Monday, July 13, 2020

Amanuensis Monday -- 1692 Will of Francis Hamant (1625-1692) of Medfield, Mass.

This week's document for transcription is the 1692 will of Francis Hamant (1625-1692) of Medfield, Massachusetts, in Probate Packet 1,962 in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts probate court records:

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The transcription of these papers is:

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In y'e year of our Lord sixteen hundred Ninety and two y'e twentieth day
of July
I Francis Hamant of Medfield in y'e County of Suffolke in his
majesties province in New england being by y'e good hand of god
brought to old age yet Retaining my understanding and Knowing it
my Duty to prepare for Death and that I be not unprepared when
it come I Doe think good to make this my Last will and testement
I doe comitt my body to y'e Earth from whence it was taken to be
Christianly buried, and my Soul and my Soul into y'e armes of the
Lord Jesus Christ my Redeemer and as for my wourly goods
which god of his mercy hath given mee I doe Dispose of them
as followeth, viz.: I will and bequeath unto my Loveing son John
my Lot lying att planting field neer to Jeremy morses and that
parcel of meadow lying att stop River which I formerly bought
of Thomas grub, and my Lot att south plaine two acres and
halfe more or less as it lyeth, to him and his heires forever; but if
my said son John hath no natural heire or heirs, then after his
Decease y'e said uplands and meadow lands to goe to my son
timothy.  It'm: I will and bequeath unto my son in law Jeremy
morse and my Daughter Elizebeth morse, Eight acres and three
Roods of Land being on y'e Lower side of y'e planting field, And
all y'e Rest of my Estate I will and bequeath unto my son Timo-
thy, buildings, uplands, meadow lands and swamp lands and all
all my moveable Estate of what Nature Kind or Sort soever
and my will is that my said son timothy shall take care of and
provide for my wife his mother all Nesisarys Dureing hir
naturall Life, and also that he y'e said Timothy, shall within
three years after my Decease pay or Case to be paid twenty
pounds in Currant Country pay unto his Sisters y'e Sum to be
Divided Equally amongst them with what they have Received
before and also I doe hereby Constitute appoint and ordaine
my said Son Timothy to be sole Executor of this my Last will
and testement and I doe hereby utterly Revoke all other wills
made by me att any time or times and that this is my Last
will and testament wittnesse my hand and seal this day and
Date above said.
Signed, sealed and                                     his mark
And published in presence              frances h  Hamant  {seal}
off      John Thurston
           Nathanel x Allen
           Isaac + Turner                     By the Hon'ble William
                                                         Stoughton Esq'r

                This Instrument presented by Timothy Hammant
                Execto'r  therein named.

John Thurston and Isaac Turner the first and third
witnesses Subscribed personally appearing made Oath That

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they were present and did see Francis Hammant the
Testato'r Signe and Seal and heard him publish the within
written to be his last will and Testamt and that he was
then of disposing mind to their best discerning.
Boston. September the 1'st 1692.

J'a Addington Reg'r               Sworn Before me
                                                  W'm Stoughton

The source citation for this probate case file is:

Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Probate case files, Packet #1,962 (4 images), Francis Hamant of Medfield, will proved 1 September 1692; "Suffolk County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1636-1893," indexed database and digital images, New England Historical and Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (https://www.AmericanAncestors.org : accessed 9 July 2020); from records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives, digitized images provided by FamilySearch.org.

This probate packet contains 4 pages, and contains two wrapper papers and the will and letter testamentary.  There is no bond, inventory, or account.

Francis and Sarah (--?--) Hamant had eight children, but only son John Hamant (1651-1708), daughter Elizabeth Morse (1659-1733) and her husband Jeremy Morse (1651-1716), and son Timothy Hamant (1667-1718) are named in the will, and received specific bequests.  Three other daughters (Mary, Sarah and Abigail) married and were living in 1692.  Two other children, son Samuel and daughter Hannah, may have died before Francis died in 1692.  The will stipulates that Timothy pay 20 pounds to his sisters, to be equally divided between them.

Timothy Hamant received the remainder of the real and personal property, and was ordered to provide "all nesisarys" for his mother (she died in 1708).  Son John Hamant never married or had known children, so his portion may have reverted to Timothy after his death in 1708.

Francis and Sarah (--?--) Hamant are my 8th great-grandparents, through their son Timothy Hamant (1667-1718) who married Melatiah Clark (1674-1747) in 1696.


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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."

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