BELL, Shadrick (Last Will & Testament)
In the name of God, Amen.
I, Shadrick Bell of Dickson County and State of Tennessee being infirm of body but of sound mind and memory do make and publish this as my last Will and Testament revoking and making void all other wills by me at any time made.
Firstly, I direct that I shall be decently buried and that my funeral expenses and all my debts be paid as soon after my death as possible and of any moneys that I may died possessed of or that first come into the hands of my Executors.
Secondly, as to my worldly goods I dispose of them in the following manner:
Item 1st – I lend to my daughter Mary T. Ross the following negroes (to wit) Nelson, Charity, and Charlotte during her natural life and, in the event she dies childless, it is my will that the three negroes above mentioned, with their increase, revert and be divided equally between my sons Shadrick and Elisha.
Item 2nd – I give and bequeath to my son Thomas Bell that part of a two hundred acre tract of land lying on the East side of Bear Branch which was entered by me. Also three negroes (to wit) Jim, Mary and Ned. Likewise a parcel of land containing by estimation fifty two acres and bounded as follows, to wit, beginning at a Beech the South West corner of the tract where on he, the said Thomas Bell, now lives, running thence west 52 poles to a stake, thence North 142 poles to an Elm on the bank of the Cumberland River, then up said River to the mouth where said branch runs Eastwardly, then leaving said branch and running south to the beginning. Also my saw and grist mill, and it is my will that one acre on the East and one acre on the West side of the creek be reserved for the use of the said mill.
Item 3rdly – I give and bequeath to my son Shadrick Bell Junior the following negroes (to wit) Dency, Wiley and Viney to him and his heirs forever.
Item 4th – I give and bequeath to my son Thomas Bell the remaining part of that tract of land or parcel of land purchased by me of Thomas Williams be the same, more or less. Also three negroes (to wit) Alton, Daniel, and Ben, in trust however for the following purposes which I desire to carry out according to my last wishes, to wit, That my daughter, Nancy Williams, shall enjoy the rents profits and emoluments of said Land and retain possession thereof during her natural life and which life interest not to be liable for the contracts and debts of her husband, Wesley A. Williams. Also that she shall retain the possession of and enjoy the hire labour and all other benefits arising from the possession of said negroes (to wit) Alton, Daniel and Ben, during her natural life and which life interest in not to be liable for the contracts of and debts of her husband Wesley A. Williams, and her sole and separate receipt from time to time for the possession of said land and negroes shall be a sufficient voucher for the said Thomas Bell in the execution of this trust, and it is my further will that after the death of my daughter, Nancy Williams, the said Thomas Bell shall sell the aforesaid land and divide the proceeds equally among her children and also divide the above named negroes and their increase among the children of my said daughter Nancy Williams.
Item 5th – I give and bequeath to my daughter Elizabeth W. Caldwell the following negroes (to wit) Alfred, Wilson, Paralee, Vester and Hannah to her and her heirs forever.
Item 6th – I give and bequeath to my son, Elisha Bell, the following negroes (to wit) Caroline and her four children Rachel, Aggy, Vilet and Dilsy, also Venis, and also two beds and furniture to him and his heirs forever.
Item 7th – I give and bequeath to my son Elisha Bell all the residue from my land after deducting the land bequeathed in trust for my daughter Nancy Williams as before mentioned and the lands bequeathed heretofore to Thomas Bell in this Testament. I bequeathed all the residue to my son Elisha because he has paid eight hundred dollars to my son Shadrick for one portion of it. I make this as an explanation of this item.
Item 8th – I give and bequeath to my grandson Joseph A. Dickson one negro girl, named Kitty or Catherine, to him and his heirs forever.
Lastly I do hereby nominate and appoint my two sons, Thomas and Shadrick Bell, as my true and lawful Executors to this my last Will and Testament. In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 9th day of June in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Forty Six.
Signed and sealed in the presence of us
J. Fenly
J.P. Bell
W.B. Smith
Shadrick Bell (his X seal)
November 2, 1846
State of Tennessee, Dickson County Court, November term of 1846. Then was the last Will and Testament of Shadrick Bell, deceased, produced in open Court and proven to be such by the oath of James Finly, one of the subscribing witnesses and John P. Bell, being dead, his handwriting was also proven by the oath of James Finley whereupon the Court ordered the same to be recorded November 2, 1846.
(Will Source: Dickson County Will Book A)
NOTES:
Shadrick is frequently seen spelled as Shadrach.
Shadrick Bell was born about 1770 in Halifax county, North Carolina. He was about 5 years old when his father, Arthur Bell, died. By the time he reached his early twenties, all of his brothers had died and Shadrick had inherited most of his father’s property, over 1000 acres in Halifax County, North Carolina.
He is listed in the 1790 census of Halifax as owning 12 slaves.
He was still living in Halifax County in 1800, but by 1812 he was living in Davidson County, where he was a member of Captain Campbell’s militia company.
He bought property in Dickson County on September 3, 1813 but the deed wasn’t registered until November 24, 1814. This time roughly coincides with the Creek Indian war.
Shadrick is listed in the 1820 census of Dickson County.
He sold slaves to his son, Thomas, in 1825, and that he bought 200 acres from the State of Tennessee in 1826.
In 1835, he bought 274 acres of Cumberland River bottom-land, including the mouth of Johnson Creek.
It is believed he was married twice, to Charlotte “Unknown” and to Sarah Moore.
Children of Shadrick Bell:
- Mary T. Bell, born about 1794; married George Ross
- Shadrick Bell, Jnr.
- Thomas Bell, born 1804; married Mary J. Bowen in 1833
- Nancy, born 1811 – died November 15, 1848; married (1) Joseph A. Dickson (2) Rev. Wesley A. Williams
- Elizabeth W. Bell, born about 1815; married Thomas M. Caldwell in 1838
- Elisha Bell, born July 8, 1821 – died April 1895, Dickson county; married (1) Sarah Elizabeth Collier (2) Jane Collier (3) Martha Jane Freeman.
(Sources:
- “Bellsburg, Dickson County, Tennessee” by Vaughn and Mary Elizabeth Fults, 1976. Private publication.
- Notes of family researcher/descendant Jeanne Mills
- Bell-Batson Family Cemetery, Dickson County, tombstone inscriptions
- Dickson County Cemetery Records, Volume I
- History of Waverly Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Waverly, Tennessee,
Tennessee Synod