In 1838, slave owner James B. May died, leaving a will instructing his wife Mahala to serve as executrix, pay his debts, keep his plantation "under the superintendence of a good overseer," and educate his children. In the will, he also appointed his brother Philip as an executor. In 1842, Philip resigned as administrator of the estate, which at that point owned fifteen slaves. In 1844, Mahala started dividing the property among her children according to the will's instructions. By 1845, all property had been distributed among the heirs. In 1845, Mahala remarried, and the following year she sued Philip, as former administrator of the estate and guardian of some of her minor children, George Harper, as guardian of her other minor children, and Mary B. and Benjamin Cook, her married daughter and son-in-law. She and her new husband claim that, after Mahala took over administration of the estate in 1842 and while she kept the plantation going for several years, according to her late husband's wishes, she expended money on farming operations and for the maintenance and education of her children, and that the defendants, as heirs and guardians of the heirs, refuse to reimburse such expenses from their inheritance.
Result: Agreement.
Or you may view all people.
Repository: Sumter County Courthouse, Livingston, Alabama
