This week's document for transcription is from the 1798 Worcester County, Massachusetts probate file for the administration of the estate of William Sever of Worcester, Massachusetts:
Worcester County, Massachusetts Probate Court Records - Case File 52930, image 3 of 42:
I William Sever of Worcester in the County of Wor-
cester Esq'r ordain this to be my last Will & testament.
First I order the whole of my estate both real &
personal to be sold on the best Possible Terms
and the residue arising therefrom to be placed
in the hands of the Executors & Trustees hereafter
named after my debts are paid.
Item I order five Shillings to be paid to each of my
children Penelope Winslow Anna Warren and William James Sever.
Item I order the income ariseing from the said
residue to be Appropriated to the Support of Mary
my wife during her Widowhood and her Children
if she continues in that state, no distrust of my
Wife but my duty to my children compels me to make
the present distribution and if she departs
from her Widowhood state I further order that
the present Will as it respects her shall be Null
and that she shall resort to her dower According
to Law. Item I appoint Samuel Ward of
Lancaster and Samuel Chandler of Worcester
Joint Executors and Trustees of the residue of
my property afores'd for the purposes afores'd.
In testimony where of I the s'd William Sever have
hereunto Set my hand & affixed my Seal ^this Seventh^ day
of January in the Year of our Lord Seventeen
[hund]red & Ninety Seven.
Wm Sever {seal}
Signed Sealed Published pronounced and declared
by the s'd W'm Sever to be his Last Will and testament
in presence of us who at his request have hereunto
set our names as Witnesses.
Nath'l Chandler Eph'm Mower Daniel Goulding
The source citation for this probate file is:
Worcester County, Massachusetts, Probate case files, Case file 52930 (42 images), William Sever of Worcester, 1798; "Worcester County (Massachusetts) Probate File Papers, 1731-1881," digital images, New England Historical and Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (https://www.americanancestors.org: accessed 21 August 2022).
The estate file for William Sever contains 42 images, including:
* image 1 - cover sheet of estate packet
* 4 December 1798: images 2-4: Will of William Sever, dated 7 January 1797, proved 4 December 1798
* 3 June 1800: images 5-14: Affidavits of insolvency and list of debts made by appointed commissioners - total claims of $3,086.15 and paid out claims of $1,100.99.
* images 15-17: Plan of William Sever's gardens
* 7 July 1801: images 18-21: Setting off of the real estate for the widow's dower. Total of $1666.67 accepted by the widow.
* 5 August 1800: images 22-28: Account of the executor, leaving a balance of $665.88
* 24 April 1801: images 29-30: Executor's bond of $10,000.
* 7 January 1799: images 31-32: Order for commissioners to appraise the real estate.
* 24 January 1799: images 33-42: Inventory of real and personal property totaled $4,209.33, of which $3333.33 was real estate.
The real estate was appraised for $5,000, so one third of that was the widow's dower, or $1,666.67. William's portion of the real estate was $3,333.33, but because the estate was insolvent (the debts exceeded William's portion of the real estate and personal estate), the claims against the estate were $3,086.15 and the claims paid out were $1,100.99.
William Sever was born 23 June 1759 in Kingston, Massachusetts, the son of William and Sarah (Warren) Sever. He married Mary "Polly" Chandler (1759-1821) on 30 October 1785 in Worcester, Massachusetts. William Sever died on 26 October 1798 in Worcester.
William Sever is my third cousin seven times removed. Our common Seaver ancestor is my 9th great-grandfather, Robert Seaver (1608-1683).
=========================================
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."
Read other transcriptions for records of my ancestors at Amanuensis Monday Posts.
The URL for this post is: https://www.geneamusings.com/2022/08/amanuensis-monday-1797-will-of-william.html
Copyright (c) 2022, 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.
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:
Post a Comment