1857 - Smith to Madison, et al - Orange Co, VA
Manumission Item Data Item Type Metadata
Date
09/28/1857
Manumitter
Number of Persons
?
Text of Freedom Document
In the name of God Amen. I William Smith of the County of Orange and State of Virginia being of sound and disposing mind and memory, but calling to mind the uncertainty of human life, do make this my last will and testament as follows viz.
Imprimis. I give and devise to Ella an infant child of Martha Connorly deceased who is called Ella Newman (a grandchild of Lucinda who has been for some time staying at my house) a part of the land I purchased of the late Thomas Macon & Sarah his wife, contained within the following boundaries viz: beginning two links of a black walnut & locust a corner of the late Ambrose Madison & myself on a hill in a former line of Wm. H. Watters & Jane his wife, running thence S 18˚ W125 poles to the middle of the swift run road at estate formerly a thorn bush standing on the north side of said road in a former line of Richard M. Chapman and myself thence up the meanders of said road until it intersects with two run thence with the line of Doctor Robert Thomas to a cherry tree in the line between the said Thomas & Madison, thence with the line of the said Madison to the beginning, containing by estimation seventy four acres. I also give and devise to the said Ella all the land I purchased of Richard M. Chapman containing by survey seventeen acres, three roads & seven poles, and the land I purchased of William H. Watters & Jane his wife containing two acres, one road & thirteen poles, as will more fully appear by the deeds of the said Chapman & Watters & wife, recorded in the clerk’s office of Orange County Court, the said land amounting to about ninety six acres being three parcels. I give and devise to the said Ella & her heirs, but if she shall die without leaving a child or children living at the time of her death, then & in that event, I give and devise the said land to be equally divided between her grandmother & her four aunts Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah & Emily Connorly or such of them as shall be living at the time of her death, and the descendants of such of them as may be dead, taking which their deceased parent would have taken if living at the time of her death.
2ndly I give and devise to my executors hereinafter named the sum of eight hundred dollars to be by them invested in state bonds, and the interest thereon to be loaned out from time to time and invested in like manner until the said Ella shall arrive at the age of eighteen years, when I give the said state bonds with all accumulation of interest thereon whether invested or not to the said Ella.
3rdly I give and devise to Mary Connerly daughter of the said Lucinda Connerly the tract of land I purchased of the legatees of Elizabeth Winslow deceased conveyed to me by deed bearing date on the 24th day of February 1845 recorded in the Clerk’s Office of Orange County Court, containing by survey fifty three acres, three roads, & twenty six poles lying in the county Orange in the forks of the Cave’s pond & the Great Mountain roads to her and her heirs forever.
4thly I give and devise to the said Lucinda Connerly, sometimes called Lucy Connerly, and three of her children Elizabeth Connerly, Sarah & Emily Connerly, the two last of whom are twin sisters, a certain tract or parcel of land lying & being in the said county of Orange & bounded as follows viz: beginning at a sugar nut tree on the southside of the Rapid Ann River corner between Ann Newman & myself & running thence unto the meanders of said river S42 W22 poles, S19 ½ W28 poles, S23 W16 poles, S28 W6 poles 8C, S37 ¼ W30 p 2, S52 ½ W14 to a dagwood and large poplar on the S bank of said river, thence S24 E190 poles to a broken top oak on the Nside of the Great Mountain Road, thence down said road N77 1/3 E10 poles, S72 ½ E49 poles, S86 ½ E22 pcl, S84 ¾ E35 poles, S77 ¼ E17 poles, S 65 1/3 E U P, S 79 1/3, E IIP SL to two small persimmons and two small pines on the Nside of said road in the old Winslow tract line, thence with said line N34 ½ E87 poles to a small twin red oak in said line corner to Ann A. Newman thence ot the beginning embracing six several tracts or parcels of land purchased by me of Newman S. Newman by deeds bearing date on the 1st March 1841, 25th February 143, 7 November 1844, 11th February 1845 29th Sept 1850 & the 13th March 1857, as will more fully appear by [illegible] to said deeds, and containing by estimation & surveys 279 acres, 1 road & 35 poles. To have and to hold the said land as joint and common property for the joint and common maintenance and support of the said Lucinda Connerly and her said three children Elizabeth, Sarah & Emily Connerly until the twin daughters Sarah and Emily, who were born on the 8th day of October 1846, shall attain the age of eighteen years, after which time at the instance of any one or more of them, the land is to be divided either by persons selected by themselves or commissioners to be appointed by the County Court of Orange county into four parcels of equal value & one parcel given and allotted to each of the females named in this clause of my will with the understanding that the mother Lucinda is to have choice of the lots after the land is divided. The land devised in this clause of my will is given to the said Lucinda and her said three daughters for the life of each of them, and the lots are to descend to their children respectively, but in the even of their dying without or children living at their death, then and in that event, the lots of such as may die without child or children living at their death is to be divided equally between them & Mary Connerly, and in no event is Ella daughter of Martha Connerly deceased who is herein before provided for in part to have any part of the land.
5thly I give and bequeath to my nephew D. Robert Thomas and my friend Doctor George S. Newman, my slaves Mercer, Reuben & Susan and the future increase of the said Susan to them and the survivor of them, his executors, & admors in trust to hire out the said slaves and turn over the bonds for their hire to the said Lucinda Connerly for her use and benefit, consulting as far as practicable the wishes of the said Lucinda in hiring out the said slaves, and if it is necessary to sell all or any of the said slaves or the said increase, I hereby authorize & empower them the said Thomas & Newman or either of them to do so, consulting at the same time the wishes of the said Lucinda and when sold to pay over the proceeds arising from said sale to the said Lucinda, and I further hereby authorize and empower the said Thomas & Newman if they think proper, paying due regard to the wishes of the said Lucinda Connerly to emancipate and set free all or any of the said slaves, and I hereby give to the said Lucinda Connerly the sum of fifteen hundred dollars to be paid to her out of my estate, two good horses (the horses to be the best), four milk cows and calves, seventy barrels of corn, 10,000 lbs of hay or blade fodder, two thousand pounds of bacon or three thousand pounds of pork as she may prefer, all the lard and butter on hand at my death, one yolk of work oxen & one ox cart, three sows and their pigs, and twelve shoots, twelve ewe sheep, my carriage, two ploughs and gear for them, four barrels of flour, all my dung-hill fowls, and all my household and kitchen furniture including the silverware, the whole of the said stock, farming utensils, provisions, fodder or hay, household and kitchen furniture to be delivered to her at any place she may designate within five miles of my house as soon as the same can be done without injury to my crops, and without any cash or expense to her.
