Muhlenberg County Kentucky
Wills: O
Jesse Oates, 1831
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Transcription
In the name of God Amen. I Jesse Oates of the County of Muhlenberg & Commonwealth of Kentucky believing it my duty while in my proper mind to dispose of my worldly goods wherewith it has pleased God to bless me with, not knowing how soon I may be called from this world. My wish is to make an equitable division of my property among my children & my beloved wife. I therefore proceed to give & dispose of the same in the following manner towit
First I give & bequeath to my beloved wife Zilpha the following slaves towit Olive, Press, John, Hardy, & two old slaves Tamer and Becky during her natural life. My will is that my beloved wife have the use of my farm whereon I live together with all the household & kitchen furniture, farming utensils together with my oxen & cart, wagon & gear & a sufficient number of horses to cultivate the farm, and also so much stock of every description as my executors may think necessary for the comfort & maintenance of my family until my son Charles C. Oates arrives to the age of twenty one.
I give & bequeath to my son Mathew Oates two hundred & seventy five acres of land including Plails cabin & the Lick lying in two surveys, twenty five acres of which was patented to V.L. Dillingham & the balance in my own name, and whereas I have purchased ninety acres of land from William Roark & have executed my note for the payment, my will & desire is that said Roark make the conveyance to my said son Mathew. I also give & bequeath to my said son Mathew two slaves towit Peter & Mahalia, to him & his heirs forever. It is also my will that my executors furnish my said saon with a good horse creature out of my stock with a decent bridle & saddle & one featherbed & furniture to him & his heirs forever.
I give & bequeath to my son Oliver H. Oates a tract of land containing six hundred acres lying on Thompsons Creek being the tract conveyed to me by David Campbell to him & his heirs forever, and some doubts being apprehended as to the title of said land, and should it be taken from him by prior claim, will will is that my executors pay him four hundred dollars out of my estate. I also give him the following slaves towit, Jacob, Fanney, & William, to him & his heirs forever, and that my executors furnish him with a good horse beast, a decent saddle & bridle, & a featherbed and furniture out of my estate.
I give & bequeath to my son Wyatt Oates the following lands towit, four hundred acres deeded to me by J. Cravens called & known by the [name[ Cravens place together with a part of the surveys I live on, Beginning at Cravens N.E. Corner running northwardly across to the fence by the ditch to the main road thence west with the road binding on my son Richard's line including all my land on the south of the main road & to the Beginning. I also give him the following slaves towit, Daniel, Everett & Sarah, to him & his heirs forever, and I desire my executors to furnish him with a good horse beast, a decent saddle & bridle & a featherbed & furniture out of my estate.
I give & bequeath to my son Richard M. Oates at tract of land containing two hundred acres on which he now lives called & know by the name of the John Grissom place and twenty acres out of Lucy Parker's survey adjoining together with a part of the surveys on which I live, Beginning at a large white oak stump in the road thence running N 88 W to the back line of the Harris survey thence with said line west to the corner thence south with a line thereof to the corner, thence to the N.E. corner of the Lucy Parker survey, thence down the branch with a line of the same to a small branch a short distance above the ford leading from said Richard's to Dearing's place, thence up said branch to Craven's line and with said line north to the corner, thence N 88 E to a small branch, thence down the branch with the meanders thereof to a line of marked trees to the Beginning, containing by estimation one hundred acres. I also give him a negro woman slave by the name of Charlotte & her two children & one featherbed & furniture, to him & his heirs forever.
I give & bequeath to my son Charles C. Oatesw the balance or remainder of all the surveys on which I live including the house &c. for the use of my beloved wife & family until my said son arrives to the age of twenty one years together with one hundred acres that has been surveyed in my name but not yet patented adjoining the Cravens survey on Thompsons Creek, and my will is that my beloved wife enjoy the same benefit of the farm after my said son arrives to the age of twenty one during her lifetime or widowhood that she now does, and I furthermore give to my sons Charles the following slaves towit, Bayles, Riley & Ally, to him & his heirs forever, and I desire my executors to furnish him with a good horse creature, a decent saddle & bridle & featherbed & furniture out of my estate.
I give & bequeath to my son John M. Oates the tract of land on which he now lives as conveyed to him by Jethro Oates, also the tract of land I purchased of Jesse Cox adjoining, a negro boy called Waitman in addition to what property I have heretofore given him, to him & his heirs forever.
Whereas I have heretofore given to my daughter Rachel Boggess sundry species of property but not enough to make her part equal to the rest of my children and being desirous to do so, I have thought it advisable to give her my slave Bristo provided he is hamanely treated otherwise it is my will that my executors (who are to judge of his treatment) shall sell him at private sale for the best price they can get & pay the proceeds thereof to my said daughter or her heirs.
And having heretofore given to my daughter Betsey Dillingham now in her possession, I now give & bequeath to her in addition thereto my negro woman Polly, to her & her heirs forever.
I give & bequeath to my daughter Zilpha Oates three slaves towit, Nihor, Isaac, & Bobb, one chest of drawers, one featherbed & furniture, to her & her heirs forever, and I desire my executors to furnish her with a horse, saddle & bridle when convenient out of my estate.
I give & bequeath to my daughter Harriet Gough three slaves towit, Peggy, Esther, & Jackson, one bed & furniture, to her & her heirs forever, and I request my executors when convenient to furnish her with a horse, saddle & bridle out of my estate.
Whereas I have heretofore given to my daughter Nancy Campbell a proportion of property nearly equal to the rest of my children, but from her destitute situation I feel it my duty to make some provision for her orphan sons. I therefore request my executors when they can find it convenient between my death & their arriving to the age of twenty one years to pay to my grandsons John Campbell & William Campbell one hundred & fifty dollars each out of my estate.
It is my will & desire that all my hands be kept on the farm for this season until my crop be secured for the benefit of my wife & family, and it is also my desire that all the property remaining on the farm that will not be necessary [to] the use of the family be sold on a credit by my executors & pay my just debts, and the balance placed at interest for the education of my youngest children.
And it is my will that when my sons Charles comes of age that all the remainder of my estate not herein bequeathed, saving what may be necessary for the benefit of my wife, allowing her a decent, genteel support, be sold & equally divided among all my children except my sons Jethro, William & David, believing that I have given them sufficiently heretofore.
And it is my will and desire that my beloved wife dispose of the property hereby bequeathed to her in such manner as she may think proper at her death.
I now nominate & appoint my beloved wife Zilpha, Richard M. Oates & Vachel L. Dillingham executors of this my last will & testament hereby requesting them to consult with my friends James Weir & Charles F. Wing in all important cases arising with this will as I wish their concurence in all the acts of said executors. I hereby revoke all former wills by me made and declare this to be my last will & testament.
Witness my hand & seal this 13th day of April 1831.
Jesse Oates
Teste, Ezias W. Earle
Robert Williams
Chs. F. Wing
Muhlenberg County Sct
September County Court 1831
The foregoing last will & testament of Jesse Oates deceased was exhibited in to court & proven to be the act & deed of the said Jesse by the oaths of Ezias W. Earle, Robert Williams & Charles F. Wing, subscribing witnesses thereto, & ordered to be recorded.
Att. Chs. F. Wing clk.
Source: Muhlenberg County Ketucky Will Book 3, pp. 10-13.
Updated August 11, 2022