This week's document for Amanuensis Monday is from the Barnstable County, Massachusetts probate documents for George Brown (1641-1719) of Eastham, Massachusetts.
Barnstable County [Mass.] Probate Records, Volume 4, pages 11-13:
[image 12]
[image 13]
The transcription of these records is:
[image 12, page 9, starts about 70% of the way down the right-hand page on the image]
In the Name of God Amen. The 29^th day
of June
In ye year of our Lord one thousand
Seven hundred and Twenty one
I George brown of Eastham in the
County of Barnstable in his Maj'ties
Province of the Massachusetts Bay in
New England Yeoman Being sick
and weak In body but of perfect Mind
and memory Thanks be given
unto God therefore Calling unto mind
the Mortality of my body & Knowing
that it is appointed for all men once
to dye, Do make and ordain this my
Last Will and Testament. That is to
say Principally and first of all I give &
Recommend my soul Into the hands of God
that gave it and my body I Recom-
mend to the Earth to be buried In
decent & Christian Manner at ye discresi-
on of my Executor, Nothing Doubting but
at the General Resurrection I
Shall Receive the same again by the
Allmity power of God. And as Touching
such worly Estate wherewith it hath
pleased God to bless me In this
Life, I give and Demise and Dispose of
the same In the following manner
and forme.
Imprimus I Give and bequeath to my Son
William Brown my Interest In a
piece of Sedg ground being & Lying
in Eastham at a place called the Town
flatts to him and his heirs forever.
[image 13, pages 10 and 11]
Item I give unto my son James Brown
three or four Acres of Land w^ch his
Dwelling house now Standeth Upon being
In the Town of sd Eastham
to him and his heirs forever.
Item I Give unto my Daughter Mercy
one feather bed and bolster.
Item I Give unto my Loveing wife
Mehetable All the Reminder of my whole
Estate for her Supporte as long as shee
Lives, and after her decease to be
Equally Divided among all my sons and
Daughters be it more or Less &
I likewise Constitute make and ordain
my well beloved son George
Brown my Soul Executor of this
my Last will and Testament and I do hereby
utterly disalow revoake and Disanull
all and ever other former ^wills Legacies^ Instruments
& bequeathed ^& Executors by me
in any ways before named willed & bequeathed^ Ratifyeing and
Confirming this and no other to be my Last
Will and Testament. In wittness
whereof I have hereunto sett my hand &
Seal the day and year above written,
Signed Sealed Published Pronouced and George Brown {seal}
Declared by the sd George Brown
as
his Last Will and Testament In
the presence of Us the Subscribers
Rebecca S Snow her marke
Sarah S Walker her Mark
Isaac Pepper
Barnstable ss Aug^st 3^d 1721
Then Isaac Pepper Rebacah Snow &
Sarah Walker
made Oath that they heard George
Brown Late of
Eastham Now deceased Declear the Above
written to be his Last Will &
Testament & Saw him Sign Seal the
same and that he was of sound Mind
and ^Knowing^ Memory when he so did In
their best Judgments and that they alset
their hands thereunto as Wittnesses at
the same Time.
Sworn before John Otis Judge of Probate
To all people to whom these presents
shall Come, Greeting
Know ye that upon the day of the date
hereof before me at Barn-
Stable in ye County aforesd, the will
of George Brown late of Eastham In said
County of Barnstable now deceased, it
these presents annexed was proved, appvd
and allowed, who having while he Lived,
and at the Time of his death goods
Chattles Rights or Credits In ye County
aforesd, and the Probate of ye sd will
and power of Comitteing administration
of all and Singular the goods,
Chattles Rights and Credits of ye said
Deceased, and his will In any Manner
Concering is hereby Comitted unto
George Brown of Eastham aforesd and
Son of the sd Deceased Executor In the
same will named well & faithfully
to Execute the sd will and to
administer the Estate of ye sd Deceased according
thereunto, and to make a True and
perfict Inventory of all & Singular
the goods Chattles Rights and Credits
of the sd Deceased, and to Exhibit ye
same Into the Registry of the Court of
Probate for ye County aforesd at, or
before the Last day of July next
Ensuing; and also to enter a plain and
True Accompt of his sd administration
upon Oath when Called thereunto.
