SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY, VA - WILLS AND ESTATES - James Gardner, 23 Aug 1784 --------------¤¤¤¤¤¤-------------- IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN I James Gardner Sr of Southampton County & state of Virginia being sick and weak of body but of sound & disposing mind & memory, thanks be to almighty God for the same, and calling to mind the uncertainty of this life and knowing that it is appointed once for all men to die, do make and ordain this my last will & testament in manner following: First & principally I recommend my soul into the hands of almighty God & my body to the ground from whence it was taken, hoping at the last day to receive that blessed pentence, come ye blessed children of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the beginning. And also what worldly estate it hath pleased God to bestow on me I give and bequeath in manner & form following, vizt: Item: I give and bequeath unto my son James Gardner Jr ninety seven acres of woodland being part of a survey executed by myself and James Daughtry, dec'd, bounded by the land of Col. Benjamin Baker, Matthew Gardner, the county line & his own land that he bought of John Daughtry to him his heirs and assigns forever. Item: I give and bequeath unto three of my grand children, sons of my son John Gardner, dec'd, to wit: Jesse, David & John the land & plantation that I bought of Thomas Thorp containing three hundred acres adjoining the land I now live on, Nicholas Cobb, & the tract that I give my son Jesse Gardner binding by a dividing line made between him & this tract by myself & Nicholas Cobb to them, their heirs and assigns forever equally. Item: I give & bequeath unto my son Jesse Gardner the land and plantation he now lives on bounded by a dividing line between this tract and the tract given to my grand children, Robert Darden and the county line thence by that line to the Cedar Swamp thence up the said swamp to the aforesaid dividing line to the beginning containing three hundred acres, the residue to Thorp, also one hundred & seventy five acres bought land purchased of Thomas Thorp agreeable to a patent granted Rev.? Bagent called and known by the name of Gale Berry to him his heirs & assigns forever. Item: I give and bequeath unto my son Joseph Gardner the land & plantation I now live on provided he shall at any time before his mothers death come and enjoy the same and on his own? appearance, I give and bequeath the land and plantation as is hereafter expressed to him his heirs & assigns forever. Item: I give and bequeath unto my daughter Judah Holland, wife of Thomas Holland, one neg. fellow called Jake, had in possession several years, to her & to heirs forever. Item: I give & bequeath unto my daughter Mary Vaughan, wife of James Vaughan, one neg. woman & her increase call'd Phebe, had in possession several years, to her & her heirs & assigns forever. Item: I give and bequeath unto my daughter Sarah, wife of William Fowler, one neg. fellow called young Caesar, had in possession many years, to her & to her heirs & assigns forever. Item: I give and bequeath unto my daughter Margarett, wife of Josiah Vick, one neg. fellow call'd old Caesar, had in possession few years, to her & to her heirs and assigns forever. Item: I give and bequeath unto Martha my daughter, wife of Abinger Buxton, five shillings current money for her part of my estate to her & to her heirs & assigns forever saving the lent of a small negro boy call'd Jubiter unto Joseph Buxton her son shall arrive to lawfull age or marriage or otherwise as hereafter express'd and that she shall possess him immediately after my death. Item: I give and bequeath unto my daughter Penelope Gardner, one negro girl call Eady to her together with her increase to heirs & assigns forever. Item: I give and bequeath unto my grandchild the aforesaid Joseph Buxton, son of Martha Buxton, the aforesaid neg. boy called Jubiter that I lend to Martha, his mother, untill Joseph shall arrive to lawful age or married & at the expiration of either time he shall possess and enjoy the said negro boy Jubiter to him his heirs and assigns forever but in case that Joseph Buxton should die before either time or without lawful heir of his body, that then the said neg. boy Jubiter shall descend and come into my estate again and be divided between the same of my children as the other of my estate is to be divided amongst as hereafter expresseed. Item: I give and bequeath unto my loving wife Sarah Gardner during her natural life four neg. viz: Pompey, Harry, Nell and old Nann, ten head, her choice of my stock of cattle, ten head her choice of the stock of hogs, exclusive of what she may necessarily stand in need of for her next? years provission, the use of one still this year rented to Matthew Gardner, one bay mare called Betsy, ten head her choice of sheep, all the household & kitchen furniture, all the plantation utensils, all the crop of every kind this year till'd and made by me, also the use of the plantation & land I now live on together with the use of the land & plantation that I purchased of John Laurence, son of Henry, call'd & known by the name of South Quay place and after her death I give & beequeath the land & plantation I now live on provided Joseph Gardner should not return, the land & plantation called the Twin Place, the neg. given her Pompey, Harry, Nell & old Nann together with the whole of the estate given her of what nature or kind soever be equally divided between Judah Holland, Mary Vaughan, Sarah Fowler, Margarett Vick, Penelope Gardner, & Honour Gardner, James Gardner Jr, Jesse Gardner & three of my grandchildren, sons of John Gardner, dec'd, to wit: Jesse, David & John observing that the said three grand children Jesse, David & John is to be considered and it is the meaning and intent that they shall receive and be intitled to know more than one of my own children share and taken as one legatee? to them their heirs and assigns forever. Item: I give and bequeath and it is my will & desire that the remainder of my estate of what nature or kind soever that I have not before devis'd away be after my death equally devided, to wit: neg. young Nann, Ned, Tom, Easter & Patience & all the residue between the same of my children & grand children and under the same direction & meaning as the estate given my wife after her death is to be divided amongst to them their heirs and assigns forever. Lastly, it is my will and desire that my three friends Joshua Gardner Sr, John Carr and Henry Gardner will after my death take so much upon themselves as to state? divide and settle the whole of my estate whenever such division shall happen if the same within their power lies between the persons intitled to receive the same and further I appoint my loving wife Sarah Gardner, my brother Joshua Gardner & my son Jesse Gardner my whole and sole Executors to this my Last Will & Testament revoking & disannulling all former Will or Wills by be (me) hitherto made allowing this and no other to be my Last Will and Testament. IN WITNESS whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affix'd my seal this 23 day of August 1784. his James X Gardner (seal) mark Sign'd, seal'd, publish'd and declared in presence of us: Joshua Gardner John Carr Matthew Gardner Henry Gardner At a Court held for the County of Southampton the 12th day of December 1793 This Will was presented in court by Jesse Gardner, one of the Executors therein named & prov'd by the oath of Matthew Gardner & Henry Gardner, two of the witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded, and on the motion of the said Executor who made oath according to law, Certificate is granted him for obtaining a Probat thereof in due form giving security whereupon &c. Sam Kello, Cl. Source: Library of Virginia, Will Book 4, 1783-1797 Southampton Co, VA Reel 17, pages 598-600 Note: Viz stands for videlicet and means "that is to say: namely". Paragraphing and some punctuation was added by transcriber for ease in reading. There are no paragraphs in the original. ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Von Mings Stachon vonstac@comcast.net ___________________________________________________________________