Individual Details

Will

Northumberland Co., PA, Will Book 1, pp.138-40 [caps and paragraphs added; abbreviations spelled out in full; all other spelling as in the original transcription in the Will Book].
EDWARD WILKISON's Will.
"In the name of God. Amen, I EDWARD WILKISON of Shamokin Township in the County of Northumberland & Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, being weak in body, but of perfect mind & memory; Do make Ordain & Constitute this to be my last Will and Testament and principally & first of all, I Give & recommend my Soul to God who gave it, and my body I recommend to the Earth to be Buried in a decent Christian way & manner at the discretion of my Executors hereinafter mentioned, nothing doubting best at General Resurrection I shall Receive the same again, by the Mighty power of God, And as touching such worldly estate, wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me with in this life, I Give devise & dispose of the same in manner & form following
"First, I order & direct my funeral Charges and Just Debts to be paid out of the whole of my Estate.
"Item, I Give and bequeath unto my beloved wife SARAH the use of all my Household Goods during her natural Life; And one Milk Cow, her choice of all my Cows. And I order and direct my Sons, to wit, ALLEN, JOHN, JOSEPH, & my grand Son GIDEON WILKISON, to join equally and to pay or cause to be paid their Respective proportions & deliver unto my beloved wife SARAH, One Ton of good Hay, and other feed sufficient as may be deemed necessary for one Cow, every year during her stay in the Township aforesaid. I also order & direct my said Sons ALLEN, JOHN, JOSEPH, and my Grand Son GIDEON WILKISON to Join equally & pay or Cause to be paid unto my beloved wife the Just Sum of twelve pounds Gold or deliver money non Current on Pennsylvania, each and every year, during her natural life, in Lieu of her right of Dower, but if that is not Sufficient as She Grows old, I allow her Fifteen pounds per year.
"Item, I Give and bequeath unto my beloved son JOHN WILKISON & to his Heirs and Assigns forever, one Equal fourth part of the Land & premises I now live on; Beginning at a White Oak, a Corner of MICHAEL MOORs land, thence by the same a South Course to a post a Corner of the said MOORs land, and mine, and then West so far as Shall make in full the said fourth part.
"Item. I Give and bequeath unto my beloved son JOSEPH & to his Heirs and Assigns forever one other fourth part of my said Plantation, next adjoining all along & on the West Side of my Son JOHNs part.
"Item. I also Give & bequeath to GIDDEON WILKISON, son of my Son AARON WILKISON Deceased and to his heirs and Assigns forever, One other fourth part of my said Plantation, next & adjoining to that above bequeathed to my son JOSEPH with making an Offset my Son ALLENs house, so far as to have out the said ALLENs house and Spring, and said ALLEN WILKISON to make up the same quantity of Land so taken off at GIDDEONs North West Corner--
"Item. I also give & bequeath unto my beloved Son, ALLEN the Remainder fourth part of my said plantation whereon he now lives unto him his Heirs and Assigns forever.
"I do hereby order and direct my said Grandson GIDDEON WILKISON to pay or Cause to be paid to his brother MOSES at the time he comes to age twenty two pounds ten Shillings Lawful money of Pennsylvania, and to his sisters MARY, KEZIAH, MARTHA and DEBORAH, each forty shillings, MARYs to be paid in one year after my Decease, without Interest, and forty Shillings each Year afterwards, without Interest, untill [sic] his said Sisters be paid.--
"I do further order & it is my Will & desire that MARY WILKISON, Widow & Relict of my Son AARON WILKISON, shall have her residence & Maintenance on GIDDEONs part of the Land during her Widowhood.
"I do further order and direct my Son ALLEN to pay unto WILLIAM WILKISON Son of my Son AZARIAH WILKISON Deceased, Fifteen pounds lawful money, at the Expiration of two years after my Decease, without Interest; forty Shillings thereof being part of the last mentioned fifteen pounds, I order and direct the said WILLIAM to pay to his Sister MARGARET,
"Also I order and direct my Son JOHN, to pay EDWARD WILKISON son of my Son AZARIAH fifteen pounds lawful money, two years after my Decease, without Interest; forty Shillings thereof I order the said EDWARD to pay to his Sister CATHARINE if then living;
"I also Order my Son JOSEPH to pay unto BROOKS WILKISON Son of my Son AZARIAH WILKISON the Sum of fifteen pounds two years after my Decease, and the said BROOKS I order and [smudged] to give forty Shillings thereof to his other Sister, whose name I cannot Recollect,
"I order and strickly [sic] charge GIDDEON WILKISON to let my Son JAMES WILKISON have the use of four Acres of Land during his Natural life, on the South side of Shamokin Creek where said JAMES has planted some Apple Trees.
