Will of Ignatius ABELL (1809); St. Mary’s County, Maryland This file was contributed by Judith Burger. ************************************************************************ * USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be freely 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 presentation by other organizations. ************************************************************************ Ignatius Abell Signed: November 3, 1809 Proved: June 13, 1811 Ignatius Abell's Last Will & testament} In the name of God Amen, I Ignatius Abell of Saint Marys County, in the State of Maryland, being Sick and Weak in body, but of sound and disposing mind, memory and understanding, considering the certainty of death and the uncertainty of the time thereof, and being desirous to Settle my Worldly affairs, and thereby be the better prepared to leave this World When it Shall please God to call me hence, do therefore make and publish this my last Will and testament, in manner & form following; that is to say, First ~ I give and bequeath unto my Nephew & God Son John Thomas of the State of Kentucky one Negro Woman named Rose to him & his heirs also her four children by names Lewis, Henry, Joe and Sarah untill they respectively attain the age of twenty three years ~ Lewis being now of the age of nine years, Henry Seven, Joe Five and Sarah one and a half years of age, and as they the Said Lewis, Henry, Joe, & Sarah respectively arrive at the age of twenty three years ~ my will and desire is that they be Set at liberty at those periods and I do hereby at those periods manumit and Set free the Said Lewis, Henry, Joe and Sarah ~ Also ~ I give and bequeath the unto my Said God Son and Nephew John Thomas one hundred Dollars current Money in lieu of Negro Jim who I wished to give him but Jim's unwillingness to go to Kentucky has prevented ~ Then I give and bequeath and my will and desire is that the Said Negro Jim remain on my now dwelling plantation for the use of the proprieter for the time being ~ Further my Will and desire is that my Said nephew and god Son John Thomas Shall be at full liberty and my wishes are that he take the Said Negro Rose, Lewis, Henry, Joe and Sarah away at his discretion at any time. Item. I give and bequeath unto my beloved Wife Mary Abell, the rest and residue of my Estate both real & personal (except as above devised) for and during her natural life ~ upon her paying the above legacy of one hundred dollars to my Said Nephew & God Son John Thomas when called for ~ Item, I give and devise unto my Nephew John Thompson of Thomas, after my wifes' decease my now dwelling plantation to him the Said John Thompson of Thomas and the heirs of his body lawfully begotten, and in failure of Such heir, then to his Sister Elizabeth Thompson to her and her heirs and assigns for ever ~ Item, I give and bequeath unto my Neice Elizabeth Thompson aforesaid, a house and home for and during her Single life on my now dwelling plantation. Also my Will and desire is and I hereby give and bequeath unto my Said Niece Elizabeth Thompson the Sum of one hundred Dollars to be paid to her by my Said Nephew (her brother) John Thompson at his entrance & occupation of my Said dwelling plantation under the aforesaid devise after my beloved Wifes death. ^ Item, I give and bequeath unto Mary Norriss daughter of William Heard of (Mesk?) a bed and furniture after my (beloved?) wifes decease. Item I give and bequeath unto my Nephew John Thompson and my neice Elizabeth Thompson all my house hole furniture and Stock of every kind with my plantation utensical, (excepting Carts wheels) to be equally divided between them Share and Share alike ~~ Item, I give and bequeath unto my Said Nephew John Thompson my Cart wheels ~ also my will and desire is that after my Wifes decease my Negro Man Jerry be liberated & Set free. Item, My Will and desire is that after my wife's decease my Negroes, Peter, Matthew and Mary, serve my Nephew & Neice John & Elizabeth Thompson for the term of three years ~ after which time I manumit and Set them free. Item, my Will and desire is that my Negroes (Poll's two children) Sam and Ann Serve my Neice Elizabeth Thompson after my Wifes decease untill they respectively arrive at the age of twenty three years of age, after which my Will and desire is that they be free and manumited. Item ~ My Will and desire is that Should Poll have any more children during her Servitude, that they serve after my Wifes decease, my Neice Elizabeth Thompson untill they arrive at the age of twenty three years, after which I manumit and Set them free. Item, my will and desire is that Should there be any money in my possession at my death or any due and owing unto me, that the Same belong to my beloved Wife ~ and further Should I have left any property of any Sort undivised or bequeathed at my death my Will and desire is that the Same go to and become the property of my Said Wife ~ And lastly; I do hereby constitute and appoint my dear Wife Mary Abell to be Sole Executrix of this my last Will & testament ~ In testimony whereof I have hereunto Set my hand, and affixed my Seal, this third day of November, in the year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and nine. Ignat. Abell (((Seal))) Signed, Sealed, published & declared by Ignatius Abell the above named testator as and for his last Will and Testament, in the presence of us, who at his request, in his presence, and in the presence of each other, have Subscribed our names as Witnesses thereto Mary Abell, Jane + Greenwell ~ E. J. Millard ~ Saint Marys County towit, the 13th day of June 1811. Then came Mary Abell, Executrix of Ignatius Abell late of Saint Marys County deceased, and made oath on the Holy Evangels of Almighty God that this within instrument of writing is the true and whole last Will and testament of the Said deceased that hath come to her hands or possession and that She doth not know of any other ~ Certified by ~~~~ James Forrest Reg Wills for Saint Marys County Saint Marys County Ss. The 13th day of June 1811. Then came Mary Abell widow of Samuel Abell and Enoch Je(illegible) Millard two of the three subscribing witnesses to the aforegoing last Will and testament of Ignatius Abell late of Saint Marys County, deceased, and Severally made Oath on the Holy Evangels of Almighty God that they did See the Testator therein named Sign and Seal this will and that ^ they heard him publish pronounce and declare the Same to be his last Will and testament that at the time of his so doing he was to the best of their apprehensions of Sound and disposing mind, memory and understanding, and that they respectively Subscribed their names as Witnesses to this will in the presence and at the request of the Testator and in the presence of each other also that they did see Jane Greenwell the other witness Subscribe her mark as a witness to the same in the presence and at the request of the Said Testator. Certified by James Forrest Reg Wills for Saint Marys County Saint Marys County, to wit, the 16th day of July 1811. Mary Abell Widow of Ignatius Abell deceased, quits her claim to the bequests made her in the Will of her Said Husband and elects to take in lieu thereof, her dower or legal Share of the Said deceased estate, in the Words following towit. "I Mary Abell, Widow of Ignatius Abell late of Saint Marys County deceased, do hereby renounce and quit all claim to any bequest or devise made to me by the last Will of my husband, exhibited and proved according to law ~ and I elect to take in lieu thereof my dower, or legal Share of the Estate of my Said Husband ~ Given under my hand and Seal this Sixteenth day of July anno Eighteen hundred and eleven} Witness present Mary Abell (((Seal))) E. J. Millard ~To the Register of Wills for St. Marys County ******************************************************************************** ******************************* Transcribed by Judith A. Burger March 24, 2001 from a photocopy of the original court record, JJ 3, 269-270-271, obtained from Norma I. Dawson, Register of Wills, Saint Mary's County, Maryland. The photocopy was good, but the writing extremely small and illegible in places with cross outs of repeated phrases, and between the line insertions. I made no corrections of any kind but did not transcribe the repeated crossed out phrases.