Sarah Foust Freeman Slaves

Date: 1826 to 1867
Location: North Carolina, United States

Project:US Black Heritage

Sarah (Foust) Freeman Slaves

Sarah Sallie (Snotherly) (Foust) Freeman (1762-1839)In her will she freed her slaves, but there were court cases seeking to overturn her will. She died in 1839 and these cases were in the courts until 1851. There was also related litigation until 1867. Some of the depositions, etc. can be read on FamilySearch as part of the probate record of her first husband. The understanding was that Sarah Freeman provided slave workers to John Newlin to build a mill and that he was to take them to a free state once the work was completed. Although there are stories that Newlin's son, or brother, took them to Fayetteville and there sold them, the legal record clearly states that Newlin took them to Logan County, Ohio. He registered a deed of emancipation for 42 people on 10 December 1850 in Bellefontaine. The document was witnessed by Oliver and Mary Ann Newlin.

Sarah Freeman's first husband was Daniel Peter Foust (1762-1826) who owned at least four tracts of land in present-day Newlin Township. In 1826 he left three tracts to a nephew and a friend, stipulating that 1/3 of their annual produce would go to Sarah along with the remainder of his property. Newlin, Solomon Allen, and William Allen witnessed the will (OCWB E:125). Newlin would later testify that Daniel and Sarah Foust had discussed with him their intention to free the slaves and Daniel expected his wife to arrange for their transportation to a free area. At this time taking slaves to a place where slavery did not exist was the best way to facilitate manumission. An 1830 law permitted North Carolina slaveholders to register a deed of manumission, but only if a security of $1,000 per slave were posted to guarantee transportation out of state and that the slave would never return. At the time of Foust's death in 1826, it was common for people who wished to free their slaves to deed them to a manumission organization, stipulating that they were to be hired out to earn the cost of food transportation, and re-settlement. Often the owner would convey land to the society to help meet these costs. Newlin was active in the Manumission Society of North Carolina at the time of Foust's death. This group repeatedly asked for a repeal of the law forbidding manumission. They also sought legal acknowledgment of marriage between slaves and legal protections for the "chastity" of female slaves "against brutal acts of violence … and seduction" by men of any race.

When Sarah remarried, she and her second husband, Richard Freeman, made and registered a marriage contract in which each partner renounced all claims on the other's property. Newlin and Owen D. Alston witnessed the agreement, and it did specifically mention her slaves (OCDB 25:310). During the decade of litigation Richard Freeman refused to join the suits against Newlin and was a co-defendant with Newlin in the final case.

Originally, Sarah wanted to send her slaves to Liberia, but Newlin advised against this and offered his Quaker connections to get them to Ohio; she agreed, but delayed actually sending them. In 1844, five years after her death, Newlin said she delayed because she wanted to keep the entire group together and some of them were caring for her during her extended illness that lead to her death. Richard Freeman testified that Newlin had urged her to get them to a free area during her lifetime. Since the matter was postponed until the time of her will, dated 1835, Newlin advised her not to leave them to him directly, but to set up a trust under which he would get them to Ohio. She did will them to him directly, named him her executor, and died in 1839. She may have been concerned after the 1831 revolt and thought Newlin would be more successful in carrying out her intention if he were the owner, rather than a trustee. She left all her property to Newlin with the exception of a life interest in some land she left for her husband.

In September 1850, over a period of 27 days, Newlin, son Oliver, and daughter, Mary Ann, took the slaves to Ohio and registered the deed of emancipation there to avoid the $42,000 security to guaranteed they would not return.

List of Those Emancipated 1850

Last	First	AKA	Profile	Connected?
Burnett	Burchy	Burchy
Burnett	Samuel	Sam
Burnett	Eliza	Eliza
Burnett	Milton	Milton
Burnett	Alson	Alson
Carter	Malinda	Malinda
Carter	Edward	Edward (a child)
Carter	Monroe	Monroe
Carter	William	Bill (a child)
Carter	Jesse	Jesse
Newlin	Alfred	Alfred
Newlin	Peter	Pete
Newlin	Edward	Ned
Newlin	Anderson	Anderson
Newlin	John	Jack
Newlin	Calvin	Calvin
Newlin	Franklin	Frank or Franklin	Franklin Newlin (abt.1834-)	no
Newlin	David C.	David (a child)	b. 1836
Newlin	John W.	John (a child)	b. 1840
Newlin	Celey	Cele
Newlin	Wesley	Wesley
Newlin	Willis	Willis
Newlin	Ellen	Ellen
Newlin	Tabitha	Tabitha
Newlin	Arlena	Arlena
Newlin	Delphina	Delph (a child)
Newlin	Letha Ann	Letha Ann
Newlin	Rilla	Rilla
Newlin	Mahala	Mahala
Newlin	Nancy	Nancy
Newlin	Keziah	Kissy
Newlin	Sally	Sally
Newlin	Daniel	Daniel
Newlin	Matilda	Matilda
Newlin	Martha E.	Martha
Newlin	Mary	Polly
Newlin	King	King
Newlin	Sally	Sally
Newlin	Keziah	Kissy
Newlin	Rahama	Hamy
Newlin	Chaplin	Chap
Nichols	James	Jim

Sources

• Troxler, Carole Watterson and Vincent, William Murray, Shuttle & Plow: A History of Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance County, North Carolina : Alamance County Historical Association, 1999; citing, pg. 231-237. Cit. Date: 30 Apr 2022.

• "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9C6-R3D2?cc=1911121&wc=Q64M-78W : 20 November 2015), Orange County > F > Foust, Daniel (1827) > image 1 of 29; State Archives, Raleigh.