Will of Col. Robert Armistead; Wm. and Mary Qrtly., Vol. 13, No. 4

Transcribed by Kathy Merrill for the USGenWeb Archives Special Collections Project

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 WILL OF COL. ROBERT ARMISTEAD.

   In the Name of God, Amen.  I, Robert Armistead, the elder, of Elizabeth City County, being 
sick of Body but of sound Mind, do make this my last Will and Testament in Manner following:

   Imprimis.  I recommend my Soul to God, its Maker.  I give and bequeath unto my Son, William
Armistead, all the Lands I possess at Sawyer's swamp, to him and his heirs forever.

   Item.  I give the Plantation whereon I formerly lived to Son James Armistead, provide he
shall live during the Term mentioned in a Lease granted to me for the same by the Trustees of
Eaton's Free School, it being Part of the said Land.  And in case of his Death before the
Expiration of the said Lease, then I give the same unto my Son William Armistead.

   Item.  I give all the Slaves now in my Son-in-Law, Joseph Selden's, Poss'on, & their
increase, to him & his heirs, which have been delivered to him some time.

   Item.  I give & bequeath unto my Son, Wm. Armistad, & his Heirs, my Slaves Malaca & Bess,
In Trust, nevertheless, upon this Condition & for no other, To hold in Trust for the Use of
my Son, James Armistead, during his natural life, subject in any James' Debts, and after his
Death in Trust, & the children of him, the sd. James, and Their Heirs.

   Item.  I give to my Son, Thos. Armistead, and his Heirs, my Negro Boy named Cato.

   Item.  I give to my Son, Moss Wallace Armistead, my Negro Boy Toney, to him & his Heirs,
which, together with what Money and other Things I have given him, will make him equal with
my other children, & is all I intend to do for him.

   Item.  I give unto my Son, Robert Armistead, & his Heirs, my Negores Boatswane, Phebe,
Charles, Juba, Rose & Dinah.

   Item.  I give my Negro Girl Nanny to my Granddaughter,

Page 245.

Euphan Armistead, daughter of my Son William, to her & her Heirs.

   Item.  I give all the Residue of my Shares & personal Estate to my two Sons, William and
Thomas Armistead, to them & their Heirs, equally to be divided between them.

   What provision I've here made for my Son James, together with what Money I have before given
him & have been obliged to pay for him, is all I intend to do for him.

   Item.  I hereby release all my Children from all Debts they may owe me at the Time of my
Death.

   Lastly, I constitute and appoint my Son, William Armistead, & my Friend, Richard Cary,
Executors of this, my last Will & Testament, hereby revoking all other Wills heretofore by me
made.  And I order that my Estate be not appraised or my Executors held to Security.

   In Witness whereof I have hereto set my Hand & Seal, this 28th Day of July, Anno Dom. 1771.
Signed, Sealed published
& declared by the Testator to
be his last Will & Testament,
in Presence of us.
              Richd. Cary.                    R. Armistead.     (Seal).

   At a Court held for Eliza. City County, Novr. 2, 1774, This Will was presented in Court,
and proved by the Oaths of Witnesses thereto, and Ordered to be recorded.  And, on the motion
of Wm. Armistead, Gent., one of the Executors in the Will named, who made Oath according to
Law, Certificate is Granted him for Obtaining a probat thereof in due form (no Security re-
quired), and Richard Cary, the other Executor named in the said Will, appeared in Court &
refused to take upon him the Executorship thereof.
                     Teste:                       Cary Selden, Cl.
   A copy - Teste:  H. H. Holt, Clerk (1904).*

   *This will shows that QUARTERLY, VI., 233, does not give the full list of the children of
Colonel Armistead.  He had issue:  1.  William

Page 246.

Armistead, who married Mary Latham Curle, sister of Judge William R. W. Curle; 2.  James;
3.  Robert, clerk of Blandford Church from 1771 to 1787; died in Petersburg, where his will,
proved in 1802, names wife Margaret, sons Harry and Patrick, daughters Euphan and Polly (see
QUARTERLY, VII., 183).  4. Thomas, who moved to Blandford and died in Petersburg in 1791.  His
wife, Margaret, made her will in 1777, and it was proved in 1792.  She was a widow Fawn when
she married Armistead, and had a son, John Fawn.  She mentions, in 1777, her present husband,
Thomas Armistead, daughter Anna Currie Armistead, and such other children "as I may hve by my
present husband, Thomas Armistead".  Witness, John Thweatt.  Probably a son, born later, was
Theodorick Armistead, of Norfolk (QUARTERLY, VII., 183).  5.  Moss Wallace Armistead, whose
will, proved in Elizabeth City county, 1786, names wife Catherine, son Moss and daughters
Ann, Mary, Priscilla (QUARTERLY, VII., 182).  6.  Euphan married Joseph Selden.