Will of John Hatton 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. ************************************************************************ John Hatton Abell Signed: December 2, 1809 Proved: January 18, 1810 John H. Abell Last Will & Testament} In the name of God Amen. I John Hatton Abell of the County of Saint Marys and State of Maryland ~ Being Sick and Weak of body but of Sound and perfect Mind and Memory and understanding ~ being desirous of Settling my Temporal Estate and affairs ~ do make, ordain, constitute and appoint this to be my last Will and Testament ~ first I humbly recommend my Soul to the hands of Almighty God from whence I received it, my body to the Earth to be decently Burried at the discression of my Executor hereafter named ~ And as to those my Worldly Goods that it hath pleased God to endow me with, my Will and desire is that they be disposed of in manner and form following ~ First, my Will is that my Negro Woman Henny and her youngest Child to be sold in the County and She the said Negro Woman is to have liberty one Month from the date of my Death to find a Master, and if not done in that time, my Executor must appoint her master, and the money arrising thereon my Will is, that it Shall be applied by my Mother if then living, if not by my Executor hereafter named, to the use of the Roman Cathotick Church, and to the use of the Poor for the good of my Soul hereafter ~~ Item I give and bequeath to my beloved God Son William Abell Son of Thomas Abell, one hundred dollars to be paid to him at the Death of my parents by my Executor, or at the Day that he arrives at the age of twenty one years ~~ Item I give and bequeath to my beloved father Zachariah Abell, and my beloved Mother Martha Abell, all the remainder part of my Estate Equally between them during their Natural Lives for the use of it to Support them ~ and my Will is that the Stock and Hous hole furniture and Plantation utensales Shall be Sold by my Executor, and the Money applied to their use ~ Not in any Wise putting it in their power to Sell; Waste or dispose of only for their own reasonable Support so long as either of them lives. And after their Deaths my Will is that it is to be the right of my Brother Lewis Abell to him and his heirs for ever ~~ And lastly I do hereby nominate and appoint, constitute and ordain my Well beloved Brother Lewis Abell, whole and Sole Executor of this my last Will and Testament ~ Revoking and hereby disannuling all former Wills by me made and constituted, or appointed. And Acknowledge that to be my last Will and Testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto Set my hand and Seal this the Second Day of December Eighteen Hundred and Nine ~ John H. Abell (((Seal))) Signd. Sealed, published and declared By the Testator to be his Last Will and Testament in the presence of us the Sub scribers ~ who at his request and in his pre sence have thereto Subscribed our names as Witnesses thereto. Joseph Mills ~~ B. Hutchins ~~ Saint Marys County, towit. The 18th day of January 1810. Then came Lewis Abell and made oath on the Holy Evangels of Almighty God, that the within instrument of Writing is the true and Whole Will and testament of John Hatton Abell late of Saint Marys County deceased, that hath come to his hands or possession & that he doth not know of any other ~ Certified by James Forrest Reg Wills for Saint Marys County Saint Marys County SS(?) the 18th day of January 1810. Then came Joseph Mills and Bennet Hutchins the two Subscribing Witnesses to the last Will and Testament of John Hatton 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 the 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 ~~~ Certified by James Forrest Reg Wills for Saint Marys County ******************************************************************************** ******************************* Transcribed by Judith A. Burger March 24, 2001 from a photocopy of the original court record, JJ 3, 214-215, obtained from Norma I. Dawson, Register of Wills, Saint Mary's County, Maryland. The photocopy was good and the writing legible though extremely small. I made no corrections of any kind.