Maine Wills

 From York County Probate Records, Volume Eight (1705-53)

   In the Name of God Amen. The seventeenth Day Day of Ianuary in y^e Year One Thousand Seven Hundred & Fifty two, I Nicholas Shapleigh of Kittery in the County of York within the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New-England Esq^r being thrô divine Favour & Goodness in good Health of Body and of sound Mind and knowing that I must die but how Soon or Suddenly my Death may be I know not hoping whenever it Shall be that it may be in peace with God thrô his Son Iesus Christ. and willing to Settle the Affairs of my House by disposing of my Estate in a just & equitable Manner to & amongst my Children do make & ordain this my last Will and Testament.

   Imp^r. My Will is that all just Debts & funeral Charges and Legacys be duly paid & discharged by those of my Sons, who I Shall hereafter in this my Will name as Executors, out of that part of my moveables which I Shall in this my Will give to them.

   Item. I give & bequeath unto Martha my well beloved Wife one full third part of my real Estate namely one Third part of my House and Lands and Mills with the Appurtenances belonging to the Farm whereon I do now dwell in Kittery for Quantity & Quality for her Support during her natur^l Life.

   Item. I give & bequeath unto my Said Wife one full third part of all my Goods & moveable Estate forever free from any Payments or Charges.

   Item. I give & bequeath unto my S^d Wife as a Legacy over & above all her Thirds before mentioned the Sum of Thirteen pounds Six Shillings & Eight pence to be p^d to her by my Sons who shall be named Executors out of what I Shall give to them.

   Item. I have already given by Deed to my eldest Son John Shapleigh my House & Lands & Mills at Spruce Creek in Kittery which I had of my Aunt Curtis, and Several other Lots & parcels of Land which I intended for his full Portion of my Estate to which I now add five Shillings to be paid him by my Exec^rs in full of his Portion.

   Item. I give & bequeath unto my third Son Alexander Shapleigh and to his Heirs & Assigns forever Several parcels of Land in Kittery Viz^t One parcel containing about three Acres or be y^e Same more or less lying on the Northside of the High Way & bounded by the Same beginning four Rods Southwest from the Spring & running fourteen Rods Northwest and so back to the fence called Iohn Fry's Fence and by the Same to y^e High Way, and is the Same Land whereon the Said Alexander hath a Tan Yard & Bark House. Also I give to the Said Alexander his Heirs & Assigns about Forty Acres of Land be the Same more or less on the South Side of the Same High Way where his House Stands extending from the Parish or Ministry Land as y^e Way goes Easterly & Northerly so far as to take in the Swampy Ground opposite to the House where Iohn Fry lives to a Young Orchard, and by the South Side of the Said Orchard straight into the Woods to a Forty Acre Lot in Possession of y^e Family of Leightons, and extending Southward, so as to take all my Lands adjoining on the South of said Bounds including y^e Lands upon the Hill which I, bought of Moses Hanscom. I also give him Four Acres of Meadow Land at a place call'd Morrells Swamp. And all my part of the Marsh that lies in Sturgeon Creek Marshes called the little Marsh between the Marsh of M^r Charles Frost and the Marsh of Captⁿ Iohn Heard Dec^d. Also Two Acres of Wood Land adjoining to a parcel of my Land call'd Ioshua's Swamp at Sturgeon Creek all which parcels of Land I give to y^e S^d Alexander in Fee Simple forever.

   Item. I give & bequeath unto my well beloved Daughter Susanna Scammon Thirteen pounds Six Shillings & Eight pence lawful Money to be paid by my Sons Executors of this my Will. I also give to her One Acre of Wood Land joining to my Son Alexander's Land And I also give her the Priviledge of Pasturing one Cow for so long a time as She Shall live in Kittery.

   Item. I give & bequeath unto my Second Son Nicholas Shapleigh and to my three younger Sons Viz^t Samuel Shapleigh Tobias Shapleigh & William Shapleigh all other my Houses & Lands in Kittery and Berwick and in all other place & places, And all other my Estate real & personal whatsoever & wheresoever. And the Reversion of of my Wife's Thirds in my real Estate To Have & To Hold to them my Said Sons Nicholas Samuel Tobias & William in equa[l] parts or Shares to them & their respective Heirs & Assigns in Fee Simple forever to each of them one quarter part thereof in Fee they paying in equal proporition all my Debts funeral Expence & Legacies as in this my Will is before mentioned.

   Item. I make Ordain & appoint my loving Wife Martha together with my Sons Nicholas and Alexander Samuel Tobias & William to be Execut^rs of this my last Will & Testament, willing them well & truly to execute this my Will according to the true Intent & meaning of the Same. I give to my Execut^rs all my Right & part in the Sloop

   Lastly I do hereby utterly disallow revoke & make null & void all & every other Wills & Testaments Legacys & Bequests by me in any Manner before made either in Word or writing, hereby ratifying establishing & declaring this and no other to be my last Will & Testament.

Signed Sealed published pro-    nounced and declared by ye    Sd Nicolas Shapleigh Esqr to    be his last Will & Testamt    in presence of    Iohn Rogers Clemt Iackson    Ioseph Staple Noah Emery.		Witness my Hand & Seal    After some Interlineations    made for Susanna Scam-    mon, Alexander made Ex-    ecutor and the Bequest of    ye Sloop.       Nicholas Shapleigh (Seal)
Probated 6 April 1752. Inventory returned 13 Dec. 1752 at £4501: 7: 10, by James Gowen, Wm Leighton and Robert Morrell appraisers. Source: Maine Wills, 1640-1760 (Portland, Me., 1887), p. 658, citing Probate Office, 8, 139.