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Son of Urban & Susan Casey Lewis
BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM LEWIS b. 1827 - From Will Crump
William Lewis was the eighth child and third son of Urban Lewis (1783 - 13 Aug 1846) and Susan Casey (1 Jan 1787 - bef. 10 Oct 1860). He was named after his grandfather William Lewis (6 Sep 1761 - 6 Oct 1841) who was a Revolutionary War soldier and was living when he was born. His grandfather did not die until 1841 when William would have been 14. His mother was the daughter of Micajah Casey (bef. 1748 - c. 1800) and Sarah (said to be Sarah "Sallie" Herring; 1750 - c. 1820), both of whom were deceased before he was born. The location of his birth at Indian Springs Township, Wayne County, North Carolina is based on his father having real estate at this location which was originally gifted to him by his father William Lewis. The 1810 and 1830 Census reports show his father, Urban Lewis, living in Indian Springs Township (the 1820 Census for Wayne County was lost). He was likely born near Hopewell, which today consists of the crossroads of Indian Springs Road and Emmaus Church Road.
The 1830 Census for his father reports a son under 5 years old which was likely him. On the 1840 Census for his father he is likely the son who was reported as age 10-14.
WILL OF HIS FATHER URBAN LEWIS 13 AUGUST 1841
His father died 13 August 1846 when he was about 19. His father's will was written on 13 August 1841, when he was only 14. The Will simply states that it was written "considering the uncertainty of this mortal life" and the Will granted him all the lands that his father would own at his death - this would include any lands Urban Lewis acquired after the Will was written - including the land where the family homestead was located on Lewis Branch. The will does not specify which side of Lewis branch the homestead was located nor does it state the number of acres.
HOMESTEAD
William was likely still living at the family Homestead in 1860 when the census was taken. The home does not appear to have survived the ages and its location is no longer known. There is a reference to the home in a family history written by Sarah Virginia (Jennie) Jones King (17 Feb 1887 - 9 Jan 1972) - I do not have the year it was written. She was the daughter of Susan Miranda (Potts) Jones (23 May 1852 - 19 May 1920) and the granddaughter of Susan Miranda (Lewis) Potts (15 July 1828 - 29 Dec 1883), one of William Lewis's sisters. The story states:
"Urban, and Susan Casey Lewis, owned quite a strip of land in the Indian Springs District of Wayne County. As a child, I did not travel far from home, so that I never knew where mother [this would be Susan Miranda (Potts) Jones] went when she was visiting among the Lewis', only knew in what direction the land lay."
Upon a visit later in life she stated "The old home is gone, but several of the Lewis family are still on the land, but living in modern homes, which was disappointing to me. I had hoped some of the old houses would still be there."
WILL PROVISIONS
While he received his father's land as an inheritance, his mother had a life estate in the lands he acquired from his father.
"Thirdly I give & devise unto my son William Lewis all my lands of which I am seized & possessed at my death, reserving therein a life estate to my beloved wife Susan in all that part of any lands lying on that side of Lewis' Branch whereon my present dwelling house now stands, in lieu of dower. I also give and bequeath unto my son William a horse of the value of fifty dollars."
"Fourthly I lend unto my beloved wife Susan during her natural life all the rest, residue & remainder of my estate of what nature soever for the better support of herself & such of my unmarried daughter as may remain with her."
His oldest brother John (31 Aug 1811 - 7 Apr 1897), was the executor of the estate, however, he only received 5 shillings from Urban as he had "already given him all I intended". In the 1850 Census for Wayne County, John is living many households away from William at dwelling #326 and has land valued at $1,000. He was married to Abigail Herring (18 Sep 1813 - 11 Jun 1896).
There is no mention in the Will of his other older brother Joel (20 Apr 1818 - 6 March 1895). Joel was 23 and unmarried when the Will was written. In the 1850 Census, Joel was married and had land valued at $800 so perhaps he also received land from his father before the will was written. Joel was living at dwelling #383 on the 1850 Census for Wayne County, next door to his mother Susan (Casey) Lewis. William and his sister Elizabeth (8 Aug 1830 - 16 Jun 1907) were the only children living with Susan at dwelling #382.
William's seven sisters are mentioned by name in his fathers' Will and they received the remainder interest in his estate which he "loaned" to his spouse, Susan. This remainder interest would have consisted of all of the household goods and furnishings. It would also have included all the farm animals and any farming implements. It could also have included any harvested crops at their mother's death. This "loan" no doubt included property which we might today consider to be property that Susan owned and had used on a daily basis - in those times women were rarely treated as owning property separate from their spouses.
"Fifthly, At the death of my wife Susan I give and bequeath unto my seven daughters viz Eliza Martin, Polly Martin, Fanny Denmark, Bethena Lewis, Patience Lewis, Susan Lewis & Elizabeth Lewis, all the remainder of my estate herein before loaned to my wife Susan, to be equally divided between them..."
Wayne County, NC 1850 Census;
William was single and a 23 year old farmer on the 1850 Census living with his 63 year old mother Susan Lewis and his 19 year old sister Elizabeth. His six other sisters must have been married by 1850. His mother can not read or write and she is listed as owning the farm land valued at $400. William can read and write but was not listed as owning any land. They live next door to his brother Joel Lewis who was married to Penelope "Penny" Harris (6 Nov 1823 - aft. 23 Jul 1860). His mother Susan survived at least another ten years as she was listed as a member of his household on the 1860 Census for Wayne County. She does not have any land on the 1860 Census.
MARRIAGE - DOUBLE FIRST COUSINS
On 22 May 1859 William Lewis married his double first cousin Harriet M Casey (1828 - ?). They were married at the home of their mutual uncle William Casey - perhaps indicating that the marriage was not approved by her parents. She was the daughter of John Casey (1780 - Bef 17 May 1859) and Rebecca Lewis (1791 - 1841). Rebecca is said to have been the daughter of Revolutionary War veteran William Lewis. Thus she and this William Lewis shared the same four grandparents.
William Lewis was the son of Urban Lewis and Susan (Casey) Lewis.
Susan Casey was the daughter of Micajah Casey and Sarah "Sallie" Herring whose surname is not proved.
Harriet Casey was the daughter of John Casey and Rebecca Lewis Casey.
Rebecca (Lewis) Casey is said to be the daughter of William Lewis and Sarah Utley.
John Casey was the son of Micajah Casey and Sarah "Sallie" Herring.
Wayne County, NC 1860 Census;
On the 1860 Census William Lewis was listed as a 32 year old married farmer with land of $800 and personal property of $399 (likely a slave). His spouse Harriet is also listed as 32 years old. His mother, her aunt, was listed as being a 70 year old "Domestic". She no longer owns any land, unlike 1850 when she had land valued at $400. They were living at dwelling #921. Some of their neighbors were: Rachel Price (#922), A. T. Grady (#920), Wm Budd (#919), Adam Greenfield (#923), and Ally Ellis (#924). Living close by was the wealthy and prominent James F. Kornegay at dwelling #916. He owned land worth $25,000 and personal property of $40,000 which included 48 slaves.
LAND TRANSACTION AND FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
William Lewis may have been having financial problems as he appears to have mortgaged land on 25 February 1857 - possibly the land his mother had a life estate in that he had inherited from his father - as security for a loan of $210 from his brother John. The mortgage indenture mentions that this land was adjacent to land owned by his brother Joel. In addition to the land, the following farm assets were also subject to the mortgage:
"one black horse, twelve head of hogs, seven head of cattle, two stacks of fodder, ten barrels of corn, four hundred and fifty pounds of bacon, fifty pounds of lard"
It is possible this black horse was the horse William inherited from his father as horses are generally known to live to the age of 25 - 30.
This loan from John was not sufficient to bail out William Lewis as he incurred further debts of between $140 and $150 to Kinchin Cogdell who is listed as a guardian, Benjamin Oliver $42 - $43, and $30 with Abia Herring and Bryan Casey Executors for some unnamed estate. I have not figured out who Abia Herring and Bryan Casey were. Casey is likely to have been a descendant of Micajah Casey the maternal grandfather of William Lewis and the paternal grandfather of his spouse. Micajah Casey was married to Sarah said to be a Herring and William Lewis' uncle Laban Lewis (19 Nov 1785 - Jun 1831) was married to Mourning Herring (26 Jun 1786 - Nov 1836) so this Herring individual may also have been a family relation.
