Maine Wills

 From York Registry of Deeds (1640-91)

In the name of God Amen/

   I John Heard of Kittery in the County of Yorke, In New England yeamon, being by the prouidence of god by reason of age weake of body, but of Prfect mind & memory, & with out frawd & deceate, & not knowing how it may please y^e Lord to deale with mee, as to matters of this life, Now to take mee out of this troublesome & transitory world, to whose Most gratious dispensations, I do humbly submitt, w^r for I Commit & Commend my soule into the hands of god y^t gaue it, & my body to Christean buriall, ordering & appoynting this Present Instrum^t to bee my last will & testament, in manner & forme following/

   Inp^rs : I giue & bequeath my grandaughters Mary & Elizabeth, daughters to my well beloued sonn James Heard late whilst hee liued of Kittery in New England, aforesd deceased, all my Land Improued & not Improued, being by Computation sixty Acres, or y^r abouts bee It more or lesse, lijng or scituate in Kittery aforesd, at a place Commanly Called & known by the name of Tomsons Poynt, imediately from & after the decease of Joⁿ Ross, which sd land or part y^r of, is now in the houlding possession & Occupation of the sd John Ross, togeather also with an house Erected, & built y^ron for y^e tearme of his Naturall life; with all & singular y^e profitts, & Commoditys belonging & app^rtajneing y^runto, to bee aequally diuided amongst them & y^r heyres, or to the suruiuer of them, & y^r heyrs for euer, y^e Ellder always to bee Preferred before y^e younger, & y^e Males before y^e females/

   Item I giue & bequeath unto my 3 younger Grandaughters, Katterine, Abigale & Ann, y^e daughters of my Intirely beloued sonn James Heard, late whilst hee liued of Kittery aforesd, deceased, the full some of Twenty pounds, a peece to each & euery of them, either in money or other good payment, which I shall leaue to y^e discretion of my ouerseers, in trust, whom I shall here in & here after Nominate, & appoynt to bee made Immediatly after : And as soone as they or either of them, shall accomplish to Attajne y^e age of eighteen years, or bee maried by my executor/

   Item my will is y^t in case one of the three last mentioned, Katterine, Abigaile & Ann, should Come to decease before they accomplish & Attaine to y^e age of eighteen years, or bee married as abouesd, then my Will is, y^t y^e legacy herein & hereby giuen, & bequeathed unto such shall redown unto my executor, but If y^e two of the before y^e aforementioned y^r in, should happen to decease befor the Attajne to y^e aforesd age, or bee married, then my will is, that y^e legacys herein & hereby given & bequeathed, unto y^m shall desend unto y^e Too Elldest girles, Mary & Elizabeth, as an augmentation to w^t is giuen unto y^m, as aboue to bee æqually diuided, betwixt them & y^r heyrs lawfully begotten/

   Item : I giue & bequeath unto my grandaughter Elizabeth, aboue mentioned, two Cows to bee deliuered unto her or her Assignes, two or 3 yeares after my decease, if they bee then liueing, otherwise this gyft to cease, & bee voyd, by my executors or ouerseers, in trust whom I shall in these nominate/

   Item : I giue & bequeath vnto my grandsonn John Heard, all the rest of my goods & Estate, to witt my farme, & all w^tsoeuer doth belong, & apprtajne y^runto, lijng & scituate at Sturgeon Cricke, in Kittery aforesd, togeather also with all & singular my whoole stocke of Cattle, of w^t nature, kind quality or Condition soeuer, & also all my debts wares, M^rchandizes, dues, or demands, w^tsoeuer, my iust & due debts being first payd, & discharged : Either in my own Costody or possession, or in the hands keepeing Costody or possession of any other Prson, or Prsons rescident in New England, aforesd or else where, whom I do hereby make my soole heyre, & executor, & to the heyres of his body lawfully to bee begotten for euermore/

