Guilford County
Court case found by Thelma Waters which gives many of the relationships in the family of Thomas Ozment, Sr. of Guilford Co, NC [1771-1850].
"The Guilford Genealogist", Vol. 31, No. 4, Winter, 2004, Issue No. 107, page 33-36
Albert SHORT and wife Ebelina v. Thomas OZMENT, Sen.
"... To Honorable the Judge of the court of Equity for Guilford County
The Bill of Complaint of Albert SHORT & wife Ebelina SHORT infants under the age of twenty one years by their next friend Alfred SHORT against Thomas OZMENT, Sen.
Humbly complaining respectfully shew unto your Honor your orator & oratrix Albert SHORT and Ebelina SHORT Infants by their next friend Alfred SHORT, that at November County Court 1839, the Defendant Thomas OZMENT signed sealed and delivered a deed of gift for his two tracts of land, to wit, his home tract & the Ryan tract, five negro slaves Vilot-Drape [?] - Ben - Peter - & Birt - five head of horses - and all his household & kitchen furniture & farming utensils together with all his stock & personal property substantially in the words [illeg] following to wit --
"Know all men by these presents that I Thomas OZMENT, Sen. Of the county of Guilford and State of North Carolina for and in consideration of the natural love and Effection which I have & bear to my beloved daughter Ebelina OZMENT do by these presents, give, grant, convey & transfer unto to [sic] my said daughter Ebelina OZMENT my two tracts of land, to wit -- the plantation on which I now live containing 114 acres more or less adjoining the lands of William MEBANE & others and the Ryan tract, also five negro slaves, to wit, Vilot, Draper [?], Ben, Peter, and Burt. Five head of Horses, my household and kitchen furniture & farming utensils and all my personal property to have and to hold to the own proper use & benefit of her the said Ebelina OZMENT her heirs and assigns forever.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal on this the ___ day of November A.D. 1839
Signed, sealed and delivered in
That after the said Thomas OZMENT had executed the said deed, he requested & caused the same to be duly attested by James SLOAN & James M. GARRETT, and in the presence of your oratrix Ebelina SHORT, delivered the same to James SLOAN of Greensboro to keep the same -- that some six weeks thereafter the defendant applied as plaintiff as informed & believe to said James SLOAN for the said deed which he declined to surrender that after trying without effect in various ways to effect this, the defendant requested your oratrix to go to Greensboro in company with her brother Price OZMENT who informed her after she arrived in town that the defendant her father wished her to see Mr. SLOAN & bring the said deed home with her & that he said Price & the defendant would bring it up at the next Superior Court and have it registered -- that your Oratrix, suspecting nothing, but wishing to please her father called on Mr. SLOAN & got the said deed & took it home, never suspecting that she would or could in any way be prejudiced thereby -- that after she got the paper writing aforesaid from the said James SLOAN , the said Price would carry it home himself & when they returned, delivered it up to the defendant on the receipt of which defendant said he would take good care of it until court & would then have it proved and registered -- that nothing more was said or done in relation to the matter until after your oratrix Ebelina intermarried with your orator Albert -- that the defendant still holds on to the Estate & property conveyed in said deed, refuses to surrender the same for registration, denies all title in your orator & oratrix and now threatens to sell and ruin the personal property away out of the reach of your orator and oratrix which they believe he will attempt to do -- that he intimates that although your oratrix was a minor, he now has some advantage over your oratrix & orator by having the deed in his possession -- that your oratrix by bringing the deed to him at the solicitation & management of said Price OZMENT has surrendered and forfeited all title & right to the property conveyed therein, & seems to bid defiance to complainants as the deed is not proved and registered, all which actions and doings are contrary to Equity and good conscience..."
Signed affidavits by the witnesses (15 Jan 1841) to the conveyance.
"James SLOAN being first sworn deposeth and saith as follows -- At some Court I think Superior Court fall of 1839 the defendant Thomas OZMENT applied to me to write a deed of conveyance for all his property to convey it to the plantiff his daughter Ebelina OZMENT said that he was going to Georgia and had purchased a carriage for that purpose. He seemed not only anxious but determined to convey the same to his daughter aforesaid and that too in a lawful & secure manner.
I expressed to him my inability to draw up a transfer and referred him to J. A. GILMER whereupon he sent my brother Robert M. SLOAN to see Mr. GILMORE and found him professionally engaged with a promise that [if] he would return the next day early he would attend to it. the Defendant returned afterwards but cannot say how long thereafter and made known to me his will to leave the conveyance executed whereupon Mr. GILMORE was sent for by the deft. And came to our counting house room & proceeded to draw up the conveyance under the direction of the deft. Which conveyance was substantially in the words figures following to wit... [there follows more or less the same wording as in the petition above]... That whilst the counsel was drawing the conveyance something was said about the propriety of not conveying all of his property, but reserving enough of his property to live upon whereupon he replied that his money & bonds was in his pocket and which together was no small sum. After the conveyance was written & read over to him he replied that was the very thing he wanted & signed it & at his request myself & James M. GARRETT witnessed the same in his presence & in that of his daughter Avalina, both appearing to be satisfied therewith.
