James Tucker and James Tucker

The Tucker family is an allied branch in my family tree that married into my Morgan line. Martha Jane Morgan, daughter of Matthew and Sarah Harris Morgan, married James Tucker (1832-1900), son of James (1803-1860) and Amelia (Milly) Tucker, around 1863 in Montgomery County. I do not know Milly’s maiden name, although I have some theories I am working on and are mentioned at the end of this post. The Tucker’s, like the Morgan’s, are a brick wall ancestor and I am working through DNA matches and traditional genealogy research in hopes of pushing these families back one more generation.

Y-DNA testing confirms that the James Tucker (1803-1860) Y-DNA line in Montgomery County connects to the George Tucker (1743-1804) Y-DNA line, known in DNA circles as the Cabarrus George Tucker line in Cabarrus County. Male descendants of this line who have Y-DNA tested are in the CABARRUS COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA GROUP (CNC) at FTDNA. Not many males from this line have tested, so, if you are a male descendant of Cabarrus George Tucker, please consider Y-DNA testing. You must be a male with the surname Tucker and a documented family tree showing descent from a son of George Tucker, or if you do not know who your Tucker ancestor is, test anyway and see which Tucker line you match to.

If you do decide to test, a note of caution, ALL genealogical sources, including DNA testing, have the potential to reveal unexpected relationships or the lack of an expected relationship. You, the tester, must anticipate these possibilities and consider the potential emotions and reactions of ALL involved. Be prepared for the unexpected.

Autosomal DNA also connects the Montgomery County James Tucker line to the descendants, both male and female, of Cabarrus George Tucker. These descendants’ ancestors show up repeatedly between Cabarrus and Stanly (then Montgomery) Counties.

One of the great things about DNA testing for genealogical purposes, is that it helps narrow down where your ancestor lived. DNA testing has proven that the Tucker line in Montgomery County is the same Tucker family that lived in Cabarrus County. I can focus my research around Cabarrus and Mecklenburg Counties, since George Tucker lived in that part of Mecklenburg that became Cabarrus in 1792, so I’ll want to research both counties.

Mecklenburg County was formed in 1762 from the western part of Anson County, George Tucker was born in 1743, he would have been 19 years old in 1762, his Tucker family may have lived in what was then Anson County at the time of his birth, or migrated there shortly after, thus, I will want to research Anson County for Tucker records as well. I will also want to investigate any DNA match who has Tucker’s in their family trees living in these counties during this time frame. I am looking for any record that shows a relationship to Cabarrus George Tucker.

Once I understand the Tucker’s who lived in these counties, I can begin to branch out into surrounding counties. But, be careful! There are Tucker families in Randolph and Rowan Counties as well. I know the Randolph County Tucker’s do not Y-DNA match the Cabarrus County Tucker’s, so these are two different Tucker families. Traditional research has shown that the Tucker family in Rowan County might be the same Cabarrus County Tucker family, but because I have not seen Y-DNA test results from a Rowan County Tucker male, I want to use caution about any conclusion I might come to. There was more than one George Tucker and I need to make sure that I have the right one.

I can pin James Tucker (1803-1860) to Cabarrus County through his son, James Tucker (1832-1900) through Civil War records. At Fold3 is found a record for James Tucker (1832-1900) showing he reported his birthplace to be Cabarrus County, North Carolina. He enlisted in the service in 1862 in Montgomery County, North Carolina at the age of 30 years, making him born about 1832. Logic would assume that if James Tucker was born in Cabarrus County in 1832, then his parents most likely lived there.

The 1830 Census for Cabarrus County is divided into 11 districts that are called Company’s and named after, I suppose, those men who oversaw each of these areas.

It was in Capt. Petre’s Company 11 that I found James Tucker Junior, age between 20 – 30 (born about 1805), his wife between ages 20 – 30 and one son under the age of 5. Based on the age of the child, this couple was probably married about 1828.