6thly I give and bequeath to the said Robert Thomas and George S. Newman, the survivor of them, his exors & admors my slaves Madison & Lucy, children of Betty and my slave Jefferson and the future increase of the said Lucy, from the date of this my last will in trust to hire out said slaves and urn over the bonds for their hire to the said Lucinda Connerly for the benefit & maintenance of the said Mary Connerly, her daughter, until she attains the age of eighteen years, after which time the bonds for their hire are to be turned over to the said Mary for her own use and benefit and should it be necessary in the opinion of the said Thomas and Newman or either of them, the survivor of them, his exors, or admors to sell all or any of said slaves, always consulting the wishes of the said Mary. I hereby authorize them or either of them, the survivor of them, his exors or admors to sell all or any of said slaves and to invest the proceeds of said sale for the benefit of the said Mary, paying the interest arising therefrom to the said Lucinda for the support & maintenance of the said Mary until she attains the said age of eighteen years, after which time they are to pay the interest thereon to the said Mary or surrender to her the principal for her separate use and benefit, and I hereby authorize and empower the said trustees, the survivor of them, his exors or admors, to emancipate & set free the said slaves, Madison, Lucy & Jefferson, and the increase of the said Lucy or any of them, if consistent with the wishes of the said Mary, and to make any other prudent disposition of them or any of them at the instance of the said Mary expressed in writing under her hand and seal. I give to the said Mary Connerly the sum of one thousand dollars to be paid to her out of my estate, the said thousand dollars to be paid to her mother, and the interest to be applied to her support and maintenance until she attains the age of eighteen years, when the principal is to be paid to her.
7thly I give and bequeath to the said Robert Thomas and George S. Newman, the survivor of them his exors or admors my slaves Abraham, son of Betty, Martha and Aleck in trust to hire out said slaves & the increase of said Martha, and pay over the hires arising therefrom to the said Lucinda Connerly for her support & maintenance of her daughter Elizabeth Connerly until the said Elizabeth attains the age of eighteen years from which time the hires are to be paid to the said Elizabeth, and should the said Thomas & Newman or the survivor of them, his exors or admors on account of the behavior of all or any of them or for any other good cause they see prudent, to all them or any of them, and the increase of the said Martha. I hereby authorize & empower them, the survivor of them, his exors or admors to sell all or any of said slaves including the future increase of the said Martha, and apply the interest arising from the proceeds of said sale to the support & maintenance of the said Elizabeth by paying it to the said Lucinda for that purpose until she attains the said age, after which they are to pay the principal or interest to the said Elizabeth as in their opinion may be best. I hereby give and bequeath to the said Elizabeth Connerly the sum of one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate, to be paid to Lucinda Connerly the annual interest to be applied to the support & maintenance of the said Elizabeth until she attains the age of eighteen years at which time she the said Elizabeth is to have the principal. And I hereby authorize & empower the said Thomas and Newman the survivor of them, his exors or admors to emancipate and set free the said slaves Abraham, Martha & Aleck and the future increase of said Martha or any of them, or to make any other disposition of them in accordance with the wishes of said Elizabeth Connerly expressed in writing under her hand and seal.
8thly I give and bequeath to the said Robert Thomas and George S. Newman, the survivor of them, his exors or admors, my slaves [illegible], Robert and Francis, and the future increase of the said Francis in trust to hire out said salves and pay over to the hires to the said Lucinda Connerly for the support & maintenance of her twin daughters Emily Connerly until the said Emily attains the age of eighteen years from which time the hires are to be paid to the said Emily for her sole use and benefit. If on account of the behavior of said slaves or any of them or per any other good cause in the opinion of the said trustees, the survivor of them, his exors, or admors after consulting the wishes of the said Emily, it shall be prudent to sell all or any of the said slaves, I hereby authorize and empower them, the survivor of them, his exors or admors, to make such sale, invest the proceeds arising therefrom and pay over the interest to the said Lucinda Connerly for the support & maintenance of the said Emily until she attains the age of eighteen years, after which time the interest is to be paid over to the said Emily for her sole use and comfort or the principal as may be judged best by the said trustees. And if in the opinion of the said trustees, the survivor of them, his exors or admors, with the approval of the said Emily signified in writing under her hand and seal it is prudent to emancipate and set free the said slaves or any of them, I hereby authorize and empower them, the survivor of them, his exors or admors to emancipate and set free the said slaves or any of them. I hereby authorize and empower them, the survivor of them, his exors or admors to emancipate and set free the said slaves or any of them, or to make any other prudent disposition of them. I give and bequeath to the said Emily Connerly & her heirs the sum of one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate to her mother Lucinda Connerly the interest of which is to be applied to her maintenance and support until she attains the age of eighteen years when she is to have the principal sum.
9thly I give and bequeath to the said Robert Thomas and George S. Newman the survivor of them, his exors or admors, my slaves Clayton William, Henry & Anthony, in trust to hire out the said slaves and pay over the hires to the said Lucinda Connerly for the support & maintenance of her other twin daughter Sarah Connerly until she attains the age of eighteen years after which time the heirs are to be paid over to her for her separate use and benefit. If because of the behavior of the said slaves or any of them or for any other good cause, the said trustees, the survivor of them, his exors or admors (consulting always the wishes of the said Sarah) shall deem it best to sell the said slaves or any of them, I hereby authorize and empower them, the survivor of them, his exors or admors to do so, and invest the proceeds of said sale and apply the interest arising therefrom in the same manner they are directed to apply their hires until she attains the age of eighteen years, after which they can pay the interest or principal to the said Sarah as they may think best. And I hereby authorize and empower the said trustees or either of them, the survivor of them, his exors or admors to emancipate & set free (always consulting the wishes of the said Sarah upon the subject) all or any of the said slaves or to make any other disposition of them at the request of the said Sarah expressed in writing under her hand and seal, provided it is judicious and prudent to do so, and I give and bequeath to the said Sarah Connerly the sum of one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate to her mother Lucinda Connerly, the interest to be applied to the support and maintenance of the said Sarah until she attains the age of eighteen years when she is to receive the principal.
