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Samuel
Merrill, 1928, reprint 1983
Nathaniel1
of Newbury and His Sons - Chapter VII,
pp 66-101
The
Will of Nathaniel1
Merrill
The
will and inventory of Nathaniel1 Merrill are
preserved in the Essex County Court Papers, vol. III,
leaf 10, in the office of the Clerk of Courts at Salem.
Both papers are in the handwriting of Anthony Somerby.
The will was executed 8 March, 1654/5; Nathaniel Merrill
died 16 March, 1654/5; the will was proved 27 March, 1655.
Anthony
Somerby was educated at Cambridge, England. He came to
New England in 1639, and was the first schoolmaster of
Newbury. He was town clerk nearly forty years, and his
handwriting is very familiar to those who have devoted
much attention to early Newbury records. Richard Knight,
another witness of the will, came to New England in 1635,
having previously learned the tailoring trade. He was
one of the first selectmen of the town.
The
accompanying facsimile of the will I traced carefully
with a pen on tracing cloth, devoting several hours to
the task. By the same means I copied most of the autographs
which are used in later pages of this book. A majority
of the autographs are from wills, and many of these instruments
were executed at times of great bodily infirmity. They
are not models of chirography: it may, nevertheless, be
fairly said that the penmanship of our earlier ancestors
was usually better than their pens. In the mark by which
Nathaniel Merrill signed his will we can see the effort
of a man on his deathbed to make the initials N M. There
is no reason whatever to assume that he lacked the usual
common-school education of his time.
WILL
OF NATHANIEL1 MERRILL
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Witnes
by these psents that J Nathaniell Merrill
of Newbury in the Countie of Essex being ficke of body but
through gods mercy of perfect memory do here make
my
last will and testament, J first bequeath my soule
into |
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5
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the
hands of my blessed Redeemer with an assured hope
of a ioyfull resurection, and my body when it shall
please the lord to take me out of this fraile life
to bee
buryed in the burying place of Newbury, and for my
worldly goods J giue and dispose of as followeth |
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10
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Jmpr
J giue and bequeath unto Susanna my wife
fiue akers of plowable land lying next my Brother
John
land and halfe the marsh dureing her naturall life
and a cow and three beifers and all my household
goods, And out of this estat so giuen to my wife |
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15
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J
giue and bequeath unto my daughter Susanna fiue
pounds when she shalbe at the age of twenty yeares
then J giue and bequeath unto my son Nathaniell
(whom J appoint as my true and lawfull heire) all
my land and freehold after my wiues decease, and |
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20
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all
the working tooles & Jmplements of husbandry
and all the cattell and stocke besids And out of this
stocke J appoint that my son Nathaniell shall pay
theise legacyes as followeth, that is J giue unto
my son
John when be shalbee of the age of two and twenty
yeers |
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25
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the
summe of fiue pounds, And also J giue and bequeath
unto my son Abraham at the age of two and twenty yeare
fiue pounds, And J giue and bequeath unto my sonne
Daniell also at the age of one and twenty years fiue
pound
and J giue and bequeath to my son Abell fiue pounds
also |
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30
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at
the age of one and twenty years, And J appoint my
son Nathaniell to be my sole executor and all my debts
& funerall rites being discharged J appoint him
to
haue all the rest of my goods & chattels undisposed
and J desire my brother John merill and Anthony Somerby |
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35
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to
be the ouerseers of this my last will & testament. |
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Jn
witnesse wherof J baue set my hand. march the eight
in the yeare one thousand six hundred fifty foure
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The
NM marke
of Nathaniell Merrill
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but if gods p’uidence should by losses & crosses upon ye estate more then
ordinary: then proporlionably to be abated in the
legacyes |
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Wittnes Richard
Knight
Anthony Somerby
John Merrell
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pued
in court held at ypswich
the 27 of (1) 55 by the
oath of John
merrill & Anthony Sumerby
p me Robt. Lord cleric’
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