A Record of Enslavement - Could this be Mourning Iverson of Bienville Parish?

I have had this Bill of Sale for quite a long time, but mine was faded, and the enslaved person's name could not be seen. This copy, from Martin County's Deed Book F, found at FamilySearch last week, can be easily read. 

To all People to whom these presents shall come, I, James Bryan of the county of Martin and State of North Carolina planter for and inconsideration of love good will and affection which I have and bare towards my loving Daughter, Amy Bryan of the County and State aforesaid have givin and granted and by these presents do freely and grant unto the said Amy Bryan her heirs Executors, admns and assigns one negro named mornin to have and to hold all the negro slave to her the said Amy Bryan her heirs Exors and from henceforth as her and her property absolutely without any manner of consideration. In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 17th day March 1815 - Signed sealed and delivered and in the presence of

                                                                                                                                       James Bryan {his mark}

Benj. Bowers

Reddick Bryan

Martin County December Term 1816  this bill of sale was proven in open court by the oath of Reddick Bryant, one of the subscribing witnesses and ordered to be registered.

H.B. Hunter Clk

Persons Named in this Bill of Sale

Benjamin Bowers and Reddick Bryan witnessed this transaction. No information has been found to positively identify Benjamin Bowers. Reddick Bryan was my second great-grandfather. Much about him can be seen by clicking on this page. 

James Bryan

I have long suspected that James Bryan, of Martin County, North Carolina and  named in the bill of sale, was the father of Reddick Bryan. Two years before this transaction, he deeded land to Reddick with no mention of cost. Reddick witnessed this document where James names Amy as his daughter. It is thought that James moved to Twiggs County, Georgia. Reddick was one of the administrators of a James Bryan's estate in 1817 in Twiggs.

Amy Bryan

Amy Bryan was named as the daughter of James. It is thought that she moved to Twiggs County with her family as Reddick, who was living in Twiggs, was the administrator of an estate of an Amy Bryan in 1826 in Twiggs County. 

Mornin

Mornin was an enslaved woman gifted to Amy Bryan by her father James. Mornin's age is not known, but if Amy Bryan went to Twiggs, it was very soon after this transaction and Mornin probably went with her. 

When I read this bill of sale, I was surprised to see the name Mornin. Mornin was very similar to the name Mourning, which I found when writing about records of persons enslaved by Reddick Bryan at Slavery and the Bryan Family

An enslaved woman, 43-year-old Mourning, was listed on an 1856 transaction between Reddick and his son, Joseph B. Bryan, in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. She was not listed in the family bible transcription but was one of several enslaved persons who would remain with Elizabeth Bryan as reported on the Partition of Slaves recorded after Reddick Bryan's death in 1864. This same person was found as Mourning Iverson on the 1870 United States Census in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. 

Mourning appears to be the mother of several of the enslaved persons named in Reddick Bryan's probate. The ages of her enslaved children indicate that she probably came with the Reddick Bryan family on their move to Louisiana from Georgia. 

Could Mourning Iverson and Mornin, found in the 1815 Martin County Bill of Sale, be the same person? 

More Questions than Answers 

Unfortunately, there are more questions about the relationships between these people than answers. Twiggs County records burned in 1901, leaving absolutely no early records. I cannot say that James was the father of Reddick and Reddick, the brother of Amy. Reddick could easily be a nephew or cousin. 

And I cannot say that Mornin is Mourning Iverson.

Although I don't know the answers to these questions, it is important to share this information.  I may never solve these hard genealogical puzzles, but future researchers will have more clues than I did when I started researching. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2024 

"Administrator's Sale," Southern Recorder (Milledgeville, Ga.), 5 September 1826, p.4, col.5; digital images, Digital Library of Georgia, (https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn82016415/1826-09-05/ed-1/seq-4/ : accessed 9 March 2024).

"Administrator's Sale," The Georgia Journal (Milledgeville, GA), 6 January 1818, p.3, col.6; digital images, Digital Library of Georgia, (https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn82014251/1818-01-06/ed-1/seq-3/ : accessed 9 March 2024).

Diana Bryan Quinn "Slavery and the Bryan Family," blog page, 24 June 2020, Moments in Time: A Genealogy Blog (https://momentsintimeagenealogyblog.blogspot.com/p/throughout-my-bryan-family-research-i_10.html : accessed 9 March 2024).

Martin County, North Carolina, Deed Book F: 378, Bill of Sale, 17 March 1815; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L983-N3LW? : accessed 9 March 2024), image 193. 

Martin County, North Carolina, Deed Book F: 220, Deed, 10 September 1813; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G983-NQ3B? : accessed 9 March 2024), image 114.