Ole Anthon Christopherson's Last Will and Testament

 Yesterday I found the Last Will and Testament of my paternal 2nd great-grandfather, Ole Anthon Christopherson!¹ He was born in Norway and immigrated to the United States. I am confident this is his Will because it lists known information such as his wife's name, and the names of their children, and the name of his stepson. 

This is quite an exciting find. Ole's Will is dated 22 January 1906. He passed away a number of years later in 1914. This Will contains two pages. I've added a transcription following each page.

Here's the first page of Ole's will.

Transcription of the first page of Ole's will:

Will of Ole A. Christopherson Decedent.

In the name of God, Amen. 

I, Ole A. Christopherson of the Village of Benson

in the County of Swift and State of Minnesota, being of sound mind 

and memory, do make, publish and declare this to be my Last Will and Testament.

           First—I order and direct that my Executor hereinafter named, pay all my just debts and funeral expenses as soon

after my decease as conveniently may be.

           Second—After the payment of such funeral expenses and debts, I give, devise, and bequeath to my beloved

wife, Aslou Christopherson all of the property of which I may

die seized, both real and personal, to be held and owned by her

during her life time and the rents and profits and increase thereof to

be used by her for her support and maintainance, the remaining

interest therein, subject to her life Estate, to go in equal portions to

my children as hereinafter directed and to the son of my said wife.

           Third, I give devise and bequeath unto my beloved children,

Annie Iverson, Serena Iverson, Nels Christopherson, Julia Larson,

Elsie Larson and my step-son Halvor Christopherson, the son of my

said wife, Aslou, all the property both real and personal of which I may

die seized subject however to the life interest of my wife Aslou

as hereinabove directed.

           Fourth, I further order and direct and it is my will, that should I

survive my said wife Aslou, then and in that case, upon my death

all of my property shall go direct to my said children above named,

and to my said step-son Halvor Christopherson, to them share and

share alike.

Here's the second page of Ole's Will.

Transcription of the second page of Ole's Will (it doesn't line up exactly as the original):

Lastly, I make, constitute and appoint Magnus Pederson of Benson, Minnesota

to be Executor of this my Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking all former Wills by me made.

                In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed my seal the 26^th day of

January in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred

and six (A.D. 1906)

                                                                                 Ole Anthon Christopherson [seal]

                 This Instrument Was, on the day of the date thereof, signed, published and declared by the said Testator Ole

A. Christopherson to be his Last Will and Testament in our presence, who at his

request, have subscribed our names thereto as witnesses, in his presence, and in the presence of each other.

 

C. L. Kane                                            residing at             Benson, Minnesota

P. Christopherson                                 residing at             Benson, Minnesota

 ___________________

                 State of Minnesota              }                                                     IN PROBATE COURT,

                                                               }ss.                                          CERTIFICATE OF PROBATE

                County of Swift                    }

 

In the Matter of the Estate of Ole Anthon Christopherson Decedent.

                 Be It Remembered, That on the day of the date hereof at a Special Term of said Probate Court

pursuant to the notice duly given, the Last Will and Testament of Ole Anthon Christopherson

Decedent, late of said County of Swift bearing date the 26^th day of January

1906, and being the annexed written instrument, was duly proved before the Probate Court in and for the County of

Swift aforesaid; and was duly allowed and admitted to probate by said Court according to law;

as and for the Last Will and Testament of said Ole Anthon Christopherson deceased,

which said Last Will and Testament is recorded and the examination taken thereon filed in this office.

                                In Testimony Whereof, The Judge of the Probate Court of said County has here-

                                                unto set his hand and affixed the seal of said Court at Benson

            in said County, this 22 day of June 1914 

Court Seal                                                                 J. N. Edwards

                                                                                Judge of Probate.

 Recorded this 22^nd day of June 1914

As I mentioned before, I am confident that this Will is the Will of my paternal 2nd great-grandfather, Ole Anthon Christopherson. The relationships mentioned are correct and so is the locality. 

