Lucy Dabney

1785/86 - Aft 1850  (> 65 years)

• Name	Lucy Dabney  [1]
  Born	1785/86	King William County, Virginia   [2]
  Gender	Female
  Died	Aft 1850	Henrico County, Virginia   [2]
  Person ID	I27	Dabneys of Virginia
  Last Modified	12 Feb 2017

  
  

  Father	Richard Dabney,   b. 1750/51, King William County, Virginia ,   d. 24 May 1800, King William County, Virginia  (Age 49 years)
  Mother	Diana Gwathmey,   b. 31 Oct 1755, King and Queen County, Virginia ,   d. 14 Aug 1824, King William County, Virginia  (Age 68 years)
  Married	18 May 1774  [3]
  Family ID	F16	Group Sheet

  
  

  Family	John Mullen Merritt,   b. 30 Sep 1777, Mt. Holly, Burlington County, New Jersey ,   d. 18 Feb 1827, Henrico County, Virginia  (Age 49 years)
  Married	1808/09	King William County, Virginia   [4]
  Last Modified	3 Aug 2009
  Family ID	F24	Group Sheet

  
  

• Notes

  Lucy Dabney was born to Richard and Diana (Gwathmey) Dabney in 1785/86 in King William County, Virginia. She married John Mullen Merritt, who may have been a wheelwright, about 1808. John was born September 30, 1777 at Mt. Holly, in Burlington County, New Jersey. John and Lucy were living in Richmond when the 1810 and 1820 Censuses were taken. They had five children: Mary Diana, born in 1809/10; John M. Jr., William H., and George W., born between 1810 and 1820; and Ellenora Ann, born between 1820 and 1825. Because of difficulty in identifying them in the post-1840 censuses and conflicts in the data, it was not possible to determine birth dates more accurately. In 1818, John and Lucy sold a lot having a 112 foot frontage in Richmond. John was first listed in the Henrico County personal property tax list in 1824 with two slaves. Lucy’s mother died in August, 1824, and the slaves may have been a gift from her or an inheritance. John continued to be listed in the personal property tax list until 1826 and his estate was listed subsequenty until 1830, probably for the support of Lucy and the children. John died February 18, 1827. The court-appointed appraisers for John’s estate included Richard Dabney, a son of Lucy’s cousin, William Dabney Jr. of King William County. The highest valued items of personal property were 7 slaves, whose total valuation comprised about 80% of the total valuation. The two oldest slaves received no valuation. It was customary for slave owners to support elderly slaves until they died. After John’s death, Lucy bought a 14 acre tract in Henrico County in December, 1827, with a deed of trust mortgage. In January, 1840, she gave John and George $150 each as their share of their father’s estate. When the 1840 census was taken, Lucy was living alone with Ellenora, and Mary, George, and John were married. In October, 1845, Lucy sold the tract that she bought in 1827 for $600. In May, 1849, Lucy bought a lot on Clay Street in Richmond for $600. In January, 1850, Lucy gave the lot on Clay Street and some slaves to her daughter, Mary Diana (Merritt) Gordon for Mary’s exclusive use, “free from the marital rights of her present husband,” indicating a rift and perhaps a separation from him. The purpose of the purchase and relatively quick transfer of title may have been to place the bulk of Lucy’s estate in Mary’s hands free of possible claims by her husband or brothers. In the 1850 census, Lucy was living with Mary Gordon and her married granddaughter and husband, Mary I. and Charles Habliston, a furniture dealer in Henrico County. Lucy was not found in the 1860 census and probably died between 1850 and 1860. [2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12]

  
  

• Sources

  [S38] p. 162.. [S43] [S47] [S45] [S44] [S65] [S75] [S76] [S77] [S67] [S78] [S79]