I also found James Tucker Senior listed between ages 30 – 40 (born about 1795), his wife between ages 30 – 40, one son under 5, one daughter under 5, two daughters 5 – 10, one daughter 10 – 15. Based on the age of the oldest child, this couple was probably married about 1817.

Now, I am no rocket scientist, but my best guess is that these two James Tucker’s are not brothers due to them both being named James. I know there are some caveats to this line of guessing. I have seen where two half-brothers are named the same. However, when I begin my research I always begin with the norms. Overthinking your research creates problems where problems may not exist. If the norm changes during research, adjust accordingly.

I also do not think James Tucker and James Tucker are father and son due to their ages being too close together, only about 10 years apart. So, the Census taker listed them Senior and Junior only to distinguish who was the elder and who was the younger. My guess is that there probably is a family relationship going on here, perhaps cousins or uncle/nephew, but there may not be any family relationship between the two, although I would find that hard to believe. It is a possibility to keep in mind as I journey through the lives of these two men.

What is clear is that there are two James Tucker’s in Cabarrus County, an elder and a younger. And there are two marriage licenses in Cabarrus County, one for James Tucker who married Jane Russell on 20 Oct 1817 and another for James Tucker who married Milly Hartsell on 17 Nov 1828.

From what I can tell, research was stunted and even halted on the James and Milly Hartsell Tucker line from as far back as 1958 when an article was published in The Monroe Enquirer stating that "James Tucker married first Jane Russell in 1817 and second, Milly Hartsell in 1828." Fast forward 62 years and internet research has further compounded this problem into a full-blown genealogical crisis by picking up on this statement and copied to nearly every family tree is James Tucker married Jane Russell AND Milly Hartsell.

But that cannot be the case…

Jane Russell was alive and well and living with her husband, James Tucker, in 1828. Now, I’ve read some crazy stories about men who married two women, running off with the one to another county or state. I’ve even read about a man who had a wife and his wife’s sister was his mistress and he had children by both women and they all were buried in the same graveyard like they were one big happy family, but those things happened few and far between, and there was usually a lot of talk about relationships like that, it eventually made the newspapers or at least a hefty court file with a divorce settlement, but it was not the NORM. I do not believe that James Tucker was married to two women at the same time. We have two very separate paper trails we can take advantage of here and while the details still need to be worked out, I think the marriage and Census records give us a good starting point.

While researching the Morgan and Tucker families of Montgomery County, I stumbled across a blog post at They Lived Along a Rocky River that opened a new door to my Tucker research. The blog was written about the history of Flat Rock Lutheran Church, located on Hwy 200 in present day Stanfield, North Carolina, and provided several records that show a James and Milly Tucker attended the church from at least 1834 - 1840. The records show church members and baptisms between these years.

Could this be the same James Tucker who married Milly Hartsell in 1828 and could this be the same couple who show up on the 1840 Census for Eldorado, Montgomery County?

The 1840 Census for Montgomery County is divided to show those living on the east and west side of the Pee Dee and Yadkin River. In the corner of the Census page, the Census taker wrote what side of the river he was on. James Tucker, age between 30 - 40, shows up on both sides of the river in 1840. The family members are the same ages. On the west side of the river James is living between Elisha Layton and John Miller. On the east side of the river he is living between John Kizer and George Thompson.

The 1840 Montgomery County Census was started on 1 Jun 1840 and ended on 19 Oct 1840. It was certified as complete on 30 Oct 1840. This could mean that James and Milly Tucker moved from West Pee Dee River to East Pee Dee River between 1 Jun 1840 and 19 Oct 1840 and were enumerated twice.

What is interesting is looking up land grants and deeds for those neighbors listed on the same page with James Tucker. That gives us a general location of the area where James Tucker lived. John Miller, listed directly below James Tucker on the west side of Pee Dee River, lived on Ryals (Riles) Creek on land that adjoined Henry Troutman. John Miller has a land grant dated Dec 1841, just a little over a year after the Census was completed.

