Slaves of John B. Kerby

Date: Jun 1828 to Dec 1829
Location: District of Columbia, United States

Lists all of the enslaved people in the inventory of John B. Kerby's estate, with information about what became of them, where available.

Some notes:

Kerby's will stated that he intended to free all women over the age of 30 and all men over the age of 35. His executor, however, seems to have denied manumission to those over 45. He was taken to court; the court upheld his decision based on current law. Two men, Harry Vigle and William Forrest, won their cases based the argument that they were not actually 45 yet, but the other plaintiffs were sold at the estate sale.

All men under 35 and all women under 30 were sold at the estate sale, with the expectation that they would be manumitted at 35 and 30.

Three people - Sarah Vigle and her children Eliza and Susan - were removed from one of Kerby's farms a few days after his death by George Naylor, who claimed that they were actually his property. Thus, Susan and her daughters do not appear in the estate inventory or sale records, but we know about them through the lawsuits they filed, arguing that they were entitled to freedom under Kerby's will.

Five people - Susan Crawford, Daniel Semmes, Peggy Semmes, Nancy Semmes, and Washington Semmes - were freed unconditionally by the will, and Kerby's executor honored those terms.

More details, and sources, in each person's profile.

Name	Age in June 1828	Farm	After Kerby's death (Estate Sales through December 1829)
Charles Butter	65	Head of Fraziers	Sold to Francis Kerby, for life
Susan Crawford	60	Head of Fraziers	Manumitted
Nace Johnson	59	Head of Fraziers	Carpenter, sold to Francis Kerby, for life; escaped George Kerby in 1830
Harry Vigle	46	Head of Fraziers	Manumitted after lawsuit 23 June 1829
Thomas Bruce	31	Head of Fraziers	Sold to Francis Kerby for 4 years service; manumitted 21 January 1834 when assumed to be at least 35 years old[1]
Philip Bruce	29	Head of Fraziers	Sold to Francis Kerby for 6 years service
William Hicks	25	Head of Fraziers	Sold to William Marbury for 10 years service
Cyrus Williams	38	Head of Fraziers	Blacksmith, manumitted
Richard Vigle	22	Head of Fraziers	Sold to Francis Kerby for 13 years service
Daniel Semmes	16	Head of Fraziers	Manumitted
Washington Semmes	12	Head of Fraziers	Manumitted
Toney	12	Head of Fraziers	Sold to Charles Miller for 23 years service
Toby Bowie	14	Head of Fraziers	Sold to Zachariah Walker for 21 years service
Nancy Johnson	50	Head of Fraziers	Sold to Francis Kerby, for life; escaped George Kerby in 1832
Eliza Johnson	5	Head of Fraziers	Sold to Francis Kerby for 25 years service
Clara "Cleary" Norris	39	Head of Fraziers	Manumitted
Mary Norris	8	Head of Fraziers	Sold to John H. Bayne for 22 years service
Andrew Norris	4	Head of Fraziers	Sold to Henry Naylor for 31 years service
George Norris	2	Head of Fraziers	Sold to Henry Naylor for 33 years service
Jenny Williams	25	Head of Fraziers	Sold to Henry Naylor for 5 years service
Harriet Williams	2	Head of Fraziers	Sold to Thomas Jones for 28 years service
Ann Williams	1	Head of Fraziers	Sold to Henry Naylor for 29 years service
Harriet Hicks	21	Head of Fraziers	Sold to William Marbury for 9 years service
Sophia Hicks	1	Head of Fraziers	Sold to William Marbury for 29 years service
William H. Hicks	one month	Head of Fraziers	Sold to William Marbury for 30 years service
Lucy Bowie	18	Head of Fraziers	Sold to Thomas Lloyd for 12 years service
Eliza Butter	15	Head of Fraziers	Sold to John H. Bayne for 15 years service
Peggy Semmes	14	Head of Fraziers	Manumitted
Nancy Semmes	13	Head of Fraziers	Manumitted
Alsy Johnson	14	Head of Fraziers	Bequeathed to John C. Moore
Sarah Vigle	?	Head of Fraziers	Not present for inventory or sale, but manumitted after lawsuit
Eliza Vigle	under 21	Head of Fraziers	Not present for inventory or sale, but manumitted after lawsuit
Susan Vigle	very young	Head of Fraziers	Not present for inventory or sale, but manumitted after lawsuit
William Forrest	45	Pleasant Hill/Leads Addition	Manumitted after lawsuit 23 June 1829
Becky Forrest	30	Pleasant Hill/Leads Addition	Manumitted
William Forrest Jr.	11	Pleasant Hill/Leads Addition	Sold to George Cover for 24 years service
Washington Forrest	5	Pleasant Hill/Leads Addition	Sold to George Cover for 30 years service
Betsey Sampson	27	Pleasant Hill/Leads Addition	Manumitted
Louisa Sampson	8	Pleasant Hill/Leads Addition	Sold to Walter D. Addison for 22 years service
Hamilton Sampson	6	Pleasant Hill/Leads Addition	Sold to Walter D. Addison for 29 years service
John Sampson	5	Pleasant Hill/Leads Addition	Died July 1828
Mary Sampson	1 1/2	Pleasant Hill/Leads Addition	Sold to John H. Bayne for 18 years service
Addam Vigle	60	Batchelor's Harbor	Sold to William Thorn, for life
Rachel Vigle	60	Batchelor's Harbor	Sold to Thomas Grimes, for life
Richard Vigle	15	Batchelor's Harbor	Sold to George Cover for 20 years service
Susan Vigle	14	Batchelor's Harbor	Sold to George Cover for 16 years service
Nelly Vigle	18	Batchelor's Harbor	Sold to John Carrothers for 12 years service
Addam Bowie	20	Batchelor's Harbor	Sold to William Marbury for 15 years service
William Vigle	25	Batchelor's Harbor	Sold to Francis Kerby for 10 years service

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1. ↑ PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY COURT (Land Records) 1833-1834, AB 8, p. 0318, MSA CE 65-55