10thly I give and bequeath to the said Robert Thomas & George S. Newman the survivor of them, his exors or admors my slaves joe, Jim & Becky, in trust to hire out the said slaves and pay over the hires to the said Lucinda Connerly for the benefit & maintenance of her granddaughter Ella, until she attains the age of eighteen years, after which time the hires are to be paid over to her for her sole use and benefit. If because of the behavior of the said slaves or for any other good cause the said trustees, the survivor of them, his exors or admors consulting always the wishes of the said Ella, shall deem it best to sell the said slaves, I hereby authorize and empower them the survivor of them, his exors or admors to sell the said slaves, or any of them, and invest the proceeds of said sale and apply the interest arising therefrom in the same manner, they are directed to apply the hires, until she attains the age of eighteen years, after which time they can apply the interest by paying it over to the said Ella or they may, if they think best, pay over the principal to her, and I hereby authorize and empower the said trustees, the survivor of them, his exors or admors, consulting the wishes of the said Ella to emancipate and set free the said slaves or any of them, or make any other disposition of them by the consent of the said Ella expressed in writing under her hand and seal provided it is prudent and judicious to do so. And I hereby give and bequeath to the said Ella, sometimes called Ella Newman, the sum of one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate to her grandmother Lucinda Connerly, the interest to be applied to her support & maintenance until she attains the age of eighteen years when she is to receive the principal.
11thly I give and devise to my grand-nephew George A. Smith the tract of land in the County of Madison bought by me which belonged to the estate of the late Miles Marquis, my slaves old Joe, Henrietta, Hannah & her child not named, and the future increase of the females from the date of this my last will and testament, and the sum of five thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate which I give to him & his heirs.
12thly I give and bequeath to Mary Somerville Smith daughter of the said George A. Smith my slave Georgianna and her child Lucy, and their future increase, from the date of this my will to Milly Smith daughter of the said George A., my slave Sally and all of her increase from the date of this my will, to Margaret Atwell Smith, daughter of the said George A. my slave Julia and her increase from the date of my will, and to William Smith son of the said George A. my slave Molly from the date of this my will.
13thly I give and bequeath to my nephew Doctor Robert Thomas my slaves Tom, Betsy, William & Rachel and the increase of the females from the date of my will, and two thousand five hundred dollars to be paid out of my estate to him and his heirs, the said money to be in full discharge and payment of all claims he may have against me, then I give the said slaves and their increase and the said sum of two thousand five hundred dollars to the children of the said Thomas to be equally divided between them.
14thly I give and bequeath to Sarah Thomas, daughter of the said Robert Thomas, my slave Silvey & her increase from the date of my will.
15thly I give and bequeath to my nephew William Thomas my slaves Moses & [?Pett?] and one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate; to my nephew James Thomas, my slaves Harrison & Cuff & one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate; to my nephew Albert Thomas my slave William Sen’r and five hundred dollars to be paid out of my estate; to my nephew Owen Thomas my slave Captain and one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate; to my grand niece Catharine, daughter of my nephew the late Reuben Thomas, my slaves Eliza & Becky and their increase from the date of my will and one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate; and to Joseph Thomas son of my nephew Owen Thomas, I give five hundred dollars to be paid out of my estate.
16thly I give and bequeath to my niece Mary Hume, my slaves Mary Jane (whom she has in possession), George, Isabella, Dick, Fanny and her child Virginia, John & Oscar and the increase of the females from the date of my will, and the sum of one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate; to Susan M. Hume her daughter, my slave Charlotte (whom she now has in possession) and her future increase from the date of my will; to Maria L. Hume daughter of the said Mary my slave Epatha (whom she now has in possession) and her future increase from the date of my will; to Helen A. Hume daughter of the said Mary, Betsy a slave (daughter of Fanny) & her future increase from the date of my will; and to [?Mertis?] Hume, daughter of said Mary Hume, my slave Maria I purchased for her (whom she now has in possession) and her increase from the date of my will which said slaves & their increase & money I give to them and their heirs respectively.
17thly I give and bequeath to my niece Maria [?Steahlin?] and her heirs my slaves Mirna & her children, my slaves Lewis, Conwiella and her infant child Louisa & John (all of whom except Lewis she now has in possession), and the increase of the females from the date of my will, and one thousand dollars to be paid her out of my estate.
18thly I give and bequeath to my niece Sarah Buckles, (wife of Jonathan C. Buckles) and her heirs one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate; to my grand niece Virginia Albert oldest daughter of said Jonathan C. Buckles my slaves Mary, Jane & Sindy & Dolly child of said Mary and their increase from the date of my will for & during her natural life, and after her death to be equally divided amongst her children, but if she should die without child or children living at her death, then I give and bequeath the said slaves and their said increase to her sister Josephine (youngest daughter of the said Jonathan C. Buckles) and her heirs, and I give & bequeath to the said Josephine and her heirs my slave Patsy and her increase from the date of this my will.
19thly I give and bequeath to my niece Ann Meriweather & her heirs my slave Hernsey and five hundred dollars to be paid out of my estate.
20thly I give and bequeath to my grand nephew John W. Ross and his heirs my slave Segrand Sen’r & five hundred dollars to be paid out of my estate & to Louisa his sister five hundred dollars.
21stly I give and bequeath to the child or children of my late niece Polly Harvey one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate to the child if there be only one, if more to be equally divided between them.
22ndly I give and bequeath to my niece Epatha (daughter of my late brother Stephen and sister of Sarah Buckles and Ann Meriweather) and her heirs, if she is living at the time of my death five hundred dollars to be paid out of my estate, but if she is dead at that time, I then give the said sum of five hundred dollars to be equally divided among her children, if any.
23rdly I give and bequeath to my niece Virginia Payne, if she is living at the time of my death, five hundred dollars to be paid out of my estate. But if she should be dead at that time, I then give the said five hundred dollars to Doctor Owen with whom she lived.
24thly I give and bequeath to my executors hereinafter named five hundred dollars which I desire that they should distribute equally among twenty five of my oldest servants whose ages are to be ascertained by them for that purpose from the best information they can get.
25thly I give and bequeath to my niece Murial Donald if she is living at the time of my death, five hundred dollars, but if she should be dead at that time I then give the said five hundred dollars to her youngest child to be paid out of my estate.
26thly It is my will and desire that all the moneyed legacies herein before given shall be chargeable upon the debts due me at the time of my death, the perishable property and real directed hereinafter to be sold, and the crops growing and severed from my lands, and that if any of the said legacies shall lapse, that then they shall become a part of the residuum of my estate and be disposed of as the residuum of my estate and go to the same persons, and in the same proportions as the residuum is herein directed to pass and go to.
27thly It is my will and desire that my house servant Maria, my man Paul and my woman Celia be allowed to choose their masters or mistresses or either, and when they have made such selection I hereby give & bequeath them to such person or persons as they may respectively select, provided the person or persons so selected by them will take them as their property. But if they cannot be thus disposed of, then my executors are to select suitable places for them where they will be well clothed and taken care of upon the most reasonable & best terms they can, paying out of my estate such sums of money as may be necessary for this purpose.
28thly It is my will and desire that none of the moneyed legacies herein before given shall be considered due and payable unto two years after the sale of my real estate hereinafter directed with the exception of the amount given to my executors with the request to distribute it among my old servants which I wish them to have before they are surrendered to the persons to whom they are hereby given, and it is my will and desire that my exors shall retain all the slaves until the crops are made and secured the years in which I may die.
29thly It is my will and desire that all the rest & residue of my real and personal estate (except the debts due me which are to be collected by my executors hereinafter named) be sold by my said executors, the perishable property upon the usual credits, and the land upon the following terms viz: one third of the purchase money to be paid in cash, and the balance in two equal annual payments, the purchaser or purchasers giving bonds with approved security for the deferred payments, with deeds of trust upon the lands to secure the payments thereof, the lands to be sold in three or more parcels in the discretion of my executors, one parcel including the dwelling house to contain from eight hundred to one thousand acres, the lines and boundaries of which are to be determined upon and prescribed by my said executors in their discretion reserving therein one quarter of an acre embracing my family graveyard, with a right of ingress and egress to and from it at all times, which is not to be sold but to remain in the Smith family for their use as such.
30thly After the payment of all the foregoing legacies, my funeral expenses, costs of administration, and any debts that may be due by my estate, I give all the money which may be on hand at the time of my death, the balance from debts due me, and from the sales of my real & personal estate herein directed to be sold, it being the residuary fund to be equally divided between my nephews & nieces Robert Thomas, Mary Hume, Muriel Steahlin, William Thomas, my grand nephew George A. Smith, and Lucinda Connerly all of whom are herein before named, each of one of them to take one sixth part thereof. And it is my will and desire that if either or any of the above named residuary legatees in this clause of my will should die before me, that the heirs of such deceased residuary legatee or legatees, shall take the share or shares to which such deceased legatee or legatees would be entitled under this my last will & testament if he, she or they were living at the time of my death.
Lastly, I hereby nominate, constitute and appoint my nephew Doctor Robert Thomas and my friend Doctor George S. Newman executors of this my last will and testament (which is written on four sheets of paper- each of which is signed by me) with the request that they will act, and it is my will and desire having great confidence in them that the court in which this my last will and testament is admitted to probate will allow them to qualify as my executors without giving any security as such, and should either of the said executors above named die before me, or refuse to act as such, or refuse any of the trusts confided to them, then I hereby appoint my friend Robert A. Brooking as a trustee & nominate and appoint him as executor in the place and stead of such one of them, as may die before me, decline or refuse to act as trustees or executor, and having the same confidence in the said Robert A. Brooking it is my will and desire that the said court will permit him to qualify as executor without giving security as such is provided, the said Robert Thomas or George S. Newman or either of them shall die before me, refuse or decline to act as executors of this my last will and testament. And it is my will and desire that my executors who may act shall employ Alexander Bradford or some other good clerk as they may prefer, to keep the books, accounts and papers of my estate until the whole is settled up and disposed of, paying the said Bradford or any other clerk out of my estate one hundred and fifty dollars for his services, and that my executors shall meet at some convenient place at least once in every three months to see if the books, papers, and accounts are property kept. And it is my will and desire that my executors pay off the moneyed legacies herein given as fast as money for that purpose may come into their hands, giving the preference in the payment as to priority of time to such as are most in need of this money. And I hereby revoke all other & former wills heretofore made by me desiring that this my last will and testament on four sheets of paper shall be taken and received as such to the exclusion of all others heretofore made by me. In testimony whereof I have hereunto placed my hand and seal this 12th day of August 1857.
Signed, sealed, published and William Smith (seal)
acknowledged as and for his last
will & testament by William Smith
who signed it in our presence, and
we witnessed it in the presence of the
testator and of each other.
E. Goss
A.P. Routt
Lewis B. Williams
At a monthly court held for the County of Orange at the courthouse on Monday the 28th of September 1857, this last will & testament of William Smith was proved in open court by the oaths of E. Goss, A.P. Routt, and Lewis B. Williams the witnesses thereto, and ordered to be recorded. And on the motion of Robert Thomas and George S. Newman, the executors therein named, who made oath thereto according to law, and severally entered into and acknowledged a bond which is ordered to be recorded without security (the will directing that none should be required) in the penalty of two hundred thousand dollars, conditioned as the law directs- certificate is granted them for obtaining a probate thereof in due form.
