We believe this to be the "Mr. Cureton" in the album's index. Written beside picture : "This is my grandfather's uncle." Go to the old Photo Album

We believe this to be the "Lottie Cureton" in the album's index. Go to the old Photo Album

We believe this to be the "Mintie Cureton" in the album's index. Go to the old Photo Album

The above is written beside the photo of a Mr. Cureton in Martha Gwin Holley's old photo album (click link above). If we assume it to be written by the album's owner, Martha Gwin Holley, who had two grandfathers, John Gwin and Nathaniel Burdine Wilson, then since Nathaniel Wilson and William Cureton both came from SC, I would assume Nathaniel to be the referenced grandfather. Further, one of the witnesses to the will below is a John B. Wilson.

If all the above is true, then Mr. Cureton is the uncle of Nathaniel. And this would mean that:

(1) Nathaniel's mother's maiden name was Cureton and that Mr. Cureton is her (much!) younger brother, or that
(2) Nathaniel's mother and Charlotte are sisters with some unknown maiden name (perhaps Massey).

Res/Fam

Name

Age

Sex

Race

Occupation

POB

John M. Gwin's Comments

249/249

William Cureton

55

m

w

Farmer

GA

This is William Baugh Cureton, alleged by some unknown writer to be "my grandfather's uncle".  I base this identification on the facts that (1) his initials in the 1880 census are W. B., and (2) Mr. David Booth's post on Genforum.com (copied immediately below).

Charlotte Cureton

52

f

w

Keeping House

AL

This is Charlotte May, according to Mr. David Booth's abovementioned post. Whether May is her middle name or maiden name is not clear to me at this time.

Araminta Cureton

14

f

w

AL

Her first name says it all: this is indeed our "Mintie" Cureton.

Henrietta Cureton

31

f

w

Domestic Servant

AL

Since Henrietta has the last name Cureton also, she must be a relative. My guess is that she is the younger sister or niece of William.

Re: William J. Cureton B.abt 1810-1820
Posted by: David Booth (ID *****1630)
Date: April 25, 2006 at 16:13:55
In Reply to: Re: William J. Cureton b. abt 1810-1820 by John Gwin
Post #598 of 598

No, William and Charlotte Massey lived and died in SC.  I think the William you are asking about is William Baugh Cureton, b. 11 May 1815 in GA; d. 20 Sep 1865 in Selma AL; m. Charlotte May b. 31 Jan 1815 in AL; d. 15 Sep1886.
David

John,
I have a copy of the handwritten will of William J. Cureton. It is very long and was "very" hard to transcribe and I may have made some mistakes. I am in no way related to this person. I hope that this helps you or someone else.
Mary
********************************************************************
In the name of God Amen. I, William J. Cureton of Lancaster District in the State of South Carolina, being of sound mind & memory, and conscious that there is a propriety in my making a final disposition of my estate, do make, ordain, publish, and declare, this to be my Last Will & testament.

First. I declare all my just & lawful debts to be paid & discharged, as soon as my Executors shall have collected a sufficient amount of my Estate to pay the same.

Second. It is my will & request that my body, after my decease be intered in a decent Christian manner, and my grave designated by a suitable & appropriate tombstone.

Third. It is further my will & request that my Executors furnish decent & suitable Headstones for the graves of my three deceased children.

Fourth. I will, order, and direct, that my Executors, as soon as they deem it fit & proper, Expose to sale all my Gold on hands, and all my cotton, and apply the proceeds thereof to the payment of my bank-debts.

Fifth. To my beloved wife Charlotte Rebecca, I give & bequeath my faithful servants Hark & Crece, my negro girl Aggy, my carriage & carriage-horses, absolutely.

