The leader., 1901-10-23
IN ANTE-BELLUM DAYS.
An Interesting Bit of History
About stephen a. Douglass.
Some Facts Revealed by Old
Lawrence County Records.

prominence of the parties named
therein, and of the further fact that
these parties we're so largely identi-
fed with the planting interests of our
county before the civil war, furnishes
bit of history that the writer
thinks may prove of interest to the
readers of your excellent journal.
The papers are styled Estate of
Robert Martin" Mr.. Martin was a
wealthy citizen of North Carolina,
largely interested in banking, owner of
plantations and slaves in that State,
and was also the owner of two large
plantations in Lawrence county, one
of the ast-named on the west bank
of Pearl river, six miles south of
Monticello, and on these two planta-
tions were more than one hundred
slaves.
Mr.. Martin was also the father in
law of Hon. Stephen y. Douglass,
one of the most distinguished men
of the Nation, United States Senator
from Illinois in the early fifties and
the nominee of one wing of the Dem
ocratic party for President in 1860,
when Abraham Lincoln was elected.
Mr.. Martin made annual visits to
Lawrence county from his North
Carolina home to market his large
crops of cotton and other produce,
which the estate papers show to
have reached as high as fourteen
thousand dollars for one year. His
last visit to Lawrence county was in
1913, evidenced by the date of a
codicil to a will made in February
c. Buckley, L. F. Mobley and John
ID. Bowen, filed and recorded by j.
n. Cowart, Clerk of the Probate
Court. On the DIST day of May,
lS4S, in North Carolina, another
codicil was added, and a postscript
reads, land that he died on the 18th
day of May, 1S4S."
To his daughter and only child
Mrs. Stephen A. Douglass, he gave
liberal share of his North Carolina
estate. all his slaves and land in
Lawrence county, together with thir-
ty negroes at that time on the road
to his Pearl river plantations in care
of VIM. King. Mr.. Douglass was
made one of the executors of the
will and was to manage the Missis-
sippi property and planting interest
as long as Mrs. Douglass desired
| him to manage the same, and no
longer, and, as compensation, was
to receive 20 per cent. of the pro
ceeds of the annual crops. In 1854,
Mr.. Douglass appears in the record
as administrator of the estate of his
deceased wife and as guardian of his
two minor children, Robert NJ. and
Stephen A. Douglass, Jr. As ad
ministrator and guardian he charged
himself on final account as follows:
Amount inventory December %,
1854, Sl02, l24.
1854 to 1857, S32,044.
Negroes living, l24.
Died since inventory, >.
Born since inventory, y.
Stock on hand $50 cattle, 300 hogs,
70 sheep, 2 horses, IL mules, 10
yoke oxen.
At the December term of Probate
Court, 1857, Mr.. Douglass filed a
petition asking for the removal of
the slave property to Washington
county, Miss, to engage in the
plantation business, alleging as a rea-
son that it would be to the interest
of his wards. The petition was
granted and the slaves carried to
Washington county. A sale of the
stock, farming implements and many
other things was made on the DIST
of January, 1858, as is shown by an
advertisement in the Southern Jour
nal. headed:
''Immense sale of personal property
| January p, 1888, on the planta-
ton known as the Douglass place.
Signed Stephen \. Douglass. guard
ian"
Mr.. Douglass attended the court
at least one term, the record shows,
and the writer has heard related, 10y
old men, incidents of his visits here
One was, Mr.. Douglass was in Monti-
cello, on one occasion to meet a man
whom he expected to employ as over
seer. Early in the day "a large crowd
of the negroes from the plantation
came to town to enter protest against
the employment of that particular
man. Another incident was related to
the writer by an old man who said,
Judge Douglass came one day to my
shop, which was near his plantation,
and spent the whole day with me and
talked while | worked" These old
men here always called him Judge
Douglass.
One feature of Mr. Martins will
is unique, as it is doubtful if another
will, with d like provision could be
touni Ill any court house III Miss:s-
sippi He II ode i'll his will this
parting request Of Lis daughter. Mrs.
Douglass. that IN case size did with
out children, that she make pro
vision before she died to send ali the
Mississippi slaves to Liberia, or to
some other colony in Africa, as his
collateral relatives had already
more of this kind Of property than
Was of advantage to them, that her
husband did not desire any property
of this KIM, but in case she had
children the slaves were to belong to
her and to them, as each head of a
family had expressed to him desire
hAst.
slaves, rather then be sent to Africa.
In the event they were sent to that
country he directed that the proceeds
of the last crop they made be APP
piled to their transportation, which
he deemed would be sufficient and
leave large surplus to enable them
to begin planting in that country.
These plantations and slaves were
once referred to in speech in the
United States Senate, and the late
Capt. S. Gwin could easily turn to