Beaufort County Bastardy Bonds

by | Jan 30, 2019 | 0 comments

If you’re not already a member of Beaufort County Genealogical Society, you might want to be. When you’re a member, you receive their genealogy journal, Pamteco Tracings. There have been some real gems in that publication over the years.

This post features just one of the kinds of treasures you can find in its pages. These bastardy bond abstracts were published in the December 2012 and June 2013 editions.

Please keep in mind, this is not an exhaustive list of all Beaufort County Bastardy Bonds, but rather it is just a limited selection.


Beaufort County Bastardy Bonds

During the period covered by these records, North Carolina required that single women who were expecting or recently had a child had to appear before two justices of the peace and declare the name of the father. If she refused, she had to pay a fine and post a bond the the child would be cared for and not become a burden to the county. If the father was named, and he admitted the child was his, he also had to post a bond stating he would support the child (usually until the child was old enough to be apprenticed). If the accused father denied being the father, he could request a trial by jury and the case was presented to the County Court. The following abstracts are taken from the Beaufort County Bastardy Bonds and Records (Box C.R.X 97) on file at the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh. In the list below, the father is the first name listed, or if the father is not named, “Not Named” is given. These are given in the order they were found in the file.

Name of Mother Name of Accused Father and Bondsmen (if given) Date
Susan Hodge Samuel H. Daniels 20 Dec 1849
Lucretia Johnson Ebenezer W. Gaylord, William J. Smith, Samuel T. Gaylord 1 Jun 1840
Mary Messick John Beasley 1 Apr 1826
Salley C. Nelson Not Named; Edmond Edwards, Thomas Arnold 22 Mar 1825
Caroline M. Woodard Wm. W. Lary, Benjamin Campen, James Potter, Amos Ireland 5 Sep 1845?
Decey Ann Hudnell John Mayo, James B. Marsh, Owen O’Neal 16 Mar 1842
Nancy Wilcox Not named; Joseph W. Godley, Hilen Godley 6 Aug 1831
Sally Cherry Jacob Richard Doon, Christopher N. Lucy, D. Woolf [Child born 23 March] 27 May 1842
Marina Jollys Benjamin Gurganus, Blount Leggett, W.W. Latham 2 Jun 1842
Mary Ann Godley  (now M.A. Downs, married woman) James B. Dunn, Shadrack Downs 3 Apr 1841
Catharine Roe John Ross, Jr., Josiah Ross 16 Sep 1840
Charlotte Jefferson Asa Hardison, James Ozbon, William Pate 18 Feb 1830
Barbara Dixon Noah Dixon, Alfred Dixon 4 Dec 1839
Nancy Jackson Wilson Ball no date
Mahala Moore Josiah Mason, Thomas B. Winfield, Ansel M. Beacham 4 Sep 1839
Nancy Jackson Wilson Ball, Thomas Bowen, Eldred W. Clark, Dotus Gurganus 5 Jun 1839
Elinor Lary Benjamin Lewis, Willson Daniels, Elijah W. Lewis, Will: C. Eborne 7 Mar 1839
Nancy Campen Wm. Fulford, Josephus Fulford, John Pate 7 Dec 1836
Nelly Lary Elijah W. Lewis, Isaac Swindle, Jas. Simpson 6 Sep 1836
Elizabeth Waters Thomas Latham, John Latham, Samuel Latham [apparently a female child] 22 May 1834
Sophia M.E. Floyd Valentine Jordan, Alexander Brinkley, J.G.R.G. Blount 22 Aug 1832
Polly Carrow John Cousins, Richard Cousins, John Partree 236 Feb 1831
Winifred Cherry Refused to name; John Cherry, Jarrad Cherry 6 Jun 1828
Anna Hill Not named; William Mackleny, John Holmes 19 Sep 1840
Nancy Long Not named (2 children); William Knox, Wiley Blount 16 Apr 1825
Rachel Arnold (“is Big With Child”) Not named; Thomas Arnold, John D. Barr 16 Apr 1825
Wealthea Johnson Not named; David Edwards, Allen Edwards 16 Apr 1825
Nicey Mobley Refused to name; Jacob Pollard, Sr. Richard B. Richards 6 Sep 1828
Mary Mixon William Janus, Abner Adams, John O. Boyd 4 Dec 1816
Elizabeth Woolard Arnet Latham, Thos. Ellison, John Waters 4 Mar 1817
Macy Braddy (child named Seth) Wm. Sexton, Alderson E. Harvey, James Hodges 9 Mar 1814
Sarah Hodge (child “named Bazzel Hodge, now of the age of Nine months”) Thompson Vines Wollard, Jasper Wollard, James Kelder 9 Mar 1814
