Slaves of Mary (Baker) Pridgen, Texas
Location: DeWitt, Texas, United States
Surname/tag: Pridgen, slavery
Contents |
Introduction
This page's purpose is to record the people enslaved by Mary (Baker) Pridgen and attempt to connect them to their families.
Divorce
- September 11 1850 Bond, Mary Pridgen to Wiley W. Pridgen (pg 266)[1]
In 1851 Mary and husband Wiley divorced; in the months leading up to the divorce, presumably in an attempt to equitably divide their joint property, Mary signed the bond dated September 11, 1850, in which she sold the following two slaves to Wiley:
| Jim Bryan, age 16 |
| Harriet, age 13 |
She also offered to exchange three more of her slaves (Zachary Pridgen, Eliza (Unknown) Pridgen and their child Sarah (Pridgen) Austin ) for three of Wiley's (Robert Pridgen, Louiza and their child), giving the choice to the slave Zack.
"Know all men by these present that I, Mary Pridgen, am firmly bound unto Wilie W. Pridgen in the sum of five thousand dollars to him to be paid, for the payment of which well and truly to be made I bind myself, my heirs, executors and administrators. The conditions of the above obligation are that whenever the said Wile W. Pridgen shall pay to the said Mary the sum of twelve hundred dollars, she the said Mary will convey and deliver to the said Wilie the following named slaves, viz. Harriet, aged thirteen years of yellow complexion; and Jim, son of Abraham, aged about sixteen years. And conditions further that the said Mary shall exchange Zack and his wife Eliza and child, now in the possession of the said Mary, for Bob, Louiza and child now in the possession of the said Wilie, if the said slave Zack shall prefer serving the said Wilie to serving the said Mary."
- Conveyance of Property, Mary Pridgen to Wiley W. Pridgen (pg 270)[2]
She also signed, that same day, the following, conveying ownership of the listed slaves to Wiley. As Bob, Louisa and their child are all on the list, it is assumed that she gave up her interest in them in exchange for keeping Zack, Eliza and their child.
"Know all men by these present that I, Mary Pridgen, for and in consideration of a division of the joint property belonging to me and my husband Wiley W. Pridgen, have this day sold, transferred, and relinquished all my rights, title and interest, and by these presents do sell, transfer and relinquish all my rights title and interest in and to the slaves here in after named:"
- January 17 1851, Final Divorce Settlement[3]
The following January the couple's divorce was made final, with a jury awarding the following property to Mary. Many of the slaves which she conveyed to Wiley were awarded back to her by the jury. "It is therefore considered by the Court that the said Mary Pridgen be and is hereby divorced from the bonds of matrimony now and heretofore existing between her and the said Wiley W. Pridgen. And it is further considered by the court, the attorneys aforesaid of the parties aforesaid thereto agreeing, that the said Mary Pridgen recover of the said Wiley Pridgen one half of the property now owned by them, which half of said property is as follows to wit:"
| Name | New Owner |
|---|---|
| Zachary Pridgen | Mary Pridgen |
| Jacob | Mary Pridgen |
| Sol | Mary Pridgen |
| Jake | Mary Pridgen |
| Jim | Mary Pridgen |
| John | Mary Pridgen |
| Hetty | Mary Pridgen |
| Eliza (Unknown) Pridgen | Mary Pridgen |
| *Sarah (Pridgen) Austin | Mary Pridgen |
| Phillis (mother) | Mary Pridgen |
| *Rebecca | Mary Pridgen |
| Mary | Mary Pridgen |
| Mary Ann Brady | Mary Pridgen |
| Henry | Mary Pridgen |
| Mary Young | Mary Pridgen |
| Bill Hall | Mary Pridgen |
| Robert Pridgen | Mary Pridgen |
| Louisa (mother) | Mary Pridgen |
| *George | Mary Pridgen |
| Frances (Unknown) Pleasant | Mary Pridgen |
| James Pleasant | Mary Pridgen |
| James Darby | Mary Pridgen |
| Louis Mack | Mary Pridgen |
| Clementine (mother) | Mary Pridgen |
| *Clementine's child1 | Mary Pridgen |
| *Clementine's child2 | Mary Pridgen |
| Harriett | Mary Pridgen |
Tax Rolls
Mary appears on the following tax rolls in DeWitt County, Texas, including the number and value of the slaves she held.