Henry Troutman lived in the same area in 1831 and 1832. He had land grants for 400 acres on the Montgomery and Cabarrus county line on Curtail Creek adjoining Mathis Barringer and 14 acres on both sides of Big Long Creek adjoining George Miller.

I am not able to find land grants for John Kizer and George Thompson, but the Matthew Morgan listed is my fourth great uncle and the Morgan family lived in what is now the Eldorado community of Montgomery County, mainly around Barnes and Spencer Creeks. Morgan’s Ford and Morgan’s store was located near where the bridge on Hwy 109 crosses the Uwharrie River.

Jane Russell was born about 1800 in Cabarrus County to David Russell and Elizabeth Morrison. She married James Tucker in 1817, the bondsman was Samuel Holbrooks, who married Jane’s sister, Elizabeth, also in 1817. James and Samuel were bondsmen for each other.

Jane Russell Tucker’s father, David Russell, died in 1832, four years after James Tucker, his son in law, 'supposedly' married Milly Hartsell. Yet, in his will he bequeaths to his daughter, Jane Tucker, a tract of land where James Tucker now lives, on the waters of Muddy Creek. So, James and Jane Russell Tucker are alive and well and living together in 1832 when Jane’s father dies. Also mentioned in the will is Elizabeth Holbrooks, Jane’s sister who married Samuel Holbrooks in 1817.

James Tucker, the husband of Jane Russell, bought 87 acres of land on the waters of Muddy Creek and McDaniel’s Branch in Cabarrus County in Nov 1812 from Robert McMurry High Sheriff of Cabarrus County when the land was sold for taxes due for the year 1811. The land bounded his own land as well as neighbors McLellan, Sossaman, Newell, Wallace, Taylor, and others.

In Jan 1827, James Tucker sold at least part of the land to his father in law, David Russell, for $428. David Russell, in turn, in his will, left the land to his daughter Jane as well as a note of $200 on James Tucker and the interest and $75 in money to her and her heirs forever. So, it looks like the $428 was a loan from David to James and the land was the security. David Russell frees the couple from the debt in his will by leaving the land and the note to his daughter Jane and her heirs.

James Tucker and wife Jane Russell are found on the 1820 Census living among the neighbors, Sossaman, Taylor and Wallace, who are listed on the land deed for Muddy Creek and by 1840, James is still is the same area, as are the Taylor’s and the Wallace’s. David Russell Jr, brother of Jane, is living a few doors away.

1850 finds the James and Jane Russell Tucker family in Giles County, Tennessee. They, like many others, migrated west as land became available for settlement. Whether for adventure or a fresh start, many families from the Piedmont area of North Carolina hitched horses to wagons, loaded up supplies and family members, and set off to settle the new land.

By 1860, James and Jane had made their way to Arkansas where they spent the remainder of their lives. Jane Catharine Tucker, daughter of James and Jane, to my knowledge never married. She is found living with her parents on every Census through 1870.

Most researchers show that James and Jane died between 1870 and 1880 as neither are to be found on the 1880 Census. I am not able to find Catharine Jane Tucker on the 1880 Census either.

Of interest, I did find a James Tucker giving bond and taking out letters of Administration in 1877 on the estate of William Petray in Pope County, Arkansas. This certainly requires more research to confirm if this is James Tucker who married Jane Russell. If it is, then his date of death can be narrowed down to between 1877 and 1880.

The Petray’s are also from Cabarrus County, North Carolina. John Petray married Martha Love, daughter of Jonah Love and Mary Garmon, and ended up in Pope County, Arkansas with James and Jane Russell Tucker. Martha’s sister, Mary Jane Love, married Lewis Tucker, the son of George Tucker Jr and grandson of Cabarrus George Tucker, and migrated to Pope County, Arkansas as well. I believe there is a connection between James Tucker and William Petray, but more research is required to uncover it.

Now, let’s talk about the James Tucker who married Milly Hartsell. The bondsman for that marriage was Daniel Hartsell and the witness J.G. Spears. Daniel Hartsell is the accepted son of Leonard Hartsell and Barbara Sides. He was born about 1802. As Daniel and Milly have the same last name, my guess is that they are somehow related. Daniel Hartsell married Margaret Tucker in 1824. I do not yet know who Margaret is, but my best guess is that she is somehow related to the James Tucker who married Milly Hartsell. I am still working out these connections.

Now, take a second look at the records from Flat Rock Lutheran Church, you will see that Daniel and Margaret Hartsell attended the church at the same time James and Milly Tucker attended. This is more than coincidence. Here are four names that repeat themselves showing that these couples were close and kept in touch with each other.

Buried at Flat Rock Lutheran Church is Jacob Tucker, the son of Cabarrus George Tucker. Could Jacob be the father of James Tucker and Margaret Tucker Hartsell? You can see on the records of baptism, that James Tucker had 1 son baptized, Jacob Tucker had 3 children baptized and Daniel Hartsell had 1 child baptized. I believe the Jacob Tucker mentioned is Jacob Jr, the son of Jacob Sr who is buried at Flat Rock Lutheran Church. If James is the son of Jacob Sr, that would mean that Jacob Jr is his brother. If Margaret is the sister of Jacob, then she would also be the sister of James. The research continues in the lives of these Tucker's in hopes of uncovering who they are and how and if they are related.

In 1850 a James and Amelia Tucker can be found living across the river in Eldorado, Montgomery County. Their age and the ages of their children match what is shown in the two 1840 Census’s. A search of the Cabarrus and Stanly County Census record for 1850 and beyond find no listing for James and Milly. They have disappeared from the Cabarrus / Stanly area. Yet, Daniel and Margaret Tucker Hartsell and their children remained in the Furrs, Stanly, North Carolina area and are easily traced on the Census.

In 1860, we learn Milly’s full name, Sarah Amelia Tucker. She is living in Fork (Eldorado), Montgomery County with her children who are still at home. We know that James Tucker died between the 1850 and 1860 Census years as Milly is listed as a widow.

In 1869 Sarah Amelia Tucker sold for $40 to Jehu H. Davis 8 acres of land on McLean’s Creek joining the lands of Harris, beginning on the main road (current day Hwy 109) at Steel’s line, at the foot of Morris Mountain.

In 1870, Sarah Amelia Tucker is shown living in Eldorado, Montgomery County with her daughters, Sarah and Lavina. She is 60 years old.

1880 is the last Census that Sarah Amelia Tucker will be found on. She is listed as a widow, age 71, living with her are her daughter Sallie (Sarah) and her granddaughter, Dulcie Tucker.

Sarah Amelia Tucker died after 1880. She is not found on the 1900 Census (the 1890 Census being destroyed) nor can I find any other record of her after 1880. Her daughter, Sarah (Sallie) and granddaughter, Dulcie, who have always lived with her, are now found, in 1900 living with Junius A. Gamble, a widower, and listed as servants. Note: Ancestry has mistranslated his name as Simmons.

On 17 Dec 1910, Dulcie married the widow Junius Alphonso Gamble, called J. A. Gamble. By 1920, a daughter is born to this union and named Sarah Valley Gamble. The 1930 and 1940 Census's show Junius has died and Dulcie and Sarah Valley are living on their own in Troy.

Dulcie Tucker Gamble died in 1942, her death reported by her daughter, Valley Gamble. She is buried at Macedonia Church in Eldorado. I believe Valley may have married a Morse and died in Johnston County, North Carolina in 1998.