Sixth. It is my will & desire that all my negroes, mules, horses, stock, & other personalty that may be remaining on my Home & Stewart Plantations, at the time of my death except what has been given to my wife in the fifth clause of this my Will, be kept and held together on one or both of my said Plantations, as my Executors in their sound discretion may determine, and be kept employed for the support and maintenance of my wife & children, Benjamin James, Charlotte Amelia, Mary Jane, Sarah Ann, Antoinette Adel, Willie John, and Carolina Virginia, and also for the education of my said children, until the eldest of them attains twenty one years. And when my eldest shall have attained twenty one, then I desire & so will that my Executors shall appoint and call in three disinterested men of the District to appraise and value said negroes, mules, horses, stock & other personalty, and lay off and apportion the same into seven shares, seven being the number of the children, and then the party who has reached maturity, can draw lots out of the seven, for his share, which will be one seventh thereof. The balance which is six sevenths, I desire to remain in common for my wife and the six children until my next oldest reaches twenty one years; and when she arrives at twenty one I desire & direct that her share be allotted & apportioned off to her in the same manner as the first, her share to be the one sixth part of the six sevenths, and so on in this manner and in this ratio, I will & direct that each of my said children shall receive his or her share, as they severally arrive at years of maturity. The shares of minors always to remain in common until they respectively attain majority, for the benefit of my wife & said minor children. It is my will & desire that my negro man George (The Shoe Maker) be kept at his trade, for the common use and benefit of the family, and I direct that my Executors so manage in the different apportionments to my children as they reach maturity, as that this boy George will be included in the share of my youngest child, and be kept on the home plantation until my youngest reaches majority. The Tan-yard on the home place, I desire to be kept up as heretofore and be considered in the valuation of the said personalty, whenever a child arrives at maturity and applies for his or her share under this clause of my will. My object is to do simple justice to each of my children, as near as I know how.

Seventh. Should any of my aforementioned children die before reaching twenty one years of age, or die leaving no bodily issue, then in either of these events, the share of such deceased child I desire to be equeally divided between my surviving children, and the child or children of any of my deceased children, the child or children of a deceased child of mine to take the share that their parent would be entitled to if alive. I will and direct that the provisions of this clause of my will shall apply, as well to legacies to be mentioned in subsequent clauses of this my will, as to legacies mentioned in foregoing clauses.

Eighth. The Home Tract of Land whereon my Residence in the State of South Carolina is situate, & all my lands adjoining the same both in the States of North & South Carolina together with the Tract known as the Steele Lands, situate in South Carolina & containing about one hundred & sixty acres, and also one hundred acres of wood-land to be cut off from the Baker & Ivey Lands - said one hundred acres to be selected from that part lying nearest to Lands of Samuel P. Walkup all their Lands I desire and so will to constitute a Home, for my children until they severally attain twenty one years, as above indicated in the sixth clause of this my Will, and also as a Home for my beloved wife during her natural life, the negroes and other personalty to be enployed on said lands, as indicated in a previous clause. And this Home Tract & all the Lands embraced in this clause of my will, at the death of my beloved wife, I will and devise to my little son Willie John Cureton, to have & to hold the same to himself, his heirs, and assigns for ever.

Ninth. In regard to my Stewart Lands I leave a good deal to the sound judgment & discretion of my Executors. If my Executors ascertain that it will not be necessary to sell said Lands, and if they should determine that the planting interests thereon can be carried on profitably for my children & wife then I order that the same may be carried on in like manner with the Home place, and that the proceeds be disposed of in like manner with the Home place-- or should any of my children desire this place, and agree to take it as so much of their share in lieu of negro property, or agree to purchase it at a fair valuation - in this event Let said Lands be valued by disinterested parties, and let my Executors convey the same at a fair valuation. But should my Executors in the winding up of my Estate ascertain that it would be better for all parties that said Lands be exposed to sale, in this event I order & direct my Executors after a sufficient advertisement to expose to public sale the same, and pay over of the proceeds thereof the one eighth part to each of my said children, and the remaining one eighth to my beloved wife, unless said proceeds should be needed in the payment & liquidation of my debts.

Tenth. Should my Executors after a full consultation determine that there are, at my death, more stock or other personalty, on said Home & Stewart plantations, in this event, I order & direct that that they expose to sale such surplus, & apply the proceeds to my debts, but I desire nothing of the kind sold that may be considered useful in keeping up said Planting interests.

Eleventh. To my Son Benjamin James I will devise & bequeath the one fourth part of the Howie or Stockton Gold Mine Tract lying in North Carolina, together with the one fourth part of all the machinery appertaining to the same, to have & to hold said one forth part to himself his heirs & assigns for ever; And the remaining three fourths of the Tract, Mine & machinery, I will and devise to my wife and seven children, share and share alike, my wife & son Benjamin each to take a share equal to that of each of the other children, to have & to hold the same to themselves their heirs & assigns for evr. It is my will and desire that my son Benjamin take the care, management, & controll of said Mining interest, and I will & devise to him the said one fourth interest more than to any one of the other children, in order to compensate him for trouble & care that he may have on his mind, and also to induce him to take a deep interest in the mining interests there- The above devises stand good in case my Executors do not sell said mine & Tract. If however my Executors can get a fair price for said mine & Tract, and are fully satisfied that it will be more advantageous to the parties interested to sell the same then in this event I order & empower my said Executors to sell the same and pay over the proceeds of sale to the Parties interested, or proportions expressed above in this clause. I desire further that my Tract of Land Known as the McElroy tract lying adjacent to my Stinson & Wolf tracts in North Carolina be held and kept with said Howie Gold Mine Tract, that it may supply said mine with wood &c.

