The Ghent Altarpiece

 

Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. Ghent, BE. 

I'm writing this post early as I'm in Belgium this week for meetings with colleagues. Above is a portion of the famous Ghent Altarpiece, painted in 1432 by the Van Eyk brothers and on display at Saint Bavo's Cathedral. Sections of the altarpiece have been stolen seven times since its installation, most recently by the Nazis during World War II. The altarpiece was recovered in 1945 by the Monuments Men, which became the subject of a 2014 film directed by George Clooney.

I have advance tickets for this afternoon to Saint Bavo's. Will share more later. 

Returning to Brussels

 

Photo by Patrick Jones. Brussels, 3 Dec 2019.

Lost to time

 

Spotsylvania Minute Book, 1829-1832. Page 115.

When looking for documentation on the estate of Ann Carter Heslop, I stumbled onto a reference to her will, mentioned in the Spotsylvania County Minute Book in November 1829. Will Book M, which would be where this will was recorded, is listed as "destroyed", so we no longer have the details of her will and estate. Her daughter, Sarah Kenyon Heslop, was listed as executrix of the estate. I'll have much more on Sarah and her estate in a future post.

An inventory of the estate was also recorded in December 1829.

Spotsylvania Minute Book, 1829-1832. Page 124.

I have not yet found a will or estate inventory for Ann's husband, William Heslop. I believe he died sometime before 1815, perhaps 1814.

Ann appears on the Personal Property List for Spotsylvania County in 1828:

On 24 December 1814, Ann conveyed the 1/7th interest in property called the "low ground tract" she inherited from her father John Carter to Thomas Hicks. This was approximately 25 acres. Because William Heslop is not mentioned in the deed, I assume he was already deceased.

Deed Book U, Page 49.

Deed Book U, Page 50.

The deed above also includes her mark on her name.

Bridgett and Amey

 

FamilySearch. Deed Book K, 1782-1785.

The image above shows an indenture from William Heslop (my 6th-great-grandfather) to his daughter Ann Graham Heslop (my 5th-great-grandmother) on 9 January 1784. The record appears in Will Book K, 1782-1785, Spotsylvania County, Virginia. When one flips to the next page, it shows this was a gift sale of a girl named Bridgett to Ann, for 5 shillings. I cannot tell for certain, but likely this is the same Bridgett who was conveyed from John Carter's estate to the Heslops in the same month.

This is the painful reality in the history of the family that much of the wealth of the Carters, Heslops and Ballard families was built on the backs of slaves. Ann Graham Heslop's son, Rice Carter Ballard, was one of the most notorious slave traders in the country.

Another slave transaction verifies Ann Graham Heslop as the wife of Benjamin Ballard as of 7 February 1792. On 4 October 1791, Ann purchased a woman named Amey for 42 pounds from Edward Herndon. The deed was entered into the Spotsylvania County records in February of the next year.

Deed Book N, 1791.

This is also an example to look up the original documents. If you only saw this entry on the transcription titled Virginia, Spotsylvania County Records, 1721-1800 for Deed Book N, you might think this was a short, simple record. The transcription says "no witnesses". However, as one can see above, when the deed of sale was recorded in 1792, it was actually executed by Benjamin Ballard, husband of Ann. This is so far the earliest document I have seen showing their relationship. The original also includes the name of the slave woman involved in the sale, Amey.

Transcription of Deed Book N via Ancestry.

The entry was also referenced in the Minute Book for Spotsylvania County, 1792-1795:

Minute Book, Image 6.

So many questions. Did Benjamin and Ann marry between October 1791 and February 1792? I have not yet found a marriage record for them. 

Is it a coincidence that Amey was the name of the woman in the 1784 division of property from John Carter's estate to Ann's parents? In that record, Amey was assigned a value of 50 pounds, and Bridgett 10 shillings. Was Bridgett the daughter of Amey? Was Ann's purchase of Amey in 1791 a way to reunite these two? I don't have enough information at this stage to know more.

The Division of John Carter's Lands and Property

 

Photo by Patrick Jones from Spotsylvania Court Records.

The extensive records on the estate of John Carter of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, can be found in a few places - at the Spotsylvania County Courthouse, on FamilySearch, and on Ancestry. I think the images on FamilySearch and Ancestry are fairly poor photocopies, with text bleeding in the from back of the pages. The copies that I made when visiting the court many years ago seem to be a bit easier to read. Above is taken from my phone, but this same image can be found on image 395 (page 721) of Will Book E for Spotsylvania County.

Page 725 shows the portion of the estate granted to William Heslop and Ann (Anne Carter, daughter of John). Unfortunately, slaves were also conveyed from John's estate to William and Ann.

Photo by Patrick Jones.

The division above names the following slaves:

- Amey and Bridget

- Frank, Alie and Daphney

William and Ann were given 50 acres in the northern plot marked No. 8 on the map, and 1/7th interest in the "low ground tract", along with a cow and calf. They were also given a bed and furniture (either previously given or "received of your fathers" may mean this furniture came from John Carter's father, I'm not sure).

There is much more in the records on the names of Anne's siblings, which I'll save for the next post.