My Ancestor and His Family were Freed at the Death of the Enslaver in 1841

Last half of will by Presley Nelms, Jr. He freed my third great grandparents and their family, however, we he passed, his two sons had another idea in mind. "Presley Nelms, Jr., his ancestors and descendants in America from Nov. 25, 1652 to the present - Viewer (familysearch.org)"

As you can see, I found out before I went to the Anson County Historical Society in late April last year that in 1841 Presley Nelms, Jr. had freed my third great grandparents, David, and Lucy upon his death. He also freed their children in Anson County, North Carolina. Only Charlotte is mentioned here.

Possible Freedom

David had been a blacksmith. He was afforded the right to earn his own money. At the time he collected $2,000 to $3,000. I will share how I know this in my next book, My Best Genealogy Tips: Finding Formerly Enslaved Ancestors, due out in August.

If you remember, Steve Bailey assisted me with finding Lucy in 1880. You can refresh your memory by going to: Steve Bailey Found My Paternal 3rd Great Grandma. Well now the excitement about finding her has calmed down a bit, and I have been researching to find where she was in 1870. She started out in Anson County, NC in 1841. In 1880, she is living in DeSoto Conty, Mississippi. I will search until I find her.

David and Lucy's daughter, Charlotte, stayed in Anson County, NC, and she married York Smith: My Fourth Visit to Anson County Historical Society. The question is: What happened after Presley Nelms, Jr. died? Well, you had a family that was torn apart trying to escape enslavement.

I am working on how to explain it all to you. It will be in my next book, My Best Genealogy Tips: Finding Formerly Enslaved Ancestors.

Another Godsend from Steve Bailey

One of York and Charlotte's children, Cindy, married an Ingram. Hopefully, you noticed Jno. M. Ingram who signed Presley's will. I want you to know that I have gone down a rabbit hole. On the enslavers' side, there are plenty of Ingram's. Even Presley's wife was Ann Montgomery Ingram Nelms. Enslavers were Ingram's. The enslaved were Ingram's.

I got all these Ingram's out there. Some of them are my family. I put it on the back burner. Then, I got a Facebook message from none than Steve Bailey of the Anson County Historical Society. He says someone wants to meet me. Could we come down on July 4th? "Yes," I said.

Will Ingram. Photo shared by Will Ingram.

Well, Steve, we have already started on Zoom. Don't worry. We will still come July 4th. William Ingram is his name from Kansas City, Missouri. Let me tell you that he knows his stuff! He has thoroughly researched Ingram's, and he is interested in how the Nelms' tie in.

Steve does not like it when I give him so much attention, but I want to say, "Thank you!" This is a lengthy process, but we will figure out these Ingrams and Nelms.