Complete will of Elizabeth in Kentucky (I only had an abstract before) &
a tidbit on Polly Knox that might solve the Elizabeth puzzle somewhat:
Will Book B, p. 53
In the name of God Amen. I Elizabeth Cato being sick & weak but of
sound mind & memory do constitute & ordain this my last will & testament
hereby revoking all others heretofore made by me as to my worldly estate
with which it hath pleased God to bless me I do dispose of it in manner
following: (to wit) I give to my grand daughter Susan Cato one bed &
furniture it being the bed I have raised, I give and bequeath to my
daughter Polly Knox her first choice of my horse creatures also I give
to my daughter Polly Knox all my corn fodder & all & every other article
of the crop that is made also all my farming tools also all my household
& kitchen furniture of every kind whatsoever all the rest of my estate
not heretofore mentioned except one dollar I give & bequeath to my
daughter Polly Knox & Sally Smith to be equally divided amongst them. I
give & bequeath to my daughter Elizabeth Shelton one dollar. I do
constitute & appoint my daughter Polly Knox my Executrix to this my last
will & testament as witness my hand & seal this 15 Sept. 181. Elizabeth
(X) Cato. Teste: Robert Coleman.
Christain Co. Sct. Dec. Term 18--. The last will & testament of
Elizabeth Cato, deceased, was produced in Court & proven by the oath of
Robert Coleman a subscribing witness thereto & ordered to be recorded in
testimony ---- the said will together with this certificate is truly
recorded I hereunto set my seal.
[Note from Bonnie: In looking at the will, Elizabeth doesn't mention
slaves, but in the court battle later a negro named Jeff is mentioned.
Apparently Elizabeth & Sally didn't like their 50 cents & dollar they
got! Also, Elizabeth mentions choice of horse creatures as plural so
she had more than 1. Earlier, Polly *Cato* gave dau. Susanna *WOODRUFF*
a 2 year old negro girl in Nov. of 1809 - see below - Polly Cato m.
Robert Knox May 11, 1809 - Is this the same dau.? Elizabeth Cato refers
to g-dau. Susan *CATO* & Polly would have been a KNOX by the time of the
deed of gift. I think it's too much of a coincidence with them both
being Polly & Susan so until I see something that proves differently,
I'm going to say they're one & the same. Anyhow, (speculation
upcoming!) **IF** Polly was living with her apparently aged mom, one
would assume the 2 year old negro girl would have a mother & this would
be 2 more for Elizabeth above, & hence Elizabeth would have 3 negros
total (1 underaged as shown in the tax records). hmmm My *guess* is
that it was a negro family, with Jeff as the father of the 2 year old
little girl. If so, no wonder Elizabeth didn't leave Sally & Elizabeth
diddly - anyone who would sell a father of a child...argh. BTW, the 2
Negros Dan'l Sr. gave to John were Dice & Joe.]
Deed Book B-319 Deed of gift. Nov. 10, 1809 Polly Cato of Chr. Co., KY
for love of dau. Susanna WOODRUFF gives her a negro girl named Liza
about age 2 years to be given to her when Susanna marries or when Polly
is dead. Signed Polly Cato. Wit: Robert COLEMAN, Edwin CAMPBELL & Joel
CAMPBELL.
Pretty sure this is the same Polly KNOX: In Sept. 1813, Christian Co.,
David Jones m. Polly KNOX with Robert COLEMAN as witness or security
(note Robt. COLEMAN who's witness to Elizabeth's will). Wonder what
happened to Robt. KNOX? Died in war?
On another note, Betsy Cato m. L. Johnson in 1809. In Smith Co., TN in
1808, there is a notice for Sterling Cato & Lewis Johnson (on TN CATO
page).
[BTW, on the tax lists, Francis LADD is still shown at least until 1820
- I didn't check further. Also thought it unusual that Tabitha &
Francis filed for a license 2 years before they got married! Wonder if
they had a fight?!!!!]
Also, Dr. Henry, do you have a copy of this obit? Rev. Martin D. CATO -
b. Caldwell Co., KY, 6-8-1819. d. Oct. 29, 1890. Obit: Arkansas
Methodist, Jan. 14, 1891.