Teste
Imprimis. I give and devise to Ella an infant child of Martha Connorly deceased who is called Ella Newman (a grandchild of Lucinda who has been for some time staying at my house) a part of the land I purchased of the late Thomas Macon & Sarah his wife, contained within the following boundaries viz: beginning two links of a black walnut & locust a corner of the late Ambrose Madison & myself on a hill in a former line of Wm. H. Watters & Jane his wife, running thence S 18˚ W125 poles to the middle of the swift run road at estate formerly a thorn bush standing on the north side of said road in a former line of Richard M. Chapman and myself thence up the meanders of said road until it intersects with two run thence with the line of Doctor Robert Thomas to a cherry tree in the line between the said Thomas & Madison, thence with the line of the said Madison to the beginning, containing by estimation seventy four acres. I also give and devise to the said Ella all the land I purchased of Richard M. Chapman containing by survey seventeen acres, three roads & seven poles, and the land I purchased of William H. Watters & Jane his wife containing two acres, one road & thirteen poles, as will more fully appear by the deeds of the said Chapman & Watters & wife, recorded in the clerk’s office of Orange County Court, the said land amounting to about ninety six acres being three parcels. I give and devise to the said Ella & her heirs, but if she shall die without leaving a child or children living at the time of her death, then & in that event, I give and devise the said land to be equally divided between her grandmother & her four aunts Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah & Emily Connorly or such of them as shall be living at the time of her death, and the descendants of such of them as may be dead, taking which their deceased parent would have taken if living at the time of her death.
2ndly I give and devise to my executors hereinafter named the sum of eight hundred dollars to be by them invested in state bonds, and the interest thereon to be loaned out from time to time and invested in like manner until the said Ella shall arrive at the age of eighteen years, when I give the said state bonds with all accumulation of interest thereon whether invested or not to the said Ella.
3rdly I give and devise to Mary Connerly daughter of the said Lucinda Connerly the tract of land I purchased of the legatees of Elizabeth Winslow deceased conveyed to me by deed bearing date on the 24th day of February 1845 recorded in the Clerk’s Office of Orange County Court, containing by survey fifty three acres, three roads, & twenty six poles lying in the county Orange in the forks of the Cave’s pond & the Great Mountain roads to her and her heirs forever.
4thly I give and devise to the said Lucinda Connerly, sometimes called Lucy Connerly, and three of her children Elizabeth Connerly, Sarah & Emily Connerly, the two last of whom are twin sisters, a certain tract or parcel of land lying & being in the said county of Orange & bounded as follows viz: beginning at a sugar nut tree on the southside of the Rapid Ann River corner between Ann Newman & myself & running thence unto the meanders of said river S42 W22 poles, S19 ½ W28 poles, S23 W16 poles, S28 W6 poles 8C, S37 ¼ W30 p 2, S52 ½ W14 to a dagwood and large poplar on the S bank of said river, thence S24 E190 poles to a broken top oak on the Nside of the Great Mountain Road, thence down said road N77 1/3 E10 poles, S72 ½ E49 poles, S86 ½ E22 pcl, S84 ¾ E35 poles, S77 ¼ E17 poles, S 65 1/3 E U P, S 79 1/3, E IIP SL to two small persimmons and two small pines on the Nside of said road in the old Winslow tract line, thence with said line N34 ½ E87 poles to a small twin red oak in said line corner to Ann A. Newman thence ot the beginning embracing six several tracts or parcels of land purchased by me of Newman S. Newman by deeds bearing date on the 1st March 1841, 25th February 143, 7 November 1844, 11th February 1845 29th Sept 1850 & the 13th March 1857, as will more fully appear by [illegible] to said deeds, and containing by estimation & surveys 279 acres, 1 road & 35 poles. To have and to hold the said land as joint and common property for the joint and common maintenance and support of the said Lucinda Connerly and her said three children Elizabeth, Sarah & Emily Connerly until the twin daughters Sarah and Emily, who were born on the 8th day of October 1846, shall attain the age of eighteen years, after which time at the instance of any one or more of them, the land is to be divided either by persons selected by themselves or commissioners to be appointed by the County Court of Orange county into four parcels of equal value & one parcel given and allotted to each of the females named in this clause of my will with the understanding that the mother Lucinda is to have choice of the lots after the land is divided. The land devised in this clause of my will is given to the said Lucinda and her said three daughters for the life of each of them, and the lots are to descend to their children respectively, but in the even of their dying without or children living at their death, then and in that event, the lots of such as may die without child or children living at their death is to be divided equally between them & Mary Connerly, and in no event is Ella daughter of Martha Connerly deceased who is herein before provided for in part to have any part of the land.
5thly I give and bequeath to my nephew D. Robert Thomas and my friend Doctor George S. Newman, my slaves Mercer, Reuben & Susan and the future increase of the said Susan to them and the survivor of them, his executors, & admors in trust to hire out the said slaves and turn over the bonds for their hire to the said Lucinda Connerly for her use and benefit, consulting as far as practicable the wishes of the said Lucinda in hiring out the said slaves, and if it is necessary to sell all or any of the said slaves or the said increase, I hereby authorize & empower them the said Thomas & Newman or either of them to do so, consulting at the same time the wishes of the said Lucinda and when sold to pay over the proceeds arising from said sale to the said Lucinda, and I further hereby authorize and empower the said Thomas & Newman if they think proper, paying due regard to the wishes of the said Lucinda Connerly to emancipate and set free all or any of the said slaves, and I hereby give to the said Lucinda Connerly the sum of fifteen hundred dollars to be paid to her out of my estate, two good horses (the horses to be the best), four milk cows and calves, seventy barrels of corn, 10,000 lbs of hay or blade fodder, two thousand pounds of bacon or three thousand pounds of pork as she may prefer, all the lard and butter on hand at my death, one yolk of work oxen & one ox cart, three sows and their pigs, and twelve shoots, twelve ewe sheep, my carriage, two ploughs and gear for them, four barrels of flour, all my dung-hill fowls, and all my household and kitchen furniture including the silverware, the whole of the said stock, farming utensils, provisions, fodder or hay, household and kitchen furniture to be delivered to her at any place she may designate within five miles of my house as soon as the same can be done without injury to my crops, and without any cash or expense to her.
