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Monday, March 18, 2019

Amanuensis Monday - 1812 Will of George Ruth (1740-1812) of Cumru Township, Pennsylvania

This week's document for Amanuensis Monday is the 1812 will of  George Ruth of Cumru Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania: 

[George Ruth estate, image 2 of 4]

[George Ruth estate, image 3 of 4]



[George Ruth estate, image 4 of 4]



The transcription of this will is:

[George Ruth estate, image 2 of 4]

In the Name of God Amen.  I George Ruth of Cumru

Township in the County of Berks and State of Penns-
ylvania yeoman being sick in Body but of sound
Mind and Perfect under standing thanks be given to
God for the same and Calling to mind the mortality of
My Body Knowing that is is appointed for all men once to
die I do make and ordain this my Last Will and testam-
ent that is to say, Principally and first of all I recom-
mend my soul into the Hands of God that gave it and
My Body to the Earth to be Buried in a Christian like
Manner.  It is my Will and I do hereby Order that all my
just Debts and Funeral Charges be Honestly Paid and adgusted.

I give and bequeath unto my beloved Wife Barbara one
thousand Pounds of Good and Lawful Money of Pennsyva^nia
one year after My decease.  It further My Will that My Wife
Shall have as much of my Husel good and Kidchen for??????
as Much as My said Wife ones of it and twoo Cowes and
one Mare Black mare and it is My Will that My Wife
Barbara shall have the use of Half of my Personal Esta-
t is ?????? my ?????? ??? ??????? ???????. ??? ?? ?????
Son George Ruth all my Real Estate that is to say
three thracts of Land Boundet and Described as follow
joining Land of Henry Ruth Peter Ruth Sebastian
Miller and ulrich Hauver Containing one Hundred and forthy
Eight Ecers be the same More or Less the other thract bounded
John Hay George Ru?man ^and Georg Kr??k^ John Harman and Henry
Ruth Containing one Hundred Twenty five Acres be
the same More or Less the other thract is Wood Land joining
Land Jacob Ludwig and ulrich Hareder Containing fifty seven
Ecers be the same more or less all together Three hundred
and Thirty Ecers be the same more or less With all the
A ????? ?????? ?? ?? ???? ?? ???????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???
for What it is ??????? give the above ????? land to My
beloved abovementioned Son George Ruth for Ever It is
further My wish and bequeath Unto My beloved daughter
Elisabeth the interest of one thousand Pounds yearley and
and Every during Her Natural Life and after My daugh-
ter Elisabeth Her deat the one thousand Pound Where my
daughter Elisabeth tranes the interest during her Natural

[image 3 of 4]

Life After her deat it shall be devided Among her
Hairs Sheere and Sheere alike It is further My Will and I
Aqueath unto My beloved Grand son Peter a Son of My daugh-
ter Elisabeth the sum of four Hundred Pounds good and Law-
ful Money  It is further My will that My beloved daughter
Catherina a Wife of Jacob Konig Shall Have one thousand
Pounds ???? My Real Estate good and Lawful Money
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Pounds Where is before ????????? one year after My
decease and Unto My daughter Elisabeth one
thousand Pound twoo years after My deceaset Not
the Principle but the Interest yearley and Every year
turing Her Natural ^Life^ and after Her deceased the ???? ?????
ant Pount or Principle Must be paid to the said Elisa-
beth Her Hairs directley After Her death and unto My Grand
Son Peter a son of my daughter Elisabeth the sum
???? ?????? the sum of four Hundred Pounds three
years after My deceased.  My Grand ???? ????? ????? ???? ????? ???
or his Executors thel he the said Peter shall ?????? ??? ???
of twenty one years He shall tran the Prenceble and
My beloved daughter Catharina shall trans
one thousand Pounds in Manner as follows that
is to say the first three Hundred and thirty three Pounds
Six shillings and eight Pence four years after My decease
and so Every year that she had of the said thousand Pounds
an fully paid it is further My Will and I Ordain Nomina-
te and appoint my Trusty frainds and Brothern Law
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????
????????????????????????????????????????????William
Addams of Heidelberg Township in Berks County
and Henry Ruth of Cumru township in Berks County to
be Executors for My daughter Elisabeth and four My Hole
Estate Executors of this My Last Will and Testament.

[image 4 of 4]

And to See the same justly and Honestly fulfilled
According to the true intent and meaning thereof and
I Hereby make null and void all others Wills and Testamants 
by me Heretofore made Either in words or Writing
Retafying and Allowing this and Now other to be
my Last Will and Testament I Witness whereof
???????????????????????????????????????????
???????????????????????????????????????????

Signed sealed Pronounced and       }
Declared by the said George Ruth  }        Georg Ruth   {seal}
As his Last Will and Testament      }
in the Presence of us                       }
John Miller
W^m Bell

Registers Office Reading Berks County May 11^th 1813
????????????????????????????????????? John Miller and
W^m Bell Witness to the foregoing Writing Who after they
were duly Sworn according to Law, did declare and say
that they were present and did see and hear George Ruth
the testator Sign, Seal, publish, pronounce and declare
the said Writing as and for his Last Will and Testament
and that at the time of the Doing he the said Testator
was of sound Mind Memory and Understanding to the
best of their Knowledge and as they verily believe.  And
further that the Names John Miller and W^m Bell were
of their own Handwriting thereto subscribed in the
presents of each other and in the presents and at the
Request of the Testator.
                                                          Ja?? Shneider  Reg^r

The presence of the tape obscuring several lines of the handwriting on all three pages severely hampers understanding of the details of the legacies.In addition, the spelling ability of the person writing this will for George Ruth doesn't help.  

The source citation for this estate file is:

"Pennsylvania Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993," indexed records and digital images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 March 2019), Berks > "Probate Estate Files, Rothermel, Sophia - Seibert, George, 1800-1850," images 807-810 of 2401, George Ruth will, proved 11 May 1813.

In his will (the date of writing is obscured by the tape on the pages), George Ruth names his wife (Barbara), his son George Ruth (born about 1775), his daughter Elisabeth (born about 1779) and her son Peter, and his daughter Catherina (born about 1770), wife of Jacob Konig.  


George Ruth (1740-1812) is the son of Johann Peter and Eva Catherina (Meyer) Ruth of Berks County, who migrated from Germany in the 1730s to Pennsylvania.  .  George married (1) Anna Maria Dorothea Bentz before 1740 in Pennsylvania, and (2) Barbara Krum before 1812.  

The mention of daughter Catherina, wife of Jacob Konig, is of paramount importance to me, because Philip Jacob and Catherina (Ruth) Konig are my 4th great-grandparents.  They married before 1789, probably  in York County, Pennsylvania. 

                                     =========================================


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/2019/03/amanuensis-monday-1812-will-of-george.html

Copyright (c) 2019, Randall J. Seaver

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2 comments:

  1. Yesterday I listened to the recording of this week's "Monday's With Myrt", including your discussion of how you came across the Will of George Ruth. You also mentioned something about records regarding the LAUER family of Saarland, specifically the story of their crossing in 1733. I wonder if you can point me in the direction of those records? My LAUER ancestors also came from Saarland, although they emigrated nearly 100 years later. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Lark,

    Please email me and i'll send what I have. There was a 250th anniversary of the arrival of the Ruth family in 1983 and some of it is online describing the voyage. randy.seaver@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete