Wayne County NcArchives Court.....Cobb, Ann S. No date ************************************************ 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: Guy Potts gpotts@nc.rr.com February 22, 2015, 6:02 am Source: N C Archives Written: No date Ann S. Cobb Estate Papers NC Archives, CR 103.508.30 North Carolina Wayne County Complaint Robert G. Lewis vs John P. Cobb Nathan B. Whitfield & wife Elizabeth G. Bryan W. Cobb W.H.H. Cobb Ann W. Cobb Harriet E. Cobb Joseph G.W. Cobb Meriah C. Cobb Needham B. Cobb & wife Martha Louisa Cobb & the children of Needham B. Cobb by the said Martha Louisa who are infants and nonresidents and where names are unknown to the Plaintiff I The plaintiff complains and alleges that Ann S. Cobb died in 18 [blank], seized of the following lands situate in Wayne County to wit: A tract of land adjoining the lands of Mathew Casey, John P. Cobb and others containing about twelve hundred acres and known as Mount Auburn, being the place whereon the late William D. Cobb lived next before his death. One other tract on Falling Creek adjoining the lands of John Cogdell, Irvin King and others containing six hundred and twenty seven acres. Four lots in the Village of Everettsville formerly owned by John Everett being one square of the village being the place whereon the said Ann S. Cobb resided next before her death. II That the said Ann S. Cobb died without leaving a last will and testament and leaving as her heirs her children the said John P. Cobb, Elizabeth G. who had intermarried with the defendant Nathan B. Whitfield, Bryan W. Cobb, W.H.H. Cobb, Ann W. Cobb, Harriet E. Cobb, Joseph G.W. Cobb an infant to whom the said W.H.H. Cobb is guardian, and Meriah C. Cobb another infant to whom the said John P. Cobb is guardian, and Needham B. Cobb and wife Martha Louisa Cobb. III That on the 3rd day of April 1869 the interest of Needham B. Cobb in said lands was sold by the Sheriff of Wayne County under an execution in favor of the plaintiff issued on a judgment rendered at the November Term 1867 of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of Wake County, for nine hundred and forty eight dollars with interest on nine hundred dollars from the said November Term until paid and also for fifteen and 48/100 dollars costs of suit against him and the plaintiff became the purchaser at the sum of twenty five dollars for the first, twenty five dollars for the second, and five dollars for the third tracts of land above mentioned and took a deed from John C. Rhodes Sheriff of Wayne County for the same conveying to him in fee simple. A copy of said deed the plaintiff will produce and file whenever required by this county. IV That prior to the sale above mentioned to wit: On the 21st February 1868, there was a pretended sale of said land by John F. Kennedy then Sheriff of Wayne County under a prior execution issued on the same judgment, upon which the execution was issued under which the plaintiff purchased; at which pretended sale Augustus B. Hollowell became the pretended purchaser at the sum of one dollar and afterwards assigned his bid to the defendant W.H.H. Cobb, to whom the said John F. Kennedy executed a deed on the said 21st day of February 1868. The said execution was returned by the said Kennedy and it appearing from his return endorsed thereon that he sold the interest of the said N.B. Cobb in the three tracts aforesaid as one parcel instead of selling them separately and that the whole sum hidden was only one dollar, after due notice in the said purchaser the said pretended sale was set aside by an order of said county in manner and form as follows to wit: R.G. Lewis vs N.B. Cobb Execution issuing from November Term of this Court on a judgment of the said plaintiff against the said defendant and returnable to the last February Term. On motion of the plaintiff it is ordered that the sale reported by the Sheriff in his return be set aside upon the grounds of fraud and irregularity apparent on the face of the return, and that the plaintiff have leave to issue a venditioni exponas. The said execution under which Kennedy sold being returnable to said Term of Wake County Court. The plaintiff believes that prior to said sale by Kennedy there was an understanding between the defendants Wm. H.H. Cobb and Needham B. Cobb that the said sale should be so managed as to be as private as possible as to make it uncertain what interest was to be sold so that the said Wm. H.H. could buy the interest of the said Needham B. for a very small sum and hold the same on a secret trust for the benefit of the said Needham B. or his wife and children. The plaintiff is informed that on the day of sale the said Wm. H.H. Cobb attended the sale and forbid the same alleging that he had a deed therefore which the plaintiff believes was not true, or if he did have such a deed, it had been executed to him by the said Needham B. to carry out and aid the fraudulent purpose of the understanding aforesaid, without any valuable consideration and had procured the said A.B. Hollowell to bid for him in order more effectively to conceal such fraudulent purpose. The plaintiff believes also that before said sale there was an understanding between the said W.H.H. Cobb and the said Kennedy that the said Kennedy should sell said land in such a way as to aid and further the fraudulent purposes of the said Needham B. and W.H.H. Cobb in consequence of all which the said A.B. Hollowell bid the land off for only one dollar and assigned his bid to the said W.H.H. Cobb who took the deed from said Kennedy as aforesaid. Prior to the 21st February 1868, to wit: On the 1st day of January 1867 at a sale by the said W.H.H. Cobb as the Administrator of Wm. D. Cobb, of real estate of the intestate the said Needham B. Cobb became the highest bidder for a valuable lot situate on corner of James and Walnut streets in the town of Goldsboro and worth about three thousand dollars for the sum of five hundred dollars, and afterwards assigned