Amanuensis Monday - Will of George Eaton (Easton) 1797

On his TransylvanianDutch blog, John Newmark defines an amanuensis as “a person employed to write out what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.” For more information about this daily blogging prompt, see John’s post Amanuensis – Why?.

I have amassed quite a collection of scans of handwritten documents related to my ancestors—primarily marriage records, deeds, and wills. As I have been transcribing these documents, it occurred to me that most of these documents were not actually written by my ancestors, but rather dictated to someone else, and then transcribed by a clerk into official records.


This week I am posting a transcription and image of the 1797 will of George Eaton (Easton?) of Rowan County, North Carolina.  I believe that George may be a brother to my 6th great-grandfather John Eaton.

In the name of God Amen! I George Eaton of the County

of Rowan & State of N^o. Carolina, being of perfect health

of body & perfect mind & memory thanks be to God for it, &

calling to mind the mortality of my body, & knowing that it

is appointed for all men once to die, do make & ordain

this my last will & test: that is to say principally & first

of all I give & recomend my soul to God who gave it & my

body I recommend to the earth, to be buried in a christian

burial, at the discretion of my executors, nothing doubting but

at the general resurrection, I shall receive the same again by

the mighty power of God. And as touching such worldly

estate wherewith it had pleased God to bless me in this life

I give devise & dispose of the same in the following form

[?]I desire that my Land & plantation, whereon I now live

should be sold & the money equally divided between my four

children viz. John, Sarah, David & Elizabeth Eaton. I give

all the rest of my moveable property to my three youngest

Children Sarah, David & Elizabeth.

I likewise, constitute make & ordain my beloved brother Daniel

Easton & neighbour Laz^s Whitehead executors of this my

last will & test: all & singular the above mentioned legacey

to my heirs to be freely enjoyed & possessed by them for ever

This I desire should be considered as my last will & test:

whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal this 18^th

day of February 1797.

Signed sealed, published, in presence

of:

E. Jones                                  George Easton {seal}

               his

Abraham X Hall [?}

              mark

[Source: "North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970."  images,  FamilySearch  (www.familysearch.org : accessd 9 Aug 2011);  George Eaton, will dated 18 Sep 1897; citing Probate Records, Rown, Wills, 1780-1803, Vol. C, image 229.]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock