In the name of God, Amen. I, Robert Simonton, ofthe County of Iredell and State of North Carolina, being weak inbody, but of sound disposing mind and memory blessed be God do forthe disposing of such worldly Estate as it hath pleased God to blessme with on this 7th Day of September in the year of our Lord onethousand eight hundred and twenty four make and ordain this my lastwill and testament in manner and form following that is tosay.
First, I will that all my just debts and funeralcharges shall be paid out of my Estate.
Secondly, I will to Margaret Simonton, the widowof my deceased brother, William Simonton, the use of the house,wherein we now live, during her natural life and I give and bequeathunto her two Negroes her choice of all the Negroes that shall belongto me at the time of my death and one third part of all the householdfurniture and also the sum of one thousand dollars to be paid to herout of my Estate by my Executors to be her own in fee simple and toher heirs and assigns forever.
Thirdly, I have formerly given to my niece,Zelpha, now the wife of the Rev Daniel Gould, and her children by herformer husband, Hugh Torrence, by deed under my hand and seal a houseand lot in the town of Statesville and certain Negroes and otherproperty therein described, which I hereby confirm and do furtherwill and bequeath unto the said Daniel Gould and his wife, Zelpha,the sum of one thousand dollars to them and their heirs forever andto each of her children now with her, Elizabeth and Margaret, onethousand dollars.
Fourthly, I have formerly given to my nephew,Absalom K Simonton, by deed under my hand and seal two Negro men andother property therein set forth, which I now confirm. I, also,purchased for him from Angus McKinzie the tract of land on which henow lives and took the deed for the same to him the said Absalomwhich I do hereby ratify and confirm to him and his heirs forever. I, also, give and bequeath unto him the sum of one thousanddollars.
Fifthly, I give and bequeath unto my brother,James Simonton, and his heirs the sum of one thousand dollars, to mybrother-in-law, William Falls, and his wife, Mary, my sister, andtheir heirs one thousand dollars. To my brother-in-law, BenjaminBrevard, and his wife, Jane, my sister, the sum of one thousanddollars to them and their heirs. To my brother, John Simonton, andhis heirs the sum of one thousand dollars. To my brother-in-law,Samuel Houston, and his wife, Sarah, the sum of one thousand dollarsto them and their heirs. To my brother, Simith Simonton, and hisheirs the sum of one thousand dollars. To my sister, Nancy Simonton,and her heirs the sum of one thousand dollars. To my brother, RossSimonton, and his heirs one thousand dollars. And to the children ofmy deceased sister, Margaret, the wife of the Reverend M. McCullochof Chester District, South Carolina, in equal shares to them andtheir heirs the sum of one thousand dollars. And to the children ofmy deceased brother, Theophilus Simonton, in equal shares to them andtheir heirs the sum of one thousand dollar.
Sixtly, I will and bequeath unto Robert SimontonWorke, son of my friend Robert Worke, the sum of one thousanddollars. To Robert T. Campbell, son of my friend, James Campbell,the sum of five hundred dollars. To Robert Simonton McClelland, sonof my friend, William Ross McClelland, the sum of two hundreddollars. And to Robet Simonton Laurence, son of my friend, WilsonLaurence, the sum of one hundred dollars. The aforesaid severaldevises unto the several devises and their heirs forever.
Seventhly, and for the special trust andpurposes herein mentioned I authorize and require my Executors hereinafter named to take into possession the Colored girl named Mary Ann,the Colored girl named Harriett, the two colored boys named Ford andAleck. My will and desire is that the said Mary Ann should live withmy sister-in-law, Margaret Simonton, so long as they both shall liveand that she be allowed as much liberty as is consistent with hersituation in life and that the said Margaret shall be allowed to drawfrom my Executors the sum of fifty dollars per year for every yearthe said Mary Ann lives with her in full trust and confidence thatshe will apply the same to the use and benefit of her the said MaryAnn. But in case the said Mary Ann should not continue to live withthe said Margaret or in case the said Mary Ann should outlive thesaid Margaret, in either of these cases my will is that my Executorsprovide some suitable home for the said Mary Ann, and appropriate toher sole use and benefit the sum of three hundred dollars. And withrespect to Harriett, my will and desire is that she should continueto live with my niece, Zelpha Gould, as long as they both shall livein trust that the said Zelpha Gould will allow her as much liberty asis consistent with her situation in life and the said Zelpha Gouldshall receive from my Executors the sum of five hundred dollars sheon her part coming under such obligations as shall be satisfactory tomy Executors for the faithful application of the said sum of money tothe use and benefit of the said Harriett. And in case she shall notcomply with my desire in this respect my will is that my Executorsprovide for the said Harriett otherwise and thus they apply the sumof three hundred dollars out of my estate to the use and benefit ofHarriett. And with respect to Ford and Aleck, my will and desire isthat my Executors apply to the General Assembly of the State of NorthCarolina for their emancipation and in case the same is granted thatthey have them educated, a good English Education, and bound to learnsome suitable trade or trades. And furthermore, if any security isrequired for the good behavior of such boys my Executors are toprovide the same & my estate or so much thereof as is necessaryfor that purpose is to be held liable for the same. But in case, theemancipation of such boys cannot be obtained, then my will and desireis that the said Ford should live with my brother, James Simonton,and said Aleck with my brother, Ross Simonton, who are requestedseverally to allow the said boys as much liberty as is consistentwith their situation in life, to teach them honesty and industry andto receive each from my Executors the sum of five hundred dollarsupon their severally executing such obligations as shall besatisfactory to my Executors for the faithful application of such sumto the entire use and benefit of the said Ford and Aleckrespectively.
Eighthly, for the purpose of enabling myExecutors to meet the several devises herein contained, it is my willand desire, that sums of the devises except those contained in theclause immediately proceeding this shall be demandable under threeyears from the time of my death, but my Executors are requested topay them notwithstanding this restriction as fast as they can afterdischarging my debts. And to enable them to pay my debts and todischarge the said devises, I hereby vest in them the whole of myestate real and personal not herein particularly devised, with fullpower to dispose of the same at publick or at private sale or partlyin the one and partly in the other as to them shall appear mostproper and expedient.
Ninthly, I give and bequeath unto the ReverendWilliam Moss and Reverend Thomas Browden the sum of fifty dollarseach believing them to be faithful Ministers of the Gospel. I, also,give one hundred acres of land on the west side of the South Yadkinfor a church to be vested by my executors in trustees for thatpurpose together with fifty dollars in money for the use of thepreachers and to be applied at the discretion of said Trustees. Iwill also that the Executors pay to the wardens of the poor ofIredell County the sum of one hundred dollars for the use of the poorof said County.
Tenthly, I will and devise that the wholeremainder of my estate be divided equally, share and share alike,among the whole of my Nephews & Nieces that shall be alive at thetime of my death. Each Nephew and Niece without regard to the numberthat spring from the same parent to be counted equal in thedivision.
Lastly, I do nominated and appoint my trustyfriends, George Lee Davidson, Theophilus Falls, and James Campbell,of this my last will and testament hereby revoking and disallowingall other wills and testaments by me at anytime made and ratifyingand confirming this and no other as my last will andtestament.
Signed, Sealed, Published and
Declared by Robert Simonton
the testator as his last will
and testament R. Simonton [Seal]
In the presence of
R. H. Canon
Thomas Fortune
Recorded Will Book D-1, Page 150
Sumter District, South Carolina
Recorded April 14th, 1826
William Potts, Ordy, SD
Bundle 90, Package 17