I am a descendant of the BATEMAN family in Tyrrell Co. NC. It looked like one of my ancestors married a PHELPS (several of the BATEMANs did), so I researched some of the early wills & estates for PHELPS. I didn't find a link, but I'm copying my notes here, in case they could be of use to someone else. Surnames and names of slaves are in caps.

PHELPS ESTATES - Perquimans Co. NC

CR077.508.86

BENJAMIN PHELPS
14 Oct 1785 and 13 July 1786. Warrant for Sarah PHELPS, executor, to answer plea of trespass to Simeon LONG, executor of Wm. NEWBOULD.
14 April 1786, 15 Jan 1786, 14 July 1786. Warrant for Sarah PHELPS, exr. of Benjamin, to answer plea of trespass to Hezekiah RODGERSON.
13 July 1787 21 lb 2 sh to be taken from John CREECY, Hinchia GILLIAN & Jona. SKINNER, which executrix of Benjamin PHELPS recovered.
12 May 1801 Negroes sold by virtue of the in(stance) of S. SKINNER:
negro woman VIOLET sold to Isaac BARTEE 39.0
negro girl RACHEL sold to Isaac BARTEE 40.3
negro boy SOLLOMAN sold to Alexr. MILLIN 70.10 / 147.19 total
18 May 1801 57 lb 7 sh 10p to be taken from Charles MOORE, dec'd., and Benj. PHELPS, dec'd., which Stephen SKINNER recovered.

GODFREY PHELPS (wife of) - no date
Godfrey PHELPS prays an order to take his wife's estate out of the hands of Samuel PARSONS.

HENRY PHELPS
13 April 1753 Division of estate by Joseph WHITE, Saml. MOORE, Jos. RATLIFF to Jonathan PHELPS, Margaret PHELPS, Elizabeth PHELPS.
20 Apr 1756 Guardian bond for Robert NEWBY with Josh RATLIFF, Josh OUTLAND (a Ralph SILKTCHEN? signed below). Witnesses: Miles HURVEY, Jas. LITTESON. Guardian for an orphan of Henry PHELPS.
20 Mar 1758, 8 May 1759, 21 Jan 1760, 19 Apr 1760 & Jan 1765 to Oct 1768. Guardian accounts. Elizabeth PHELPS, orphan of Henry, in account with Robert NEWBY.
16 July 1759 Guardian bond for Mark NEWBY with Robt. NEWBY & Fransis NEWBY. Guardian for Jonathan PHELPS, orphan of Henry.
18 Jan 1762 Settlement of accounts of Jonathan PHELPS, dec'd., guardian to Jonathan PHELPS, orphan of Henery PHELPS, dec'd. and of Dorothy PHELPS, admin. of Jonathan PHELPS, dec'd. & said orphan. Signed Ben. HARVEY, Thos. NEWBY, Francis TOMS.
Jan 1766, Jan 1765, 1764. Guardian accounts. Jonathan PHELPS with guardian Mark NEWBY.
26 Nov 1770 Division of negroes by Francis TOMS, Ralph FLETCHER, Fred NIXON:
Jonathan PHELPS part: old RICHARD, PRINCE, BESS
Joseph OUTLAND's part: woman NANN, boy JAMES, boy ISHMAEL, woman CLOE, girl NANCEY, girl HANNAH
Thomas WINSLOW's part: boy CESAR, MELL & child, woman ROSE, boy MOSES

