Lincoln County Probate Records

In the Name of God Aman I Jonathan Oaks of Canaan in the County of Lincoln : Being through the Abundant Goodness of God, tho ; Week in Body, Yet of a sound and perfect understanding and Memory, do Constitute this My Last Will and testament, and Desire it may be Received by All as Such : first I most humbly Bequeath My Soul to God My Maker, beseeching his Most Gracious Acceptance of it, through the All-sufficient Merits and Mediation of my most Compassionate Redeemer Jesus Christ, Who Gave himself to Be an Atonement for My Sins. And is Able to Save to the Uttermost all that Come Unto God by him. Seeing he ever Liveth to Make Intercession for them, and who, I trust, will not reject Me, a returning penitent Sinner, when I Come to him for Mercy in this hope and Confidence I render up My Soul With Comfort, humbly beseeching the most Blessed and Glorious Trinity, one God, Most holy. Most Merciful and Gracious to prepair Me for the time of my Dissolution, and then to take me to himself into that peace and Rest, which he has prepared for them, that Love and fear his holy Name. Amen. Blessed be God. I Give my Body to the Earth, from whence it was taken in full Assurance of its Resurrection from thence at the Last Day, as for my Burial I desire it May Be decent, at the Discretion of my Dear Wife and my Executors hearafter Named, who, I doubt not will Manage it with prudence as to my Worldly Estate I will and positively order that all my Debts be paid first I Give to my Dear and Loving Wife, I will and order that She have a Cumfortable Maintainance in Sickness and helth So long as She remains My Widdow togeather with all my household Moveables So Long as She Remains with her Children ; And unto My Eldest Daughter Mary I Give five Shilling. She haveing had her part & more out of My Estate Before : and to my Daughter Lydda I Give five Shillings, She haveing had her full part out of my Estate Before: and to My Daughter Elizabeth I Give five Shillings, She haveing had her part out of my Estate Before And to my Daughter Sarah I Give five Shillings out of my Estate : And to my Eldest Son Jonathan Oaks I Give ten Shillings to Be paid him out of My Estate if he Ever Comes to this place again And to My Daughter Rebeckah, I Give five Shillings She having had her part out of my Estate Before : And to My Son John Oaks I Give five Shillings he haveing had his part out of my Estate Before And to my Sun Daniel Oaks I Give five Shillings to be paid him out of My Estate : And to my daughter Lois I Give five Shillings She haveing had her part out of My Estate before And to my Two Beloved Sons Levi Oaks & Solomon Oaks I Give and bequeath to to them Jointly & Severly My home Lot on which I Live togeather with all My Improvements adjoining togeather with My Island which Lyeth a Little to the South of my Lot, with all the Improvements and Appertinances there to Belonging with all My Moveable stock and farming touls and Carpenders tools to them there Heirs and Assigns forever : And I do positively order that they pay my funarel Charges, and pay All My Just Debts, and provide their Mother a Comfortable Maintainance in Sickness & helth So Long as She Remains My Widdow and if She Remains so through Life, a Decent Buriel after Death, and pay the Several Legises to their Brothers & Sisters Before above mentioned And to their three Youngest Sisters Mille, Sibbel & Lucy four pounds Each Mille to have her Dowrey at Ninteen years of Age & Sibbel & Lucy to have their Shear at Eighteen Years of Age, And to their two Youngest Brothers I positively order that they Be att the Cost of procuring a title to the Lot of Land I had of Daniel Lamberd, from the proprietors for them it being the third Lot from Wesserunsett up the main River And Likewise that they Give teen Bushels of Corn yearly each from the time they are Eightteen Years of Age two years I Likewise order that they Live with their Brothers, to wit : Abel with Levi and William with Solomon untill they are Eightteen Years of Age and that they provid for them decently in Victuls and Cloths and Larn to read wright and Cypher and give them a freedom Suite I Likewise order that my two Sons Levi & Solomon Colect All Debts Due to my Estate And to my three Youngest Daughters Mille Sibbel & Lucy I Give four pounds Each as I have ordered them paid by their Brothers Above. And to my two youngest Son Abel and William I give Jointly & Severally My right and title which I purchased of Daniel Lamberd to a Lot of Land it being the third Lot from Wesserumseet together with what I have above order'd paid to and procured for them, by their two Brothers : Levi & Solomon

finally I do Constitute My Son Solomon Oaks togeather with Solomon Clark Executors of this My Last will and testament, and trustees to see this my Last will performed agreeable to my Mind as I have above Expresed, in Witness whareof I have hearunto Set my hand and Seal the Second Day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand seven Hundred & Eighty four

Jonathan Oaks (seal)

hear I take
of my Seal and
do Declear this
to be my Last Will
and testement

Witnesses

Peter Heywood
Peter Heywood Jr
John Fowler

Probated 12 Mar., 1785. [III, 121-2.] Inventory by Peter Heywood, James Turner and Joseph Weston, all residing at Howardston, 15 Mar., 1785, £219 : 11 : 10. [III, 235.] Peter Heywood and Joseph Weston, both of Howardston, commissioners to examine claims. [III, 235.]

Source: The Probate Records of Lincoln County, Maine, 1760 to 1800 (Portland, Me.: Printed for the Maine Genealogical Society, 1895), p. 149, citing Lincoln County, Maine, Probate Records.