Monday, March 2, 2015

Amanuensis Monday - Post 257: 1809 Deed of Thomas Dill of Eastham, 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 the 1809 deed of Thomas Dill of Eastham, Massachusetts selling all of his homestead lands to Ezekiel Dill and Seth Dill (left-hand page below):


The transcription of this deed is (handwritten portions in italics):

[page 488]

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, That
I Thomas Dill of Eastham in the County of Barnstable yeoman

in consideration of the sum of three hundred Dollars
paid by Ezekiel Dill & Seth Dill of the Town and County abovesaid mariner

the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge, do hereby give, grant, sell and convey unto the said Ezekiel & Seth Dill
their heirs and assigns forever, all my homestead viz: the field the said
Dill's dwelling house stands in, bounded on the east by Joseph Linkhornew;
on the north by John Hopkins; on the west by Obed Knowles; on the south by a
cart-way; and also one field to the southward of sd house that the barn now
stands in, bounded on the east by the cart-way that goes to Great Neck (so ca-
lled) on the south by Elkanah Higgins; and on the west by sd Higgins and the wid-
ow Phebe Higgins; and the north by sd way; and also one other piece to the north-
ward of the Dwelling house of John Praro [??”], about two acres be it more or less; and
one piece of Brush lot situate in Wellfleet, bounded on the west by the Poast
road; on the South by Beriah Higgins; on the east by Thomas Cobb; and also one
piece of salt meadow in sd Wellfleet to the southward of the creek to the South of
the Dwelling house of James Dill, bounded on the west by sd James; on the east by
John Gill; and on the north by sd Creek; on the south by the upland; and
one piece of Cleared land, referring to a Deed signed by Obed Knowles, & others, for
the boundaries with all the buildings on the above sd piece of land.

To HAVE and to HOLD the aforegranted Premises to the said Ezekiel Dill & Seth Dill

their heirs and assigns, to them & their use and behoof forever.

And I do covenant with the said Ezekiel & Seth their
heirs and assigns, That I own lawfully seized in fee of the aforegranted Premises; that they are free of all Incumbrances;
That I have good right to sell and convey the same to the said Ezekiel & Seth;

And that I will warrant and defend the same Premises to the said Ezekiel & Seth Dill,
their heirs and assigns forever, against the lawful claims and demands of all persons.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I the said Thomas Dill

have hereunto set my hand and seal this Second day of
January in the year of our LORD one thousand Eight hundred and nine

Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of us.

Heman Smith, Junior }                           Thomas Dill
Parker Brown            }

Barnstable, SS. January 2d 1809
Then the above-named Thomas Dill
acknowledged the above Instrument to
be his free Act and Deed – before me,

                  Elisha Mayo Justice of Peace

Received January 2d 1809 and is recorded in the 6^th Book
of Records for the County of Barnstable, Folio 90th and is compared.

                                                                   Attest, Eben^r Bacon, Register

                             Record and compared per me, Joshua Pittwood [?] Town Register of Deeds

The source citation for this deed is:

"Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," digital images, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 26 February 2015), Barnstable County, Eastham Town Deeds, Volume 1, Page 488 (image 200 of 205), Deed of Thomas Dill to Ezekiel and Seth Dill, 1809.

Thomas Dill (1757-ca 1830) is my 4th great-grandfather.  This is the only deed in the Barnstable County, Massachusetts deed books for a Thomas Dill, probably because the land record books for the 17th and 18th century were lost.

Ezekiel Dill and Seth Dill are the two eldest living sons of Thomas and Hannah (Horton) Dill in 1809.  There are a number of other males, and my 3rd great-grandmother, Elizabeth Horton Dill, residing in the Thomas Dill household in the 1810 U.S. census.  


Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver



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