By Bruce Whitaker
Jesse and Elizabeth Sumner were in financial trouble by the summer of 1871. The cause is not known for certain, but the most likely source of their problems came from his role as sheriff of Buncombe County. This could have come while he was in office, or from the expense of the court battle trying to get the job back, or both. On August 15, 1871, Sumner’s property was appraised for a debtor’s exemption. The Sumners were allocated one hundred acres of land, including their house and all other buildings on their property. A personal property exemption was also granted, which included one horse, two cows, twelve sheep, six hogs, a wagon, eight bee stands, one bushel of buckwheat, three stacks of wheat and all household and kitchen furniture.
Jesse Sumner was in Otoe County, Nebraska in 1873, but it is not known when or why he went to Nebraska or how long he remained there. Sumner initiated an affidavit in Otoe County on February 5, 1873, stating that in 1839 he received $350 cash from the sale of lands belonging to his wife, Elizabeth (“Rozilla”). This money was given to him with the distinct understanding that the money would be invested in real estate to the benefit of Rozilla.
Sumner stated in the affidavit that on December 20, 1840 he had bought one hundred acres of land from Samuel P. Johnson for $300 with the money; the land was located on the east side of the French Broad River. The deed was made to Jesse Sumner and not his wife because at that time she was 16 years old and a minor. The Sumners built a house on the property and Rozilla was still living there in 1873. The purpose of the affidavit was to transfer the property to his wife. Jesse Sumner’s son Jesse H. was also living in Otoe County, Nebraska in 1880, and his son Lawrence was born there in 1880 as well. They also moved back to Buncombe County.
Jesse Sumner died in Buncombe County on August 28, 1878. He was buried at Mount Zion Cemetery on Overlook Road in Arden. He died without a will, and Rozilla refused to be his administrator in favor of her son John B. Sumner.
John B. as administrator then sued Thomas J. Candler for money owed his father from the time his father was sheriff. Thomas Candler claimed he gave Jesse Sumner a horse, saddle, bridle, and a suit of clothes as payment for the debt. John B. also claimed that Candler was shifting ownership of his property from himself to his wife to avoid payment of the debt. A compromise was finally reached in which Candler agreed to pay the Jesse Sumner estate $700 cash plus court costs on February 11, 1887.
Jesse Sumner’s estate was forced to sell two tracts of land, each containing 50 acres, each auctioned on the courthouse steps, to cover some of his debts. C. M. McCloud paid $150 for the first tract of land as the high bidder on November 4, 1878; the other fifty acres were auctioned on November 26, 1878, to V.S. Lusk for a bid of $160.00.
Elizabeth “Rozilla” Sumner died July 30, 1901, and was also buried in Zion Hill Cemetery.
Jesse and Elizabeth Rozilla Sorrells Sumner had eight children, all born in Buncombe County.
Mary Emaline Sumner was born August 28, 1841. She married John Andrew “Darb” Lance (1837-1905). Mary Emaline died on November 13, 1910. Both are buried New Salem Baptist Church Cemetery in Skyland, NC.
Marcus L. Sumner was born on January 19, 1845. He married Louise A. Ledbetter (1849-1935). Mark died on March 24, 1899. Both are buried at Fanning Chapel in Henderson County.
Laura C. Sumner was born on August or September 13, 1848. She married Joel Ingram (1845-1915). Laura died on April 29, 1928. Both are buried at Avery’s Creek Methodist Church in Buncombe County.
Jesse H. Sumner was born on February 1, 1851. He married his second cousin Elizabeth J. Sumner (1850-1943), daughter of James and Mary Whitaker Sumner. Jesse died Oct. 23, 1919. They are buried in Green Hills Cemetery in West Asheville.
Julius M. Sumner was born on May 30, 1853. He never married. He died October 30, 1876 and is buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery.
John Bascombe Sumner was born on March 27, 1856. He married Margaret “Maggie” L. Holland of Greenville, SC (1866-1914). John died in a St. Louis, MO, hospital on May 19, 1918. Both are buried at Zion Hill Cemetery.
Pink Ella Sumner was born in 1862. She married Adam Fagala Creswell (1848-1897). Ella died in 1941. Both are buried at Ebenezer Cemetery in Jefferson County, Tennessee.