Essex County, VA Will of Alice Forbess (Gouldman), 1698 Submitted for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES 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. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net ************************************************************************ "IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN, "I, Alice Forbess of ye County of Essex, Widow, being sick & weak in body but of sound & perfect mind & memory thanks be give unto Almighty God for ye same, & considering with my selfe ye frailty of this life & ye certainty of death & ye uncertainty of time thereof, do make & ordaine this my last Will and Testamt. in manner & forme following: "First & principally, I comend my soul into ye hands of Almighty God my Creator hoping & assuredly believing through the merritts death and passion of his only Son & my only Savior & Redeemer Jesus Christ to obtaine full and free pardon & remission of all my sins & inherit everlasting life & my body I comit to ye earth from whence it was taken to be decently interred according to ye discrecon of my Exers. herin after named. "And touching ye disposition of such Temporal Estate as it hath pleased God in his great mercy to bestow upon me I give devise & bequeath ye same as followeth: "Impr. I give & bequeath unto my Son, Fra. Gouldman five 'sterling to buy him a peece of plate in remembrance of me. "Item. I give & bequeath unto John Thacker, ye Son of Samuel Thacker, one Cow ye choice of any that I now have; "Item. I give & devise & bequeath unto my Son, Edward Gouldman, all my tract of land whereon I now live containing by estimacon three hundred & eighty acres (be the same more or less) wch: I lately purchased of Jeremy Axum & Thomas Godwin, all all ye houses orchards & appurtenances thereon being or thereunto belonging, to hould unto my Son, Edward Gouldman, and ye heirs of his body lawfully begotten fore ever and for default of such issue, I give and devise and bequeath ye sd. tract of land with ye appurtenances unto my Son, Francis Gouldman, and his heirs for ever; "Item. all ye rest and residue of my Negroe slaves, English Servants, money tobacco, plate, debts and securities for debts, cattle hogs, house hold stuff & other personal estate whatsoever not herein given & bequeathed, my Debts Legacies & funerall expenses being first paid & discharged, I give & bequeath unto my Son Edward Gouldman, & I do make and constitute my sd. Sons, Edward Gouldman & Francis Gouldman, Exrs. of this my last Will and Testatamt. And I do hereby revoke make void all former & other Wills be me at any time heretoforemade & do published & declare this to be my last Will & Testament. "In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & affixed my seal ye Second day of June in the year of our Lord 1698. "Sealed & delivered published & declared Alice Forbess in ye presence of Samll Thacker John Pettie Tho. Gregson 'Proved by the oaths of ye witnesses hereto in Essex County Court ye 10th day of November 1698 and truely recorded Test Francis Meriwethere, Cl. Ct." (This was sent me by Becky Banks 3/2/01 and was taken from the LDS files in Salt Lake City. I do not have Deed book and page numbers. Assume they can be obtained easily from date at Essex Co.)