Page 11

Unidentified

“…the spinning wheels, and the cotton gins…”

This is from the 1828 inventory of David Westcott’s estate, conducted after he died. The inventory is held at the Montgomery County Archives in Montgomery, Alabama.

“…bee hives…”

This is from the 1828 inventory of David Westcott’s estate, conducted after he died. The inventory is held at the Montgomery County Archives in Montgomery, Alabama.

“…established a meetinghouse…”

I’m very grateful to Gerald Thompson, a descendant of the Westcott family, for having made his extensive genealogical materials about the family available to me. Thompson is in possession of a great trove of photos and documents, and has done extensive work to recreate the history of the family.

“…the second Westcott child, William.”

I’m very grateful to Gerald Thompson, a descendant of the Westcott family, for having made his extensive genealogical materials about the family available to me. Thompson is in possession of a great trove of photos and documents, and has done extensive work to recreate the history of the family.

“For the house, she ordered…”

This is from the 1828 inventory of David Westcott’s estate, conducted after he died, and the last will and testament of Samuel Westcott, from 1857. The inventory and will are held at the Montgomery County Archives in Montgomery, Alabama.

“Eliza established a nursery…”

This was communicated to me orally, as family lore, by Gerald Thompson, a Westcott family descendant. The Westcott descendants are in possession of a small chair that is said to have come from the nursery that Eliza started.

“She kept having…”

I’m very grateful to Gerald Thompson, a descendant of the Westcott family, for having made his extensive genealogical materials about the family available to me. Thompson is in possession of a great trove of photos and documents, and has done extensive work to recreate the history of the family.

“…left behind no will…”

I found no will for David Westcott in the records of Montgomery County. In addition, the extensive inventory that was created for him, after his death, suggests that there was no legally binding document existing prior to his death. As described later in the book, the Westcott property was not fully distributed to his children until 1841, when his sons Samuel and William, the latter of which would be Anarcha’s owner, came of age. This too suggests that David Westcott did not leave behind specific instructions for his estate.

“They had said, those pamphlets…”

Cummins, E. H. (1982). A summary geography of Alabama, one of the United States, p. 15.

“Dr. Hugh Henry…”

That Hugh Henry was the doctor for the Westcotts in 1828 is an inference derived from the fact that Henry was the family doctor at the time of Anarcha’s obstructed labor in 1845, as described later in the book. The Westcotts employed several doctors over the years, including William O. Baldwin, who would become Sims’s adversary and later, after a reconciliation, one of his eulogists (also as described later in the book). Henry was older, so it’s not a wild leap to suggest that he had been the Westcott plantation doctor for some time.

Also, it’s unclear what David Westcott died of, precisely, but it’s not going out on a limb to suggest that he succumbed to disease. In the case of Samuel Westcott, David’s son, who died when a tree fell on him, the accident became part of the family lore. David Westcott’s death would likely have been more ordinary.

“She became administratrix…”

This is from the 1828 inventory of David Westcott’s estate, conducted after he died. The inventory is held at the Montgomery County Archives in Montgomery, Alabama.

“…the court assigned a clerk…”

This is from the 1828 inventory of David Westcott’s estate, conducted after he died. The inventory is held at the Montgomery County Archives in Montgomery, Alabama.

There are actually several signatories to the document, including the judge who assigned them to the estate. It’s unclear who was responsible for the inventory and who was responsible for settling David Westcott’s debts.

“…to count everything…”

This is from the 1828 inventory of David Westcott’s estate, conducted after he died. The inventory is held at the Montgomery County Archives in Montgomery, Alabama.

“In addition, there were monies…”

This is from the 1828 inventory of David Westcott’s estate, conducted after he died. The inventory is held at the Montgomery County Archives in Montgomery, Alabama.

“…the monies he owed…”

This is from the 1828 inventory of David Westcott’s estate, conducted after he died. The inventory is held at the Montgomery County Archives in Montgomery, Alabama.