Will of Samuel Emmerson (d. 1814 Indiana)

Date: 8 Jan 1812
Location: Stanford, Kentucky

Last Will and Testament of Samuel Emmerson

Lincoln County ande State of Kentucky (Vizt)

In the name of God: Amen: I Samuel Emmerson of the
County and State aforesaid being old and infirm of body but
through the abundant mercy and goodness of God, being of sound
and disposing mind and memory do constitute and ordain
this my last Will and Testament and desire it to be taken
by all as such. First relying on the great goodness of the almighty
God, and under^[1] mercies of our Lord Jesse Christ I commit
my soul to God and my body to the earth from which it came.
I desire that my body should be buried in a decent and Christian
like manner. Item. I will and desire that whatever I have
given and delivered to my children prior to the making and signing
of this Will should not be called into the estate nor considered
as any part of the same, but that the negroes and other proper
=ty I have before this time delivered to each of them should
be considered as their Boni fidy property. I have delivered unto
my daughter Judith Henry one negro named Peter. I have
delivered to my son Jesse Emmerson one negro woman named
Annack. I have delivered unto my son John Emmerson two
negro girls, one named Synthy and the other Sarah. I have
delivered to my daughter Rhoda Burks one negro girl named
Nancy and one negro boy named Ned. I have delivered to my
daughter Nancy Bereman one negro girl named Hannah and
one negro boy named Stephen. I have delivered to my son
Reuben Emmerson one negro boy named Frank. I have delivered
to my son James Emmerson two negroes one named Dick and the
other named Jinny all of which negroes, as well as every species
of property I have heretofore delivered to each of my aforesaid
children I desire as I have once before said, should be consid
=ered as their own property and not as any part of the estate.
Item: I dispose of all the rest of my Estate both real and personal
in the following manner (towit) Item: I give and bequeath unto
my beloved wife Mildred Emmerson all of my Estate both
real and personal during her natural life or widowhood. Item:
I will and desire that my son John Emmerson have a certain
boundary of land laid off to him and his heirs for ever – Beginning
at a stone near the Grave Yard, said Johns corner, running thence
North eighty three Degrees East until it intersects Dogesters line
thence running Southwardly with Dogesters line to his corner being
the corner now claimed by Emmerson, thence Westwardly with
the dividing line between Emmerson and Logan to John Emmersons
corner, two sugar trees, thence Northwardly with the dividing line
between John and Samuel Emmerson to the Beginning. Item: I
give and bequeath unto my son in law Reubin Baily fifty
cents. Item: I will and desire that the heirs of my daughter Rachel
Atkinson have one childs part equally divided amongst them all.
Item: I will and desire that all the rest of my estate be equally
divided amongst my children hereafter named in the following
manner (towit) Jesse Emmerson, John Emmerson Rhoda Burks
Nancy Bereman, Reubin Emmerson and James Emmerson. Item:
It is my will and desire that my negroe man Peter and his wife
Juda be not parted at the day of sale or distribution. Item:
I do appoint as my Executors W^m McCormack and James Hutch
=ings. I do constitute this my last Will and Testament hereby
revoking all others by me heretofore made. In Witness whereof
I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 8^th day of January
1812.

Samuel Emmerson {seal}

Teste

Samuel Lawrence

Hugh Lawrence

James Peery

Research Notes

The transcription above was made by Leland McCleary directly from the image of the document contained in the Lincoln County, Kentucky, Will Records, Volume G (1813-1822). This is the same source used by Robert E. Turman,^[2] who cites most of the will in his newspaper column of 28 Sep 1956, but with some reorderings, paraphrases, and interspersed comments. Original line lengths were maintained here, as well as spellings and punctuation to the extent possible.

The handwriting in this section of the Will Records volume is clear and appears to have been done by the county clerk, Thomas Helm. These are apparently official copies of original documents, organized chronologically, such that few abbreviations or symbols appear, and all of the signatures are written in the same hand.

Sources

1. ↑ Turman renders this word as 'cinder (sic)', indicating that he is in doubt about it. Other transcriptions have rendered it as 'tender', but that is clearly not what is written. The present transcriber renders the word as 'under', an option that accords with both the appearance of word and its use in the sentence. The expression "under the mercy of God" was becoming common in the United States around 1820 and peaked in popularity around 1830.
2. ↑ Turman, 1981, p. 276-277. Turman's transcription also appears in John Wilson Emerson, 2008, p. 50-51.

• Emerson, John W. An Em(m)erson History: A Journey through Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. Self-published, Warrensburg, MO, 2003.
• Kentucky Probate Records, 1727-1990, Lincoln County, Will records, Index, 1813-1822, Vol. G, p. 7 (image 17). FamilySearch database.
• Turman, Robert E. Genealogy Newspaper Columns of Robert E. Turman. Ed. Bettie Anne Cummings Cook. Evansville, IN: Tri-State Genealogical Society and Willard Library, 1981.