Forasmuch as it is appointed for all Men Once to die and the Time when
Very uncertain, I Jacob Fitz Randolph of the Township of Woodbridge in the County of Middlesex
and Eastern Division of the Province of New Jersey, being Very Weak and Low in Body, But of Sound
mind and Memory Blessed be the Name of the Lord. Therefore Do this fifteenth day of the Second
Month Commoly Called February in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and
Seventy Nine, Make and Publish this my Last will and Testament in Manner and form following.
Imprimis, I order in the first place that all my Just Debts and funeral Expenses be fully paid
by my Executors out of my Moveable Estate. Item it is my will and I do Order that my beloved wife
Mary if she Survives me Shall have out of my Moveable Estate the Sum of One Hundred pounds money
at Eight Shillings the Ounce, also a Feather Bed and furniture for the same at the Discreation of my Excrs
Likewise a Room in my now Dwelling House with a fireplace in it and firewood Sufficient for the same
Also Hay and Pasture Sufficient for One Horse and a Cow, the aforesaid Room & priviledges to be so long
as She Remains my Widow, on Condition She makes use of the Same her self my will is that
no part thereof shall be convey'd by her to any Other person, all which Bequests & proviledges unto my s^d
wife abovesaid I intend Shall be in Lieu and a full Recompence of all her Right of Dower and power of
thirds in my whole Estate Real and personal and not Otherwise. Item I Give Grant and Devise unto
my son Reubin Fitz Randolph all that four Acres of upland and Meadow which I bought of John Noe to
be freely possessed and Enjoyed by him my s^d son Reubin his Heirs and Assigns forever. Item
I Give Grant and Devise unto my son Jotham Fitz Randolph and my Grandson Jacob
Fitz Randolph all that part of my Home place that Lyeth in the Northerly and North Westerly Side of
the Road that leads from Woodbridge to the place Called Cedar Cove, and the Division Line between them
to begin at the aforesaid Road, Six Chains from James Crowells South East Corner as the Road turns
and from thence a North Westerly Course to the Rear where it will meet with John Noes line, the
part adjoyning the Land of James Crowell, to be of Equal Width from End to End, and my son Jotham
to have the Southerly part thereof and my said Grandson, Jacob the the Northerly part or side of the
Division Line to be freely possessed and Enjoyed by my aforesaid son Jotham and Grandson Jacob
by them their Heirs and Assigns forever. I also Give Grant and Devise unto my said Son Jotham
and to his Heirs and Assigns forever all my Salt Meadow lying at Lin?????? point or Sunken Marsh.
Item I Give Grant and Devise unto my Son Joseph Fitz Randolph and my said Grandson Jacob
Fitz Randolph all the Remainder part of my Home place that Lyeth on the South Easterly side of the
aforesaid Road, with all the priviledges thereunto belonging the Division line Between to begin at
a Stake by the s^d Road, which stake stands at the North Westerly Corner of a small wheat field, from thence
Runing near Easterly to a stake at the Head of an old ditch thence as the s^d Ditch Runs to the Sound &
my said Son Joseph to have the Southerly Side and my said Grandson Jacob to have the Northerly
[image 20]
side of the s^d Division line, to be freely possessed and Enjoyed by my said Son Joseph and my said Grandson Jacob by
them their Heirs and Assigns forever. Item in Consideration of the said Devises unto my said Son Jotham & Grandson
Jacob, I Order and it is my will that they my said Son & Grandson Shall Equally provide the above mentioned firewood
and hay and pasture herein before given unto my said wife to be delivered at the Door, to say the firewood. Item
I Give Grant and Devise unto my Daughter Joannah Thorn and my Grandson Samuel Fitz Randolph son of
my Son Jacob Fitz Randaolph all my Land which I bought of John Noe Sen^r being about forty two Acres, Likewise
all that piece or parcel of Land thereunto adjoyning Containing near thirty Acres, which I Bought at a Sheriffs
Vendue and was formerly the property of Jonathan Coddington, the whole of the two Described parcels of Land
to be Equally Divided between them my s^d Daughter & Grandson in Equal Quantity of Acres to be Divided in
Such ???? that my said Daughter Joannah Thorn her Heirs and Assigns Shall have hold possess & Enjoy
the Westernmost half part thereof next adjoyning the Land of George Brown Deceas'd, and that my said
grandson his Heirs and Assigns Shall have hold possess and Enjoy the Easternmost half thereof, and the
Line of division to Run parallel to the line of the said Brown's Land. Item I give and Bequeath unto
my daughter Mary Coddington the sum of Fifty pounds of like money aforesaid. I also give and Bequeath unto my Grand-
Daughter Zipporah Fitz Randolph & to her heirs the sum of twenty pounds and a Cow. Likewise I Give and
Bequeath the sum of One Hundred pounds of Like money aforesaid to be Equally Divided amongst all the
Surviving Children of my Son Jacob I supposed to be Deceased. Item I give and Bequeath to my Granddaughter Tabitha
Jones the sum of Fifty pounds of like money aforesaid. I Also Give and Bequeath the sum of One Hundred pounds
of like money afores^d to be Equally Divided amongst all the Surviving Children of my Daughter Elizabeth More
Deceased. My will is that if either of my three Sons or my two Grandsons above Named Should die with-
out leaving any Lawful Issue that then and in Such Case, their part or parts of the of the land
herein before Devised to him or them so Dieing without Issue as aforesaid Shall be sold and the money deriving by such
Sale shall be Equally Divided amongst all my Surv[iv]ing Children Sons & Daughters Share and Share alike.
