"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."
The subject today is the will of Amy (Champlin) Oatley (1798-1865) of Killingly, Windham County, Connecticut. There are 17 papers in the probate packet - here are the three of the most interest:
[image 481]
[image 484]
[image 485]
The transcription of these two documents is:
[image 481]
In the Name of God Amen
I Amy Oatly of Killingly in the County
of Windham
and State of Connecticut, of Sound
disposing
mind and memory do constitute and
ordain this
my last Will and Testament in manner
and form
following (to wit). I that is to say
imprimus
I Will that all my debts and funeral
charges
be paid and discharged by my Executor
hereinafter
named.
Item. I give and demise unto my ten
Children for the
love and Efection I have for them, All
my real
Estate situated in said Killillingly
with a Dwelling
House & Barn theiron standing
together with all Rights
and previledges thereunto belonging to
them and to their
heirs forever to them and each of them
Equl that is to say
to Joseph Oatley one tenth part of the
above described
premises, to Almira Taft one tenth, to
Nancy Edson
one tenth, to Lorenzo Oatley one tenth,
to William
Oatley one tenth, Benedick Oatley one
tenth, Jonathan Oatley Jr.
one tenth, To Mary E. Pray one tenth,
to Hannah Chase
one tenth, and to Olive Burton one
tenth to them and each
of them and their heirs forever.
I do mak constitute and appoint my son
Joseph
Oatley Executor of this my last Will
and Testament.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set
my hand and seal this
18th day of January AD 1865.
her
Amy X Oatly
mark
Signed Sealed and declared by the said
Amy Oatley
as her last Will and Testament in
presence of us who in
her presence and in the presence of
each Other have
hereunto Subscribed Our names
Samuel C. Chase } Witnesses
Henry J. Arnold }
Franklin Burton }
[image 484]
To the Honerable Court of Probate with
in and for the District of Killingly
The
undisigned Execu-
tor of the Last Will and Testament of
Amy Oatley late of Killingly in said
Dis-
trict deceased, would respectfully
That, in the settlement of said Estate
it will be necessary to sell real
Estate
in pursuance of Section Thirty Eight
of an “Act for the Settlement of
Estates
Testate, Intestate and Insolvent,”
said
Real Estate being bounded and described
as follows to wit: North on lands
Owned by Leonard Bartlett, East by
lands owned by Waldo Bartlett, South
on land owned by Joseph Oatley,
West on the way leading from the
Old Providence Tenpike and DeMilles
Village, laying and situate in the
town of Killingly, being the late
Residence of Amy Oatley Containg about
one fourth of an acre more or less.
That the
appraised Value of said Real Estate
exceeds the amount of indebtedness
and Charges remaining to be speci-
fied in said Order of date: That said
fied in said Order of date: That said
Real Estate Cannot be beneficially
divided for the purpose of Sale.
[image 485]
The applicant therefore prays said
Court to Order the Sale of the Whole
Real Estate above described pursuant
to the Statute Laws in such case Made
and provided.
Dated at Killingly this twenty first
day
of August A D 1865.
Joseph
Oatley Executor
The source citation for the probate packet file is:
Connecticut, Probate case files, Hartford > Probate Packets > Mague-Russell 1845-1880, images 480-496 of 1439, Amy Oatley case file, 1865; "Connecticut, Wills and Probates, 1609-1999," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 8 October 2015); citing Probate Files Collection, Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut); original files in Connecticut County and District Probate Courts.
The will was proved and approved in the Killingly District Court on 14 February 1865. The first inventory of the estate of
Amy Oatley was $850, submitted by the executor on 22 March 1865. On
2 October 1865, the Executor informed the Court that William H.
Oatley bought the real estate for the sum of $950. On 7 October 1865,
the Executor stated that he has complied with the court order to give
public notice, and has paid all of the claims against the estate. An
account dated 7 October 1865 increased the appraised value to $982,
and the claims and expenses were $443.93, leaving a balance of
$538.07. No distribution paper or receipts were
in the probate packet. Each of the ten named children of Amy Oatley
probably received $53.81 as their share of the property given them by
their mother.
Amy (Champlin) Oatley was the wife of Reverend Jonathan Oatley (1791-1872). He was still alive when this estate was settled. Apparently, Amy Oatley owned the land, perhaps because her husband was a preacher, or perhaps he was not mentally competent in his later years. Land records for Killingly, Connecticut may shed more light on the issue.
While Amy Oatley named ten children as heirs, she actually had 14 children. Four of her children, John Alfred Oatley (1815-1863), Stephen Hazard Oatley (1822-1863), Amy (Oatley) White (1826-1864) and George Whittier Oatley (1837-1837) had died before she wrote her will on 18 January 1865. She did not mention the children of the three children that lived to adulthood and died before 1865 in the will.
The land in question is described as one fourth of an acre on the Old Providence Road on the way to DeMille's Village. A Google search for DeMille's village did not find any online definition. The name may be wrong - I transcribed it as "Miller's Village" in another blog post. A discussion of Connecticut roads in Connecticut Roads for Killingly says that the Providence Turnpike was about where U.S. Highway 6 is today. It could be that the Amy Oatley home was several miles south of East Killingly where I thought they resided since 1834.
Amy (Champlin) Oatley (1798-1865) is my 3rd great-grandmother. I am descended from her through my 2nd great-grandmother Amy Frances (Oatley) White (1826-1864), who married Henry Arnold White (1825-1885) in 1844.
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