In the name of God Amen, I James Pool being of sound & disposing mind & memory, but knowing the uncertainty of life & being desirous of making disposition of my wordly estate, do make & ordain this my last will & testament to wit; I give & bequeath to my beloved wife Ursula a Negro women Matilda & such increase if any she may have after my death, & should the said Matilda having a sucking(sic) child at my death ,this I give her also together with one bed, bed-stead & furniture, also household & kitchen furniture as much as may be necessary for her comfort, during her natural life, which household & kitchen furniture may be allotted to her if she chooses by the _______, one chosen by herself & one by my other executors & they two to choose a third . All which property I give to her during her natural life.2nd All the balance of my estate of which I may die posessed, I direct to be sold by my executors hereafter named, & the monies thereof, together into my ready money [page 2] notes & other debts due me I direct to be equally divided between my children,William Pool, Gabriel Pool, the children of my son John Pool, & my daughters Rebecca Trainum, Polly Shaw & Betsey Mares [Mears?] share & share alike. To Micajah Jones the husband & to the children of my deceased daughter Sally Jones, I have already given & delivered what I consider an equal portion of my estate and therefore direct my executors to pay to them, that is, to the heirs of my daughter Sally Jones, twenty dollars & no more. The _________ property in which I have given a life estate to my wife, I desire immediately after her death to be sold & the proceeds to be equally divided in the same manner as delineated for my other property. 3rd I give and bequeath to the children of my deceased son John Pool five hundred dollars, which sum shall draw interest from the 5th day of January next, which amount is to be deducted from my estate before the above division takes place of the _______ property 4th Being desirous of making as equal a [page 3] division as practicable among my children sharing advanced to them as follows viz; To Wm. Pool six hundred and ninety seven dollars; To Gabriel Pool seven hundred and forty five dollars; To John Pool six hundred and seventy dollars ( viz) one hundred dollars in a little Negro, five hundred dollars by this will and the other seventy dollars in several small______ at different times; To William Trainum six hundred and seventy dollars; To Pleasant Shaw six hundred and seventy dollars; To John Mares six hundred and seventy dollars; I desire that the several amounts be taken into account before ______ as before ______, & be _______ as so much of their shares already delivered to them, & to be taken into the estate making out ______ of each ones share. Lastly I nominate, constitute and appoint my wife Ursula executrix and my son William Pool executor of this my last will & testament, here by revoking & making null all other wills ,here unto set my hand & affixed my seal this the seventeenth day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred & thirty seven. Signed, sealed, published & declared by the said James Pool_______ last will and testament at whose request & in whose name and in the presence of each other we have here unto signed our names as witnesses to the due execution of the same.

Benjamin Arnold

Alfred Perritt | James Pool (his mark)

Jno. S. Gaines  

Transcribed from a photocopy of the original by Jeff Medlock
E-Mail: jmedlock@hiwaay.net
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