Fountain
Information
Fountain was enslaved by my ancestor. My Forbis family migrated West to Oklahoma in late 1800s, then California during the depression. I am the first to return to Kentucky, and am searching for my family’s role in enslaving Black people.
Resources
Link to Will of James Forbis, who enslaved Fountain
Wills 1839 death James Forbis – page number 154, volume 3, Image 97
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9P3H-9CRY?mode=g&cat=423036Text reads: “”I give to Josiah Nigh to be held by him in trust for the use and benefit of my daughter Patsy Taylor half of my negro boy named Fountain and one half of all my stock of cattle on hand at my death also two horses worth fifty dollars each. Witness my hand and seal of August 27, 1839″”
How does one give away half of a person?