Orange County NcArchives Wills.....Durham, Sarah F April 8, 1847 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ben Franklin ben.franklin.ffru@gmail.com May 2024 Source: Loose Will, NC Archives CR 073.801, Will Book Volume F, pages 422-424 Written: April 8, 1847 Recorded: Nov 1848 Testator: Sarah F Durham In the name of God Amen I Sarah F. Durham a resident of Orange County in the State of North Carolina being weak in body, but of a sound disposing mind and memory. Thanks be to God for the same and Knowing that it is appointed for all mankind once to die ~~~ do make and ordain this to be my last Will and Testament First and principally I do commend my Immortal spirit unto The hands of God my Savi -or who gave it to me and my body to be Buried in a chris -tian like manner at the discretion of my Executor and being possessed of some worldly Estate do will and dispose of the same in manner and form Following Viz. My desire is that all my Just debts be paid, of which There is but few. Item 1st I give and bequeath to my Executor The use of as much of my estate as will desently ["wall The" x-out] wall in the grave yard where my white Family is Buried on the place where I now reside with suitable Tomb Stones atta -chased to the grave of my Decd Daughter Harriett A. Reeves grave and Also one other grave mean- -ing The grave of Thomas M Durham Decd who is Inter -ed at the grave yard on Collins Creek to be decently Paled[See Note 1] in and suitable Tomb stones attached To the same - Item 2nd I do give and bequeath To my friend Manly Snipes The sum of Three hundred dollars to be paid To him out of the proceeds of my Estate, so soon as The circumstances of my estate will admit after my decease Item 3rd I do give and bequeath to my beloved Aunt Tabitha Riddle and my Cousin Elizabeth Riddle the sum of one hundred dollars to be equally div -ided between them so soon as the circumstances of my estates will admit after my decease, and if either of these my said Aunt or Cousin Should die before my decease my desire is that the sur- viving one shall inherit the whole of the said sum of one hundred dollars at the proper time as above alluded to [page 2] Item 4th I do give and bequeath to my Friend Bry- ant M. Stroud The sum of one hundred dollars to be paid to him out of my estate so soon as the circumstances of my estate will admit after my decease Item 5th It is my desire That if Spencer S. Reeves should be acquit[t]ed from The charge now Alleged against him and he should live untill after my de- cease my desire is that he be furnished yearly with three suits of common clothing and com mon diet sufficient to support him without any extravagance to be allowed him in no respect it is moreover my desire that my Executor The Special Management of this case so far as it respects Spencer S. Reeves. Item 6th It is my desire after my decease That all my Negroes in the first place to be allowed the privilege of choosing such Men to Buy them as They may prefer as owners Provided There can be fair valuable prices obtained by such manner of selling them - Provided nevertheless that if fair and reasonable prices cannot be obtained for the negroes in The manner as above stated my Will is That They be sold on a credit by my Executor at public Sale giving a reasonable cred -it, so as that my Negro Man Simon and his wife July may be sold together and not sepa- -rated and that all the rest and residue of my Perishable estate be sold as is above Expressed Item 7 My will and desire is that after all the foregoing bequests are fully paid and complyed with, and there should any monies or other effects be rem- -aining in the hands of my said Executor Then and in that case my desire is that such residue [page 3] if any be paid over and Equally divided between my two nephews Maurice T. McCauley and Samuel S. McCauley equally share and share alike and lastly I do hereby constitute and appoint my worthy friend Manly Snipes my Executor of this my last will and Testament revoking all other wills by me heretofore made. In testimony of which I Sarah F Durham do hereunto affix my hand and seal the 8th day of April AD. 1847 Signd seald & Sarah F Durham (seal) delivered in presence of B. Stroud } Wilson Atwater } Jurant Exr. qualified [Will Book Volume F, page 422] In the name of God Amen I Sarah F Durham a resident of Orange County in the State of North Carolina being weak in body but of a sound disposing mind and memory thanks be to God for the same and Knowing that it is appointed for all mankind once to die do make and ordain this to be my last Will and Testament ~ First and principally I do commend my Immortal spirit unto the hands of God my Saviour who gave it to me and my body to be buried in a Christian like manner at the discretion of my executor and being possessed of some worldly estate do will & dispose of the same in manner and form following, Viz. My desire is that all my Just debts be paid of which there is but few Item 1st I give & bequeath to my Executor the use of as much of my estate as will decently wall in the grave yard where my white family is buried on the place where I now reside with suitable tomb stones attached to the grave of my decd daughter Harriett A Reeve's grave And also one other grave meaning the grave of Thomas M Durham decd who is Inter[r]ed at the grave yard on Collin's Creek to be decently Paled in and suitable Tomb=stones attached to the same Item 2nd I do give and bequeath to my friend Manly Snipes the sum of three hundred dollars to be paid to him out of the proceeds of my estate so soon as the circumstances of my estate will admit after my decease Item 3rd I do give and bequeath to my [Will Book Volume F, page 423] beloved aunt Tabitha Riddle and my Cousin Elizabeth Riddle the sum of one hundred dollars to be equally divided between them so soon as the circumstances of my Estates will admit after my decease and if either of these my said aunt or cousin should die before my decease my desire is that the Surviving one shall inherit the whole of the said sum of one hundred dollars at the proper time as above alluded to ~~~~ Item 4th I do give & bequeath to my friend Bry= ant M Stroud the sum of one hundred dollars to be paid to him out of my estate so soon as the circumstances of my estate will admit after my decease Item 5th It is my desire that if Spencer S Reeves should be acquitted from the charge now alleged against him & he should live until after my decease my desire is that he be furnished yearly with three suits of common clothing & common diet sufficient to support him without any extravagance to be allowed him in no res= pect it is moreover my desire that my executor the Special management of this case so far as it respects Spen= cer S Reeves Item 6th It is my desire after my decease that all my Negroes in the first place to be allowed the privilege of choosing such men to buy them as they may prefer as owners provided there can be fair valuable prices obtained by such manner of selling them ~~~ provided nevertheless that if fair & reas= onable prices cannot be obtained for the negroes in the manner as above stated my will is that they be sold on a credit by my Executor at public sale giving [Will Book Volume F, page 424] a reasonable credit so as that my negro man Simon and his wife July may be sold together and not Separated and that all the rest & residue of my perishable estate be sold as is above expressed Item 7 My will & desire is that after all the fore= going bequests are fully paid & complyed with and there should any monies or other effects be remaining in the hands of my said Executor, then and in that case my desire is that such residue, if any, be paid over and equally divided between my two neph= ews Maurice T McCauley & Samuel S McCauley equally share & share alike And lastly I do hereby constitute and appoint my worthy friend Manly Snipes my Executor of this my last will and testament, revoking all other wills by me heretofore made In testimony of which I Sarah F Durham do hereunto affix my hand and seal the 8th day of April AD 1847 Signed sealed & delivered Sarah f Durham (seal) in presence of B Stroud Wilson Atwater Orange County Nov Term 1849 The execution of the foregoing last will and Testament of Sarah F Durham decd was duly proved in Open Court by the Oaths of B Strowd and Wilson Atwater the subscribing witnesses thereto & ordered to be recorded At the same time Manly Snipe the Executor therein named appeared in open Court & qualified accordingly Test Additional Comments: Will Book Volume F, pages 422-424 Recorded Nov 1848 Note 1: Paled in the context means a type of fencing. Estate Papers comprise 19 pages and are found in a folder labeled "Durham, Sarah F (1848)". Also note an article from the North-Carolinian (Fayetteville) Saturday October 30, 1847 THE ORANGE MURDER. From the Greensborough Patriot. Guiford Superior Court. On Tuesday Spencer S. Reeves was tried for the murder of his sister, Harriet A Reeves.--The murder was committed on the 13th of January last, in the county of Orange, whence the trial had been re- moved to Randolph, and again, from Ran- dolph to Guilford. Mr Solicitor Jones and Mr Waddell ap- peared as counsel for the State ; Messrs. Morehead, Norwood and Nash for the prisoner. The evidence was circumstantial, but carried to the mind inevitable conviction of the prisoner's guilt. We give the main facts disclosed on the examination of the witnesses. Spencer S Reeves, the prisoner, and his sister, Harriet A. Reeves, the deceas- ed, lived with their mother, Sarah Dur- ham, they three composing the entire white family. The black family consisted of two men, a woman, and a girl about twelve years old. It was proved that on the afternoon when the murder was perpe- trated, one of the negro men, Simon, was at work in the new ground about a mile from the house, where he usually took with him his breakfast and dinner and staid all day. The other negro