Orange County NcArchives Wills.....Cain, William Sr April 10, 1856 ************************************************ 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 G, pages 182-187 Written: April 10, 1856 Recorded: Nov 1857 Testator: William Cain, Sr I William Cain of Orange County in North Carolina do make this my last will & testament. In order to provide for the early payment of my debts & the convenient division of my Estate, I will and devise all my lands in Alabama & Tennessee, & my half of the House & ground in Hills- -borough, which is held by Mr. John [U?] Kirkland & myself to be sold in convenient time after my death & turned out & out into person- -alty, and also my negroes in Alabama & all my crops on hand or growing at my death, stocks, & all other personal Estate, where- -soever situate, except my slaves in North Carolina; and I author- -ise my Executors, or that one of them, who may act under my will, to make said sales Sales & to convey to the purchaser or purchasers, and, if necessary, I require my heirs at law to concur in such sales of real Estate by joining in conveying the same, so as to aprove the same effectually to the purchaser or purchasers. And, as one of my executors may wish to purchase some of the land or other things & it may conduce to enhance the price to allow him to bid & purchase at public sale, I do order & direct, that my Exe- -cutors may respectively do so, & that such purchases by open bid- -ding at auction shall be valid, & proper conveyances shall be made by the one executor to the other so purchasing, & if need be, by my heirs at law.- If my Executors should die before making such sales or refuse or fail to act under my will, I empower the person or persons, to whom for the time being administration of my personal estate may be committed in North Carolina, to make or complete such sales & conveyances. Out of the proceeds of the sales aforesaid & all money on hand or owing to me I order the charges of administration & my debts to be paid in the first instance. The residue of the said proceeds of sale, money & debts & my slaves in North Carolina & all other lands & other things & rights belonging to me I give & divide amongst the different members of my Family as follows: - The lands in Orange, on which I reside, containing about [page 2] nineteen hundred & fifty (1950) acres & all my Lots, houses & real estate in Hillsborough (except that held my Mr. Kirkland & myself, & except those hereinafter devised to Dr. Pride Jones). I give & devise to my son James F. Cain in fee simple, and I also give him & his heirs all my right, legal & equitable, in & to a certain house & grounds on the Oxford road east of Hillsborough, formerly belonging to the late P. H. Mangum, for the pur- -chase of which I lately contracted with Mr. Garret, and also twenty one acres of land out of my tract adjoining, to be laid off so as to include the peices[sic] I purchased from Mr. Cameron & Dr. Long containing about thirteen acres & to include also eight acres more by a line running from the corner of the said pieces next to the house in which I formerly lived to the Oxford road. I am aware that the value of the said Real Estates thus given to my son James somewhat exceeds nine thousand dollars, yet, as he is my oldest son now living & I have hitherto made but inconsiderable advancements to him, I think it best to estimate it at that sum, and I accordingly direct that he be charged, in respect thereof, with the sum of nine thousand dollars in the divisi -on of my Estate hereinafter directed. To my son Thomas P. Cain I give in fee simple my Mills on Little River in Orange County & the tract of land on which they are situate, containing about six hundred acres, & also another tract in Orange on which one Clements lives as a tenant, on the Oxford road below my house & containing about one hundred and forty acres; and also all my shares & interest of & in a certain tract of land in Guilford County, called the Copper Mine, which I hold with James Webb & others, and all other lands which I now own in North Carolina legally or equitably & not herein speci- fically disposed of: and for the same the said Thomas shall be charged with the sum of five thousand dollars in the division of my Estate. I have heretofore given to my daughter Minerva or her husband Tod R. Caldwell Esquire in money & the slaves, Dennis & his wife Fanny, George, Margaret & a boy named Cleg who is a child of Haty, to the value of four thousand and four hundred dollars, and I have given to my daughter Martha or her hus- -band Dr. Pride Jones, in money & the slaves, Lizzy & Susan to [page 3] the value of five thousand dollars; and I do now confirm the said several gifts & will that the said Tod R. Caldwell & Pride Jones respectively have the issue of the said female slaves now born or that may be born, & shall be respectively charged with the said several sums, in respect of those prior gifts, in the division of my estate. And I furthermore give to my son in law Pride Jones in fee simple, if he be living at my death, & if he be then dead, to his wife Martha Ann in his stead the tract of land near Hillsborough, which I purchased from David Yarbrough & Miss Burke, containing about six hundred & thirty four acres, (excepting thereout the eight acres thereof before given to my son James) and also six town lots in Hillsborough lying between the said land & Wm. Hill's, and I order that he or she, as the case may be, shall be charged, in respect of the said land in this clause given, with the sum of Nine thousand dollars in the division of my Estate. I have heretofore