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Research object · BT-CLM-00162

Hilliard remained in Taliaferro estate proceedings through 1855.

Documented· 4 sourcesLast reviewed August 9, 2026
Research & Interpretation byAmberly R. Carter-Mills— Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist

The Claim

A March 1855 petition names Hilliard among enslaved people belonging to the estate, and a 23 March 1855 appraisal values him at $1,000.

Public Summary

Two separate 1855 court documents name Hilliard and record a valuation of $1,000.

Evidence Reviewed

  • SupportsStrong

    Hilliard is named in the March 1855 estate petition among enslaved people listed as belonging to William Q. Taliaferro's estate.

    Source: William Q. Taliaferro Estate Petition Naming Enslaved People, March 1855 · FamilySearch (digital images of county court records)

  • SupportsStrong

    Hilliard was appraised at $1,000 in the 23 March 1855 estate appraisal.

    Source: William Q. Taliaferro Estate Appraisal of Enslaved People, 23 March 1855 · FamilySearch (digital images of county court records)

  • SupportsModerate

    Hilliard is named in a published notice of a dispute concerning the ownership of enslaved people.

    Source: Notice of Estate Ownership Dispute Concerning Enslaved People · Repository pending confirmation

  • ContextualizesContext Only

    Other enslaved people are named alongside Hilliard in the same notice: Joe, Ellis, Horace, Richard, Ann, Moses, Aggy, Paul, Anthony, and Agnes and her children. The notice does not state any relationship between them.

    Source: Notice of Estate Ownership Dispute Concerning Enslaved People · Repository pending confirmation

    A collateral network worth tracing. No kinship is asserted.

The Evidence Trail

Step 1 · Claim

Hilliard remained in Taliaferro estate proceedings through 1855.

Documented· 4 sources

BT-CLM-00162

A March 1855 petition names Hilliard among enslaved people belonging to the estate, and a 23 March 1855 appraisal values him at $1,000.

Step 2 · Evidence & Source

  1. Supports · Strong weight

    Hilliard is named in the March 1855 estate petition among enslaved people listed as belonging to William Q. Taliaferro's estate.

    William Q. Taliaferro Estate Petition Naming Enslaved People, March 1855 · FamilySearch (digital images of county court records) · Digital Image

    BT-EVD-00127 ← BT-SRC-00114

  2. Supports · Strong weight

    Hilliard was appraised at $1,000 in the 23 March 1855 estate appraisal.

    William Q. Taliaferro Estate Appraisal of Enslaved People, 23 March 1855 · FamilySearch (digital images of county court records) · Digital Image

    BT-EVD-00128 ← BT-SRC-00115

  3. Supports · Moderate weight

    Hilliard is named in a published notice of a dispute concerning the ownership of enslaved people.

    Notice of Estate Ownership Dispute Concerning Enslaved People · Repository pending confirmation · Digital Image

    BT-EVD-00130 ← BT-SRC-00116

  4. Contextualizes · Context Only weight

    Other enslaved people are named alongside Hilliard in the same notice: Joe, Ellis, Horace, Richard, Ann, Moses, Aggy, Paul, Anthony, and Agnes and her children. The notice does not state any relationship between them.

    Notice of Estate Ownership Dispute Concerning Enslaved People · Repository pending confirmation · Digital Image

    BT-EVD-00129 ← BT-SRC-00116

    Researcher interpretation · Amberly R. Carter-Mills

    A collateral network worth tracing. No kinship is asserted.

Step 3 · Conclusion

No conclusion has been published. This remains an open research question.

How the Evidence Sits Together

What supports the claim

Observations that carry the claim forward.

  • Hilliard is named in the March 1855 estate petition among enslaved people listed as belonging to William Q. Taliaferro's estate.

    Supports · Strong weight

    William Q. Taliaferro Estate Petition Naming Enslaved People, March 1855

  • Hilliard was appraised at $1,000 in the 23 March 1855 estate appraisal.

    Supports · Strong weight

    William Q. Taliaferro Estate Appraisal of Enslaved People, 23 March 1855

  • Hilliard is named in a published notice of a dispute concerning the ownership of enslaved people.

    Supports · Moderate weight

    Notice of Estate Ownership Dispute Concerning Enslaved People

What complicates or contradicts it

Kept in view rather than discarded.

  • Nothing in this column for this claim.

What only provides context

Consistent, but not identifying or probative on its own.

  • Other enslaved people are named alongside Hilliard in the same notice: Joe, Ellis, Horace, Richard, Ann, Moses, Aggy, Paul, Anthony, and Agnes and her children. The notice does not state any relationship between them.

    Contextualizes · Context Only weight

    Notice of Estate Ownership Dispute Concerning Enslaved People

    A collateral network worth tracing. No kinship is asserted.

Research Conclusion

No conclusion has been published for this claim. It remains an open research question.

Amberly's Research Notes

From the research notebook ofAmberly R. Carter-Mills— Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist

What We Still Need to Find

No outstanding research question has been recorded.

Provenance, Access and Use

Source creator
Varies by record — see each source
Who made the original record.
Researcher of record
Amberly R. Carter-Mills — Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist
Located, transcribed, weighed and interpreted the evidence.
Publishing archive
BEFORE TILL: The Living Evidence Archive
Holds the object, its identifiers and its revision history.

William Q. Taliaferro Estate Petition Naming Enslaved People, March 1855

BT-SRC-00114
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. Digital image of original recordOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.
Creator
Not recorded
Date created
Not recorded
Repository
FamilySearch (digital images of county court records)
Collection
Copiah County, Mississippi, County Court probate records
Record form
Digital Image
Source type
Probate
Accessed
Not recorded

Access and use

No rights statement has been recorded for this source. Verify rights with the holding repository before republication.

BEFORE TILL publishes description, transcription and analysis. Reuse of the underlying record is governed by the holding repository. Cite this archive by its persistent identifier when quoting our reading of the record.

William Q. Taliaferro Estate Appraisal of Enslaved People, 23 March 1855

BT-SRC-00115
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. Digital image of original recordOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.
Creator
Not recorded
Date created
Not recorded
Repository
FamilySearch (digital images of county court records)
Collection
Copiah County, Mississippi, County Court probate records
Record form
Digital Image
Source type
Probate
Accessed
Not recorded

Access and use

No rights statement has been recorded for this source. Verify rights with the holding repository before republication.

BEFORE TILL publishes description, transcription and analysis. Reuse of the underlying record is governed by the holding repository. Cite this archive by its persistent identifier when quoting our reading of the record.

Notice of Estate Ownership Dispute Concerning Enslaved People

BT-SRC-00116
Evidentiary weight 3 of 4. Digital image of original recordOriginal image: Citation entered — image review pendingA photographic image of a contemporary record held by the repository named below.
Creator
Not recorded
Date created
Not recorded
Repository
Repository pending confirmation
Collection
Gallatin Argus
Record form
Digital Image
Source type
Newspaper
Accessed
Not recorded

Access and use

No rights statement has been recorded for this source. Verify rights with the holding repository before republication.

BEFORE TILL publishes description, transcription and analysis. Reuse of the underlying record is governed by the holding repository. Cite this archive by its persistent identifier when quoting our reading of the record.

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