Note: WorldConnect family trees will be removed from RootsWeb on April 15, 2023 and will be migrated to Ancestry later in 2023. (More info)

Individual Page


Family
Marriage: Children:
  1. Susanna Johnston Jacobs: Birth: 07 SEP 1847 in Person Co, North Carolina, USA. Death: 10 JAN 1878 in Person Co, North Carolina, USA

  2. Elizabeth Jacobs: Birth: 25 APR 1849 in Person Co, North Carolina, USA. Death: 11 DEC 1850 in Person Co, North Carolina, USA

  3. Eunice Bradsher Jacobs: Birth: 13 FEB 1854 in Person Co, North Carolina, USA. Death: 18 JUN 1949 in Olive Hill, Person Co, NC


Family
Marriage:
Notes
a. Note:   The following article was written for "Heritage of Person County - Vol 2" by Mary Linda Winstead Janke:
  In the early fall of 1858, Martha Bradsher Jacobs must have felt that very little was going right. Her husband, Benjamin, had left her with two young daughters to raise and support. On July 1, 1858 her father had died, and although he left her slaves, land, and money with which to build a house, she must have missed his love and moral support. Martha's part of her father's estate was handled by her sister Susan's husband, Nathan Oakely. Though Martha did not have a husband or father to turn to, she at least was not financially destitute. She built her house and in the latter part of 1858 or the early part of 1859, she, 11 year old Susan, and 4 year old Nicie, moved in.
  Martha was busy in the early part of 1859 and probably did not have time to feel sorry for herself. In the spring she was busy planting her garden or directing her slaves to do so. She was thrifty and made at least some of the clothes that she and her girls wore, cutting out the cloth with a pair of heavy steel dress shears.
  On May 31, 1859 Elizabeth Bradsher, Martha's mother died and was buried beside Abner in the family cemetery. She was 74 years old.
  In 1859, Martha bought back the 119.6 acres that her husband Benjamin had sold to her brother, William, in 1858. In October of the same year Martha's share of land from her father's estate was surveyed. A plot was drawn up by A.R. Moore, County Surveyor. She received two lots of land. Lot no. 1 contained 90 acres and Lot no. 2 contained 26 acres. This land was held in trust for her by Nathan Oakely.
  On October 25, 1859, an estate sale was held of the property of Mrs. Elizabeth Bradsher dec'd. Martha and at least 49 other people attended this sale. Some of the things she bought were; 40 barrels of corn, $174.40, 25 bushels of wheat, $25.30, a buggie, $60, oat and fodder stacks, $36.35, a bedstead, $7.50, plows, hoes, and other farming tools, 2 augers and saw, $.55, 5 choice hogs, $60, 1 bay horse, $47, 1 clock, $6.10, 1 cupboard, $5.80, 2 tables, $4.40, 1 press, $3., 1 chest $.50, 6 chairs, $3.90, 2 sides bacon, $9.56, 1 lot honey $.50, and many assorted items of kitchenware.
  With her own practicality and the help of Nathan Oakely to handle her finances, Martha managed.
  Sometime during the late spring of 1860, a letter arrived at the Yanceyville Post Office. It was addressed to the postmaster and contained news of Benjamin Jacobs' death. The letter was written by H.L. Holleman of Fort Smith, Ark. Mr. Holleman was the official who had taken out letters of administration on the estate of Benjamin Jacobs and had inventoried what little property Ben had at the time of his death. Mr. Holleman had addressed the letter to the Yanceyville postmaster because he found the envelope of a letter with that postmark in Ben's things. He hoped that the postmaster would be able to pass on the news of Benjamin's death to some of his relatives. Alexander McAlpin, who was postmaster at Yanceyville at that time, passed the letter on to Martha. If Martha had entertained any hope that Ben might return, she must have been doubly grieved by this news. The letter stated that Ben Jacobs had died sometime in Dec. 1859. The letter itself was dated Mar. 9, 1860.
  (EDITOR'S INSERT) The following is from the March 10, 1859 edition of the Milton Chronicle:
  "State of North Carolina, Person County. In Equity, Nov. Term, 1859, Martha Jacobs, vs Benj. Jacobs,
 Petition for Divorce. THIS case coming on to be heard, and it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that, the defendant, Ben. Jacobs, is not an inhabitant of this State, it is ordered that publication be made in the Milton Chronicle for six weeks for him to appear at the next term of this Court to held in Roxborough on the 7th Monday after the 4th Monday in March, 1869, then and there to attend the proceedings in said petition or judgement will be taken pro confesso, as to him. Witness, John A. Barnett, Clerk and Master of our said Court, at Office in Roxborough, the 27th Dec 1858."
  On the 23rd day of July, 1860, Elijah Jacobs made a will. He left his son Benjamin's share of his estate to Benjamin's daughters, Susan and Nicie. The girls inherited jointly, one fifth of the slaves owned by their grandfather, one fourth of the proceeds from the sale of his land, and one fifth of the proceeds from the sale of the personal property of Elijah Jacobs. Their share of the estate was to be held in trust for them by Bluford Cooper, their Aunt Elizabeth's husband and Elijah Jacob's executor. Cooper was to hold their share until they married or reached the age of 21. If either of them died before marrying or reaching the age of 21, then the other would receive her share. If they both died before the specified time then their share of the property was to be equally divided among Bluford Cooper, Lewelin Jacobs, and the two sons of Learcus Jacobs, John E. and William S. Jacobs.