JONATHAN PHELPS
April 1756 - June 1759 Joshua ELLIOT to estate of Jonathan PHELPS.
20 May 1759 Inventory by Dorothy PHELPS, administrator. Includes negroes: old man PRINCE, man NICK, woman DINA, girls HAGAR & THAMAR.
24 July 1759 Wm. WYATT to sheriff. NICK suspected of assisting negro BEN, belonging to John THEACH (THACK?) with robberies.
30 July 1759 from Wm. WYATT to sheriff. Negro man NICK had escaped from geal (sic) (was in jail for theft) and was apprehended by John HUBBARD, constable.
Aug 1759. Summons for trial. At trial found guilty and given 50 lashes on his bare back at the whipping post. Jurors: John HARVEY, Benj. HARVEY, Jas. LITTESON, E. HALL, Chas. MOORE, Thos. BONNER.
16 Sep 1760 Division of estate by John HARVEY, Nathan NEWBY, Francis TOMS. (Much of the childrens' estate was sold at sale.)
to widow Dorothy - negroes DINAH & PRINCE
to orphan Dorothy - negroes HAGAR & TAMOR
to orphan Benjamin - negro NICK
14 Nov 1760 Sale of perishable estate. Buyers included NEWBY, Chris. COLLINS, Benj. ELLIOTT, John HARVEY, Banvt DISHEROON, Thos. WARD, Andrew KNOW, Richard HATFIELD, Francis TOMBS.
March 1761 - Oct 1763 Guardian accounts for Benjamin & Dorothy PHELPS with guardian John SKINNER, who intermarried with Dorothy PHELPS, admin. (note: payments were made to the guardians of Henry PHELPS' orphans.)
July 1761 Petition of John SKINNER & Dorothy his wife, admx. of estate of Jonathan PHELPS. States that Samuel LITTISON is indebted to them.
Jan 1769, 15 Jan 1770. Guardian accounts for orphans Dorothy & Benjamin PHELPS with guardian Francis NIXON. Also accounts April 1765, Jan 1768 for Dorothy and Nov 1764 - Jan 1767 for Benjamin.

JOSEPH PHELPS (2 files)
12 Feb 1816 Nancy PHELPS relinquishes right of administration to Asa PARSONS.
14 Feb 1816 Administrator's bond for Asa PARSONS with security Ichabod JORDAN, Nathan SKINNER.
2 March 1816 Report of year's support to widow, Nancy. Laid off by Chas. W. SKINNER, Baker HOSKINS, Thos. NEWBY & Wm. WILLIAMS.
May 1816. Sale of perishable estate. ROBINS, PARSONS, WEBB, NEWBY.

MAJOR A. PHELPS
22 Feb 1868 Account of sales, concent (sic) by Jos. G. BRICKHOUSE, guardian. Buyers included: Oliver BATMAN, Eby & Henry RHODES, Wm. & Asa B. SNELL, Wilson SWAIN, Jesse, Jame, & Warren BRICKHOUSE, Jos. ACHER.

SARAH PHELPS
9 June 1787 Inventory. Sale on 28 July 1787.
15 Dec 1787 Account of sales. Buyers included: William COPPAGE, Jeremiah COLLINS, Chas. MOORE.
5 July 1788 Thos. HARMON appeared & said that Sarah PHELPS, before her death, asked him to take her daughter Sarah, then an infant, under his care & to keep her until she was of sufficient age to be bound out & he was to be paid for his trouble.
1788 Pay to Thos. HARMON 8.9.0 Wm. NEWBOULD, executor.

PHELPS - Secretary of State Wills
NC Archives - Secretary of State Wills

HENRY PHELPS - 19 March 1752 July Court 1752
sick
to son Jonathan - my land & plantation where I dwell, 240 acres, walnut desk, gun etc. and (¼) part of negroes to be divided when he is 21. Also 1/3 part cattle and hogs, 20 lb. Virginia money & George FOX (ee?) Towihols(?)
to wife Margaret PHELPS - use of my house & plantation with 100 acres where I now dwell, during her life.
to daughter Elizabeth - the other half of remaining part of my negroes, when her brother gets his.
Executors: wife Margaret, brother Jonathan, father-in-law Zach. NIXON
Witnesses: Francis TOMS, Francis NIXON, Sarah NEWBY

JONATHAN PHELPS - 11th ye (10th) month 1688 probated 1689 (will is torn and the writing is very squiggly)
weak
body to be buried at my plantation
to son Samuel - plantation where I live, 400 acres, but if he dies without heirs lawfully begotten, then to son Jonathan. If Jonathan dies without heirs lawfully begotten, then to my daughter Elizabeth.
to son Jonathan - my s(chooner?) and olde plantation when he reaches age 21, but if he has no heirs lawfully begotten, then to son Samuel, but if he has no heirs lawfully begotten, then to daughter Elizabeth.
to wife Hanah PHELPS, the third part of personal estate
Sons to possess their bequests at age 21. Elizabeth to get hers at age 16.
Executors: friends Henery WHITE, A(lex.?) WILLSON, Robert WILLSON.

JONATHAN PHELPS 4 Dec 1732
sick & weak
to son Henery - manor house & plantation where I live, and plantation and woodland containing 200 acres plus 40 acres, only my wife is to have use & benefit of it during her life, but my son shall have liberty to build a house on the lower part joining the land of Robert WILLSON.
to son Jonathan - land on SW side Perquimans River, 210 acres at mouth of narrows
to daughter Elizabeth - 213 acres on SW side Perquimans River joining ye Cypress swamp, it being part of a survey made between me & my brother Samuel PHELPS & Joseph SMITH
to wife - 250 acres in fork of Cypress on SW side Perquimans River
to my 3 children now in being, and that as my wife now goes with - four feather beds & furniture
to wife - negro man MONGO, JACK & woman JOAN
to Henry - man BRESTO, girl CLOE
to Elizabeth - woman CANDIS
to son Jonathan - boy PRINCE
to child my wife now goes with - boy JEME & the next child of CANDIS
to dau. Elizabeth - one seal skin trunk & chest, 50 lb. Boston money in Thos. SALTER's hands
to Jonathan - one mare running on ye other side of river, branded with Francis TOMBS brand
to wife and 4 children - All my store of goods belonging to merchandising both here and in New England
Executor: wife & friend Charles DONMAN
Witness: R. CHEASTON, Ellexsndor STOWARD, James ANDERSON

SAMUEL PHELPS 21 April 1728
sick
to son Jonathan - 200 acres beginning at ye Black Walnut branch, so running over ye Long Branch to Ralph BOSEMAN fence, belonging & joining to my dwelling plantation
to son (John?) - my third part of land purchased of Wm. BOUGE by my brother Jonathan PHELPS, Joseph SMITH & myself, lying in Balehack?, containing 147 acres, the lower part of ye tract whereon it hath been cleared & planted & ye other 2/3 of ye land at Balehack aforesaid I give to my brother Jonathan PHELPS & my grandfather Joseph SMITH for a valuable consideration received.
to son John - 100 and (ten?) acres of my pinne (sic) woods joining the part I give his brother William.
to son William - tract of 150 acres joining James SITTERSON & John SIMPSON land, also 100 and (ten?) acres of my pinne (sic) woods purchased by Joseph SMITH & myself, to be taken where Thos. ROBERTS now lives
to son James - my now dwelling plantation containing 200 acres, after the decease of his mother
to sons Jonathan & James - to divide equally the remainderof my pinne woods
Land in Pamticough, being pur(chased?) land, to be disposed of at discretion of executor.
The remainder I leave to my wife and her four children: Jonathan, John, William and James.
Executors: son Jonathan, brother Jonathan PHELPS, friends Abraham SANDERS & Robert WILLSON
Witnesses: Abraham SANDERS, Ralph BOSEMAN, Charles DONMAN

NOTE: The following was received in 2005 from a former Phelps researcher,  Margaret, mswanson@impulse.net:  It does not fully agree with the above will text.

 Anyway the Will of Samuel Phelps of Perqimans Precinct, Albemarl.
County NC 1728 [Photocopy of original will sent me by Dolores Ham but
lacks book and page no.] July Court 1728 recorded Aug. 1728

Will date: 21 April 1728

"Sixtly: I give to my Son  James & his heirs lawfully begotten, a tract
of Land Containing one hundred & fifty acres, joyning on James Simpson
and John Simpson Land, also one hundred & ten Acres of Land out of my
Land in ye pinne Woods, purchased by Joseph Smith & my Self, to be
taken where Thomas Roberts now Lives"

I am quite familiar with most of the early Phelps immigrants as I was
co-founder of Phelps Connections with Nancy J. Pennington and served as
editor of the newsletter for several years and as genealogist of the
organization for ten years

 

WILLIAM PHELPS 15 April 1752 April Court 1752
sick
to father-in-law and my mother - the plantation I live on and after their decease to my cosen (sic) John HARVEY
to my cosen (sic) James SITTESON (LITTESON?) - a piece of land joining to him, containing 150 acres, also negro man BOSTON.
to William BARKER - 200 acres of piney woods including the plantation, and the other half of the land to Thomas LANE.
to Sarah ELLIOT & her sister Ann TOWNSON - (bequests)
Rest of estate to James SITTESON, Samuel STITESON, John HARVEY
Executors: James SITTESON, John HARVEY
Witnesses: Joshua HOBART, Margery MOORE, Berbe MOORE, Peninnah CHAN(CEY)

(per Dallas Phelps, editor of the Phelps Family News in 1991, Jonathan Phelps was a Quaker and his line goes back to Henry Phelps who came to America on the ship Lion in 1634 as a Quaker )