1856 - Pratt to James - Caroline Co, VA
Manumission Item Data Item Type Metadata
Date
08/11/1856
Manumitter
Manumitted
Number of Persons
1
Text of Freedom Document
I John Pratt of Caroline in the County of Carolina Va do make & ordain this my last will and testament as follows.
1st I give to my son John Pratt the whole of my Camden tract of land in the County of Caroline containing about 1350 acres with the household & kitchen furniture, farming implements & utensils horses mules & stock of every kind & the following servants viz Sarah, Morton & his wife Dashney & their son Sylas & one half of the residue of the slaves that may be on the Camden estate at the time of my death. It is my will however that all the slaves I may leave on the Camden estate at the time of my death are to remain thereon until the end of the year, to secure the crop then growing or to be raised, which crops with any on hand & the money I may leave in bonds or other ways may be applied to the payment of my debts & if insufficient, the deficiency must be raised by the sale of such slaves on the Camden Estate as my sons may think proper to sell prior to a division of them between themselves should my son John die & leave no issue, I give the whole of my Camden tract of land to my son Wm. C. Prath.
2nd I give to my son Wm. C. Pratt a tract of land in Spotsylvania County known by the name Landsdowne, containing about 830 acres with all & singular its appurtenances, the slaves, stock, farming, implements & utensils, & every thing thereunto appertaining or belonging. I have given to my son William my Mattophony tract of land in the County of Caroline a few miles below Bowling Green. I also give him the following slaves in addition to those before mentioned viz. Matilda & her increase, Robert, Sam, John, Billy, Lucinda, and Becks children, and one half of the slaves on the Camden Estate at the time of my death subject however to the limitation of the 1st clause of this will.
3rd I give to James the eldest son of my servant Sarah, his freedom from the time of my death & to effect his emancipation & comfortable settlement in a free state, I appropriate fifteen hundred dollars to be raised by my sons John & W.C. Pratt jointly & equally from the property I have devised to them, and by them applied to this purpose. Should James be an apprentice to any trade at the time of my death, my sons will attend to the execution of this clause of my will at the proper time.
4th I hereby appoint & constitute my sons John & Wm. C. Pratt Executors of this my last will & testament and desire that they be permitted to qualify as such without giving security.
The above is written with my own hand and I hereunto subscribed my name and affix my seal this 1st day of December in the year 1853.
Acknowledged as my last will Jno. Pratt (seal)
& testament in the presence of
Woodson Wright
Jno. T. Boutwell
Jous H Waring
James Barbou
At a court of quarterly session held for Caroline County at the Court House on Monday the 11th of August 1856.
The last will and testament of John Pratt dec’d was offered for proof, by Wm. C. Pratt the exor therein named & the subscribing witnesses not being present John L. Pendleton and P.H. Pendleton were sworn who deposeth as follows, that they were well acquainted with the hand writing of said Pratt & verily believe the said writing to be wholly in his hand writing and that they believed the said Pratt to be in his proper mind and memory. Whereupon it is ordered that said writing be recorded, and on the motion of Wm. C. Pratt the executor named in said will, he having taken the oath of an exor entered into and acknowledged a bond in the penalty of $250.00 conditioned according to law, certificate is granted him for obtaining a probate of said will in due form no security the testator by his will requesting that none should be required.
Teste,
John L. Pendleton Clk
1st I give to my son John Pratt the whole of my Camden tract of land in the County of Caroline containing about 1350 acres with the household & kitchen furniture, farming implements & utensils horses mules & stock of every kind & the following servants viz Sarah, Morton & his wife Dashney & their son Sylas & one half of the residue of the slaves that may be on the Camden estate at the time of my death. It is my will however that all the slaves I may leave on the Camden estate at the time of my death are to remain thereon until the end of the year, to secure the crop then growing or to be raised, which crops with any on hand & the money I may leave in bonds or other ways may be applied to the payment of my debts & if insufficient, the deficiency must be raised by the sale of such slaves on the Camden Estate as my sons may think proper to sell prior to a division of them between themselves should my son John die & leave no issue, I give the whole of my Camden tract of land to my son Wm. C. Prath.
2nd I give to my son Wm. C. Pratt a tract of land in Spotsylvania County known by the name Landsdowne, containing about 830 acres with all & singular its appurtenances, the slaves, stock, farming, implements & utensils, & every thing thereunto appertaining or belonging. I have given to my son William my Mattophony tract of land in the County of Caroline a few miles below Bowling Green. I also give him the following slaves in addition to those before mentioned viz. Matilda & her increase, Robert, Sam, John, Billy, Lucinda, and Becks children, and one half of the slaves on the Camden Estate at the time of my death subject however to the limitation of the 1st clause of this will.
3rd I give to James the eldest son of my servant Sarah, his freedom from the time of my death & to effect his emancipation & comfortable settlement in a free state, I appropriate fifteen hundred dollars to be raised by my sons John & W.C. Pratt jointly & equally from the property I have devised to them, and by them applied to this purpose. Should James be an apprentice to any trade at the time of my death, my sons will attend to the execution of this clause of my will at the proper time.
4th I hereby appoint & constitute my sons John & Wm. C. Pratt Executors of this my last will & testament and desire that they be permitted to qualify as such without giving security.
The above is written with my own hand and I hereunto subscribed my name and affix my seal this 1st day of December in the year 1853.
Acknowledged as my last will Jno. Pratt (seal)
& testament in the presence of
Woodson Wright
Jno. T. Boutwell
Jous H Waring
James Barbou
At a court of quarterly session held for Caroline County at the Court House on Monday the 11th of August 1856.
The last will and testament of John Pratt dec’d was offered for proof, by Wm. C. Pratt the exor therein named & the subscribing witnesses not being present John L. Pendleton and P.H. Pendleton were sworn who deposeth as follows, that they were well acquainted with the hand writing of said Pratt & verily believe the said writing to be wholly in his hand writing and that they believed the said Pratt to be in his proper mind and memory. Whereupon it is ordered that said writing be recorded, and on the motion of Wm. C. Pratt the executor named in said will, he having taken the oath of an exor entered into and acknowledged a bond in the penalty of $250.00 conditioned according to law, certificate is granted him for obtaining a probate of said will in due form no security the testator by his will requesting that none should be required.
Teste,
John L. Pendleton Clk
Record Location
WB 29:434
Document Type
Last Will & Testament
Files
Collection
Citation
“1856 - Pratt to James - Caroline Co, VA,” Manumission Project, accessed December 12, 2024, https://manumissionproject.omeka.net/items/show/1809.