Southampton County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Wills.....Wills, James, 1862 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ James WILLS (1785-1862), will dated 1854, proved 17 Nov 1862; & widow Edith WILLS (1785-aft 1862), renunciation of husband's will, given 13 Dec 1862, recorded 15 Dec 1862 In the name of God, Amen; I James Wills of the County of Southampton and state of Virginia do ordain, constitute and appoint this my last will and testament in manner and form following Item 1st. To my son James W. Wills I give and devise the tract of land known as the Lawrence tract containing about four hundred acres, to him and his heirs forever. Item 2d. To my son Irvin C. Wills I give and devise that part of my land lying on Nottoway river known as the Briggs and Barrett land containing about four hundred acres and divided from the homestead or old Place by a line recently chopped by myself, to him and his heirs forever. Item 3d. To my wife Edith Wills I give and devise that part of my land known as the homestead or old place to have and to hold during her life or widowhood and after her death or marriage then I give and devise the said homestead or old Place to my son Thomas R. Wills to him and his heirs forever. Item 4th. To my wife Edith Wills I give and bequeath my slaves Jacob, Ben, Agnes and Winney to have and to hold during her life or widowhood and after her death or marriage I give and bequeath the said Slaves to be equally divided among all my children. Item 5th. I give and bequeath the remainder of my slaves to be equally divided among all my children, no regard being had in such division to any advancement which I may heretofore have made to either of my Said children in Slaves or money, it not being my intention that such advancement shall be brought into hotchpot or accounted for in the division of any part of my estate_ Item 6th. I desire my Executor herein after named to sell all the balance of my chattel estate_ Item 7th. I give and bequeath to my wife Edith Wills one third of the Proceeds of the sale of my chattel estate and one third of my moneyed estate to have and to hold during her life or widowhood and after her death or marriage I give and bequeath the same to be equally divided among all my children_ Item 8th. I give and bequeath the other two thirds of the proceeds of the sale of my chattel estate, and of my moneyed estate to be equally divided among all my children_ Item 9th. I hereby nominate and appoint Edward W. Massenburg the executor of this my last will and testament hereby revoking all other and former wills and testaments by me heretofore made. Item 10th. I give and bequeath to my sons Irvin C. and Thomas R. Wills the debt due me from the Nottoway Sawmill company for timber cut off: the lands given them under the 2d. and 3d. clauses of this will to be divided between them in the same proportion that the timber has been cut from the land given to each, and should I collect the said debt or my part of it, then I desire my executor, to divide the amount so collected in the proportion aforesaid between my said sons Irvin C. and Thomas R. before any of my moneyed estate is divided under the 7th. and 8th. clauses_ Item 11th. I give and bequeath my Stills to my three sons James W., Irvin C. and Thomas R., the Said Stills to remain where they are and to be jointly and equally used by all three. Item 12th. I give and bequeath to my three sons and to my wife one bed each. In Witness whereof I hereunto sign my name and affix my seal this (blank) day of (blank) 1854. James Wills (seal) In presence of, T. A. Scoggin (seal) Joshua Crumpler (seal) Edwin Daughtrey (seal) At a court held for the county of Southampton on the 17th day of November 1862. This last will and Testament of James Wills decd. was this day Proved by the oaths of T. A. Scoggin, Joshua Crumpler and Edwin Daughtrey the subscribing witnesses thereto and thereupon ordered to be recorded And on the motion of Edward W. Massenburg the executor therein named who made oath and together with James D. Massenburg and William W. Cobb his Securities (who justified on oath as to their Sufficiency) entered into and acknowledged a bond in the penalty of twenty five thousand dollars, conditioned according to law, certificate is granted him for obtaining a Probat of the said will in due form. Teste L.R. Edwards CC [margin note] Widows renunci- ation Recorded page 564. ******************************************************************************** To the Hon: County Court of Southampton Personally appeared before me on the thirteenth of December 1862, Edith Wills, widow of James Wills and made the following declaration, That she is dissatisfied with the provision made in the will of her decd. Husband and wishes so much of the same as relates to her set aside, and claims the benefit of the law as made an provided as if no will had been made. Decr 15th 1862. Joshua Pretlow J.P. At a Court held for the County of Southampton on the 15th. day of December 1862 The renunciation of Edith Wills of the provision made for her in the will of her husband James Wills decd. acknowledged before Joshua Pretlow a justice of the Peace of this County, was this day returned and ordered to be recorded. Teste L.R. Edwards CC Southampton Co., VA, Will Book 17, 1860-1863, pp. 549-50, 564 The Library of Virginia (LVA), Richmond, VA LVA, Southampton Co. Microfilm Reel 23 images online at The Brantley Family Association Southampton Project: http://www.brantleyassociation.com/southampton_project/southampton_project_list.htm [Transcribed by Dale Whitfield (whitfieldroots@aol.com), and re-formatted by File Manager.] [COBB, CRUMPLER, DAUGHTREY, MASSENBURG, SCOGGIN, WELLS, WILLIS, WILLS]