Individual Details
Wilson Mathias "Tise" FURR
(18 Jul 1804 - 16 Mar 1860)
He was a very wealthy man who owned many slaves and a large plantation. He purchased one slave named Patsy, who was caught in Africa by slave traders, for three guns.
The following was provided by Shirley S. Plummer (sunhat@bellsouth.net):
Will Book 1, page 216 & 217 Clerk of Court’s Office, Stanly County Court House, Albemarle, N. C. Matthais Furr’s Will
In the name of God Amen. I Matthais Furr of the county of Stanly and state of North Carolina being in a bad state of health but of sound mind & memory thank God, and calling to mind that men must illegible die have concluded to make this my last will and testament; that is to say, 1st my wish and desire that after my decease my body be taken to the grave yard at Flat Rock Church and there buried in a descent christian burial., the expenses thereof to be paid by my Executor, as to my property that the Lord has blessed me with. I wish to dispose of it in the following manner, that is to say my wish and desire is that all my just debts be paid first by my executor, I want them to sell all my loose property such as my wife don’t want, as to the balance of my property consisting of negroes, lands, horses, cattle, hogs, sheep @ give to my wife in trust during her widowhood and should she marry she is to have a child part out of it. I want my wife to give to each my sons as they marry one hundred acres of land a piece and such property as I give to them that has already married so as to make them as near equal as I can. After my wifes decease or widowhood my wish is that the above property I gave to my wife in trust shall be put to public sale and the money arising therefrom shall be equally divided among all my sons and daughters share and share alike. I have one daughter single @ want my wife to give to her such property as we gave to the rest that have married. If any of the negroes should become so bad that she could not live in peace she shall hire them out during her right over the illegible and the money rising therefrom she may keep to support the family with. And lastly I appoint my beloved wife and James L. Hartsell executor of this my last will and testament this 9th 185? (appears to be 1856) Signed in the presence of C. Melchor, Hueston Hartsell, North Carolina, Stanly County. Matthais Furr Seal May 1860. The last will & testament of Matthais Furr illegible in open court & admitted to probate on the oath of C. Melchor & Hueston Hartsell, the executor James Hartsell and executrix Mary Furr therein named came into court and renounced their right to execute the same and said will ordered to be recorded (Signature is illegible)
While I had my Mathias Furr record open and was looking for a copy of his will, I noticed a bit of miscellaneous information which you might like to read. Several years ago I was in the family history room at Stanly County Public Library and I copied the following information:
Montgomery County- Earliest Extant Deeds 1774-1842 December 30, 1840 Moses Kisor to Daniel Reap $200.00. One Negro girl named Nicy about the age of five years old. Witness: Mathias Furr and A. Huneycutt * [*A. Huneycutt was Andrew Huneycutt, another gggrandfather].
The next book I read that day was entitled Abandoned Cemeteries by Helen Garner. I found the epitaph for Nicy who was buried at Flat Rock Lutheran Cemetery where Mathias, wife Mary and several of their children were buried. Inscription on her marker was, ‘Sacred to the memory of NICY, a slave, the property of D. Reap. Dec. May 27, 1856, 21 years.’
When Mathias made his will c 1856 he had already given land to his married children. He still had around 1,800 acres of land in 1860 when he died. There were approximately 16 legal size pages listing notes payable to his estate when he died, names of the debtors and amounts due [rounded off to nearest ½ cent] were included. Some of the amounts were for as little as 40 cents and the largest amount was over $500.00. His administrators were unable to collect these notes and they petitioned the court to allow them to sell the notes. It was interesting to note that quite a few of these debtors died during the Civil War. Mathias had money deposited at Charlotte Mint. His administrators collected $79.00 in interest. He was a Justice of the Peace [I counted about 35 couples he married in the 1850's, per Stanly County marriage records] a planter and he also traded in hides, according to estate records.
