WILL AND CODICIL OF CHARLES
YOUNGER
WILL
IN THE NAME OF GOD,
AMEN:
I, Charles Younger of the County of Jackson
in the State of Missouri, being of sound mind and memory, in view of the
uncertainty of life and wishing to dispose of my property differently from the
laws of decents as in all good conscience I feel that I ought to do, do make and
publish the following, my last will and testament, hereby revoking all other
wills or parts of wills, which I may have heretofore
made.
ITEM 1st. In view of the fact that I have
heretofore by deed of gift, conveyed to the six next named persons upwards of
Thirty Thousand Dollars worth of Real Estate in common, which is an equal share
of my Estate with others hereinafter named whom I am bound by every tie of honor
to provide for. I will and bequeath to my beloved wife Sarah S. Younger the sum
of one dollar, which with the property given her in said deed of gift is in liew
of dower in my estate. I give and bequeath to Henry W. Younger the sum of one
dollar. I give and bequeath to Littleton Younger the sum of one dollar. I
give and bequeath to Virginia L. Creek, wife of Jacob Creek the sum of one
dollar. I give and bequeath to Elizabeth D. Woods, wife of Thomas Woods the sum
of one dollar, and to Lucy S. Burten the like sum of one
dollar.
ITEM 2nd. I give and bequeath to Parnelia
Wilson of Jackson County, the eighty acre tract of land situated in said County
which I bought of Hampton, reference
being to Hamton’s deed to me. To Have and to Hold the same to her and her
heirs forever.
ITEM 3rd. I give and bequeath to Adeline L.
Dalton, wife of Lewis Dalton, Jr., the tract of land containing two hundred and
ten acres on which said Dalton and wife now live in Cass County near
Harrisonville, and one negro girl, slave named Minerva, about twenty-seven years
of age which girl slave was hired to Todds at the Noland House. To have and to
hold the above land and negro girl unto her the said Adeline and to her heirs
after her in tail and not to the said Lewis Dalton, Jr., nor his heirs nor
assigns.
ITEM 4th. I will and bequeath that after my
death the following slave belonging to me be manumitted and forever set free
from slavery or service or bondage to any man, to wit: Elizabeth 22 years, of
mulatto color and her two children
named Catherine and Simpson. Also Fany, aged between 35 and 40 years, and her two children
named Nathan and Washing ton, and that their freedom commence at my
death.
ITEM 5th. I give and bequeth to said
Elizabeth, Fanny, Catherine, Simpson, Nathan and Washington, named in the
4th Item , jointly, the 300 acre tract of land situated on Little
Blue in Jackson County, which I bought in part from John Ross and from Hawkins
Estate and in part from the U.S. Land Office, all which land is easily
ascertained by reference to the deeds from the last named parties to me and from
the Land Office Certificate. To Have and to Hold the same to said
last mentioned legatees after their freedom,
Forever.
ITEM 6th. I give and bequeath to the
children of Wilton Younger, deceased to wit: Rebecca, Charles and Catherine
Younger, the sum of one dollar each and this I do because I have already given
them as much as I intended to do besides this
legacy.
ITEM 7th. After the payment of my just debts
and the special legacies herein mentioned, I give and bequeath to Sophie S.
Wilson, Charles F. Wilson, Mary S. Wilson, Martha L, Wilson, Jefferson Wilson,
Bruce Wilson and Sophronia Wilson, who are sometimes called by the name
of “Younger” instead of “Wilson”
and whom I acknowledge as my children by the said Parmelia Wilson their mother,
all the remainder of my Estate both real and personal to be divided equally between
said seven children. In this testimony I hereunto set my hand and affix my seal
this 26th day of February M.D.
1852.
Charles Younger (Seal)
At the request of said Charles Younger we
hereunto subscribe our names as witnesses to the foregoing Will and
Signature.
I. Brown
Hovey
John R.
Swearinger
At the request of Charles Younger we
hereunto subscribe our names as witnesses to the foregoing Will and Signature in
the presence of the said Younger this 28th day of October
1854.
Theodrick Snuffer
John
Bedell
CODICIL
IN THE NAME OF GOD,
AMEN:
I, Charles Younger, of the County of St.
