Raymond Demere's will was dated 29 August 1828,
and according to said will he wanted 4 of his slaves manumitted upon his
death, Joy, Rose and her two sons Jim & John.
[The discrepancies on the inventory date of 1820, and the
will of 1828, may be a typo on my part, will have to recheck that--Amy
Hedrick].
| Inventories & Appraisements Vol.
D page158 ...Item: Whereas from the fidelity of my
Negroe [sic] man Joy and my Negroe [sic] woman Rose
who not only saved and protected a great part of my property during
the time that the British occupied St. Simons Island, but actually
buried and saved a large sum of specie, with and which they might
have absconded and obtained their freedom. It is therefore my
will, and I direct my executors to Petition the legislature to pass
an act for the manumission of my said negro man Joy, my woman
Rose with her two children Jim and John, and
any other children said Rose may have setting their meritous
[sic] behavior and faithful conduct during a period of Invasion when
nearly all the Negroes on St. Simons Island deserted and joined the
British. |
Further, Raymond Demere stated that if Georgia would not allow
such actions, that the said Joy, Rose, Jim, and John be
moved to a state that would allow them freedom. If they stayed in
Georgia, they were to get 4 cows and 4 calves each from the Demere
stock, lots of land on St. Simons for them to live on and cultivate, and
Rose was to receive a yearly stipend of $75 and an extra $75 until
her son John is 21 years of age. All of this to happen within
one year of Raymond's death.
Not only did Rose receive this yearly sum, but she was to
receive an extra $1000 for John's education. On 9
August 1828, a codicil was added to the will where provisions for Rose
and Joy were extended for 3 years instead of the one year before
stated in the will. Rose's annuity was to be paid to her
bi-annually.
If John was forced to leave Georgia, Raymond Demere
requested that he be given Jim & George, sons of
Priscilla and Peggy, or to be given the proceeds of the sale of
these two boys. He also requested that Rose get Sally
for 3 years.
The writing in the will, versus the writing on the inventory,
brings some confusion to the actual names of Joy and Jim.
In the inventory their names look like Jay and Tom.
Although the inventory did not designate families, from reading this
will, and finding the aforementioned slaves in the inventory, one could
surmise that they are listed in a familial way. We could assume that
Peggy was the mother of Luke, Phillis, Sharper, Rachell, April,
the said George [to be given to Rose's John], and a 6 day
old infant.
Priscilla could be the mother of Fanny and Jim [to
be given to John]. We also see that Joy/Jay just might
be the father of Rose's two boys, quite possibly her husband.
All of these actions were to be held in trust by Raymond's two
grandsons, Joseph & Lewis of Lampidoser, and John Couper.
Grandson Joseph was to receive half of the estate, while the other
grandsons, Lewis, John, and Paul were to split the other
half.
The underscoring is added by me to note that a space was found between
names. Possibly suggesting groups of slaves, either as laborers,
house servants, etc., or as lots to be divided amongst Raymond's
heirs. More records can be found in the accountings done at the time
of his death [i.e. slaves sold, payment from certain slaves being hired
out, etc.]. |
