Wiggins, Sarah - 1772 - Dobbs County, NC - Court Records

Submitted for use in the USGenWeb Archives by 
Rose Parks <201ramp@dishmail.net>

NEW BERN DISTRICT (NC) CRIMINAL COURT ACTION
(NC Archives, Box DSCR 206.326.1)

Abstracted by: Rose Parks Rt.1 Box 119-B Avery Texas 75554-9722

North Carolina Dobbs County
11th day of April 1772 Nehemiah Wise for his wife Ann, John Hull and Joseph 
Rateliff planter personally appeared before me Benjamin Caswell, JP Nehemiah 
Wise for his wife Ann the sum of 500 pounds proclamation money and John Hull 
and Joseph Rateliff 250 pounds like money to be levied of their goods, 
chattels, land and tenements respectively.
To the use of our said Lord the King his heirs and successors on the 
condition the said Ann Wise shall make her personal appearance before the 
Chief Justice of Superior Court at Newbern to give evidence against Sarah 
Wiggins, wife of Gershom Wiggins, charges of suspicion of having murdered 
her own infant child.

SECRETARY OF STATE COURT RECORDS (NC)
Box SS312
Miscellaneous Slave Papers
Note at bottom of deposition says the original document has been removed and 
placed among the remainder of records on the case which are filed in 
Secretary of State Court Records 1770-1772
SS313 (but they were found in Box SS312)

Deposition and Examination of Sarah Wiggens, wife of Gursham Wiggens taken 
at Dobbs County the i2th of April 1772.

About three years ago Will a negro fellow belonging to her father Benjamin 
Herring came to her house asking questions about several persons, pulled out 
a bottle with some rum in it and ask her to drink of it. She refused several 
times but at last was prevailed to drink and she was strangely sick and ask 
what it was, he answered it was only for his friends. Some time later he 
came again with another bottle and got her to drink on pretence of curing 
her of what she drank before, she ask what was in it and he said herbs. 
It caused her head to be as though she was drunk, he ask whether any person 
had used her ill and said that if they had he could make them love her 
better than ever. That at different times he gave her some of the liquid and 
it deprived her of her senses and by that means had camal knowledge of her 
body. That after he begot the first child on her body he threatened that if 
any person would or did talk about it he would say or do something that 
would hurt them and she understood he would poison them and he knew how and 
she was afraid he would poison her, and she thinks Higgotty Martin looking 
so poorly and sickly of late could be caused by Will giving him something, 
and he said if she turned against him he would kill her or destroy her and 
he was the father of her last child and that he told her he had a good will 
to go try Lanay Wiggens for he could lye with the best of women if he tryed 
them and they talked of that, for he could go to her sister Dorcus and serve 
her as he had her. He later told her he had carnal knowledge of Dorcus but 
later denied having said it but would have done it if she had desired her 
not.
Sarah Wiggens her mark Before me Benjamin Caswell JP
In presence of James Glasgow and Simon Bright, Jr. Esqrs.


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