Will of Daniel McCarty, Westmoreland County, 29 March 1724 Westmoreland County Deeds & Wills, 1723 – 1738, pp. 18 –20 In the name of God Amen, I Daniel McCarty of the parish of Cople in the County of Westmoreland, Esqr, considering the uncertainty of this transitory life and in order to a more ready resignation of my immortal soul unto the almighty & most merciful God that gave it in full faith & belief of pardon and forgiveness of all my sins & a joyful resurrection to an everlasting state of bliss and happiness through the mercy and merits of my blessed savior and redeemer Jesus Christ. I prepare, make, & declare my last will and testament in manner & form following. First, I desire my debts be justly paid without trouble and, that in case of any controversies, that my executors are not satisfied of the justness of the claim that the same be adjudged & decided by indifferent persons without going to law. Secondly, Forasmuch as at times I have & so perhaps may have at the time of my death some peoples’ obligations for fees whose business is not or may not then be finished. It is my will that in such case a suitable abatement be made them out of their obligation as my trustees shall think right & just. Thirdly, I desire a full inventory of my estate to be taken as soon as may be after my death and that the same be valued and not withstanding the same lies in different counties, that the whole be completed & returned to Westmoreland County with a full account of all debts due to me by bill, bond, or account and put into the said inventory as I think it ought to be. Fourthly, For a provision for the future support of my loving consort, I will & order that as long as she lives as my widow, she remain on my now dwelling plantation in full possession thereof and as head of my family that she keep my children together and not otherwise provide for by my trustees. That she have liberty to kill or cause to be killed annually such & so much provisions out of my stock, Stafford not excepted, as she shall think needful for my family’s use and where it may best be spared. That she be possessed with twelve of my slaves for so long as she remains & lives my widow of the boy Natt, House, Jone, Dinah, Arabella, Mollagases, Jenny, and little Jenny to be at her choice to take four out of them and for the other eight my said wife to choose four & my trustees to assign her the other four and all if or can be so reasonably ordered of the slaves then on my said dwelling plantation, those twelve slaves I order & allot (to & for the uses) to wait on my widow & children to do the necessary work in & about my house, to spin up all the wool that my stocks of sheep shall annually yield for the good of my family & in general to make corn for the support of my wife & children & the tobacco to be to & for the use of my said wife the maintaining & fully providing for the said slaves all things by law or reason is needful. It is also my will that within the space of one year after my death, or as soon as conveniently it may be, my executors or trustees purchase the slaves out of any Negro ship my wife shall desire or make choice of which said Negroes is to be settled & worked where my said wife pleases during her life (except their being worked on any part of my land for that she has one thousand acres of land reserved out of Vaulx’s patent) the sole profit of whose labor I give & allot to my said wife for her better support & maintenance during her natural life, she always providing for & maintaining the above said slaves with all things needful & lawful. Item. It is my will that my wife have the profits of all my gardens & orchards on my said plantation to & for the better support and keeping of my house for herself & my children during her widowhood and also what silver utensils was here before I married her as also all her apparel of any sort that I have given her as well ornamental as needful, together with her horse and such horses as may commonly be called hers at the time of my decease & all her saddles & bridles I give to my wife (if she survives me) and to her disposal to whom she pleases, but in case of failure thereof her clothes I order to be given to her daughters and the ladle to Sarah & candle, kettle, & porringer to Lettice. But it is not my intent or will that my estate should be at the charge or expense of seating the last mentioned ten slaves for my wife, nor that she should bring into my family any persons, boarders, storekeepers, or any others whatsoever but such has property having been or belong to my family. I give and bequeath to my son Denis all my lands in Stafford County to him & his heirs male of his body and for want of such to my son Daniel and the heirs male of his body and for want of such to my son Billington & the heirs male of his body & for want of such to my son Thaddeus and the heirs male of his body and for want of such to the heirs female of my said son Denis and for want of such to the heirs female of the body of Daniel and for want of such to the heirs female of the body of Billington and for want of such to the heirs female of the body of Thaddeus & her heirs and assignees forever. Item. I give & bequeath all my lands in Westmoreland County to my son Daniel & his heirs male of his body and for want of such to my son Denis & the heirs male of his body and for want of such to my son Billington and the heirs male of his body and for want of such to my son Thaddeus and the heirs male of his body and for want of such to the heirs female of the body of my said son Daniel and for want of such to the heirs female of the body of my son Denis and for want of such to the heirs female of the body of Billington & for want of such to the heirs female of the body of Thaddeus and her heirs and assignees forever. Item. I give to my son Billington all my land at Farnham Creek in Richmond County that was my grandfather Billington’s. Land to him and his heirs male of his