[image 1]
The twenty-Ninnth Day of March A D one
thousand Seven hundred and Eighty Eight
I Iachebod Keirby of Westport in the
County of Bristol and in the Common-
Welte of the Massachussetts Being
advanced
in years But of a Sound Disposing Mind
and
memory and Calling to mind the
mortallity
of my Body and Knowing that it is
appointed
for all men once to Dye Do make and
ordain
this to be my last will and testament
that
is to Say Princably and first of all I
Commit my Body to the Earth to be
Desently
Buryed at the Descretion of my Executor
herein
after Named and as touching my worldly
Estate
with which it has Pleased God to Bless
me
with I give Demise and Dispose of in
the
following manner and form
Viz.
Of Primmis my will is and do hereby
order
that all my just Debts funeral Charges
and Just Expenses of all sorts together
with
the Settleing of my Estate be Paid and
Discharged out of my money by my
Executor
herein after Named.
Item I give and bequeath unto my
well-beloved
wife Rachel Keirby all my houshold
goods
of every Sorte and kind whatsoever
Excepting
Such as I Shall hereafter otherwise
Dispose
of moreover I give unto her my Said
wife
my Loom and all my Loom tackling of
Every Sort whatsoever. I also give
unto my
Said wife my gold necklace as Long as
She
Remains my widdow and after that to
Return
where I Shall give it. I also give her
my Said
wife Sidesadle and Pillion and my
worsted Combs
togerther with all my Spining wheals
and my Real.
I also give unto my Said wife the use
and
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Improvement of the one half of my now
Dwelling
house She my Said wife to have her
Choise and
to take which half of She Pleases with
a Priviledge
in my Seller sufficient for her owne
use for and
During the term she Remains my widow
and I
also give unto her my said wife twelve
Bushels
of Indian Corne one hundred weight of
good Pork
that is so much of each Sort yearly and
Every
year During the time She Shall Remain
my
widow to be Provided and Delivered unto
her
yearly and every year as aforesaid by
my Son
John Keirby which I whereby him to Do.
I also give unto my Said wife ten
Pounds of
good Sheeps wool ten Pounds of good
flex from
the Swingle two Bushels of good Rye
five good
gees fore gallons of good Mollasses one
hundred
weight of good Beef and fore Spanish
milled
Silver Dollars the Keeping one Cow well
and
Milking Said cow and the milk Brought
into
the hous to her and two hens all to Be
Kept
well the hens about the Door and the
Cow on
Some Part of my homested farm Both
winter
and Summer all to be Kept and Performed
at and by the Cost of my Son David
Keirby
which I so hereby order him my said Son
to Do yearly and Every year until my
wife
his mother Shall Cease to be my widow.
I also
give unto my Said wife So much fire
wood Cut
a Sutable Length for the fier Brought
and laid
handy to her Door as she Shall or may
have
occation to maintain one fier for her
owne use
and the grate wood Laid on the fier to
Be Provided
and Delivered as aforesaid by and at
the Cost of my
Son David Keirby yearly and Every year
During
the time She Shall Remain my widow. I
also give
unto my said wife Eight Pounds of good
Butter
thirty weight of good Chease one Barrel
of good
Cyder ten Bushels of good winter appels
& it is to
Be understood the Sheeps Wool the flax
the ye
the gees the molasses the Beef the
Dollars the
Butter and Chees the Cyder and apples,
that is to
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much of Each to be Provided Paid and
Delivered
unto her my Said wife by my Son David
Keirby
yearly and Every year During the term
She
Shall Remain my widow which I order my
Son
to do for his mother. I also give unto
my
Said wife one of my Cows and She to
take her
Choise thereof. Furthermore it is to
be under-
stood that all the giftes herein given
to my
wife are given to her in Lew of her
Right
of Dower or Power of thirds in my
Estate
and Not otherwise. Further my mind and
will
is that if the Cow given to my wife
Should
fail then for my Son David to take her
to
himself and Retain another good Cow in
her Room.
Item I give and Bequeath unto my Son
John
Keirby all my Right or tract of wood
Land
Lying and Being in the Township of
Dartmouth
and in the forke of the River So Called
to-
gether with all my Salt meadow and
Sedge flats
which I Now improve in Partnership with
my
Cousin Weston Keirby which is Situate
in the
Township of Westport in the Esterly
Branch
of the River, the said right of wood
Land and Salt
medow I give unto him my Said Son John
and to his heirs and assigns for Ever
in fee
Simple. I also give unto my Said son
John
one tramel two ferther beds Bedsteds
and Cords with
all the Bedding ????gging unto Said
???ds one
Cheese tule one milking Pale one meet
tub one
meet Barrel one grindston two Pichforks
one large
iron Ber all which he hath Now in his
Possion.
I also give him one Ring andf Stapl for
an ox yoke
moreover I give unto him my Said son
John the
one half my wearing appariel that I
Shall
have Left at my Deceas, also I give to
him
my Said son half my Notes of hand that
I
have for money, he paying and
Performing as
I herein have and Shall order him to
Do.
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I give and Bequeath unto my Daughter
Ruhammer Wilbor one hundred Silver
Dollars
in gold be the vallue in one year after
my
Decease to be Paid By my Son John
Keirby.
Item I hereby give and Bequeath unto my
Daughter
Rachel Keirby one feather Bed and
furnature
thereunto Belonging of all Sorts ???
