1856 - Jones to Bob - Spotsylvania Co, VA
Manumission Item Data Item Type Metadata
Date
12/01/1856
Manumitter
Manumitted
Number of Persons
1
Text of Freedom Document
In the name of God Amen, I Philip H. Jones now of Spotsylvania but late of Louisa County do make & publish my last will & testament hereby revoking all former wills in manner & following that is to say:
Item 1st It is my will that all my just debts shall be paid by collection of monies due me. This fund will be amply sufficient to satisfy them, but if not I direct my Executors hereinafter named to sell my tract of land lying in the upper end of Louisa County for that purpose.
Item 2nd I lend my slaves & their future increase now in the possession of William S M Spotswood of Orange County to my nieces Ann E W Walker & Martha P Spotswood & to my nephew Philip A. Spotswood during their lives to be equally divided among them. At the death of my said nieces & nephews I give them to their children. If any of them should die without children or lineal descendants, I give her or his lot of the said negroes with their increase to the children of his or her brother & sister or sisters. If my said nieces & nephew should leave no children or descendants, I give the said negroes to the children of my deceased brother Charles S. Jones. It is my meaning & intention that the children of my deceased brother shall not take them unless my said niece & nephew shall leave no children or descendants.
Item 3rd The estate of my brother Charles S. Jones is largely indebted to me upwards of six thousand dollars, the annual interest of which I wish collected & applied to the education of his infant daughters Susan & Frances Jones until they receive an education equal to that of my other nieces of which my Executors are to be the judges when they are educated & not before I give the said debt to the children of my said brother to be equally divided among them.
Item 4th I give the residue of my estate of every kind & description to my brother Gabriel Jones to him & to his heirs forever. The bonds & other evidences of monies due me by my brother Gabriel Jones shall not constitute a part of the fund to pay my debts unless required by a want of income from other sources, nor shall my slaves be sold for that purpose until all other means are exhausted except the monies due me by my brother Gabriel Jones, it being my intent & meaning that he shall not be disturbed unless there should be a failure from all other sources. I am sure, however, that the fund set apart for the payment of my debts will be sufficient to satisfy them. It is my request & wish that my brother will provide in his will that the estate I have left to him shall not go to strangers but in the event that his daughters should leave no children or in the event of their death without children that he will give it to our blood relations.
Item 5th It shall not be necessary to obtain a decree or order of Court to sell any part of my Estate which may be done by my Executors who are authorized to do it & pass & convey the necessary letters. If any difficulties should arise in the settlement of my estate which cannot be done without suits, my Executors are authorized to submit them to disinterested & judicious men whose settlement and award shall be binding, unless manifest injustice should be discovered. I intend this provision to apply to any & all suits which may be brought against them on account of my transactions in relation to estates. If my Executors should discover or be satisfied that I have done injustice to any estate, I authorize them to correct it as there will be a sufficient fund to pay my debts from collections I do not wish the usual sale only on inventory taken & returned to the Clerk’s office.
Item 6th I wish my Executors to pay to the Rev. Samuel Harris of Louisa the sum of one hundred dollars out of my estate who is requested to appropriate it to missionary purposes in propagating the Christian religion. I also wish my Executors to give to my negroes in the possession of William S. M. Spotswood to sum of fifty dollars in [illegible] thing & bedclothing which I wish them [illegible] shall deliver to Ann E.W. Walker and [illegible] Spotswood who are requested to distribute it among them.
Item 7th I do hereby appoint & constitute my brother Gabriel Jones and Jonathan T. Cowherd the Executors of this my last will & testament & request the court in which it may be recorded to permit them to qualify as such without being required to give the usual security. If they should not live or to complete it, I appoint and constitute my nephews Ferdinand Jones & Char. Jones executors as their successors. In witness whereof I have hereto set my hand & affixed my seal this 2nd day of November 1855.
Philip H. Jones (seal)
Codicil to the foregoing will. I intended to give my negro man Bob his freedom but in writing the foregoing will it escaped me he may elect to go to Liberia or to the State of Ohio & to be removed at the charge of my estate. If he elects to go to Ohio, I wish him to be sent to the neighborhood in which the Executors of the late William Reyland settled his negroes. I wish my brother to make a suitable provision for him. If he should not be willing to accept his freedom, I wish my brother or my Executors to dispose of him at his death in such away as to secure to him a good & humane master & to be paid annually a part of his earnings. He shall have the privilege of accepting his freedom at any period of his life but to remain with my brother & to labor as a slave as long as he stays in this state. I have allowed him some fifteen or twenty dollars for the last two or three years & wish my brother to pay him a part of his earnings. It is to be understood that I give to my brother Gabriel Jones all the money that he owes me which may be seen by reference to his bonds. I include it in the residue of my estate. Witness my hand & seal this 2nd day of November 1855.
The erasure in the Philip H. Jones (seal)
2nd line of the
codicil made by me.
P.H. Jones
Codicil to my last will & testament
It is my will that the debt due to me by the estate of my deceased brother Charles S. Jones shall not be disturbed during the life of his widow Sarah K. Jones & it is further my will that the slaves shall not after her death be sold to pay it. I mean the slaves belonging to his estate. The children are required to arrange it without a sale of the property or any other. Witness my hand & seal this 24th day of November 1855.
Philip H. Jones (seal)
Codicil to my last will & testament
It is to be understood & such is my will that if I should survive my brother, I give to his daughters Ann E. Bullock & Harriet N. Jones that part of my estate which I have given to him but it is to be controlled in all respects by the provisions of his will subject to the same restrictions & limitations & managed by the trustees appointed in his will. It is my will also that if I survive him all the bonds or evidences of debts due by him to me shall be cancelled & destroyed intending that his estate shall not be liable for them.
As my man Bob is likely to be disabled, the balance of his life I give him an annuity of fifty dollars which is to be paid to him by my Executors at the end of every year one half of which (twenty five dollars) shall be paid out of the interest of the debt due by the estate of my brother Charles & the other half by my brother Gabriel Jones. It is my will that the Executors of my brother Charles shall set apart a sufficient sum out of the debt due me the interest on which will pay their half of the yearly sum given to him, I have given him his freedom & whether he accepts it or not I give him this annuity in addition to the provision in my will to be paid to him whether free or not. Witness my hand & seal this 11th day of Feby 1856.
Philip H. Jones (seal)
P.S. It is to be understood that I give Bob the annuity of fifty dollars unconditionally whether disabled or not.
Philip H. Jones (seal)
In my last will I have given the debt due to me by the estate of my brother Charles Jones to his children which is still my will, except a sufficient sum to raise the annuity within mentioned & on the death of Bob the negro man mentioned I give that sum to his children.
Philip H. Jones (seal)
In Spotsylvania County Court Dec 1st
A writing purported to be the 1856 last will & testament of Philip H. Jones dec’d was this day produced in court & there being no subscribing witnesses thereto, John James Chew & Edward H. Layne were called in court & being sworn severally deposed that they were well acquainted with the handwriting of the Testator & have frequently seen him write & that they verily believe that the said writing together with the codicils thereto annexed are wholly in the handwriting of the said Philip H. Jones dec’d. Wherefrom the said writing together with the codicils thereto is ordered to be recorded, as the last true will & testament of the said Philip H. Jones dec’d & on the motion of Gabriel Jones & Jonathan Cowherd, the Executors therein named who made oath thereto & entered into and acknowledged a bond in the penalty of $60,000 without security, the will requiring none conditioned as the law directs, certificate is granted them for obtaining a probate of said will in due form.
Teste, R.C. Dabney Clk
Item 1st It is my will that all my just debts shall be paid by collection of monies due me. This fund will be amply sufficient to satisfy them, but if not I direct my Executors hereinafter named to sell my tract of land lying in the upper end of Louisa County for that purpose.
Item 2nd I lend my slaves & their future increase now in the possession of William S M Spotswood of Orange County to my nieces Ann E W Walker & Martha P Spotswood & to my nephew Philip A. Spotswood during their lives to be equally divided among them. At the death of my said nieces & nephews I give them to their children. If any of them should die without children or lineal descendants, I give her or his lot of the said negroes with their increase to the children of his or her brother & sister or sisters. If my said nieces & nephew should leave no children or descendants, I give the said negroes to the children of my deceased brother Charles S. Jones. It is my meaning & intention that the children of my deceased brother shall not take them unless my said niece & nephew shall leave no children or descendants.
Item 3rd The estate of my brother Charles S. Jones is largely indebted to me upwards of six thousand dollars, the annual interest of which I wish collected & applied to the education of his infant daughters Susan & Frances Jones until they receive an education equal to that of my other nieces of which my Executors are to be the judges when they are educated & not before I give the said debt to the children of my said brother to be equally divided among them.
Item 4th I give the residue of my estate of every kind & description to my brother Gabriel Jones to him & to his heirs forever. The bonds & other evidences of monies due me by my brother Gabriel Jones shall not constitute a part of the fund to pay my debts unless required by a want of income from other sources, nor shall my slaves be sold for that purpose until all other means are exhausted except the monies due me by my brother Gabriel Jones, it being my intent & meaning that he shall not be disturbed unless there should be a failure from all other sources. I am sure, however, that the fund set apart for the payment of my debts will be sufficient to satisfy them. It is my request & wish that my brother will provide in his will that the estate I have left to him shall not go to strangers but in the event that his daughters should leave no children or in the event of their death without children that he will give it to our blood relations.
Item 5th It shall not be necessary to obtain a decree or order of Court to sell any part of my Estate which may be done by my Executors who are authorized to do it & pass & convey the necessary letters. If any difficulties should arise in the settlement of my estate which cannot be done without suits, my Executors are authorized to submit them to disinterested & judicious men whose settlement and award shall be binding, unless manifest injustice should be discovered. I intend this provision to apply to any & all suits which may be brought against them on account of my transactions in relation to estates. If my Executors should discover or be satisfied that I have done injustice to any estate, I authorize them to correct it as there will be a sufficient fund to pay my debts from collections I do not wish the usual sale only on inventory taken & returned to the Clerk’s office.
Item 6th I wish my Executors to pay to the Rev. Samuel Harris of Louisa the sum of one hundred dollars out of my estate who is requested to appropriate it to missionary purposes in propagating the Christian religion. I also wish my Executors to give to my negroes in the possession of William S. M. Spotswood to sum of fifty dollars in [illegible] thing & bedclothing which I wish them [illegible] shall deliver to Ann E.W. Walker and [illegible] Spotswood who are requested to distribute it among them.
Item 7th I do hereby appoint & constitute my brother Gabriel Jones and Jonathan T. Cowherd the Executors of this my last will & testament & request the court in which it may be recorded to permit them to qualify as such without being required to give the usual security. If they should not live or to complete it, I appoint and constitute my nephews Ferdinand Jones & Char. Jones executors as their successors. In witness whereof I have hereto set my hand & affixed my seal this 2nd day of November 1855.
Philip H. Jones (seal)
Codicil to the foregoing will. I intended to give my negro man Bob his freedom but in writing the foregoing will it escaped me he may elect to go to Liberia or to the State of Ohio & to be removed at the charge of my estate. If he elects to go to Ohio, I wish him to be sent to the neighborhood in which the Executors of the late William Reyland settled his negroes. I wish my brother to make a suitable provision for him. If he should not be willing to accept his freedom, I wish my brother or my Executors to dispose of him at his death in such away as to secure to him a good & humane master & to be paid annually a part of his earnings. He shall have the privilege of accepting his freedom at any period of his life but to remain with my brother & to labor as a slave as long as he stays in this state. I have allowed him some fifteen or twenty dollars for the last two or three years & wish my brother to pay him a part of his earnings. It is to be understood that I give to my brother Gabriel Jones all the money that he owes me which may be seen by reference to his bonds. I include it in the residue of my estate. Witness my hand & seal this 2nd day of November 1855.
The erasure in the Philip H. Jones (seal)
2nd line of the
codicil made by me.
P.H. Jones
Codicil to my last will & testament
It is my will that the debt due to me by the estate of my deceased brother Charles S. Jones shall not be disturbed during the life of his widow Sarah K. Jones & it is further my will that the slaves shall not after her death be sold to pay it. I mean the slaves belonging to his estate. The children are required to arrange it without a sale of the property or any other. Witness my hand & seal this 24th day of November 1855.
Philip H. Jones (seal)
Codicil to my last will & testament
It is to be understood & such is my will that if I should survive my brother, I give to his daughters Ann E. Bullock & Harriet N. Jones that part of my estate which I have given to him but it is to be controlled in all respects by the provisions of his will subject to the same restrictions & limitations & managed by the trustees appointed in his will. It is my will also that if I survive him all the bonds or evidences of debts due by him to me shall be cancelled & destroyed intending that his estate shall not be liable for them.
As my man Bob is likely to be disabled, the balance of his life I give him an annuity of fifty dollars which is to be paid to him by my Executors at the end of every year one half of which (twenty five dollars) shall be paid out of the interest of the debt due by the estate of my brother Charles & the other half by my brother Gabriel Jones. It is my will that the Executors of my brother Charles shall set apart a sufficient sum out of the debt due me the interest on which will pay their half of the yearly sum given to him, I have given him his freedom & whether he accepts it or not I give him this annuity in addition to the provision in my will to be paid to him whether free or not. Witness my hand & seal this 11th day of Feby 1856.
Philip H. Jones (seal)
P.S. It is to be understood that I give Bob the annuity of fifty dollars unconditionally whether disabled or not.
Philip H. Jones (seal)
In my last will I have given the debt due to me by the estate of my brother Charles Jones to his children which is still my will, except a sufficient sum to raise the annuity within mentioned & on the death of Bob the negro man mentioned I give that sum to his children.
Philip H. Jones (seal)
In Spotsylvania County Court Dec 1st
A writing purported to be the 1856 last will & testament of Philip H. Jones dec’d was this day produced in court & there being no subscribing witnesses thereto, John James Chew & Edward H. Layne were called in court & being sworn severally deposed that they were well acquainted with the handwriting of the Testator & have frequently seen him write & that they verily believe that the said writing together with the codicils thereto annexed are wholly in the handwriting of the said Philip H. Jones dec’d. Wherefrom the said writing together with the codicils thereto is ordered to be recorded, as the last true will & testament of the said Philip H. Jones dec’d & on the motion of Gabriel Jones & Jonathan Cowherd, the Executors therein named who made oath thereto & entered into and acknowledged a bond in the penalty of $60,000 without security, the will requiring none conditioned as the law directs, certificate is granted them for obtaining a probate of said will in due form.
Teste, R.C. Dabney Clk
Record Location
WB V:131
Document Type
Last Will & Testament
Files
Collection
Citation
“1856 - Jones to Bob - Spotsylvania Co, VA,” Manumission Project, accessed December 13, 2025, https://manumissionproject.omeka.net/items/show/2413.