My Trails into the Past

My fourth great-grandfather, Thomas Haley, died 26 January 1851 in Rankin County, Mississippi. At the time of his death, his son Thomas J. Haley stated his father died without a will, and that he had over two thousand acres of land and twelve slaves. [1] This post will discuss the distribution of the slaves, especially to Benjamin W. Jones and his wife, Amanda (Haley) Jones, my third great-grandfather. By publishing this information, descendants of these enslaved people might be able to make a connection and further their own research. These enslaved people were part of the Haley and Jones family and community, too. Distribution Those twelve slaves who were part of the estate were “a negro man Sam [,] a negro girl Sarah [,] a negro girl Charlotte [,] a negro boy Josephus [,] a negro girl Ally [,] a boy Sam [,] a boy Isaac [,] a boy Jordan [,] and one boy Moses and a girl Phillis and her child and a girl Celia .” [2] In the December term 1851, Thomas J. Haley report...