Finding Aid of the Jones and Askew Family Papers, 1860-1914 <date calendar="gregorian" era="ce" normal="1860/1914">1860-1914</date>, and undated , PC.2026

[Identification of item], PC.2026, Jones and Askew Family Papers, 1860-1914, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, N.C., USA.

This small collection includes one volume, originally intended as a single entry ledger, and a group of loose papers, that relate primarily to the settlement of the estate of Lawrence Askew who died in Winton, Hertford County, in 1884. The first pages of the book, are used however, are business transactions recorded in 1860, by A. J. Jones (Andrew J.) of Colerain, Bertie County. The items charged to various individuals in Bertie and Hertford counties included corn meal, ears of corn, tobacco, bacon, other meats, cotton, whiskey, bricks, and so on. The use of the book as a single entry ledger was continued during the 1870s, probably by Lawrence Askew. Additional commodities recorded included shingles, wheat flour, molasses. After Askew's death, at least two executors of his estate found the book in the family home and used it to record various items sold and disbursements. Loose papers were placed within the pages of the book. The placement of these papers had lost significance over the years that had transpired. These loose papers, have been dated, when possible, and placed in folders in chronological order by date. Such papers included a letter written by Mrs. Esther Raboteau Beale Jones on 30 October 1914 to Mr. H.C. Sharp, Harrellsville, Hertford County. In it she refers to inheritances from two aunts, Miss M. J. Beale, and Mrs. Sue E. Brett, of Hertford County, and strongly protested the tone of Mr. Sharp's letter and the assertion, apparently voiced by Mr. Sharp, that she had responsibility for the inheritance tax on the estate of her aunt, Mrs. Brett.

Chronological.

Chronological

Biographical Note on [Andrew] A.J. Jones and Family Andrew J. (A.J.) Jones was born circa 1834 to Redman/Reddin and Celia Belch Jones, of Bertie County, near Colerain. The 1850 U.S. Census shows Andrew, along with siblings, Martha P., age 14; Francis E., age 9; and Luvenia, age 12. By 1860 he was twenty-four years of age and was shown farming land in close proximity to his home. His wife was named Lavinia, age 18; and the couple had a five month-old infant, Elizabeth P. Jones.Celia B. Jones was a widow by the time of the 1860 census, and was listed on the 1860 Slave Schedules as owning ten slaves. By that time, a court order apparently had distributed a portion of Redman Jones's slaves to other individuals in the area. In the regular census, Mrs. Jones, was shown as having in her household her two daughters, Levinia/Luvinia/Lavenia (age 19) and Nancy (age 17), along with David C. Askew (age 23). By the end of the year, Askew and Levinia were married.Jones appears to have been the same who maintained the account book, because of the writing on the first page and last page of the place name, Colerain, Bertie County. Additionally, the name Lavenia E. Jones is pencilled in on the last page; and the name A. J. Jones has been written several times. The name Jones and Askew was also written once on the end page. Biographical Note on Lawrence Askew and Family Lawrence Askew was born circa 1801, probably in Hertford County, and died in 1884, at his home, near Winton, Hertford County. He was listed on several censuses as a farmer. Additionally, the 1869 listed him as the owner of a grist and flour mill. According to some family records, he was married first to Virginia (Jennie) Jenkins, a daughter of Elizabeth Cherry and Irving Jenkins, who died during the 1850s. Her children with Lawrence included David Cherry Askew (1836-1865). (See fourth paragraph below.)It appears that Askew married secondly his deceased wife's sister, Emiline Eliza Jenkins. The 1860 census showed the Askew family as including Lawrence and E.E. (Emiline Eliza) and the following: a male, D.C., age 23; and six females as follows: J.A. age 24; M.A., age 18; Lovina, age 17, Emily, age 16, N.C., age 13, and an infant of one year. A daughter, possibly from Askew's union with Emiline Eliza, was named Virginia Carolina. She eventually was married to Benjamin F. Early, who played a role in the settlement of Askew's estate. It is apparent that the Jones and Askew families were related, at a minimum through the marriage of Luvenia Jones and David Cherry Askew. A search of various sources has not revealed the exact death of Luvenia's brother A. J. Jones, but there is some indication that he was deceased by 1863, presumably through disease, or wounds suffered as a Confederate soldier.David Cherry Askew, probably Lawrence Askew's eldest son, did enlist in Bertie County in 1862, and entered service as a private in Company F, 59th Regiment N.C.T. (4th Regiment N.C. Cavalry). He was captured twice by Union troops, with the second confinement at Point Lookout, Md., until he was paroled and exchanged at Aiken's Landing, Va. on 10 February 1865. A few days later Askew was admitted to the hospital at Richmond, Va., and died on 11 March, reportedly with scurvy.A son of David and Luvenia Jones Askew, named David A. Askew, was listed as the first beneficiary of the estate of Lawrence Askew. His mother, Luvenia, eventually married Adolphus Godwin, and continued to live in Colerain, Bertie County, until her death in 1927. Biographical Note on Esther Raboteau Beale Jones Esther (Essie) Raboteau Beale Jones (1868-1932) was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, a child of C. B. Beale, a native of Hertford County, N.C., and of Julia Raboteau Beale, a native of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, N.C. Her father served as a Confederate soldier, and two years after the war married Julia in Wake County. The couple moved to Norfolk County, where Mr. Beale found employment as a milk dealer. They brought up a family there that included Esther and a sister, Eva, born circa 1872 (later married to a prominent Norfolk grocer, Claude E. Herbert). Through her mother's side, Mrs. Jones was related to the mother of Mary Esther Page and Walter Hines Page, the former Catherine Frances Raboteau. At the time Esther R. Jones wrote the letter in this collection, she was a widow (of P. R. Jones), and living in the home of Miss Page in Aberdeen, Moore County. The death certificate of Esther R. Jones, showed Miss Page as the informant, and the relationship as that of sister, though that statement is open to question. It is unclear whether Mrs. Jones's husband was related to Andrew (A. J.) Jones, born circa 1836.Note: There are several letters from Essie R. Jones to her cousin, Walter Hines Page. See his papers at Harvard University and the series: Letters from various correspondents, American period. Sources: 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1910, 1920, 1930 United States Federal Census; North Carolina Death Certificates, 1909-1975; North Carolina Marriage Collection, 1741-2004; , p. 79; Louis H. Manarin and Weymouth T. Jordan Jr., comps., , 17 vols. to date (Raleigh: Division of Archives and History, Department of Cultural Resources, 1966-), II: 309-310; VIII: 430; 481. Also, consulted County Records, N.C. State Archives: Estate Records and Wills, Hertford County: Lawrence Askew.

1. Jones and Askew Family Papers,1860-1914

Askew family.

Beale family.

Jones family.

Askew Family

Jones family

Askew, Lawrence

Jones, Andrew J.

Esther Raboteau Beale Jones

Administration of estates

Executors and administrators--North Carolina

Inheritance and succession

Property.

Sales accounting--19th century.

Estates administration

Executors and administrators

Inheritance

Property

Taxation

Sales accounting

Bertie County (N.C.)

Hertford County (N.C.)

Bertie County (N.C.)

Hertford County (N.C.)

Askew, Lawrence.

Jones, Esther Raboteau Beale.

Jones, A. P.

Received 1 October 1985 as a transfer from the Hertford County Library, Winton, N.C., via Mrs. Boone, former librarian.

Processed by Fran Tracy-Walls, 2011

Encoded by Fran Tracy-Walls, June 2011