Twelfth. It is furthermore my will & desire that my negroes, horses, mules, stock & other personalty, which at my death, may be on my said Howie Gold Mine Tract be kept on said Tract of Land for the support of the mine, and be considered a part of said mining interest, so long as the same may be conducted by my wife & children. And if my Executors should determine to sell said Tract of Land & Gold Mine then I order and direct that my said negroes, horses, mules & other personalty on said Gold Mine tract be transfered to my Home or Stewart plantations, and be kept and finally disposed of in the manner that I have indicated for the disposal of my negroes, horses, mules, & other personalty on said Home & Stewart plantations, in the sixth clause of this my will.

Thirteenth. The tract of Land on the North side of Twelve Mile Creek, & known as the Massey & Potts Tract lying in North & South Carolina, also my tract of land situate in North Carolina known as the Stinson or Wolf Tract, I desire to be both held by my Executors for the use & benefit of my wife & children, until the mineral resourses of both Tracts are fully developed; and after sufficient developments, should my Executors determine to sell said lands - in this event I empower my Executors to expose to sale the same, and I order that the proceeds thereof be equally divided between my wife & seven children share and share alike, my wife to take the one eight thereof.

Fourteenth. All the remainder and residue of my Real Estate both in the states of North & South Carolina not herein disposed of, I direct & authorize my Executors, after sufficiently advertising the same, to expose to public sale, and to apply the proceeds thereof to the payment of my lawful debts; and the balance that may remain after paying off my debts, I order to be equally divided between my wife & children, my wife to take the 1/8 thereof.

Fifteenth. It is my will and anxious solicitude that my daughters, who have not yet received a sufficient education, be sent to school and receive liberal education. And my little son Willie John I am anxious to give a liberal education, English & Classical, and it is my will and desire to impress this matter on the attention of my Executors, that they may avail themselves of the provisions contained in the sixth clause of this my will for this purpose.

Sixteenth. The negro property & other personalty that I have bequeathed to my Daughters, Charlotte Amelia, Mary Jane, Sarah Ann, Antoinette Adel, and Carolina Virginia, in the sixth clause of this my will, and also the negro property & other personalty, that they may become entitled to under the twelfth clause of this my will, I however only bequeath for their sole & separate use, and not to be made liable for the debts on contracts of their husbands in the future. The said shares of my said daughters under the said sixth & twelfth clauses of this my will I give & bequeath to my Executors for the sole & separate use of my said daughters, the same not to be made liable for the debts & contracts of their husbands.

Seventeenth. Should my wife so desire, it is my will and desire that my Executors, out of the proceeds of the plantations & the Howie Gold Mine, shall appropriate the sum of four or five thousand Dollars for the purpose of erecting a good comfortable dwelling on or near the site, whereon my Residence on the Home Place now stands, as my wife may select.

Eighteenth. It is further my will & desire that, out of the same fund, my Executors appropriate a sufficient sum for the building of a Stone Wall, say fifteen or twenty feet each way, around the family grave-yard on the Home Place, where lies the mortal remains of my aged Parents, my two Brothers & sister, and for erecting a suitable monument with appropriate inscriptions designating their tombs.

Nineteenth. I nominate constitute and appoint my beloved wife Charlotte Rebecca, my son B. J. Cureton, my nephew Thomas K. Cureton, and my friend George W. Williams, Executrix & Executors of this my last will & Testament, and hereby revole all former wills by me made.

In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed my seal this ninth day of March A.D. 1865.

W. J. CURETON (LS)

Signed Sealed published & declared by
Wm. J. Cureton as his last will &
Testament in our presence who have
subscribed our names as witnesses
in his presence and in the presence
of each other, day & date above
written

R.E. Allison
J.J.M. Heath
John B. Wilson

Re: Cureton/Massey line
Posted by: Mary Cureton
Date: August 23, 2001 at 20:36:48
In Reply to: Cureton/Massey line by Frank Jackson
Post #278 of 595

Her name was Elizebeth (Betsey) Cureton born 1765. Parents were James and Elizebeth Heath. I have these for their children: James, Charlotte, William, Rebecca, Henry, Everard, Betsey. Hope this helps.
Mary