An estate sale was held on 16 October 1805. Zibiah Carter purchased several
items. Other purchasers included Charters Nickle, John Roberson, John
Creecy, Silvanus Adams, David Caldwell, James white, James Clemans, Benjamin
Garner, Paul Finley, John Walker, Stephen Jones, Solomon Jones, Solomon
fuller, John Stokes, and Henry Fuller.
Recapltulation of John Carter's Lands
When George Carter died, he left 391 acres to his eldest son and heir, John
Carter.
100 acres from Richard Carter to George
100 acres grant to William Turk, swapped for George's grant
100 acres purchased from his brother, Robert Carter
91 acres purchased from Cornelius Cargill
391 total acres
In 1784, Joseph Carter sold to John Carter 125 acres on Cain Creek, which
had been granted to Richard Carter, and conveyed to Joseph in 1777.
In 1791, John sold to Patrick Cunningham the 100 acre portion which Richard
Carter had deeded to George Carter in 1777, and which John had inherited.
In the same deed, John sold to Patrick Cunningham 3 acres of the land which
Richard Carter had conveyed to John while they were in East Florida in 1784.
In 1796, John sold to John Pinson 50 acres of the land which he had bought
from his Uncle Joseph in East Florida in 1784. On the same date, John sold
72 acres of the same land to Patrick Cunningham. This disposed of the 125
acres of Joseph's land.
John was left with 291 acres, which he had inherited from his father, George
Carter. There is some mystery as to the disposal of this land. Several later
deeds are obviously for this 291 acres of land, and it belonged to William
Walker. John May have sold or assigned the land to William Walker before
John died. Or, John's widow may have left the state and sold the land by
Power of Attorney, or perhaps she assigned the deed to someone else, without
recording the transaction in the county books.
On 26 September 1809, William Walker sold 172 2/3 acres in Laurens District,
on waters of Cane Creek(of Saluda river) to John Walker. This land was
bounded on the north on John Walker and William Nelson, west on land
belonging to heirs of John Field and Paul Findley, and on the south by land
belonging to Ursula Brooks. This deed was witnessed by James H. Dendy and
Asa Chandler. The Dower Release of Elizabeth Walker, wife of William Walker,
was signed 15 November 181.(9)
William Walker sold 27 acres to Absolom Coleman on 26 September 1809, "the
same being part of the tract I purchased of John Carter,
situate in Laurens
District on waters of Cain Creek of Saluda, bounded on eastward by land
belonging to said Coleman, on north by land of John Walker, on the west on
land of Sd. John Walker, being part of the same tract, and on the south by
lands of Ursula Brooks. "Witnesses were James H. Dendy and Asa Chandler.
Elizabeth Walker signed a Release of Dower on 15 November 1810.(10)
John Walker sold 91 ½ acres to his son, Allen walker on 23 April 1818. This
was land
"where Allen Walker now lives which I purchased from William Walker and said
William Walker from John Carter on waters of Cane Creek of Saluda River."
The plat shows it borders on Ursula brooks, Paul Findley, Stephen
Wharton,(-?-) Walker, and James Young.(11)
On the strength of the above three deeds, it is thought that Zibiah may have
assigned the 291 acres of John Carter's land to William Walker before she
remarried and /or left the state.
Zibiah(-?-) probably was born about 1772 in South Carolina. (In the 1850
Census of Wayne County, Tennessee she was age 78, born in South Carolina. We
have not discovered who were her parents, but assume she was from one of the
families in the vicinity of Laurens or a neighboring county.
Her unusual given name is taken from the Old Testament of the Bible. In two
places(11 Kings 12:1 and 11 Chronicles 24:1) we find that Zibiah of
Beer-sheba was the mother of Josah, one of the "good" kings of Judah.(12)
apparently the name "Zibiah" was the Hebrew equivalent of the Aramaic name
"Tabitha" or the Greek Name "Dorcas". All of these names, in their
respective languages, refer to a female gazelle, and mean "beautiful eyes".(13)
The first record we have of Zibiah was in 1796 when "Zibiah Carter"
relinquished her dower in deeds when her husband, John Carter, was selling
some of his lands in Laurens County, south Carolina.(15)
John Carter died before 2 October 1805, and his widow, Zibiah(Z) Carter,
applied for letters of administration in Laurens County, South Carolina.
The next record we have of Zibiah was on 2 December 1826 in Franklin County,
Tennessee, when she was listed as Zebiah Ramsey.(16) In this deed, Zebiah
Ramsey made loan of $75 to (her son) George W. Carter of Franklin County.
When and where Zibiah married what Ramsey, and where she lived between 1805
and 1824 are still unknown.
Nothing further has been found about Zibiah until, in 1850 census of Wayne
County, Tennessee, she was living in the household of(her son) John t.
Carter. She was age 78, born in South Carolina. Therefore, we can estimate
her date of birth as about 1772. In 1850, her name was listed as "Zibiah
Ramsey." She has not been found in the 1860 census.