This is the will of Abiah Washburn of Raynham, Bristol Co., MA, grandmother of the 5 famous Washburn brothers Israel, Algernon, Elihu, Cadwallader and William D. Washburn. Abiah was born Abiah King on 29 June 1762 in Raynham, MA, the daughter of Benjamin King and Deliverance Eddy. Her father, Benjamin King, is mentioned both in her will and in her executor's accounting, because her own real estate was that which she had received from the estate of her father, Benjamin King. Abiah King married Israel Washburn on 12 June 1783 in Raynham, MA. He was born in Raynham on 30 Jan. 1755, the eldest surviving son of Capt. Israel Washburn and Leah Fobes. (There was quite a long string of Israel Washburns in this family.) Israel Washburn, husband of Abiah, died in 1841 in Raynham, so when Abiah made her will on 12 July 1841 she was already a widow. A microfilmed copy of her original will, with all the signatures, can be found on LDS microfilm #0577879, which is Bristol County Probate Records, Ware-Washburn, along with the supporting papers in her probate file. The will is a good one in that it names all her children, including her deceased son, two granddaughters, and mentions the name of her father. It was also witnessed by three other Washburn relatives. It is not a clerk's copy, but an original, so it contains the original signature of Abiah! The will of Abiah Washburn "Be it Remembered that I Abiah Washburn of Raynham in the County of Bristol and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, widow, considering the uncertainty of this mortal life, advanced in years & weak in body as I am, but of sound disposing mind and memory, do make publish and declare this my last will and testament in manner & form following to wit; "Item first I give and bequeathe my wearing apparel to my three daughters, viz Molly Leonard wife of Payton R. Leonard, Lydia K. Washburn and Cornelia Washburn to be equally divided between them. "Item Second If I should have any money on hand at the time of my decease, I give and bequeathe the same to my daughters Lydia K. Washburn & Cornelia Washburn & my grand daughters, Minerva Washburn & Lydia H. Washburn to be equally divided between them. "Item, third, After the payment of my just debts, funeral charges and charges of administration, I give and bequeathe all the residue of my personal estate including my bank stock, to my children, Israel Washburn, Molly Leonard, Reuel Washburn, Eli K. Washburn, Lydia K. Washburn & Cornelia Washburn, & to my said grand children, Minerva Washburn & Lydia H. Washburn, being the heirs & representatives of my deceased son Benjamin Washburn, to be divided into seven shares, my said six children first named in this item to be entitled to one share each, and my said Grand children to the other share. "Item fourth - I give, bequeathe and devise all my real estate the same which I inherited from the estate of my father Benjamin King, deceased, to my said son Eli K. Washburn, held in trust for the purposes hereinafter mentioned, And I do hereby authorize and grant unto the said Eli K. Washburn full power to sell said premises at public or private sale at such convenient time within one year from the Probate of this instrument as he shall deem for the best interests of all concerned and to make execute and deliver as good and sufficient deed or deeds of the same, as I could have done myself while living. And the proceeds of said sale or sales of my said real estate, (first deducting the reasonable charges thereof) I order my said trustee to cause to be divided & distributed among my six children and two grand children in the same manner & in the same proportions as I have directed the residue of my personal estate to be distributed in the preceeding item of this my last will and testament. "Item fifth. I nominate, constitute and appoint my said Son Eli K. Washburn sole executor of this my last will and testament. "Item Sixth. If my said son Eli K. Washburn shall decease before the probate of this instrument, or shall refuse to accept of the trust of trustee & executor as aforesaid, then & in either of those events, I hereby grant the same power, in regard to the sale of my said real estate with full[?] authority[?] to execute a deed or deeds of the same, to such suitable person as the Judge of Probate for this county for the time being shall appoint trustee & my administrator with this will annexed, as I have granted and aforenamed to the said son Eli K. Washburn hereby holding the said trustee & administrator with the will annexed be appointed by the Judge of Probate as aforesaid responsible for a faithful distribution of the proceeds from this sale or sales of my said real estate among my said children & grand children in the manner aforesaid & according to the foregoing proportions. "In witness whereof I the said Abiah Washburn, have hereunto set my hand and Seal this twelfth day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty one. "Signed, sealed, published and declared by the said Abiah Washburn to be Abiah Washburn her last will and testament in presence of us who at her request and in her presence in presence of each other have hereunto set our names as witness to the same Cordana Washburn Susan Washburn Cyrus Washburn Aug. 5, 1842 approved" The will was probated on 5 Aug. 1842 in Taunton, MA, proved by Cordana Washburn, Susan Washburn, Susan Washburn [sic] and Cyrus Washburn, who all personally appeared. Sureties on the bond of Eli K. Washburn as executor were Eliab B. Dean of Raynham and Charles J. Holmes of Taunton, and sureties on the bond of Eli K. Washburn as trustee were Hodges Reed and Henry H. Fox, both of Taunton. Godfrey Robinson, Zenas King and Abraham Gushee, all of Raynham, were appointed to appraise the estate of Abiah Washburn on 5 Aug. 1842. The inventory was valued at $1268.00, which included a farm of 25+ acres of land in the southerly part of Raynham, an acre of cedar swamp, and 4+ acres of swamp in Titicut Swamp in Raynham. The executor's accounting, dated 7 Mar. 1844, reveals that the farm was sold to Enoch King, who was an adjoining neighbor, and probably a relative or brother of Abiah, for $1200, and it also reveals that daughter Cornelia Washburn had died by 1844, for the shares of the estate were divided as such: To Israel Washburn $205.13 To Reuel Washburn $208.49 To Molly Leonard wife of P.R. Leonard, $208.49 To Lydia K. Washburn, "her own share & specific legacy in full, and the share of Cornelia Washburn, deceased, also" $434.42 To Minerva C. Washburn $112.99 To Lydia H. Washburn $112.99 To Eli K. Washburn $208.49 Cordana Washburn, Susan Washburn and Cyrus Washburn were given $1.50 for making the trip to Taunton to prove the will! Also mentioned in the accounting was the payment for $.38 for the following: "At Probate office for a copy of the portion of the estate of Benjamin King which was set off to Abiah Washburn." The total distribution was $1555.60, so the estate had increased in value almost $300 in two years. That's why it is important to check all the papers in the probate file rather than stopping at the will. Without the accounting, filed two years later, we would not know that daughter Cornelia Washburn had died, presumably unmarried. Israel and Abiah Washburn's eldest son, Israel Washburn, is the man who moved to Livermore, Maine, where he married Martha Benjamin in 1812, and was father of the 5 famous Washburns, mentioned earlier, as well as several other children. Reuel Washburn also went to Livermore, ME, and had a family. Eli K. Washburn is the only son who remained in Raynham. By the 1850 census, daughter Lydia K. Washburn was still unmarried and living in Raynham with her sister, Molly Leonard. John A. Maltby Redwood City, CA jamaltby@creative.net