Duplin County, NC - Wills - John Cook - 1799 File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Elton G. Cooke 1799 Will of John Cook of Duplin County State of North Carolina Duplin County July Term 1799 Then was the within will proved in open Court by the oath of Aaron Williams and Lewis Smith two of the subscribing witnesses thereto and at the same time James Blanton one of the Exrs. named in said will came before the Court and qualified as exr. according to law - ordered that letters issue accordingly. Test. (Signed) Wm. Dickson, CC //Text of Will// State of North Carolina Duplin County In the name of God Amen, I John Cook of the county and state aforesaid being of sound mind and memory and calling to mind the mortality of my body that it is appointed for all men once to die do make and ordain this my last will and testament in manner and form following to wit: First I commit my soul to God that gave it hoping through the mercy of God my blessed redeemer to receive pardon for all my sins and my body I commit to the earth from whence it came to be buried at the discretion of my Exrs. and as touching such worldly goods as it has pleased god to bless me with, I give and dispose of in the following manner to wit: 1st I give to my beloved son Reuben Cook one small feather bed & my guns. next I give to my daughter Fereby Blanton all the cattle & sheap(sic) with their increase that I lent to James Blanton and one pewter dish, two baisons (sic) and two plates and one feather bed and furniture one box iron and heaters two iron pots and one tea pot and one milk pot & half a dozen of tea spoons one cutting axe one iron wedge one half a doz. tea cups and saucers one pail and one piggin ten chairs and one table and one chest to her and her heirs forever and also two cows and yearlings and their increase to her and her heirs forever. Next I give to my son Jesse Cook one pewter dish and two plaets (sic) and two dollars {to him}and his heirs forever. Next I give to my son Thos. Cook all my carpenter tools and one pewter bason (sic), and my mare bridle and saddle her first colt to be his son Thomas Cook. Next I give to my son Nathan Cook all my Coopers tools & two small hoes and one sifter and one cow & her heifer yearling known by the name of the red cow to him and his heirs. Next, I give to my son John Cook one shilling sterling for his part of my estate. Next I give to my daughter Sarah Martin one shilling sterling for her part of my estate. Next I give to the heirs of my son William Cook decd. one shilling sterling for their part of my estate. Next I give to my daughter Amy *Pipen one shilling sterling for her part of my estate. Next I give to the heirs of my daughter Elizabeth Newton decd. one shilling sterling for their part of my estate. Next I give to my daughter Mary Martin one shilling for her part of my estate. And for the exrs of this my last will and testament I constitute and appoint my son Thomas Cook & James Blanton Exrs to this my last will and testament. In witness their (sic) I the said John Cook has (sic) set my hand and seal this the 3rd day of March 1799. Signed sealed published and declared by the said John Cook as his last will and testament In the presence of us: (Signed) Aaron Williams (Signed) Federick Cook (Signed) Lewis (X, his mark) Smith (Signed) John Cook (seal) //End of text of document// //Source: N. C. State Archives, Wills of Duplin County, microfilm roll C.035 80001, pp. 85, 86. ****Contributor's notes: There were several John Cook's in Duplin County around 1800, including the author of this Will and his son. The John Cook who died in 1799 is thought by many Cook researchers to have been a son of William Cook who died in 1757 in Northhampton County, N. C. Supporting this theory is the fact that several of William's other sons, who had distinctive names such as Mercurius, Lazarus, Ephraim and Elimelech, were in the Duplin/Sampson area in the late 18th century. Another item of interest is that some researchers claim John's daughter Sarah married Jehu Stuart. This document refers to her as Sarah Martin. The Will also refers to a daughter Mary Martin so it is possible that the names were confused by the author of this document or by the recording clerk. Also, some researchers show that John had a daughter named Amy Pippin. The surname which appears in this document most closely resembles Piper or Pipen but these! were not common surnames in Duplin County. In fact, The only surname of similar construction that was well represented in Duplin County around 1800 was Pipkin. __________________________________________________________________________ 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. The 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, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. __________________________________________________________________________