Item I Order and it is my will that after my Just Debts funeral Expenses and the said Legacies beforementioned
are fully paid the Remainder of my Moveable Estate Shall be Equally Divided amongst all my Surviving
Children ^and Grandson Jacob Fitz Randolph^ Share & Share alike, my will further is that the Legacies herein Bequeathed shall be paid within Twelve
months after my Decease to all the Legatees that may be of proper Age to Receive the same & to the Legatees that
may be under age as they Severally arrive at proper Ages to Receive their Respective Legacies. Item I do Order and
it is my will that my Negro Woman Named Cloe Shall have her full absolute & entire freedom from Bondage immediately after my
Decease, and in like manner my Negro Girl Called Pegg shall have her full, absolute & entire freedom from Bondage when & as
soon as she Arrives to the Age of Eighteen Years. And also that my Negro Boy named Tomey shall have his full & entire free-
dom from Bondage at the Age of twenty one years. And Lastly I nominate Constitute and Appoint my Sisters son William Smith, my son
in Law Jacob Thorn & my s^d Grandson Jacob Fitz Randolph Executors of this my Last will & Testament. In witness whereof I have to this my last will &
Testament Containing two Sheets paper Set my hand & Seal to the last thereof the day and Year first herein above Written. Before Signing & Sealing
the Words / and Grandson Jacob Fitz Randolph / between the 9^th & 10^th lines from the Bottom was Enterlined.
Signed Sealed Published and Declared by the s^d Jacob Fitz Randolph to be his last }
will and Testament in the Presence of us the Subscribers }
James Crowell Jacob Fitz Randolph {seal}
Joseph Crowell Joseph D Camp
The source citation for this will is:
New Jersey Surrogate's Court, Middlesex County, Wills, Liber 24, pages 268-269, Jacob Fitz Randolph will, 1779; in "New Jersey, Wills and Probate Records, 1656-1999," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 7 September 2015, images no longer available); citing original data from New Jersey County, District and Probate Courts.
Jacob Fitz Randolph and his first wife, whose name is unknown, had at least nine children, but only Reuben, Jotham, Joseph, Joannah, Mary and Elizabeth are mentioned in the will. The Grandson Jacob Fitz Randolph (1755-1839) is likely the son of son Isaac Fitz Randolph, who died in 1768. I don't know who the parent is of granddaughter Tabitha Jones is. Granddaughter Zipporah Fitz Randolp h is the daughter of son Jacob Fitz Randolph.
Jacob Fitz Randolph married his second wife, Mary (Fitz Randolph) (Thorne) (Fitz Randolph) (Horseman Jackson in about 1764, and she is the wife named in Jacob's will. They had no children with each other.
No mention is made of the son Samuel Fitz Randolph or his two known daughters, Tabitha and Mary. It is possible that Samuel died before 1779 and had been provided his legacy before he died.
Jacob Fitz Randolph and his first wife are my 6th great-grandparents, through their oldest (?) son Samuel FitzRandolph (1730-????) and his wife, Martha Gach.
==============================================
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/2019/06/amanuensis-monday-will-of-jacob-fitz.html
Copyright (c) 2019, 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, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.