given to my son William, now deceased, money & property of different kinds to the value of Six thousand dollars, as I estimate it, which I mention as having a bearing on the provision hereinafter made for his family. I have hitherto given to my grand daughter Mary Caldwell a valuable negro girl, & I now give to my daughter Minerva Cald- -well my Piano Forte, and to my daughter Mary C. her maid Amy & a girl named Anna, a child of Sally, & to my son James F. my female servant Maria - as special legacies, for the value of which they are not to be accountable in the division. - I then give to my daughter Mary C. Cain out of the said general fund the sum of Fifteen thousand dollars, payable with- -in two years after my death; and I order that it be paid ["at all events" x-out] ["with" x-out ]without abatement with other pecuniary or general legacies, & at all events, provided only that the fund be sufficient therefor after the payment of charges & debts. I further give thereout to my son James F. Cain the sum of Nine thousand dollars payable within two years after my death in trust for the following purposes: that is to say : to invest the same in the publick debt of North Carolina or in some other secure manner, & to receive the interest or dividends accru- -ing thereon & pay the same annually or oftener to Sarah, the [page 4] widow of my son William, during her widowhood & during the minority of her son William, for the better support of herself & the nurture & educa -tion of her two children; but upon the death or marriage of the said Sarah during the minority of her said son or upon the coming of full age of her said son, which shall first happen, the in trust for the said two children, William & Elizabeth equally to be divided between them. If one of my said two grand children should die unmarried and under full age of twenty one years, then the share of him or her so dying shall go to the other: provided nevertheless that the annual profits shall, as before, be paid to the said Sarah, for the use of herself & her surviving child, until her own [second "own" x-out] marriage or the coming of age of the child. But if both of the said children, Willi- -am & Elizabeth, should thus die unmarried & under full age, then & in that case the whole fund, including both the original share & the accrued share of the surviving child shall, apon the death of such survivor, go to & be equally divided between such of my children as may be then living, & if but one, then to that one; and if I should have no child living at the said time, then & in that case the said fund, including both shares, shall go to those persons who at that time may be my next of kin according to the statute of distributions & in the proportions therein prescribed. My reason for these limitations over is principally, that upon the death of her children during infancy the said Sarah would succeed by law to what they derived from their father & might then [x-out] get about one third of what I gave or intended to give to my son Willi -am, namely, a child's part of my estate. And I express the hope, that the provision I have thus made for my daughter in law & her children will suffice for them, especially while the children are young, so that their shares of their father's estate may accumu -late & be ready to meet the larger expenses of advanced age & education. I further will that, after the payment of charges, debts and legacies aforesaid, there be made up in money or North Caro- -lina slaves at valuation to each of my children Minerva, Martha, James & Thomas, with what he or she both respectively had or is charged with in this will as aforesaid the sum of Fifteen [page 4] Fifteen[sic] thousand dollars, so to make each of those four equal with Mary, if there be a sufficiency for that purpose; and then the residue of the fund, if any, to be equally divided among my said five children now living. In making the division I order that Tom Green, the black- -smith & Carpenter, be allotted to my son James at Eight hundred dollars & Ellick at five hundred dollars; and that they boy Clay be allotted to my son Thomas at three hundred & fifty dollars & the boy Haywood at Eight hundred dollars; but these specific ap- -propriations are not to take effect so as in any degree to defeat the payment of the said legacy of Fifteen thousand dollars to my daughter Mary.- And I further will that in the said division the children of my woman Maria belonging to me at my death shall be allotted to my son James at a fair valuation in part of his share of the general fund aforesaid, but if they should happen to exceed his share, then he is to have them at all counts specifically, as it is my intention not to separate any part of Maria's family, but that James should have all of them - even if thereby Mary should lose part of her said pecunia- ry legacy. About twenty years ago I sold to my sister Mary my plantation on Eno & she has had possession of it ever since, but I have never created a conveyance to her. I therefore devise the same to her, my said sister, in fee simple. I direct that my negro woman Milly may choose her owner amongst my five living children, & that he or she so chosen shall take her at a fair valuation. I appoint my son James F. Cain & my son in law Tod R. Caldwell the Executors of this my will, dated this 10th day of April 1856 & with my signature on both sheets. Signed & published by the Testator } as his will in presence of us } Wm Cain Senr after interlineation. - } Maj H. Regan Jurat } Thomas Ruffin Jurat } Robert Moore Jurat } [Will Book Volume G, page 182] I William Cain of Orange County