I am very interested in finding any living descendants of Valley who would be willing to DNA test, especially daughters, as they carry the mtDNA of Valley’s great grandmother, Sarah Amelia. mtDNA testing this specific mother-daughter line may provide the surname for Sarah Amelia’s mother. If Sarah Amelia is the Milly Hartsell who married James Tucker in 1828, Cabarrus County, and is the sister of the bondsman, Daniel Hartsell, then her parents are Leonard Hartsell and Barbara Sides. mtDNA testing could break through this brick wall and clear up the past errors made in this Tucker family research once and for all.

A Woman Who Has Whipped Two Men

Martha Jane Morgan Tucker, called Jane, has perhaps given me the greatest chuckle of all the ancestors in Montgomery County that I have come across. She is one of the most colorful and feisty women I have ever read about. Her descendants tell me she was a no-nonsense woman and the kind that took to heart any wrong perceived or implied. I imagine she kept her husband, James Tucker, on his toes.

In Jun of 1876, for reasons that are difficult to fathom for today’s generation, Jane Morgan Tucker, in what must have been a comical array of flying skirts, petticoats and hoop poles, attacked Mr. Jehu Davis. Jane was soon in the hands of the proper authorities and I am sure her husband, James Tucker, bailed her out of jail that day. The only detail left out of the below article was who the other man was that Jane Tucker whipped!

Jane is my first cousin four times removed, her father, Matthew Morgan, being my fourth great uncle, so Jane and I share Joseph Morgan, my fourth great grandfather and Jane’s grandfather, as our common ancestor. I stay in close contact with Jane’s great grandson and it is a joy to be around him and listen to the stories he tells about his Tucker ancestors.

Jane Morgan was born about 1835 in Montgomery County, North Carolina. She is the oldest child of Matthew Morgan, son of Joseph and Susanna Smart Morgan, and Sarah Harris Morgan, daughter of Littleton and Temperance Williamson Harris. Jane married James Tucker, the son of James and Amelia Tucker. I do not know Amelia’s maiden name.

The Tucker’s, like the Morgan’s, are a brick wall ancestor. James and Amelia Tucker, the in-laws of Jane Morgan Tucker, came to Montgomery County from Cabarrus County in the late 1830’s. I briefly mentioned the Tucker’s in my post Willis Morgan, son of Charles and Delilah Morgan when Lucy Talbert gave her deposition telling that a Mr. and Mrs. Tucker had come to visit the Charles Morgan family during a time when she lived in the Crump dower house with the Morgan family. Charles Morgan may have been Jane’s Great Uncle.

I know through Y-DNA testing that the Montgomery County Tucker family is part of the Tucker family called Cabarrus George Tucker and some of this family was in what is now Stanly County. They lived near Meadow Creek, an area that straddled the Cabarrus / Montgomery (later Stanly) County lines. I found a James and Amelia Tucker listed in the surviving records of Flat Rock Lutheran Church, located in current day Stanfield on Hwy 200. The records show James and Milly attended the church from at least 1834 to about 1840.

Jacob Tucker, the son of Cabarrus George Tucker, died in 1837 and is buried in the Flat Rock Lutheran Cemetery. It was shortly after Jacob died that James and Amelia Tucker showed up across the river in the Eldorado community and the James and Milly Tucker on the west side of the river, disappeared from that area. The search continues to prove or disprove that this is the same Tucker family.

Jane Morgan Tucker has several brothers and sisters. Showing on the 1850 Census are Rosina (1838), Nancy (1840), Elihu (1842), Joseph (1844), Milas (1846), Hannah (1847), and Sarah (1848).

The 1860 Census shows that a child, Elisha, has been added to the family in 1851. This Census shows the family living in what was then called Fork, in the area between the Yadkin and Uwharrie Rivers.

The 1866 IRS Tax Assessment list shows James Tucker is a registered distiller in Rocky Springs, Montgomery County.

By 1870, Jane is married and has a home and children of her own. Milas, born about 1864, Thomas, 1866, John, 1868, and George, 1870.

