Monday, June 16, 2014

Amanuensis Monday - Post 222: Will of John Lothrop (1584-1653) of Barnstable, Massachusetts

Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the excellent TransylvanianDutch blog) started a Monday blog theme years ago called "Amanuensis Monday."  John offers this definition for "amanuensis:" 

"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."

The subject today is a will and inventory transcription for John Lothrop (1584-1653) of Barnstable, Massachusetts  dated 10 August 1653:



The transcription of this will and inventory is:

The Last Will and Testament of Mr. John Lothropp the Pastour of the Church of Christ att Barnstable August 10th 1653.

First, I will and bequeath unto my wife the house wherein I now dwell with the furniture thereof and the ground belonging thereunto with the marsh land that lyeth on the East besides Randevow Creek, and also my ground in the Common field.

To my son Thomas my eldest sonne I will and bequeath the house I first lived in in Barnstable with the ground belonging thereunto and the marsh joyning to the lower end thereof which butts and bounds upon the Creeke northward with the condition that hee my said sonne Thomas is to give to my sonne John in England and to my sonne Benjamin heer in the bay each of them a good Cow of five pounds.

My daughter Jane and my daughter Barbarah have had their portions already.

To the Rest of my Children both mine and my wives my will is that every of them shall have a Cow.

My Will is also that my great lott and my great Marsh shall be sold to some particular person and that which comes by the sale thereof to bee equally devided amongst them that have the least portions.

Lastly for my books if there bee amongst them any that may bee useful to my children lett every of them have one if there will arise soo many, and lett their choice thereof bee in order according to their ages.

The Rest of the bookes lett them bee sold to any honest man whoo can tell how to make use of them, and that which comes thereby lett it bee devided as is aforesaid.

Barnstable County, Massachusetts Probate Records, Volume 1, page 113:

This 8th of december 1653

A true inventory of the Cattel and goods of Mr. John Lothropp the Pastour of the Church of Christ at Barnstable late deceased.

₤. S. d.
Imprimis Six cowes vallued att 26 00 00
It. 3 two yearlings 17 10 00
It 2 Calves 01 00 00
It 5 Piggs 00 15 00
It his wearing apparrell of all sorts 13 09 00
It a bedsteade with bedd and furniture 05 10 00
It a bedd and furniture 02 00 00
It Sheets napkins with other linen 02 16 00
It 5 Chests with a Cubbard and hangings 00 14 00
It Table Chaires and Cushens 01 00 00
It Table and other wooden Lunber 01 11 00
It in Pewter 01 15 00
It Tinn and earthen ware 00 07 06
It 4 brasse kettles with other brasse 02 00 00
It one Iron pott kettle hangers with other
Iron 00 14 00
It one Muskett 00 10 00
It his bookes 05 00 00
It for other small things omitted 00 05 00

The totall summe 70 16 06

Taken for us
Thomas dimmock
Henery Cobb
John Cooper
Thomas hinckley

The source citation for this record is:

"Plymouth Colony Records, Wills, 1633-1686, Vols. 1-4," transcriptions, Family History Library (Salt Lake City, Utah), on FHL US/CAN Microfilm 0,567,794, Volume 1, Pages 113-114, John Lothropp will and inventory.

While John Lothrop resided and died in Barnstable, which is now in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Barnstable was part of Plymouth Colony in 1653, and the earliest probate records, up to 1686, were recorded in the Court at Plymouth.  

Only sons John, Thomas and Benjamin, and daughters Jane and Barbara, are named in the will.  Thomas, Benjamin, Jane and Barbara were by his first wife, Hannah House (1590-1634), while John was by his second wife, Anne Hammond (1616-1688). There were other children living in 1653 - sons Joseph and Samuel by his first wife, and Barnabas, Abigail, Bathsheba and Elizabeth by his second wife.

The record images above from the microfilm are transcriptions of earlier writings, probably the original papers written in a Secretary hand.  Therefore, this is an image copy of a Derivative Source, with Primary Information and Direct Evidence of the person, the heirs, and the date of the will.

The microfilm includes another transcription of the will (on page 248 of Volume 1):


This record seems to read identical to the earlier image, except at the top it says:

"fac simile of Rev. John Lothrop's Will as recorded at Plymouth.
Nuncupative"

At the bottom of the page is:

"This 8th of November 1653."

The "nuncupative" means that this was a verbal will made to certain unnamed persons who recounted it later to a clerk who recorded it, apparently on 8 November 1653.

I don't know why there are two transcriptions of this will in this one record book.  

My ancestry is through the daughter, Jane Lothrop (1614-1683), who married 1635 to Samuel Fuller (1608-1683) in Scituate, Massachusetts.  

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2014/06/amanuensis-monday-post-222-will-of-john.html

copyright (c) 2014, Randall J. Seaver


2 comments:

Dona said...

Thanks Randy! Have you seen this site with some wills of selected Plymouth Colony men?http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/wills.html

Dona said...

Meant to add my descent: son Samuel who married Elizabeth Scudder.