Shirley S. Plummer
George Thomas' web site notes:
Like Cabarrus and Rowan counties, Montgomery had a large population of Germans. Peter Pless attended Flat Rock Lutheran Church. Formed in 1835 on land donated by Mathias Furr, Flat Rock was a simple log chapel situated less than a mile north of present day Stanfield. As the Methodists and Baptists gained in numbers, Flat Rock closed its doors and in the 1890's was layed down. Even though today there is no evidence of a church ever being there, the surviving cemetery is clearly the resting place of a substantial lutheran community. Surnames include Reap, Pless, Furr, Sossaman, and others. Both slaves and their masters are buried in this cemetery. In one row of the cemetery lies Peter Pless, his son Solomon Pless, daughter-in-law Winna Murry Pless (wife of Adam), and Mathias Furr.
The loose estate records for W. Mathias Furr provide a wealth of information. First, Mary's petition for widow's dower right indicates that Mathias had 1,800 acres of land. On 22 Jan 1861, a commission laid off three tracts totaling 372 acres in the vicinity of Flat Rock church. Also, among the many holdings listed in the accounting of Mathias's estate, included is money in the "Charlotte Mint." It appears Mathias either owned a mine or was at least heavily involved in gold mining. On 2 Apr 1860, a notice for final settlement lists all heirs to the estate of W. Mathias Furr. Omiting the name of his wife, James W. Love appears on the list of heirs of W. Mathias Furr. It appears he is listed on behalf of his children and after the death of his wife Melinda Furr Love. The record appears below.
NOTE: Found in 'loose paper' Estate files of Stanly CO NC located @ NC Archives in Raleigh CR.089.508.15
State of North Carolina.)...In the Probate
Stanly CO...................)...Court
.................................April 2nd 1872
To Isrial J. Furr, Levi L. Furr, Wilson Furr, Solomon Pless and wife Caroline Pless, Jas. W. Love, Jesse Long and wife Hester C. Long, John Long and wife Jane, Jonah J. Love, John E. Love, Laban Smith guardian of James F. Furr & Elizabeth Furr, Nelson Furr, Julius Furr, Elisabeth Furr, Pink Furr, Lawson Furr, Henry Reed adm. of L__page torn__ Dec, Thomas Love adm. of Polly Furr, Thomas Love and wife Rena Love, Andrew Huneycutt adm. of Allen Furr, Noah Barbee adm. of E/B. Furr. You are hereby notified that Thomas J. Shin and Frederic Furr as adm. of Mathias Furr dec. will file their final act for settlement of said estate before the undersigned at his office in Albemarle on Wednesday the first day of May 1872 when and where upon may appear witness. My hand and seal of said court. April 2nd 1872
J. M. Redwine
Probate Judge
SEE also copy of accounts and other documents found in this 'loose paper' file. One names heirs Israel J. Furr, Levi L. Furr, Wilson Furr, Caroline who intermarried with Solomon Pless, Lovina Malinda who [Lovina Malinda is crossed off = assume because she has passed] intermarried with James W. Love who is dec.d Intestate & without any Administrator leaving surviving her Ma_hia M. Love, Hester C. who intermarried with Jesse Long, Jane who intermarried with John Long, Jonah ?I/J? Love an Infant without Guardian John E. Love an infant also without a Guardian, James F. Furr an infant who has a regular Guardian to wit Laban Smith, Elizabeth Furr and Infant without a Guardian, & Nelson Furr without a Guardian, Juluis Furr, Elizabeth Furr, Pink Furr, Lawson Furr all infants without a Guardian and Henry Reed Adm.n apt ?Lawson? Furr dec.d , Thomas Love an Adm.n of Polly Furr. Rena who intermarried with Thomas Love, who died Intestate & ?no? Adm.n on her Andrew Huneycutt Adm.n Allen Furr intestate. Signed Thos J. Shinn, and Frederick Furr. Henry Reed Adm. is listed in the side column = he may have signed, or someone added his name. This was a 'loose paper' document not dated & found in the estate file of Mathias Furr. I also copied the record from this file dated April 2, 1872 that someone else had given you, but one should compare the names of the heirs.
