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Josiah's mark on his will

     
Josiah's will:1

This twenteth day of March in ye year of our Lord 1718 I Josiah Whetcomb Senr of Lancaster in ye county of Middlesex in ye province of thy Massachusets Bay in New England yoman being week of body but through ye goodness of God to me of compotent memory & under standing: & being senseble of my own frailty and that I cannot expect to continue heere but a very little while & being desierus to settle that estate that God hath plesed to bestow upon me: I do here make this my last will & testament in maner and forme following: that is to say first and prinsiply I bequeath my soule to God who gave it hopeing to receve free & full pardon of all my sines through ye meritt and mediation of ye Lord Jesous Crist my blessed saivour & glorious redeemer & nextly my body to ye dust to be desently buried with Christin buriall & as for my worldly estate my will is that it be desposed of & settled as is hereafter expresed in this my will Impr I give and bequeath to Rebekah my well beloved wife the improvement of on third part of my real estate with in ye Town of Lancaster dureing her life & one third part of my personall estate borth with in doars & out as shall be found att my decease as allso what shall then be found due to me & money by me to be entierly at her despose towit on third part there of & allso ye improvement of on third part of my buildings

To Josiah Whetcomb my eldest son I give one third part of my town right & rights in commonage which I was possessed of before I gave any part thereof by deed of gift to my other sons allso one eighth part of my land & rights in a plantation called Littleton to be to him ye said Josiah together with what I have already given him by deed of gift I give allso to his son Josiah a certain piece of Meadow known by ye name of Parkers Meadow with about forty three acres of upland adjoining on said meadow

To David Whetcomb my second son I give ten acres of entervaill lying at ye plume trees & five and twenty acres lying at Long Hill & two small peces of medow known by the name of Cranberry Medow & Rattlesnake Medow & allso such a part of my Town right as to make up what I have allredy given him on third part of what I was posesed of before desposed of any part of there of by deeds of gift allso on eighth part of my rights in a plantation called Littleton to be to ye David Whetcomb with what I have allredi given him by deed of gift and allso abought sixty acres of land lying neer ye east corner of Lancaster Town ship

To Hezakiah Whetcomb my yongest son I give all ye remaining part of my humplace excepting ye improvement of third part thereof which I have given to my beloved wife as before expresed and foure acres of upland lying neer Wigwam Medow allso sixty acres of upland lying at Long Hill with all ye remaining part of my Town right & allso one eighth part of my rights in a plantation called Littleton to be to him ye said Hezakiah with what I have allready given him to geather with ye bildens there upon allso his mothers rights in them

To my daughter Rebekah Houghton I give on fifth part of my movable estate that shall be found at my decease & allso one fifth part of my debts & money excepting what I have all ready before willed to my beloved wife & allso on eighth part of my rights in a plantation called Littleton to be for her eldest son when he comes of age

To ye children of my daughter Joanna Joslin I give on fifth part of my movable estate with what shall be found due to me at my decease & money by me & to Peter Joslin her eldest son I give on eaighth part of my rights in a plantation called Littleton excepting as before what I had before willed of my moveble estate to my beloved wife

To my daughter Mary ffarnsworth I give on fifth part of my movable estate and on fifth part of my money & debts which shall be found at my deceas excepting what I had before willed to my beloved wife I allso give on sixteenth part of my rites in a plantation called Littleton to her children which she had by Simon Willard & on sixteenth part to her children which she had by Samuel Farnsworth in the aforesaid land & rights in Littleton

To Damires Wilder I give one fifth part of my moveable estate & moneys & debts which shall be found due to me at my deceas excepting what I before have willed to my beloved wife I allso give to Nathaniell the eldest son of my daughter Damires one eighth part of my rightts in a plantation called Littleton

To Abigel White my yongest daughter I give one fifth part of all my movable estate & moneys & debts which shall be found due to me at my decease accepting what I have before willed to my beloved wife I give allso to Jonathan White her eldest son one eighth part of my rights in a plantation called Littleton

Lastly I do hereby make and constitute my three sones towit Josiah Whetcomb David Whetcomb & Hezakiah Whetcomb joynt executors to this my will & that this is my last will and testament I declare by my hand & seal here to annext ye day and year full above dated

Josiah his x mark Whetcomb

signed sealed and declared in presants of

John Wilder
Joshua Wheeler
Joseph Wilder Sworn 22st Apr 1718 & proved admn. comitted to Hezekiah, David refuted Josiah is deacd...

There was no inventory taken of Josiah's estate. Hezekiah Whitcomb bought Josiah's heirs' rights to his estate on 22 May 1718.2

Children of Josiah Whetcomb and Rebecca Waters:3

i. Josiah, b. and d. 12 Nov. 1665
ii. Josiah, b. 7 Jan. 1666/7
iii. David, b. 20 Feb. 1668 (67/68?)
iv. Rebecca, b. 12 Nov. 1671
v. Joanna, b. 8 Mar. 1673/4
vi. Mary, b. abt. 1677
vii. Hezekiah, b. 14 Sep. 1681
viii. Deborah, b. 26 Dec. 1683
ix. Damaris, b. abt. 28 Mar. 1686
x. Abigail, b. 13 Mar. 1687/8

(Eunice is claimed as a daughter with no reason given, and no evidence of it was found)

vital records sources:

1. Middlesex Co., MA, probate record, case file 24440.
2. Middlesex Co., MA, probate volume 16:72. 3. Henry Nourse, The Birth, Marriage, and Death Register, Church Records and Epitaphs of Lancaster, Massachusetts. 1643-1850 (Lancaster: 1920), Rebecca, 13; Joanna, 14; Hezekiah, 15, Deborah, 15; Damaris, based on her gravestone; Abigail 49)