That then Thos. OZMENT handed me the deed with a request that I should safely keep the same until he should have an opportunity to have the same registered and then said to Abalina that Daddy has heretofore taken care of you but now if it became necessary she would take care of him a conversation then took place between Mr. OZMENT & myself respecting the situation he remarked that his wife was running him in debt and that he was determined to raise his daughter Abalina decently that he wished her to go to school stated that he never had done any thing for her that he liked her better than any of his children I accordingly took possession of the deed placed the same in the fire proof chest there to remain until an opportunity presented for registration.
Sometime afterwards the term I cannot recollect the deft. applied for the deed saying he wanted to take the same home that he & his daughter would be up to make an alteration in the deed. I remarked to him my instruction was that the deed was not to be delivered up unless Abalina was present whereupon Mr. OZMENT appeared perfectly satisfied the same day or the next his daughter Abalina in Company with her Brother Price OZMENT the defendants son applied for the deed & to her I handed the same after reading the same and have not seen it since.
At the time Mr. OZMENT first conversed with me on the subject of making the deed and at the time of executing the deed he was sober & seemed to act with a full understanding of all that he said & done. I may not have exactly stated the words as in the deed but the same is in all material part substantially stated & I recollect distinctly that both tracts of land were transferred together with the other property...."
R. M. SLOAN gave a shorter version of the events which agrees substantially with that offered by his brother above. Likewise, James M. GARRETT.
Testimony dated 20 Mar 1841 from William KIRKMAN, son in law of Thomas OZMENT, states that the only reason the deed of gift was drawn up was to protect OZMENT's estate from his present wife, whom he married two years prior to May 1841.
On the same day, Eliza KIRKMAN, wife of William, and daughter of Thomas OZMENT, stated that Ebelina knew full well what her father's purpose was in executing and retrieving the deed. Ebelina was to hold the property only for Thomas OZMENT's lifetime, to protect it from their stepmother, and then it was to be divided equally among all his children, nine in total. She stated that her father had been married three times. By his first wife, he had nine children, one (Ebelina) by the second, and another by his present wife (who was between 30 and 35 years old), which had died in infancy.
The same day, Elijah STACK, a son-in-law of Thomas OZMENT, gave testimony that he was present when the deed was executed and he believed that the old man was inebriated when he made it, so much so that he and his son Thomas had to help him home afterwards. Betsey STACK stated that, after the deed was signed, Ebelina spoke to her about it and stated that the real purpose of it was not to disinherit the other children, but to protect the property from their stepmother, Huldah. Price OZMENT concurred in all of this testimony. The intention had been to place the property in trust with Ebelina, John HYATT and Enos CUMMINGS. At one time, Price had been asked to act as his sister's guardian in this regard. He further stated that his father was currently between sixty and seventy years of age, was addicted to drink and had married their stepmother in 1839.
Thomas OZMENT's answer (28 Oct 1840) agrees substantially with the testimony of his other children above. He states that his current wife was about 35 and that he himself was 67 years old. He substantiates the claim that his present marriage was contentious and that he attempted to deny his wife's creditors and prevent her from obtaining 1/3 of his property by putting everything into the hands of his daughter under a deed of trust. He states that his daughter Ebelina only brought the action under the influence of her husband Albert SHORT. He also agrees that he has recently been too much subject to the influence of alcohol due to the conflict in his present marriage.
Wilson County Circuit Court Records
1830-1833
Page 36. 25 April 1833. Armstrong OZMENT charged with gaming, page 316
Page 36. 25 April 1833. Samuel OZMENT charged with gaming, page 313
1832-1833
Page 44. 25 June 1832. Sally OZMENT, guardian for minor heirs of Jonathan OZMENT, page 99
1833-1837
Page 51. 1836. Sarah OZMENT vs Thornton LANE. Charge of trespass. Said LANE accused of taking bed, bedstead, furniture, bureau, table, and one bridle of great value from Sarah, page 255-256
1833-1836
Page 55. 08 May 1835. Armstrong OZMENT charged with gaming, page 161
1837-1839
Page 74. 18 March 1837. The widow and heirs of Jonathan OZMENT petition to divide tract into 6 parts, page 53-54
Page 74. 05 Jul 1837. Sarah OZMENT petitions for the partition of land, page 73
Page 75. 13 July 1837. Owen LAIN vs James OZMENT, page 133
May 1848-Jan 1851
Page 112. May 1848. Patrick Floida (?), Russell White, and William OSMENT charged with fighting in a public place, page 45.
SOURCE: Wilson County, TN Circuit Court Records, 1810-1855, Thomas E. Partlow, 1988
Other Wilson County Court Records
Rec March term 1817. Eli OZMENT charge with being the reputed father of a bastard child born of the body of Darkus OZMENT.
Rec 25 June 1834. James OZMENT charged with bastardy by Nancy Bell. Charge adjusted between the two.
SOURCE: "The People of Wilson Co, TN, 1800-1899", Thomas E. Partlow, 1983
02 Apr 1855. Willis A. Simmons and James T. Dement of Wilson Co, TN against David A. OZMENT of Bedford Co, TN. They purchased from him in Feb of 1854 a steam saw and grist mill, consisting of one steam engine, one broiler, and other machinery. Defendant said the machinery was first rate. Brought equipment to Wilson Co, TN. Boiler was useless and could not be fixed.
SOURCE: Wilson Co, TN GenWeb site - Miscellaneous court records