The transcription of this will is (transcribed line by line):
[image 5 of 9]
In the Name of God Amen
This Seventh Day of June Anno Dom^i one
thousand Seven
Hundred and forty four. I Nathanael
Harwood of Chelmsford
in the County of Middles^x in New
England Yeoman, being of
perfect mind and memory and Knowing
that it is Appoint-
ed for all men once to Die Do therefore
make and Ordain this
my last will and Testament. Especially
and first of all I give
my Soul into the Hands of God that gave
it. And my Body
ti the Earth to be decently Buried at
the Discretion of my Ex-
ecutors hereafter named Nothing
doubting but I shall receive
the Same at the General Resurrection by
the Mighty Power
of God. And as to my Worldly Estate
which God hath been plea-
sed to Bless me with I give and dispose
of the Same in the Man-
ner and form following, That is to Say
First I will that all those Debts and
duties I do owe in Right
or Conscience to any manner of Person
or Persons whatsoever be
well and Truly Paid in convenient Time
after my Decease by
my Executors hereafter Named.
Itm. I give to my Dearly beloved wife
Mary Harwood as followeth,
viz. That whereas I have given a Deed
to my Son Jonathan Harwood
of all my Lands Buildings &c to Him
and his Heirs after my
and my wife's Decease, In consideration
whereof my Will is
that my said Son Jonathan Harwood
Deliver to his Mother
aforesaid yearly Seventy Bushells of
Indian Corn four Bushells
of Rie and one Hundred and forty Weight
of Pork and Eighty
Weight of Beef, One Bushell of Mall &
four Barrels of Cyder
and that my Wife have the Improvement
of half the Houshold
Goods during her Life, and also that my
s^d Son Keep a good
Horse and furniture for s^d Horse for
his s^d Mother use and Bene-
fit also that He take Care of his s^d
Mother in Sickness providing
Physick &c and that he provide wood
Convenient for her and
Keep and Maintain for her use two Cows
during Her Lifetime
The which Cows at Her Decease to be
Divided among my four Daugh-
ters whose Names are after mentioned,
and my Will is that if my s^d
Son shall faill in any of the
Particulars afore mentioned that
my Wife Shall have the Improvement or
Income of one half
of my Real Estate and that it shall be
at her Choice which
to take and accept of at my Decease.
[page 7 of 9]
Itm. I give to my Said son Jonathan
Harwood all my waring
Apparrell with all my Husbandry Tools
^and Moveables^ (my two Cows except which
I reserve for my wife) Which with what
I have given Him by
a Deed as aforesaid is in full his
Portion out of my Estate.
Itm. I bequeath and give to my four
Daughters viz. Mary
Proctor Hannah Proctor Rachel Peirce
Susanna Robins
all my Money wether in Cash or in Bills
or bonds; and also
to them all my Household Goods the one
half of them to be
Equally Divided among ??? at my Decease
the other half
after the Natural Death of my wife.
Itm. I give to my Grandaughter
Elisabeth Prescot five Pounds
in Bills of the old tenor in Case she
lives to the Age of Eight-
een years to be paid by my s^d Son
Jonathan Harwood.
I also make and Ordain my Son Jonathan
Harwood
and my Son-in-law Stephen Peirce my
Sole Executors
of this my Last will and Testament.
And I do hereby
utterly Disallow & revoke &
Disanull all former or other
Wills before this time Named or made.
Ratifying and
Confirming this and no other to be my
Last will and
Testament. In Witness whereof I have
Set hereto my Hand
and Seal the Day & Year above
written.
Signed Sealed & declared by the
said Nathanael Harwood as His
Last will and Testament in
the Presence of us Nathaniel Harwood
Thomas Barry
Josiah Burg
[image 6 of 9]
Chelmsford September the Sixteenth 1751
We the heirs of this will have met
togather and
are fully Satisffyd and contented with
this with-
in written will as wittnes our hands
her
mary + prockter
mark
Peter Proctor
her
Anna + procker
mark
Stephen Peirce
her
Rachel X peirce
mark
John Robbens
her
Susana X
Robbens
mark
and Likwise of the widow
pf the Desesed nathaniel
harwood consent to
have the will probated her
Mary + harwood
mark
The source citation for this record is:
"Middlesex County, MA: Probate Papers, 1648-1871," digital image, Ameircan Ancestors (http://www.AmericanAncestors.org : accessed, 26 November 2016), Probate packet No. 10629, Nathaniel Harwood estate, will written 1744, estate probated 1751, 9 pages.
Nathaniel Harwood and his wife, Mary (Barron) Harwood, had 7 children, and five of them are named in his will - Mary (Proctor), Hannah (Proctor), Rachel (Peirce), Susanna (Robbens), and Jonathan. In addition, he named his granddaughter Elizabeth Prescott.
Although he did not name Elizabeth's mother, Elizabeth (Harwood) Prescott (1701-1739), who married Jonas Prescott (1703-1784), this is Indirect Evidence that Elizabeth (Harwood) Prescott is the daughter of Nathaniel Harwood, and Direct Evidence in an Original Source with Primary Information that Elizabeth Prescott (1734-1812) was his granddaughter.
These documents are images of the Original Source records in Probate Packet No. 10629 for Nathaniel Harwood. There are documents for a bond, a Letter Testamentary, an Inventory and an Account in the 9 papers in the Probate Packet.
Nathaniel and Mary (Barron) Harwood are my 7th great-grandparents, through their daughter Elizabeth Harwood (1701-1739) who married Jonas Prescott (1703-1784), and through their daughter Elizabeth Prescott (1734-1812), who married Zachariah Hildreth (1728-1784).
NOTE: 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 URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/11/amanuensis-monday-1744-will-of.html
Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver
Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment