Assistance In Deciphering Slave Names In Will

I looked it up, thinking it must be a Bible name so obscure I'd never heard of it. Instead I find Malsherbes was a French official. Makes you wonder what the connection was with your family.
Hmmm. That’s interesting. I didn’t think to Google the name to see how rare it was. Like you, I just assumed it was some Biblical name. Do you recall the French official’s name? It might come in handy in the future if I, or some other member in the family, does more research.
 
Hmmm. That’s interesting. I didn’t think to Google the name to see how rare it was. Like you, I just assumed it was some Biblical name. Do you recall the French official’s name? It might come in handy in the future if I, or some other member in the family, does more research.
Ok. I found this:

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That fellow Malesherbes is more interesting than he seems! He appears to have been a royalist who was trying to reform the monarchy and curb its power, and ended up defending the king not because he thought the king was right but because he believed the revolution was the wrong way to change things. It didn't end for him as it did for John Adams defending the British soldiers after the Boston massacre... Appears they lopped off his head and his whole family with him. But...you're here so I guess they didn't get 'em all! :D
 
Same as I found. A pretty obscure guy to chose for your son's name!

If I were to bet, I’d wager that the French official might have been someone who the family knew about through legal studies. My 5 x Great grandfather (William Jones’s father) was a lawyer in pre and revolutionary NC who supposedly helped write North Carolina’s first Constitution.

I’ve got this from a book. It talks about one of my uncles who was also related to William Jones:

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If I were to bet, I’d wager that the French official might have been someone who the family knew about through legal studies. My 5 x Great grandfather (William Jones’s father) was a lawyer in pre and revolutionary NC who supposedly helped write North Carolina’s first Constitution.

I’ve got this from a book. It talks about one of my uncles who was also related to William Jones:

View attachment 349148
Could be. It certainly is unique! When I put it into ancestry, your relative was the only hit I got. And nothing else was even close!
 
My 5 x Great grandfather (William Jones’s father) was a lawyer
Imagine that. 🤔 Hereditary?
If I were to bet, I’d wager that the French official might have been someone who the family knew about through legal studies. My 5 x Great grandfather (William Jones’s father) was a lawyer in pre and revolutionary NC who supposedly helped write North Carolina’s first Constitution.

I’ve got this from a book. It talks about one of my uncles who was also related to William Jones:

View attachment 349148
The NC State Constitution dates to 1776. The newspapers of the day seem to have covered its creation pretty well. Have you looked to see if you can find anything about Hon Thomas Jones of Edenton?
 
Imagine that. 🤔 Hereditary?

The NC State Constitution dates to 1776. The newspapers of the day seem to have covered its creation pretty well. Have you looked to see if you can find anything about Hon Thomas Jones of Edenton?
Not really. I’ve been putting it off. It seems I tried to but ran into some kind of problem.

I did find this biography of him in a North Carolina publication a couple years ago. It doesn’t mention William though.

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