Orange County NcArchives Wills.....Bowles, William September 1, 1827 ************************************************ 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: Ben Franklin ben.franklin.ffru@gmail.com May 2024 Source: Loose Will, NC Archives CR 073.801, Will Book Volume F, pages 449-4450 Written: September 1, 1827 Recorded: Nov 1849 Testator: William Bowles In the name of God (Amen) I William Bowles of County of Orange & state of North Carolina, being of sound mind & perfect Recollection (Blessed be God) do this 1st day of Sept. in the year of Our Lord one thousand Eight Hundred & twenty seven make & publish this my last will & Testament; In the manner following (Viz.) I will & bequeath my Soul to Almighty God & my body to be Buried in a decent manner at the discretion of my family 1 I desire My just debts to be paid 2nd I give to my beloved wife during her life time or wid= ow Hood one half the plantation & a negro man named Joe ~~~~ 3 I bequeath also unto my wife & Nancy my daughter a negro girl named Tap[See Not 1] for their joint assistance during the widowhood of my wife & at the expiration of that time her & her increase to be sold & divided equally between all my children 4 I further give unto my wife two cows, two Horses, two ploughs & gear, one bed & furniture, one Cotton & flax wheel one Half the House Hold & Kitchen furniture, one half the hogs & sheep, a saddle, a chest & the cupboard during her widow hood, or life time 5 I give unto my daughter Nancy a negro girl known [page 2] by the name of ["Little" x-out] young Silvy I further direct & request that the ballance of my property after aforementioned legacies are taken out be sold & after my just debts are paid, [to] be divided equally between all my children, all being required to make a faithful return of what they received from me in my life time, so that all my Children may re= ceive of my effects the same Except Nancy who is to have the negro girl Silvy over & above the rest of my children. I also desire my son William to be put to a trade such a one as may best suit him Signed sealed & delivered by me as my last will & Testament in the presence of the subscribing witnesses this 1st day of Sept. Ano.D. 1827 ~~~ Test William Bowles Tho. Jeff Faddis David R Roundtree Jurat [Will Book Volume F, page 449] In the name of God (Amen) I William Bowles of County of Orange & state of North Carolina, being of sound mind & perfect recollection (Blessed be God) do this 1st day of September in the year of Our Lord one thousand Eight hundred & twenty seven make & publish this my last will & Testament; In the manner following Viz. I will & bequeath my soul to Almighty God & my body to be buried in a decent manner at the discretion of my family 1st I desire My just debts to be paid 2nd I give to my beloved wife during her lifetime or widowhood one half the plantation & a negro man named Joe 3rd I bequeath also unto my wife & Nancy my daughter a negro girl named Cop[Cap?] for their joint assistance during the widowhood of my wife, & at the expiration of that time her and her increase to be sold & divided equally between all my Children 4 I further give unto my wife two cows two horses, two ploughs & gear, one bed & furniture, one Cotton & flax wheel one half the Household & kitchen furniture, one half the hogs & sheep, a saddle, a chest & the Cupboard during her widowhood, or lifetime 5 I give unto my daughter Nancy a negro girl known by the name of young Silvey I further direct & request that the balance of my property after aforementioned legacies are taken out be sold & after my Just debts are paid, to be divided equally between all my Children, all being required to make a faithful return of what they received from me in my lifetime, so that all my Children may receive of my effects the same except Nancy who is to have the negro girl Silvey over & above the rest of my children. I also desire my son William to be put to a trade such a one as may best suit him Signed sealed & delivered by me as my last will & Testament in the presence of the subscribing [Will Book Volume F, page 450] Witnesses this 1st day of Sept. Ano.D. 1827 Test Tho. Jeff Faddis William Bowles David R Roundtree Orange County Nov. Term 1849 The execution of the foregoing last will & testament of William Bowles decd. was duly proved in open court by the oath of David R Roundtree one of the subscribing witnesses thereto & it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court on the oath of George Laws that Tho. Jeff Faddis the other subscribing witness is dead & that the signature purporting to be his is in his own proper handwriting said will is ordered to be recorded. Test Additional Comments: Will Book Volume F, pages 449-4450 Recorded Nov 1849 Note 1: Original is indistinct. Three letters: first letter could be "T" or "S"; middle letter is "a"; final letter is "p" or long "S". This name could then be: "Tap", "Tas", "Sap", "Sas" The original is too faded and indistinct to compare to the will book version, which is found above. Note in this case the length of time between the writing of the will and its probate - 22 years - some or even all of the people listed in the will may have died before it was probated. Estate papers comprise 29 pages and are found in a folder labeled "Bowles, William (1850)". Dower was allotted 7 Dec 1849. Testator owned about 800 acres of land. Nelson P. Hall was appointed administrator. Although a sale of negroes is ordered, there are no further records, no inventory, no estate sale in this folder. Some family history is found in the various papers, and those papers are therefore transcribed below. [Estate Papers - Petition Nov 1849] State of North Carolina } County Court Orange County } November Term 1849 To the Worshipful the Justices of said Court The petition of Nancy Bowles, Thomas Bowles James Baldridge and Ann his wife, Sally Berry widows of William Berry deceased, George Bowles William Bowles, Dolphius Armstrong child & heir of Nelly Armstrong deceased, & Nelson P. Hall and Nancy his wife Humbly shew unto your worships that William Bowles late of Orange County died since the last