Will of William Rutledge 06 Feb 1858 Harris County, GA Harris Co., GA, Will Book 2, pp. 95 - 97 (copied at Harris Co., GA, Probate Court, Hamilton, GA) Last Will and Testament of William O. Rutledge Decd. Recorded State of Georgia Harris County In the name of God, Amen. I William O. Rutledge of the State and county aforesaid being of advanced age and bodily infirm, and therefore knowing the uncertainty of life deem it right and proper, both as respects myself and family to make a disposition of the property with which a kind providence has blessed me do make and ordain this as my last will & testament hereby revoking all others heretofore made by me 1st Item I desire and direct that my body be buried in a plain, decent, Christian like manner. 2nd Item I desire and direct that all my just debts be paid without delay by my Executor hereinafter appointed. 3rd Item I give and bequeath to my beloved wife Jane for and during her natural life -- and at her death to go to my children - excepting my son Dudley Adkins Rutledge - to be equally divided between them as hereinafter set forth - the following property to wit, the lot of land whereon my dwelling is situated (no. one hundred & thirty five) and the two lots of land joining Nathan & James Passmore, being all my land whereon I reside, excepting the plantation known as the "Col[remaining 3 letters indistinguishable]" plantation, with all the rights and a ppurtenances thereunto belonging together with the house-hold & kitchen furniture, except as hereinafter given to my daughter Margaret -- also one yoke of oxen and cart of her own selec-tion; my carriage & carriage horses; four cows & calves of her own selection out of my stock of cattle four sows & pigs of said sows of her own selection out of my stock of hogs; also four Negroes to wit Nancy a woman about twenty six or seven ! years old, and her daughter Peggy about thirteen years old, Eliza a girl about seventeen years old and a man or boy which I intend to get in place of my boy Alleck whom I intend to sell, but if I should not sell said boy Alleck, then I give him to my wife Jane, and if he should prove unruly & disobedient and unfit to be kept by her then my executor may dispose of him by exchange for an-other, or by sale, and purchase another -- all and every be-quest in this Item I make to my wife Jane during her natural life, as before stated, and at her death to go to & be equally divi-ded between my children, excepting as aforesaid my son Dud-ley Adkins -- In like manner to her during her natural life & at her death to my children in equal division with the said exception I give my wife Jane a road waggon & four mules of her own selection. 4th Item In as much as there was no written agreement or contract be-tween me & my wife at the time of our marriage, but a verbal promise or declaration by me to her, that her property of which she was possessed at the time of our marriage should remain hers I give and bequeath to her my wife Jane all the property of which she was possessed at the time of our marriage in fee simple. 5th Item I give and bequeath to my son Dudly Atkins Rutledge the sum of five dollars. 6th Item I give and bequeath to my daughter Margarett a Negroe girl named Antoinette aged about nineteen years and a boy named [illegible] about four years old. Also a [horse ?] or one hundred dollars as she may elect, one cow & calf of her own selection, one bed, bed-stead of furniture of her selection, all & every bequest to her the said Margarett to her own & her childrens (she may have) benefit & use free from the contracts of her husband -- without limitation. 7th Item I desire and direct that my servant Edy shall have [her ?] own choice of a house among my children or my wife Jane and in the divis-ion of the Negroes as hereinafter directed, her appraised value is to be deducted from the portion of the one whom she may choose if that one shall not draw her, and put to the portion of the one that shall draw her or as may be agreed on by the drawees to carry into effect - my desire to give her a choice of a house or owner. 8th Item The remainder of my property after, undisposed of in Item Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth & Sixth, I desire and direct shall be divided into ten lots as near as may be of equal value and drawn for by my children hereinafter named; to each a lot or one tenth part. 9th Item I give & bequeath to my daughter Lucinda McCrary one tenth part. 10th Item I give & bequeath to my daughter Eliza Miles one tenth part. 11th Item I give & bequeath to my daughter Anne Billbro & her children free from the control of her present or future husband one tenth part. 12th Item I give & bequeath to my daughter Sarah Hightower and her children free from the control of her present or a future husband one tenth part. 13th Item I give & bequeath to my daughter Elisabeth Pierce one tenth part. 14th Item I give & bequeath to my son John F. Rutledge one tenth part. 15th Item I give & bequeath to my son Thomas J. Rutledge one tenth part. 16th Item I give & bequeath to my daughter Mary Mc[Queen ?] and her children free from the control of her present or a future husband one tenth part. 17th Item I give & bequeath to my daughter Rebecca R. Boynton and her children free from the control of her present or a future husband one tenth part. 18th Item In addition to the bequest in Item Sixth I give and bequeath to my daughter Margarett (with the same limitations as to her husband) and her children one tenth part. 19th Item I hereby constitute & appoint my friend George A. B. Dozier Executor of this my last will & testament. 20th Item In order to my desire & intention being more fully expressed in each of the Items above given where the property is bequeathed "free from the control" I desire & direct to add after the word "control" debts and liabilities [the phrase debts and liabilities is underlined] to come in before the words "of her" &c. This February 6th 1858 William O. Rutledge Signed, Sealed, declared & published by William O. Rutledge as his last Will & Testament in the presence of us the sub-scribing, who subscribed our names hereto in the presence of said Testator (at his special instance & request) and of each other this February 6th 1858. Nathan Passmore T. M. [Illegible] Thomas S. Mitchell Last Will & Testament of William O. Rutledge Deceased continued Georgia Harris County Court of Ordinary November Term 1860 Personally appeared in open court Geo. A. B. Dozier Executor named and appointed in a paper writing purporting to be the last will & testament of William O. Rutledge late of said county deceased, and produced said paper writing, and also personally came Thomas M. [Clauson ? Clower ?] one of the subscribing witnesses to said paper writing who being duly sworn deposeth & saith that he saw the said Testator William O. Rutledge sign, seal, deliver and publish the said paper writing now presented in open court as his last will & testament freely, voluntarily and of his own accord with-out compulsion or [illegible] whatever, That at the time of the Execution of said will said Testator was of sound & disposing mind & memory that deponent signed said will as a witness in the presence of the testator and at his request -- and in the presence of the other witnesses & that he saw Nathan Passmore & Thomas S. Mitchell the other witnesses sign said will in the pres-ence of the testator and ! at his request. Sworn to & subscribed before me in open court this 5th day of November 1860. Thomas M. [Clower ?] Geo. W. Mullins ordinary ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store this file permanently for free access. This file was contributed by: Sarah Sharpless sks6@earthlink.net ====================================================================