AAFA Wills
WILL OF BENADICT ALFORD, 1688-1764
In the name of God, Amen. I, Benadict Alford of Windsor in the County of Hartford
and Colony of Connecticut in New
England, am at this Time Through God’s Goodness in Common Health and of
a Sound Mind and Memory, and Calling to
Mind the Mortality of My Body and Duty to Set my House in Order, Do Make and
Ordain this to be my Last Will and
Testamony [sic] that is to Say Principally and first of all I Give and Recommend
my Soul into the Hands of God that Gave it
and My body at Death I Give to the Earth to be Buried in Decent Christian Burial
at the Direction of My Executor Hereafter to
be Named, Hoping Again to Receive the Same Through the Merits of Christ at the
Resurrection of the Just, and as Touching
Such Worldly Goods and Estate With Which it Has Pleased God to Bless me With
in this Present Life, I Give and Dispose of
the Same in the following Manner and form (Viz):-----
Imprimis I Give and Bequeath unto my Truly and Well Beloved Wife Abigail the
Use and Improvement of My Dwelling House
and Barn and my Home all Dureing [sic] Her Natural Life. And Also I Give unto
Her the Use and Improvement of One Cow
and One Half of My House Hold Staff Dureing [sic] her Natural Life-----
and After Her Decease to be Equally Divided Amongst my Children-----
Item I Give and Bequeath unto my Son Benadict Alford and to his Heirs And Assigns
for Ever All My Real Estate Where Ever
the Same May Ly [sic] or How Ever the Same May be Butted or Bounded, Together
With All the Buildings thereon Standing,
and Also all my Movable Estate Excepting What I Have Before Disposed of to my
Wife, to be to Him His Heirs & assigns for
Ever, He Paying the Legacies & Here as Shall Hereafter Be Mentioned.
Item I Give and Bequeath to My Daughter Abigail Phelps in Addition to What
I Have Already Given Her, Ten Pounds
Money.-----
Item I Give and Bequeath unto my Daughter Azubah Alford the Sum of Twenty Pounds
Money.-----
Item My Will is that All the Legacies Mentioned in this Will be Respectively
Paid by My Son Benadict out of the Estate I Have
Above Given him, But upon His Neglect or Refusall [sic] to Pay the Same My Will
is that So Much of the Land Above Given
to Him Shall be Disposed of as is Sufficient to Pay the Same, and that my Daughters
Legacies be Paid in One Year Next After
my Decease-----
Item My Will and _____ [desire ?] is that my Son Benadict Alford Shall be the
Only Executor to this My Last Will and
Testament and I Appoint Him thereto-----
I Witness of What is Above Written. I Have Hereunto Set my Hand and Seal this
7th Day of April, Anno Dom 1760-----
Benadict Alford
Signed Sealed published pronounced & Delivered by the Said Benadict Alford
to be his Last Will & Testament in the Presence
of us the Subscribers.
Josiah Allyn
John Filley
Henry Allyn
[Note: Spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been left the same as
in the handwritten copy used to transcribe the will.
Comments are enclosed in brackets [ ] and not parentheses.]