With no love lost between the Tucker’s and the Davis’s, in 1877, James Tucker and Jehu Davis are found in court. Jehu Davis made a complaint of slander and swore an Affidavit which resulted in an order of arrest. Jehu Davis claimed that James Tucker came to his house using profane language and calling him a thief and a liar in front of his wife, children and hired servant. Jehu claims he was provoked and mortified to the sum of $2000.00 and was now suing Tucker for said damages.

In a counter suit, James Tucker claimed that Jehu Davis swore out the arrest in an attempt to extort money from him. That after the arrest and imprisonment of one day, Jehu offered James to permit him to be released upon the payment of $150. James paid the money in order to procure his liberty and then counter sued for $500 damages.

In the end, judgment was reversed, and the action was dismissed.

The 1880 Census shows that James and Martha Jane Morgan Tucker are living next door to Jane’s mother, Sarah Morgan, age 72, and to Jehu Davis, the man that Jane attacked in 1876. Jehu Davis claims his birthplace as New Jersey and his occupation is listed as U.S. Gauger. Ancestry has incorrectly transcribed the occupation as U.S. Ranger. But it is indeed U.S. Gauger.

In the book The Social History of Bourbon by Gerald Carson is explained what a U.S. Gauger is and the job responsibilities.

When the United States took charge of the manufacture of all alcoholic drinkables, there came into being an army of officials, inspectors, GAUGERS, government aides called storekeepers, guards and intricate regulations as to the seals, stencil plates, locks and keys of distillery buildings and mountains of paperwork.

The Gauger measured out the amount of grain for distilling, saw that the composition of the mash was strictly adhered to. A government man on hand when the whiskey barrel was filled and burned the history of the distillate into the barrel head on what was called the stamp or government end.

When a barrel of aged whiskey was withdrawn from the warehouse, the Gauger applied a wantage rod for determining the ullage - the empty portion of the cask, due to evaporation and absorption. The storekeeper was under strict orders to admit no one to the warehouse, not even the owner, except in his presence.

Checking the U.S. Register of Civil, Military and Naval Service records between 1863 and 1959, I found Jehu Davis listed for year 1881 as a Storekeeper and a Gauger. Jehu Davis was also a mineralogist and a Postmaster, as well as a farmer.

On 6 Jan 1900 James Tucker, husband of Jane Morgan Tucker, was found dead, lying in the road about three miles from his home. His cause of death was unknown.

The 1900 Census shows Jane Tucker, a widow, age 66, running a boarding house with several boarders. Some of her children live close by.

Jane Morgan Tucker died in Jan 1905 and is buried in the Henderson Family Cemetery in Eldorado, North Carolina, alongside her husband, James Tucker.

Sibling Rivalry

Joseph Gad Senr wrote his will on 20 Jul 1837, and is probably one of the most devastatingly straightforward wills I have ever read. He not only sees things (and people) as they are, he makes sure to put in place every protection available to him to protect himself and others against what he knows is going to happen. This is a man who not only sees the writing on the wall, he can interpret it, and plan to mitigate the risk or fall out as well.

Let’s jump into his will and you’ll see what I mean.

Joseph’s last will and testament begins like many others, “In the name of God, Amen, I Joseph Gad Senr of the county and state aforesaid (Montgomery) do make and ordain this my last will and testament…revoking all others.

1. I give and bequeath to my son Joseph Gad…
2. I give to my son Mastin Gad…
3. I give to my three younger children, Thincy [Cynthia], Pinkney and Washington Gad…
4. To my wife Elizabeth Gad…
5. My slaves should remain on my plantation where they are now with my family…

Then, Joseph does something a bit unusual.

Item: my will and desire is that if any of my children should become dissatisfied with this my last will and testament and should try to brake [break] or overthrow the same that they shall have no part of my estate whatsoever and there [their] part or share which has been allotted them shall be divided amongst the rest of my children

He appoints his son Mastin and his friend Britain Chappell executors of the will.

