Monday, June 1, 2015

Amanuensis Monday - Post 270: 1792 Deed of Stephen Gifford 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 1792 deed of Stephen Gifford of Dartmouth, Massachusetts granting land to Humphrey White in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.


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

Know all men by these presents that I Stephen Gifford of Dartmouth in the County
of Bristol in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts yeoman In consideration of the
Sum of Fifty Seven pounds Six Shillings & Six pence lawfull money paid to me by
Humphry White of Dartmouth aforesd yeoman, the recept whereof I do hereby acknow-
lidge & do by these presents give grant Sell Convey & confirm unto him the sd Humphry
White & to his heirs & assigns forever, a certain Lot or Tract of Land situate in Dartmo
aforesd and is part of the Land that I bought of Peleg Wood & wife, given to her by her father
Joseph Allen Decd & contains by estimation twenty one acres & Eighty five rods be the
same more or less. It is bounded as follows, beginning at a Stake with Stones about it
a bound of the Gidley's Land, from thence South twelve deg East in sd Gidleys Line forty
five rods to a Stake by the Wall, thence East Seven deg North Eighteen rods & half to a
Rock with a stone on it, thence North forty deg East to the Highway that comes by
Fishers, thence Northerly by sd Way four rods to a Stone heap on the westerly Side of said
Way, thence Strait to the Bound first mentioned. Bound Westerly on sd Gidley's Land
Northerly part on Thos Woods Lot & part on the Whites Land, East on a Way southerly
& Southeasterly on the remainder of my Land in sd place. Together with a prevalidge
of a drift way out from above Lot to the Highway as allowed in the Deed of Division
between the heirs of Joseph Allen Decd, the above courses are by the present variation
of the Compas. To have & to hold the Same with all the prevalidges & appurtenances there
unto belongniig or in any wise appertaining unto him the sd Humphrey White & to
his heirs & assigns forever, and I do covenant with him the said Humphry White his heirs
and assigns that I am lawfully Seized of the premises fee simple, that they are free of all
Incumbrances, that I have good right to Sell & convey the same as aforesd and that I will
warrant & defend the same unto him the sd Humphry White & to his heirs & assigns forever
against the lawfull Claims & demands of all persons, and Rhoda the wife of the above
grantor doth by these presents Voluntarily give up all her right of Dower in the
premises unto him the sd Humphry White his heirs & assigns. In Witness whereof the sd
Stephen Gifford & wife have hereunto Set their hands & seals this Thirtieth Day of
November AD one Thousand Seven hundred & Ninety Two Stephen Gifford {seal}
Signed Sealed & Delivered Rhoda Gifford {seal}
in presence of us Bristol Ss Westport Novr 30th Day 1792 Then personally
Samuel Smith appeared the within Subscribers namely Stephen Gifford and
Jorathmeal White acknowlidged the within Instrument to be his Voluntary act &
Cornelius White Deed before me William Davis Justice pacis
Recd November 26th 1793, 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 72, page 260 (image 146 of 634), Stephen Gifford deed to Humphrey White, dated 30 November 1792, recorded 26 November 1793

UPDATED:  This deed provides the name of the father of the wife of Peleg Wood, as Joseph Allen.  [Thank you for the correction, Geolover].

This was the first land record for Humphrey White granted land in Bristol County.  He was age 35 at this time, and had been married to Sibel Kirby since 1786.  The description of the land in the transcription above sounds like it was near the land that Humphrey's father, Jonathan White, gave him in 1794.  If that is the case, it was on the west side of Hixes Bridge in what is now Westport,   Massachusetts.  

Humphrey and Sibel (Kirby) White are my fourth great-grandparents.  


Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver

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3 comments:

Geolover said...

Don't you think Joseph Allen was father of Peleg Wood's wife?

Randy Seaver said...

Well, yes, of course I do. I erred. I updated the post.

Geolover said...

Just goes to show that even after a most careful transcription (kudos!), we all can make mistakes in conveying our conclusions. Careful re-reading of what we write is seldom a waste of time :D. I can't count how many times I have found a more or less silly mistake or omission upon reviewing a narrative or spreadsheet or table.