - age 34
• Leashy - age 14

In the 1830 census, Maurice was enslaving 53 people in Granville County.^[2]

Maurice Smith died in May 1835 at his home in Granville County. He did not leave a will but his estate records are extensive. He owned nearly 4,000 acres of land at the time of his death and his estate inventory listed 65 enslaved people:

Name

George

Isaac

Ishmael

Humphrey

Dolly

Jinny

Charity

Lucinda

Lilah

Rachel

Davy

Hannah

Matilda

Lucy

Katy

Patsey

Maria

Mark

Caesar

Amy

Sarah

Milly

Jerry

Jemima

Dick

Squire

Anderson

Lewis

Eliza

Betsey

Emily

Lemuel

Harriet

Joe

Agnes

Grant

Jenny

Hu(?)

Charles

Mat

Jesse

Edmund

Vincent

Cyrus

Harry

Abram

Isabella

Daniel

Bissit (?)

Caroline

Allice

Tempey

Dennis

Bartlet

Wiley

Alex

Margaret

Andrew Jackson

Lizzy

Wesley

Robin

Isaac (old)

Phillis

Bob

Elijah

In May of 1836, a list was recorded of enslaved people from Maurice's estate who were hired out for the year 1836:

Name	Enslaver hiring people from Maurice Smith’s estate	Amount paid for 1836
Old George	William Sharp	$34.00
Old Isaac	Joseph Lumpkin	$32.00
Ishmael	Dr. James Young	$62.00
Humphrey	Reuben P Brooks	$53.50
Old Jinney	Reuben P Brooks	Crossed out - “unsound”
David	Richard Watkins	$69.00
Charles	Richard Watkins	$76 (crossed out)
Patty & 3 children	Richard Watkins	$65.00
Mark	George Boyd	$87.00
Ceasar	Alexander Panghorn	$88.00
Anderson	Alexander Panghorn	$65.00
Dick	William Robards	$51.00
Squire	John Woods	$65.00
Jesse	Michael A Tarwater	$46.00
Edmund & Betsey	Isaac Wade	$98.00
Cyrus	Edwin A Williams	$81.00
Oxeter (?)	Thomas D Wade	$71.00
Elijah	Fredric Lewis	$39.00
Joe	Fredric Lewis	$10.00
Mathew & Maria & 2 children	William Smith	$25.00
Charity	Harris Williams	$23.00
Lucey & 2 children	Jesse Rankin	$11.00
Eliza	Daniel Chandler	$27.00
Lucretia	Parham Brooks	$27.25
Phillis	John P Read	$20.25
Grant	Amy W Smith, wife	$69.00
Harvey	Amy W Smith, wife	$80.00
Moses	Amy W Smith, wife	$75.00
Bob & Lucinda & 3 children	Amy W Smith, wife	$50.00
Vincent	Amy W Smith, wife	$52.00
Hannah	Amy W Smith, wife	$26.50
Amy & child	Amy W Smith, wife	$16.00
Jinney & 3 children	Amy W Smith, wife	“For their victuals and cloths”
Matilda & 3 children	Amy W Smith, wife	“To receive $20 for supporting and clothing”
Mimey	William Gordon	“for victuals and cloths”
Lily the cook & 4 children	Amy W Smith, wife	“Retained for the use of Mrs Smith & family for one year”
Caty & 1 child	Amy W Smith, wife	“Retained for the use of Mrs Smith & family for one year”
Sary	Amy W Smith, wife	“Retained for the use of Mrs Smith & family for one year”
Milley	Amy W Smith, wife	“Retained for the use of Mrs Smith & family for one year”
Jerry (?)	Amy W Smith, wife	“Retained for the use of Mrs Smith & family for one year”

At the end of 1837, fourteen of the people enslaved by Maurice were divided between his daughter Frances Susan Smith and his son-in-law Richard Ivy Smith:

Name	Enslaver who inherited in 1837
Charles	Frances S Smith, daughter
Lewis	Frances S Smith, daughter
Milly	Frances S Smith, daughter
Patty	Frances S Smith, daughter
Henderson	Frances S Smith, daughter
Willie	Frances S Smith, daughter
Dolly	Frances S Smith, daughter
Humphrey	Richard I Smith, husband of Mary A G Smith
Mark	Richard I Smith, husband of Mary A G Smith
Lem	Richard I Smith, husband of Mary A G Smith
Emily	Richard I Smith, husband of Mary A G Smith
Lucretia	Richard I Smith, husband of Mary A G Smith
Eliza	Richard I Smith, husband of Mary A G Smith
Hannah	Richard I Smith, husband of Mary A G Smith

At the end of 1838, thirty-two of the people enslaved by Maurice were divided between four of his children: Men R Smith (Repent Men Smith, aka Benjamin), Ann Rebecca Smith, John Baptist Smith, and Samuel William Smith:

Name	Enslaver who inherited in 1838
Edmond	Men R Smith, son
Mathew	Men R Smith, son
Jenny	Men R Smith, son
Frankey	Men R Smith, son
Dennis	Men R Smith, son
Goin	Men R Smith, son
Robin	Men R Smith, son
Alice	Men R Smith, son
Rose	Men R Smith, son
Moses	Ann R Smith, daughter
Jerry (?)	Ann R Smith, daughter
Betsey	Ann R Smith, daughter
Phillis	Ann R Smith, daughter
Daniel	Ann R Smith, daughter
Isabella	Ann R Smith, daughter
Wesley	Ann R Smith, daughter
Vincent	John B Smith, son
Dick	John B Smith, son
Joe	John B Smith, son
Matilda	John B Smith, son
Willis	John B Smith, son
Tempy	John B Smith, son
Agnes	John B Smith, son
Charity	John B Smith, son
Harry	Samuel W Smith, son
Anderson	Samuel W Smith, son
Sarah	Samuel W Smith, son
Lila	Samuel W Smith, son
Bartlet	Samuel W Smith, son
Elver	Samuel W Smith, son
Isaac	Samuel W Smith, son
Ceasar	“Died since the last division”

Sources

1. ↑ 1820 Census - "United States Census, 1820", Granville, North Carolina. FamilySearch. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHGS-ZP2 : Sat Mar 09 09:02:05 UTC 2024), Entry for Mauria Smith, 1820. Image 23 of 236.
2. ↑ 1830 Census - "United States Census, 1830", North Regiment Granville, North Carolina. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYY6-9R6T?view=index&action=view : Fri Mar 08 16:18:27 UTC 2024), Entry for Maruice Smith, 1830. Image 46 of 829.

• Will of father Samuel Smith - North Carolina, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998. Granville County, Wills, Vol 4-5, 1796-1803. Page 101. Image 502 of 768. Written Sep 1800, Probated Dec 1800. Ancestry.com. Ancestry Sharing Link.

• Will of mother Mary (Webb) Smith - North Carolina, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998. Granville County, Wills, Vol 10, 1824-1828. Page 407. Image 429 of 573. Written 10 Jan 1825. Probated Feb 1828. Ancestry Sharing Link.

• 1835 Estate Inventory of Col. Maurice Smith - Granville County, North Carolina, estate records. Estate records 1746-1919 Smith James—Somervell, John. Image 665 of 1995. FamilySearch Link. List of enslaved people. Recorded 2 Nov 1835.

• 1836 Hiring Records - Estate Records of Col. Maurice Smith - Granville County, North Carolina, estate records. Estate records 1746-1919 Smith James—Somervell, John. Image 690 of 1995. FamilySearch Link. List of enslaved people hired out for the year 1836. Recorded 5 May 1836.

• 1837 Division of Enslaved People - Estate of Maurice Smith. Granville County, North Carolina, estate records. Estate records 1746-1919 Smith James—Somervell, John. Image 787 of 1995. FamilySearch Link. Written 25 Dec 1837. Recorded Feb 1838.

• 1838 Division of Enslaved People - Estate of Maurice Smith. Granville County, North Carolina, estate records. Estate records 1746-1919 Smith James—Somervell, John. Image 787 of 1995. FamilySearch Link. Written 26 Dec 1838. Recorded Feb 1839.

• For more information about the people enslaved by Maurice's father, please see: Slaves of Samuel Smith, Granville County, North Carolina.

• For more information about the people enslaved by Maurice's mother, please see: Slaves of Mary (Webb) Smith (1740-1827), North Carolina