Humbly complaining showeth unto your Honor, your Orators, Lewis Lawshe and Cherokee, his wife, formerly Cherokee Hawkins, William Carr and Virginia, his wife formerly Virginia Hawkins, James Madison Hawkins, otherwise called Madison Hawkings and your Oratrix, Muscogee Tiller, formerly Muscogee Hawkins, whose husband Bagwell B. Tiller has separated himself from her and now resides without the jurisdictional limits of the United States of America (to-wit) in the province of Texas. That they, the aforesaid Cherokee, Virginia, Madison and Muscogee are the reputed children of the late Benjamin Hawkins, deceased who departed this life on about the ___ day of ___ in the year of ___ being possessed of at the time of his death a large real and personal estate consisting of lands, negroes, money and household and kitchen furniture, all of which was of great value (to-wit of the value of One Hundred Thousand Dollars or other large sum). That the said Benjamin Hawkins, the reputed father of said Cherokee, Virginia, Madison and Muscogee by his last will and testament gave and bequeathed all of his land, negroes, and property of every description to his wife Lavinia Hawkins, and his reputed daughters (to-wit) Georgia, Muscogee, Cherokee, Carolina and Virginia and his son Madison and his nephew, William Hawkins, of North Carolina, to be divided into eight equal parts to their heirs forever and the said Benjamin, also by his said last will and testament, appointed his wife Lavinia Hawkins and his nephew, William Hawkins to be the executrix and executor thereof which said last will and testament was duly proven and recorded in the Court of Ordinary of Jones County and said William and Lavinia were duly qualified and took upon themselves the execution thereof and lands, negroes and property of every description belonging to the estate of the testator in his life time was according to the tenor and affect of said will and testament divided into eight equal parts, among the several legatees named in said will one eighth of which estate was of the value of Twelve Thousand, Five Hundred Dollars or other large sum. It is further showed to hour Honor that the said William Hawkins, one of the legatees named in the said will and the executor thereof, after the division of said estate, and after receiving his distributive share thereof, returned to his residence in North Carolina and has long since departed this life. It is also represented that at the time of the division of said estate the aforesaid Cherokee, Virginia, Georgia, Carolina, Muscogee and Madison, the legatees named in said will, were very young, being infants under twenty one years of age, and unable to manage or attend to their distributive shares of said estate in any manner whatever. Your complainant charge and say that they have been informed, and so they believe, the fact to have been the said Lavinia Hawkins, the executrix of said last will and testament, after the division of said estate had been affected and a distributive share thereof had been allotted to each of the several legatees named in said will according to the tenor thereof she did arbitrarily and without any authority, whatever take from each of the distributive shares of the legatees hereinafter named (to-wit) Georgia, Carolina, Cherokee, Virginia, Muscogee and Madison, a considerable portion thereof and thereby constituted a large personal estate of the value of Six Thousand Dollars or other large sum, and did then allot and assign the aforesaid large personal estate raised as aforesaid, to the one Jeffersonia Hawkins, her daughter but who was not named in said will, and who was not entitled to any portion of said estate from some of the legatees last aforesaid the said Lavinia executrix as aforesaid, took negroes and from others, money which said money and negroes had been left to them by the last will and testament of the said Benjamin Hawkins, deceased and which had been assigned to them as part of their distributive share of their legacy with the money your complainants are advised and believe, she purchased negroes for the benefit of the said Jeffersonia, which negroes so taken as aforesaid and purchased with the money as aforesaid were allotted and assigned to her the said Jeffersonia Hawkins as her property by her, the said Lavinia, executrix as aforesaid, while the legatees last named were infants and too young to remonstrate against, or oppose such an unwarrantable and unjust proceeding. Your complainants further show unto your Honor that soon after the division of said estate according to the provision of the aforesaid last will and testament, the said Lavinia Hawkins, embarked her share of said estate principally in merchandise with one John Buchanan, and being unsuccessful in trade, which taken together with extravagant hiring and improper management, she became bankrupt and insolvent.

Negroes that were devised by his last will and testament to the legatees therein mentioned which said negroes are great value (to-wit) of the value of six thousand dollars or other large sum to which said negroes or the value thereof and their hire your complainants are entitled as they are advised and believe that said negroes were taken or purchased with money that was taken from each of your Complainant's distributive Share of the legacy left them by the last will and Testament of the said Benjamin Hawkins in the manner as charged and set forth in another part of this bill and your complainants are the more confirmed in this belief in as much as the said Jeffersonia was not named or mentioned in the said last will and testament of Benjamin Hawkins deceased consequently she could not receive any Share of his Estate under the will and inasmuch as the said Lavinia Hawkins became insolvent for a large amount and her distributive Share the aforesaid Legacy was sold in part payment of her debts the said Jeffersonia would not have received any share of her Estate and because at the time of her intermarriage with said Francis Bacon she was quite young and could not have accumulated said property by her industry or labor which said property of the value thereof as well as the hire of right belongs to your complainants.

