This week's document for Amanuensis Monday is the 1687 will of Daniel Morse of Sherborn in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts Probate Record volumes:
[pages 316-317]
[pages 318-319]
[pages 320-321]
The transcription of the will is:
[page 316]
The Will of Daniel Morse Sen^r
In the name of God amen
The Will of Daniel Morse Sen^r
In the year of Lord One thousand Six
hundred Eighty
Seaven the Ninth day of March I Dan^l
Morse Sen^r of Shearborn in the County
of Middlesex in his Maj^ies
Territoryes in New England being put in
mind of my Mortality
by Age and the Infirmities thereof
daily increasing upon
me do therefore in the time of my Life
and enjoym^t of my
memory and Understanding make Ordain
and declare
this to be my last Will and Testam^t
for the disposing of
those outward good things of this life
with which the Lord
hath entrusted and wherein first I
comit my Soul into the
hands of Almighty God in and through
the Lord Jesus knowing
thou hast Redeemed it O Lord God of
truth. And further I
hereby disannul and make void all other
Wills by or any
for me formerly made. My Mind and Will
is that after my
[page 317]
decease all Debts being taken in and
all debts funeral
charges and publique Charges defrayed I
do give and bequeath
unto my dear and welbeloved Wife Lidiah
Morse the whole
and full use and produce of my Estate
that I shall dye possessed
off that I do now improve as my own by
and from my
Son Samuel Morse according to the
agreem^t betwixt my
Self and said son Samuel Morse under
hand and
Seal to be by my said Wife or her order
by the advice
of my Execut^rs improved to his use and
maintainance
of my said Wife during the whole terme
of her natural
life. Item I do hereby Confirm unto my
oldest Sonn,
Obadiah Morse and to his heirs and
Assignes forever
all that his house Lot and other Lands
that I formerly gave
him exprest particularly in two Deeds
of gift under my
hand and seale. Item I do hereby
Confirm unto my
loving Son Daniel Morse and to his
heirs and
Assigns for ever all that his house lot
he live upon and
other Lands that I have formerly given
him Exprest
particularly in Two Deeds of gift under
my hand and
Seal. Item I do hereby confirm unto my
Loving Son
Jonathan Morse and to his heirs and
Assignes forever
all that his house Lot he live upon
with all those lands I
formerly gave him particularly Exprest
in three Deeds of
gift under my hand and Seal also I do
hereby Confirm a
Deed of Sale of Four acres of Land
exprest particularly in
the said Deed of Sale to the said
Jonathan. Item I do hereby
Confirm unto my Loving Son Nathaniel
Morse and to his
heirs and Assignes for ever All those
Lands that I formerly
gave him particularly Exprest in Deeds
of gift under my
hand and Seal. Item I do herby Confirm
unto my Loving
[page 318]
Daughter Lidia the Wife of Ephraim
Wight and their
heirs and Assignes forever the Moiety
halfe part
of the North end of my Lot that I
purchased of my
Brother Daniel Fisher in Dedham as is
Exprest
in a Deed of Conveyance and the said
Lands and
movables received by them onwards their
portion is
Thirlty pounds and Six Shillings. Item
I do hereby Confirm
unto my Loving Daughter Bethiah the
Wife of John
Perry and to their heirs and Assignes
forever all that
their house lot and other Lands
formerly given them
more particularly discribed in a Deed
of Conveyance
under my hand and Seal which said Land
with some
Movables amount to thirty Nine pounds
onwards their
portion. Item I do hereby Confirm unto
my loving
Daughter Mary the Wife of Edward West
and to their
heirs and Assignes for ever the Moyety
or halfe part of
the North end of my Lot of land I
purchased of my Brother
Daniel Fisher in Dedham more
particularly exprest
in a Deed of conveyance under my hand
and Seal.
More I give my Daughter Mary One acre
and three
quarters of Meadow bottom neer the
Meeting house
adjoyning to the Land of my Son in Law
Edward West
the aforesaid Lands with some Movables
amount
to thirty four pounds and Ten Shillings
onwards my
said Daughter Mary Wests portion. Item
I have given
to my loving Daughter Bashua the wife
of Benjamin
Fiske and to their heirs and Assigns
forever in Lands
Movables and other paym^t the Sume of
Nineteen pounds
[page 319]
and Ten shillings onwards their Portion
further my Mind
and Will is that each One of my
Daughters abovesaid shall
have paid into them their heirs or
Assignes so much in
movables and Currant Country paym^t (by
my Exec^rs
hereafter named) as shall make up what
each one have
received (as aforesaid) the full sume
of Forty pounds
to each Daughter aforesaid to be paid
within two years
after my and my Wives decease this is
to be minded
and attended (vizt:) that if one acre
and three quarters
of Meadow bottom lying in Twelve acre
Meadow
abutting upon Obadiah and Samuels
Meadow be not
included in John Perryes Deed My mind
and Will is
he shall have it in the sume aforesaid.
Item I do
hereby Confirm unto my son Samuel Morse
and to
his heirs and Assignes for ever all my
house Lott buildings
and other Lands that I have given him
particularly exprest
in a Deed of gift to him under my hand
and Seal and
for my wives Supply and maintenance
after my decease
over and above what shee is to receive
of Samuel as is
above expressed. My Sons Obadiah Daniel
Jonathan
and Samuel are to pay or Cause to be
paid unto my
dear Wife each year shee live after my
decease the full
Sume of Six pounds pr year in money or
such other paym^t
at money price in such things as from
time to time Shee
shall need each of the four sons to pay
their equal
Share each year as long as shee live.
I do hereby nominate
impower and Ordain my welbeloved Sons
Obadiah Morse
and Daniel Morse to be the Execut^rs of
this my last Will and
Testam^t to whom I give all such power
required for the
true and full performance of this my
last Will and Testam^t.
[page 320]
In witness to and full Confirmation of
this my last
Will and Testam^t I the said Daniel
Morse Sen^r have
hereunto set to my hand & affixed
my seal the day and
year aforesaid. Signed Daniel Morse
Sen^r and seald.
Signed Sealed and delivered in the
prsence of William
Rider Joseph Morse.
Examined Ss John West Dscry
By
his Ex^lcy
William Rider one of the Witnesses to
the within written
Will and also Mary Mackeeny who was
present at
the Signing thereof appeared before me
and made Oath
that they saw the within named Daniel
Morse Sen^r
sign seal and declare the within
writing to be his last Will
and Testam^t and that at the doing
thereof he was of
soundm ind and memory to the best of
their knowldge
John West Dscry Swor the 13^th June
1688
Before me Andros
Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Probate Court, "Suffolk County (Massachusetts) Probate Records, 1636-1899," on 439 FHL US/CAN microfilm reels, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org: accessed 4 July 2016), "Probate records v. 10-12 1687-1697," Volume 10, pages 315-324, Daniel Morse probate records, Sherborn, 1688, accessed on FHL US/CAN microfilm 584,130; original records at Suffolk County Probate Court, Boston, Mass.
Daniel Morse (1611-1688) of Sherborn, Massachusetts wrote his will on 9 March 1687, and died on 3 June 1688 in Sherborn, and his will was proved on 13 June 1688 in Suffolk County, Massachusetts Probate Court. although Sherborn is presently in Middlesex County, apparently Sherborn was then in Suffolk County.
In his will, Daniel Morse provides for his wife, Lidiah (Fisher) Morse, and names his five sons - Obadiah, Daniel, Jonathan, Nathaniel and Joseph, and his four living daughters, Lidia (Morse) Wight, Bethiah (Morse) Perry, Mary (Morse) West, and Bashua (Morse) Fiske. He also names his "brother" Daniel Fisher (who is his wife's brother). By the time of this will, all of his surviving children were married, except for the youngest, Samuel Morse. His wife, Lydia (Fisher) Morse, died on 29 January 1690.
The probate records also include the Letter Testamentary and the inventory of the estate of Daniel Morse, which totaled £103. It appears that Daniel Morse gave or sold most of his holdings outside of his home lot to his children. Son Joseph Morse was to receive the home lot after his mother died.
While Daniel Morse and his wife had all of their children in Dedham and Medfield, it appears that they bought land in Sherborn after 1661.
Daniel Morse (1611-1688) and Lydia (Fisher) Morse (1620-1690) are my 9th great-grandparents. I am descended through their daughter, Lydia Morse (1645-1722) who married Ephraim Wight (1646-1723).
==============================================
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) 2018, 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