6thly I give and bequeath to the said Robert Thomas and George S. Newman, the survivor of them, his exors & admors my slaves Madison & Lucy, children of Betty and my slave Jefferson and the future increase of the said Lucy, from the date of this my last will in trust to hire out said slaves and urn over the bonds for their hire to the said Lucinda Connerly for the benefit & maintenance of the said Mary Connerly, her daughter, until she attains the age of eighteen years, after which time the bonds for their hire are to be turned over to the said Mary for her own use and benefit and should it be necessary in the opinion of the said Thomas and Newman or either of them, the survivor of them, his exors, or admors to sell all or any of said slaves, always consulting the wishes of the said Mary. I hereby authorize them or either of them, the survivor of them, his exors or admors to sell all or any of said slaves and to invest the proceeds of said sale for the benefit of the said Mary, paying the interest arising therefrom to the said Lucinda for the support & maintenance of the said Mary until she attains the said age of eighteen years, after which time they are to pay the interest thereon to the said Mary or surrender to her the principal for her separate use and benefit, and I hereby authorize and empower the said trustees, the survivor of them, his exors or admors, to emancipate & set free the said slaves, Madison, Lucy & Jefferson, and the increase of the said Lucy or any of them, if consistent with the wishes of the said Mary, and to make any other prudent disposition of them or any of them at the instance of the said Mary expressed in writing under her hand and seal. I give to the said Mary Connerly the sum of one thousand dollars to be paid to her out of my estate, the said thousand dollars to be paid to her mother, and the interest to be applied to her support and maintenance until she attains the age of eighteen years, when the principal is to be paid to her.
7thly I give and bequeath to the said Robert Thomas and George S. Newman, the survivor of them his exors or admors my slaves Abraham, son of Betty, Martha and Aleck in trust to hire out said slaves & the increase of said Martha, and pay over the hires arising therefrom to the said Lucinda Connerly for her support & maintenance of her daughter Elizabeth Connerly until the said Elizabeth attains the age of eighteen years from which time the hires are to be paid to the said Elizabeth, and should the said Thomas & Newman or the survivor of them, his exors or admors on account of the behavior of all or any of them or for any other good cause they see prudent, to all them or any of them, and the increase of the said Martha. I hereby authorize & empower them, the survivor of them, his exors or admors to sell all or any of said slaves including the future increase of the said Martha, and apply the interest arising from the proceeds of said sale to the support & maintenance of the said Elizabeth by paying it to the said Lucinda for that purpose until she attains the said age, after which they are to pay the principal or interest to the said Elizabeth as in their opinion may be best. I hereby give and bequeath to the said Elizabeth Connerly the sum of one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate, to be paid to Lucinda Connerly the annual interest to be applied to the support & maintenance of the said Elizabeth until she attains the age of eighteen years at which time she the said Elizabeth is to have the principal. And I hereby authorize & empower the said Thomas and Newman the survivor of them, his exors or admors to emancipate and set free the said slaves Abraham, Martha & Aleck and the future increase of said Martha or any of them, or to make any other disposition of them in accordance with the wishes of said Elizabeth Connerly expressed in writing under her hand and seal.
8thly I give and bequeath to the said Robert Thomas and George S. Newman, the survivor of them, his exors or admors, my slaves [illegible], Robert and Francis, and the future increase of the said Francis in trust to hire out said salves and pay over to the hires to the said Lucinda Connerly for the support & maintenance of her twin daughters Emily Connerly until the said Emily attains the age of eighteen years from which time the hires are to be paid to the said Emily for her sole use and benefit. If on account of the behavior of said slaves or any of them or per any other good cause in the opinion of the said trustees, the survivor of them, his exors, or admors after consulting the wishes of the said Emily, it shall be prudent to sell all or any of the said slaves, I hereby authorize and empower them, the survivor of them, his exors or admors, to make such sale, invest the proceeds arising therefrom and pay over the interest to the said Lucinda Connerly for the support & maintenance of the said Emily until she attains the age of eighteen years, after which time the interest is to be paid over to the said Emily for her sole use and comfort or the principal as may be judged best by the said trustees. And if in the opinion of the said trustees, the survivor of them, his exors or admors, with the approval of the said Emily signified in writing under her hand and seal it is prudent to emancipate and set free the said slaves or any of them, I hereby authorize and empower them, the survivor of them, his exors or admors to emancipate and set free the said slaves or any of them. I hereby authorize and empower them, the survivor of them, his exors or admors to emancipate and set free the said slaves or any of them, or to make any other prudent disposition of them. I give and bequeath to the said Emily Connerly & her heirs the sum of one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate to her mother Lucinda Connerly the interest of which is to be applied to her maintenance and support until she attains the age of eighteen years when she is to have the principal sum.
9thly I give and bequeath to the said Robert Thomas and George S. Newman the survivor of them, his exors or admors, my slaves Clayton William, Henry & Anthony, in trust to hire out the said slaves and pay over the hires to the said Lucinda Connerly for the support & maintenance of her other twin daughter Sarah Connerly until she attains the age of eighteen years after which time the heirs are to be paid over to her for her separate use and benefit. If because of the behavior of the said slaves or any of them or for any other good cause, the said trustees, the survivor of them, his exors or admors (consulting always the wishes of the said Sarah) shall deem it best to sell the said slaves or any of them, I hereby authorize and empower them, the survivor of them, his exors or admors to do so, and invest the proceeds of said sale and apply the interest arising therefrom in the same manner they are directed to apply their hires until she attains the age of eighteen years, after which they can pay the interest or principal to the said Sarah as they may think best. And I hereby authorize and empower the said trustees or either of them, the survivor of them, his exors or admors to emancipate & set free (always consulting the wishes of the said Sarah upon the subject) all or any of the said slaves or to make any other disposition of them at the request of the said Sarah expressed in writing under her hand and seal, provided it is judicious and prudent to do so, and I give and bequeath to the said Sarah Connerly the sum of one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate to her mother Lucinda Connerly, the interest to be applied to the support and maintenance of the said Sarah until she attains the age of eighteen years when she is to receive the principal.
10thly I give and bequeath to the said Robert Thomas & George S. Newman the survivor of them, his exors or admors my slaves joe, Jim & Becky, in trust to hire out the said slaves and pay over the hires to the said Lucinda Connerly for the benefit & maintenance of her granddaughter Ella, until she attains the age of eighteen years, after which time the hires are to be paid over to her for her sole use and benefit. If because of the behavior of the said slaves or for any other good cause the said trustees, the survivor of them, his exors or admors consulting always the wishes of the said Ella, shall deem it best to sell the said slaves, I hereby authorize and empower them the survivor of them, his exors or admors to sell the said slaves, or any of them, and invest the proceeds of said sale and apply the interest arising therefrom in the same manner, they are directed to apply the hires, until she attains the age of eighteen years, after which time they can apply the interest by paying it over to the said Ella or they may, if they think best, pay over the principal to her, and I hereby authorize and empower the said trustees, the survivor of them, his exors or admors, consulting the wishes of the said Ella to emancipate and set free the said slaves or any of them, or make any other disposition of them by the consent of the said Ella expressed in writing under her hand and seal provided it is prudent and judicious to do so. And I hereby give and bequeath to the said Ella, sometimes called Ella Newman, the sum of one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate to her grandmother Lucinda Connerly, the interest to be applied to her support & maintenance until she attains the age of eighteen years when she is to receive the principal.
11thly I give and devise to my grand-nephew George A. Smith the tract of land in the County of Madison bought by me which belonged to the estate of the late Miles Marquis, my slaves old Joe, Henrietta, Hannah & her child not named, and the future increase of the females from the date of this my last will and testament, and the sum of five thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate which I give to him & his heirs.
12thly I give and bequeath to Mary Somerville Smith daughter of the said George A. Smith my slave Georgianna and her child Lucy, and their future increase, from the date of this my will to Milly Smith daughter of the said George A., my slave Sally and all of her increase from the date of this my will, to Margaret Atwell Smith, daughter of the said George A. my slave Julia and her increase from the date of my will, and to William Smith son of the said George A. my slave Molly from the date of this my will.
13thly I give and bequeath to my nephew Doctor Robert Thomas my slaves Tom, Betsy, William & Rachel and the increase of the females from the date of my will, and two thousand five hundred dollars to be paid out of my estate to him and his heirs, the said money to be in full discharge and payment of all claims he may have against me, then I give the said slaves and their increase and the said sum of two thousand five hundred dollars to the children of the said Thomas to be equally divided between them.
14thly I give and bequeath to Sarah Thomas, daughter of the said Robert Thomas, my slave Silvey & her increase from the date of my will.
15thly I give and bequeath to my nephew William Thomas my slaves Moses & [?Pett?] and one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate; to my nephew James Thomas, my slaves Harrison & Cuff & one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate; to my nephew Albert Thomas my slave William Sen’r and five hundred dollars to be paid out of my estate; to my nephew Owen Thomas my slave Captain and one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate; to my grand niece Catharine, daughter of my nephew the late Reuben Thomas, my slaves Eliza & Becky and their increase from the date of my will and one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate; and to Joseph Thomas son of my nephew Owen Thomas, I give five hundred dollars to be paid out of my estate.
16thly I give and bequeath to my niece Mary Hume, my slaves Mary Jane (whom she has in possession), George, Isabella, Dick, Fanny and her child Virginia, John & Oscar and the increase of the females from the date of my will, and the sum of one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate; to Susan M. Hume her daughter, my slave Charlotte (whom she now has in possession) and her future increase from the date of my will; to Maria L. Hume daughter of the said Mary my slave Epatha (whom she now has in possession) and her future increase from the date of my will; to Helen A. Hume daughter of the said Mary, Betsy a slave (daughter of Fanny) & her future increase from the date of my will; and to [?Mertis?] Hume, daughter of said Mary Hume, my slave Maria I purchased for her (whom she now has in possession) and her increase from the date of my will which said slaves & their increase & money I give to them and their heirs respectively.
17thly I give and bequeath to my niece Maria [?Steahlin?] and her heirs my slaves Mirna & her children, my slaves Lewis, Conwiella and her infant child Louisa & John (all of whom except Lewis she now has in possession), and the increase of the females from the date of my will, and one thousand dollars to be paid her out of my estate.
18thly I give and bequeath to my niece Sarah Buckles, (wife of Jonathan C. Buckles) and her heirs one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate; to my grand niece Virginia Albert oldest daughter of said Jonathan C. Buckles my slaves Mary, Jane & Sindy & Dolly child of said Mary and their increase from the date of my will for & during her natural life, and after her death to be equally divided amongst her children, but if she should die without child or children living at her death, then I give and bequeath the said slaves and their said increase to her sister Josephine (youngest daughter of the said Jonathan C. Buckles) and her heirs, and I give & bequeath to the said Josephine and her heirs my slave Patsy and her increase from the date of this my will.
19thly I give and bequeath to my niece Ann Meriweather & her heirs my slave Hernsey and five hundred dollars to be paid out of my estate.
20thly I give and bequeath to my grand nephew John W. Ross and his heirs my slave Segrand Sen’r & five hundred dollars to be paid out of my estate & to Louisa his sister five hundred dollars.
21stly I give and bequeath to the child or children of my late niece Polly Harvey one thousand dollars to be paid out of my estate to the child if there be only one, if more to be equally divided between them.
22ndly I give and bequeath to my niece Epatha (daughter of my late brother Stephen and sister of Sarah Buckles and Ann Meriweather) and her heirs, if she is living at the time of my death five hundred dollars to be paid out of my estate, but if she is dead at that time, I then give the said sum of five hundred dollars to be equally divided among her children, if any.
23rdly I give and bequeath to my niece Virginia Payne, if she is living at the time of my death, five hundred dollars to be paid out of my estate. But if she should be dead at that time, I then give the said five hundred dollars to Doctor Owen with whom she lived.
24thly I give and bequeath to my executors hereinafter named five hundred dollars which I desire that they should distribute equally among twenty five of my oldest servants whose ages are to be ascertained by them for that purpose from the best information they can get.
25thly I give and bequeath to my niece Murial Donald if she is living at the time of my death, five hundred dollars, but if she should be dead at that time I then give the said five hundred dollars to her youngest child to be paid out of my estate.
26thly It is my will and desire that all the moneyed legacies herein before given shall be chargeable upon the debts due me at the time of my death, the perishable property and real directed hereinafter to be sold, and the crops growing and severed from my lands, and that if any of the said legacies shall lapse, that then they shall become a part of the residuum of my estate and be disposed of as the residuum of my estate and go to the same persons, and in the same proportions as the residuum is herein directed to pass and go to.
27thly It is my will and desire that my house servant Maria, my man Paul and my woman Celia be allowed to choose their masters or mistresses or either, and when they have made such selection I hereby give & bequeath them to such person or persons as they may respectively select, provided the person or persons so selected by them will take them as their property. But if they cannot be thus disposed of, then my executors are to select suitable places for them where they will be well clothed and taken care of upon the most reasonable & best terms they can, paying out of my estate such sums of money as may be necessary for this purpose.
28thly It is my will and desire that none of the moneyed legacies herein before given shall be considered due and payable unto two years after the sale of my real estate hereinafter directed with the exception of the amount given to my executors with the request to distribute it among my old servants which I wish them to have before they are surrendered to the persons to whom they are hereby given, and it is my will and desire that my exors shall retain all the slaves until the crops are made and secured the years in which I may die.
29thly It is my will and desire that all the rest & residue of my real and personal estate (except the debts due me which are to be collected by my executors hereinafter named) be sold by my said executors, the perishable property upon the usual credits, and the land upon the following terms viz: one third of the purchase money to be paid in cash, and the balance in two equal annual payments, the purchaser or purchasers giving bonds with approved security for the deferred payments, with deeds of trust upon the lands to secure the payments thereof, the lands to be sold in three or more parcels in the discretion of my executors, one parcel including the dwelling house to contain from eight hundred to one thousand acres, the lines and boundaries of which are to be determined upon and prescribed by my said executors in their discretion reserving therein one quarter of an acre embracing my family graveyard, with a right of ingress and egress to and from it at all times, which is not to be sold but to remain in the Smith family for their use as such.
30thly After the payment of all the foregoing legacies, my funeral expenses, costs of administration, and any debts that may be due by my estate, I give all the money which may be on hand at the time of my death, the balance from debts due me, and from the sales of my real & personal estate herein directed to be sold, it being the residuary fund to be equally divided between my nephews & nieces Robert Thomas, Mary Hume, Muriel Steahlin, William Thomas, my grand nephew George A. Smith, and Lucinda Connerly all of whom are herein before named, each of one of them to take one sixth part thereof. And it is my will and desire that if either or any of the above named residuary legatees in this clause of my will should die before me, that the heirs of such deceased residuary legatee or legatees, shall take the share or shares to which such deceased legatee or legatees would be entitled under this my last will & testament if he, she or they were living at the time of my death.
Lastly, I hereby nominate, constitute and appoint my nephew Doctor Robert Thomas and my friend Doctor George S. Newman executors of this my last will and testament (which is written on four sheets of paper- each of which is signed by me) with the request that they will act, and it is my will and desire having great confidence in them that the court in which this my last will and testament is admitted to probate will allow them to qualify as my executors without giving any security as such, and should either of the said executors above named die before me, or refuse to act as such, or refuse any of the trusts confided to them, then I hereby appoint my friend Robert A. Brooking as a trustee & nominate and appoint him as executor in the place and stead of such one of them, as may die before me, decline or refuse to act as trustees or executor, and having the same confidence in the said Robert A. Brooking it is my will and desire that the said court will permit him to qualify as executor without giving security as such is provided, the said Robert Thomas or George S. Newman or either of them shall die before me, refuse or decline to act as executors of this my last will and testament. And it is my will and desire that my executors who may act shall employ Alexander Bradford or some other good clerk as they may prefer, to keep the books, accounts and papers of my estate until the whole is settled up and disposed of, paying the said Bradford or any other clerk out of my estate one hundred and fifty dollars for his services, and that my executors shall meet at some convenient place at least once in every three months to see if the books, papers, and accounts are property kept. And it is my will and desire that my executors pay off the moneyed legacies herein given as fast as money for that purpose may come into their hands, giving the preference in the payment as to priority of time to such as are most in need of this money. And I hereby revoke all other & former wills heretofore made by me desiring that this my last will and testament on four sheets of paper shall be taken and received as such to the exclusion of all others heretofore made by me. In testimony whereof I have hereunto placed my hand and seal this 12th day of August 1857.
Signed, sealed, published and William Smith (seal)
acknowledged as and for his last
will & testament by William Smith
who signed it in our presence, and
we witnessed it in the presence of the
testator and of each other.
E. Goss
A.P. Routt
Lewis B. Williams
At a monthly court held for the County of Orange at the courthouse on Monday the 28th of September 1857, this last will & testament of William Smith was proved in open court by the oaths of E. Goss, A.P. Routt, and Lewis B. Williams the witnesses thereto, and ordered to be recorded. And on the motion of Robert Thomas and George S. Newman, the executors therein named, who made oath thereto according to law, and severally entered into and acknowledged a bond which is ordered to be recorded without security (the will directing that none should be required) in the penalty of two hundred thousand dollars, conditioned as the law directs- certificate is granted them for obtaining a probate thereof in due form.
Teste
Record Location
WB 12:267
Document Type
Last Will & Testament
Notes
due to late date and multiple contingencies mentioned in will, further research needed to ascertain if any of these individuals were manumitted
Files
Collection
Citation
“1857 - Smith to Madison, et al - Orange Co, VA,” Manumission Project, accessed June 11, 2026, https://manumissionproject.omeka.net/items/show/2771.