NOTE: The following document was found in 'loose paper' Estate files of Stanly CO NC located @ NC Archives in Raleigh CR.089.508.15 File Jacket of Allen Furr. Petition of Levi L. Furr, Wilson M. Furr, Israel J. Furr, James Love & wife Malinda, Solomon Pless and wife Caroline vs Franklin Furr, Bettie Furr, Nelson Furr, Juluis Furr, Eve Furr filed Oct 3, 1870. All parties have interest in a certain tract of land situated in sd county adj the lands of B.N. Smith & others containing 100ac, more or less, and the Plaintiffs desire to hold their interest in severality and to that end pray that an order be made to sell sd lands and that the proceeds to be divided equally bet Petitioners, that each of the Petitioners have a 1/8 interest, that the Defendants all are minors and that they desire a Guardian be appt. for each.
Another document in this file jacket was dated Oct 10, 1870 Levi L. Furr etal vs Franklin Furr, Nelson Furr, Bettie Furr, Julius Furr, Lawson Furr & Eve Furr In this cause it was ordered that Samuel S. Stone be appt Guardian for the Defendants , also ordered that the lands be sold on a credit of six months, that the purchaser being required to pay cash enough to cover this action and that the give bond and security for the payments of the balance of the purchase money, and that report of such sale be made in writing to the crt.
The following was provided by Shirley S. Plummer (sunhat@bellsouth.net):
Will Book 1, page 216 & 217 Clerk of Court’s Office, Stanly County Court House, Albemarle, N. C. Matthais Furr’s Will
In the name of God Amen. I Matthais Furr of the county of Stanly and state of North Carolina being in a bad state of health but of sound mind & memory thank God, and calling to mind that men must illegible die have concluded to make this my last will and testament; that is to say, 1st my wish and desire that after my decease my body be taken to the grave yard at Flat Rock Church and there buried in a descent christian burial., the expenses thereof to be paid by my Executor, as to my property that the Lord has blessed me with. I wish to dispose of it in the following manner, that is to say my wish and desire is that all my just debts be paid first by my executor, I want them to sell all my loose property such as my wife don’t want, as to the balance of my property consisting of negroes, lands, horses, cattle, hogs, sheep @ give to my wife in trust during her widowhood and should she marry she is to have a child part out of it. I want my wife to give to each my sons as they marry one hundred acres of land a piece and such property as I give to them that has already married so as to make them as near equal as I can. After my wifes decease or widowhood my wish is that the above property I gave to my wife in trust shall be put to public sale and the money arising therefrom shall be equally divided among all my sons and daughters share and share alike. I have one daughter single @ want my wife to give to her such property as we gave to the rest that have married. If any of the negroes should become so bad that she could not live in peace she shall hire them out during her right over the illegible and the money rising therefrom she may keep to support the family with. And lastly I appoint my beloved wife and James L. Hartsell executor of this my last will and testament this 9th 185? (appears to be 1856) Signed in the presence of C. Melchor, Hueston Hartsell, North Carolina, Stanly County. Matthais Furr Seal May 1860. The last will & testament of Matthais Furr illegible in open court & admitted to probate on the oath of C. Melchor & Hueston Hartsell, the executor James Hartsell and executrix Mary Furr therein named came into court and renounced their right to execute the same and said will ordered to be recorded (Signature is illegible)
While I had my Mathias Furr record open and was looking for a copy of his will, I noticed a bit of miscellaneous information which you might like to read. Several years ago I was in the family history room at Stanly County Public Library and I copied the following information:
Montgomery County- Earliest Extant Deeds 1774-1842 December 30, 1840 Moses Kisor to Daniel Reap $200.00. One Negro girl named Nicy about the age of five years old. Witness: Mathias Furr and A. Huneycutt * [*A. Huneycutt was Andrew Huneycutt, another gggrandfather].
The next book I read that day was entitled Abandoned Cemeteries by Helen Garner. I found the epitaph for Nicy who was buried at Flat Rock Lutheran Cemetery where Mathias, wife Mary and several of their children were buried. Inscription on her marker was, ‘Sacred to the memory of NICY, a slave, the property of D. Reap. Dec. May 27, 1856, 21 years.’