man, Jesse, was sick,. and had been for some time, and was proven by Mrs. Durham to have been in the house about the time the murder was accomplished at the stable. The prisoner had been at Hillsborough the early part of the week, where, he after- wards said, he had volunteered, or enlisted. It was proved that he stopped at three several places in the neighborhood of his mother's, as he returned home, on Wednes- day the 13th January ; that he wore a cer- tain overcoat, which was found next day hanging up in the cutting-room adjoining the stable where the dead body was found; and that he had with him a black bottle with a corn-stalk stopper, which was also found next day in a barrel in the cutting- room. He stopped at Mr Andrews', some three quarters of a mile from his mother's, about 1 o'clock in the afternoon. and left in about half an hour. He here drank out the last of his liquor having procured a half pint three miles back, from which some four or five persons besides had each tak- en a dram at the time he got it. It was proved by the unfortunate mo- ther, Mrs. Durham, that Spencer came home about three o'clock on that day said he would go up stairs and go to sleep. His sister, Harriet, told him to go into his own room. But he went up stairs ; and returned with a bridle, Harriet told him he should not have the bridle, as he had wasted enough of her things already ; and took the bridle out of his hands. He said he would go to the stable and would have a horse and bridle too ; and went out, his sister going with him. - Witness looked through the window and saw them walk- ing side by side, about half way to the blocks, -- the blocks being about half way to the stables, which are situated some- thing like a 100 yards from the house. Soon afterwards, witness walked out towards the stables. but became so faint she had to stop; but she called Harriet, supposing she might have gone to a neighbor's, where she had spoken of going that morning. She returned into the house, and the sick negro, Jesse, came in, he said to see massa Spencer, learning he had returned. Wit- ness, had not been in the house long, be- fore, on receiving some information from the servant girl, she hastened out and went to the stables as fast as she could, where she saw her daughter lying dead in the stable; she called her, and swooned away herself, or was so confused that she recollected nothing distinctly for some time afterwards. All this occurred with- in half an hour or less from the time that the prisoner and Harriet left the house. The overcoat and the bloody cutting- knife were produced in Court by the coro- ner of Orange county. The deceased was found lying on her back; the arms stretched out at full length; the neck cut half off. A bruise appeared, as though a blow had been struck, diagonally across the nose, just above the eye, and on the temple. The knife had been unscrewed from the cutting box; and was found lying about a foot above the head of the deceased. The screw taps, &c. which had attached the knife to the box, were found in the litter. About an hour by sun, Mr Stroud, who lives in sight of Mrs Durham's on the road towards Hillsboro, while working in his new ground, heard the clatter of horse's feet in the direction of his own house and that of Mrs Durham. Spencer Reeves soon came in sight, riding at half speed, bare back on one of his sister's horses, the other horse following him. He slackened his pace to a fast trot as he passed through the new ground -- passed within about twenty steps of witness, who hailed him and asked how all were at house -- he re- plied, "all well." Witness saw blood on his face, and mentioned the fact. On being asked if he had not been the sworn enemy of Reeves and his father, witness said he had no ill will towards Spencer, but he did not approve of their conduct. Another witness, Cyntha Loyd, met Reeves about seven or eight miles from home, riding bare-back in a sweeping trot towards Hillsboro. His face looked pale -his face and hair looked like he had been sweating and wiped it off, or had just washed. Told her that he was going to uncle Fred. Reeves's to stay that night. He had seen witness the day before told her that he had volunteered ;--that he had lost his sister's saddle blanket, but it made no difference while she could have Pres. Snipes sitting up courting her every two or three days. Witness asked him if his sister was willing for him to go to Mexico ; replied that he did not care ;----if they did not mind he would serve them as he did Ruffin Durham. [ The way he served Ruffin Durham was not allowed to be given in evidence ; but it is said that he was a suitor, and that he, Reeves, shot him. Other threats were proved upon the prison- er,--such as, that if Presley Snipes did marry his sister it should do neither of them any good, as he was courting her for property ;--before his sister should marry a d---d rake, or any person, he would kill her, for he had lost his property on her