Slaves of Alexander Smith, Granville County, 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 Alexander Smith and attempt to connect them to their families.

Alexander Smith was born in 1781 at the Abram's Plains plantation owned by his parents Samuel Granville Smith and Mary (Webb) Smith in Granville County, North Carolina. He lived his whole life on the plantation and died on 25 December 1827 (age 46) without leaving a will.

His estate was inventoried on 1 March 1828 and the people he enslaved were divided among his wife Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith and their two daughters Sally Pomfret Smith and Anne Alexander Smith.

Alexander's daughter Anne died on 22 July 1828 (age 12) and the enslaved people she had inherited were re-divided between her mother Anne and sister Sally. For clarity, this page includes that further division.

Alexander's daughter Sally then died on 20 August 1831 (age 17) apparently without leaving a will; her husband Samuel Smith Downey inherited the Abram's Plains plantation and it was passed down to their only daughter Anne Pomfret Alexander Smith (Downey) Davis when he died in 1851. Alexander's widow Anne lived there until she died in 1872.

Note: Some of the ages of enslaved people are slightly different in the two inventory lists for Alexander's estate. I have used the ages from the first document. Name spelling variations are included.

Enslaved People Named in 1828 Estate Inventories

NAME	Enslaver who inherited in March 1828 from Alexander Smith	“Supposed age”	Valuation in May 1828	Notes	Enslaver who inherited in Dec 1828 from Alexander's daughter Anne	Valuation in Dec 1828
London	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	68	$31.00
Mentor	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	28	$537.00	Received from his mother's estate
Anderson	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	16	$337.50
Big Amy	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	45	$88.75
Big Amy’s child Molly	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	5 months	Valued with mother
John Henry	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	8	$175.00
Celia	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	34	$268.75
Celia’s child Jordan	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	9 months	Valued with mother
Dick	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	7	$76.25
Dilly	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	4	$76.25
Joseph (Joe)	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	12	$225.00
Edmond (Eddy)	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	11	$225.00
Adam	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	9	$188.00
Emmely (Emily)	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	3	$75.00	Received from his mother's estate
Wealthy	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	16	$250.00
Zedd	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, wife	3	$106.00
Lewis	Sally Pomfret Smith, daughter	65	$200.00
Fielding	Sally Pomfret Smith, daughter	22	$311.00
Simon	Sally Pomfret Smith, daughter	17	$300.00
Peggy	Sally Pomfret Smith, daughter	40	$200.00
Peggy’s child Dozy	Sally Pomfret Smith, daughter	1	Valued with mother
Sophy	Sally Pomfret Smith, daughter	6	$162.50
Sarah	Sally Pomfret Smith, daughter	21	$300.00
Sarah’s child Sucky	Sally Pomfret Smith, daughter	6 months	Valued with mother
Phill	Sally Pomfret Smith, daughter	2	$75.00
Mary	Sally Pomfret Smith, daughter	13	$250.00
Strephon	Sally Pomfret Smith, daughter	14	$250.00
Henrietta (Ritter)	Sally Pomfret Smith, daughter	11	$206.25
Essex	Sally Pomfret Smith, daughter	27	$200.00	Received from his father's estate
Dinah (Diana)	Sally Pomfret Smith, daughter	10	$200.00
James	No record yet found of inheritor	67	n/a	Stonemason, hired out
Lovelace (Loveless)	No record yet found of inheritor	17	n/a	Stonemason, hired out
Peter	No record yet found of inheritor	13	n/a	Stonemason, hired out
Syphax	Anne Alexander Smith, daughter	67	$21.00		Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, mother	$0.00
George	Anne Alexander Smith, daughter	25	$393.75		Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, mother	$393.75
Edd	Anne Alexander Smith, daughter	18	$356.00		Sally Pomfret Smith, sister	$356.00
Yellow Amy	Anne Alexander Smith, daughter	40	$225.00		Sally Pomfret Smith, sister	$225.00
Yellow Amy’s child Anna (Ann)	Anne Alexander Smith, daughter	1	Valued with mother		Sally Pomfret Smith, sister	Valued with mother
Norvel	Anne Alexander Smith, daughter	3	$100.00		Sally Pomfret Smith, sister	$100.00
Sally	Anne Alexander Smith, daughter	6	$150.00		Sally Pomfret Smith, sister	$150.00
Judith (Judah)	Anne Alexander Smith, daughter	23	$343.75		Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, mother	$400.00
Judith’s child Rody (Roda)	Anne Alexander Smith, daughter	2	Valued with mother		Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, mother	Valued with mother
Judith's child Calvin	(not yet born)	Infant	Valued with mother	Only named in the division of Anne Alexander Smith's estate. Born between May and December 1828.	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, mother	Valued with mother
Evans	Anne Alexander Smith, daughter	7	$125.00		Sally Pomfret Smith, sister	$125.00
Henry	Anne Alexander Smith, daughter	8	$200.00		Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, mother	$200.00
Jacob	Anne Alexander Smith, daughter	12	$225.00		Sally Pomfret Smith, sister	$225.00
Tabb	Anne Alexander Smith, daughter	16	$290.00		Sally Pomfret Smith, sister	$290.00
Tabb's child Amy	(not yet born)	Infant	Valued with mother	Only named in the division of Anne Alexander Smith's estate. Born between May and December 1828.	Sally Pomfret Smith, sister	Valued with mother
Anna (Ann)	Anne Alexander Smith, daughter	26	$250.00	Received from his father's estate	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, mother	$250.00
Phebe				Only named in the division of Anne Alexander Smith's estate, previously inherited from grandmother Mary (Webb) Smith	Anne Alexander (Beasley) Smith, mother	$275.00

Sources

• Estate Inventory #1 of Alexander Smith - North Carolina, U.S., Wills, 1746-1943; index, 1749-1943. Granville County, Wills, Vol 10, 1824-1828. Page 524. Image 545 of 573. Recorded 1 Mar 1828. FamilySearch Link

• Estate Inventory #2 of Alexander Smith - North Carolina, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998. Granville County, Estate Records, Seary, Richard - Smith, James. Image 1592 of 1943. Written 1 March 1828, recorded May 1828. FamilySearch Link

• Inventory of property inherited by sisters Sally P Smith and Anne A Smith - North Carolina, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998. Granville County, Estate Records, Seary, Richard - Smith, James. Image 1628 of 1943. Written 1 May 1828 by their uncle and guardian John Granville Smith. FamilySearch Link

• Division of property inherited by Sally P Smith and her mother Anne A Smith - North Carolina, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1665-1998. Granville County, Estate Records, Seary, Richard - Smith, James. Image 1626 of 1943. Written 10 December 1828. FamilySearch Link