WILL OF WILLIAM SMYTH
1775

In the name of God Amen. I Wm Smyth of Peters Township County of Cumberland & Province of Pennsylvania being in some measure indisposed in body yet through the abundant goodness of Almighty God of sound mind & memory calling to mind the uncertainty of this life & that it is appointed for all men once to die do constitute & make this my Last Will & Testament in manner & form following that is to say

First I give & bequeath my soul to God who gave it & my body to the dust from whence it was taken in full assurance of the Resurrection from thence at the Last Day looking for pardon & mercy from God only through the prevailing & complete satisfaction of Jesus Christ.

As to what --------- I will & ----- order that all my just debts ---- discharged as also my funeral expenses. I also will that my wife Mary shall have one bed & its furniture of her own --- & that all the residue of the household furniture shall remain in her possession until my minor children come to mature age at which time she shall have full power to divide it among them at her own discretion.

Item. I also will that she shall have the third part of the --?-- of my personal estate that is of the sum arising when sold by my exrs hereinafter mention'd as also a third part of all outstanding debts whether by bond note or book acct. Item. I further will that my minor children be maintain'd and educated by my wife at her discretion & direction whether in a state of widowhood or marriage & to enable for the better to do the same I will & order that she shall have the managemt of & enjoy all the profits arising from the farm I now live on that is as distinct from the tenemt whereon my soninlaw Saml Findlay now dwells & is to be hereafter describ'd provided nevertheless I do hereby will & order that she my wife do pay yearly every year the sum of ten pounds into the hand of the guardians here nam'd (to be by them manag'd in trust for the use of my son Wm) until he my son William shall come to mature age & that her enjoyment & management shall continue no longer than until my son Robert shall come to the age of twenty one years at which time she may enter upon & take possession of that messuage or piece of land on which William Robinson now lives to be laid off beginning at my line by the corner of Widow Black's garden & running thence easterly along my meadow fence until it strikes the southwest corner of my barn field by ----- line across the meadow to the western fence of --------- the south side thereof & by that fence in a direct course --- the bounding line of the farm I now dwell on ------------------ describ'd I will & bequeath to ---- her life free of all incumbrances but upon her ----- revert back to the estate of my son Robert hereafter mentioned & I do hereby will & order that if my wife Mary shall die whether in a state of widowhood or marriage before my son Robert comes to mature age that then the farm I now live on (be rented?) by the exers & guardians hereafter to be mention'd or a majority of them & the money thence arising is to be applied for the maintenance education & use of the children in the same manner as before directed which minors in that case I will to be under said guardians care & disposal.

Item. I will & confirm to my soninlaw Saml Findlay or upon his decease to his wife Jane the use of that tenemt upon which they now dwell that is all the priviledges he now enjoys upon it (except --- and selling of green lumber) untill my son William arrives at the age of twenty one years.

Item. I give & bequeath unto my son William his heirs & assigns forever all that messuage or tenement of land (part of my original tract) on which Saml Findlay now dwells with all its advantages & improvements to be entered upon & possess'd by him when at mature age. Beginning at a white oak joining Robert Smith's (land?) & ---- thence eighty three degrees west fifty two perches to a sycamore then south 7 degrees west two hundred & fifty perches to a ------ then north seventy six degrees west eighty perches to a post thence north one degree east two hundred twenty four perches to the place of beginning containing ninety two acres & allowance. I also will & order that my son William his heirs & assigns forever shall have full liberty & priviledge to convey water by cannal trough or otherwise from my mill race to the (lanyard?) erected upon the tenement above describ'd sufficient for the uses thereof. I also give & bequeath to my said son William his heirs & assigns forever all that tract of land called the Haggy(?) Meadow situate in Air Township in the little cove.

Item. I give & bequeath to my son Robert his heirs & assigns forever all that messuage or tract of land on which I now live with all the advantages and improvements thereof (except the legacies & bequeathments above mentioned to be fully possessed by him at mature age. As to my lands on Licking Creek now occupied by John ------ having bargained with him to sell it to him for seventy pounds currency of Pennsylvania I do hereby ----- impower my executors upon his paying to them the said seventy pounds with lawfull interest for the same within three years after the date of this Testament to make him a lawfull conveyance of said land. And whereas about twelve years ago I sold a part of the original tract on which I now dwell to my brother Smyth containing about a hundred & thirty acres at thirty shills per acre to be paid yearly gales(?) of thirty pounds a year all which he has (not?) yet discharg'd & whereas he bought said tract from me subject to the purchase money quitrent & interest due or to become due to the proprietors & writings concerning the whole bargain having been neglected to be taken I will & order that upon his paying the whole of the proprietaries dues from said tract from the first grant of them (except a proportional part according to the quantity of land he bought of ten pounds paid into the office by James Black) as also upon his paying to my exrs --- the purchase money that upon settlement ------------------ estate with lawfull interest for the same according to the date (of?) the several deficiencies in payment or upon his giving sufficient security for the payment of all these sums at the expiration of the term of three years from the date of this Testament then in that case my executors shall make to the said Robert Smyth a sufficient & lawfull conveyance of said tract of land & on which he now dwells. As to my other lands not as yet mentioned that is to say that tract of land on the head springs of the ---- creek now tenanted by Morris Michlemar; that tract in the forks of the Yogh & Muningahela called the Mill Seat adjoining Morris Brady; my interest in lands on Crooked Creek in partnership with Doctor Allison & Saml Findlay as m---- on the same (footing?) in that tract at the old ---- as also my improvement & land on Patterson's Run --- & order it to be sold at the discretion of my exrs & guardians (or a?) majority of them hereby authorizing them ---------------.

Item. I will --------- all the money arising from the sale of these lands as also the two third of that part of my personal estate which I have ordered to be sold & the two thirds of all my just debts be applied to the following purposes that is I will & order that one hundred & fifty pounds thereof be given to my daughter Mary on her marriage or at mature age as also that all my lands ----- bequeath'd to my two sons be patented thereout & that the residue (if any) be equally divided among all my children as well married as unmarried.

Item. I will that if my daughter Mary should die before marriage or maturity her part of my estate herin bequeath'd to her shall be equally divided between my two daughters Jane & Rebecca & that if any one of my sons shall die before mature age that then his part herein shall devolve to the surviving son and lastly I do hereby constitute & appoint my trusty & well beloved friends my brother Abraham Smyth my son-in-law John Johnston & Dugal Campbell exrs of this my Last Will & Testament & Jonathan Smith James McDowell & Mathew Wilson guardians of my minor children & estate. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal acknowledging this to be my Last Will & Testament this seventh day of September in the year of our Lord 1774.

Wm Smith (seal) --- sealed & acknowledged --- presence of
-----s Johnston
---ard Moore
-------- Robinson

Be it remembered that on the ?th day of April 1775 Letters Testamentary were granted to Abraham Smith John Johnston & Dugal Cambel exrs nam'd in the Last Will & Testament of Wm Smith dec'd of which the foregoing record is a true copy. Inventory & acc't to be exhibited in time appointed by law.