Will of Benjamin Westray, 1780 - Isle of Wight Co. VA Isle of Wight Will Book Vol 9 page 60-61 In the name of God Amen, I Benjamin Westray of the Isle of Wight County, being sick and weak in Body but of a sound memory, Thanks be to the Almighty God for the same, and calling to Rememberance the uncertain state of this transitory life do make, ordain and constitute to be my last Will and testament in manner and form following; Item, I give and bequeath unto my well beloved wife Lucy Westray, during her life or widdowhood, Ten head of cattle, one black horse, Ten head of Sheep, Twenty five head of hogs, three feather Beds and furniture, The whole of the pewter, all the pots and pans with all the house hold furniture and one Negro fellow called David, and after her life or widdowhood the whole of the said estate; I give and bequeath unto my children Matthew, Chloe, Mills, Sally and John, to be equally and fairly divided, between and amongst them. Item, I give and bequeath unto my son Matthew Westray One tract of land containing seventy five acres, being the tract of land formerly belonging to Benjamin Tomlin, Dec, one forty gallon still, and one young bay mare to him and his heirs forever. Item, I give and bequeath unto my daughter Chloe Westray one Negro fellow called Dick to her and her heirs forever. Item, I give and bequeath unto my daughter Sally Westray three hundre pounds lawfull money to her and her heirs forever. Item, I give and bequeath unto my son Mills Westray a certain tract or parcel of land whereon William Westray now lives containing fifty acres, and one gun to him and his heirs forever. Item, I give and bequeath to my son John Westray my manor plantation contaning fifty acres to him and his heirs forever. Item, I give and bequeath unto Margaret Tomlin, the widow of Benjamin Tomlin, deceased, two cows. Item, I desire that the residue of my estate of all kind may be sold and after paying my debts and making good the legacy to my daughter Sally Westray, the balance if any I give and bequeath to all my children to be equally and fairly divided amongst them and I do hereby appoint my friend and brother William Westray executor of this my last Will and testament in Witness whereof I do here unto set my hand and affix my seal this tenth day of Januray, one thousand seven hundred and eighty. (he signed his name) Witnesseth Edmond Westray Joseph Westray Elias Westray At a court held for the Isle of Wight County, February the 1st 1781, this Will was presented in Court and proved by the oaths of Edmond Westray, Joseph Westray and Elias Westray, the witnesses thereto, and ordered to be recorded, and William Westray, the executor therein named, refused to take upon himself the burden of the execution thereof and upon presentation of James Johnson, who made oath thereto according to law, and together with Edmund Westray, his security entered into bond, its penalty of one hundred thousand [pounds], with condition as the law directs, certificate is granted him for obtaining letters of [friends?], in due form, administration [????] on the said estate with the will [????] of the said Benjamin Westray. (Submitter note: Naturally, all of these wills were handwritten. I have transcribed them exactly, when possible, as they were written. Anything marked with a [???] is a word that I could not decipher, either due to the poor quality of the photocopy or the will itself.) Submitted by Kelly Sherrill **************************************************************** 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. ****************************************************************