This week's document for Amanuensis Monday is the 1743 will of Jabez Snow (1670-1750) of Eastham, Massachusetts, and the Letter Testamentary proving the will.
The transcription of this will and Letter Testamentary is:
[page 457, starting 5th line down on left-hand page of the image above]
In the Name of God Amen I Jabez Snow in
y^e County of
Barnstable In the Province of y^e
Massachusetts Bay in New England
Yeoman being Arived to Old Age but
through God's goodness Yet of
Disposing mind and Memory do therefore
now make this my last Will
and Testament in Manner following that
is to Say first of all I
Commit my Soul to God y^t Gave it &
my body to the Earth to be Decently buried.
Itt I Give unto my Dear and Loveing
Wife Elisabeth Snow one third part
of all my Personall Estate forever that
is to Say after my Just Debts &
funeral Charges are paid Out of the
Same & also I Give unto her my S^d
Loveing Wife Elisabeth Snow the use &
Improvement of my Dwelling
house and barn & Orchard for her to
use and Improve towards
her Support During the time She Shall
Continue to be my Widdow
and I also Give unto her my Said Wife
Elisabeth Snow the use and
Improvement of one third part of all my
lands & Meadows for her
to use and Improve for her Support
During y^e term of her Natural life.
Itt I Give and bequeath unto my three
Sons Namely Jabez Snow Silv^s
Snow and Sam^ll Snow and to their heirs
and Assigns forever all my
Lands & Meadows and Real Estate
Whatsoever to them in Equal
Proportion in Equal
Proportion Allike that is to Say two thirds thereof
Next after my Decease & all the
Remaining part next after my
Said wife Elisabeth Snow Shall ^cease^
to have the Improvement thereof
as above Expressed in this my Will &
at the times above Expressed.
Itt I Give and bequeath to my three
Daughters Namely Elisabeth
Knowles Tabitha Mayo and Phebe Smith &
to their heirs & Assigns
forever in Equal Proportion Alike all
and Every part of my
Personal Estate not disposed of
^before^ in this my will and Testament that
is to say after my Just Debts and
funeral Charges are paid out of y^e
whole thereof they my s^d Daughters
having Each of them
had Considerable heretofore.
Lastly I Do constitute Appoint Ordain
and make my trusty Son Jabez Snow
my whole and Soul Exec^r of this my
last will and Testament Declaring
this and no other to be my last will
and Testament In Witness
whereof I do hereunto Set my hand and
Seal this eleventh day
of Octo^r in the Seventeenth year of
his Majesties Reign Anno
Domini One thousand Seaven Hundred and
fourty three.
Signed Sealed & Pronounced ^&
declared^ to be
his last Will & Testament in
Presence of us his
Joseph Doane Jabez V Snow {seal}
Desire x Doane mark
Elisabeth + Doane
Desire Doane
[page 458, top of right-hand page of image above]
To all People to whom these presents
Shall Come Silvanus Bourn Esq^r
Judge of the Probate of Wills &c in
the County of Barnstable ^within^
the Province of the Massachusetts Bay
in New England Sendeth Greeting
Know ye that on the twenty third day of
January Anno domini 1750
The Instrument hereunto Anexed
purporting the last will & Testament
of Jabez Snow late of Eastham in the
County of Barnstable Yeo^n
Deceas^d was presented for Probate by
Jabez Snow y^e Exec^r therein Named
then Present Joseph Doane Esq^r &
Desire Doane & Desire Doane Witnesses
thereto Subscribed who made Oath that
they Saw the Said Testator
Sign Seal and heard him Declare the
said Instrument to be his last
Will and Testament and that they
Together with Elisabeth Subs^d
their Name Togather as Witnesses to y^e
Execution thereof in y^e Said
Testators presence and that he was then
to the best of their Judgem^t
of Sound and Disposing Mind. I do
therefore Approve &
Allow of the said Instrument as the
last will & Testament of y^e before
Named Deceas^d and do Commit the
Adminis^n thereof in all Matters
the Same Concerning and of his Estate
whereof he Died Seiz^d and
Possessed in said County unto Jabez
Snow the before Named Exec^r
well and faithfully to Execute the Said
Will and to Adminis^r the
Estate of the Said Deceas^d According
thereto who Accepted of his Said
Said Trust & to Exhibit an
Inventory pursuant to Law and he Shall
Render an Acc^o upon Oath of his
proceedings when thereunto Law-
fully Required. In Testimony whereof I
have hereunto Set my
hand Seal of Office the Day and Year
Above Written,
Exam^d (SS) Da^d Gorham Reg^r Silvanus Bourn
The source citation for this record is:
"Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991," indexed database with digital
images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 6 December 2016), Barnstable County > Probate Records, Vol. 8, 1745-1753, pages 457-458 (image 256 of 309), 1743 will of Jabez Snow and 1750 letter testamentary. Original data from Barnstable County [Mass.] Probate Court clerk books.
Jabez Snow wrote his will on 11 October 1743, he died 14 October 1750 according to the Eastham town records, and his estate was proved 23 January 1750 [certainly 1750/1]. He named his wife, Elisabeth Snow, three sons (Jabez, Silvanus and Samuel) and three daughters (Elisabeth Knowles, Tabitha Mayo and Phebe Smith) as his heirs. He named his eldest son, Jabez Snow, as his sole executor.
Although the Probate Court requested an inventory and an account from the executor, none was recorded in the Barnstable County probate court clerk volumes. There is no probate record for the widow Elizabeth (Treat) Snow, who died in 1755 in Eastham in the Probate Court record consolidated index.
Jabez and Elizabeth (Treat) Snow are my 7th great-grandparents. I am descended through their son Jabez Snow (1696-1760) who married Elizabeth Paine in 1720.
==============================================
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."
The URL for this post is: http://www.geneamusings.com/2016/12/amanuensis-monday-1743-will-of-jabez.html
Copyright (c) 2016, 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.