"also I Give & bequeath unto my Son JAMES the horse & Colt, and one Cow & Heffer [sic] & Calf, and five Sheep, that he now Claims.
"Also I order & direct my Sons to wit ALLEN, JOHN, JOSEPH, and my Grandson GIDEON to give my said Son JAMES, such further Support as he may Reasonably Stand in need of at the discretion of my Executors herein after mentioned during his natural life, I also Give unto my son JAMES the Bed he now makes use of, and all the Bedding belonging thereto.
"I order and allow [sic] the Remainder of my personal Estate to be sold by my Executors and the money arising therefrom to be divided amongst my Daughters to wit my Eldest Daughtor [sic] JANE twenty Shillings and no more, and to my Daughter MARY twenty Shillings and no more and the Remainder of the money to be Equally divided between my Daughters, REBACAH, EUNUS, ELIZABETH & JANE & MARYs Children.
"And I further Order that at the decease of my beloved wife, all my household furniture. I gave her the use of, to be sold by my Executors herein after named, and the money arising therefrom to be Equally divided amongst my Daughters to wit, REBACAH, EUNUS, ELIZABETH and the Children of my Daughters JANE & MARY.
"I also Give unto my Daughters REBACAH, EUNUS, ELIZABETH and the Children of my Daughters JEAN [sic] and MARY all the money of a Certain Bond I have against ANTHONY KEIGER when recovered Share and Share alike.
"I also order and Direct my Son ALLEN to pay & lift a Certain Bond that he and myself gave to JOHN LANE in East Jersy [sic].
"Whereas it has been neglected to have mentioned my Son in laws names in this my Will, to wit MATHIAS LITTLE, LON LAMISON, BENJ. KELLY & WILLIAM VERNOR
"It is my Will & meaning that the Legacy before bequeathed to my Daughter JEAN [sic] is to her and her heirs, Also, in full of all their Right claim & demand to my Estate both Real & personal forever.
"Also the foregoing Legacys, to my Daughter REBECAH, MARY, & UNUS, I leave to them & their Husbands Respectively, in full of all Rights to my Estate both Real & personal forever;
"Lastly I Constitute and appoint my well beloved son JOHN WILKISON & my true and trusty friend JOHN KELLY my sole Executors, and I do hereby Authorise them to do & fullfill [sic] all the purposes, & true intent & meaning of this my last Will & Testament as I could or might do were I personally present, And I do hereby revoke & disanul all other Wills by me heretofore made and done, Ratifying this and no other to be my last Will & Testament
"In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & Seal this twenty ninth day of November in the Year of our Lord 1794
"Edward / his X mark / Wilkison
"Signed Sealed Published & pronounced by the said EDWARD WILKISON as his last Will and Testament in the presence of us, MICHAEL MOORE, JOHN [ink smudged] ALEXANDER MOORE
"Northumberland County __. Be it remembered that on the first day of January in the year of our Lord 1795. Before me JOHN SIMPSON Esquire Registor for the County aforesaid, Personally appeared MICHAEL MOORE & JOHN MOORE, two of the Subscribing Witnesses to the foregoing Will or Instrument of writing and made Oath on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God that they saw EDWARD WILKISON put his mark with his own hand to the same and heard him Publish & declare it to be his last Will & Testament and that they together with ALEXANDER MOORE, Subscribed their names as Witnesses to the same, that this Happened in the Sickness of the said EDWARD WILKISON, & that [deceased] at the time of so doing [was] of sound and disposing mind & memory as they believed
"In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my Hand the Day and Year aforesaid
"[signed] John Simpson, Regr
"Be it remembered that on the first Day of January in the Year of our Lord 1795. before me was proved and approved the last Will and Testament of the said EDWARD WILKISON deceased, of which the foregoing Record is a true Copy and Letters Testamentary issued in due and Common Form of Law to JOHN WILKISON and JOHN KELLY, Executors therein named, on the same day, Witness my Hand the same Day and Year
"[signed] J. Simpson Regr."