Clair and State of Missouri, being of sound mind and memory, in view of the
uncertainty of life, and wishing to make some farther provisions in regard to my
temporal after my death, I hereby confirm each and every provision in my will
made in Jackson County, Mo., on the 26th day of February 1852 and reattested by Theodrick Snuffer
and John Bedill as witnesses at my request on the 28th day of October 1854
ratifying said will in every particular not altered in the codicil No. 1,
and revoking all other wills and codicils heretofore made by me, save and except
the will above described and this codicil No. 1 to said will. It is my will
and desire that the slaves Catherine and Simpson, mentioned in my will, should,
after my death, be known by the names of Catherine Younger and Simpson Younger,
and in addition to their freedom absolutely at my death it is my will and desire
that my Executor hereinafter named, shall, as soon as convenient after my death,
take said Catherine and Simpson to a free state and place them in a respectable
school where they shall be well clothed and cared for in every respect and their
morals particularly guarded until they arrive at the age of twelve years each,
and when they respectively arrive at the age of twelve years each it is my will
and desire that my executor hereinafter named shall place each of said children,
Catherine and Simpson, at an academy or college of high grade where each may
receive a thorough classical education, and each be kept at said academy or
college or some other institution of similar character until each of them shall
have graduated according to the rules of such institution or institutions of
learning, and if necessary, to be kept at school until they are each twenty-one
years of age, all the expenses of educating said Catherine and Simpson,
including board, tuition and incidental expenses and cost of traveling, to be
paid out of my estate. It is my will and desire and I hereby give and bequeath
to the above named Catherine and Simpson the sum of Three Thousand Dollars to be
paid to them in equal parts when they have respectively arrived at the ages of
twenty-one years, and in case either of them shall die before he or she shall
arrive at the age of years, then, in that event the whole of the said Three
Thousand Dollars to be paid to the survivor, and in case both the said Simpson and
Catherine should die before either arrives at the age of twenty-one years, then
said sum of Three Thousand Dollars to be considered part of my Estate and
included and disposed of according to Item 7th of my will above described
and I hereby direct my executor to pay it over accordingly and said persons
mentioned in Item 7th of the aforesaid will are hereby confirmed as residuary
legatees. In. order that there may be no mistake as to the identity of said
Catherine and Simpson for whom I have made and wish to make by this
codicil, the most liberal provisions, I hereby state that Catherine is about 8
years of age and Simpson about 6 years of age, both of light mulatto colour,
both the children of my mulatto woman
Elizabeth and that said Catherine and Simpson and their mother are now
living with me in St. Clair County; Mo., and it is my wish and desire that the
provisions of my above described will as well as this codicil be liberally
construed to promote the Freedom, Happiness, Education and Respectability of
said Catherine and Simpson. It is my wish and desire that my son Coleman Younger
have and I hereby give and bequeath to him one half of the farm in Jackson
County, Mo., upon which I formerly resided for a few days but upon this express
condition, that he pay to my executor Twenty-five Dollars per acre for the other
half of said farm or pays to me during my life the said sum of Twenty-five
dollars per acre for one half of said farm, in either event I give and bequeath
to said Coleman Younger the other half. The land included in this bequest to
Coleman Younger is the Hamilton tract of land and all the Ross Wilkerson tract
of land lying East of the State road running from Independence South except a
little of the Hamilton tract and lying East of the Moultry tract of land
and said tracts of land above mentioned bequeathed on the above condition
contain between three and four hundred acres. I hereby revoke the bequest
made in Item 5th of the above mentioned will which shall hereafter be set aside,
revoked and held for nought, and the sane land is hereby included in the
bequest mentioned in Item 7th of my above described will and I hereby give and
bequeath to said persons mentioned in Item 7th the land mentioned in Item 5th
and who are confirmed as my residuary legatees. I hereby confirm unto all the
slaves mentioned in my above described will, their absolute freedom at my
death. I hereby give and bequeath to Fanny and Elizabeth, who are made free by
my will, and whos freedom is confirmed to them by this codicil No, 1, the tract
of land I own in St. Clair
County, Mo., which I purchased of Comstock, containing 40 acres, and also the
tract of land noon which I now reside known as the Gilliam Farm, it is hereby
given and bequeathed to them jointly, and their heirs and assigns forever. I
hereby constitute and appoint Waldo P. Johnson Executor of my Will above
mentioned as well as of the codicil No. 1 and enjoin on him the duty of strictly
carrying out all the provisions of said will and
codicil.
In Testimony Whereof I have hereunto set my
hand and seal this 11th day of November,1854.
Charles Younger
(LSS,)
At the request end in the presence of
Charles Younger we have hereunto set our hands as witnesses, to the codicil and
to his signature.
L. Lewis. S. A. Bruce, Sam’l. T.
Hodges
Filed November 15, 1854 James W. Beck,
Clerk
Book “E” - Page 106, St. Clair Co.,
Mo,
