FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA - WILLS - Richard Conway, 5 Jun 1804 ----¤¤¤---- Born November 11, 1740, Northumberland Co., Virginia Died November 27, 1806, Alexandria, Virginia Father: John Conway (1702 - 1755) Mother: Frances Sinah Spann (Abt. 1710 - 1782) WILL OF RICHARD CONWAY I Richard Conway of the town and County of Alexandria in the District of Columbia do make and ordain this to be my last will and testament in manner and form following, that is to say: Imprimis it is my will and desire that all my just debts and funeral charges be fully satisfied and paid. Item I give and devise unto my wife Mary Conway her heirs and assigns the following slaves to wit: Edenburgh, Sarah, Zitta, Jenny, Mill (?), Hassy, Caroline, and Charlotte and all their future increase from the date hereof also twenty five of the shares which I now hold in the Marine Insurance Company of the Town of Alexandria, one share in the Theatre of the said Town and the following books to wit, one large Bible by the late Reverend John Bronyer (?), one large prayer book, Johnson’s Dictionary, the Domestick Encyclopedia, Goldsmith’s Animated Nature, Western and Abercrombie on gardening, the complete housewife by Mrs. Smith, S. Steino (?) works in eight volumes and the Guardian in two volumes. Item I give and devise unto my said wife Mary Conway during her natural life all my lands wherever they be (except my lott in the City of Washington which I got in exchange for my lott of ground in Carrolsburgh, and two pieces of ground contiguous to the town of Alexandria herein after devised unto Mary West and Ann Margaret West daughters of my late friend Roger West) all my lotts of ground, houses, warehouses and wharf in the town of Alexandria, the rents arising from sundry pieces of ground granted by me in the said town, the dividends arising from my shares in the Bank of Alexandria, and my remaining shares in the Marine Insurance Company of the said town. Item after the payment of my just debts and funeral charges and the specific legacies hereby given particular friends, I give and devise unto my said wife Mary Conway, her heirs, executors, administrators and assigns forever all of my ______ and ______ of every kind and sort, all of my Household furniture of every kind and sort, and all of my stocks of every kind, my liquors, ____ money, and ______ debts whatever they may consist of, whether of ______ Bills of exchange, Judgments, Bonds, ____ bills, notes of hand, or open accounts, my Negroes not herein before mentioned, my plate of any kind and sort, and all the rest and residue of my personal estate wherever it may be or whatever it may consist of (except my shares in the Bank of Alexandria and the residue of my Shares in the Marine Insurance Company of the same town). Item I give and devise unto my brother Joseph Conway his heirs and assigns forever my lott of ground in the City of Washington which I got in exchange for my lott of ground in the town of Carrolsburg, one share in the Potomack Company, one share in the Theatre in the town of Alexandria, one Bridle and saddle, one fowling piece, my sword and pistol, all my books of every description except those herein specifically divesed. Item I give and devise unto my Nephew Chaplin Conway, son of my Brother John Spann Conway, Chamber’s dictionary, Byron’s (?) _____, Carterets (?) and C__ Voyages to the pacific ocean, a dictionary of arts and sciences in four Volumes, Mosse’s (?) geography, Baly’s dictionary, and one Saddle and Bridle to him and to his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns forever. Item I give and devise unto my Nephews Thomas Conway and Robert Conway sons of my brother Robert Conway deceased, all my wearing apparel of every kind, all the cloth in the house or at the Taylors intended for my apparel at the time of my death, to them forever. Item I give and devise unto John West the son of my late friend Roger West, the Family Bible which I bought at the sale of his Grand Father’s Estate. Item I give and devise unto Mary West daughter of my late friend Roger West and to her heirs and assigns forever two acres of the land which I have contiguous to the town of Alexandria to be laid off upon the west side of Washington Street extended as near to the lands of Charles Alexander as they can be located so as to have a Street on the North, South and West sides, the said two acres being intended to comprise one complete square according to the plan of the town of Alexandria. Item I give and devise unto Ann Margaret West a daughter of my late friend Roger West and to her heirs and assigns forever, two acres of my land contiguous to the said Town of Alexandria to be laid off upon the west side of Washington Street extended in such manner as to form a complete square according to the plan of the said Town of Alexandria with a street upon every side the said square to be located next to the square hereby devised to Mary West with only a street between them. Item after the death of my said wife Mary Conway It is my will and desire and I do hereby order and direct that all my lands wherever they lie, all my lotts of ground, Houses, warehouses and wharf in the town of Alexandria, and the rents arising from the grounds I have granted ____ rent and which have I hereby devised unto my said Wife during her natural life be sold by my surviving Executors or such of my surviving Executors as may have taken upon themselves the execution of this my Will upon a credit of six, twelve and eighteen months my said Executors paying particular attention to securing the