May the 25th 1786
I Daniel Reigel (Riegel) make my Last Will and Testament Namely I Daniel Reigel Bequeath to my son Mathias Reigel (Riegel) my Plantation with all the measured land as it is measured to him and his Heirs for four hundred & fifty pounds good Money, and Mathias Reigel (Riegel) must not sell the Plantation as long as his Father and Mother are alive without both their consent, after their death he may do therewith what he can & pleases and my Son Nicholas Reigel (Nicolaus Riegel) shall draw twenty pounds beforehand from the part of my daughter Maria Greda Reigel (Maria Kreda Riegel), wife of John Walter (Walder). Then stand in parts with the others. Because he worked for me so long in his years and Mathias Riegel pays us twenty five pounds every year until it is payed, and my son Andreas Reigel (Riegel) has received twenty seven Pounds twelve Shillings and Six Pence concerning the action with Paul Lebo, and my Son Andreas Reigel shall have five Pounds thereof beforehand for his first Birth, the payment shall begin in the Year One thousand, seven hundred and Ninety the first December, and my wife Dorothea (Doredea), shall draw the rent of the House where Henry Sauder lives in, and the Interest of the Personal Goods so long till the Money begins of the Plantation. Then she shall draw the Interest of one hundred and fifty Pounds and when she dies then it shall be shared among the children one like the other, and my wife Dorothea (Doredea) shall have yearly twelve bushels of Wheat and six bushels of Rye of my son Mathias Reigel and likewise hawl it in the Mill and fetch the Meal again out of the Mill as she is in want for. And my son Mathias Reigel (Riegel) must hawl home the wood for my Wife Dorothea (Doredea) and cut it as she needs it and he must keep her a Cow in fother like he keeps his own between his in the Middle, if she does not like the Cow then She can take another every year which she pleases. Further my Wife Dorethea Shall have the twenty three Pounds of flax that are yet here, and she shall have One hundred Pounds of Pork and thirty Pounds of Beef and a half bushel of Salt and one Pair of shoes , two pairs to be soled, and likewise five Pounds of good Wool as she will have it, if she do not get the Wool rightly then she has her choice, then he must keep her two sheep, he must give her yearly two gallons of Whiskey or Rye Brandewine, he must mend her shoes as much as she wants. More one half Pound of Pepper, one quarter of Ginger, one half Pound of Alspice, five pounds of Sallow, one Gallon of fish oil, the Linen that is here my Wife Dorothea (Doredea) shall have but she must provide my youngest Son with shirts and trousers thereof.
She shall have the Kitchen Tresser, she shall have four plates, four spoons and the little pewter Bason and the old Iron Kettle and one Iron Pott and one lard pan. He must build her a house twelve feet broad and twenty four long and a Cellar thereunder, a good dwelling House, and my Son Mathias Reigel (Riegel) must attend my Wife Dorothea (Doredea) good if she gets sick with good Nursing and if he don’t do it, then she can keep People he must pay for it. He must pull twenty Bushels of Apples for her in good time as she wants them. He must make her two Barrels of good Cider in good time. Further my wife Dorothea (Doredea) is not allowed to make a will. Everything what she does not need for must fall to the children, one like the other. My Son Mathias Reigel must pay when the One hundred and fifty Pounds are paid for the Mother then he must pay the above named children, to begin at the Youngest and so on till the oldest as they fall in rank. My Son Mathias Reigel and Nicholas Reigel shall administer, make the things in Money my Wife Dorothea (Doredea) shall have the third part in the planting yarding and the third part of the cabbage patch and potatoes She can take as many as She wants and turnubs she can likewise take as she wants of Mathias Reigel (Riegel), if they have any.
That witnesseth my hand by Witnesses,
Daniel Reigel (Daniell Riegell)
Philip Gebhart
Philip Adam Reigel (Phielipp Adam Riegel)
Transcribed by Stefan Riegel and William Regli July 10, 2012
Last Modified