THE WILL OF MOSES VAIL
recorded NY Wills: 47: 403
In the Name of God, Amen. The twenty fourth day of August, in the year of our LORD seventeen hundred and forty nine, I, MOSES VEAL, of Huntington in Suffolk County in the Province of New York, being sick and weak in body but of a perfect mind and memory thanks be given unto God, therefore calling unto mind the mortality of my body and knowing that it is appointed unto all men once to die, I do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament, that is to say principally and first of all, I give and recommend my Soul unto the hands of God who gave it, and for my body I recommend it to the earth to be buried in a Christian like and decent manner at the discretion of my Executors nothing doubting, but at the general resurrection I shall receive the same again by the mighty power of God, and as touching such worldly estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this life, I give and devise and dispose of in the following manner and form, IMPRIMIS:
I give and bequeath unto my dearly beloved wife PHEBE, the use of all my rooms in my house that I now use and the use of half my barn and shop and such household goods and farming utensils as she shall choose and my old brown horse and one third part of all my sheep and cattle and all that part of my land which I hereafter give unto my son PLATT to bring up my children upon, all the above mentioned articles to be to the use of my said wife the term of four years and then to be disposed of as hereafter shall be mentioned: I also give to my said wife, my Roane mare and her side saddle to be at her own disposal, also my negro girl, Charity, my best bed and furniture, my best iron pot, best half dozen plates, two best basons, two best pewter plates, my best cupboard and black chest, one trammel, these to be at her own disposal.
ITEM, I give and bequeath unto my beloved son JOSEPH five pounds and that roane horse which I have sent him.
ITEM, I give and bequeath unto my beloved son PLATT all that part of my lands and meadows that lyeth within the following bounds: beginning at a white oak tree standing in a corner of a fence by Justice Briants's meadow, thence running a straight line unto the head of the bogs, where my fence now stands thence Southwardly as the fence now stands and so across to a white oak at the corner of Lyman Fleet's lot, thence running eastwardly on the north side of said Fleet's lot to the road which leads to Brothertons, bounded on the east by said road and Micajah Brotherton and Joseph Skidmore taking in all my meadow lying northward against the said tract of land lying near Bread and Cheese Hollow and also my old brown horse, these articles to be given him in possession at the expiration of the above said four years and to be and remain to him his heirs and assigns forever unless it should so happen that he die under age and that without issue, if so, then to my son ISAAC to be and remain to him his heirs and assigns forever. I also give unto my said son PLATT that colt which is called his.
ITEM, I give and bequeath unto my beloved son MOSES all the remainder of my lands and meadows and my horse called Buck to be and remain to him his heirs and assigns forever together with the use of that part of my house which he now uses, as also half of my barn and shop and necessaries for the term of four years.
ITEM, I give and bequeath unto my beloved son JOHN all my weaving reeds and gears.
ITEM, I give and bequeath unto my son ISRAEL my sorrel horse and saddle which he now rides.
ITEM, I give and bequeath unto my beloved son MICAH a roane colt called his.
ITEM, I give and bequeath unto my beloved daughter MARY one cow which is now at Moberies.
ITEM, I give and bequeath unto my beloved daughter PHEBE ten pounds and my best bed and furniture after her mother has taken her bed.
ITEM, all the remainder of my Estate, as well as that which I have given but for a time at the expiration of the said time as that not yet given at all at the time of my decease to be sold and all my just debts and funeral charges first paid, the remainder to be divided into five equal parts, one fifth I give to my son ISRAEL, one fifth to my son MICAH, one fifth to my daughter PHEBE, and two fifths to my son ISAAC. My grain on the ground I give as moveables.
My will is that my wife should have one years provisions for herself and such children as I have left her to bring up.
And now I constitute, make and ordain my trusty friends Augustin Bryant and Timothy Tredwell my lawful Executors of this my last Will and Testament, and I do hereby utterly disallow, revoke, and disannul all and every other former Testaments, Wills, Legacies, and Executors by me in any ways before this time named, willed and bequeathed ratifying and confirming 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 above written, the word also interlined between the thirty second thirty third line, interline before the sealing hereof.
(Signed) MOSES VAIL., (L.S)Signed sealed published and declared by the said MOSES VEAL as his last Will and Testament in the presence of us subscribers, viz, Joseph Scidmore, Zephaniah Platt, Simon Fleet.
Be it remembered that that on the third day of April, Anno Domini 1750 personally appeard before me, Goldsbrow Banyar, thereunto delegated and appointed, Joseph Scidmore and Simon Fleet two of the subscribing witnesses to the within written Instrument or Will of Moses Vail, and being duly sworn on the Holy Evangelistson their oaths severally declared that they severally saw the said MOSES VAIL sign and seal the said Instrument or Will and heard him publish and declare the same to be and contain his last Will and Testament, that at the time thereof he was of sound disposing mind and memory to the best of thtier knowledge and belief, that they subscribed their names as witnesses to the said Will in the Testators presence, and also saw Zephaniah Platt the other witness thereunto sign his name as a witness to the said Will in the presence of The Testator.
(Signed) Gw. Banyar.