in North Carolina do make this my last will & testament - In order to provide for the early payment of my debts & the convenient division of my Estate, I will and devise all my lands in Alabama & Tennessee & my half of the house & ground in Hillsborough which is held by Mr. John N. Kirkland & myself to be sold in convenient time after my death & turned out & out into personality and also my negroes in Alabama & all my crops on hand or growing at my death, stocks & all other personal estate wheresoever situate excepting my slaves in North Carolina and I authorize my Executors or that one of them who may act under my will to make said sale & to convey to the pur- chaser or purchasers and if necessary I require my heirs at law to concur in Such sales of real estate by joining in conveying the same so as to assure the same effectually to the purchaser or purchasers and as one of my executors may wish to purchase some of the land or other things & it may conduce to enhance the price to allow him to bid & purchase at public sale I do order & direct that my Executors may respectively do so & that such purchases by open bidding at auction shall be valid & proper convey- ances shall be made by the one executor to the other so pur- chasing & if need be by my heirs at law - If my Executors should die before making such sales or refuse or fail to act under my will I empower the person or persons to whom for the time being administration of any personal estate may be committed in North Carolina to make or complete such sales & conveyances. Out of the proceeds of the sale aforesaid & all money on hand or owing to me I order the charges of admin- istration & my debts to be paid in the first instance The residue of the said proceeds of sale money & debts & my slaves in North Carolina & all other lands & other things & rights belonging to me I give & divide amongst the different members of my family as follows The lands in Orange on which I reside [Will Book Volume G, page 183] containing about nineteen hundred & fifty (1950) acres & all my lots houses & real estates in Hillsborough ( except that held my Mr. J. Kirkland & myself & except those herein after devised to Dr. Pride Jones) I give & devise to my son James F. Cain in fee simple and I also give him & his heirs all my right legal & equitable in & to a certain house & grounds on the Oxford road east of Hillsborough formerly belonging to the late P H Mangum for the purchase of which I lately contracted with Mr. Garrard and also twenty one acres of land out of my tract adjoining to be laid off so as to include the peices [sic] I purchased from Mr. Cameron & Dr. Long containing about thirteen acres & to include also eight acres more by a line coming from the corner of the said peices next to the house in which I formerly lived to the Oxford road I am aware that the value of the said real estates thus given to my son James somewhat exceeds nine thousand dollars yet as he is my oldest son now living & I have hitherto made but inconsiderable advancements to him I think it best to estimate it at that sum and I accordingly direct that he be charged in respect thereof with the sum of nine thousand dollars in the division of my estate hereinafter directed. To my son Thomas R. Cain I give in fee simple my mills on little river in Orange County & the tract of land on which they are situate containing about six hun- dred acres, & also another tract in Orange on which one Clements lives as a tenant on the Oxford road below my house & containing about one hundred and forty acres and also all my shares & interest of & in a certain tract of land in Guilford County called the copper mine which I hold with James Webb & others and all other lands which I now own in North Carolina legally or equitably & not herein specifically disposed of and for the same the said Thomas shall be charged with the sum of five thousand dollars in the division of my Estate. I have heretofore given to my daughter Min- erva or her husband Tod R. Caldwell Esquire in [Will Book Volume G, page 184] money & the slaves Dennis & his wife Fanny George Margaret & a boy named Cleg who is a child of Katy to the value of four thousand and four hundred dollars and I have given to my daughter Martha or her husband Dr. Pride Jones in money & the slaves Lizzy & Susan to the value of five thousand dollars and I do now confirm the said several gifts & will that the said Tod R. Caldwell & Pride Jones respect- ively have the issue of the said female slaves now born or that may be born & shall be respectively charged with the said several sum in respect of those prior gifts in the division of my estate and I furthermore give to my son in law Pride Jones in fee simple if he be living at my death & if he be then dead to his wife Martha Ann in his stead the tract of land near Hillsborough which I purchased from David Yarbrough & Miss Burke contain- ing about six hundred & thirty four acres Excepting thereout the eight acres thereof before given to my son James and also six town lots in Hillsborough lying between the said land & Mrs. Hills and I order that he or she as the case may be shall be charged in respect of the said land in this clause given with the sum of nine thousand dollars in the division of my estate. I have heretofore given to my son William now deceased, money & property of differend kinds to the value of six thousand dollars as I estimate it which I mention as having a bearing on the provision hereinafter made for his family I have hitherto ["heretofore" x-out]given to my grand daughter Mary Caldwell a valuable negro girl & I now give to my daughter