Amanuensis Monday - Post 269: 1794 Deed of Jonathan White to Humphrey White in Bristol County, Mass.

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 1794 deed of Jonathan White of Dartmouth, Massachusetts granting land to his son Humphrey White in Westport, Massachusetts.

The transcription of this deed (the bottom deed on the left-hand page) is:

Know all Men by these presents that I Jonathan White of Dartmouth in the County of Bristol

& Commonwealth of Massachusetts yeoman, In consideration of Love & Good will which I

have & do bear to my son Humphry White of the Town & County aforesd yeoman, the receipt whereof

I do hereby acknowlidge & do by these presents Give, grant, convey & confirm with the said

Humphry White & to his heirs & assigns forever, a certain Tract or parcel of Land & salt mead-

ow in Dartmouth, within the boundaries of the town of Westport, and on the west side of Acoakset

River near Hixes Bridge, containing About one hundred & three acres twenty seven rods

be the same more or less, bounded as follows, beginning at the water Fence, thence West two

degrees North forty nine rods, thence Westerly in the line of the high one hundred & fifty

three rods & a half, thence North nine degrees & half West forty rods, thence North fifteen

degrees West nineteen rods to the Corner of the wall, thence eight rods to another Corner, thence

North three degrees & a half East Seventeen rods to a corner, thence Easterly as the wall now

Stands, thence on the same course until it comes to Stephen Kirby's Land, then in said

Kirby's line to the River, then Southerly by the River to the place first mentioned, reserving

the prevalidge of a Cartway from my Land at the West End of this Lot through this Lot to

come in where the Bars now are, over the causway and to enter the highway at the foot of

high hill so called. To have & to hold the afore described premises to the sd Humphry

White his heirs & assigns to their use & behoof forever, and I do covenant with the said

Humphrey White his heirs & assigns, that I am lawfully Seized in fee of the above described

premises that they are free of all Incumbrance, that I have good right to convey the

Same to the said Humphry White, and that I will warrant & defend the same premises

to the said Humphry White his heirs & assigns forever, against the lawfull Claims and

demands of all persons, In Witness whereof I the said Jonathan White have hereunto

Set my hand & Seal this Twenty Seventh Day of February in the year of our Lord one

Thousand Seven hundred & Ninety four.                                Jonathan White {seal]

Signed Sealed & Delivered in presence of us                         Abigail White {seal}

John Smith

Zadock Maxfield 2d

Bristol Ss Dartmo February 27 1794. Then the within named Jonathan White

personally appeared and acknowlidged the within Instrument to be his free

act and Deed hand & seal.                     Before me John Smith Just Pacis

Recd April 29th 1795. and recorded by James Williams Regr.

The source citation for this land record is:

"Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," digital images, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 20 May 2015), Bristol County > Deeds, 1793-1795, Vol. 72-73 > Volume 73, page 482 (image 572 of 634), Jonathan White deed to Humphrey White, dated 27 February 1794, recorded 29 April 1795.

Jonathan White (1732-1804) is the father of Humphrey White (1757-1814), my 4th great-grandfather.  He gave this plot of land in Westport west of the Acoaxset River (now the Westport River) for love and good will.  The deed mentions "Hixes Bridge" which was probably at the same location as the current bridge across the Westport River along Hixbridge Road in Westport.  Now I'm wondering if I can identify the location of this land from the description and the neighbors mentioned.

I have several more wills of Humphrey White and Jonathan White to transcribe and analyze.

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Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

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