account, &c.] Witness George Laws, deputy sheriff of Orange, assisted to arrest Reeves, in Hillsboro, the night of the 13th, about 11 o'clock. . Met him without knowing him, in a shady place on the sidewalk, walking close to the palings -- asked who he was, but received no answer. Asked him again ; when the high sheriff, Mr Turren- tine, came up and said, " this is the man -- lay hold of him." Prisoner then asked what was the matter. The sheriff told him his sister had been murdered, and he was suspected of the murder. Prisoner swore it was a lie, and asked who fetched the news. He was told that it was Jones Powel. He said, "Jones Powell -- if that is all the evidence they've got, I can soon do away with his evidence." He was then taken to Mr Nichols' tavern, and some questions were asked him -- he said they only wanted to trap him.-- Witness told him they did not wish to trap him, and advised him not to answer any ques- tions. -- Prisoner asked Turrentine how they said he did it! Mr Turrentine re- plied, they said he did it with a scythe- blade. Prisoner said " that is the truth " -- but immediately said, " no, no, it is a lie. " Witness told him that they had heard there was blood seen on him as he came to Hillsboro, and he (wittness) would give him a fair hack. He denied that there was blood on him Another officer, Mr McCollum, held the candle while wit- ness examined ;-- found no blood on his outside clothes. But on turning up his left coat sleeve, he discovered a stain of blood on his shirt, where an attempt had apparently been made to wash it out. The shirt sleeve was very dirty, but that portion cleaner, as if it had been washed and rubbed down, yet not obliterating the stain. Prisoner denied that it was blood. Witness then turned up the right coat sleeve, and found a spot of blood, with spatters branching off from it, and said, "Spencer, there's blood." He looked down, but made no reply. While con- ducting him to jail the prisoner inquired if they would not have to prove the crime upon him before they could hurt him. Witness told him they would. Here the testimony was closed. The jury retired ; and after an absence of about five minutes returned a verdict of Guilty. Outrages of this unnatural and horrible description are so rare, that we will be ex- cused for the space occupied in this detail of circumstances. A brother murdering a sister ;-- an aged, diseased and feeble mother called upon to give evidence against an only son for slaying an only daughter, are occurrences which exhibit the hideous passions of the human heart in a fearful light, and show something of the deep un- utterable anguish with which one criminal act may pierce the maternal bosom. The prisoner is a man of rather well looking person ; fall round face ; and appeared well dressed. His features were either so fully influenced by a hardened heart, or so well governed by a bull-dog will, that nothing,-- not even the presence of his mother on the witness' stand, or the ex- hibition of the bloody knife with which he perpetrated the foul deed,-- wrought much change in the expression of his counten- ance. He heard the verdict of " guilty " rendered by the jury with apparent indif- ference. He is said to be not over thirty years of age, and his short career has been marked by dissipation and many exhibi- tions of ungoverned passion and malicious disposition, as well as acts of crime. God knoweth his heart--may its sensibilities be better cultivated before his state is changed from the passing to the eternal ! The Raleigh Register Saturday 13 May 1848, page 3 Execution We learn from "Greensboro' Patriot" that the sentence of the law was, on the 5th int. execu- ted upon Spencer S. Reeves, in presence of an im- mense multitude of people from that and the adjoin- ing Counties. It is said that he exhibited to the last a calmness and carelessness of conduct aston- ishing for a human being in his situation. He made no remarks to the people around the gallows, but talked awhile to the sheriff and a negro man who belonged to the family. He stepped off from the cart, before it could be driving from under him-- thus of his own will accelerating his exit into eter- nity. [Estate Papers - Inventory] An Inventory of the personal property of Sarah F Durham deceased which came to the hand of Manly Snipe Executor Cash Four Dollars and tencents one negro man named Simon about 58 years of age one do do ---- Jesse ---- 28 do one do woman do July ---- 58 do one do girl do Maria ---- 13 do Three bedsteads and furniture, one part of Curtan bedsteads [sundry articles] [Not actually dated, but recorded Nov 1848, page 372] [Estate Papers - Estate Sale page 1] A list of property sold by M. Snipes Exr. of Sarah F. Durham deceased October 27th 1848 [sundry articles] [page 6] [sundry articles] Article Purchaser Amount 1 Negro Man Simon M Snipes 175.00 1 do Woman July do do 166.66 2/3 1 do Man Jesse Charles Yancy 400.00 1 do girl Maria Wilson Atwater 441.66 2/3