  On Sept. 15, 1860 after eating dinner with his family, Elijah Jacobs stopped beside the high chair where Nicie was sitting. He gave her a lump of sugar and watched as she let the treat melt in her mouth. He asked, "Is it good?" These were the last words Elijah Jacobs ever spoke. With them he fell dead, right before 6 year old Nicie's chair. This incident left a vivid, lifelong impression on her.
  The sale of Elijah's personal property was held on the first and second days of Nov., 1860. Lewelin Jacobs returned to North Carolina sometime in 1860 as his name appears on his father's estate sale list. He bought 5 gals. brandy, $7.75, 1 gun, $18, 1 gold watch $80, and 2 pad locks. Lewelin did not stay in Person County, but returned to his home in Arkansas. Martha Jacobs and 91 other people also bought items from this sale. Martha, being the practical, thrifty woman that she was, bought 7 shotes, a pitcher and its contents, a candle stand and cover, 2 chairs, and a chest. All of her purchases came to $13.10.
  In 1861 the war between the states began. Martha must have been thankful that her children were girls. However, she still saw her cousins, friends, neighbors, and her nephew march off to fight for their familiar, if not flawless, way of life. Eighteen?year?old Henderson Oakely enlisted in Caswell County on May 1, 1861. He died at Smithfield, Va., a little over a year later, a victim of disease. His body was returned home and he was buried in the Bradsher Family Cemetery. His gravestone reads, "Though lost to sight - to memory dear" The war years brought disease, shortages food stuffs, especially salt, and goods of kinds to Person County. The Postal Service was interrupted and it was hard to get news from one part of the South to the other. The summer droughts of those years caused many of the County's residents to fail financially. The court minutes for those years are filled with their names. Martha persevered. She did not come out of the war unscathed, but she fared far better than many. On Dec. 22, 1863, Martha's 16-year-old daughter, Susan Johnston Jacobs, married Monroe Snipes. Susan and Monre had five children.
  After Susan's marriage, Marina and Nicie were alone. Martha taught Nicie to embroider and she completed a neat if unimaginable sampler in Oct. 1864. She used her mother's first sampler as a guide and stitched the whole piece in one color, sage green She never learned to like embroidery or quilting and even her servants later commented that she was not the housekeeper that her mother was. Nicie much preferred being outdoors to doing things inside. She loved to fish and in later years would walk from her home to clean off the Bradsher Cemetery and fish in the creek all the way home. Once she fell in and her flannel drawers turned her skirts red. Her son, Tommy, was so aggravated that he wouldn't walk with her the rest of the way home.
  During the fall session of 1867, Nicie attended school in Leasburg. Her teacher was Lillie Lea. Miss Lea sent a note to Ma dated, Nov. 26, 1867. In this note she said that Eunice studied natural philosophy, geography, grammar, reading, spelling, writing and arithmetic. Miss Lea describes her progress as very gratifying, but goes on to say she has missed a good deal by absence, and has so far to walk.
  Martha began to be courted by a widow Thomas T. Davenport. He had married Martha Walker on Apr. 24, 1851. They had no children. After the death of his wife he probably saw Martha quite a bit. They owned adjoining property and their names frequently appear on the lists of buyers at estate sales. While at one sale, Martha started to bid on an item and hesitated. Her financial position was known throughout the community and one the men in the crowd yelled, "Go ahead Martha! You ain't hurt!" She turned to him and said under her breath, "Tend to your own business!" She bid though, and she bought the item she wanted.
  On April 12, 1869, Martha Jacobs and Thomas Davenport were married at the Person County Courthouse by Justice of f the Peace J .W. Brooks. Martha was 45 years old at time. Things did not go quite as smoothly in the marriage as either Martha or Thomas had hoped. Perhaps they had both been independent too long. At any rate he was a favorite with Nicie, and she called him Dad. He was probably a Godsend for a little girl who had been most of her life without a father. On Sundays he took her all the way to Ruffin School where she boarded and he made the long buggy trip back on Fridays so that she could be home for the weekends. Martha and Thomas were married 6 years. On the 16th of May, 1875, he made his will and on May 31 of that year it was probated.
  On Jan. 24, 1871, Eunice Bradsher Jacobs was married to James Fletcher Winstead. They would have seven children, making Martha's grandchildren total one dozen.
  Martha did not make a will. She gave her worldly goods to those she wished to have them, before her death. When her health began to fail, she went to live with Nicie. Shortly before her death she lay with her eyes closed, in an apparent unconscious state. Mr. Obe Fulcher stepped in to look at her. One of the family stood with him and said, "She's dying." She opened her eyes and said, "No I'm not!" She was tough, and on June 26, 1887, Martha Banks Bradsher Jacobs Davenport died, aged 63 years, 1 month and 16 days. The inscription on her stone reads, "Asleep in Jesus from which none ever wake to weep."