Term of this Court leaving a last will & testament sufficient to pass some, but not all of his land, to which which[sic] will your petitioner Nancy Bowles his widow enter her dissent according to law: The said Bowles was seized and possessed at the time of his death of about 800 acres of land lying in Orange County on the water of Little River adjoining the lands of Hezekiah Terry, Timo- thy Dunnegan's heirs and others which upon his death passed to the other petitioners either as his heirs at law or devisees, namely his sons and daughter Thomas Bowles, Ann Baldridge wife of James Baldridge, Sally Berry, George Bowles William Bowles, and Nancy married to Nelson P. Hall, and his grandson Dolphius Armstrong the only child & heir at law of his daughter Nelly who was married to Jesse Armstrong, and died in the life time of her father William Bowles. Your petitioners pray that dower may be assigned in said lands according to law to your petitioner Nancy Widow &c J. W. Norwood Atto. [page 2, back of page] This case coming on to be heard upon the petition, and the Court being satisfied of the truth of the matters therein set forth, it is ordered by the Court that a Writ of Dower issue to the sheriff of Orange to lay off dower to the petitioner Nancy Bowles according to the prayer of her petition & that he report to next Court. [Estate Papers - Petition to Sell Land Mar 1850] State of North Carolina } In Equity Orange County } March Term 1850 To the Hon. the Judge of said Court The petition of Thomas Bowles, ["Anna" x-out] James Baldridge and his wife Anna ["George Bowles" x-out], William Bowles, Nelson P. Hall and Nancy his wife, and of George R. Berry, Elizabeth E. Berry and Rowan F. Berry, heirs of Sally Berry decd, formerly Sally Bowles Humbly sheweth unto your Honor that they are justly seized and possessed as the heir at law of William Bowles decd last of Orange County, of a tract of land lying in said the said[sic] County of Orange on the waters of Little River and Flat Ri- ver adjoining the lands of Wilson Horner Andy Porterfield and others and Contain= ing 447 acres, more or less of which the said George, Elizabeth & Rowan Berry & together entitled to ??? that said land is of moderate quality covered with a sparse growth of pine timber, with little water upon it, & not well suited for farming purposes, and that ["in" x-out] the same could not be divided by partition among the petitioners without out[sic] impairing very much the value of the whole. Your petitioners therefor pray your Honor that said lands may be sold & the proceeds divided among them according to their respective rights. And they will ever pray &c J. W. Norwood Sol for petr. [page 2] Nelson P. Hall maketh oath that he is well acquainted with the land mentioned in this petition & that in his opinion the same cannot be divided without great injury to the petitioners Subscribed & sworn to in Nelson P. Hall open court R M Jones CSC This case coming on to be heard upon the pe= tition and the Court being satisfied of the truth of the matters therein set forth, it is decreed by the court that the land mentioned in the petition be sold by ["the Clerk & Master" x-out] ["of the Court" x-out] Nelson P Hall Admr of Wm. Bowles upon the premises, after 30 days advertisement, on a credit of 12 months, taking bound & good security for the purchase money retaining the title ["untill" x-out] for the further order of the Court & reporting to the next term of this Court -- [Estate Papers - Guardian Appointment for Berry Heirs 8 Dec 1851] The State of Alabama Fayette County. Probate Court Regular Term 2nd monday in December 1851 (it being the 8th day of said month the following proceedings were had to wit: William Bowles Estate. Be it remembered that on this the Eight[sic] day of December one thousand Eight hundred and fifty one before the Probate Court of said County came Elizabeth Ellen and Roan Frances Berry (Minor heirs of William C Berry) and requested that their Father William C Berry should be appointed their Guardian for the purpose of collecting the money or anything else that is coming to them from the Estate of William Bowles late of North Carolina Orange County deceased And it appearing to the satisfaction of the Court that the said William C Berry has entered into Bond in the sum of One thousand dollars conditioned as the law required on such case made and prov- ided with David Berry & Everith Palmer as security there to, which bond is hereby approved, order to be filed and recorded, It is therefore ordered and decreed by the court that the said William C Berry be and he is hereby appointed Guardian for Roan Frances and Elizabeth Ellen Berry, (the said William C. Berry's minor heirs), (who are heirs of the Estate of the said William Bowles late of Orange County North Carolina deceased, It is further ordered and decreed by the court that Letters of Guardianship issue to the said William C Berry an[d] all and singular the goods and chattels rights and credits of the said Roan Frances & Elizabeth Ellen Berry in which they are interested, in any way whatsoever, attest Jno C Moore Judge of Probate Court Fayette Co Ala [page 2] The State of Alabama Fayette County I John C Moore Judge of the Probate Court in and for said County of Fayette do hereby certify that the foregoing on the other side of these sheets that are pasted together is and cont- -ains a true copy of the Bond and appoint- -ment of William C Berry, as Guardian of his minor heirs Roan Frances & Elizabeth Ellen Berry, (who are heirs of the Estate of William Brooks late of North Carolina Orange County deceased, in Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and official seal at office at Fayette Court house this the 8th day of December AD 1851 attest Jno C Moore Judge of Fayette County Ala Recd. of O. F. Long Clerk & Master in Equity for Orange County twenty one Dollars & Eight Eight centers in full of the Interest of Elizabeth Ellen & Rowan Frances Berry in the lands of William Bowles Dec'd. sold by a Decree of sd Court of Equity by Decree Made Mary 1850 Test his E G Gray William (X) C. Berry mark Guardian of Eliz. E & Roan Frances Berry