Minerva Caldwell my Piano Forte and to my daughter Mary C. ["E." overwritten] her maid Amy & a girl named Anna a child of Sally & to my son James F. my female servant Maria as special legacies for the value of which they are not to be accountable in the division. I then give to my daughter Mary [E. or C.] Cain out of the said general fund the sum [Will Book Volume G, page 185] of fifteen thousand dollars payable within two years after my death and I order that it be paid without abatement with other pecuniary or general legacies & at all events, provided only that the fund be sufficient therefor after the payment of charges & debts. I further give thereout to my son James F. Cain the sum of nine thousand dollars payable within two years after my death in trust for the following purposes that is to say to invest the same in the publick debt of North Carolina or in some other secure manner & to receive the interest or dividends accruing thereon & pay the same annually or oftener to Sarah the Widow of my son William, during her widowhood & during the minority of her son William for the better support of herself & the nurture & education of her two children but upon the death or marriage of the said Sarah during the min- ority of her said son or upon the coming of full age of her said son which shall first happen then in trust for the said two children William & Elizabeth equally to be divided between them If one of my said two grand children should die unmarried and under full age of twenty one years, then the share of him or her so dying shall go to the other, provided nevertheless that the anuel profits shall as before be paid to the said Sarah for the use of herself & her surviving child, untill her own marriage or the coming of age of the child but if both of the said children William & Elizabeth should thus die unmarried & under full age then & in that case the whole fund including both the original share & the accrued share of the surviving child shall upon the death of such survivor go to & be equally divided between such of my children as may be then living & if but one then to that one and if I should have no child living at the said time then & in that case the said fund, including both shares shall go to those persons who at that time may be my next of kin according to the statute of distributions & in the [Will Book Volume G, page 186] proportions therein prescribed my reason for these limitations over is principally that upon the death of her children during infancy the said Sarah would succeed by law to what they derived from their father & might thus get about one third of what I have or intended to give to my son William namely a childs part of my estate and I express the hope that the provision I have thus made for my daughter in law & her children will suffice for them espec- ially while the children are young so that their shares of their father's estate may accumulate & be ready to meet the larger expenses of advanced age & education. I further will that after the payment of charges Debts and legacies aforesaid there be made up in money or North Carolina slaves at Valuation to each of my children Minerva, Martha, James & Thomas with what he or she hath respectively had or is charged with in this will as aforesaid the sum of fifteen thousand dollars so to make each of those four equal with Mary if there be a sufficiency for that purpose and then the residue of the fund if any to be equally divided among my said five children now living. In making the division I order that Tom Green the blacksmith & carpenter be allotted to my son James at eight hundred dollars & Ellick at five hundred dollars and that the boy Clay be allotted to my son Thomas at three hundred & fifty dollars & the boy Haywood at eight hundred dollars, but these specific appropriations are not to take effect so as in any degree to defeat the payment of the said legacy of fifteen thousand dollars to my daughter Mary and I further will that in the said division the children of my woman Maria belong- ing to me at my death shall be allotted to my son James at a fair valuation in part of his share of the general fund aforesaid but if they should happen to exceed his share then [Will Book Volume G, page 187] he is to have them at all events specifically as it is my intention not to separate any part of Maria's family but that James should have all of them even if thereby Mary should lose part of her said pecuniary legacy. About twenty years ago I sold to my sister Mary my plantation on Eno & she has had possession of it ever since but I have never executed a conveyance to her I therefore devise the same to her my said sister in fee simple. I direct that my negro woman Milly may choose her owner amongst my five living children & that he or she so chosen shall take her at a fair valuation. I appoint my son James F. Cain & my son in law Tod R. Caldwell the Executors of this my will dated this 10th day of April 1856 & with my signature on both sheets. Signed & published by the testator as his will in presence of us after interlineation. Jas. H. Ruffin | Wm Cain Senr Thomas Ruffin | Robert Moore | Orange County Court November Term 1857 The execution of the foregoing last will and testament of Wm Cain Senr was duly proved in open court according to law see minutes Test Additional Comments: Will Book Volume G, pages 182-187 Recorded Nov 1857 Do not confuse this estate with the estate documented in the folder labeled "Cain, William Dr. (1855)" pertaining to this testator's son, Dr. William Cain who died intestate in 1855, and who is mentioned in the will as having deceased.