Anne Lennett (child named Dowing Larry, now Eighteen months old) Daniel S. Woollard, Riley Woolard, Noah Woolard 9 Mar 1814
Malisa Woodard Silus Lupton, Stephen J. Mason, Robinson Lupton, Gerome Spain 8 Sep 1840
Haley Styron Price Long Tom, John Chance, Isaiah Hodge 22 Feb 1827
Margaret L. Gerrard James G. Gaskins of Craven County 17 Jun 1848
Jane Richards George Hyatt, Lockwood Hyatt [George wants trial, evidently denies bein the father] 9 Nov 1849
Prudence Ross Thomas Tuten, Thomas Bowen, Thomas Ellison 9 Jun 1829
Mary Booty (male child) Allen Edwards, William Edwards, Richard Nobles 22 May 1828
Edna Davis (evidently a male child) Oliver S. Brock, Simeon Cruthers, Stephen Owen 22 Feb 1826
Louisa Brown (female child) Jesse Swanner, Martin Woolard 23 May 1827
Sarah Jones Joseph Tripp, Robert Tripp, Jos. B. Hinton 22 Feb 1825
Nancy Long Not named, Wiley Blount, William Knox 16 Apr 1825
Sophia Willis John Cruthus, William O. Cain, Jacob Cole 23 Mar 1825
Zilphy Mory (male child) Wilson Bawl, Jacob O. Morey 26 Aug 1825
Salley Nelson Not named; Edmond Edwards, Thomas Arnold 16 Apr 1825
Charlotte Lee Henry Peck, Lodowick Redditt, Alexr. Redditt 23 Nov 1825
Welthea Johnson Not named; David Edwards, Allen Edwards 16 Apr 1825
Mary Hodge Daniel Rawls, Hans/Hancel Hardison, John Whitacre 20 Aug 1823
Nancy David John M. Harris, Richard Hollowell, Zach. Satterthite 28 Feb 1824
Frances Whitaker Guion Williams, [no bondsmen] (female child) 24 May 1830
Nancey Jolly John Whitacer, Jesse Deen, John Cherry 17 Feb 1830
Bathsa Waters Eleazer Moore, James Moore, Isaac Heirs 25 Aug 1830
Elizabeth Alderson Wilson Corprew, Richard Respess Jr., Joseph D. Satchwell 16 Feb 1830
Lewdy Braner Jesse Swanner, Hs. Henderson, John Cherry 22 Nov 1830
Sally Potter William Clark, David Watson, Elijah Mixon 7 Mar 1821
Ann Cox Joseph Pearce, Michael Hill 23 May 1821
Fanny Windly Wililam Harvey, George Corprew, Thomas Ormond 12 Aug 1820
Sophia Alderson Timothy Kelly, Josiah C. Fowle, Welcome Hoell, Benjn. Selby, [a male child] 23 Nov 1821
Alice Humbles Francis Gotier, Jno. S. Smallwood, Aron Gurganous 6 Sep 1820
Fanny Windly William Harvey, Wm. Perkins, Saml. Smallwood [probably same accusation of 12 Aug 1820] 6 Sep 1820
Elizabeth Long Saml. Ward, Wallace Nelson, Wm. Pilley 9 Jun 1819
Sally Edwards John D. Barr, Thomas Worsley, Saml. Hawkins 4 Mar 1818
Louisa Edwards Edmond Edwards, John D. Barr, Tho. Worsley 4 Mar 1818
Betsey Woolard Thomas Woolard, James O.K. Williams, Alex Latham 3 Sep 1817
Deborah Jackson Martin Stubbs, Thomas Wallis, Alderson E. Harvey 4 Jun 1817
Sally Latham John Bryan, Samuel Chauncy Senr., Samuel Taylor 3 Sep 1817
Polly Messic John Beasley, Robert Stuart, Ald. E. Harvey 23 Aug 1826
Patsey Messick Robert Clark, Daniel Lewis, John W. Ireland [two children] 20 May 1829
Charity Rollins Christopher R. Flinn, Henry W. Gaylord, Thos. B. Winfield [Evidently a male child] 25 Aug 1829
Winnifred Cherry Not named; John Cherry Senr., Jarrad Cherry 6 Jun 1828
Sally Cherry Jacob Richard Donn, denied being father, lost in county court and appealed to superior court [Child born 23 March last] 27 May 1842
Margaret Kipps G. Whitehurst Hawkins, Alfred Lanier, James Eborn 20 Feb 1823
Jemima Corprew Richard Gaylor, Jeremiah Gaylor, Richard Rispass 20 Aug 1828
Mary Susan Hodge Samuel H. Daniels, [Female child] 20 Dec 1849
R. Eliza Beacham J.R. Cherry [She may have refused to name the father as only she and Cherry signed the bond.] 17 Dec 1849
Lois Jackson William S. Latham, John Latham, B.J. Parmerle, and E.P. Patterson 17 Nov 1846
Lousinda Jenkins Henderson Harrison, Elvin Woolard, Dempsey H. Latham 21 Dec 1847
Penny Robinson Wm. D. Singleton, J.R. Cherry, Hardy Stallings [Possibly female child] 18 Nov 1845
Margaret Gerrard James G. Gaskins, Allen Ipock, John Harris [of Craven Co.] 27 July 1848
Sophia Moore [warrant for Moore to appear to name the father] 2 Oct 1856

 

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