c) Probate Packet 25,489 (image 3):
The transcription of this document is:
Know
all men by these Presents that We Ruth Wood
widow
Samuel Wood cordwainer & James Proctor Blacksmith
all
of Woburn in the County of Middlesex in the Province of
the
Massachusetts Bay in New England are holden &
Stand
firmly bound & obliged unto Jonathan Re-
mington
Esq^r Judge of the Probate of Wills &c in
the
said County, in the Sum of one thousand Pounds
currant
Mony of New England to be paid unto the
said
Jonathan Remington, his Successors in the said
office
or assigns, to the true Payment whereof we
bind
our Selves to each of us, one & Each of our
Heirs
Executors & Administrators, Joyntly & severally
[unreadable
line due to ink smears and fold]
Sealed
with our ????? ???? ??? ??????? day of
January
anno Domini 1736, & in then tenth year of
his
majesty's Reign.
The
Condition of the above written Obligation
is
such that if the abovebounden Ruth Wood
assigned
& appointed (together with her son John
Wood)
to be Guardian of her Husband Josiah Wood
jun^r
of sd Woburn Husbandman (who is adjudged
“non-compos)
Shall & do well & faithfully take
Care
as well of the Person as Estate both Real &
Personal
of the said non-compos, to make & cause to
be
made a true & perfect Inventory of the said
Estate
& the Same to exhibit into the Registers Office
of
Probate for the said County, or ???? ?? ?????
form
& discharge the Trust & Office of guardian
unto
the said Non-compos, & that in & by all things
according
to Law, & shall render a just & true Ac-
count
of her Guardianship when & so often as she
shall
be thereunto required, and shall pay & Deliver
or
return what & so much of the aforesaid Estate as
shall
be found remaining upon her Accounts (the same
being
examined & allowed of by the Judge or Judges
of
Probate of Wills for sd County) unto the said Non-
compos
in case he should be restored to his right mind
otherwise
as (agreeable to Law) shall be limitted &
appointed.
Then the foregoing obligation to be void,
otherwise
to abide in full force & virtue.
Signed
Sealed & Delivered
In
presence of Ruth Wood
Supply
Clap her + mark
Benj^n
Johnson
Samuel Wood
James
Proctor
The transcription of this document is:
Know
all men by these Presents that We John Wood
weaver,
Samuel Wood Cordwainer & James Proctor Blacksmith
all
of Woburn in the County of Middlesex in the Province of the Massa-
chusetts
Bay in New England, are holden & Stand firmly
bound
& obliged unto Jonathan Remington Esq^r
Judge
of the Probate of Wills &c in the said County, in
the
Sum of one thousand Pounds currant Mony of New
England
to be paid unto the said Jonathan Remington,
his
Successors in the said office or assigns, to the true
Payment
whereof we bind our Selves & each of us,
one
& Each of our Heirs, Executors & Administrators,
Joyntly
& severally for the whole & in the whole firm-
ly
by these presents, Sealed with our Seals, Dated this
fourth
Day of January anno Domini 1736, & in then tenth
year
ofhis majesty's Reign.
The
Condition of ther above written Obligation is such
that
if the abovebounden John Wood assigned & ap-
pointed
(together with his mother, Ruth Wood) to be Guar-
dian
of his Father Josiah Wood jun^r of said Woburn Hus-
bandman
(who is adjudged by the Select men of
said
Town to be a person Non-compos) Shall & do
well
& faithfully take care as well of the Person
as
Estate both Real & Personal of the said non-com-
pos,
& make & cause to be made a true and
perfect
Inventory of the said Estate & the Same to Ex-
hibit
into the Registers Office of Probate for the said
County,
& well & truly perform to discharge the Trust
&
Office of Guardian unto the said Non-compos, &
that
in & by all things according to Law, & shall
render
a just & true Account of his Guardianship
when
& so often as he shall be thereunto requir-
ed,
and shall pay & Deliver or return what &
so
much of the aforesaid Estate as shall be found re-
maining
upon her Accounts (the same being exa-
mined
& allowed of by the Judge or Judges of Pro-
bate
of Wills for said County) unto the said Non-com-
pos
in case he should be restored to his right mind,
&
appointed. Then the foregoing obligation to be
void,
otherwise to remain in full force & virtue.
Signed
Sealed & Delivered
In
presence of John Wood
Supply
Clap
Benj^n
Johnson Samuel Wood
James
Proctor
The source citation for this probate packet is:
"Middlesex County, MA: Probate Papers, 1648-1871," digital image, American Ancestors (http://www.AmericanAncestors.org : accessed 13 August 2017), Probate Packet 25,489 (14 images), Josiah Wood of Woburn, 1736.
In 1736, when Josiah Wood of Woburn was age 49, his wife and eldest son petitioned (see
In 1736, when Josiah Wood of Woburn was age 49, his wife and eldest son petitioned (see
Amanuensis Monday - 1736 Non Compos Mentis Petition for Josiah Wood (1687-1753) of Woburn, Mass.) the Middlesex County Probate Court to have Josiah Wood declared "non compos mentis," meaning not sane, or not in their right mind. At the time, Josiah and Ruth had eight living children, all but one of them (John) were minors.
After receiving the petition, the Judge of Probate wrote to the selectmen of the town of Woburn asking their judgement and they responded saying they agreed that Josiah Wood was incapable of caring for his family or his affairs. The Judge then declared Josiah's wife, Ruth, and their eldest son, John Wood, to be Guardians for Josiah wood Junior (his father Josiah Wood was still alive then). The Judge requested that the guardians prepare an inventory of the real and personal estate of Josiah Wood.
The two documents above are nearly identical - they are bonds that commit Ruth Wood and John Wood, as Guardians, to well and truly do their duty as guardians, and, with two friends, post bond of 1,000 pounds each.
There will be several more posts about this set of probate papers - there are some interesting twists in the records.
Josiah and Ruth (Walker) Wood are my 7th great-grandparents, the parents of Susanna Wood (1724-1780), who married Nathan Reed (1719-1802) in 1743.
==============================================
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."
Copyright (c) 2017, Randall J. Seaver
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