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John Spicer (bef. 1660 - bef. 1730)

John Spicer
Born before in Virginiamap
Ancestors ancestors
Brother of , [half], [half] and [half]
Husband of — married [date unknown] [location unknown]
Husband of — married after 1709 in Dorchester, Marylandmap [uncertain]
Descendants descendants
Died before at about age 70 in Dorchester, Marylandmap
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Profile last modified | Created 28 Feb 2012
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Contents

Biography

In 1684, John was named in the will of his step-father, John Motley or Motlin:

"6 My will is that if either of my sones die without Issue of their body, Lawfully begotten that then the reall & personal' estate Return unto the next survivor and in case that all Three decease before they come of age, that then one third pt be delivered unto my son in Law* John Spicer And the Rest of my estate to my executor hereafter named." [1]

John Spicer was a carpenter who died in Dorchester county, Maryland, some time between the signing of his will in 1724 and the July, 1730 probate.

There are records of John Spicer's land purchases in Dorchester county as early as 1679.[2]

At the time of his death, he owned a plantation which he called Crab Island, of about sixty acres.

Given the age of his wife's son, Bartholomew Gibbs (under sixteen at the time the will was written), Elinor Gibbs was a second wife, married after 1709

John had five children from his first marriage to Margaret [last name unknown].

Will

Transcription of John Spicer's Will

In the name of God Amen I John Spicer of the County of Dorchester, in the Province of Maryland. Carpenter, being sick & weak of body but of sound & perfect memory thanks be to Almighty God therefore calling to mind the Certainty of my Mortality do make & appoint this my last will and testament in form and manner following

Item, I give and bequeath my Soul with Almighty God that hoping for Pardon of my Sins through the Merrits Of Jesus Christ-my soul, and my Body I give to the Ground to be Buried in Christian Manner at the discretion of my executrix, hereafter named

Item I give & bequeath unto my Children hereafter named:) Thomas Spicer, William Spicer, Phillip Spicer, Elizabeth Bright, Mary Spicer each of them one Shilling Sterling a piece and no more for their positions- Item I give & bequeath unto my Son James Spicer my now dwelling Plantation, the Tract of Land on which it is Seated called Crab Island laid out for 60 acres: all profits improvements & benefits thereupon being & belonging to him & his heirs for ever and if my Son shall die without lawfuls then the said land and profits is to fall or be deferred to his brother John Spicer and his heirs forever- Item I will desire and appoint that the aforesaid Plantation Land profits improvements and benefits shall be and remain in the Custody and Possession and to the use & behalf of my loving Wife Elinor Spicer during her widowhood but if she Marrieth again her Thirds only do I give her Item I give unto my Son in Law** Bartholomew Gibbs one Cow Calfes to be given unto him at or when he shall be & attain to Sixteen years of Age

Item I give unto my Son John Spicer one Cow & Calfes to be given him when he is fifteen years of age and also I give unto my Daughter Rachel Spicer one yearling & heifer to be given her when she is Eight years of age

Lastly I will & appoint my aforesaid loving Wife Elinor Spicer to be full and hole Executrix of this last Will & Testament here by renouncing disavowing and making void all wills by me heretofore made and this only to be my last Will & Testament whereof I have hereunto set my hand & Seal this day in… 1724

John Spicer, signum S

Signed, Sealed, and Delivered in the presence of

Timothy Rewark, John Muse, signum JM, Henry Wignate, signum H

On the back of the foregoing will it is written (?on) July ye 14th 1730, came John Muse(?) and Timothy Renwark two of the Subscribing Witnesses to the last Wills and Testament of John Spicer late of Dorchester County decreed ? & made Oath on the holy Evangelist of Almighty God that they saw the within named John Spicer Sign and Seal and heard him publish and declare the Within Writing to be his last Will and Testament & was then to the best of their Knowledge in perfect Sence & Memory the other Witness ?? Henry Wingate being there present did Sign ?? them to the ?? 5 ? sides

Jo(?) Pitt Deputy Commissioner Dorchester County

Stamped at time of copy by Maynard L. Spicer at Annapolis MD: Maryland Hall of Records Date: Sept 06 1974 Copy from: Wills Liber: 20 Fol: 35-6

Notes

'* and ** 17th and 18th usage of "in law" could also mean a step-relation. "Father-in-law could refer to a step-father, son-in-law to a stepchild, etc." (NCGenWeb [2])

John Matlin or Motlin, later Motley*, was the second husband of John Spicer's mother. Motley's own children were under age 21 at the time he wrote his will.

Barthlomew Gibbs** was also probably a stepson rather than a son-in-law as he was under sixteen at the time the will was written.

That suggests that Elinor Gibbs was not the mother of the older Spicer children in John Spicer's will. And that her maiden name was not Gibbs.

Sources

  1. 1656-1692 Old Rappahannock County, Virginia Will Book; [William Montgomery Sweeny]. Copied from original will. John Motlin in Record Book. Available at Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties> Profile of John Matlin [1]
  2. Settlers of Maryland, page 175
  • Maryland, Wills and Probate Records, 1604-1878. Wills, vol 19-20, 1726-1734. John Spicer, Dorchester, Maryland, probate date 11 Aug 1724. On-line database and images at Ancestry.com. Image
  • Coldham, Peter Wilson, "Settlers of Maryland, 1679-1700" Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland, 1995. John Spicer of Dorchester on page 175. Available at Ancestry.com: Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Image (accessed 10 January 2024)

Acknowledgments

  • WikiTree profile Spicer-182 created through the import of Keller-Freeland-Ferris Family .ged on Feb 27, 2012 by Elizabeth Tapia. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Elizabeth and others.
  • WikiTree profile Spicer-199 created through the import of Keller-Freeland-Ferris Family .ged on Feb 27, 2012 by Elizabeth Tapia. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Elizabeth and others.

Other

This tree was the original source for this profile, but the link no longer works (23 Oct 2022)






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Rejected matches › John Spicer (1683-bef.1729)

S  >  Spicer  >  John Spicer