As a result of the additional debts, William Lewis sought to keep the land from the new creditors by transferring title to the land to his brother John for $1. This transaction occurred on 10 April 1858 in anticipation that William would not be able to repay his debt to John by 1 May 1858. The indenture noted that it was the land:
...on which William Lewis' mother now lives and in which she has a life estate (by will), also one black horse, twelve head of hogs, seven head of cattle, two stacks of fodder, ten barrels of corn, four hundred and fifty pounds of bacon, fifty pounds of lard.
John Lewis was authorized to sell this land and the items mentioned above with the proceeds to be used to retire the debt William owed to John plus interest and to pay off these other debts. If there was any "overplus", it was to be distributed to William Lewis. It is not clear how this would have been done with their mother holding the life estate, which would have reduced the price a third party would have been willing to pay to acquire the property as a purchaser would not have been able to take physical possession until after she died.
There appears to be a legal issue that these parties were disregarding. William Lewis only had a residuary interest in land. Under the terms of the Will, any items that were part of the estate other than land were part of a life estate of his mother and when she died, William's sisters would have claimed all assets other than land. His mother's interest was very broad as it was for the: "residue & remainder of my estate of what nature soever". Susan's estate sale in 1860. Urban's estate sale in 1847.
Whether intended or not, this language is so broad that real assets such as the homestead building and any farming related appurtenances on the land were swept into the life estate. These assets were to transfer to Urban and Susan's daughters when she died as they held the residual interest in the remainder estate. This means that William Lewis did not have the legal right to transfer title in the farm animals. Because the Will states that William Lewis was only to receive the land, it is possible that the homestead and any barns or other structures on the land would convey to his sisters upon his mother's death and were not necessarily part of William's inheritance. There is no indication that his sisters went to court to protect their interests. This perhaps reflects the disregard for women's property rights during this era.
By 30 May of 1868, William Lewis filed for bankruptcy based on his own petition. This caused all of his assets to be placed into a bankruptcy estate for sale. This does not mean that William Lewis had died and the proceedings were against his probate estate. To the contrary, William Lewis was still very much alive as the bankruptcy court forbade the payment of any debts that were owed to him from being paid to him and forbade the transfer of any property to him. The court also blocked any attempts by him to transfer property.
SLAVE OWNER
The 1840 Census does not contain a reference to his father, Urban Lewis, owning any slaves and there is no indication he owned any slaves in his Will of 1841. The 1850 Census Slave Schedules indicate that both William Lewis and his brother Joel Lewis each owned a slave. In the case of William, the slave was a 16 year old girl. Neighbor James F. Kornegay was the individual listed as owning 45 slaves (that is what the number in the first column means).
William Lewis's brother John also owned a slave. His slave was a 64 year old male. Two significant slave owners were neighbors of John Lewis. James Caraway was the individual who owned 16 slaves and neighbor William Caraway (at the bottom of the list) owned 45 slaves.
The 1860 Census for Slave Schedules for Wayne County does not contain a clearly identifiable record for William Lewis. The 1860 Census however lists him with personal property of $399 this generally would mean that he owned a slave.
DISAPPEARANCE FROM WAYNE COUNTY
There are no Census records for William Lewis and his spouse Harriet Casey after the notices concerning his bankruptcy. Some researchers have confused him with a William Lewis in Yancey County North Carolina who also had a spouse named Harriet. The full name of the Yancey County William Lewis was William Hiram Lewis and his spouse was Harriet Hensley so this is a different William Lewis.
Many of the descendants of Urban Lewis and Susan Casey are buried in the Lewis Family Cemetery on Hopewell Lane in Wayne County, an unimproved road off Indian Springs Road near Hopewell. There are no markers or records for either William or Harriet in this Cemetery. It is not known if these two double cousins had any children. Their genealogical trail remains an unsolved mystery.
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