punctual payments of the purchase money and that my said Executors do convert my shares in the Bank of Alexandria, and the residue of my shares in the Marine Insurance Company of the said town into Money at such times as to have the money arising from them ready to distribute in the manner herein after directed at the time the first payment for my said lands can be received and ready for distribution. All the money arising from the sale of my lands, lotts, houses, Warehouses, Wharf, Shares in the Bank of Alexandria and Marine Insurance Company and rents I give and devise unto my Brothers and sisters who may be then living and the descendants of such of my brothers and sisters as may before that time have departed this life to be divided in ____ proportions among them as any sum of money or other personal Estate would have been distributed among them in case of my having died in testate. Lastly I nominate and Appoint my Wife Mary Executrix (?) brother Joseph and my friends William Herbert ______ and Edmund Jennings Lee Executors of this my last Will and testament. And I do hereby revoke and annul all former and other Wills by me heretofore made declaring this and no other to be my true last will and Testament. On Witness whereof I have to this my last will and Testament contained on two sides of paper and part of a third side set my hand and affixed my Seal this fifth day of June one thousand eight hundred and four. Richd. Conway Signed, Sealed, published and declared by the said Richard Conway to be his last will and testament in presence of Ja. Keith John Mandeville Ch. Douglas Memd. 1st July 1806. I will get Mr. James Keith to alter my Will and divide my estate between my Brother Joseph Conway, and the Son of my brother John Span Conway named Chaplin Conway and the son of my brother Robert Conway named Robert Conway who now goes to school to Mr. Cowing, to be equally divided among the above named persons; but when he writes the will I shall designate each persons part; but perhaps it may not be equally worth alike, and this I say shall be my last Will and testament, Richd. Conway Mary West and Ann Margaret West the Daughters of my late friend Roger West I have devised two acres of land to each is ___ to hold it as devised before, and John West their brother is to have the family bible. Richd. Conway July 1st 1806 Codicils to the Will of Richard Conway directed by him to be written this seventh day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and six as follows to wit; I give devise and bequeath to William Herbert of Alexandria his heirs and assigns forever in trust for the use of my nephew Robert Conway (son of my brother Robert Conway) his heirs and assigns forever, the lott of ground on which I now live described in the plan of the town of Alexandria by the number two, together with all the houses and appurtenances thereon and thereunto belonging; also my fishing landing (lying between my house and the place formerly occupied by Baldwin Dade) bounded on the West by Fairfax Street and the East by the river Potomac. And I also give and bequeath to the said William Herbert, his Executors administrators and assigns In trust for the use of my said Nephew Robert Conway his Executors, administrators and assigns all the household furniture now in my house of any of the houses on the said lott and all my stock of liquors which may be upon hand at the time of my death, also all my riding carriages, Waggons, Carts, drays, Horses, and Cattle of every description, and also thirty shares of the Bank stock standing in my name on the books of the Bank of Alexandria, also all the provisions I have on hand. I give and bequeath unto my brother Joseph Conway his heirs and assigns forever, all the wharf property of which I am sized and possessed in the Town of Alexandria, to wit, all the ground, houses, wharves, rents and appurtenances thereunto belonging which are now in the Tenure and occupation of Marstetter and Young, biscuit Bakers, under the rent of fourteen hundred and twenty dollars per annum, except the first bake house and yard, to the westward of Union Street and fifty (forty) feet _____ from Union Street to the River Potomac and ______ on the north side of ____ _____ which with the proportion of said I give and bequeath unto my Nephew Thomas Conway, son of my Brother Robert Conway his heirs and assigns forever, subject to the conditions of the legacies (?) that devised to my brother Joseph. And all the said bequests I make to my Nephews and brother over and above their proportion of the rest of my Estate, which I direct my Executors to pay to them as devised after and out of the Sales. I give unto my nephew Chaplin Conway, Moses Geographical grammar and Chambers Dictionary with the appendix, and all the rest of my books and library I give to my Brother Joseph Conway. I give and bequeath to Margaret Ashton my Negro woman Sal and her child with their future increase. And I direct the rest of my estate not contained in these Codicils to be divided and given as directed by my said Will. And I do emancipate and set free my Negro Atoman (?) Zilla. In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Seal the Seventeenth day of November 1806-- Richd. Conway SEAL Sealed & delivered in presence of: Jas. Craik Andw. Jamieson Cleon Moore Will proved at a session of the Orphans Court for the County of Alexandria in the District of Columbia the 6th day of December 1806. ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Bill Arnebeck warnebeck@aol.com ___________________________________________________________________