Whedbee Freedmen Papers, 1854 - 1882, PC.1762

[Identification of item], PC.1762, Whedbee Freedmen Papers, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, NC, USA.

These are the files of Judge William Armistead Moore, who served as receiver for the portion of James P. Whedbee's estate that had been bequeathed in 1852 to the people he enslaved in Perquimans County, North Carolina. The collection includes correspondence, lists of enslaved and formerly enslaved individuals, affidavits of identity, powers of attorney, receipts signed by freed people for their distributive shares, and related documents.

In 1866, Whedbee's heirs-at-law filed a legal challenge to prevent the distribution of this part of the estate. The Supreme Court of North Carolina ultimately ruled that the terms of the will had not lapsed and that distribution was to proceed.

The documents show that Judge Moore, along with his sons Augustus Minton Moore and John A. Moore, undertook efforts to locate the original beneficiaries and their heirs, who were by that time living in places such as New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Yorktown, Virginia, and towns throughout North Carolina.

According to the records, Whedbee had originally enslaved 104 individuals. After accounting for losses from the Civil War and the post-war economic downturn, the remaining estate was divided into 104 equal shares, each valued at $70.00.

James P. Whedbee (circa 1803 to 1852) was born in Perquimans County, North Carolina, to James Whedbee (circa 1767 to 1831) and Mary Mullen Whedbee (circa 1763 to 1825). At the end of 1852, Whedbee died with no surviving children, leaving behind an estate valued at more than $200,000.

In addition to specific bequests, Whedbee left a class bequest of two-sevenths of his property to the people he enslaved. They were to be freed following the death of his wife, provided with resources to begin agricultural lives, and transported to Liberia. He also stipulated that if his wife remarried, she was to receive only the share of the estate she would have inherited under intestate succession. Lavinia Whedbee, his widow, dissented from the will and later remarried. As a result, some of the individuals originally intended for manumission were instead removed from the class designated for freedom.

Because of these complications, Whedbee's executor did not fulfill the provisions concerning emancipation before the start of the Civil War. The war itself further disrupted any attempts to carry out these plans. The Emancipation Proclamation later restored the freedom of those who had been re-enslaved and transferred to Lavinia Whedbee, who had by then married Abram (or Abraham) Riddick on March 20, 1855.

In 1866, Whedbee's heirs-at-law filed a legal action to prevent enforcement of the will's provisions related to the enslaved beneficiaries. However, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that this part of the will remained valid. The court found that there had been no lapse and that those transferred to the widow were entitled to share equally with those whose status in the designated class had not changed. A decree was issued for equal distribution among the original group and their heirs, based on these principles.

Judge William Armistead Moore, acting as receiver, enlisted his sons Augustus Minton Moore and John A. Moore to locate the original individuals and their descendants, who were by then living in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Yorktown, Virginia, and towns across North Carolina. According to the records, the original group included 104 individuals. After accounting for losses from the Civil War and the post-war economic downturn, the estate's remaining value allowed for a distribution of $70.00 per share to each of the 104 heirs.

Gift of Elizabeth Vann Moore, Edenton, N.C., and Mary Moore Rowe, Boston, Mass., 19 January 1989.