Jesse Dean
Jesse Dean was the son of James Dean and Sarah Hewes . According to the census records, he was born sometime between 1758-1775. He was the primary heir to his fathers estate in 1787 but it is not clear if he was born on the farm in Little Creek Hundred, or elsewhere.

In 1793, Jesse and his mother, Sarah, bought land in Kent Co. from Jacob Alson.

In 1794 Jesse sold 5 acres of land in Duck Creek Hundred to Allen McLane confirming that the Dean family maintained ties (and lands) in Duck Creek Hundred, site of the earliest Deans, after they moved to Little Creek Hundred.

There is no indication of what became of Sarah Hewes Dean after 1793 or what happened to Jesse's sisters, Rebecca and Keziah. Jesse eventually came into possession of all his father's lands: his original bequest on the east side of the main road and the land left to his mother and sister for use during their lifetimes on the west side of the road.

According to the 1797 will of Jesse's first cousin, William Durham, son of John Durham and Elizabeth Hewes Durham, a "Jesse Dean" was married to William's daughter, Elizabeth Durham.

We need to be a bit cautious when discussing "Jesse Dean", especially prior to 1814. There appear to have been at least four of them in the area in the early 19th century. By following the disposition of James Dean's land, we know that two were father and son, living on land they acquired from James in Little Creek Hundred. The other two are, for now, a bit of a mystery. They were part of the mixed blood community and so probably related to our father and son, but right now we don't know their exact connection. It is even possible that the 1794 land sale in Duck Creek Hundred refered to one of these other "Jesse's".

"Jesse Dean" is mentioned in the 1798 Little Creek Hundred estate lists of mulattoes and negroes; with 15 acres of land. Since this is approximately the amount of land James left his son in 1787, this is probably our Jesse.

In the 1800 census records, "Jesse Dean", "free colored" is shown in a household of 5. Several Duck Creek "free colored" Deans also appeared in this same census, undoubtedly cousins of our Jesse.

An 1814 marriage between Jesse Dean and Esther Concilor does not appear to refer to our Jesse. "Esther" is probably "Hester" Concilor, daughter of Jeremiah Concilor who died in 1811. (see The Concilors) Jeremiah's brother, Benjamin Concilor, signed the marriage bond which makes sense since Hester's father was dead and Benjamin was a surviving uncle. But sometime before 1818, Hester Concilor Dean married Elisha DURHAM indicating that her Jesse Dean died prior to 1818.

The 1820 census reveals a younger "Jesse Dean" living, not on the family's Little Creek farm but in Murderkill Hundred in a household with two younger children. It is possible that this is our Jesse's son, Jesse Jr. The 1830 census shows two Jesse's, father and son, living side by side in Little Creek Hundred on the Dean family farm along the main road. The younger Jesse had, by then, a wife and 4 young children in his household.

Our Jesse Sr. died in 1839. In his will , he calls himself a "colored man", the first time any of the Deans had called themselves "colored". It is not clear what he meant by this term because in the Kent Co. community "colored" did not always indicate "negro". We find some interesting information about Jesse in his will. We know this is James' son because the lands he left to his sons were almost identical to the lands he received from his father.

He mentions in this will that his last wife (presumably deceased) was Elijah CONCILOR's mother but he does not mention her by name. We know she could not have been Hester Concilor who was still married to Elisha Durham at this time. In fact, the only Elijah Concilor I can find living in 1839 was the son of Jeremiah Concilor (d.1811) and his wife, Elizabeth. The widow, Elizabeth later married Jeremiah's brother, Elijah Concilor, but he died in 1826 which would have left Elizabeth free to marry our Jesse Dean. If this was the case, then Elizabeth and her daughter, Hester, BOTH married men named Jesse Dean.

Mentioned in the will of Jesse Dean:

Jesse says in his will that his sons, William and Jesse, were illegitimate, born before he married their mother "Rebecca" and, by this will, he wished to legitimize them. William and Jesse were born between 1800-1805 according to the census records. Was Jesse Sr. married to someone else at that time of their births (possibly Elizabeth Durham??) or were the two boys, in fact, not his children at all. Since the son was named "Jesse" also, it seems likely he was the son of Jesse Sr.

So we know that Jesse Sr. was married at least twice and possibly three times: once possibly to Elizabeth Durham, once definitely to Rebecca (mother of William and Jesse) who died and then to the "widow" Concilor (Elijah's mother) who also pre-deceased him.

It is interesting that the executor of the estate was Elisha Durham, husband of Hester Concilor, who had been married to the Jesse Dean who died prior to 1818 and who was possibly the daughter of our Jesse's last wife....whew!!!! (this is typical of the problems that face any researcher working on this community).

In addition to the 3 Jesse Dean's already mentioned, there was yet another: a fourth Jesse Dean was living in Kent Co. at this time. He died in 1842 when a tree fell on him. Court Records indicate that this Jesse lived alone, cared for by a housekeeper named Frances "Fanny" Jackson (age about 45). This suggests he was an older man, possibly the father of the Jesse who married "Esther" Concilor in 1814 and died prior to 1818. Could this father and son be from the Duck Creek branch of the family, just as our father and son Jesses were from the Little Creek branch ?