First I hereby revoke and make void all former and other Wills by me at any time heretofore made And I declare this only to be and contain my whole and entire last Will and Testament And as for and concerning all such Worldly Estate as it hath pleased God to bestow upon me I give and dispose thereof in manner following (that is to say)
In the first place I will and direct that all my just Debts Funeral Expences be fully paid and satisfied and I desire that my body may be buried in the Churchyard of Biddenden and that a double Head Stone be erected in Memory of me and my first Husband John March
And I give and bequeath unto my Niece Jane West Spinster the Sum of Eighty Pounds
And I give and bequeath unto my Niece Ann Ongley Spinster the Sum of Thirty Pounds
And I give and bequeath unto my said two Nieces Jane West and Ann Ongley all my Wearing Apparrel
both Linnen and Woolen, four Pair Sheets four large Silver table spoons six small silver Spoons and four
Gold Rings, two Mourning ones and two plain ones to be equally divided between them share and share alike
And I give and bequeath unto my Nephew Thomas Ongley the Sum of Ten Pounds
I also give and bequeath unto such poor persons of the Parish of Biddenden and in such proportions as
my Executors hereinafter named shall think proper the Sum of Five Pounds
And I direct that all the Legacies above mentioned be paid by my said Executors within six Months next after my Decease
And I give and bequeath unto my Cousin Elizabeth Allen daughter of Nathaniel Allen the Sum of Five
Pounds to be paid to her on the Day of her Marriage or when she shall have attained the Age of One and Twenty Years which shall first happen
And I give and bequeath unto my Nephew Edward Ongley the Sum of Forty Pounds
And I give and bequeath unto my Nephew Joseph Williams the Sum of Eighty Pounds one large Silver table Spoon marked with J. M. and all
my Household Goods and Implements of Household Plate Linnen and Furniture whatsoever except what I have here above given and bequeathed
And I give devise and bequeath unto my said Nephew Joseph Williams and his Heirs all and every my Trust Estate whatsoever and wheresoever charged
nevertheless with the Payment of such of the above mentioned Legacies or Bequests as my personal Estate shall prove deficient to satisfy
And I give and bequeath unto my said Nephews Joseph Williams and Edward Ongley equally to be divided between them All the Rest Residue and Remainder of my Personal Estate of what Nature quality or kind soever
And I nominate make Constitute and appoint the said Joseph Williams and Edward Ongley the joint Executors of this my Will
In Witness whereof I the said Mary Mason the Testatrix to this my last Will and Testament contained in
two Sheets of Paper have set my Hand at the bottom of the first Sheet hereof and m Hand and Seal to this
second Sheet this Seventeenth? Day of March in the thirteenth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the third by the Grace of God of
Great Britain France and Ireland King Defender of the Faith &c. And in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven Hundred and seventy three
Mary Mason
Signed sealed published and declared by the said Mary Mason as and for her last Will and Testament in
the presence of us who at her request and in her presence and in the presence of each other have
subscribed our Names as Witnesses thereunto (the Word Jane being first written in a Razure [erasure] in the tenth Line of the first Sheet)
George Norwood; John Edwards; Sarah Winder her Mark
The before Registered Will of Mary Mason dec[ease]d was proved the 18th day of October 1777 before the Worshipful Francis Simpson Doctor of Laws Official General to the Revd. the Archdeacon of Canterbury lawfully constituted by the oaths of Joseph Williams and Edward Ongley the Executors named in the said Will They being first Sworn well and truly to perform the same &c. By Commission.
Notes:
Mary Mason, Widow, was buried at All Saints, Biddenden, Kent on 15th March 1777.
Zebulon Mason of this Parish, Parish Clerk, Widower and Mary March of this Parish Widow were Married at Biddenden by Banns 12th October 1764.
Mary’s first husband, John March was buried at Biddenden on 6th September 1762.
Transcribed by Mrs. Shelagh Mason 3rd June 2022
Return to Kent GenealogyWill of Mary Mason