| HISTORY: |
Magnolia
Plantation's house was built in the 1840's for James N. Smith and his wife,
Adelaide Evans-Smith (daughter of Peter Evans & Ann Johnston).
He was the son of William Ruffin Smith (1779-1845) and Sarah Walton Norfleet
(1782-1870). James's father, William Ruffin Smith, Sr., purchased the
nucleus for the Magnolia plantation from his brother Drew in 1802.The
fifty-acre tract was described as being in the Piney Woods "20 miles below
the town Halifax and four from Edwards' Ferry (on the Roanoke River) on the
road from said Ferry to Tarborough. There he lived with his bride,
Sarah W. Norfleet, in a frame house facing the old Tarborough Road. Born
into a successful planter family, William Ruffin Smith employed his talent
to expand his landholdings. By consolidating the lands of relatives and
neighbors, he eventually owned plantations fronting the Roanoke River from
Edwards' to Norfleet's ferries and extending westward to the town of
Scotland Neck, about 12,000 acres in all of which the home tract (later
Magnolia) contained 800 acres. Until 1821 Smith's plantations produced
primarily pork and corn. James Norfleet Smith inherited the business he
operated until well after the Civil War. William Ruffin Smith became one of
the wealthiest residents of Halifax County with 12,000 acres of land, 266
slaves, and cash assets in the vicinity of $100,000.
He never sought political office beyond service as a justice of the Halifax
County Court, but he often served as executor and administrator of numerous
wills and estates and as guardian for minor orphans. In 1834, William Ruffin
Smith moved his family to the Lowrie House north of Scotland Neck. This
house eventually became known as the Sally-Billy House, and from there Smith
directed the operation of his vast estates. After a long illness, he died on
June 22, 1845. He and the children who died before 1855 were buried in the
family cemetery in the grape arbor at Magnolia. In 1855 when Trinity Church
was completed with a large cemetery adjacent, members of the Smith family
were reinterred near the entrance. At his death, Smith's estate, worth
nearly a quarter million dollars, was divided among his five surviving
children. James Norfleet, the youngest, was given lands that included the
old river plantation, Light Neck, and Magnolia. Also bequeathed to James
were the Slaves then working his plantations, including "Hog Finder Peter";
all cider casks and stills; farming utensils; his father's stock of mules,
horses, hogs, and sheep; and $5,000 cash.
James Norfleet, born June 14, 1817, had grown up in the luxury of the
planter class in the Roanoke Valley. Educated at Vine Hill Academy and at
the Episcopal School for Boys in Raleigh, he was well read and later
established at Magnolia a library where the classics and books on chemistry
were well represented. On October 20, 1842, he married Adelaide Evans,
settled near Scotland Neck in his father's old home, and began to build
Magnolia. The name of the architect or builder is not known, but, according
to family tradition, construction took five years. Meanwhile James and
Adelaide lived in the older house to the rear of Magnolia and there at least
two of their five children (all sons) were born. For many years after
completion of the Greek Revival structure, a two-room section of the old
homestead (believed to have been a wing) served as a kitchen for the James
N. Smith family.
On the eve of the Civil War, James N. Smith owned 1,650 improved acres with
another 1,550 acres of timberland and pasture. Total cash value was
estimated in excess of $50.,000. That did not include his thirty-eight slave
houses and 165 slaves. The War of course ended the plantation economy's
prosperity and severely affected the Smiths and others of their class. Smith
had invested most of his fortune in land and slaves, and with defeat came
economic collapse. A few former slaves remained as servants at Magnolia, and
while James lived moderately well, he did not live elegantly. By 1894
Magnolia had been reduced in value to less than $14,000 which included the
house and 800 acres. In old age his hair turned white, he walked with a
cane, and he eventually became deaf. His deafness caused his death on
December 18, 1893, when he stepped in front of an oncoming train while
inspecting some repair work to the roadbed of the railroad put in across his
land in 1880. |
| SLAVE POPULATION: |
James N. Smith
had 150 Slaves in 1850; in 1860, he had 165 Slaves in 38 Slave houses. Will of WILLIAM R. SMITH, Halifax County,
Will Book 4, Pg. 244, written Dec.16,1844 , Probated August 1845:
Slaves listed in Will:
Lend to wife SALLY
STARLIN & wife MILLEY, child CLARISA
TOM WEBB
HARRY
NED
OLD GEORGE
SOPHIA & all her children
CLARISA and children
SAM
BARCIA
Old woman RODEY
To son WILLIAM R. SMITH:
All slaves now in his possession, and also-
BUCK & wife MARY, and all of MARY's children
MINER (the blackmith)
HARRY & SAM, after the death of mother (Sally)
To daughter SALLY ANN BAKER:
All slaves now in her possession, and also-
SALL & all her children & grandchildren except ANEKEY and her children
I give to my old man DANIEL the priviledge of choosing his owner among my
children, and not to be valued at anything.
To son RICHARD H. SMITH:
All slaves now in his possession, and also-
DAVY (son of FANNY)
man CELUS
boy CHARLES (son of CLEARIAH)
To Sons WILLIAM & RICHARD, to keep in trust for hiring out:
CLINTON & wife LIVY & all her children
man JESS
JESSE & wife MORNING & all her children
To son JAMES N. SMITH:
JACOB & wife RACHEL & all her children
GEORGE & wife PEGGY & all her children
Old man DEMEY(? scribbled over) & wife LEAH
CAROLINE & all her children
TOM WEBB
Old man BUCK
Old man PETER & wife
HOGFINDER
PETER & PENEY his wife & her children
To daughter ELIZABETH N. SMITH:
ABRAM & wife SABRY & all her children
AGNES & all her children
also the slaves lent to her mother after her death:
SOPHIA & all her children
CLARISA & daughter BARCIA
STARLIN & wife MILLEY & all her children
man WASHINGTON
To son WILLIAM:
girl LOUISA now in possession of DOCTOR A S. HALL
in trust for granddaughter EMILY HALL
|