When Mathias made his will c 1856 he had already given land to his married children. He still had around 1,800 acres of land in 1860 when he died. There were approximately 16 legal size pages listing notes payable to his estate when he died, names of the debtors and amounts due [rounded off to nearest ½ cent] were included. Some of the amounts were for as little as 40 cents and the largest amount was over $500.00. His administrators were unable to collect these notes and they petitioned the court to allow them to sell the notes. It was interesting to note that quite a few of these debtors died during the Civil War. Mathias had money deposited at Charlotte Mint. His administrators collected $79.00 in interest. He was a Justice of the Peace [I counted about 35 couples he married in the 1850's, per Stanly County marriage records] a planter and he also traded in hides, according to estate records.
Shirley S. Plummer
George Thomas' web site notes:
Like Cabarrus and Rowan counties, Montgomery had a large population of Germans. Peter Pless attended Flat Rock Lutheran Church. Formed in 1835 on land donated by Mathias Furr, Flat Rock was a simple log chapel situated less than a mile north of present day Stanfield. As the Methodists and Baptists gained in numbers, Flat Rock closed its doors and in the 1890's was layed down. Even though today there is no evidence of a church ever being there, the surviving cemetery is clearly the resting place of a substantial lutheran community. Surnames include Reap, Pless, Furr, Sossaman, and others. Both slaves and their masters are buried in this cemetery. In one row of the cemetery lies Peter Pless, his son Solomon Pless, daughter-in-law Winna Murry Pless (wife of Adam), and Mathias Furr.
The loose estate records for W. Mathias Furr provide a wealth of information. First, Mary's petition for widow's dower right indicates that Mathias had 1,800 acres of land. On 22 Jan 1861, a commission laid off three tracts totaling 372 acres in the vicinity of Flat Rock church. Also, among the many holdings listed in the accounting of Mathias's estate, included is money in the "Charlotte Mint." It appears Mathias either owned a mine or was at least heavily involved in gold mining. On 2 Apr 1860, a notice for final settlement lists all heirs to the estate of W. Mathias Furr. Omiting the name of his wife, James W. Love appears on the list of heirs of W. Mathias Furr. It appears he is listed on behalf of his children and after the death of his wife Melinda Furr Love. The record appears below.
NOTE: Found in 'loose paper' Estate files of Stanly CO NC located @ NC Archives in Raleigh CR.089.508.15
State of North Carolina.)...In the Probate
Stanly CO...................)...Court
.................................April 2nd 1872
To Isrial J. Furr, Levi L. Furr, Wilson Furr, Solomon Pless and wife Caroline Pless, Jas. W. Love, Jesse Long and wife Hester C. Long, John Long and wife Jane, Jonah J. Love, John E. Love, Laban Smith guardian of James F. Furr & Elizabeth Furr, Nelson Furr, Julius Furr, Elisabeth Furr, Pink Furr, Lawson Furr, Henry Reed adm. of L__page torn__ Dec, Thomas Love adm. of Polly Furr, Thomas Love and wife Rena Love, Andrew Huneycutt adm. of Allen Furr, Noah Barbee adm. of E/B. Furr. You are hereby notified that Thomas J. Shin and Frederic Furr as adm. of Mathias Furr dec. will file their final act for settlement of said estate before the undersigned at his office in Albemarle on Wednesday the first day of May 1872 when and where upon may appear witness. My hand and seal of said court. April 2nd 1872
J. M. Redwine
Probate Judge
SEE also copy of accounts and other documents found in this 'loose paper' file. One names heirs Israel J. Furr, Levi L. Furr, Wilson Furr, Caroline who intermarried with Solomon Pless, Lovina Malinda who [Lovina Malinda is crossed off = assume because she has passed] intermarried with James W. Love who is dec.d Intestate & without any Administrator leaving surviving her Ma_hia M. Love, Hester C. who intermarried with Jesse Long, Jane who intermarried with John Long, Jonah ?I/J? Love an Infant without Guardian John E. Love an infant also without a Guardian, James F. Furr an infant who has a regular Guardian to wit Laban Smith, Elizabeth Furr and Infant without a Guardian, & Nelson Furr without a Guardian, Juluis Furr, Elizabeth Furr, Pink Furr, Lawson Furr all infants without a Guardian and Henry Reed Adm.n apt ?Lawson? Furr dec.d , Thomas Love an Adm.n of Polly Furr. Rena who intermarried with Thomas Love, who died Intestate & ?no? Adm.n on her Andrew Huneycutt Adm.n Allen Furr intestate. Signed Thos J. Shinn, and Frederick Furr. Henry Reed Adm. is listed in the side column = he may have signed, or someone added his name. This was a 'loose paper' document not dated & found in the estate file of Mathias Furr. I also copied the record from this file dated April 2, 1872 that someone else had given you, but one should compare the names of the heirs.