body and for want of such to my son Denis and the heirs male of his body and for want of such to Daniel & the heirs male of his body and for want of such to Thaddeus & the heirs male of his body and for want of such to the heirs female of the body of Billington and for want of such to the heirs female of the body of Denis and for want of such to the heirs female of the body of Daniel and for want of such to the heirs female of the body of Thaddeus and her heirs or their heirs forever. Item. I give and bequeath to my son Thaddeus, all my land at Mangorite in Richmond County being the land that was Captain John Rice’s land I bought of Webly Pavy & the land I bought of Benjamin Hinds to my said son Thaddeus and his heirs male of his body and for want of such to Denis & the heirs male of his body and for want of such to Daniel & the heirs male of his body & for want of such to Billington & the heirs male of his body and for want of such to the heirs female of the body of Thaddeus and for want of such to the heirs female of the body of Denis & for want of such to the heirs female of the body of Daniel and for want of such to the heirs female of the body of Billington & her heirs or their heirs forever. All the land in fresh waters that I bought of Vincent Cox & Phillip Rogers I give to my son Daniel, his heirs, & assignees. Item. All my land in Northumberland County, I give to my son Billington, his heirs, & assignees. Item. I give to my son Thaddeus the sum of two hundred pounds sterling to be paid out of my estate in consideration that he has the smallest quantity of land & to buy more with & I confirm to my son Thaddeus the Negro woman, Alice, which I have already given him & all her children already born or hereafter to be born & their future increase before or after my death over & besides his rateable part of my estate hereafter to be given to him. Item. It is my will that my Negro, Kingsale, serve my son Denis & his heirs until he (I mean the said Negro) arrives to forty-five years of age and then to be free and my son Denis to transport him to Maryland and to clothe him well, and it is also my will that my said son Denis have all my Negroes in Stafford that may be there at the time of my death (except Dick, Alice’s husband) and that my trustees or executors in trust hereafter named as soon as convenient may be purchased for my said son as many more Negroes as will make up the whole number with those in Stafford & Kingsale twenty and that my Negro, Pompey, who was apprentice to John Smith, be one of the twenty-five Negroes, all of which I give to my son Denis & the heirs of his body. Item. I give to my said son Denis one fourth part of my household stuff as beds, pots, pans, pewter, brass, chairs, tables, & such like and all my stocks of cattle, hogs, sheep, & horses that may be in Stafford at my death and all the debts to me in the said county due & owing & all goods & merchandise there, he paying & discharging all dues & lawful demands against me to all persons in the said county of Stafford & that my said son be possessed with all that is given him within one year after my death or sooner if it conveniently may be. Item. It is my will that the other three fourths of my household goods as aforesaid be divide between my other three sons, but to remain in my wife’s possession for hers & my family’s use until Daniel marries or goes to housekeeping and then he is to have his part, and the others to have their parts at the death of my said wife & not before unless she pleases. Item. I give to my said three younger sons and to each of them all the stocks of horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs that are or at the time of my death may be on the plantation to them respectively given, their mother having the privilege of killing out them as before given and the wool of the sheep thereon to be manufactured as aforesaid, but thereof Denis nor the Negroes assigned to my wife except the first four is not to have any part. Item. It is my will that all my children, except Denis, be and remain with their mother on my now dwelling plantation so long as they live single and they are underage and not otherwise disposed of by my trustees if my said wife remains my widow and that they be supported and maintained out of my estate. And it is my will & I do order that within one year or as soon as may be after my daughter Winifred shall be married or arrives to twenty years of age, my said trustees buy & purchase as much land and Negroes or both and Negroes to be settled to & for the use of my said daughter & the heirs of her body & for want of such to my heir at law & his or her heirs forever. And it is also my will & order that within one year or as soon as may be after my daughter Sarah shall be married or arrives to twenty years of age, that the said trustees buy & purchase as much land and Negroes or both and Negroes to be settled to & for the use of my said daughter & the heirs of her body & for want of such to my heir at law & his or her heirs forever. Item. I order to my daughter, Mrs. Anna Barbara Fitzhugh, two female Negroes not exceeding forty pounds sterling value to be purchased by my trustees with said two Negroes with their increase I give to my said daughter & the heirs of her body lawfully begotten and for want of such to my heir at law forever. Item. It is my will and I do hereby give to each of my grandchildren two young Negroes & fifteen pounds sterling value each slave to be bought by my trustees to every of them my grandchildren that I now have or at the time of death may have and the heirs of each of their bodies and for want of such to their heirs at law or lawful representatives by their mother’s side and for want of such to my heir at law forever. I give to my son Denis, my silver punch bowl & ladle & all the silver tankards & spoons. Cane sugar & mustard pot or canister that came with them & all the rest of my plate I give to my son Daniel.