Does anyone have any information on what is contained in his estate
records? What information was in his will?
Earl
Transylvania Estates Records, 1810-1951
Cagle, L. (Leonard), 1864 (2 folders)
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Earl and List,
After many years of trying, I finally have all that I believe still exists of the records
concerning the estate of Leonard Cagle (1798-1866). I have donated these papers to a
couple of Genealogy Libraries in NC. I believe the folders you refer to are in the
Archives of NC R093.508.2. I also bits and pieces of this estate from Buncombe and
Henderson Counties of NC. Eddie has something from Greenville Co., SC.
The early records of Transylvania Co. are lost but there is an index that shows that
Leonard's widow, Mary Osborne, first filed his estate there Fall Term of 1866 (he died
in Aug. 1866). There is reference in later papers of inventory of estate, final
settlement, etc. in 1867. But we do not have access to his will or the original
distribution of the estate because the record is lost and never made it to the State
Archives.
What I do have is numerous law suits filed against his estate covering the period from
1871-1889. These actions all concern suits against heirs to recover money or property and
do not directly address how this property was distributed originally . There are gaps in
the records.
Since Leonard was a wealthy man and was involved in business transactions and partnerships
right up until the time of his death, his estate was complicated.
The valuable information gained from all these papers:
1. It definitely states the name and location of all the children of Leonard Cagle. It
accounts for 8 of the 9 children, one daughter having died as a child.
2. Youngest son, James Henry Cagle, was administrator of the estate after the death of his
mother.
These two items appear in each court action and solved the problem, at least to my
satisfaction, of the two Nancy Cagles and which one was a daughter of Leonard.
Dana