Fearn Plantation, Isle of Wight, Virginia

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Isle of Wight, Virginia, United States

US Black Heritage Index of Plantations
Virginia Plantations

This page is not intended to focus on a particular plantation owner, but rather the history of the plantation, which is located in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. The county is on the James River across the river from Newport News. The plantation is in the area of what was once called Fearnsville, a tiny area but for a time the County Seat, in which the County Courthouse stands, on the Courthouse highway midway between Smithfield and Windsor.

Disambiguation: This is NOT about the Fearn plantation located in Danville, Virginia. Danville is an "independent city" in Virginia, not formally part of a county, although it is surrounded by Pittsylvania County and the border with North Carolina.

The details below pertain to the years 1833 and 1843, but I believe we will be able to document Fearn generations owning this plantation for at least 100 years.

Contents 1 Plantation Owners 2 Slaves 3 Free People of Color 4 Sources

Plantation Owners

1.  ???? - 1833 Mechum Fearn
2. 1833 - 1834 John B Young

Slaves

Mechum's will, naming 21 adult slaves, ^[1] was executed on 7 December 1832, with the addition of a codicil on 7 March 1833, probate on 7 May 1833 and inventory ^[2] presented to probate on 10 May 1833. In the inventory each slave is assigned a dollar value by the assessors. In the inventory, 25 adult (i.e. over age 12) slaves were listed.

His will states that upon his death:

• 2 servants on his Fearn plantation be given immediate manumission, and let them stay on the plantation until they are ready to leave, as long as the law allows them, with a stipend of $100 upon leaving (which probably means leaving the state, given the laws of the time in Virginia).
  • Oscar ($600)
  • Joe ($600)

• 22 slaves (18 adult, 4 children) on the Fearn plantation be given to John B Young, of which those 8 with a Manumit note following their name are to be manumitted upon the death of John B. Young:
  • old Sam ($10)
  • old Simon ($10) Manumit
  • old Sally ($10)
  • old Randol ($200)
  • young Randall ($300)
  • Everett ($350)
  • Richard (Dick) ($300)
  • Ned Parker ($350) (surname noted in inventory)
  • Christian ($30) Manumit
  • Eliza (Lizza) ($320) Manumit
  • Julia ($320) Manumit
  • Albert ($600) Manumit
  • Thadeus ($300) Manumit
  • Otawy (Otway) ? (this might mean Octavia) ($300) Manumit
  • Amandy (Amanda) ($250) Manumit
  • Fanny ($200)
  • Rachel and her 3 children ($300)
  • Mariah and 1 child ($200)

• 4 more slaves were listed in the inventory but omitted in the will
  • Everet (alias Docter) ($250)
  • Mary ($200)
  • Sam ($150)
  • Bob ($200)

Free People of Color

An 1833 census document entitled "Isle of Wight 1833 Free Negroes" ^[3] contains 25 scanned pages. On page 22 is the following list for Mitchim Fearn's land:

• Ricks: Clarissa (F, spinstery); Esellar (F, spinstery); Mary, Nancy and Savena (F, infant)
• Bailey: Aaron (M, laborer); Maza (F, spinstery); Braseton (M, infant)
• Prellow: Charlotte (F, spinstery); Savina, Matilda, Julia and Adeline (F, infant)

Infant means a child under 12.

The mention of the trade of spinstery suggests that some of these people may have been workers at the Chuckatuck Manufacturing Company.

Sources

1. ↑ Common Law Will Book, Isle of Wight County, Virginia: Film number: 007645169 > image 514-515 of 573
   FamilySearch Image: QS7-89P6-RDN2 3, QS7-89P6-RDN2 (accessed 25 November 2023) . Mixed probate records, 1833-1902. Circuit Court, Isle of Wight County. Database online. FamilySearch.org. Salt Lake City, Utah. Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1949;
2. ↑ Mixed probate records, 1643-1866 ; indexes to wills, 1850-1985: "Mixed probate records, 1643-1866 ; indexes to wills, 1850-1985"
   Catalog: Mixed probate records, 1643-1866 ; indexes to wills, 1850-1985 Mixed records, Vols. 19-21 1831-1841
   Film number: 007676153 > image 169 of 675
   FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-C9TC-F6R1 (accessed 27 November 2023)
3. ↑ Isle of Wight 1833 Free Negroes: William Holleman, Commissioner of Revenue, Original filename 1082990_0007_0001_0001-0025
   Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative; Free Blacks Records, 1833-1863, Accession APA 757, box 1, folder 7
   Isle of Wight 1833 Free Negroes (accessed 2 December 2023)
   and
   [1] (accessed 2 December 2023) List of free person name, sex, geographic location in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, and profession.