Monday, April 30, 2018

Amanuensis Monday - Will of George Martin (1618-1686) of Amesbury, Mass.

This week's document for Amanuensis Monday is from the Essex County, Massachusetts Probate Packet records for George Martin of Amesbury, Massachusetts:

a)  Essex County (Mass.) Probate Packet 17,890, image 4 (of 5):



The transcription of this will is:


In y^ name of God Amen.
I George Martin of y^e town of Amsbury in y^e County
of Essex being through Gods goodness of prfect memory
* undrstanding Doe make this my Last will & testa-
ment in manner as followeth.

Imprimis I Commend my Spirit to God whoo gave it, & my body
tp y^e dust decently to be buried (at y^e Charges of my Exe-
cutr whome I Shall hereafter name & appoynt) in hopes
of a ???full resurrection at y^e last day unto life eternal.

2ly I give & bequeath unto my natural Children viz: my
Sonns Rich^rd Martin & John Martin, & my Daugh-
ters Hanna Wathen, Hester Gimson, Jane Hadley
& Abigail Hadlock unto each & every of them five
Shillings a piece to be payd in good & merchantable
pay within one twelve month next aft^r my decease.

3^dly I Give & bequeath unto my Grandchild John Had-
lock five pounds in good & merchantable pay in case
y^ y^e s^d John live w^th ??? or my wife or my Son Will
until y^t he come unto y^e full & compleat at age of
twenty one years.

4^thly I Give & bequeath all y^e rest of my housing lands
stock & estate both moveable & Immoveable unto
my wife Susanna during her Widowhood, & after
her marriage or decease (in case she marry not
againe) unto my youngest son William.

Finally I Doe appoynt, Constitute & Ordaine my
Wife Susanna to be Executrix & my youngest
son Will Martin to be Execut^r in Conjunction
w^th her unto this my last Will & testament
As????? confirmat of y^e promisses I have hereun-
to Subscribed my hand & Seal Dated the nine-
teenth day of January An:Dom one thousand Six
hundred Eighty three or foure.

Subscribed, Sealed, & declared                       his
to be his Last Will & testam^t            George M Martin {seal}
in y^e presence of us                                   marke
Thomas Wells
Mary Wells

M^r Thomas Wells and M^rs Mary Wells
appeared before the Worshipfull Jn^o Woodbridge Es^r
& Cap^t Richard Dumer and upon oath did testifie
that they did see George Martin Signe & Seall and
declare this to be his last will & testament.
Reg. 23^d Nov^r 1686 as att ??? D Davison CC^r

The source citation for this document is:

"Essex County, MA: Probate Papers, 1638-1881," digital images, American Ancestors (http://www.AmericanAncestors.org : accessed, 17 May 2015), Packet 18,790, George Martin of Amesbury, 1686 (5 images); citing original records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives, with digitized mages provided by FamilySearch.org.

George Martin (1618-1686) married, firstly, Hannah LNU (1624-1646) in about 1641, who bore him one child, daughter Hannah Martin (1643-1730), who married Ezekiel Wathen (1636-1716).  George married, secondly, Susanna North (1621-1692) in 1646, and she bore him nine children.  Susanna (North) Martin was executed in the Salem witch trials of 1692.


The only other document in the probate packet was an inventory taken by John Weed and Nathaniel Park on 15 April 1686.  The inventory totaled £75-10-0, with the real estate £48.  


George Martin probably died before 15 April 1686, which was the date of the inventory.  There is no entry for his death in the Salisbury or Amesbury vital record books.  

In his will, George mentions his wife Susanna, and names her executrix with their son William Martin (1663-1726) also an executor.  He mentions three living sons in 1684 - Richard, John and William, and four living daughters - Hannah Wathen, Hester Gimson [Jameson], Jane Hadley and Abigail Hadlock.  He bequeathed five shillings to each of them.  He also bequeaths money to his grandson, John Hadlock, certainly a son of his daughter Abigail.  He did not mention son George Martin (1648-1734) for some reason (perhaps he was not a "natural" child?).

George and Hannah (LNU) Martin are my 9th great-grandparents.  I am descended through their daughter, Hannah (Martin) Wathen (1643-1730) who married Ezekiel Wathen (1536-1716) in 1661  resided in Salisbury, Massachusetts.



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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:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2018/04/amanuensis-monday-will-of-george-martin.html

Copyright (c) 2018, Randall J. Seaver


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