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Monday, August 17, 2015

Amanuensis Monday - Week 281: 1754 Will of Sarah (Warren) (Little) Sever (1692-1756) of Kingston, 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 1754 will and 1757 administration of Sarah (Warren) (Little) Sever (1692-1756) of Kingston, Plymouth County, Massachusetts:



The transcription of this will and administration papers is:

[page 328, near the bottom]

In the Name of God Amen

I Sarah Sever of Kingston in the County of Plimouth in NewEn-
gland wife of Nicholas Sever of sd Town & County Esq'r being
of sound m ind & memory, but apprehensive of Human Frailty
& the Shortness of the life of Men, do make and ordain this my
last Will and Testament. First I Committ my ^soul into the^ hands of God Alm-
ighty and then my body to the earth to be Decently buried at
the Direction of my Exec'rs hereafter named, and my Worldly Estate
which God hath possessed me with I Give & Devise in Manner
following viz.

Imprs. I give to my son William One Stone Ring & to my son
John one Silver Box each with the name of James Sever dec'd on it.

[page 329]

Item I Give my waring apparell to my two Daughters
Mrs. Tyler and Mrs. Little to be equally Divided between them.

Item, and after my Husband's Decease I give to my two sons
before mentioned their Heirs and assigns two thirds of the Orchard
Near the Dwelling House to be equally Divided between them
Also one third part of an acre on the point up the Hill to
be alike Divided.

Item I give all the Remainder of my Real Estate Viz. Two thirds
of this Dwelling House the yard before it, the garden, & Brack yard
also my wood lott near Plimouth Town, also two wood lotts in
Pembrooke which I bought of Joseph Chade, and a
third part of a Wood lott at Ellis's in Plimouth with all my
out lands & Cedar Swamp in Plimouth & Plimton which decended
to ^me^ from my Father and Sisters, after my Husband's decease, to my
two Sons and two Daughters before mentioned their Heirs &
assigns forever to be equally divided between them.

And I make and ordain my Husband, my son William &
My Daughter Lucy Exec'rs the ninth day of Feb^y AD 1754.

Signed Sealed & Delivered by the sd                     Sarah Sever {seal}
Sarah Sever as & for her last Will &
Testament in the presence of us who
are present at the Signing & Sealing
thereof
James Warren }                   Plimouth Ss May 19th 1757 I do hereby
Mary Warren  }                   renounce the Executorship of the within
Ann Warren    }                  Will, tho' I approve of my son William
                                           within named his proving of said Will
                                           and acting as Exec'r. Thereon Nicholas Sever

Plimouth Ss May 19th 1757 this Will being presented for prob't
by Mr. William Sever one of the Exec'rs within named the other
Exec'r, Nicholas Sever Esq'r renouncing the Executorship & Miss
Lucy Little the Other being Dead, the said James Warren Esq'r. Miss
Mary Warren & Ann Warren made oath that they saw the
within named Sarah Sever Sign and Seal and heard her
declare this Instrument to be her last Will and Testament
and that they at the same time in her presence Subscribed as
Witnesses & that according to the best of their Judgm'ts She was then
of Sound Mind & Memory.             Before me John Cushing Judge of prob't.
Province of the        }
Massachusetts Bay }
Plimouth Ss             } By the Hon^ble John Cushing Esqr Judge
                                   of the probate of Wills & for granting Letters of
                                   Admrs on the Estates of persons dec'ed having goods
                                  Chattles Rights & Credits in the County aforesd
                    { seal } Within the province aforesd.

To all unto whom these presence Shall come Greeting
Know ye that upon the Day of the Date hereof before

[page 330]

me at Plimouth in the County aforesd the Will of Mrs. Sarah
Sever late of Kingston in the County of Plimouth (wife
of Nicholas Sever Esqr) Dec'ed to these presents annex'd
was Proved approved approved and allow'd who having while
she Lived and at time of her Death Goods Chattels Rights &
Credits in the County aforesaid & the probate of the said Will
and the power of committing adm'n & full Disposition of
said Dec'ed and her will in any manner concerning is thereby
Committed unto her said Husband and Son William Sever &
Daughter Mrs. Lucy Little, but the said Nicholas Sever Reno-
uncing the Executorship and the said Lucy Little being since dec'ed
the said William is therefore sole Exec'r of the same Will
Well and faithfully to execute the said Will & to adm'r the Estate
of the said deceased according thereunto, and to make a true & perfect
Inventory of all & Singular the Goods Chattles Rights & Credits
& to exhibit the Same into the Registry of the Court of prob't
for the County aforesaid at or before the Nineteenth day of Aug
next ensuing and also to render a plain and true acct of his
said Adm'n upon oath within twelve months next Coming. In
Testimony whereof I have hereunto sett my hand and the seal
of the Court of Probate Dated at Plimouth the 19th day
of May Anno Domi. 1757.
                                                 Jno. Cushing

The source citation for these documents is:

"Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 15 July 2015), probate clerk transcriptions, ""Probate Records, 1755-1758 and 1859-1862, Vol 14-14E," Volume 14, pages 328-330 (penned), Sarah Sever will and administration; citing original records in the Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, Mass.

Sarah Warren (1692-1756), daughter of James Warren and Sarah Doty of Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, married (1)  Charles Little (1685-1724) in 1712, and had six children beteen 1713 and 1723, but had only two living daughters, Bethiah Little who married Thomas Tyler, and Lucy Little, at the time she wrote her will.  She married (2) Nicholas Sever in 1728 and they had three sons, William Sever (1729-1809), John Sever (1731-1760), and James Sever (1734-1745).  

Sarah (Warren) (Little) Sever named all four of her children living in her 1754 will.  She left specific items to her four living children, and left real estate to all four living children (which probably devolved to the three living children after Lucy died in 1756).  

The will describes her remaining real estate as "Two thirds of this Dwelling House the yard before it, the garden, & Brack yard also my wood lott near Plimouth Town, also two wood lotts in
Pembrooke which I bought of Joseph Chade, and a third part of a Wood lott at Ellis's in Plimouth with all my out lands & Cedar Swamp in Plimouth & Plimton which decended to ^me^ from my Father and Sisters,"

Perhaps Nicholas and Sarah Sever resided in Kingston on land given to her, or them, by her father, James Warren (1665-1715), after her mother, Sarah (Doty) Warren died in 1749.  

Astute Genea-Musings readers will recall that there are two women named Sarah Warren - Sarah (Warren) (Little) Sever (1692-1756) who married Nicholas Sever (1680-1764) and was the mother of William Sever (1729-1809), and Sarah Warren (1730-1797), daughter of James Warren (1700-1757) and Penelope Winslow (1704-1737), who married William Sever (1729-1809).

The land and probate records are extensive for these two Sever families, and the Warren records are even more extensive.

The URL for this post is:   http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/08/amanuensis-monday-week-281-1754-will-of.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver


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