Mercy Cutter's } In the name of God
Amen, the thirteenth day of November in
Will } the year of
our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifty nine
Recorded Janry } I Mercy Cutter of
Woodbridge in the county of Middlesex and
8, 1762 } province of New
Jersey being of perfect mind and memory and calling
unto mind the mortality of my body and
knowing that it is appointed
for all men and women once to dye, do
make and ordain this my last
will and testament and as touching such
worldly estate wherewith
it hath pleased God to bless me in this
life I do give and dispose of the
same in the following manner and form.
Imprimis it is my will and
I do give order all my
estate to be valued and appraised by two honest
neighbours such as my executors
hereafter named shall chuse and also
sell the same if my said executors
shall so chuse and cannot otherways
agree. And I do order my said executors
in the first place to pay all my
just debts and funeral charges out of
my estate and the remainder of
my estate I do give and dispose of as
followeth. Item I give to my son
William Cutter the sum of five
shillings. Item I give to my daughter
Rebeccah Frazee the sum of twenty
pounds. Item I give to my daughter
Mary Baker the wife of Jacob Baker the
sum of five pounds, all which
shall be paid to them at one year after
my decease. I also give to my
granddaughter Mercy Cutter the sum of
five pounds. Item I give to my
grandson Kelsey Cutter the sum of five
pounds. I give to my
granddaughter Mercy Baker the sum of
five pounds, to be paid to them
when they come of age, and all the
several sums or legacies which
I have herein given is meant and
intended by me to be current money
of New Jersey at eight shillings the
ounce. Item I give one half of the
remainder of my estate to my son
Ebenezar Cutter. Item I give the other
half of the said remainder of my estate
unto my grandson John Baker
and to my granddaughter Mercy Baker to
be equally divided between
them and to be paid to them when they
come of age. And I do hereby
constitute make and ordain my son
Ebenezar Cutter and my daughter
[page 75, right-hand page on image above]
Rebeccah Frazee my executor and
executrix of this my last will
and testament and do hereby utterly
disallow revoke and disannull all
and every other former wills legacies
and executors by me in any ways
before this time named willed and
bequeathed ratifying and confirming
this and no other to be my last will
and testament. In wittness whereof
I have hereunto sett my hand and seal
the day and year above written.
Signed sealed and delivered by the said
Mercy } her
Cutter to be her last will &
testament in the presence of } Mercy M Cutter {LS}
Francis Campyon Joseph Thorne Benjamin
Jackson } mark
Memorandum that on the twenty eighth
day of May one thousand seven
hundred and sixty, Francis Campyon one
of the wittnesses wiithin subscribed
evidences appeared before me John Smyth
duly authorised &c And he being
duely sworn on the Holy Evangelists on
his oath declares that he did see
Mercy Cutter the testator within named
sign and seal the written instrument
and heard her publish pronounce and
declare the same to be her last will
and testament, that at the doing
thereof she was of sound mind and memory
to the best of the deponent's knowledge
and as he verily believes and that at
the same time Joseph Thorn and Benjamin
Jackson the other evidences were
also present and signed as evidences as
he the deponant did in the testatrix's
presence. John Smyth
Also that at the same time Ebenezar
Cutter one of the executors in the with-
in will named came before me and was
duely qualifyed by takeing the
oath of an executor as appointed by
law. John Smyth
Probat granted by Gov'r Bernard &c
(in the usual form &c) dated the same
twenty eighth day of May 1760. Chas Read Reg'r
Examined and agrees with the original,
the word (wittnesses) obliterated in
the proof was by mistake in recording . Smyth Reg'r
The source citation for this record is:
New Jersey Surrogate's Court, Middlesex County, Wills, Liber H, pages 74-75 (image 311), Mercy Cutter will, 1759; "New Jersey, Wills and Probate Records, 1656-1999," digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 2 September 2015, images no longer available); citing original data from New Jersey County, District and Probate Courts.
Richard Cutter married second to Mercy Kelsey (1698-1760). The Cutter surname book lists these children for Richard and Mercy (Kelsey) Cutter:
* William Cutter (1722-1780)
* Joseph Cutter (1725-1767)
* Mary Cutter (1728-????)
* Rebecca Cutter (1730-????)
* Ebenezer Cutter (1732-????)
* Samuel Cutter (1734-1759)
Mercy's will mentioned only William, Mary, Rebecca and Ebenezer Cutter as her children. Samuel died in 1759, before Mercy wrote her will. It may be that Joseph was a son of Richard Cutter and his first wife, Mary Pike. Richard Cutter (1682-1756) mentioned all of his living children by both of his wives, and called William, Richard and Joseph his "eldest sons."
'Tis a puzzle! I am descended from William Cutter (1722-1780) who married Mary Kent (1726-????), and then their son, Stephen Cutter (1745-1823).
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Copyright (c) 2015, Randall J. Seaver
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