   Always prouided that y^e sd John Heard should happen Mary, but decease with out lawfull Issew, then my will is in such a Case, that his widdow possess & inioy such a Competency of his sd Estate dureing y^e tearme of her naturall life, as y^e law directs & appoynts, but y^e remajnder of y^e Estate to witt y^e farme aforementioned, being Composed of vpland Meddow, Marsh^s Orchards, houseing, & all other & singular the app^rtenances, y^runto belonging, or any wise app^rtajneing, with y^e Estate of Cattle, as aboue bequeathed, & intended to bee bequeathed unto him y^e sd John Heard, shall discend unto y^e aforementioned Mary, & Elizabeth Heard Jointly, & unto there heyres for euer, lawfully to bee begotten on y^r bodys, & in default of such Issew, to the next sister & her heyres for euermore, prouided the sd Marry & Elizabeth relinquish y^r Clajme & right to & in the Land at Tomsons Poynt, afore mentioned, the which in such a Case shall descend vnto y^e three youngest daughters before named, or unto y^e suruiuer or suruiuers of them, or either of them, & her or y^r heyres, lawfully to bee begotten on her, or y^r bodys, for euer more, the Elldest always to bee Preferred before y^e younger, & y^e Males before y^e femals of y^r Issew/

   My will is also y^t in Case it should please god y^t I decease before my indeared Wife, Isbell Heard, then my Will is, that my ouerseers in trust take spetiall Care, y^t shee bee Carefully & duely prouided for, for a Comfortable subsistance out of the aforesd Estate at Sturgeon Cricke, dureing the tearme of her naturall life, & do hereby Impoure my sayd ouerseers hereafter mentioned, & nominate so to do/

   My will is also, y^t in Case my daughter in law Susanna Heard see meete to abide at Sturgeon Cricke with her Children, that shee & they bee carefully prouided for, & mantayned out of y^e produce of the farme, & stocke prouided shee use her utmost Care & diligence, in the Managem^t & Improuem^t there of, & this to Continew dureing the tyme of her Widdowhoodship, & till such tyme as the Children be Capable of being disposed of by her, with the aduise & approbation of the ouerseers, & this to Preuent unnessary Charge, & expence to my executor; my Intent & meaneing in the first Article is, that John Ross with in named may haue free lyberty, quietly & peaceably to possess & inioy, the dwelling house & Tomsons Poynt, & likewise y^e Land y^r fenced in & Improued by him dureing the tyme of his naturall life, as aforesd, but not to debarr, or prohibite y^e aforesd Mary & Elizabeth or y^r Assigns for Improueing at y^r will, & pleasure, the remajnder of the sd Lands, & to y^e Intent y^t this my will & testament, being the last I euer intend to make, & irreuocable, may bee duly & truely executed & Prformed, according to y^e tenour purport, true Intent & meaning y^rof, I do hereby nominate make Choyce of, & appoynt my trusty & beloued frejnds Majo^r Nic : Shapleigh, John Shapleigh, Jos : Hammonds William Spencer, & James Chadborne all of Kittery, & New England aforesd, & y^e suruiuer & suruiuers of them, any or either of them, vpon trust & Confidence in them reposed, to bee my ouerseers in trust, requesting them to bee Assisting in the execution of the same; In testimony y^t this is my last will & testament, irreuocable as aforesd, I do here unto put my hand & seale/ Dated in Kittery in Pischataqua Riuer, in New England aforesd this third day of March, in the yeare of o^r Ld god, according to y^e Computation of y^e Church of England one thousand six hundred seauenty & fiue & six/ Anno Domini : 1675/6

Signed sealed & Deliuered,    in the Presence of us/    Frans Smale/    Elizabeth Leighton/    Ric : Allexander/		John Heard (his Seale)
Sworn to by attesting witnesses 21 Feby 1676; recorded 16 Mch 1676-7 Source: Maine Wills, 1640-1760 (Portland, Me., 1887), p. 71, citing Registry of Deeds, 5, 20.