Bute Co., NC Record Book 1

Mary Hinton Kerr

My interest in genealogy was a result of my introduction to Mary Hinton Kerr and there is never a day, as I sit pecking on the keyboard and roaming the web in search of new information, that I do not think of her. I only wish she could have lived to see the transformation in genealogy that the internet has made possible. Mrs. Kerr devoted her life to the history and genealogy of Bute and Warren County, North Carolina and was the most generous and sharing person one could ever hope to meet. Anyone who has ever corresponded with her remembers one thing above all else. She always had so much to do and , like all of us, there was never enough time. She would scratch notes on any available scrap of paper at hand, and could get more information on a postcard than many people can put in pages of paper. I have every scrap of paper she ever gave me. The descendants of Bute and Warren Co. ancestors owe their information to Mary Hinton even if they are not aware of it. She is the one who worked tirelessly to make certain the Bible records were preserved. She was also the author of many of the family histories that were published by Boddie. Since I have original copies of many of these histories (not always in the final published form) we hope to make some of them available in the future. One of her big concerns during her final years was how her material could be preserved and made available for future researchers. At her death, her papers were donated to the University of North Carolina at Greenville and once catalogued, should be available for research. I can not wait to see them. At one point, she told me that I might use her material to share with others but that was before the internet. When some of her books were republished, she thought that would insure that the information would be available for future researchers. Unfortunately, the books are no longer in print and I have heard that one person paid $100.00 to get a copy after a long search. My own copies are so worn with constant use that I am not certain they can even be copied again. The originals were done on what appears to be xeroxed pages and can not be scanned very well. My own copies are also full of her hand-written notes and corrections. Since we have the microfilm, we originally thought we might do our own abstract of the Bute Co. records but it is my personal opinion that this would be a disservice to her memory and legacy. It should be understood that her estate still owns the copyright to her material and it is not in the public domain so no portion of this file is to be reproduced for further publication in any manner. Still, I believe she would be proud to know we have made the effort to make her material available to others. While you may do a search for a name within these pages, we strongly recommend that you take the time to read them. The spellings of the names are often almost unrecognizable and it would be easy to miss important information. With this introduction, we offer the first pages from "Warren County North Carolina Records, Volume I, which covers Bute County Record Book I. The remainder of the book will be posted as quickly as time allows.

BUTE COUNTY RECORD BOOK NO. 1

1764-1767

The original of this book of recorded Bute County Records is now mounted as part of "Bute County Records, Wills and Inventories, 1760-1800, Part III- in the North Carolina State Department of Archives and History, Raleigh, North Carolina. A photostatic, bound facsimile of this book is on record in the office of the Warren County Clerk of Court at the Court House in Warrenton, North Carolina, and the following abstracts are taken from this volume. The letter (A) at the beginning of an abstract indicates that the original document is at the Archives. The number in the margin at the left of the abstract refers to the page number in the Record Book.

1 Deed of gift, of slaves, from JOHN TERRELL to his "reputed children." To 'reputed daughter" LORUHAMAH, the wife of JACOB BLEDSOE; to "reputed son" JEPHTHA TERRELL; to "reputed son" JOHN TERRELL; to "reputed daughter" ANN(E), the wife of WILLIAM MARTIN, and then to her children; to "reputed daughter" AGNES, wife of ROBERT WASHINTON, and then to her children. Dated 7 July 1764. Recorded August Court 1764.

DANIEL OSHEAL to JOHN BROWN, both of Granville Co. Dated 22 Sept. 1763. 21-year lease for 1650-acre tract of land in Granville Co. called Kingswood, 20 shillings yearly rent. Wit: BLAKE BAKER, PETER MORGAN. Recorded August Court 1764.

2 JAMES NICHOLSON, JR., to BENJAMIN NICHOLSON. Dated 25 July 1764. 88 Pds. Va. money. Sale of all household goods, debts I now owe, livestock (including one cow of EDWARD HOLLOMAN'S mark & one sow with mark of LATER), my part of crops now in care of MOSES BEO(?). Red: Aug. Court 1764. Wit: THOS. MARTON, RICHARD PROCTOR, SAM'L NICHOLSON.

3 (A) Will of RICHARD BENNITT. Dated 3 August 1764. Red. August Court 1764. Wife ANN BENNITT. Dau. CHRISTIAN LANGSTON, wife of ABSOLEM LANGSTON. Dau. SARAH LANGSTON, wife of SOLOMON LANGSTON. Deus: MARTHA, ANN, and AMEY BENNITT. Sons: RICHARD, MARK, WILLIAM, MOSES, AND JAMES BENNITT. Exors: Wife ANN BENNITT and Sons MARK & WILLIAM BENNITT (BENNET). Wit: JAMES THOMPSON, SUSANAH MALONE, DRUSILLA THOMPSON.

4 Administrator's Bond, to Governor ARTHUR DOBBS, in Estate of ROBERT MOORE, deed. ELISABETH MOORE, Admrx. Securities: WILLIAM BOBBET, RICHARD HADRY. Wit: JNO. BOWIE. Dated 20 Nov. 1764. Recorded November Court 1764.

5 Inventory of Estate of ROBERT MOORE, deed. ELISABETH MOORE, Admrx. Recorded November Court 1764.

6 Administrator's Bond, to GOV. ARTHUR DOBBS, in Estate of WILLIAM BASKET, deed. JAMES BASKET, Admr. Securities: WILLIAM LILES, THOMAS COOK, JOHN POWNALL. Wit: JNO. BOWIE. Dated 21 Nov. 1764. Rc'd. Nov. Court 1764.

7 Inventory of Estate of WM. BASKET, decd. JAMES BASKET, Administrator. Recorded November Court 1764.

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