WILL OF MARK H. PETTWAY
Wilcox County Will Book, Vol.4, p. 194-197

Transcribed by ALGenWeb, bjsmothers@prairiebluff.com


Know all men by those present that I Mark H. Pettway of the County of Wilcox & State of Alabama considering the uncertainty of life & being of sound & disposing mind & memory do make [,] declare and publish this my last will and testament~.

First. I give & bequeath unto my beloved Wife Marena C. Pettway all my household and kitchen furniture of every discription and also the following property to be selected by herself to wit a carriage [,] a buggy [,] two cariage horses [,] ten mules and plows and plow gear for the same [,] twenty head of cattle [,] ten sows and their pigs [,] fifty head of sheep [,] one yoke of oxen [,] one six horse wagon [,] one horse cart [,] one ox cart [,] fifteen hundred bushels of corn [,] twenty thousand pounds of fodder & oats [,] a sufficient quantity of both cotton seed and peas for her to plant one crop [,] also the following negroes and their increase to wit: Charles, Dilcey Barbaras, Dorcas, Sophia & her infants (no name), Ann & her three children, Tammy & child, Betsey, Sainas, Granny, Peter No 14, Ottway, Tom, Sallie, Ann & two children, Henry, Warren, Tena, Lucy, Joe son of Tena, Sousan, Scynthia, Madison, Becca Granvill & Granvill, Wiley, Booker, Betty Nelson, Alfred & Wife, Ginny & carpenter tools, Susan daughter of Dempsey and old Hannah, to have and hold all the above named property to her and her Executors [,] Administrators and assigns forever. I also give and bequeath unto my said wife all my tract of land containing thirty-six hundred acres more or less, and the apputenances [,] profits and income, to have and to hold the same to her during her natural life and on this following conditions to wit that none of said land shall be cultivated or used in any manner whatsoever by any person or persons than my children, nor shall any of said be cut or cleared or cultivated for any purpose other than such portions as may have been cultivated at the time of my death.

Second. I give and bequeath to my brother in law John B. Williams and my son in law Joseph S. Jones both of Warren County and State of north Carolina in trust for my daughter Martha H. Clark and her children the following Negroes and their increse to wit: Jerry Julia Jack Charity Marena Warren, Barbara gr. Daniel, Charlotte Nelson, Piney, Easter Dawson, Anna, Sylla, Sam, Alex Mack, Caroline, Mary, Altimare -the ugly- Bett, Frank, Charles, Grand Penelope to have and hold the same in trust for the sole use & benefit of my said daughter and her children free from the control and management of her husband. And at the death of my said daughter Martha H. Clark I desire and so direct that all the property received by the said trustees above named shall be equally divided among the children of the said Martha H. Clark. I also give and bequeath to the said John B. Williams and Joseph S. Jones as said trustees all other property of every description whatsoever that I may give or may descend from my Estateto my said daughter.

Third. I give and bequeath to my daughter Elisabeth W. Irby wife of William Irby the following Negroes and their increase to wit: Emperor, Louisa, Child Charlotte, Toney, Altimore, Ellen and Elijah.

Fourth. I give and bequeath to my daughter Lucy B. Jones wife of Joseph S. Jones the following negroes and their increase to wit: Anderson, Caroline, Child Sylvia, Moses, Peter and Dinah.

Fifth. I give and bequeath to my daughter H. Emma Jones wife of Charles O. Jones the following negroes and their increase to wit: Osca, Betsy, Payton, Mardy, Nancy, Minerva, Child Alfred, Tom & Patsey.

Sixth. I give and bequeath to my daughter Mary R. Pettway the following negroes and their increase to wit: Burgess, Pleasant, Bynum, Racheal, Milton, Leo*, Lydia, Charlotte, Viney, George Ph*den, Alex, Amos, Francis of Sidney, Jane Sarah and Allen.

Seventh. I give and bequeath to my daughter Sarah T. Pettway the following negroes and their to wit: Austin, Emiline, Bust, Henrietta, Junius, Cherry, Jim, Zack, Ann Lane, Linda daughter of Sidney, Rose daughter of Nancy, William Henry and wife Fanny, Robert son of Ellen, Washington Lucy Ann and old Adam.

Eighth. I give and bequeath to my daughter Laura T. Pettway thr following negroes and their increase to wit: David, Robert son of Sidney, Major son of Martha, Abram, Chaney, Gabriel, Eliza, Suckey, Emiline, Arie daughter of Fanny, Lewis, Lavinia, Jacob, Hary, Lucinda, Neptune and Becca Adams.

