Estate Record of Joseph Bickel

The first day of September in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and sixty four I Thomas Banfield of Oley Hills Berks County and Province of Pennsylvania yeoman being weak in body but of perfect mind and memory thanks be given unto God therefor Calling to mind the mortality of the body and knowing that it is appointed of all men once to die do make and ordain this my last will and testament. That is to say principally and first of all I give and recomand my soul unto the hands of God that gave it and for my body I recomand it to the earth to be buried in a Christianlike and decent manner at the discretion of my executor nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall relieve the same again by the mighty power of God, and as touching such worldly estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this life I give devise and dispose of the same in the following manner and form Viz ______________ [underlining is in original]

Imprimus it is my will and I do order that in the first place all my just debts and funeral charges be paid and satisfied.

ITEM I give and bequeath unto Mary my dearly beloved wife the sum of one hundred pounds lawfull money of Pennsylvania. To be paid to her one year after my decease also the privileges contained in an article between my executor and me bearing equal weight with this my last will During her natural life she continues xxxx widow but if she marry shall leave the possession of the xxxx with the privileges and have the one hundred pounds above given and my best bed and bedding thereunto belonging Also my best chest and all her wearing apparel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.

ITEM I give and bequeath unto my six children the following sums of lawfull money of this province to be paid unto them in the year of our lord God one thousand seven hundred and eighty four by my executor viz Catharine Ulrigh ten pounds Mary Harp ten pounds Elizabeth Updegrave ten pounds John Coafman [2] five pounds my son John ten pounds and my daughter Susannah ten pounds ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ITEM I moreover give and bequeath unto my son John when he sall arrive at the age of one and twenty years, the fifty acres of land which I last purchasd included in one deed with my former purchase.

ITEM I give and bequeath unto my son Samuel Banfield all of the remainder of my estate both real and personall where ever it may be found. Whome I also constitute make and ordain to be my only and sole executor of this my last will and testament and do hereby utterly disallow revoke and disannul all and every xxxx other former will testament legacies and executors by me in any way before this time named willed and bequeathed and ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last will and testament [end of page]

The accompt of Samuel Banfield Executor of the testament and last will of Thomas Banfield late of Oley Hills in the County of Berks in the Province of Pennsylvania yeoman deceased vizt

The said accomptant charges himself withall and singular the goods and chattels rights and credits which were of the said deceased according to an ~ inventory and appraisement thereof exhibited into the Register General’s Office at Reading amounting to 13.12.6 .

And further with the sum in which the said goods etc(?) sold at vendue cancels the appraisement. [Total] 6.6.8.

1770 The said Accomptant craves allowance for his several payments and disbursements made out of the said estate as follows, to wit, as xx receipts etc

June 4 For cash paid to James Read Esq deputy register for letters testamentary etc. 1.5.9. Frederick Nestor -.5.- George Oyster -.5.- Stephen Reppert -.2.- Jonas Weber -.2.- Aug. 10 Mathias Rhoads 7.4.6. 1771 April 8. Mathias Hollenback 1.7.-. April 12. Jonas Weber 2.-.1. Jacob Heims (?) -.12.- Stephen Reppert -.13.- Abraham Hoib (?) -.9.2 Funeral charges 2.-.-

May 3 John Pxxx for making up this acct -.5.- James Read Esq. Deputy register for examining passing and filing this account. fair copy and seal -.12.6 Total 17.3.3. Balance in the hands of this accomptant 2.6.11. [Total ] 20.0.2

Signed sealed published pronounced and declared by the said Thomas Banfield as his last will and testament in the presence of us the subscribers.

Register General’s Office, Reading, Becks County, Pennsylvania for the fourth day of xxxxx in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and xxxxxxxxx appeared Frederick Nestor of the township of Hereford in the county of Berks aforesaid yeoman aged sixty (?) four years on his oath xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx did solemnly xxxxxx that he was xxxxxxxxxx Jacob Lorrentz and John Dorland xxx Thomas Banfield on the aforewritten Pxxx will xxxxxxxxxxx did xxx forth his mark and that the same will and testament that he xxxxxxxx does not remember to have heard the said Thomas Banfield publish and declare the same to be his last will and testament (this it might have been done in the English language which this deponent a yeoman does not understand) but that as the said deponent was passing by the house of the said Thomas Banfield he was by him desired to come in, when he the said Thomas declared he was glad the deponent had come that way, for he saved him the trouble of sending for him; and immediately upon entering the house the said Thomas Banfield xxxxxxxxxxx the said writing and desired the deponent and the said Jacob Lorrentz who has since departed the Province, and John Dorland who is since deceased, to sign as witnesses to the said writing, who all signed as witnesses accordingly in the presence of each other and the said Thomas Banfield.

[1] Transcribed June, 2010. Source: LDS Family History Library Film #1644017. Question mark in the text means the previous word is not clear to the transcriber. “xxx”s mean one or more words or a part of a word is not legible to the transcriber. Three- position numbers (e.g. 6.6.8) refers to pounds, shillings and pence. Note that there is almost no punctuation in the original. Tildes (~) represent a symbol used to fill in the remainder of several lines so no other person can write there. Words in square brackets are inserted by transcriber.

[2] Note there is a John and a Wid Coafman in PA 1790 census in York Township, York County PA. These are the only Coafman’s in the 1790 Heritage Quest census lookup.

Last Will and Testament of Thomas Banfield[1]