The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 84, July 1980 - April, 1981 Page: 52
502 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
ders, and John B. Webster. His will called for an equal partition of his
estate among these heirs, but the situation was complicated by the fact
that property already distributed was to be considered in the partition.
John B. Webster, for example, had already received 1,097 acres of land
and eleven slaves, valued at a total of $12,171. Once the estate was in-
ventoried, assessed, and distributed, Webster received $4,438.84 in
cash; $1,528.oo in stock; eighteen more slaves, worth $12,500.oo; and
2,348.5 additional acres of land. His total inheritance was valued at
nearly $46,000, a considerable sum even by twentieth-century stan-
dards."
The handling of slave property in this estate settlement is especially
interesting. John J. Webster's will contained the stipulation that "my
negroes be so distributed as to allot the families by families in the par-
tition that members of the same family may remain together." It seems
that his wish was followed and that his son also endeavored to keep the
families intact once he inherited them. One of the inherited families,
for example, consisted of Lewis (age forty, valued at $850), Eliza Crab
(age forty, valued at $6oo), Peggy (sixteen years, $500), Claiborne or
Clabe (nine years, $500), and Pleasant (eight years, $500). This entire
family is included five years later in the daily record of cotton picking
for 1859. In fact, at least twelve of the eighteen slaves inherited by
John B. Webster in 1854 are found ip his plantation journal of 1859.
A skilled bricklayer named Richmond (a holdover from John J. Web-
ster's construction business in Tuscaloosa?), who had become the
younger Webster's property before 1854, also figures prominently in
the journal of 1858 and 1859.7
It should be noted, too, that Webster's journal makes no mention of
slave discipline. He comments sarcastically at times about a particular
bondsman "piddling" away time or "trying to be sick," but he does not
mention punishment by himself or by his overseer. There are, on the
other hand, frequent references to particular slaves who have indi-
vidual responsibilities, such as driving wagons to nearby towns. This is
not to suggest that slavery was a "kindly" institution or that Webster
was a "good" master. It does show that slave families could be respected
and that plantations could operate without daily application of the lash.
6John J. Webster's will and the records of the inventory, assessment, and partition of
his estate are found in the manuscript probate papers. See Estate of John J. Webster,
Harrison County Probate Papers (County Clerk's Office, Courthouse, Marshall).
7Ibid. The slave family headed by Lewis may be located in any of the journal's daily
cotton picking records for 1858 and 1859.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 84, July 1980 - April, 1981, periodical, 1980/1981; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101225/m1/72/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.