Ninth. I give and bequeath to my daughter, Rosalie M. Pettway the following negroes and their increase to wit: Lunsford Sidney child of Stephen, Martha Emily, Hilliard, Becca, child Harriett, Booker son of Penny, Shade, Sany, Hezekiah, Ned, Jesse, John and Penny.

Tenth. I give and bequeath to my son John H. Pettway the following negroes and their increase to wit: Anthony, Martha, Henderson, Bathemia Dempseys and his black Smith tools, Hannah, Dempsey Jr, Dock, Austin son of Tina, Joe, Daniel, Primus, Alvina, William Black, Smith & Wife Mary, Woorly, Wyatt and Sandy. And also give to my said son John H. the gold watch usually worn by myself.

Eleventh. I desire my Executors hereinafter named deliver such of my property as is herein before disposed of and my plantation and my plantation [sic] to be discontinued at such time as intheir opinion the interest of my Estate may require but in no event shall my negroes be given up or taken from my plantation until the crop of Eighteen hundred & sixty-one shall have been made & gattire. And when the said negroes are delivered and said plantationis no longer kept up by my executors, I desire and so direct that all my property not herein before disposed of such as stock, farming utensils to be sold at public sale on a credit of twelve months with interest from days of sale the mone[y] arising from said sale I fereby direct shall be equally divided between my following children to wit: Mary R. [,] Sarah T. [,] Laura T. [,] John H. [,] and Rosalie M..

Twelfth. At or near the end of the year after the death of my beloved wife I desire and do direct that all my tract of land be sold at public sale in one body on one, two and three years from day of sale with interest and the proceeds of said sale to be equally divided between my children to wit: Martha H. Clark, Lucy B. Jones, Elizabeth W. Irby, H. Emma Jones, Mary P. [,] sarah T. [,] Laura T. [,] John H. [,] Rosalie M. and my grand child Willie C. Jones daughter of John E. Jones. And I further desire and do hereby so declare that my said grand daughter shall not take or receive any more or a quarter interest in my Estate than is given to her in this sectiona and further that she is not to receive the same until she becomes of age or marries and in the case of her death before said period [,] the property received by her is to be equally divided between my children above named.

Thirteenth. I give and bequeath to my grand daughter Hellen Clark daughter of Martha H. Clark the following negroes abd their increase to wit[:] Seina and her infant name unknown.

Fourteenth. I give and bequeath to my grand son William M. Clark son of Martha H. Clark a gold watch known as the watch with the gold face.

Fifteenth. I desire the remainder of my property or what ever has not been disposed of to be equally among my said children and in the manner above named [,] each child to share alike.

Sixteenth. I do nominate and appoint my brother in law John B. Williams and my son in law Joseph S. Jones both of Warren County and State of North Carolina to be the Executor of this my last will & testimony.

In testimony whereof I have to this my last will and testimony subscribed my name and affixed my seal this the twelfth day of July one thousand Eight hundred and Sixty.

M.H. Pettway {Seal}

Signed Sealed declared and published by the said Mark H. Pettway as and for his last will and Testament in the presence of us who at his request and in his presence and in the presence of each other have subscribed our names hereto

A. Tomlinson
Jas. L. Linam

State of Alabama § Probate Court of said
Wilcox County    § County

In the Matter of the Probate of the last will & testament of Mark H. Pettway, deceased.

Before me Yo. S. Cook Judge of the Probate Court of said County & State personally appeared in open court [,] A. Tomlinson and James L. Linam who having been by me first respectfully duly sworn & examined did & do depose and say on oath that they are each subscribing witness to the instrument of writing now shown to them and which purports to be the last will & Testament of Mark H. Pettway deceased late of an inhabitant of this county.

That said Pettway since deceased signed [and] executed said instrument on the day the same bears date and declared the same to be his last will & Testament and that appoints set their signatures thereto in the same bears date as subscribing witnesses to the same in the presence of said testator. That said testator was of sound mind & disposing memory and in the opinions of deponents fully capable of making his will at the time the same was so made as aforesaid. Affiants further state that said testaor was on the day of the said date of said will of the full age of twenty one years and upwards.

Subscribed and sworn to § 
before me this 11th day § A. Tomlinson
of February 1861        § James L. Linam

Yo. S. Cook
Judge


«« BACK
August 6, 1999
© 1999 by . All rights reserved.