A Time of Growth for Littleberry

Littleberry was a farmer¹ and bought and sold hundreds of acres of land in Halifax County over his lifetime.  Like many farmers, Littleberry was a slave owner.  He would have needed a lot of hands to farm all of his land.  The 1800 census shows that he owned nine slaves.² The 1800 Halifax County tax lists show that Littleberry did not own any land but he paid taxes on six slaves (slaves of advanced age as well as children were generally not taxed).³ His first land purchase in Halifax County is believed to be in 1801 when he bought 118 acres of land adjoining property owned by his father-in-law, Willis Alston.⁴ By 1802, he was paying taxes on 255 acres of land and eight slaves.⁵  After acquiring his first bits of land, Littleberry acquired two more children.  Robert J., (my third great-grandfather) was born about 1803⁶ quickly followed by his brother, Thomas, in 1804.⁷  The addition of more children certainly would have been helpful on the farm.  It is likely that Littleberry’s children had the same type of upbringing as himself: doing chores and learning the basics of education from their parents.  As for schooling, options during this time were very limited and even then they were mostly for boys.  The first mention of a school was in 1806.  Several schools existed for many decades but some were short-lived.  It is likely that many families continued the practice of pooling their resources and hiring a teacher for the children in their area.⁸

In 1807, Willis Alston gifted 188 acres to Littleberry “for and in consideration of the love and natural love he beareth to said Littleberry Willcox his son in law.”⁹  Perhaps this is the land referred to in Willis’ will dated 1816 that was given to his daughter, Jenny¹⁰ (Littleberry’s wife), since married women did not usually own land in their name at that time.

By the time 1810 rolled around, Littleberry had thirteen slaves and had added a second daughter to the family named Susan.¹¹  The last two children, James William and Littleberry O., were born about 1812¹² and 1815,¹³ respectively, bringing the total number of children to eight.  By the time Littleberry O. was born, Littleberry was 49 years old, Virginia was 40 years old and the oldest child, Major, was 18 years old.  Virginia was certainly a blessed woman to have carried and delivered eight children during a time when many women and babies perished during childbirth. (It is possible that she had more children that did not survive although I have found no record of it.)  While Littleberry was enjoying his growing family, he suffered the loss of another brother, Major, who died in 1814 in Charles City County, Virginia.¹⁴ Major left a wife (Elizabeth Eppes Colgin)¹⁵ and several young children.  He was about 41 years old.

Littleberry became a father-in-law for the first time in 1817 when his oldest daughter, Elizabeth, married John Alston, her first cousin once removed.¹⁶  They quickly had four children, the first of Littleberry’s grandchildren.  Tragically, John died in 1824 at the age of 26 after a short illness,¹⁷ leaving Elizabeth alone to care for the children.  She continued living close to their families in Halifax County and we can imagine (and hope) that they were a big help to her. Tragedy soon struck again when Littleberry’s wife, Virginia, died on September 13, 1827, of a “short but severe indisposition” (sickness).¹⁸  We do not know the cause of death or even where she is buried.  She received only a brief mention in the North-Carolina Free Press death notices as the “beloved consort of Mr. Littleberry Wilcox.”¹⁹  She left several children still in the home, the youngest about 12 years of age.  She was blessed to see her first four grandchildren from her daughter, Elizabeth.  Little did she know that 41 more grandchildren would eventually join the family.

(See posts in chronological order)

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1. 1850 U. S. Census, Halifax County, North Carolina, population schedule, page 43 (stamped), dwelling 809, family 809, Littleberry Willcox; imaged, “1850 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/ : accessed 28 June 2026). ↩︎
2. 1800 U.S. Census, Halifax County, North Carolina, Hallifax [Halifax], page 348 (stamped at top left), line 34, Littleberry Willcox; imaged, “1800 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7590/ : accessed 5 July 2026). ↩︎
3. “Lists of taxables (Halifax County, North Carolina), 1784-1834, 1863,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3J-DSBV-8 : accessed 8 July 2026) > Tax lists 1784-1802, 1863 > image 115 of 317, entry for Littleberry Willcox, 1800, District No. 13; citing Halifax County (North Carolina), County Court Clerk. ↩︎
4. Halifax County, North Carolina, “Halifax County Register of Deeds, Record of Deeds, Vol. 18, 1796-1802,” 844-5, Littleberry Willcox, 8 September 1801; imaged “Deeds 1732-1934; index to deeds and mortgages 1732-1934,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99DD-66H1: accessed 8 July 2026) > Deeds, v. 18-19 1796-1805 > image 499 of 862; citing North Carolina. County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions (Halifax County). ↩︎
5. “Lists of taxables (Halifax County, North Carolina), 1784-1834, 1863,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3J-DS1S-2 : accessed 8 July 2026) > Tax lists 1784-1802, 1863 > image 35 of 317, entry for Littleberry Willcox, 1802, District No. 13; citing Halifax County (North Carolina), County Court Clerk. ↩︎
6. 1850 U.S. Census, Dallas County, Arkansas, population schedule, Princeton, page 39 (stamped), dwelling 520, family 520, Robt J Willcox; imaged, “1850 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/ : accessed 28 June 2026); Note: this page is filed with the Manchester Township pages in Ancestry. ↩︎
7. 1850 U. S. Census, Halifax County, North Carolina, population schedule, page 76b (stamped), dwelling 1464, family 1464, Thos Willcox; imaged, “1850 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/ : accessed 28 June 2026). ↩︎
8. Allen, W. C., History of Halifax County (Boston: The Cornhill Company, 1918) 76-9; digitized at Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/HistoryOfHalifaxCountync : accessed 30 June 2026). ↩︎
9. Halifax County, North Carolina, “Halifax County Register of Deeds, Record of Deeds, Vol. 21, 1807-1811,” 25-6, Littleberry Willcox, 18 May 1807; imaged “Deeds 1732-1934; index to deeds and mortgages 1732-1934,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9DD-636M: accessed 8 July 2026) > Deeds, v. 20-21 1805-1811 > image 328 of 634; citing North Carolina. County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions (Halifax County) ↩︎
10. Halifax County, North Carolina, “Record of Wills Vol. 3, 1781-1824,”
    646-7, Willis Alston, 9 September 1816; imaged “North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970,”
    database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939L-VGSX-Z: accessed 30 June 2026) > Halifax > Wills, 1781-1824, Vol. 03 > image 697-8 of 763; citing county courthouses, North Carolina. ↩︎
11. 1850 U.S. Census, Carroll Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, Western District, page 24 (stamped), dwelling 68, family 68, Susan H Watts; imaged, “1850 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/ : accessed 28 June 2026) ↩︎
12. 1850 U. S. Census, DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, population schedule, page 202b (stamped), dwelling 628, family 609, James W. Wilcox; imaged, “1850 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/ : accessed 28 June 2026) ↩︎
13. 1870 U. S. Census, Halifax County, North Carolina, population schedule, Formosa Township, page 35 (penned), dwelling 266, family 266, Littleberry Wilcox; imaged, “1870 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163/ : accessed 8 July 2026). ↩︎
14. Tyler, Sherry Brown, 80% Heaven Bound: Deaths & Burials in Charles City County, Virginia (Charles City County Historical Society, n.d.), 462. ↩︎
15. Charles City County, Virginia, “Will book 1789-1808,” 626, John Colgin, 2 February 1805; imaged “Will books, 1789-1878; general index to wills and fiduciary accounts, 1789-1954,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89PH-YHKS: accessed 8 July 2026) > Will book, Vol. 1 1789-1808 > image 282 of 345; citing Charles City County Court, Virginia. ↩︎
16. “North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60548 : accessed 8 July 2026) > Halifax > Marriage Bonds (1815-1882) > image 77 of 5393, entry for Elizabeth Willcox and John Alston, 11 December 1817; citing North Carolina County Registers of Deeds, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC. ↩︎
17. “Obituary: John H. Alston,” North-Carolina Free Press, Halifax, North Carolina, 10 September 1824, page 3, column 5; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/67878592/ : accessed 8 July 2026). ↩︎
18. “Died: Mrs. Wilcox,” Weekly Raleigh Register, Raleigh, North Carolina, 28 September 1827, page 1, column 4; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/56878596/ : accessed 8 July 2026). ↩︎
19. “Obituary: Mrs. Willcox,” North-Carolina Free Press, Halifax, North Carolina, 29 September 1827, page 3, column 4; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/67869186/ : accessed 8 July 2026). ↩︎