The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1873-03-28
A REMARKABLE WILL CASE
A LEGAL FIGHT OYER Il DEAD
WOMANS PROPERTY.

| A LEGAL FIGHT OYER II DEAL
WOMANS PROPERTY.
! The Relatives of Denmark Vesey In
| Court Auditor Bennett ns q Will
Maker.
A curious and complicated will case was de-
clded yesterday in the Court of Common
Pleas, to which court 1t had been taken by an
appeal from the decision OF Probate judge
Bulst. The decedent was an old colored
woman by the name of Hannah Vesey, relict oi
one Denmark Vesey, son of the notorious
Denmark Vesey, who was the leading spirit In
the famous negro insurrectlon of 1922, and who,
With twenty or thirty OF his followers, paid
the penalty of his rash attempt upon the gal.
lows during the administration of Governor
Bennett. She was always free, and be.
fore the war was we'll known to most ol
the residents of Charleston as thrifty, well.
to-do market woman, occupying stall In
the city market, where she drove a fourishing
trade In butter, cheese, eggs and poultry, In
the course of which she amassed very re.
spectacle competence, her property being es-
timated to be WORTH at the beginning of the
war, some twenty thousand dollare. She
never had any children, and she appears to
have long ago bestowed her affections upon
the four children of sister Of hers, named
Bnah Gsdsden, who was then slave belong
Ing 10 Mrs. Ann 8. Smith. In 1887 she pur-
chased this sister and her four children, who
are now grown up and named respectively
Ann Matthews, Rosanna Holmes, Betsy Price
and Titus Gadsden, and brought up The chill
dren, giving them some degree of edu-
cation, although still keeping them In
nominal servltude because Sit was impossi-
BILE for her, under the then existing laws, to
make them free by deed OF emancipation.
She always manifested considerable degree
OF affection for these nleces, and she appears
10 have endeavored, som. tims before the
war, 10 provide for their comfort and support
after her death. 1t was, of course, at that
time impossible for her to bequeath her prop
erty to them either directly or through trus-
tees, for being slaves, they were not compe.
tent 10 hold any property, and will was
drawn ont at her request by Colonel VIM.
Whaley, in which che left all all her real and
personal estate, including the nieces, her
slaves, to Messre. John Y. Stock, William G.
Bee, and The late DR.. Edward North, three
prominent and wealthy gentlemen OF this citv,
and In whom she he'd every reason to place the
utmost confidence. 1t Is hardly to be supposed,
however, that this btqnest from the humble
market woman to these three wealthy gentle
men was intended for their own enrichment,
and the more natural theory ls that Mrs.
vesey meant thereby to place her nieces In
kind hands md thus to provide for their COM
fort and support after her death. Another
will of similar nature was drawn for her by
the same gentleman, Colonel Whaley, during
the early years of the war, somewhere about
the lime OF the battle Of SecesslonVllle, Tor the
oll woman appeared TO have had pen
chant for will-making, but as neither
of these wills have been produced, the
supposltion Ia that she destroyed them
alter the war, when the emancipation OF the
slaves and the consequent changes in the laws
left her more free 10 follow her own inclina.
tlons ond affections In The posthumous dis
posal of her properly. She then appears to
have taken again 10 will making, this time
entrusting her Instructions to the new crop OF
legal luminarles Of her own color who sprang
up after the war, and have flourished apace
ever since upon the proceed, of just such
cases as this. In 1855 she called in General
". ]. Whipper, to whom she gave Instructions
for will, which he prepared and read over to
her, she being unable TO read or write, and
which she signed by her mark and preserved.
This will gave the principal portion OF
the property TO her husband, Denmark
Yesey (sn:e dead) and her nephew and
nleces, whom she had bought and brought up,
and left the remainder to Whipper. This will,
however, was never produced, and The sup
position Is that the old woman, probably after
getting some better educated neighbor to read
IL over TO her. destroyed this will, as she had
her Lwo former ones.
At this time Mrs. Vesey was the matron oil
the Old Folks Home, worthy Institution
where feeble or aged co!ored people ore cared
for at the expense Of the city, and she was
thus brought into official relations With Sam
uel L. Bennett, colored man, who was then
connected with the Freedmens Bureau, and
who ls now we'll known as the present county
auditor OF Charleston County. She be-
came vel! acquainted with him, and he
soon became her general adviser,
factotnm and man of business. Ia March, 1870,
Mr.. Bennett, who was then trial Justice, hav-
log his office In Military Hall, Wentworth
street, called in to bis office three neighbors,
Messra. VIM. Robb, Thomas Mccarthy and R.
NJ. Alexander, asking them to step in for
moment to witness signature. There they
found Mra. Vesey seated With o paper lying on
the table before her, which che said, In an
swer to O question from Bennett, was her
will, and which she signed by cross mark,
after which the three gentlemen affixed their
signatures as Witnesses, not doubling but that
everything was correct and In due form.
Ou January lat, 1872, the old woman died,
and was buried and duLifuy mourned by her
loving relalivee end expectant heirs, and az
sooa ,p,. cJlble time had elapsed they
dried their tears and proceeded In a body 10
InRA