The Will of Kinsey Harrison

Kinsey HARRISON, born in Maryland in 1758, is my paternal 4th great-grandfather. He served in the Revolutionary War as a Private in the Maryland Line from 1776 to 1779 in Thomas Beall's Company, in Moses Rawlings' Regiment. It is his information that I submitted to DAR in my application for membership.

While I was researching him, I requested the microfilm that contained his will to be sent to my local Family History Center library. I was able to get my own scan of the will there at the library.

Below is a transcript of the will, found in the Anne Arundel County, Maryland Will Book 40, page 224. I've added some paragraphs of my own, just to make it more readable. The original is just one big long paragraph. I left spelling variations intact.

I think probably the coolest thing is to now have a visual of Kinsey's mark:



Will of Kinsey HARRISON:

In the name of God Amen, I Kinsey Harrison of Anne Arundel County in the State of Maryland being weak in boddy but of sound and dispossing mind memory and understanding considering the certainty of death and uncertainty of the time thereof and being desireous to settle my worldly affairs and thereby be the better prepared to leave this world when it shall please God to call me hence do therefore make and publish this my last Will and Testament in manner and form following that is to say,

First and principally I commit my soul into the hands of Almighty God and my boddy to the Earth to be decently buried at the discretion of my Executrix hereinafter named and after my debts and funeral Expences are paid I devise and bequeath as follows,

Item I give and bequeath all personal Estate to my beloved Wife Sarah Harrison.

Item I give and devise all my real Estate to my beloved wife whereon I now reside containing twenty three acres of land more or less.

Item I give and bequeath to my son Grove Harrison one dollar.

Item I give and bequeath to my son Kinsey Harrison one dollar.

It. I give and bequeath to my son Wesley Harrison one dollar.

It. I give and bequeath to my son Nimrod Harrison one dollar.

It. I give and bequeath to my daughter Polly Harrison one dollar.

It. I give and bequeath to my daughter Cordelia Clarey one dollar.

It. I give and bequeath to my daughter Amelia Shunk one dollar.

It. I give and bequeath to my daughter Matilda Ritchie one dollar, all of the aforesaid bequests to be paid by my Executrix out of my personal Estate.

And Lastly I do hereby Constitute and appoint my dear wife Sarah Harrison to be my Sole Executrix of this my last Will and testament revoking all others by me made heretofore ratifying and confirming this and none other to be my last Will and testament. In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal this Twenty first day of February in the year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and thirty three.

his mark

Signed Sealed published and declared by
Kinsey Harrison the before named Testator
as and for his last Will and testament in the presence of us who at his request in his presence and in the presence of each other have subscribed our names as Witnesses thereto

George W. Wolfe
Warfield Todd
Henry Bussard

Anne Arundel County ??? The 18th day of July 1835. Then came George W. Wolfe and Henry Bussard two of the subscribing witnesses to the foregoing last Will and Testament of Kinsey Harrison late of Anne Arundel County, deceased, and made Oath on the Holy Evangely of Almighty God that they did see the Testator therein named sign and seal this Will and that they heard him publish, pronounce and declare the same to be his last Will and testament, that at the time of his so doing he was to the best of their apprehensions of sound and disposing mind, memory and understanding and that they together with Warfield Todd the other subscribing Witness respectively subscribed their names as Witnesses to this Will in the presence and at the request of the testator and all in the presence of each other.

Saml. Brown Jun. Reg. Wills, A. A. County

Anne Arundel County Sc??
The 18th day of July 1835

Then came Sarah Harrison and made Oath in the Holy Evangely of Almighty God, that the aforegoing Instrument of writing is the true, whole and last Will and Testament of Kinsey Harrison late of Anne Arundel County, deceased, that hath come to her hands and possession and that she doth not know of any other.

Saml. Brown Jun. Reg. Wills, A. A. County