"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."
The subject today is the 1849 will of John Seaver (1771-1853) of Taunton, Bristol county, Massachusetts:
The transcription of this will is:
[page 8 of 31 pages in microfilmed probate case file]
I John Seaver of Taunton in the County
of Bristol do this
Fourteenth day of June in the year of
our Lord Eighteen
hundred & forty nine – make this
my last will & Testament
viz:
First – I Give and bequeath unto my
wife Lydia Seaver
the use and improvement of the whole of
my
homestead place (Excepting two acres on
the southerly end
of the same adjoining to Abiathar
Williams land to extend
from the road to the river) She to hold
the same
during her natural life.
Also I give her all my household
furniture and
indoor moveables, together with Eight
hundred Dollars in
money, to hold to her, her heirs and
assigns forever.
I Give and bequeath unto my two
grandsons – John & Charles
Howard – the sons of John Howard, the
sum of one
thousand Dollars to be divid equally
between them & to
hold to them their heirs and assigns
forever.
I Give and bequeath unto my son
Benjamin Seaver, the Dwelling
house in which he now lives with the
land on which
said house stands together with all my
land adjoining the
same, Also the two acres above
mentioned on the southerly
end of my homestead. Also all my
farming utensils &
Waggons of every kind. Also one half
part of all my
personal property which shall remain
after the above
bequeathed legacies and all my Debts
are paid. All
[page 9 of 31 pages in microfilmed probate case file]
the foregoing to hold to him, his heirs
and assigns forever.
I Give and bequeath unto my Daughter
Sally Hack – the wife
of Christopher A. Hack – the other
half part of my per-
sonal property. Also, after the
decease of my wife Lydia,
all the part of my homestead, the
improvement of which
is herein given to my said wife. All
of which is to
hold to her, the said Sally, her her
heirs & assigns forever.
And lastly I nominate and appoint my
said son Benjamin
and my son-in-law Christopher A. Hack
Executors of this
my last Will & Testament.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set
my hand & seal the
Day & year afore written.
Signed, sealed and declared by }
the said John Seaver to be his last }
John Seaver
Will & Testament in presence of us
}
who subscribed our names as }
witnesses thereto in his presence }
Joseph M. Otis
}
Joseph Wilbar
}
J.E. Wilbar
}
The source citation for this document is:
Bristol County (Mass.) Probate Records, 1690-1881 , "Seaman, Henry - Selney, Johanna," unnumbered file of John Seaver, 1853; FHL microfilm US/CAN 0,579,917.
This will is an original record, signed by the testator on 14 June 1849. He died on 7 February 1853, and the probate was opened on 1 March 1853, with Christopher A. Hack granted Letters Testamentary as executor. John Seaver names the following heirs:
* his wife, Lydia (Porter) Seaver (1768-1859)
* his son, Benjamin Seaver (1798-1852)
* John and Charles Howard, sons of John [and Mary (Seaver)] Howard
* daughter Sally Seaver (1803-1870), wife of Christopher A. Hack
This John Seaver is not my ancestor. I found this document at the Family History Library on 11 February 2015. I am trying to solve a relationship problem for another Seaver/Sever researcher - see Attacking a Seaver Relationship Problem - Parents of Joseph T. Seaver (1805-????) (posted 7 October 2014).
John Seaver did not name the son, Joseph Nelson Seaver (1831-1907), of Joseph T. Seaver (who died before 1850) as heirs. If Joseph T. Seaver was the son of John Seaver, he should have listed Joseph Nelson Seaver as heirs. This is evidence that John Seaver was not the father of Joseph T. Seaver. There was no probate record for Lydia (Porter) Seaver in the Bristol County records.
As a result, I will concentrate on the other "prime" candidate, Benjamin and Mary (Porter) Sever of Taunton. Unfortunately, there were no probate records for either of them in Bristol County, Massachusetts records.
Another task is to disconnect Joseph T. Seaver from John Seaver (1771-1853) and Lydia Porter on the FamilySearch Family Tree, providing this probate record as evidence of no relationship.
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/02/amanuensis-monday-post-256-1849-will-of.html
copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver
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