Monday, April 27, 2020

Amanuensis Monday - 1795 Will of Mehitabel (Grout) Brigham of Westborough, Mass.

This week's document is the 1795 will of Mehitabel Brigham (1726-1795) of Westborough, Massachusetts, in Probate Packet 7,402 in the Worcester County, Massachusetts probate court records.  

[page 1, image 3 of 6]


[page 2, image 4 of 6]

The transcription of this will  is:

[page 1, image 3 of 6]


In the Name of God Amen. I Mehitabel Brigham of Westborough

in the County of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts Widow being
infirm in body, but of Sound Mind, Memory and Understanding, considering the
 uncertainty of this transitory life, do make publish and declare this my
last Will and Testament in manner and form following Viz.

Firs of all, I give and bequeath to my Daughter Sarah the one third part
of my household furniture and wearing Apparel.

Also, I give and bequeath to my Son Moses the one Sixth part of all my
real and personal Estate of what kind and nature soever, excepting the house-
hold furniture and wearing Apparel.

Item. I give and bequeath to my Son Phinehas the one Sixth part of
all my real and personal Estate of what kind and Nature soever excepting the
household furniture and wearing Apparel.

Item I give and bequeath to my Daughter Mehitabel one third part of my
household furniture and wearing Apparel and also the one sixth part of all the
rest and residue of my Estate birth real and personal.

[Page 2, image 4 of 6]

Also I give and bequeath to my Son Ebenezer the one sixth part of all my 
real and personal Estate of what kind and Nature soever, excepting the household
furniture and wearing Apparel.

Item I give and bequeath to my Daughter Polly the one third part of my
household furniture and wearing Apparel And also the one Sixth part of all the
rest and residue of my Estate both real and personal.

Also, I give and bequeath to my Son Joseph the one Sixth part of all my
real and personal Estate of what kind and Nature soever, excepting the household
furniture and wearing Apparel.

Provided also that the Estate abovementioned other than the furniture and wearing
Apparel shall be first subject to the payment of my just Debts and funeral Charges.

I also ordain and appoint my Son Joseph my Sole Executor of this my last
Will and Testament hereby revoking any former Will or Wills by me heretofore
made.

In Witness whereof I hereunto Set my hand and Seal this Twenty fourth Day
of July in the year of our Lord Seventeen hundred and Ninety five.

Signed, Sealed, published and declared by                          }
the said Testatrix as her last Will and           Eli Whitney    }    Mehitabel Brigham  {seal}
Testament in the presence of us, who at       James Hawes  }
her request, in her presence, and in the the   Silas Fay        } Oct. 6 1795
presence of each other, have hereunto                                 }
subscribed our Names as Witnesses.                                   }

The source citation for this probate case file is:

Worcester County, Massachusetts, Probate case files, Probate Packet 7402 (6 pages) testate estate of Mehitabel Brigham of Westborough, 1795; "Worcester County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1731-1881;" digital images, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors  (http://www.AmericanAncestors.org: accessed 15 March 2020); Original records in Worcester County, Massachusetts Probate Court Records, Worcester, Massachusetts.

Mehitabel Brigham (1726-1795) was the widow of Moses Brigham (1723-1769), who died intestate in Westborough, Massachusetts on 3 December 1769, leaving her with seven children between the ages of three and eighteen.  In the intestate estate of Moses Brigham, Mehitabel Brigham was granted administration on her husband's estate on 1 January 1770, and received her widow's thirds, which included the personal estate after debts were paid, and a portion of the real estate, including one third of the house.  The Probate Court directed that the children's portion of the estate be directed to the eldest son, Moses Brigham, who was to pay each of his siblings 49 pounds as their share of their father's estate, and the son Moses received the remainder of the real estate.

In this will, Mehitabel bequeaths the household furniture and wearing apparel to her three daughters, Sarah, Mehitabel and Polly.  She also bequeaths one sixth shares of the remainder of her real and personal property to each of her seven named and living children.  I'm not sure how that works legally, but the probate packet is silent on the subject.  There is nothing in the probate packet about distributing Mehitabel's one-third share of her husband's real estate to the children.

Her youngest son, Joseph Brigham (born in 1766, so age 29) was named the executor of Mehitabel's will.  The only other useful record in the probate packet was the bond ($10,000) and order to settle debts and funeral charges, make an inventory of the estate, distribute the legacies, and submit an account to the court.  Perhaps the estate was settled and distributed by agreement of the heirs.  

This will is in the hand of Eli Whitney, one of the witnesses and bond guarantors.  Mehitabel Brigham signed it in her own hand.

Moses and Mehitabel (Grout) Brigham are my probable 5th great-grandparents through their son Phineas Brigham (1755-1802) who married Lydia Batherick (1752-1795) in 1779 in Westborough, Massachusetts.  I am descended through their son Lambert Brigham (1794-1834) who married Sophia Buck (1797-1882) in 1817, and their apparent daughter, Sophia Newton (1834-1923).

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

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) 2020, 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, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.

No comments: