WILL OF JOHN THOMAS *********************************************************************** Submitted by:Leonard J. McCown e-mail:leonard@mccown.org Date: 05 Nov 2009 Copyright: All rights reserved. USGENWEB DISCLAIMER: htp://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ************************************************************************ Will of John Thomas, proven 6 Mar. 1839, Lowndes Co., Mississippi Probate Record B:309-312, Clerk Chancery Court, Columbus, Mississippi; also, Hempstead Co., Arkansas. Loose Will File, Co. Clerk's Office, Hope, Arkansas. Transcribed line for line from a photocopy of the original loose will. Lowndes County State of Mississippi Know all men by these presents that I John Thomas of the County & State aforesaid being of sound mind and memory do make & ordain this my last will and Testament in the manner & form following towit-- First, It is my will and desire that as soon as possible after my decease that all my just debts be paid and that for the purpose of carrying this my last will and Testament into Execution my beloved wife Ferebe Thomas shall be my Executor and in order & her aid and assistance until one of my eldest sons come of age she may & shall if she find it necessary chose some prudent friend to be associated with her as Executor and further it is my will that in the event of his decease before my two eldest sons come of Lawful age that she may & shall appoint by will my Executor who shall act until my beloved sons John S. & Samuel S. Thomas come of Lawfull age whenit is my will they shall act as my executors alone or in the event my beloved wife aforesd shall survive till they my sd sons come of Lawful age then they shall act in conjunction with my wife aforesd in the execution of this my last Will & Testament. Second, It is my will that after my decease that all my property of whatsoever kind after my just debts are paid shall remain in the hands of my beloved wife and be under her control and at her disposal just as it would be under mine were I alive to be changed improved or distributed only that it shall not be alienated or turned away from the final benefit of my children as herein [page 2] after directed. It is also my will that she shall raise and Educate my younger children just as we have done the elder children and that so much of my estate as may be necessary be to make them all equal in this respect shall be apply'd in & for that purpose and shall not be made account of at all against the younger children in a final Settlement and division of my Estate Third It is my will that my beloved wife after my decease shall procure a suitable Blank Book and in it by the assistance of a friend make out or raise a regular account for each of my Ten children so that in sd Book it may appear fairly & fully all and every thing in kind and value which has been or may hereafter be distributed or given off to any one of the children in order that all may be made equal in a final division except that according to a long understanding with me and my beloved wife that she should give our dauters at their marriage one bed more than than to our Sons that is to say one bed to each of our sons at their marriage & two to the daughters each at their marriage It is my will however to provide by this my will & Testament against the reckless prodigality of Edwin K Austin who while a Stranger & under a specious fairness of character was married to my beloved daughter Jane Christian so that he all not have it in his power to wast or alienate from her & her children any portion of my Estate justly coming to them. I therefore will to him & my Daughter Jane Austin his wife five dollars and no more during the life of sd Edwin K Austin-- Fourth It is my will and desire that that portion of my Estate which I would have given (that [page 3] is a childs part) to my beloved daughter Jane Austin had she not unfortunately been married to sd Edwin K Austin be set off and distinguished and manage to the best advantage so as to increase & preserve it in trust by my beloved wife Ferebe Thomas for the following purposes to wit, The support and comfort of my beloved daughter Jane and the support & education of her three children Leonidas & Rosetty Catherine and Sarah Francis Austin and that to this and my beloved wife shall have full & entire control of the said childs part of my Estate while she lives and that at her decease she shall have the power to appoint a successor to herself acting in trust for the above described purpose in the control of said childs part of my Estate truly to the end & purpose aforesd--and in the event of her death the sole use & benefit right & title shall fall to the three sd children of my daughter Jane Austin or such of them as may survive her & in the event of the death of all three of the said children of my daughter Jane Austin before they or any of them arrive at mature age or are married then the whole of said portion as falling to them shall revert & go back to my own children or their natural heirs it being my own intent that none of sd childs part now in this division of my will above described shall ever go into the use or control of Edwin K Austin, Fifth It is my will and desire that at the decease of my beloved wife Ferebe Thomas that a fair and full inventory of all my property of whatsoever kind shall be made by such disinterested persons appointed for the purpose either by my wife in her will or by the consent & joint act of the Legaties or by the proper legal authorities as may be desired best. [page 4] by my heirs and after the payment of the just debts of the estate then the account current kept as above described in this my will for each of my children shall be examined and the Estate divided according to the strictest rules of Justice deducting from the portion of each who have personally received property its amount from the portion of such Legattee now remaining for him and if any interest shall be judged by disenterested persons to be properly allowable to the undivided part of my Estate from those who have received an over equal advance over the others then such account of interest shall be brot into the Common Stock & subject to an equal division among all my children excepting always according to the fourth division of my will my Daughter Jane Austin Edwin K Austin & their children, Sixth It is my will that the Legally being one childs past which it is my will should be set off and Kept to itself by my beloved wife as early as she may deem proper for the support and comfort of my daughter Jane Austin & the support & education of her three children as above described to be held in trust by her shall be kept when divided off by my wife seperate from the balance of my Estate and shall not come into a the gen- eral & final division of my Estate neither shall it be subject to any charges or debts of my Estate and in the event of the death of any of my daughters before they shall have children then their portion shall return to my surviving chil- dren and natural heirs, John Thomas Test, Test Willie Buck B.B. Duke James W. Harvell W.W. Vaughn [page 5] The State of Mississippi Lowndes County I Wm P Pullen Clerk Protem of Probate Court of Lowndes County aforesaid do hereby certify that James W Harwell personally appeared before me and after being duly Sworn deposeth and saith that he saw John Thomas sign seal and deliver the within & fore going will on the day and year therin named that he saw Willie Buck W.W. Vaughn & B B Duke sign their names as witnesses in the presence of John Thomas and that he signed the same as witness in presence of John Thomas and that they all subscribed their names in the presence of each other on the day and year therein named. Given under my hand and seal of office the 6th day of March A.D. 1839 Wm P Pullen, Clerk Protem The State of Mississippi Lowndes County I Daniel Williams Clerk of the Probate Court of said County do hereby certify that the foregoing pages contains a true and correct Transcript of the last Will and Testament of John Thomas Decd, as appear upon Probate and record in my office, Given under my hand and seal of said Court at Columbus this the 22 day of September A.D. 1855. Daniel Williams, Clerk [page 6] The State of Mississippi Lowndes County I Stephen A. Brown Judge of Probate in & for said County do hereby certify that Daniel Williams whose genuine signature appears to the foregoing certificate is now and was at the time of signing the same clerk of the Probate Court of said County duly Commissioned & qualified according to law that full forth & credit are due to all his official act as such. That Said Probate Court is a Court of Record & the Said Clerk the Keeper of the records thereof & that his said Certificate is in due form of law. Given under my hand and seal this 22nd day of September A.D. 1855. Stephen A. Brown Judge of Probate Leonard J. McCown, Irving, Texas -- McCown Family History leonard@mccown.org -- http://www.mccown.org People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors. -- Edmund Burke, 1790