Cover Page:
Register of Wills In and for the County of Philadelphia Pennsylvania
IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF
Herman Umsted
Will No. 172 Deceased Year 1768
UN Certified Copy of
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
RONALD R DONATUCCI
REGISTER OF WILLS
and
Ex officio Clerk of the Orphans' Court
(Form) 10-75A (Rev. 12/79)
In the Name of God Amen the Sixteenth Day of January in the year of our Lord one Thousand Seven hundred and Sixty Seven I Harman Umstat of the Township of Parkiomen and Skippack in the County of Philadelphia and Province of Pensylvania Yeoman Being sick and weak in Body but of Perfect [???] Understanding And Memory thanks Be given unto God therefore and calling unto Mind the Mortality of my Body and Knowing it is appointed for all men once to Die Do make and ordain this my Last will And Testament That is to Say Princypally and first of all I Recommend my Soul Into the hands of almighty God Who gave it and as for my Body I Recommend it to the Earth to be Buried in a Christian Like and Decent Manner At the Descration of My Executors And as touching Such worldly Estate wherewith it hath pleased God to Bless me in this Life I Give Divice and Dispose of the Same in Manner and form following …
Imprimise As for my Wife abigail She obtained of me A Cartain obligation Bearing Date the 27th Day of December Anno Dm 1760 for the Sum of Nine Pounds to be Paid to her Yearly During my Natural life shall be in Lieu of her Dower and thirds out of my Estate and that She my Said Wife Abigail shall in no wise obtain any Part or Share in my Estate Real or Parsonal after my Decease …
Item I give Device and Bequeath unto my Eldest Son John All my Tenements Plantations or tracts of Lands now in my Possession to have and to hold them with the appurtinances thereunto Belonging for and During the term and Space of one Year Next after my Decease Item I give Divice and Bequeath unto My Son John all that Piece or tract of Land which I Bought Of My Father Situate Lying and Being in ye Township of Parkiomen and Skippack County and Province afsd. containing fifty acres Be the Same more or less to be to his only Proper use and Behoof his heirs and assigns forever and also a part of the Piece or tract of Land which I Bought of Richard Addams Beginning in the Middle of Skippack Creek thence upon a [???] Line by Land Now in Possession of George Christman about Sixty Eight Perches thence North East 48 Perches to a line of the aforesd. fifty acres containing Twenty acres and a half or thereabouts Be the Same more or less Which Said two Pieces or tracts of Land together with all and Singular the Buildings Improvments and appurtinances whatsoever Thereunto Belonging to be to him only Proper use and Behoof his heirs and assigns forever …
Item I give Divice and Bequeath unto my two Daughters Elizabeth and Mary all the Rest of My lands And Tenements whereon I now Dwell at one Year after My Decease together with all and Singular the Buildings Improvements and Appurtenances thereunto Belonging to Be to their own Proper Use and behoof their heirs and Assigns forever and ifsobe my Said Daughter Elizabeth Should Choose to keep the Sd Place it is my will that She shall Pay to my D Daughter four hundred & forty Pounds good and Lawfull Money of Pensilvania (to be paid in like?] Manner and form following that is to Say the Sum of forty Pounds at two years after my Decease and fifty Pounds yearly and Every year untill the Whole Sum be Paid and with out any Intrest for the Same …
Item it is my will that if in case my Daughter Elizabeth Shall not Choose the Lands and tenements hereby willed and Bequeathed to her that then my Daughter Mary Shall have them Paying the Sum of four hundred and sixty five pounds Sixty five Pounds at two years after my Decease and fifty Pounds yearly as aforesd …
Item it is my will that my son Abraham Shall Learn the Trade with Daniel Marsteller and to Live with him untill he is one and Twenty Years of age and the [said?] Daniel Marsteller Shall Teach or Cause him to be Taught to Read and to Write and to Cipher as faar as the Rule of three and Shall give him sufficient freedom Dues that is to Say two Suits of apearil one whereof must Be New and Sufficient Meet Drink and appearil During the Said term …
Item it is my will that my Son John have two horses of his own Choice and the Corn in the ground and if there be any Money After my Decease all to be to his own Proper use and behoof his heirs and assigns forever …
Item it is my will that my three Children Namely John Elizabeth and Mary Shall Each of Pay to my yonger Son Abraham The Sum of Twenty Pounds good and Lawfull Money of Pensilvania to be paid to him at his age of one and twenty years he my Said Son Abraham is to have and to Enjoy it and to be to his own Proper use his heirs and assigns forever …
Item it is my will and I Do Order that all the rest of my Moveable goods be Appreased and Sould and the Money arrising therefrom after all my Just Depts and funeral Carges Be Paid and Satisfyed be Shared Equally Between my three Children Namely John Elizabeth & Mary Share and Share alike …
Item it is my will that if in Case my Son John Should Come to Die Intestate and without Lawfull heirs of his Body That then all his Estate falls Back to the Rest of my Children To Be Shareed Equally Share and Share alike or if any of My aforesaid Children Shall Die without Lawfull Issues that their Estate Be Shared Equally Between the Surviving Part …
And Lastly I Do hereby nominate Constitute and appoint my trusty friend Arnold Zimmerman and my Said Son John to be my [Executors] of this My Last will and Testament and I do hereby Utterly Dasalow Revoke and Disanull all and Every other Former Testoments Wills by me in any wise before this time Named willed and Bequeathed Rattifying this and no other to be my Last will and testament In Witness whereof I have hereunto Set my hand and Seal the Day and year first Before Written
Signed Sealed Published Pronounced & Declared By the Sd Harman Umstat to be his Last will and Testament In the Presence of us who at this Request and in his P[resence] Subscribe our Names as witnesses of the Sane
Anthy Harp his
[unreadable signature?] - jur Harman h Umstat
John Umstat - jur Mark
Philada May 9th 1768 Personally appeared Anthony Harp and John Umstat the Witnesses to the foregoing Will, and on Oath did declare that they saw and heard Herman Umstat the Testator therein named Sign Seal publish and declare the same Will forand as his last Will and Testament and that at the doing thereof he was of Sound disposing Mind Memory & Understanding to the best of their Knowledge and Belief
Coram Benjamin Chew Regr .Gen.l
COMMENTS
Words in [brackets] are questionable - pieces of the original have apparently been taped together and when copies were made, and words which were under the tape are often unreadable.
Coram, according to Barbara's trusty BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY, means before or in the presence of.
The unreadable witness signature may be that of Anthony Harp, with the person who wrote the will for Harman having written harp's name legibly above it.
The words Jur[t] after the signatures was added to record that they swore they were present.
We use his mark "h" to help identify him as this Harman.
6 May 2002