his bid for the same to Nathan B. Whitfield to whom after a confirmation of the sale by the County Court of Wayne County the said Wm. H.H. Cobb, administrator as aforesaid, executed the title. The plaintiff believes that the sum of five hundred dollars was paid by the said Needham B. and that he assigned his bid to the said Whitfield with the fraudulent intent that he the said Whitfield should hold the said lot in secret trust for the benefit of the said Needham B. or his wife and children, or if the said Nathan B. Whitfield paid the five hundred dollars it was with the understanding that he should hold said lot as a security for the same and the large excess in secret trust for the benefit of the said Needham B. or his wife and children. After the purchase by the plaintiff of the land above described as descended from the said Ann S. Cobb proceedings were instituted by the heirs at law of the said Ann S. Cobb for partition of the same in which the said Wm. H.H. Cobb claimed his own share and that of the said Needham B., and the Commissioners appointed to make the partition as the plaintiffs are informed allotted two shares to the said Wm. H.H. Cobb but have not as yet reported their proceedings and hence the plaintiff can give no particular description thereof but pray that if necessary the defendants be required to do so in their answer. The said W.H.H. Cobb and wife Eva N. conveyed to Martha Louisa Cobb the wife of Needham B. Cobb and her heirs the children of Needham B. Cobb upon her body begotten a tract of land described as being drawn by the said W.H.H. Cobb as lots Nos 1 & 2 of the estate of Ann S. Cobb deceased, the deed being dated the first day of March 1869 and the consideration expressed therein being twenty three hundred dollars. And by deed dated the 13th day of March 1869 the defendant N.B. Whitfield and wife executed a deed in fee to the defendant W.H.H. Cobb conveying to him in fee the lot on James and Walnut streets in the town of Goldsboro for the consideration as expressed in said deed of five hundred dollars. The plaintiff believes that no money ever passed from the said Martha Louisa Cobb to the said Wm. H.H. Cobb, and that the said Martha Louisa Cobb was really not a party to any of the above recited transactions of her own knowledge, she having no separate estate of her own, but that the whole business was managed from the beginning to end by the said Needham B. and W.H.H. Cobb and the said Nathan B. Whitfield for the fraudulent purpose of getting the estate of the said Needham B. out of the control of his creditors so that it could not be made available for the payments of their debts and especially that of the plaintiff, that the deeds from the said Nathan B. Whitfield and wife to the said Wm. H.H. Cobb and from the said W.H.H. Cobb and wife to the said Martha Louisa Cobb and her heirs &c never would have been executed if the said Needham B. Cobb had owed no debts, and that the real consideration which induced the conveyance from the said Whitfield and wife was the share which the said W.H.H. Cobb was justly entitled as one of the heirs at law of the said Ann S. Cobb and conveyed by him together with one other share the said Martha Louisa and her heirs &c. The other share therein conveyed being intended as the share of the said Needham B. and being conveyed with that of the said W.H.H. to aid and concealing and confusing the evidences of this fraudulent combination originally entered into to defeat the efforts of the creditors of the said Needham B. to enforce their debts and being a part of the general plan to carry out their purposes as above stated. Wherefore the plaintiff demands judgments that the defendants answer all the facts herein alleged and set forth in their answer what considerations or correspondence they or either of them ever had with the said Kennedy touching the sale made on the 21st February 1868, whether they or either of them directly or indirectly expressly or by innuendo, ever intimated to said Kennedy their wishes as to the manner in which they desired said sale to be made, whether the said Kennedy ever in anyway intimated to them or either of them the manner in which he intended to make said sale, and that they give as nearly as possible all the conversations between themselves or any of them and the said Kennedy or between themselves relative thereto giving as nearly as possible the dates and the language used, that they answer and set forth all the conversations and correspondence which they or any of them ever had relative to the conveyance by the said Whitfield and wife to the said W.H.H. Cobb and by the said W.H.H. Cobb to the said Martha Louisa Cobb and her heirs &c giving as nearly as possible the dates and the language used, that the deed from the said Kennedy may be surrendered and cancelled and the deed from the said W.H.H. Cobb to the said Martha Louisa and her heirs &c may be surrendered and cancelled or may be declared void so far as it conveys any other estate than that to which the said William H.H. would have been entitled if he had not became the purchaser of the interest of the said Needham B., that partition of the said land of Ann S. Cobb decd may be made between the plaintiff and the heirs of the said Ann S. Cobb, except the said Needham B. and that the plaintiff may have such other and further relief as to justice may appertain. Strong and Morisey and Mason Attorneys for Plaintiffs (Written on side of one of the pages) *All of said deeds have been registered and the plaintiff will provide and file copies thereof when comprised and to be together with a transcript of said judgment and a certified copy of the order of the said Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of Wake County setting aside the sale of Kennedy to defendant Wm. H. Cobb as aforesaid. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/wayne/court/cobb835nwl.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ncfiles/ File size: 12.2 Kb