| Name | Age | Color or Race | Sex | Role in document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S H.B. Whitaker | Male | trustee of grantor | ||
| Mary E. Bond | Female | owner | ||
| John Branch | Male | other | ||
| [not stated] | Black ("negro") | Unknown | enslaved |
Marriage Contract between John Branch of Halifax County and Mary E, Bond of Bertie County. They intend to marry, but no date is mentioned. The contract has several provisions, specifying that Mary’s current property remains hers after the marriage, and passes to her children, rather than her husband-to-be, if she should die before him. To legally accomplish this, S.H.B Whitaker is appointed trustee for all of Mary’s property. There are other provisions about who can use what property under what circumstances; what should happen if Mary or James should die first, etc. Mary’s property includes tracts of land, personal property, and “all my slaves”. The slaves are not named or otherwise identified, but it could be possible to identify where they were living at the time of this contract. This court order may have been flawed, because the text specifies the date as, “(blank space) day of November”, and was signed by the judge as such. Note that there is another marriage contract between Branch and Bond, NC.BER.KK.139.1, dated Nov. 6, 1853 that probably was intended to correct this error. The latter document has slightly different wording, and a complete date, but main provisions are the same. No names of the enslaved there either. Transcribed by David Domelsmith August 1, 2022.