- 1851 DeWitt County TX - 26 slaves (value $15,500)[4]
- 1852 DeWitt County TX - 28 slaves (value $14,000)[5]
- 1853 DeWitt County TX - 32 slaves (value $16,000)[6]
- 1854 DeWitt County TX - 27 slaves (value $13,250)[7]
- 1855 DeWitt County TX - 27 slaves (value $12,150)[8]
- 1856 DeWitt County TX - 5 slaves (value $2,000)[9]
Probate of Wiley W. Pridgen Sr.
Wiley Pridgen died on November 6, 1854 in Gonzales County, TX. His widow, Ann Pridgen, assigned her portion of the slaves to his ex-wife Mary. For more information, see Slaves of Wiley Washington Pridgen, Texas, DIVISION OF ESTATE SLAVES MARCH 1856 (See Image 574-575/1920)
| NAME | AGE | VALUE | ASSIGNEE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Pridgen | $500 | Mary (Baker) Pridgen) | |
| Louisa (mother) | $950 | Mary (Baker) Pridgen | |
| *Louisa's infant | Mary (Baker) Pridgen | ||
| Esther | $175 | Mary (Baker) Pridgen | |
| Sam | $300 | Mary (Baker) Pridgen | |
| William | $900 | Mary (Baker) Pridgen | |
| Cherry | $900 | Mary (Baker) Pridgen | |
| Bid | $700 | Mary (Baker) Pridgen | |
| Solomon | $500 | Mary (Baker) Pridgen | |
| James Darby | $1,000 | Mary (Baker) Pridgen | |
| Ellen (Jones) Darby | $1,000 | Mary (Baker) Pridgen | |
| *Ellen's infant | Mary (Baker) Pridgen | ||
| *Virginia Darby | $250 | Mary (Baker) Pridgen | |
| *Henry Darby | $150 | Mary (Baker) Pridgen |
Probate
Wiley's probate went on for several years. Although the final property division assigned a number of slaves from the estate to Mary, she herself passed away the following day and never took possession of them; these slaves were later assigned to other family members after her probate was settled.
- Application for Partition and Division of Estate[10]
As noted in her probate file, Mary had owned the following slaves, but had already given them to several of her sons as advancements of their inheritance file:
| NAME | VALUE | ADVANCED TO |
|---|---|---|
| Joseph Pleasant | 1200 | Bolivar Jackson Pridgen |
| Negro woman Becky | 900 | Bolivar Jackson Pridgen |
| Negro Woman Clementine | 850 | Bolivar Jackson Pridgen |
| Negro man Zachary Pridgen | 700 | Benjamin Franklin Pridgen |
| Eliza (Unknown) Pridgen | 850 | Benjamin Franklin Pridgen |
| Eliza's child Ellen Pridgen | Benjamin Franklin Pridgen | |
| Louis Mack | $1,200 | Benjamin Franklin Pridgen |
| Woman Harriet | 1200 | Benjamin Franklin Pridgen |
| *Harriet's child | Benjamin Franklin Pridgen | |
| Negro girl Sarah (Pridgen) Austin | 300 | Benjamin Franklin Pridgen |
| Negro girl Caroline (Pridgen) Williams | 300 | Benjamin Franklin Pridgen |
| Negro Girl Millly Ann | 300 | Redding Pridgen |
In addition, the following slaves were listed as belonging to Mary's estate, which were to be divided equally among the heirs:
| NAME |
|---|
| Daniel |
| George Coats |
| Lou Ann Coats |
| Nancy Ann Coats |
| Virginia (Coats) Taylor |
| Sereptha (Coats) Taylor |
| John Marshall Coats |
| Dennis Wade Coats |
| Jacob |
| Phillis |
| *Phillis' infant |
| Nicholas |
| Amanda (Mack) Coats |
| Mary |
| *Mary's infant |
| Jim Black |
| John |
| Jacob |
| Louisa |
| *Louisa' infant |
| Samuel |
| Esther |
| Bob |
| Cherry |
| Biddy |
| James Darby |
| Ellen (Jones) Darby |
| *Ellen's infant |
| *Virginia Darby |
| *Henry Darby |
| Bill Blair |
| Soloman |
- Final Division of Property January 1857[11]
