Will of Thomas Lee, 1861 - Amherst Co. VA "In the name of God Amen! I Thomas Lee of the County of Amherst do hereby make this my last Will and Testament wrote (sic) with my own hand and hereby annulling all other wills heretofore made by me in manner and form following That is to say Item 1st I leave unto my wife Sally [Clements] Lee all my estate, both real and personal during her natural life with the the (sic) exception of legacies hereinafter made or mentioned Item 2nd I give and bequeath unto my five daughters towit Ellen L. Barbour, Mary E. Sandidge, Sarah Ann Lee, Rebecca Jane Lee and Maria Louisa Lee, the following named negro slaves towit William, Eliza and her three children named Lewis, Sam and Mack and future increase together with half of the money remaining in The Lynchburg Citizens Savings Bank at the time of my death to be equally divided among them and their heirs forever. Item 3rd I give and bequeath unto my aforesaid wife Sally Lee the other half of the money remaining in The Lynchburg Citizens Savings Bank together with all the other money due me at my death should the same be necessary to support herself and family and keep up the plantation, she being judge of the necessity with the exception of such money due me by any of the above named legatees. Item 4th It is my desire that my wife give unto any of my legatees any sum of money she may be able to spare, taking their bonds for the same to carry no interest. The sums together with the sums given or that I may hereafter give in same manner to be accounted for at the final division of my estate. Item 5th At the death of my aforesaid wife I will and bequeath unto my aforesaid five daughters all the estate both real and personal hereby loaned unto my said wife, Together with the increase or decrease as the case may be. In witnefs whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal this first day of February one Thousand eight hundred and sixty one. Signed sealed published and Thos Lee (Seal) declared as and for the last will and testament of the above named Thomas Lee in the presence of us. William Ware Nicholas Hicks At a court held for Amherst County on the 16th day of May, 1864 a paper purporting to be the last will and testament of Thomas Lee decd. was produced in court and proved by the oaths of Wm M. Ware and Nicholas Hicks Two subscribing witnefses thereto and was ordered to be recorded and on the motion of Alfred Stith Lee who made oath thereto according to law and together with Joseph Pettyjohn his security entered into and acknowledged a bond in the penalty of $20,000 conditioned according to law which is ordered to be recorded a certificate is granted him for obtaining letters of administration unto the will annexed of Thos Lee decd in due form. Teste Sam'l M. Garland Clerk Submitted by William Lee Sandidge Rowe **************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Files may be printed or copied for personal use only. ****************************************************************