Monday, March 4, 2019

Amanuensis Monday - 1839 Deed of Aaron Hildreth to Zachariah Hildreth in Townsend, Mass.

This week's document for Amanuensis Monday is the 1839 deed of  Aaron Hildreth to  Zachariah Hildreth of Townsend in the Middlesex County, Massachusetts Land Records: 

[Volume 382, pages 312-313]

The transcription of this deed is:

[Volume 382, page 312, starts at middle of left-hand page]

[in left-hand margin]

A. Hildreth
     to
Z. Hildreth
[body of text]


                                              Know all men by these presents,
that I, Aaron Hildreth, of Townsend, in the County of Middle-
sex, yeoman, in consideration of six hundred Dollars to me paid
by Zachariah Hildreth of said Townsend, yeoman, the receipt
whereof I do hereby acknowledge, do hereby give, grant, bargain,
sell & convey unto the said Zachariah Hildreth his heirs & assigns
forever, two certain tracts of land situate in the southerly part
of said Townsend, being the same tracts of land conveyed by
the said Zachariah Hildreth to me by deed bearing even date
with these presents, reference being had to said Zachariah Hil-
dreth's said deed to me, the bounds & descriptions of said prem-
ises will fully appear.  To have & to hold the aforegranted prem-
ises to the said Zachariah Hildreth, his heirs & assigns, to his &
their use & behoof forever.  And I do covenant with the said Zac-
hariah Hildreth, his heirs & assigns, that I am lawfully seized
in fee of the aforegranted premises; that they are free of all
incumbrances; that I have good right to sell & convey the same
to the said Zachariah Hildreth; & that I will warrant and
defend the same premises to the Zachariah Hildreth, his
heirs & assigns forever, against the lawful claims & demands
of all persons.  Provided nevertheless, that if I, the said Aaron
Hildreth, my executors or administrators, shall & truly keep
perform & fulfill the condition of a certain bond, bearing even
date herewith, given by the said Aaron to the said Zachariah,

[Volume 382, page 313]

in the penal sum of six hundred Dollars, conditioned that
the said Aaron, in consideration that the said Zachariah had
conveyed certain real estate to said Aaron, the said Aaron
should pay, or cause to be paid to Otis Seaver a certain prom-
issory note given to said Seaver by said Zachariah, dated De-
cember 20^th A.D, 1837; the principal of said note, being original-
ly two hundred Dollars, on which there is now due one hundred
and sixty seven Dollars principal & interest since the 20^th of
December last; and that the said Aaron shall forever fully
indemnify & save the said Zachariah harmless from all cost,
trouble, payment or expense that he may be in any way
liable to, in consequence of having signed said note; and that
the said Aaron shall pay one half of the balance of account
due Adams & Powers from said Zachariah, for sawing; and
that the said Aaron shall pay to each of his sisters, Clarissa,
Elizabeth & Harriet A. Hildreth the sum of fifty Dollars each,
to be paid to each as they arrive at the age of twenty five
years, or when they are married, whichever event may first
happen.  Now if the said Aaron shall well & truly keep, perform
and fulfill the condition of said bond, according to the true in-
tent & meaning thereof, then this deed, as also said bond, shall
be void; otherwise to be & remain in full force virtue.  In
witness whereof, I the said Aaron Hildreth, have hereunto
set my hand & seal this tenth day of June in the year of
our Lord eighteen hundred & thirty nine.
Signed, sealed & delivered      }     Aaron Hildreth  {seal}
in presence of                           }    Middlesex ss. June 10^th 1839. Then   
Dan^^l Giles, F.A. Worcester }    the above named Aaron Hildreth
acknowledged the above instrument to be his free act & deed.
Before me F.A. Worcester, Jus. Peace.
                       Middlesex ss. June 12^th 1839. Received & recorded by
                                                                     Wm. F. Stone Reg^r.

The source citation for this recorded deed is:

"Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," digital images, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 2 February 2019), Middlesex County, "Deeds, 1836, Vol. 382," Volume 382, pages 312-313 (image 160 of 298), Deed of Aaron Hildreth to Zachariah Hildreth, executed 10 June 1839, recorded 12 June 1839.

 This deed is for two tracts of land in Townsend (no acreage provided) that Zachariah Hildreth sold to his son, Aaron Hildreth on the same date for $650.  This deed, selling land back to the father Zachariah, will be void if Aaron fulfills the conditions of the bond set out in this deed - he has to pay off a debt to Otis Seaver and one half of the account with Adams and Powers, and give $50 to each of his three sisters when they turn age 25 or are married.

 Once again, we see Zachariah Hildreth, at age 56 in 1839, selling land to his son, Aaron and handing off the obligation debts and legacies to the son as payment for the land.  He did essentially the same thing to son James, but the agreement with James was to support Zachariah and Hannah for the rest of their lives.  Perhaps Zachariah could not work the land as he did previously, and/or perhaps he and his wife needed care due to illness or disability..  In 1839, they had two sons of age (Aaron and James), three young sons (Milo, Moses and Edward), one daughter of age (Clarissa), and two young daughters (Elizabeth and Harriet).  His wife and young children needed support, and it is likely that Aaron and James worked on their land to support their parents and siblings.

Zachariah Hildreth (1783-1857) who married Hannah Sawtell (1789-1857) in 1810, is my third great-grandfather.  I am descended from their son, Edward Hildreth (1831-1899) who married Sophia Newton  (1834-1923) in 1852.

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


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."

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Copyright (c) 2019, Randall J. Seaver


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