During the January Court Term of 1857 the following division of property was made:
Sources
- ↑
Deeds:
"Deeds"
Catalog: Deeds
Film number: 008502348 > image 748 of 858
FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-C3SX-LHYN (accessed 24 January 2024) - ↑
Deeds:
"Deeds"
Catalog: Deeds
Film number: 008502348 > image 748 of 858
FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-C3SX-LHYN (accessed 24 January 2024) - ↑
Minutes:
"Minutes"
Catalog: Minutes
Film number: 008502221 > image 54 of 983
FamilySearch Image: 3Q9M-C3SF-Q9TG-D (accessed 24 January 2024) - ↑
Tax record:
"Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910"
Catalog: Texas county tax rolls, 1846-1910 Texas tax rolls, De Witt County reel 1, 1846-1890 (A-D)
Image path: Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910 > DeWitt county > 1851 > image 7 of 20
FamilySearch Image: 939F-WZ9D-4J (accessed 24 January 2024) - ↑
Tax record:
"Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910"
Catalog: Texas county tax rolls, 1846-1910 Texas tax rolls, De Witt County reel 1, 1846-1890 (A-D)
Image path: Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910 > DeWitt county > 1852 > image 9 of 19
FamilySearch Image: 939F-WZ98-14 (accessed 24 January 2024) - ↑
Tax record:
"Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910"
Catalog: Texas county tax rolls, 1846-1910 Texas tax rolls, De Witt County reel 1, 1846-1890 (A-D)
Image path: Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910 > DeWitt county > 1853 > image 9 of 19
FamilySearch Image: 939F-WZ98-1H (accessed 24 January 2024) - ↑
Tax record:
"Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910"
Catalog: Texas county tax rolls, 1846-1910 Texas tax rolls, De Witt County reel 1, 1846-1890 (A-D)
Image path: Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910 > DeWitt county > 1854 > image 14 of 19
FamilySearch Image: 939F-WZ98-N1 (accessed 24 January 2024) - ↑
Tax record:
"Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910"
Catalog: Texas county tax rolls, 1846-1910 Texas tax rolls, De Witt County reel 1, 1846-1890 (A-D)
Image path: Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910 > DeWitt county > 1855 > image 11 of 23
FamilySearch Image: 939F-WZ98-24 (accessed 24 January 2024) - ↑
Tax record:
"Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910"
Catalog: Texas county tax rolls, 1846-1910 Texas tax rolls, De Witt County reel 1, 1846-1890 (A-D)
Image path: Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910 > DeWitt county > 1856 > image 11 of 22
FamilySearch Image: 939F-WZ98-32 (accessed 24 January 2024) - ↑
Probate:
"Texas, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1833-1974"
Dewitt > Index A-Z, 1846-1977; Probate Minutes, Vol A-D, 1846-1861 > image 604 of 846
Ancestry Image (accessed 30 January 2024) - ↑
Probate:
"Texas, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1833-1974"
Dewitt > Index A-Z, 1846-1977; Probate Minutes, Vol A-D, 1846-1861 > image 621 of 846
Ancestry Image (accessed 30 January 2024)
NOTE - At this time, Bolivar Pridgen was the legal guardian to his younger brothers, Wiley Jr. and James K. Polk Pridgen. Both of these boys were away at school, so their slaves remained in the possession of either Bolivar or brother Henderson.
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