July 23, 1859, (Slaver) Josiah Collins III wrote to Harriet Jacobs, a formerly enslaved woman, abolitionist, and author who escaped bondage in Edenton, NC by hiding in her grandmother’s crawlspace for seven years. Harriet’s autobiography, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”, was published in 1861.

The letter concerned Josiah’s involvement in the will of Harriet’s grandmother, Molly Horniblow.
She made her will while her children and grandchildren were still enslaved. They were unable to inherit her property at that time. Instead, Molly named Josiah III and Dr. William Warren as her joint executors, hoping that these two prominent men would renounce their claim to her property and make sure it passed to her son, Mark, when he could be emancipated.

However, by 1858, both Molly and Mark had passed away, and Harriet had escaped to the North, leaving Dr. Warren to administer Molly’s will. Harriet wrote to Josiah asking about her grandmother’s property. Josiah’s response was curt. He stated that he “never had any conversation with” Molly about becoming her heir and executor, and he wanted “no part in the settlement of the estate”.

If there was any property left after settling her estate, Josiah wrote that “neither [Dr. Warren] nor I desire to touch a copper of it.”

But this promise was not kept. Josiah died in 1863, and after the Civil War, Molly’s property passed to his and Dr. Warren’s heirs.

In 1867, Dr. Warren evicted Mark’s widow from the property. Molly’s dream of keeping her property in her family was forever lost.

Source: Former Somerset Plantation owned by the Collin's Family - Now a NC historic site.