This week's documents for Amanuensis Monday are the 1748 will and 1749 court records for the estate of Samuel Brown (1686-1749) of Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts:
a) Volume 8, pages 237-238:
a) Volume 8, pages 239-240:
a) Volume 8, pages 241-242:
The transcription of all of the entries for Samuel Brown in this volume:
[page 238 (image
137, bottom of right-hand page]
In the Name of God
Amen the twenty fourth Day of March
one thousand Seven
hundred & fourty Eight I Samuell Brown of
Eastham in the
County of Barnstable in the Province
[page 239 (image
138, left-hand page)]
of Massachusetts Bay
in New England Gentleman being ^Weak in body but^ of Perfect
Disposing mind and
Memory Thanks be given to God Caling to mind the
Mortallity of my
Boddy and knowing that it is appointed for man once to Dye
Do make and ordain
this my Last will & Testament That is to say Prinsiply
and first I Give and
Recomend my soul into the hands of God that gave it
and my Boddy I
Recomend to the Earth to be Buried with Decent Christian
Burial at the
Discretion of my Executors hereafter Named Not Doubting but
at the General
Resurrection I shall Receive the same again by the almighty
Power of God and as
touching the worldly Estate wherewith it hath Pleased God
to bless me withall
in this Life I Give Demise & Dispose of the Same
In the following
Manner & form.
Imprimus I give to
my Beloved wife Ruth the whole Improvement of my Grist mill
and fulling Mill
During her Natural Life and the one half of my Dwelling house
During her Natural
Life and one feather Bed and Sutible furniture thereto and
for her to have as
mush household Stuff to Improve as She shall have Occations
for to use During
her life and she shall have that Land and Meadow to Improvement
that Lays to the
Eastward of the mills that is fensd in and if what I have
already set apart
for her be not Sufficient for her Comfortable Subsisance
My will is my son
Isaac shall help her to what she shall have Occation for.
Item I give and
Bequeath to my son David Brown to him his heirs assigns
forever Ten acres of
Land on the Southerly side of the way whence his
house stands and
that Peise of salt Meadow I Bought of John atwood
and the Nothermost
Cedar swamp and the Land adjoining to it assvide
as said Cedar swamp
and on half of my fulling mill and one Cow
I have given her one
bed already.
Item I Give and
bequeath to my son Isaac Brown to him his heirs & assigns
forever my Dwelling
house & barn and the Land from where about Jedidiah
Lamberds late
Dwelling house to the shore side and the Land & Meadow
from said Dwelling
house upto the Grist Mill and one half of the Grist
Mill and three
Quarters of the Meadow for Quantity & Quality I Bought of
David Doane and the
Middle Cedar Swamp & the Land against it on the
Notherly side of the
way and one featherbed and a Cow.
Item I Give and
bequeath to my son John Brown to him his heirs & assigns forever
the one half of My
fulling Mill and three acres of Land at the Notherly
End of my meadow
below the way and one Quarter for Quantity & Quality
of the Meadow I
Bought of David Doane and that Lot of Land Laid out to
Me in the Last
Division of Lands in the town of Eastham in the North
Preceint and the
Easternmost Cedar swamp and the Land against it to the
highway and one
feather bed & a Cow.
Item I give and
Bequeath to my Daughters Viz Abigals ^Children^ Mehittable Ruth Marcy
and Mary to them
their heirs and assigns forever the Land above the
[page 240 (image
138, right hand page)]
above the mills
^Improvement of^ which I have Given to my wife & one Peice of
meadow in Part-
nership with Zoath
Smith at Edmunds Island my Land and Meadows at Leist
Island my Land and
Meadow at Trifes Necke and one Peice of Land Laying at the Westward
of ^Capt^ Jonathan
Youngs and one Peice of Land that was added to my Common Rights in
the
Last Division that
Lays above the Road above the Cedar Swamps all this to be in
Equal Partnership
Moreover I Give to my Daughter Mary one feather bed & furniture
Sutable thereto I
haveing Given to Each of my Daughters aforementioned one bed appease
Item my will is that
the Remaining parts of my household Goods together with what my wife
Shall have at her
Decease shall be Equally Divided amonghts my five Daughters already
Mentioned.
Item My will is that
if any other Lands or Meadows that are not already Mentioned Should
appear to be mine
that such Lands or Meadows shall be Equally Divided amonghts
all my above Named
Children.
Item My will is
that after my Just Debts and funeral Charges are Paid out of my stock
the rest of my said
Stock to be Divided Equally amonghts all my above Named Children.
Item I do hereby
Constitute make and ordain my son David Brown and my son Thomas Dill
to be my Executors
of this my Last will and Testament.
Item I Do hereby
Utterly Disallow revoke Disannul all and Every other former
Testaments
wills Leaguaces
bequests and Executors by me in any before named willed &
Bequested
Rattifying and
Confirming this and no other to be my Last will & Testaments
In witnes whereof I
have hereunto set my hand & seal the Day & year above written
Signed Sealed
Published Pronounced
and Declared by the
said Samuel
Brown as his Last
will & Testament his
In Presence of us
the Subscribers Sam^ul X Brown {Seal}
Jonathan Young mark
Benjamin Cooke
Jonathan Young Jun^r
Barnsyable SS
Silvanus Bourn Esq^r
Judge of Probates &c the foregoing
will Being Presented
for Probate by the Execut^rs therein Named
Jonathan Young &
Benjamin Cook two of the Subscribing Witnesses
to said will Made
oath they saw samuell brown Subscriber to this
Instrument Sign &
Seal and heard him Publish & Declare the same to be his Last will
and Testament and
that when he do did he was of sound and Disposing mind & Memory
according to these
Deponents best Disserning and that they Together with Jonathan Young
Jun^r Set to their
hands as witnesses thereof in Presence of the Testator.