I thought it a bit odd that a father would simply tell his children that if you disagree with me, then you get nothing. I wondered what would make a father say something like that or expect his children to argue over who gets what once their father dies. Most children who are grown and on their own as the two older children were, would be just fine with their younger siblings and mother getting the bulk of the estate for the care and education of the minor children. I saw nothing wrong with Joseph’s will. He was, according to the law, and culture of that era, putting in place the best possible solution that would protect his family after his death, as any father would.

But, that comment had me guessing there was some sibling rivalry going on in this family and daddy Joseph knew it.

The next paper in the estate file shows Elizabeth Gadd, wife of Joseph Gadd Senr, petitioning for a year’s provisions and her dower in Joseph’s lands. The court names Neil Nicholson Esq, Dudley Baldwin, Martin Rush and Howell Harris as persons to lay off and allot Elizabeth a year’s provisions.

The next set of papers show Mastin Gadd Administering the estate as his father called for and the settlement of the estate. All tasks were seen to and the estate was wrapped up nice and tight. No arguing or disagreements among anyone.

Evidently, when daddy spoke, even from the grave, these kids listened.

That comment made by Joseph in his will still sat with me though and I could not resist peeking into the lives of his wife and children to see how things turned out for them.

I turned to his wife’s estate file to find that she died in 1856, outliving her husband by more than ten years. On 6 Oct 1856, at a court of pleas and quarter sessions, the last will and testament of Elizabeth Gadd was produced and proven by subscribing witnesses.

That’s not so bad…until I read down the page.

On 7 Oct 1856, “the order made on yesterday of this term in relation to the paper writing purporting to be the last will and testament of Elizabeth Gadd is Rescinded by this court…”

And there it was, the reason why Joseph Gadd Senr wrote what he did in his last will and testament. Mother and daughter were trying to get one over on sons and brothers. Cynthia was to get the majority of her mother’s estate, then the remainder sold to pay just debts and if anything was left, it was to be divided among the sons.

I Elizabeth Gadd of the county of Montgomery and state of North Carolina being infirm of body but sound of mind and desirous to confer some advantage on my beloved daughter Cynthia Gadd to compensate for certain considerations in the following manner

Being my last will and testament and of my own will and good pleasure do purpose to give grant and bequeath to my daughter Cynthia my negro girl Sarah and my horse the crop or my interest in that and my stock of hogs to her to have and to hold free from all encumbrances

And I direct further that the other property monies and effects whatsoever to be sold and pay my just debts and remainder to be equally divided among my other children. This is the way which I bequeath and order that the property which now hold and possess to be distributed. I set my hand and seal the day and date as herein written and signed in the presence of David Harbert and James Skinner

This June 24th, 1856

Produced for probate in open court by Cynthia Gadd whereupon Joseph Gadd, Mastin Gadd, Pinkney Gadd and Washington Gadd four of the heirs at law and next of kin of the said Elizabeth Gadd came into court and enter caveat to the probate thereof and say that the same is not the last will and testament of the said Elizabeth Gadd or any part thereof.

The court direct the following issue to be made up and sent up to the superior court to be submitted to jury there being no jury in the county court to wit is said paper writing or any thereof and is if so what part the last will and testament of the said Elizabeth Gadd or not.

So, the Gadd brothers contested the last will and testament of their mother and are now in court fighting it out with their sister. The two subscribing witnesses were subpoenaed and Owen Hadley who is listed as a doctor is also summoned.

The last paper in the estate file for Elizabeth Gadd is for letters of Administration granted to Joseph Ewing on 6 Oct 1857. There is a separate file for Elizabeth located at Family Search showing the inventory of her estate. I am not able to find a settlement report nor the court file for the Superior Court. However, with letters of Administration granted to Joseph Ewing, I suspect that the higher court and jury allowed the Gadd brothers to contest the will and not have it executed.