????? for Said
Bed together with a Sufficient
maintainnance
in Every Respect and of all Sorts of
the Necesers
of life Sutable for her Condition both
in
Sickness and in helthe During her
Natural
Life is She Remains Single to be
Performed
Provided and allowed unto my her my
Said Daughter
by my Son David Keirby by out of the
Estate
I Shall hereafter give him to Due for
his
Mother and wakly Sister But if it
Should
So happen that my Said Daughter Rachel
Should or may See fit to alter her
Condition
By marrying then immediately upon that
Sircomestance I hereby will and order
my Son
David Keirby to give unto her one
hundred
Spanish milled Silver Dolars and one
good Cow
and upon this Performence to be quit
from any
longer maintaining his Said sister. I
also give
unto my Said Daughter Rachel after her
mothers
Deceas my gold Necklace of Beads.
Item I give and bequeath unto my three
grand
Sons Namly Humphrey Keirby Robert
Keirby
the Sons of John Keirby and
Iackobard Wilbor the Son of my Daughter
Ruhammer Willbor fore acers of Salt
meddow
Lying in Township of Westport and on
the
Esterly Side of the Este Branch of the
River
Called the hommuck or Peckcehasset
Humpreys
to Bgin at Jonathan White's Bredge to
Easter??
Southward til he takes one acer and
half
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and then Robert to take the Next acer
and half South from Humphreys and then
Said Iachabod to take one acer to the
South
of roberts. I also order Humphrey
Keirby
and Robert Keirby fodderr there ??? on
the Said hammunck and for them two to
keep the fence Betwen my Sons Johns
Land
and the Sauid hammucks and the above
meddow to Be to Each of them and to
Each of their heirs and assinges for
ever
and to Com into Posesion in one year
after my Deceas.
Item I give and Bequeath unto my five
grand Daughters five Silver Dollars or
gold to the vallue apeace which will be
twenty five Dollars which I order my
son
David Keirby to Pay to them five one
year
after my Deceas.
Item I hereby give and Bequeath unto
my Eight Grand Sons and grand Daughters
on Sheepe apeace out of my flock of
Seepe
to be Delivered them in one year after
my
Deceas By my Executor herein after
Named. I give unto my grand Son
Iachabod
Keirby Son of my son David Keirby two
of the Best Sheep in my flock and one
Silver Spoon marked I K to be Deliver-
ed to him in one year after my Deces
By my Executor.
Item. I give and Bequeath unto my son
David
Keirby one of my feather Beds with all
the
furnature Belonging to the Same and one
of
my trammelsand one of my Powdering tubs
and one Peas of my hand irons which I
had of
John Gifford. I allso give him one half
of my weareing apperl together with
one
half of my Nots for money.
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Item and I also give unto my said Son
David
and to his heirs and assigns forever
all my
homsted farme with all the Buldings of
what
kind soever Syanding thereon and all
the other
Preveledges thereunto Belonging
together with
all othe Rest and Residue of my Estate
both
Real and Personall of what kind soever
that
is not otherwise Desposed of he Doing
and
Performing what I have already ordered
him to Do.
Item I Do hereby ordain Constistute
and
appoint my Son David Keirby Sole
Executor
of this my Last Will and Testament
Desiring
him in Love to Se the Same Docely and
truly Executed according to the true
intent and maneing thereof and Do
hereby make null and void all other
wills
or testaments by me Before this time
made and Rattifying this and no other
to be my last will and testament in
witness whereof I the said Iachabod
Keirby
have hereunto set my hand and Seal
the Day and year above Ritten. Signed
Sealed Published Pronounced and
Delivered
by the Said Iachabod Keirby his
in the Presents of us Ichabod + Kirby
the subscribers mark
Elijah Gifford
Richard Keirby
Richard Keirby Junr
May 7 1793 proved
Recorded N Bayliss
Register
The source citation for this estate packet is:
Bristol County [Mass.] Register of Probate, Bristol County (Mass.) Probate Records, 1690-1881, on 351 FHL US/CAN Microfilm rolls; original records at Probate Registry, Taunton, Mass., Ichabod Kirby, Westport, 1794 Estate packet, accessed on FHL Microfilm 0,573,223 (Kingsley - Kirby, accessed 2 February 2016).
This lengthy will of Ichabod Kirby (1705-1793) names his wife Rachel, and his four children living at the time he wrote the will in 1788 - namely, John Kirby, Ruhamah Wilbor, Rachel Kirby and David Kirby. It also names three of his grandsons, namely Humphrey Kirby and Robert Kirby, sons of his son John Kirby, and Ichabod Wilbor, son of his daughter Ruhamah Wilbor. It mentions five granddaughters but does not name them.
The will bequeaths foodstuffs, livestock and firewood to his wife Rachel Kirby, to be provided yearly by his two sons, John Kirby and David Kirby. She also received the improvement of one half of the dwelling house. Son John Kirby received woodland and salt meadow land in Dartmouth, while son David Kirby received the other half of the dwelling house and homestead lands.
The spelling of many words is inconsistent in this will and it is difficult to read in many places. I accessed this estate packet on FHL microfilm at the FHL on 2 February 2016. There are other papers in the estate packet and I may transcribe them in another post.
Ichabod Kirby (1705-1793) is my 6th great-grandfather, and I descend through his son David Kirby (1740-1832), who married Martha Soule (1743-1828).
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