Will of JOHN TOMSON

Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, "Descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Massachusetts December 1620", Francis Cooke, Vol. 12, by Ralph V. Wood, Jr., Genealogical Society of Mayflower Descendants 1996

Know all men to whome these prsents shall Come that I John Tomson senr of ye Township of Middlebury Being at this present very weak in Body through may Infirmities and diseases that are upon me but of Sound and perfect understanding & memory Do make and ordaine this to be my last will and Testament to Continue for ever firm and Invioble. Imprimis I Will and Bequeath unto Mary Tomson my Beloved Wife ye use of all my house hold Goods During her Widdowhoode And Six Cows and a score of Sheep And three or four Acres of land lying by my house All these to have and to use During ye time or her Widdowhoode And also my Will is that ye Executors shall se that ye said land shall be Imroved for her And they shall be paid out of ye Estate And Also I will leave her one hundred pounds in money to dispose to her children as she shall se Cause but if in Case she should die Intestate my will is that this said hundred pound shall be equally divided among them all Sons and Daughters that is my own children & hers Also my will is that she shall have a Cow or a stear yearly for her provisions And if she Can not spare it out of that Stock of Cattell then it shall be provided for her out of ye Estate Also my Will is that whatsoever provisions and cloathing is left at my Decease shall belong to ye family And my wife shall have a double part of it at her disposing. And whereas I Gave unto my son John half a share of land formerly And he hath nothing to show for it I now Give it him by will and he shall have fifty Acres of land where his house standeth taking it up the whole length. Also I Give and Bequeath unto my sons Thomas and Peter The one half of my house wherein I do dwell during their mothers life Conditionally that they will agree to keep together and maintain their mothers stock of Cattell aforesaid And they shall have the Increase both of Cattell and sheep So that they maintain & make good ye principle And if they should Come to some extraordinary losses so that they are like to be loosers by it they shall be Considered in ye estate And my will is that there shall be meadow set apart to keep those Cattell during their mothers life. And I do Give and Bequeath unto my son Thomas all my house and the Barn and ye orchard and ye lands Adjacent thereabout after his mothers decease that will amount to a fourth part of the two hundred acres onely if my son Peter have not land enough fenced and Broaken up he shall have ye use of two or three acres of land for two years if he desire it. And also I do give and bequeath unto my son Peter That my fifty acres of upland that I bought of John Morton. And whereas I have Given to my sons John and Jacob and Thomas three Quarters of this two hundred Acres of upland my Will is that in ye division the fourth part be left so as to be most sutably divided amongs them all four. Also I Give unto my four sons aforesd A third part of land that was purchased by Captain Joseph lathrop and Mr. Barnabas lothrop and myself. And also I Give unto my four Sons above written ye one half of that third part of upland that was purchased by Captain Church and my Self the one half of that third part next to Snipetuit pond and my one sixteene shilling purchase and that which I bought of John Irish And that Tract of land at Assawamset that I bought of ffelix ye Indian And that which I bought of William Clarke formerly Called ye Majors purchase lying Betwixt the two paths. A fifth part of that Tract All which I Give to them to divide Equally Amongst themselves And also I Give unto my four sons aforesaid all that my two hundred Acres of upland lying Between Monposet pond and the little Herring pond with my four Acres of measow and my two shares and half in ye Great Sedar Swamp And my two shares and half in ye undivided lands All which shall be Equally Divided Among my four sons aforesaid. Also my Will is that my four sons shall Have All my Tooles of all sorts for Carpentry or Husbrandry and also all my Armes All to be Equally divided among them. Also I Give unto my Son Peter Twenty pounds in money towards ye Building of him a house besides four or five thousand foote of Boards and plank Also I do Give unto my daughter Mary Tabor thirty and five pounds besides wt is due to me from her husband Also I do Give unto my Daughter Esther Read thirty and three pounds besides what is Due unto me from her husband likewise I do Give unto my Daughter Elizabeth Swift twenty and five pounds And also to my Grandson Thomas Swift ten pounds when he Cometh to ye age of one and twenty years And if he should dye before them it shall be forthwith paid unto his mother Also I Give unto my Daughter Sarah Tomson forty pounds Also I Give unto my Daughter Lidia Soul Thirty and four pounds Besides what she hath had already. Also I do Give unto my Daughter Mercy Tomson forty pounds likewise I do Give unto my son Jacob a yaok of steers of four years old or upwards or ye value of them. Also I Give unto my son Thomas a yoak of steers and two Cows or ye value of them. Also I Give to my son Peter a yoak of steers and two Cows or ye value of them Also my will is that my four sons John and Jacob and Thomas and Peter Tomsons shall be my executors Who shall pay all my just debts And shall Se that my Body be Decently Buryed And out of my estate to defray ye charges And whatsoever is left after my and my wifes decease when all charges is cleared shall be equally divided Amongst them all my children Sons and Daughters Thus hoping that this my last will and Testament will be kept and Performed according to ye true Intent of ye same I commit my Body to ye Dust and my soul to God that Gave it me. In witness whereof I Set unto my hand & Seal this Twenty third day of Aprill one thousand Six hundred ninety and six.