upload image

Will of John Taliaferro, Virginia, 1720

Privacy Level: Open (White)
Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
This page has been accessed 67 times.

This is the transcription of the Will of John Taliaferro, Gent of St Marys, Essex County, Virginia. It was written on 1 June 1715. It was proved on 25 Jun 1720.[1]

The image quality was fair and the handwriting very legible.
Spelling, punctuation and line breaks are as per the original document.
Crossings through have been included struck out
Paragraph breaks at change of bequest, and bold text are my own for ease of reading.
Abbreviations and breviographs have been expanded in [square brackets]

Persons Mentioned:

  • John Taliaferro, Testator
  • Lawrence, Testator's son
  • Cain, enslaved person
  • Grace, enslaved person
  • Beck, enslaved person
  • Frank, enslaved person
  • Nanny, enslaved person
  • Francis Taliaferro, Testator's brother, deceased
  • John, Testator's son
  • Mary, Testator's daughter
  • Elizabeth, Testator's daughter
  • Sarah, Testator's daughter (under 21 years of age)
  • Catherine, Testator's daughter (under 21 years of age)
  • Charles, Testator's son, Executor (under 21 years of age)
  • Robert, Testator's son, Executor (under 21 years of age)
  • Zachariah, Testator's son, Executor (under 21 years of age)
  • Richard, Testator's son, Executor (under 21 years of age)
  • William, Testator's son, Executor (under 21 years of age)
  • John Sutton, Witness
  • Tho Evans, Witness
  • Henry H Brise, Witness

In the name of God amen I John Taliaferro of t[he] P[ar]ish
of St Marys in Essex County Gent. Being of Sound & p[er]fect mind & memory praise
be therefore given to almighty God do make & ordain this my present last will &
Testament in manner & form following that is to say first & principally I
commend my Soul into the hands of Almighty God hoping through the merrits
Death & passion of my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ to be made a partaker of
t[he] never fading joys of immortality at the joyfull resurrection, and my body I
comitt to the Earth to be decently interred at the discretion of my Executor here
=after named and as touching the disposale of such Temporal Estate as it hath
pleased God to bestow on my I do order Give, bequeat & dispose the same
in manner & form following

First I will that my Legal Debts be all
paid & satisfied.

Item I give unto my son Lawrence the plantation he now
liveth together with the Land thereto belonging to him & his heirs forever also three
negros named Cain, Grace and Beck now in his possession.

Item I give unto my
son John the plantation whereon he now liveth together with the Land thereto Belonging
to him & his heirs forever -- also two negros namely Frank & Nanny now being
in his possession and likewise fifty pounds sterling money of England

Item I give unto
my Daughter Mary a ring of seventy Shilling value

Item I give unto my
Daughter Elizabeth Seventy & Eight pounds of Sterling money of England being a part
unpaid of a portion promised her in marriage

Item I give unto to my Son Charles

Page

Three Hundred acres of Land lying & being in a Noch com[m]only known by the name
of the old Church Noch within the aforeto parish of St Marys, and one moiety [2] of a tract
of Land taken up and pattened by me in partnership with my brother Francis Taliaferro
deceased lying at the head of the Mount Creek the both parcells of the said Land to him
and his heirs forever

Item I give unto my son Robert Six hundred & seventy five acres
of Land being one moiety of a Dividend lying in the Golden Vale Swamp to him &
his heirs forever

Item I give unto my son Zachariah Six hundred & seventy five
acres of Land being the other moiety of the said Dividend of Land Lying in the Golden
Vale Swamp to him & his heirs for ever

Item my will is that the aboveso Thirteen
hundred and fifty acres of Land given to my two sons Robt & Zachariah be divided
equally w[ith] each of them may have an equal part of the good land

Item I give
unto my son Richard one moiety of the Land I now live on (viz/ the forth half)
of the dividend for him & his heirs forever

Item I give unto my son William
(after the decease) of my loveing wife the other moiety of the Land whereon I now live
(vix| the half next the moiety) together with the plantation thereon to him & his
heirs for ever

Item whereas the Land aforementioned lying at the head of the Mount was
taken up and pattented by me in partnership with my said Deceased brother Francis
Taliaferro but no division thereof between us made, whereas in the life time of my said decd
brother I did purchase of him to me & my heirs for ever one hundred acres (more or
less) of Land lying on Rappahannock River and adjoyning to one thousand acres of
Land formerly by my said deceased brother to me given which Sale not being
recorded in any Court of record be my will & Desire is upon my said deceased brother
heir at Law his affirming acknowledging and making sure the aforeto purchased
one hundred acres (more or less) unto my son John that then he my said son John
(whom I do hereby impower so to do) do affirm make sure the lower moiety
of the said Dividend of Land lying at the head of the Mount Creek as aforesaid
unto such heir of my said deceased brother so doeing

Item And further my will
is that if either of them my said sons Robt & Zachariah shall happen to dye before
they attain the age of one and twenty years that then the whole thirteen hundred &
fifty acres of land before mentioned become the Survivour of them & his heirs forever

Item And further
my will is that if either of them my said sons Richard & William shall happen to
dye before they attain to the age of one and twenty years that then the whole
six hundred acres of Land become the Survivour of them to his & his heirs
forever

Item my will is that my whole personal Estate goods & Chattells my
mills & negroes do remain together entire without Distribution & that the Crops as
yearly made be shipt at the discretion of my after named Executors to pay what
Legal Debts due from me & use money to discharge & pay the Legacies here in
before given which Debts when satisfied & Legacies Discharged, my will is that

Page 3

said personall Estate Goods Chattels & Negroes be equally divided between my
said loveing wife and seven Children hereafter named (viz| Charles Sarah Robert
Zachariah Catherine Richard and William and after division so made my will is
that my said Childrens parts of the same be reserved entirely together & employ'd to
their proper & joyful profit or Loss & no one of the their of their parts to therefrom
severed but as he shall arrive to the age of one & twenty years, or the Girls be
marryed & shall when ones part by the owners attaining the aforeto age & Shall
be therefrom taken, my will is that the rest continue as before mentioned to
proper profit or loss of the others being minors and said u[nti]ll the youngest
attain to the age of One & twenty years.

Item my will is that after the
above mentioned Debts so paid & other parts therein contained performed & I do
give my said mill between my two sons Richard & William to them & their
heirs forever and further my will is that if either of them my said sons Richard
or William shall dye before they attain to the age of twenty & one years if then
the said Mill together with the Lands aforegiven them be to the Survivor of them
and heirs for ever

Lastly I do appoint my Sons Charles Robert Zachariah Richard
& William Executors to my said Last Will & Testament and do revoke hereby and
absolutely disannull & make void all former Wills and Testaments by me heretofore
made In Witness whereof I the said John Taliaferro have set my hand & Seal
this First day of June ammo Dom 1715 and in the First year of our Soverigne
Lord King George

Signed & Sealed
Jno Taliaferro (Seal)
In Presence of us
John Sutton
Tho: Evans
Henry H Brise (his mark)

At a Court held for Essex County on Tuesday t[he] 25 day of June 1720
This will was presented in Court by Robert Taliaferro & Zachariah
Taliaferro therein named who made each thereto & being further
proved by the oath of Henry Brise a witness thereto and also made
oath that he saw John Sutton (who is now dead) another of the wit=
nesses sign the same, is admitted to record

Sources

  1. County Court, Essex County, Virginia, "Will books, 1717-1904; general indexes to wills and fiduciary accounts, 1717-1904, Will books, v. 3-4, 1717-1730 -- v. 5 (p. 1-316), 1730-1734"; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PX-2SVN-Y?i=96&cat=133358), images 97-98.
  2. moiety is a part or portion, especially a lesser share.




Collaboration
  • Login to edit this profile and add images.
  • Private Messages: Contact the Profile Managers privately: Cheryl Cruise and Susan McNamee. (Best when privacy is an issue.)
  • Public Comments: Login to post. (Best for messages specifically directed to those editing this profile. Limit 20 per day.)


Comments

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.