Hi all, I received this will from a very good friend Louise Rourke. She has wrote books on several families. I thought it may be of interest to some of our Thomas James descendants. Thomas James Will In the name of God Amen the Twenty fifth Day of October Anno Dom. 1748 I Thos James of the Township of Charlestown in the County of Chester and province of Pennsylvania Being Sick in body but of Good and Perfect Memory Thanks be Given unto God and Calling to mind the uncertain Estats of this Transitory Life and that it is Appointed for all men Once to die when it shall please God to __________ And Declare this my last will & Testament in manner following First in _______ forsake my Sins most humbly Desireing Forgiveness for the same. I Comm__ _______ Almighty God to my Saviour by Whose Merits I trust to be Saved and for my body _______ to the earth to be buried in a Christian like and decent manner at the descretion of my Executors hereafter named And for the setling of My Temporal Estate it hath pleased God to bestow upon Me do Order Give and dispose the same in manner and form following... primis I Give and bequeath unto my well beloved Son Griffith five pounds Current Lawfull money of Pennsylvania to be paid unto him by my Executors within three years next after my Decease Item I give Devise and bequeath unto my Dearly beloved wife Gwenllian and my well beloved son John all my real estate and also my personal Estate of what kind or Nature soever they be by them jointly to be freely possessed and enjoyed their heirs Exetr-_ for Ever (the aforesaid legacy only Excepted) Whom I ________ appoint Jount Executors of this my Last will and Testament I nominate constitute and appoint my Trusty friends David Davies, Owen Howell, & Nathaniel Davies to be trustees to see that all things Contained in this my last will and Testament be performed according to the True intent and meaning thereof. I do hereby revoke Disanul and make void all Former Wills by me made and Declareing this only to be my last Will and Testament Published Pronounced & Declared by the said Thomas James to be his Last Will and Testament in the presence of us. David Davies ___________ Own H_II 9br 30 T__ James Nath Dav___ Mark Exers Sworn (Parts of the bottom of the page are torn off. The paper appears to have torn along the fold lines and has been repaired with tape. It is around the tape that the script is hard to read.) *note written in modern script at bottom: "do not know how the above came to be torn but believe it was done by Grifeth James that they are sure the above was their names to this will & remember the writing perfiecly well aliso the interlineation." STATEMENT OF THE WITNESSES OF THE WILL Philada Nov: 30th 1748 Then Personally appeared Owen Howell & Nathi Davies Two of the witnesses for ye foregoing will and on oath did declare they saw & heard the within Named Thomas James Sign Seal Publish & Declare the same will for & as his Last Will & Testamt and that at the doing thereof he was of Sound mind, memory and understanding to the best of their knowledge And being asked if they knew how the said within will became torn & defaced did respectively Declare they are Informed & verily believe it was done by Griffith the son of ye deced who was disatisfied therewth but were positive that their Names to the sd will Subscribed xxx notwithstanding their being Defaced are of their proper handwriting and that they perfectly remember the underlining of the word [joyntly] between the 17th and 18th lines before the Testator Signd & Sealed the same Coram Wm Plum______ INVENTORY OF THOMAS JAMES ESTATE A True and Perfect Inventory of the Real and personal Estate Goods and Chattls Rites & Credits of Thomas James of Charlestown Chester County Lately Deseas~ as appraized and appraized by us the Subscribers This the Twenty first Day of November Anno Dom------------1748 L- - S--d To _ wearing apparell Riding horse briddle 9"__" 0" a____________________torn and taped________________ To Iron ware 1" 10" 0" To 3 brass pans pewter dish and spoons To bed cloths and 2 beds 1" 12" 6" To wooden Lumber and earthen ware 1" 5" 0" To a chest box and loom and Geers 0" 5" 0" To 3 barrels sh(ch)urn and 2 tubbs 1" 10" 0" To 4 cows 9" 0" 0" To 2 yearling heiffers and a calf 2" 10" 0" To 2 mares 3" 0" 0" To Sheep 1" 9" 0" To corn in the Stackyard and hay 4" 0" 0" To the plantation and corn in the Ground 90" 0" 0" To Carpenters tools wool tubb and old Iron 2" 7" 0" Thomas James ________ Patk Anderson totall 127" 14" 6 (monetary values are pounds, shillings, [farthings, pence, or halfpence]?) Thanks, David S. Payne Searching for surnames: ALLISON, CORBIN, CRAIG, CROW, DEAN, FOWLER, HALEY, GORDON, GRAY, HENSON, JAMES, NEWTON, PARKER, PATTERSON, PAYNE, REDWINE, REID, WEST, WOODALL My Henson Family: Go to Joseph/Lazerous/Aaron/William http://web2.airmail.net/ldystang/gen/henson.html My Gordons: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/5917/GENEAL3.HTM#payne ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com