  The following article on Martha Bradsher's Sampler was written for "Heritage of Person County - Vol 2" by
 Mary Linda Winstead Janke:
  I was in the second grade when I went to live with my grandparents, Harvey and Mary Winstead. I was allowed to ramble and plunder to my heart's content in this big old house where Granddaddy had been born.
 One of my favorite things to explore was an old piece of furniture called the press. The press was very tall. At the top behind its glass doors were odd pieces of old family glassware, old blue back spellers, ancient grammars, geographies, and family Bibles. Locked in the right hand drawer, just beneath its glass doors were the vanilla wafers.
  There they were protected from little girls who might eat them before they could be put in the bottom of one of Grandma's banana puddings. On the bottom of the press were two wooden doors and inside, between the pages of an old book were two pieces of history I could hold in my hand. Grandma said they were called samplers. They were small, both about 5" x 10" and were not and never had been framed. Both had been stitched on handwoven linen with cotton thread.
  The oldest was done by my great-great grandmother, Martha Bradsher (Jacobs). It was worked in soft red, dusty blue, and tan. The alphabets and borders are very simple. The only picture is the outline of a small house on the bottom line. Martha worked her name beside it in uneven lower case letters. She did not date it. The other sampler was done by Martha's daughter, Eunice Jacobs (Winstead). Great-Grandma Eunice worked her simple alphabets and borders in one shade of gray?green. On the bottom line she stitched, Eunice B. Jacobs. Oct. 1864. I was fascinated.
  Martha must have continued to practice with her needle. Hanging on the wall beside my bed was another sampler. This sampler, done on a finer linen with silk threads was 16" x 17". It had an outer strawberry border and an inner sawtooth border. Inside the inner border was a verse which read: "0 blind to each indulgent aim / Of power supremely wise /Who fancy happiness in aught /The hand of heaven denies." At the end of each line was a black chain border worked in petit cross-stitches. Under the verse was a bigger chain border. In the middle worked in petit cross-stitches was a band of leaves and flowers. Under this were two apple trees behind a fence, with two butterflies above, beside these was a three-story brick house. Sitting on the roof were two birds as tall as its chimneys. To the right of the house was a willow tree with two butterflies flitting above and two baskets of flowers and two rabbits beneath. Under the picture, stitched neatly is: Martha Bradsher/Person/ Oct. 26, 1837.
 For the two years I lived with my grandparents I enjoyed its faded, soothing, earth tones. It was the first thing I saw when I woke up and the last thing I saw before the light was turned off at night. I wished that I knew how to make one just like it. I never lost that desire and when I would go back to visit Grandma and Granddaddy I would always take a few minutes to visit Martha's sampler.
 After I was married I learned to do thread count embroidery and decided to try to copy Martha's sampler. The only linen I could get was a finer count than what she had used, I couldn't figure out how to do the petit cross stitches without having them slide under the threads of linen, and I thought I'd go blind before I got the hang of it. I persisted. I guessed at what the colors must have been before they faded to pale greens and browns. Those areas where Martha had done petit stitches, I filled in with regular stitches. It took me six months to finish my copy and although all my relatives, especially Grandma praised it highly, I was less than satisfied with it. I had my copy framed.
  For the next six years I studied old samplers, collected patterns of old samplers, looked at them in museums and antique shows, and learned all I could about the techniques and materials used in making them. Finally I decided it was time to try again. I took my two little boys and visited Grandma for a week. After we got the boys to bed we took Martha's sampler out of the frame. For the first time I got to hold it in my hands while I looked at the back of it. We were both surprised at what we found. A sampler that we thought was done in browns, tans, and a pale pink, green or blue now and then turned out to have twenty two rich shades of peach, aqua blue, brick red, Loden green, orange, yellow, the expected browns, and one shade of chartreuse that was so vile that I subdued it a tone in my copy.
  Four months later I had a stitch for stitch copy of Martha's sampler, right down to her name. I put my initials and the year along the side of the work, where it is hidden by the frame. Grandma proclaimed it perfect and even went so far as to say she liked it better than the original. I was well satisfied this time and won a red ribbon with it in the N.C. State Fair in 1979.
 Last year when Grandma divided up some of the old things I was disappointed that Martha's sampler didn't go to my family. Maybe I inherited some of Martha's determination and love of needlework instead.



RootsWeb.com is NOT responsible for the content of the GEDCOMs uploaded through the WorldConnect Program. The creator of each GEDCOM is solely responsible for its content.