1763 Vaughn Hilburn, Dobbs County, North Carolina Land records
On 23 Sep 1763 a patent was entered in Dobbs County, North Carolina for a 195 acre survey for Vaun Hilbern on the south side of Naughhunty (also spelled Nauhunty in another record for him). This land joined John Elliot and Robert Fellow’s lines and ran south to John Worrell and John Elliot’s corner. The chain bearers were John Rowell and Rich’d Worrell. This grant #66 was issued on December 21, 1763 & found in Book 8, p. 7.
SOURCE: Ancestry.com. North Carolina, Land Grant Files, 1693-1960. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: N. C. Land Grants. Microfilm publication, 770 rolls. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina
(An interesting observation from these records- Vaughn/Vaughan’s name is consistently spelled “Vaun” although Hilburn is spelled in the following ways- Hilborn, Hilburn, Hilbern, Hilbourn and Hillburn.)
It is unknown which Vaughan Hilburn bought this land in 1763. Was it the “first” Vaughan Hilburn who was in Isle of Wight, Virginia as early as 1730? If so, he would’ve had to have been approximately 54 years old when he bought this land in Dobbs. We do know that Vaughn Hilburn, #2, who married Elizabeth Worrell in Dobbs, died in 1834 in Mississippi. If this land was bought by him, he would’ve lived another 71 years, making him over 90 at death, and born by 1742.
This land is in “Walstonburg Quad” of Dobbs County on the south side of Nahunty in an area which later became Wayne County. Persons named in this record are:
- John ELLIOT- AL (adjoining landowner)
- Robert FELLOW- AL
- John WORRELL- AL
- Rich’d WORRELL- CB (Chain Bearer)
- John ROWELL- CB
Vaun Hilbern was the original patent owner and he owned this land for possibly 16 years and likely sold it between 1777-79.
Images of Vaun Hilburn’s 1763 land records:
In 1758, Dobbs County was formed from the eastern portion of Johnston County. Old Dobbs included today’s Wayne, Greene, Lenoir and small portions of several other counties.
RELATED LAND RECORDS: Vaughan Hilburn of Isle of Wight, Virginia was the first of the Hilbuns to be recorded as being in North Carolina. He was on a roster of the 1748 Edgecombe County Militia from John Sherrard’s company. This roster is from the State Records of North Carolina, Volume 22, pages 282-283. Other names on the list associated with Hilbern are (listed in order on the roster) John Rowell, John Worrel Sener, Richard Warrel, John Worrel, Juner, Vann Hilbern, and later on the list is Elisha Woodard and Thomas Woodard, Jun. Elisha Woodard later owned land in Duplin joining Hamblin Hilburn’s land on Buckhorn Creek. Also related is that in Edgecombe County in 1754, a John Hilburn was a sworn chain carrier on the land survey for John Proctor. The land was on Tyancoky Swamp and bordered Thomas Holliman’s land. Tyancoky Swamp is in the Pinetops Quadrangle.
SALE OF LAND: Not totally known. Vaughn Hillburn sold land to Samuel Pike p. 281 *, OLD DOBBS COUNTY BOOK 11 – January 1777 – April 1779. More details of this transaction are not known as the original deeds were lost. Although the following record sheds some light on Vaughn’s 195 acres he received in 1763- 1784 May 31 Sam Pike to son, Book 2, 1784-1785, 100 acres on the south side of Naughhunty Swamp, being part of a tract granted to Vaun HILLBORN on 21 Dec 1763.
ANALYSIS: Based on this 1763 land record and on other records mentioned, there is a preponderance of evidence to suggest that Vaughn and the Worrells were related. It’s believed that John Worrell was Vaughn’s father-in-law; Worrell’s 1788 will names a Elizabeth Hilburn as an heir. Two Worrell family members were named in Vaughn Hilburn’s 1834 estate in Hinds County, Mississippi after his death.
Both John Hilburn and Vaun Hilburn were in Edgecombe; Vaun #1 was there as early as 1748 and again in 1763 (Vaughan #1 or #2?) while John Hilburn was there in 1753. The distance between Tyancoky, now referred to as Cokey Swamp, and Nahunta (35.5126605, -77.7324773) is approximately 20 miles.
The 1834 Will of Vaughan Hilburn
Vaughan Hilburn, who was named in the 1790 Sampson County, North Carolina Census with nine children, died in Hinds County, Mississippi in 1834. He was likely the father of John, Frederick, Henry, Woodward, Vaughan Jr., James, Luke, Benjamin, and others. He is not to be confused with the “first” Vaughan Hilburn who was first recorded in Isle of Wight, VA (IOW, VA) in 1730. It’s most likely that this Vaughan of IOW, VA was the father of Vaughan Hilburn who died in Mississippi in 1834.
I first became aware of this will from the book Hinds County, Mississippi, Vol. I, 1822-1859, Will Book I Abstracts by Clara Wright Forrest, in which Vaughan’s will was transcribed. There were no familiar names listed in the will to suggest this was the same Vaughan Hilburn who was born in North Carolina and was likely the father of Hilburn men of Copiah, Misssissippi. Since this was only a transcription of the will, I felt it was necessary to view a copy of the original will.
In 2012, I went to the Mississippi State Archives and read a copy of the original will on microfilm. It was obvious that Mrs. Forrest’s transcription had some errors! Her transcription is as follows with my corrections in BOLD.
Abstract of Vaughan Hilborne’s Will, p. 41.
Hinds County, Mississippi, Vol. I, 1822-1859, Will Book I Abstracts by Clara Wright Forrest.
Vaughan Hilborne departed this life about the 5th of September 1834, & about a week before his death he reported (repeated) in a conversation with Wynand Vannamen that he should shortly die and that he wished what he had to be sold except his bed and bed cloaths, and that he wished Isaiah Warner (?) (Worrell) and Levi Bankston to see to the selling of said property and pay his debts and what was left he wished Axsa Waddel (?) (Axey Worrell) to have, and also he wished her to have his bed and bed clothing. He also said that this was his will and had been for some time- that he always wished for her (meaning the said Axey) to have what he had after paying his debts, that in repeating the above conversation he expressed it fully that it was his will. Probated October 27, 1834; Witness: Wynand Van Namen (signature)
This will was actually recorded in October, almost two months after Vaughan’s death and was based upon the testimony of a friend or neighbor in Hinds County. Vaughan Hilburn must have been living in Hinds County, MS at the time of his death. According to land records of persons named in the will, he was living in southern part of the couty which borders Copiah County, where his sons John & Frederick Hilburn owned land. Although only John Hilburn owned land by this date and his land was in Township 10, Range 8E in Section 14. At the end of 1834, Frederick Hilburn and John Hilburn, Jr. also bought land in the same township and range as John Sr.
It is believed that Vaughan Hilburn’s wife was Elizabeth Worrell, daughter of John Worrell who died after 1788 in Wayne County, North Carolina. In his will dated December 22, 1788, Worrell willed five shillings to several persons in a list- Wm. Worrell, Eliza Hilburn, Priscilla Peacock, and Benjamin Worrell. He did not state the relationship to these except he did identifyRich’d Worrell as a son, his wife and a grandson. It’s believed the others listed are relatives at least and likely children.
Will of Vaughan Hilborne, Hinds County, MS. 1834
Persons named in Vaughan Hilborne’s 1834 Will:
Wynand Van Namen. Van Namen was the witness who testified that he had spoken to Hilburn about his wishes only weeks before his death. He appears to have been a neighbor of Isaiah and Exum Worrell (see the Hinds County plat map on the following page). He is found in the 1830 and 1840 Hinds County census as “Hynand Van Namen”, age 30-40, and in the 1850 Hinds Census with wife Ann. He was born in Holland.
Axsa or Axey Worrell. Axsa or Axey Worrell, was born about 1810 in North Carolina and died in 1887 in Attala, MS., (according to the Worrell Family Website). At the time of Hilburn’s death she was single. She married James Mallette (b. 1788 VA) in Hinds County in 1837. His father was William Mallotte II; in 1809 Mallotte owned a inn on the “road west” in Baldwin Co., GA. In 1816 they moved to Lawrence Co., MS & later to Hinds County.
Biographical facts from the Bible given to Axsa by her father upon her marriage in 1837 mentions her sisters, Elizabeth (married Harrison Watson), Martha (married Wm R. Brock) and brother Exum. Her father, Isaiah is also mentioned in Vaughan’s will; he was the son of Richard Worrell, Sr. who was the brother of Vaughan Hilburn’s wife Elizabeth Worrell. According to family records, Vaughan married Elizabeth around 1748.
Isaiah Worrell– Isaiah was Vaughan Hilburn’s wife, Elizabeth’s nephew. He is believed to have been her brother Richard’s son. He was born in 1785 in Wayne County, NC and died after 1860 in Lebanon, Hinds County, Mississippi.
Lawrence County, Mississippi State & Territorial Census Collection 1792-1866. Date unknown.
- Isaiah Worrell 1-3-1-3 Total: 8
- Elijah Fisher 1-3-1-3 Total: 8
Isaiah Worrell is found in Monticello in Lawrence County, MS in the 1820 census. There were actually two Isaiah Worrells listed, along with a William Mallet.
Isaiah and Vaughan both appear to have moved from North Carolina to Mississippi Territory by 1812, as they are both found in early census records of Lawrence County. Since Worrell was named as administrator of Hilburn’s estate, it is believed that he and Vaughan were not only related by marriage but also close friends.
Levi Bankston– 1830 Census Hinds County Census- between 50-60 years old. In 1826, Bankston bought 80 acres in Hinds in Township 3 N, Range 3 W, Section 6 and lived fairly near Isaiah Worrell. The plat map below shows the section of Hinds County in which Bankston, Worrell and Van Namen lived.
Isaiah Worrell had land in sections 28 and 33, Exum Warrel had land in section 28, while Van Namen had 40 acres in Section 32. At the time Vaughan Hilburn died, Isaiah Worrell owned land in Section 33. These sections are slightly shaded for the purpose of identification.
Vaughan Hilburn Estate Records
(from MS. Archives; obtained from Ancestry.com)
1836 Dec 16. Inventory of Property Sold of Vaughan Hilburn estate.
Thos. A. Jelks, Isaiah Worle, James Mallett, John Brown, MC Moore, Jos. Stewart, John Brown, Charles Stovall, William Walker
Hilbun 