Wayne County, NC - Will & Estate Records File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Elton Cooke 1783 Will of Jones Cook of Wayne County, N. C. No 40 (Page one of two) To all persons to whom these presents shall come or that may be Concerned herewith. Know ye that I Jones Cook of Wayne County in North Carolina, being week of body but of sound mind, do make & ordain this my last will and Testament in the following manner. 1st. I Give to my son Benjamin Cook four Hundred Acres Land lying upon Black Creek Joining Robert Simms & Britain Simms lines to him and his heirs, also a negro Girl named Anna, She & her increase 2nd. I give to my son Arthur Cook one peace of Land Bounded by the School House branch & the mill pond branch Joining Isaac Woodards line upon the other side supposed to be one Hundred & Twenty five Acres to him & his heirs also one feather bed & furniture two Cows & Calves and a negro Girl named Patience and her increase. Turn over, (Page two of two) 3rd. I Give to my son John Cook a peace of land bound along the head of the mill pond branch, which is a bottom, & along sd. Bottom to the buck pond and along the back line to Turners Swamp Supposed to be one hundred & fifty Acres to him and his Heirs also one negro Girl named Beck She & her increase 4th. I Give to my son Stephen Cook the south side of my plan-tation on which I now live bounded by the little branch and the great branch about two Hundred Acres to him & his Heirs, also one feather bed & furniture, also a negro woman named Jude & her increase after this date, also two Cows & Calves 5th. I give to my son Jacob Cook the north Side of my plantation from the little branch bounded by the School House branch and Arthurs line abought two Hundred Acres to him & his Heirs, also two Cows & Calves, also one bed & furniture, also one negro Girl named Rose, she & her increase. 6th. I Give to my daughter Zilphy Cook one feather bed and furniture also a negro Girl named Jinna. 7th. I give to my daughter Sarah Barnes Ten Shillings Sterling 8th. I give to my daughter Mary Hollowell forty Shillings Sterling 9th. I give to my daughter Martha Hollowell Ten Shillings Sterling 10th. I give to my son William Cook Ten Shillings Sterling 11th. I give to my son Thomas Cook Ten Shillings Sterling 12th. I give to Esther Brown one feather bed & furniture 13th. I lend to my wife Martha Cook two negroes named Sharker and Sall to have the full profit of them during her time not to demish or espose of them any way and after her death my will is that my son Thomas have Sharper & my son Benjamin have Sall also my will is that my wife have the use & profit of all the remaining part of my Estate, which is not above mentioned, Consisting of the Horses, Cattle Sheep and Household Goods during her life of widow- hood and after decease to be Equally devided among among my Seven Children Benjamin, Thomas, Arthur, Stephen, Jacob, John and Zilphy. lastly I appoint my sons Thomas, Benjamin & Arthur Cook Executors to this my last will & Testament. 24th Feb'y 1783 (Signed) Jones Cook (Seal) in pres: (Signed) Benja. Arnold (Signed) Isaac Daniel (Signed) Mary Daniel //Source: N. C. State Archives, Wayne County Wills, Inv.'s, Sales of Est.'s, etc 1782-1791, microfilm roll C103.800001, vol. 1, page 40. //Contributor's notes: Jones Cook was one of the original settlers in the area that became Wayne County. Researchers will note that this document does not open with a traditional oath such as "In the name of God amen". __________________________________________________________________________ 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. __________________________________________________________________________