Amanuensis Monday - Will of John Eaton - 1775

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 have transcribed the will of my 6th great-grandfather John Eaton of Rowan County, North Carolina; the will is dated 6 April 1775.

In the Name of God Amen, I John Eaton of

the County of Roan in the province of North

Carolina planter being very sick and weak of

body but of perfect mind & memory thanks be

given unto God calling into mind the

mortality of my body and knowing that it

is appointed for all men once to die do

make and ordain this my last will and Testa

ment that is to say principally & first of all

I give and recommend my soul into the hand

of God that gave it and my body I recommind

to the earth to be buried in decent christian

burial at the discretion of my Executors,

nothing doubting but at the Resurrection

I shall receive the same again by the mighty

power of God and as touching such worldly

estate whewith it hath pleased God to bless

me with in this life I give devise[?] & dispose

of the same in following manner and form

First I give and bequeath to Elizabeth my dear

-ly beloved wife one feather bed and furniture

one cow and the third part of the incomes of

the place to dispose of at her discretion and a

room in the house as long as she lives.

Also I give to my well beloved son Samuel Ea-

-ton one hundred acres of Land at the upper

or north end next to Ab[?] Wood. Also I give to

my well beloved son Daniel Eaton all the remainder

of my land with the improvements that is on it, and

he is to give to his mother the third part of the income

of the place as long as she liveth. Also I give to my

dearly beloved wife Elizabeth two cows & one horse

one mear for her property to dispose of as she pleas

-es, the remainder of the Stocs and waggin to be sold att

publick vandue[venue?] and the debts paid of. the rest of

the money divided equal among other children &

the mony that I have now by me is to pay of the

quits in land office. I likewise constitute make &

ordain David Jones and Isaac Eaton sole Executors

of this my last will & Testment, and I do hereby

utterly disalow revoke and disannual all and

any other former Testament Wills Legaces bequests

and Executors by me in any way before named

willed and bequeathed ratifying and confirm-

ing this and no other to be my last will and

Testament. It witness where I have hereunto

set my hand & seal this six day of April in

the year of our Lord one thousand seven hun-

dred and seventy five.              his

                                       John  X  Eaton

                                               mark

Syned sealed published pronounced

and declared by the said John Eaton as his last will

and Testament in presence of us

John Reed, Samuel Reed, Ebenezer Fairchild

[Source: "North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970," digital images, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 9 Aug 2011); John Eaton, will dated 6 April 1775; citing Probate Records, Rowan, Wills, 1780-1807, Vol. C, page 16, image 27 of 65.]

© 2011 Denise Spurlock