It is further represented to your Honor that for some time previous to the intermarriage of him, the said Francis with her, the said Jeffersonia, he boarded and resided in the same family with her, the said Lavinia Hawkins, previous to her death so that your complainants are advised and believe that the said Francis knew for a long time before his intermarriage with his wife the exact situation of her property, and that he knew the manner in which she obtained it at the time of his intermarriage with her, and your complainants are also advised and believe that the said Francis and his wife well knew the manner by which they obtained the property now in their possession and that a large portion of it right belongs to your complainants. Your Orators & Oratrix have for a long time indulged the hope that the said Francis Bacon and Jeffersonia, his wife, would come to a fair and equitable settlement with them and account with and pay over their respective shares in the Estate acquired as aforesaid and now in their possession as in justice and equity, they are bound to do, but so it is, may it please your Honor the said Francis, and Jeffersonia, his wife combining and confederating themselves together with diverse persons as present unknown to your complainants, but whose names when discovered they pray may be inserted in this bill with apt and suitable words, to charge them as defendants to cheat and defraud your complainants out of their distributive shares of the estate now in their possession acquired as with and pay over to your complainants any part of the aforesaid estate acquired by them in manner and form as before charged and set forth although your complainants right to receive and have the same is sustained by every principal of equity and good conscience. For as much as your complainants are entirely remidiless at and by the strict rules of the common law and cannot have full ample and adequate relief in the premises save in this Honorable Court where matters of this sort are more popular Cognizable and relievable.

To the end therefore that the said Francis Bacon and Jeffersonia, his wife, may upon their corporal oaths, truthful and perfect answers, make to all such matters and things as are hereinbefore charged and set forth as fully and particularly as if the same were again interrogated not only as to their knowledge, but as to the best of their information, hearsay and belief, and more especially that they may answer and say whether your complainants are not the legatees named in the last will and testament of Benjamin Hawkins, deceased? Whether the negroes belong to the estate of Benjamin Hawkins, deceased in his life time? Whether the negroes now in their possession are not the same and the issue of the same that were devised by the last will and testament of the said Benjamin Hawkins, to the legatees therein named? What are their names, ages and value? What has been the value of their hire? By what means did said Jeffersonia become entitled to said property before her intermarriage? From what source did she receive it? If it was purchased for her, with whose money was it purchased? Did she received it as one of the legatees of the said Benjamin Hawkins, deceased? Or in what manner did she receive it? Did not the said Jeffersonia receive a share of the negroes and money of which the said Georgia and Carolina Hawkins, died, seized and possessed? If she did received a share, what share did she receive? What number of negroes were allotted to her as her share and their names and value of each? What has the hire of said negroes been worth since they were allotted to said Jeffersonia as her share of said estate? What amount of money did she receive as her share of the estate of the aforesaid Georgia and Carolina/ At what time was it allotted to her and what has been the interest on that amount since? Has not the negroes which were allotted to her and the said Jeffersonia, as her share of the estate of Georgia and Carolina Hawkins, deceased as aforesaid of their value together with the value of their hire come into possession of the said Francis and his wife since there intermarriage? Has not the amount of money which was allotted to her the said Jeffersonia, as her share of aforesaid come into the possession of her and the said Francis since their intermarriage as well as the interest thereon?
What is the aggregate amount of the many negroes and other property which they the said Jeffersonia and Francis received after their intermarriage? And from whom did said Jeffersonia inherit said property? By what right and by what authority, did she become entitled to the property now claimed by the said Francis Bacon and her rights? Your complainants further represent to your Honor that they are advised and believe that the said Francis Bacon will unless he shall be restrained from so doing by the interposition of this Honorable Court remove both his person and property beyond the jurisdiction thereof and that the same will not be forth coming to answer the judgment of decree that shall be made in the premises, or will dispose of the same for the purpose of defeating the just claim of your complainants to their respective shares thereof. For remedy whereof may it please your Honor to grant unto your complainants the state's most gracious writ of Quiatement to be directed to the Sheriff of said county of Crawford commanding him to arrest the body of him, the said Francis Bacon, and him safely keep until he shall voluntarily enter into his bond with good and sufficient security and such amount as your Honor shall seem meet and equitable conditioned not to remove his property without the jurisdiction of said court and County of Crawford until the further order of said Court. And may it also please your Honor to grant unto your complainants the state's most gracious writ subpoena to be directed to them the said Francis Bacon and Jeffersonia, his wife commanding them personally to be and appear under a certain penalty therein to be inserted at the next Superior Court to be holden in aforesaid County of Crawford on the Third Monday in August next and then and there truthful and perfect answers make to each and every such matter and thing as herein before charged and set forth touching or concerning the premises and also the said Francis and Jeffersonia his wife may be decreed to account with and pay over to your complainant the value of the negroes their hire as well as the amount of money in interest thereon which they have received from your complainants as part of their distributive shares of the legacy left them by the last will and testament of said Benjamin Hawkins deceased and which was acquired by the said Francis and Jeffersonia in manner and form as charged and set forth in this bill of complaint and also that they may be decreed and pay over to your complainants the value of the negroes in their hire which the said Francis and Jeffersonia received and the amount of money and the interest thereon which they likewise received as the pretended heirs of Georgia and Carolina Hawkins deceased and that your complainants may have such other and further relief as to your Honor shall meet and equitable or as the case may acquire. And your Complainants is in duty bound will ever pray etc.

Hiram Warner
Sol. For Complainants

Georgia Crawford County:
Personally came before me Muscogee Tiller one of the Complainants in the foregoing bill of complaint who after being duly sworn deposeth and says that the statements and charges containing therein so far as the same depend upon her own knowledge are true and so far as the same depends upon the knowledge of others, she believes them to be true.

Muscogee Tiller

Sworn to and subscribed before me this 30^th day of June, 1839
George F. Mathews

The foregoing complaint was copied from a copy found in the Macon Public Library. Transcription errors are certain, and spelling changes were made, both intentionally and unintentionally.

Hawkins Lavinia.doc
Complain.doc

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