In the name of God Amen/I John Heard of Kittery in the County of Yorke, In New England yeamon, being by the prouidence of god by reason of age weake of body, but of Prfect mind & memory, & with out frawd & deceate, & not knowing how it may please ye Lord to deale with mee, as to matters of this life, Now to take mee out of this troublesome & transitory world, to whose Most gratious dispensations, I do humbly submitt, wr for I Commit & Comend my soule into the hands of god yt gaue it, & my body to Christean buriall, ordering & appoynting this Present Instrumt to bee my last will & testament, in manner & forme following/
Inprs: I giue & bequeath my grandaughters Mary & Elizabeth, daughters to my well beloued sonn James Heard late whilst hee liued of Kittery in New England, aforesd deceased, all my Land Improued & not Improued, being by Computation sixty Acres, or yr abouts bee It more or lesse, lijng or scituate in Kittery aforesd, at a place Comanly Called & known by the name of Tomsons Poynt, imediately from & after the decease of Jon Ross, which sd land or part yr of, is now in the houlding possession & Occupation of the sd John Ross, togeather also with an house Erected, & built yron for ye tearme of his Naturall life; with all & singular ye profitts, & Comoditys belonging & apprtajneing yrunto, to bee aequally diuided amongst them & yr heyres, or to the suruiuer of them, & yr heyrs for euer, ye Ellder always to bee Preferred before ye younger, & ye Males before ye females/
Item I giue & bequeath unto my 3 younger Grandaughters, Katterine, Abigale & Ann, ye daughters of my Intirely beloued sonn James Heard, late whilst hee liued of Kittery aforesd, deceased, the full some of Twenty pounds, a peece to each & euery of them, either in money or other good payment, which I shall leaue to ye discretion of my ouerseers, in trust, whom I shall here in & here after Nominate, & appoynt to bee made Immediatly after: And as soone as they or either of them, shall accomplish to Attajne ye age of eighteen years, or bee maried by my executor/
Item my will is yt in case one of the three last mentioned, Katterine, Abigaile & Ann, should Come to decease before they accomplish & Attaine to ye age of eighteen years, or bee married as aboue sd, then my Will is, yt ye legacy herein & hereby giuen, & bequeathed unto such shall redown unto my executor, but If ye two of the before ye aforementioned yr in, should happen to decease befor the Attajne to ye aforesd age, or bee married, then my will is, that ye legacys herein & hereby given & bequeathed, unto ym shall desend unto ye Too Elldest girles, Mary & Elizabeth, as an augmentation to wt is giuen unto ym, as aboue to bee æqually diuided, betwixt them & yr heyrs lawfully begotten/
Ite: I giue & bequeath unto my grandaughter Elizabeth, aboue mentioned, two Cows to bee deliuered unto her or her Assignes, two or 3 yeares after my decease, if they bee then liueing, otherwise this gyft to cease, & bee voyd, by my executors or ouerseers, in trust whom I shall in these nominate/
Ite: I giue & bequeath vnto my grandsonn John Heard, all the rest of my goods & Estate, to witt my farme, & all wtsoeuer doth belong, & apprtajne yrunto, lijng & scituate at Sturgeon Cricke, in Kittery aforesd, togeather also with all & singular my whoole stocke of Cattle, of wt nature, kind quality or Condition soeuer, & also all my debts wares, Mrchandizes, dues, or demands, wtsoeuer, my iust & due debts being first payd, & discharged: Either in my own Costody or possession, or in the hands keepeing Costody or possession of any other Prson, or Prsons rescident in New England, aforesd or else where, whom I do hereby make my soole heyre, & executor, & to the heyres of his body lawfully to bee begotten for euermore/
Always prouided that ye sd John Heard should happen Mary, but decease with out lawfull Issew, then my will is in such a Case, that his widdow possess & inioy such a Competency of his sd Estate dureing ye tearme of her naturall life, as ye law directs & appoynts, but ye remajnder of ye Estate to witt ye farme aforementioned, being Composed of vpland Meddow, Marshs Orchards, houseing, & all other & singular the apprtenances, yrunto belonging, or any wise apprtajneing, with ye Estate of Cattle, as aboue bequeathed, & intended to bee bequeathed unto him ye sd John Heard, shall discend unto ye aforementioned Mary, & Elizabeth Heard Jointly, & unto there heyres for euer, lawfully to bee begotten on yr bodys, & in default of such Issew, to the next sister & her heyres for euermore, prouided the sd Marry & Elizabeth relinquish yr Clajme & right to & in the Land at Tomsons Poynt, afore mentioned, the which in such a Case shall descend vnto ye three youngest daughters before named, or unto ye suruiuer or suruiuers of them, or either of them, & her or yr heyres, lawfully to bee begotten on her, or yr bodys, for euer more, the Elldest always to bee Preferred before ye younger, & ye Males before ye femals of yr Issew/
My will is also yt in Case it should please god yt I decease before my indeared Wife, Isbell Heard, then my Will is, that my ouerseers in trust take spetiall Care, yt shee bee Carefully & duely prouided for, for a Comfortable subsistance out of the aforesd Estate at Sturgeon Cricke, dureing the tearme of her naturall life, & do hereby Impoure my sayd ouerseers hereafter mentioned, & nominate so to do/
My will is also, yt in Case my daughter in law Susanna Heard see meete to abide at Sturgeon Cricke with her Children, that shee & they bee carefully prouided for, & mantayned out of ye pduce of the farme, & stocke prouided shee use her utmost Care & diligence, in the Managemt & Improuemt there of, & this to Continew dureing the tyme of her Widdowhoodship, & till such tyme as the Children be Capable of being disposed of by her, with the aduise & approbation of the ouerseers, & this to Preuent unnessary Charge, & expence to my executor; my Intent & meaneing in the first Article is, that John Ross with in named may haue free lyberty, quietly & peaceably to possess & inioy, the dwelling house & Tomsons Poynt, & likewise ye Land yr fenced in & Improued by him dureing the tyme of his naturall life, as aforesd, but not to debarr, or prohibite ye aforesd Mary & Elizabeth or yr Assigns for Improueing at yr will, & pleasure, the remajnder of the sd Lands, & to ye Intent yt this my will & testament, being the last I euer intend to make, & irreuocable, may bee duly & truely executed & Prformed, according to ye tenour purport, true Intent & meaning yrof, I do hereby nominate make Choyce of, & appoynt my trusty & beloued frejnds Major Nic: Shapleigh, John Shapleigh, Jos: Hamonds William Spencer, & James Chadborne all of Kittery, & New England aforesd, & ye suruiuer & suruiuers of them, any or either of them, vpon trust & Confidence in them reposed, to bee my ouerseers in trust, requesting them to bee Assisting in the execution of the same; In testimony yt this is my last will & testament, irreuocable as aforesd, I do here unto put my hand & seale/ Dated in Kittery in Pischataqua Riuer, in New England aforesd this third day of March, in the yeare of or Ld god, according to ye Computation of ye Church of England one thousand six hundred seauenty & fiue & six/ Anno Dom: 1675/6
Signed sealed & Deliuered,John Heard (his Seale)
in the Presence of us/
Frans Smale/
Elizabeth Leighton/
Ric: Allexander/Sworn to by attesting witnesses 21 Feby 1676; recorded 16 Mch 1676-7
