Wills!!!!!

Yesterday I got mail from the Nova Scotia Archives containing the wills of Capt Jesse Gray and Wells Morton!!!  I had emailed them a week or so ago to see if there was any chance the wills were still around, accessible and if I could get a copy.  They were very obliging and said they'd send it out to me right away.  
I haven't had a chance to get them scanned yet to share, but I have transcribed Capt Jesse's just this morning.  The writing is, of course, challenging to read, some words are spelled unusually, but for the most part it's pretty understandable.  It does clear up a few things. 

 Jesse Gray senior's last will & testament. In the name of God Amen, I Jesse Gray Senior of Kemptville in the county of Yarmouth and province of Nova Scotia, farmer, being weak in body but of perfect mind and memory thanks be unto God but calling to mind the mortality of my body and knowing that it is appointed unto 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 recommend my soul into the hands of Almighty God who gave it and my body I recommend to the earth to be buried in a decent and Christian-like manner at the discretion of my executor and as touching rich worldly estate wherewith it has pleased God to bless me in this life I give remit and dispose of the same in the following manner and from 1st recommend that previously and before every thing all my just debts be fully paid and all the wrong or damage I may have done to any one be fully satisfied and paid. 2nd I give and bequeath all my real estate to my children in the manner following: 3rd to my well beloved sons Ebenezer and Nelson Gray I freely give and bequeath my homestead farm containing two hundred acres of land with all improvements stock and farming utensils to be equally divided between them which they have promised by bond to allow and give me a comfortable maintenance in every thing requisite during my natural life. To my grandson Collin Gray my daughter Rebecca's son I give and bequeath fifty acres of land for services performed to me. 4th I give and bequeath the remaining seven hundred acres of land to be equally divided amongst all, the girls to draw an equal part with the boys there being fourteen in number which will entitle them to fifty acres each. Lastly I make constitute and ordain my trusty and beloved friends Nathaniel Churchill & John Roberts sole executor of this my last will and testament to whom I give power to execute all the articles of it according to their purport and I hereby utterly disallow revoke and disannul all and every other former testaments will legacies bequests and executor ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last will and testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this twelf = 12th day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty one. Signed and published and declared by the said Jesse Gray senr as his last will and testament in his presence at his request and in presence of each other who have hereunto subscribed their names as witness Jesse Gray ? James ? Pennington Josiah Harding John Harding - Registered the twenty second day of June 1844 on the oath of John Harding there being no interlineations in the original will.

 
It had been previously unclear as to who exactly Collin Gray was.  We had speculated that he was probably a grandson, but nobody knew through whom.  It is obvious by this will that he was Rebecca's son, apparently illegitimate.  I had heard that one (or more) of Capt Jesse's daughters had at least one illegitimate child, so here's one of them.  Exactly when his wife, Sarah, died has also been unclear.  From what I've been able to figure, she died shortly after the birth of their youngest son, Nelson (b.1815) , around 1817.  He made no provision for her in his will, so obviously she did die before he did.  He does say that his children number 14, so at least that's not a curveball, all are accounted for.  The only ones he mentions by name are Ebenezer, Nelson, and Rebecca ... I assume this is because they're the youngest boys and likely still living at home, and she's got Collin and was as yet unmarried.

He also lists a few people as his trusted friends and then his executors.  These include Nathaniel Churchill, John Roberts, James Pennington, Josiah Harding, and John Harding.  There are some Churchills, Roberts, and Hardings in our tree ... I'm thinking maybe I'll take some time to focus on them for a bit and see what I can come up with, maybe find some other connections.

I'll transcribe Wells Morton's will next, probably within the next week.