April 4th
1748 Silvanus
Bourn
Province of the
Massachusetts Bay by the Honourable
Silvanus Bourn Esq^r
Judge of the Probate of wills and for the Granting Letters of admin^n
on the Estates of
Persons Deceased having Goods Chattels Rights or Credits in the
County
of Barnstable within
the Province aforesaid
[page 241 (image 139,
left-hand page)]
To all unto whom
these Presents shall come greeting Know ye that upon
the Day of the Date
hereof before me at Barnstable in the County afors^d the will
of samuell Brown
Late of Eastham in the County afors^d Gentleman Deceased to
these Presents
anexed was Proved approved and allowed who having while he Lived
and at the time of
his Death Goods Chattels Rights or Credits in the County afors^d
and the Probate of
the said will and Power of Committing administration of
all and Singular the
Goods Chattels rights and Credits of the said Deceased by
Virtue thereof
appertaining unto me the administration of all and Singular
the Goods Chattels
Rights & Credits of the said Deceased and his will in any
Manner Concerning is
hereby Committed unto David Brown & Thomas
Dill both of Eastham
afors^d Executors in the same will Named well &
faithfully to
Execute the said will and to administer the Estate of the said
Deceased according
Thereunto and to make a true & Perfect Inventory of
all the Singular the
Good Chattels Rights & Credits of the said Deceased
and to Exhibit the
same into the Registry of the Court of Probate for the
County afors^d at or
before the fourth Day of July Next Ensuing & also
to render a Plain &
True account of their said administration upon oath.
In Testimony whereof
I have hereunto set my hand and the seal of the
said court of
Probate Dated at Barnstable the fourth Day of april annoque
Domini 1749. Silvanus Bourn
Exam^d: Da^d Gorham Reg^r
Barnstable SS
My the Hon^ble
Silv^s Bourn Esq^r Judge of Probate &c for
the County aforsd To
Capt Zohath Smith Mr Solomon
Sweat & Mr. John
Young all of Eastham In the County afr^d
Sufficient
Freeholders Greeting You are hereby Desired & impowered first
Being sworn to make
^a just^ & Equal apprisal of the Estate of Capt. Sam^;;
Brown late of
Eastham Deceased according to your best skill & Judgment &
Return an Inventory
thereof into the Registry of the Court of Probate foregoing
the County afors^d
with Conveinent Spead Given under my hand & Seal of
Said court of
Probate dated at Barnstable the fourth Day of april
Anno Domini 1749.
Silvanus Bourn
Barnstable SS
On the third Day of
March 1749 the within Named
Zoath smith Solomon
Sweat & John made oath to the
faithfull Discharge
of the trust Committed to them
by the within
warrant.
Samuell Smith Justice Peace
Ex^d DG Re^r
A true Inventory of
all and Sngular the Goods Chattels Credits
houses and Lands of
Cap^t Sam^ll Brown Late of Eastham Deceased
Prised at Eastham
the third Day of May 1749 as followeth.
Imprimus His whole
Real Estate …......................................£1872..00..00
Item his
Personal Estate …......................................................
442..12..00
Item his
Purse & Debts Due …..................................................
48..00..00
Sum Total
2369..12..00
[page 242 (image
139, right-hand page)]
Sence the first
apprisement of Personal Estate £32..00..00
The Whole in old
Tenor. Zoheth Smith
Solomon Sweat
John Young
Barnstable SS
Silvanus Bourn
Esq^r Judge of Probate &c David Brown
Executor Presented
the foregoing and Made oath that it
Contained a true and
Perfect Inventory of the Estate of
Samuell Brown Late
of Eastham Gen^t Deceased so far as hath Come to his
hands and knowledge
and if more hereafter appear he will Cause it to be added
The Subscribing
apprisers were sworn according to Law.
May 23^d 1749. Silvanus Bourn
Exam^d Da^d Gorham Reg^r
"Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991," indexed database with digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 December 2016), Barnstable County > Probate Records, Vol. 8, 1745-1753, pages 238-242 (images 137-139 of 309, Samuel Brown, will proved 4 April 1749.
In his will, written 24 March 1748 and proved 4 April 1749, Samuel Brown names his wife Ruth and eight children - sons David, Isaac and John, and daughters Abigail (deceased?), Mehitable, Ruth, Marcy and Mary. The executors were son David Brown and "son" Thomas Dill, who married Mehitable Brown (1714-1758) in 1734.
The estate is significant - it totaled £2389 in old Tenor! Wife Ruth (Young) Brown received a significant portion of the estate but there is no probate record for her in the Barnstable records.
Samuel and Ruth (Young) Brown are my 6th great-grandparents, through their daughter Mehitable (Brown) Dill.
Even though this is a very common given name and surname, the children mentioned match well with the children in the Eastham records, and the fact that "son" Thomas Dill is an executor clinches the conclusion for me that this is the correct Samuel Brown the father of Mehitable (Brown) Dill.
There may be other probate records for Samuel Brown in the Barnstable Probate Court records, but I need to consult the probate index to determine if they are available.
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NOTE: 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."
Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver
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