NOTE: The following document was found in 'loose paper' Estate files of Stanly CO NC located @ NC Archives in Raleigh CR.089.508.15 File Jacket of Allen Furr. Petition of Levi L. Furr, Wilson M. Furr, Israel J. Furr, James Love & wife Malinda, Solomon Pless and wife Caroline vs Franklin Furr, Bettie Furr, Nelson Furr, Juluis Furr, Eve Furr filed Oct 3, 1870. All parties have interest in a certain tract of land situated in sd county adj the lands of B.N. Smith & others containing 100ac, more or less, and the Plaintiffs desire to hold their interest in severality and to that end pray that an order be made to sell sd lands and that the proceeds to be divided equally bet Petitioners, that each of the Petitioners have a 1/8 interest, that the Defendants all are minors and that they desire a Guardian be appt. for each.
Another document in this file jacket was dated Oct 10, 1870 Levi L. Furr etal vs Franklin Furr, Nelson Furr, Bettie Furr, Julius Furr, Lawson Furr & Eve Furr In this cause it was ordered that Samuel S. Stone be appt Guardian for the Defendants , also ordered that the lands be sold on a credit of six months, that the purchaser being required to pay cash enough to cover this action and that the give bond and security for the payments of the balance of the purchase money, and that report of such sale be made in writing to the crt.
Events
| Birth | 18 Jul 1804 | Cabarrus County, NC | |||
| Marriage | 17 Jan 1829 | Cabarrus County, NC - Mary "Polly" PAGE |  | ||
| Death | 16 Mar 1860 | of asthma - Stanfield, Stanly County, NC | |||
| Burial | Flat Rock Lutheran Church Cemetery, Locust, Stanly County, NC | |
Families
| Spouse | Mary "Polly" PAGE (1804 - 1866) |
| Child | Malinda Lovina FURR (1826 - 1863) |
| Child | Eliza Caroline FURR (1827 - 1907) |
| Child | Wilson Mathias FURR (1829 - 1899) |
| Child | Israel Jackson FURR (1832 - 1904) |
| Child | Lawson Alexander FURR (1834 - 1864) |
| Child | Levi Lee FURR (1835 - 1915) |
| Child | John J. FURR (1838 - 1862) |
| Child | Ephraim H. FURR (1840 - 1866) |
| Child | Mary Serena FURR (1842 - 1866) |
| Child | Allen M. FURR (1844 - 1862) |
| Father | Paul FURR Jr. (1784 - 1843) |
| Mother | Rosanna PECK (1785 - ) |
| Sibling | Lavinia FURR (1806 - 1891) |
| Sibling | Eliza E. FURR (1808 - 1837) |
| Sibling | Paul P. FURR (1814 - 1876) |
| Sibling | Levi F. FURR (1815 - 1880) |
| Sibling | Moses Henry FURR (1816 - 1895) |
| Sibling | Allen "Al" FURR (1820 - 1873) |
| Sibling | Frederick "Fred/Freddie" FURR (1820 - 1884) |
Endnotes
1. North Carolina Marriage Collection, 1741-2004 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007..
2. findagrave.com.