In 1834, Joseph Dickson died, bequeathing his slaves, as a trust estate for the benefit of his daughter Julia Nevill Dickson and her illegitimate son Robert W. Dickson, and appointing Julia as administratrix. In case of Julia's death and that of her son, the property would revert to Joseph Dickson's other children and their offspring. The will was proved and recorded in court, but through "inadvertence, ignorance and mistake," the order of the court was "never complied with." Julia later married one Samuel Merritt, who soon abandoned her. As for Julia's son, he "grew up to manhood, weak & imbecile in mind and with habits of excessive drunkeness," which rendered him "unfit & incompetent to transact any business." Over the years, Julia and her son disposed of the property in the trust estate through sales or pretended sales. Robert William Dickson died in 1853. Now, the administrator of Robert W. Dickson's estate and others file suit against Julia Dickson Merritt and others, including those holding the slaves acquired from the trust estate. They seek damages as compensation for squandered property.
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Repository: North Carolina Department of Archives and History, Raleigh, North Carolina
