Will of James A. Ferrel 1794-1864

I transcribed the will of James A. Ferrel (my 3rd great grandfather) born in 1795. His will was written in Vigo County, Indiana on the 7th day of January in 1864.  He died three days later on the 10th of January.  I found several things interesting in his will and perhaps they were the norm back then, but I have never come across this before.  Instead of the first item being to leave his bequest to his wife, the will started with his bequest to his youngest daughter, Lourena. The next bequest was to his youngest son William.  And the third to his granddaughter Ellen. Then he finally got to his wife.  Why would this be?

Will of James A. Ferrel

(Transcription done 5/24/2017 by Sue Adamson Fritz)

In the name of the Benevolent Father of all:
The last will and Testament of James Ferrel of Vigo County Indiana.
I, James Ferrel considering the uncertainty of this mortal life and being of sound mind and memory, do make and publish this my last Will and Testament in manner and form following.

Item 1st   I give and bequeath to my daughter Lourena of my personal property, one horse, one cow, also bed and bedding to make her equal to my other daughters who have already received these Bequests.

Item 2nd   I give and bequeath to my son William H. one horse, one cow and fifty acres of Real Estate, to make him equal to my other sons who have already received a like bequest.  The said Real Estate subject to the designations and regulations hereafter provided.

Item 3rd   I give and bequeath to my grand daughter, Ellen Sanders, one horse, one cow, bed and bedding provided she continues to live with my family until she is eighteen years old; that is if any should not be dissolved by providential dispensation before she arrives at that age.

Item 4th   I give and bequeath to my beloved wife in lieu of her dower, the farm on which we now reside containing about ninety six acres, to have and to hold the same for sole use and benefit during her natural life subject to all the provisions of this my last Will. I also give and bequeath to her all my personal property of every description excepting only so much as are included in the bequests above and what may be necessary to pay my just debts.

At the death of my said Wife the Real Estate aforesaid and such part of my said personal property as may remain unconsumed I give and bequeath as follows.

I give and bequeath to my daughter Lourina five acres off the South West  corner of said Real Estate.  The same to include the [unreadable word] and to be so sit off as not to include the buildings where I am now living.

The real estate above bequeathed to my son William H. is to be set off as follows. Forty acres off of the South end of my farm and ten acres adjoining on the north of the said forty.  The said ten acres to extend to the north side of my said Real Estate, and to be taken out of the East side of the said farm and north of the said forty acres above dis__________[unreadable]. 

I give and bequest the remainder of my said farm equally to my sons, James and Walter D.  The said to be divided or dispersed of as they may determine.  The said bequest is on consideration [unreadable] my sons James and Walter [unreadable] my daughters [unreadable] Sarah Ann and Rosanna [the rest unreadable]

...year after they come in possession of the said property.  Each of my said sons to pay fifty dollars apiece to each of the said daughters.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand and seal this 7th day of January 1861.

[signed] James Ferrel

{Signed in presence of Moody Chamberlain, Jr., Jno. L. Dickerson, John W. Wilson}

April Genealogy Pursuits

This has been a good month, although a very busy month.  We were gone for about 10 days, so my genealogy searches slowed down somewhat.  However, by keeping up with my Ancestry.com hints, I came across a whole new line to pursue!

Here's what I had known: my great-great-great grandmother, Elizabeth Swain, had been born in 1838 in Ohio to parents John Louman Swain and Nancy Waters.

I had never researched Elizabeth's mother, Nancy Waters, so when I saw a hint for her, I was thrilled. That hint led me to her parents, James Waters and Mary Lanier. I learned that they had married in Pendleton County, Kentucky in 1810.  I then found James Waters listed in the 1850 census of Preble County, Ohio where he was listed as age 73 living with his son James Waters.

However, this is where my research veered off.  I found that Mary Lanier's parents were Isham Lanier and Catherine "Caty" Underwood.  Isham was born in 1765 in Virginia.  His parents were James Henry Lanier and Mary Cooke.  James was born in 1724 in Virginia. And James' parents were Thomas Sampson Lanier and Elizabeth Washington (Thomas born in 1682 in Virginia).  And lastly, Thomas's parents were John Lanier and Sarah Edmonds (John born in 1656 in England).

So to sum up, this has taken me from my 3rd grandparent to my 9th grandparents! All of this information will now lead to further research to successfully verify for myself that it is all accurate.  It is so thrilling to find new information! As for now, I'm off to do more research!