I don't know if anyone has posted about this before. I've just discovered that the NC Archives website has scanned images posted online of several estate records. They may have other treasures online if you search their website. I'm not sure if slaves are named in any of the records (I haven't had a chance to read more than a handful), but given that NC was a slave state, I would assume that they probably are. The MARS Catalog link should take you to a listing of the records.

Dawn