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto
set my hand asnd the seal of ye
sd Court of Probate Dated at Barnstable
the 23^d day of August Ano
Domini 1721.
Nathaniel Otis, Reg^r John Otis
An Inventory of the Estate of George
Brown Late of Eastham
deceased taken by us whomse names are
underwritten this 24^th day of
July 1721.
By money due to him by a Morgage due
from Joshua
Brown the Sum of
|
100:00:00 |
| To his waring apperril |
008:03:00 |
| Money in his Chist |
007:12:06 |
| To one feather bed bolster & four Coverleads |
007:05:00 |
| To one old feather bed and bolster |
003:10:00 |
| One Coverlead & 3 pillobears old & One pair of old
sheets & two old Curtains |
001:15:00 |
| One sheet 10s / one Sadle and Bridle 4s/ |
000:14:00 |
| One old bible and four other books all at |
000:04:00 |
| To Carpenturs Tools a Saw a broad ax one narrow ax one chisel
one old handsaw and Joynter one Cressing plain and plow for plank |
001:05:00 |
| One pair of Tongs & fire slice at 6s/ one Tramell att 6s/ |
000:12:00 |
| One Craine and ther hooks belonging to it |
000:10:00 |
| Two old guns att |
000:18:00 |
| One old Rapier and belt |
000:02:00 |
| 3 old Iron potts att 20s/ one Iron Skellet & one Small Iron
Kettle both 8/ |
001:08:00 |
| One old frying pan 15d 2 putter plates 7/9 |
000:09:00 |
| 4 putter Poringers one quart pott one small beason |
000:07:00 |
| To Earthen wear of sorts |
000:04:06 |
| Three spoons 2s/ old pails 2/2d 7 Chairs at 8s/ |
000:10:02 |
| 3 Small Chists and one box all at
|
001:00:00 |
| Sheeps woole 15s/ and the Leanto he lived in 8:10:0 |
009:05:00 |
| 7 Sheep and 3 Lambs |
002:13:00 |
| One Mair and yearlin Colt both at |
010:00:00 |
| Two small Swine both att |
000:10:00 |
| Two Lotts of Land in the Last Division of Land in ye Town of
Eastham |
020:00:00 |
| Three or four acres of Land given to James Brown |
006:00:00 |
| A parcell of Seground being one third part of a Lott given to
William Brown |
005:00:00 |
Isaac Pepper
Isaac Doane
|
189:15:02 |
Branstable ss August 3^d 1721
Then George Brown Son and
Executor to the will of his father George
Brown Late of Eastham now
deceased made Oath to the Truth of ye above
written Inventory so far as he knew and
yt if any thing further of the
Estate of ye sd Deceased shall come to
his knowlidge that is valuable that
he will allso bring it to this
Inventory.
Coram me John Otis.
The source citation for these records is:
"Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991," indexed database with digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 December 2016), Barnstable County, "Probate Records, Vol. 4-5, 1721-1741," Volume 4, pages 9-11 (images 12-13 of 660), George Brown probate papers.
George Brown married Mehitable Knowles in about 1674, and they had eight children. When he wrote his will on 29 June 1719, his son James had died two days before. His son William died soon after George wrote his will. The will named his wife Mehitable and his son George Brown, who he named as executor. He also named sons James and William and daughter Mercy, but he did not name his sons Joshua Brown or Samuel Brown, his married daughter Mehitable (Brown) Hallett, nor his deceased daughter Mary (Brown) Mayo.
The inventory includes a note from Joshua Brown, presumably his son. The value of the estate was 189 pounds, 15 shillings and 2 pence.
George and Mehitable (Knowles) Brown are my 7th great-grandparents. I am descended from the son Samuel Brown (1686-1749), who married Ruth Young.
This record is indexed by Ancestry.com in their Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991 collection as "George Crowne" because the indexer was too lazy to look at all of the names in the record. The initial "brown" has a lower case B and the indexer interpreted it as a capital C.
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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/2017/04/amanuensis-monday-1719-probate-records.html
Copyright (c) 2017, Randall J. Seaver
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