Craven County NcArchives Wills.....Bryan, Hardy 1760 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Nola Duffy nduffy@patch.net August 31, 2008, 9:07 pm Source: Nc Wills & Inventories - Grimes Written: 1760 HARDY BRYAN'S WILL. IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN. I, Hardy Bryan, of the prov- ince of North Carolina, & Craven County, Planter being sick in Body, but of sound Mind & Memory, do make my last will & Testament in the form & Manner following, that is to say: It is my will that the plantation on which my son Thomas now lives, consisting of about Two hundred & Seventy acres, be divided by the ash Branch, & then I give & bequeath that part of it lying on the North Side of the ash Branch to my said Son Thomas, to him & his Heirs for ever. I further give & bequeath to my son, Thomas, one Negroe man named Edin- burgh, & one negroe Girl named Lucy, which said Lucy is already in the Possession of my son Thomas. I give & bequeath to my son William to him & his heirs forever, two hundred & seventy acres of Land, be the same more or less, which I bought of my Brother Lewis, & is adjoin- ing to the Land of Frederick Isler. I further give & bequeath to my son William to him & his heirs for ever one hundred Acres of Land which I bought of Frederic Jones, & lying on the West side of Trent River. I further give & bequeath to my son William, One Negroe Boy named Cain, which I have already delivered into his Possession. It is my will & desire that the Plantation or Survey of Land on which I now live be equally divided, & then I give & bequeath to my son Hardy, to him & his heirs for ever, after the Marriage or death of his affectionate Mother, the upper half of the said Plantation or Survey, or that half of it on which the houses are now erected. And I give & bequeath to my Son, Nathan, to him & his heirs for ever, the other or lower part of the said Plantation or Survey of Land. But if my son Nathan shou'd (die) without Issue or before he arrives at the age of Twenty one Years, then I give & bequeath the whole of the said plantation or survey of Land I now live upon, to my son Hardy, to him & his heirs for ever, after the Marriage or Death of his affectionate Mother; or if my Son Hardy shou'd die without Issue, or before he arives at the Age of Twenty One Years, then I give & be- queath the said whole Plantation or Survey of Land on which I now live, to my Son Nathan, to him & heirs for ever, after the Marriage or death of his affectionate Mother. But if both of my Sons Hardy & Nathan should die without Issue, or before the Age of Twenty One Years, then whatever Land I have given & bequeathed to my Sons Hardy & Nathan, I give & bequeath to my Son Lewis, to him & his heirs for ever. I give & bequeath to my, Son, Isaac, to him & his heirs for ever, one half of the plantation or Land on which my Son, Thomas, now lives, namely, that half of it which lies on the South Side of the Ash Branch. I give & bequeath to my. Son Lewis, to him & his heirs for ever, one front Lot in the Town of Newbern, lying upon Nuce River, & one of my Two front Lots in the said Town lying upon Trent River, it being my will that my son Lewis, shall take his Choice of the said Two Lots lying upon Trent River. But if my Son, Isaac, should die without Issue or before he arrives at the age of Twenty One years then I give & bequeath to Son, Lewis, to him & his heirs for ever, all the Land which I have given & bequeathed to my Son Isaac; But if my Son Lewis shou'd die without Issue or before he arrives at the Age of twenty one Years, then I give & bequeath to my Son, Isaac, to him & his heirs for ever, all the Lots in Newbern which I have given & bequeathed to my Son Lewis. I give & bequeath to my Daughter, Mary, to her & her heirs for ever, one Front Lot in the Town of Newbern Lying on Trent, after My son Lewis has taken his Choice of the two Lots as before mentioned. It is my will & desire that my loving wife, Sarah, so long as she shall continue my Widow or live unmarried, shall have one half of the plantation or Survey of Land on which I now live, particularly, the upper half, or that half or part on which the houses are now erected. And it is further my will & desire, that as long as my loving Wife, Sarah, shall continue my widow or live unmarried, she shall have the Use & profits of the follow- ing five negroes, namely, one negroe Man named David, one negroe Man named Pomp, one Negroe Man named Frank, one negroe Man named Ben, & one Negroe Girl named Scylla; But then it is my Will & desire that my loving wife Sarah, shall find Meat, Drink, Washing, Lodging, & Schooling for my Children till they are married or arrive at the Age of Twenty One Years, out of the profits arising from the plantation & the Labour of the five Slaves abovementioned. And it is further my Will that the said Five Negroes, David, Pomp, Frank, Ben & Scylla be equally divided among all my Children, at the Marriage or Death of my loving Wife Sarah. I likewise give & bequeath to my loving Wife, Sarah, all my Stocks of cattle, Hogs, Sheep & Horses, all my household furniture, all my Plan- tation Tools & Implements of Husbandry. It is further my will & desire that my following Six Children, namely, My sons, William, Hardy, Nathan, Isaac & Lewis & my Daughter, Mary, or the Survivors of them, shall have, & be equal Sharers of, all the rest of my Negroes not mentioned in this will, in the Manner following, that is to say, the rest of my Negroes not mentioned in this Will shall not be immediately divided, but each of my said Children, namely William, Hardy, Nathan, Isaac, Lewis & Mary shall have & receive his or her Share of the said Negroes & their Increase on the Day of Mar- riage or at the Age of Twenty one Years, And it is my Will that when any one of my said Six Children shall have received his or her Share of the said Negroes as before directed; he or she so receiving his or her Share shall not have any Claim or Title to the remaining Slaves or their future Increase. I do hereby nominate & appoint my Sons, Thomas & Wil- liam, Executors, & my loving Wife, Sarah, Executrix, of this my last Will & testament, & I do hereby revoke & disannul all other Wills heretofore by me made. Witness my hand & Seal, this Twenty Eight Day of Feb- ruary, in the Year of our Lord, One thousand, Seven hundred & Sixty. HARDY BRYAN (Seal) Signed, sealed & acknowledged in the Presence of (the words "for ever" being first interlined in the Second page of this will): JAMES REED. SHADRACH ALLEN. his MATTHEW X ARTER. mark NEW BERN, 6. May, 1760. The foregoing last Will and Testament of Hardy Bryan, deceased, was duely proved before me, by the Oaths of James Reed and Matthew Arter, Evidences thereto. At the same Time Thomas Bryan, one of the Exec- utors within named, and Sarah Bryan, named Executrix in the foregoing Will, qualified before me by taking the Oath of Executor and Executrix. Let Letters Testamentary issue to the said Thomas Bryan, and Sarah Bryan, on the foregoing Will accordingly. ARTHUR DOBBS Copied from Original Will, filed in the Office of the Secretary of State. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/craven/wills/bryan772gwl.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ncfiles/ File size: 7.8 Kb