In his Will, Ole lists his wife's name as Aslou. My records have her name as Aslaug. Ole listed the following children in his Will: Annie Iverson, Serena Iverson, Nels Christopherson, Julia Larson, Elsie Larson and his step-son Halvor Christopherson. Halvor was the son of his wife, Aslaug. He was born before Aslaug and Ole married. Ole and Aslaug were the parents of seven children. Sadly, two of the children did not survive to adulthood. Annie Iverson was my great-grandmother. She married Christopher Iverson. Annie passed away before her father on 4 June 1913 in Benson, Swift, Minnesota. Her father, Ole, passed away on 12 May 1914 in Benson, Swift, Minnesota and his Will was proved in Probate Court on 22 June 1914.

An interesting item in Ole's Will is that he appointed Magnus Pederson as his Executor. I don't know who Magnus Pederson was. As for the witnesses, I wouldn't be surprised if P. Christopherson was Ole's brother, Peter Christopherson. I don't know who C. Kane was.

Also of interest is the phrase "and being the annexed written instrument" on the second page of the Will. What does that mean exactly? I've heard of adding a codicil to a Will before, but what is an annex? Is it the same thing? If so, is there an earlier version of Ole's will?

I'm so glad I found Ole's Last Will and Testament. In his Will Ole mentioned "real and personal property." That's interesting. I wonder if I can find land records for Ole. And, if there is an earlier version of Ole's Will then searching for that should be added to my research to do list.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana Last

© 2020 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

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1 Swift County, Minnesota, Last Will and Testament, Vol 2. Pages 138-139, Ole A. Christopherson; “Minnesota, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1801-1925,” database with images, District and Probate Courts, Swift, Minnesota. Ancestry.com. (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9070/images/004416447_00141 : accessed 15 December 2020); image 141 of 324.^↩

My 6th Great-Grandfather's Signature

I recently added a new signature to the My Ancestors' Signatures page on this blog.

I was able to add this new signature because I found the probate packet of my maternal 6th great-grandfather, John Waterman.1

Within this probate packet were several documents including John's Last Will and Testament.2

Here's the last page of John's will. The red arrow is pointing to John's signature. 

Here's a close-up view of John's signature.

John Waterman signed his will on 3 January 1742/3. It's incredible to see the signature of one of my ancestors from so long ago. This was before the American Revolutionary War. John's grandson, Dr. Luther L. Waterman, served as a Surgeon in that war. Luther was my 3rd great-grandfather.

John Waterman was born March 1672 in Norwich, Connecticut and died in 1744 in Norwich, Connecticut. John was married three times. I am descended from his third wife, Elizabeth Bassett.

John and Elizabeth were the parents of three children:

1. Mary Waterman (1722-1736)
2. David Bassett Waterman (1725-1809) [my 5th great-grandfather]
3. Elizabeth Waterman (1730-1765)

Probate records are fascinating and valuable genealogical sources. My 6th great-grandfather's signature is an amazing genealogical discovery.

What genealogical discoveries have you found in probate records?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jana

© 2020 Copyright by Jana Iverson Last, All Rights Reserved

_________________________

[1] Connecticut. Hartford, City of. Wills and Probate Records. Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut); Probate Place: Hartford, Connecticut, Digital images. Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 [database on-line]. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9049/images/007628900_00696 : accessed 12 July 2020) Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. John Waterman. Images 696-705 of 1417.

[2] Connecticut. Hartford, City of. Wills and Probate Records. Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut); Probate Place: Hartford, Connecticut, Digital images. Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 [database on-line]. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9049/images/007628900_00703 : accessed 12 July 2020) Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. John Waterman. Image 703 of 1417.

The Last Will and Testament of Mary (Tyler) Webster

As many of you may already know, Ancestry.com has recently added a new collection to their site - U.S. Wills and Probate Records. I went searching in this new collection and was excited to find this document. It's the Last Will and Testament of my 4th great-grandmother, Mary (Tyler) Webster.¹ 

Mary Tyler was born on 28 June 1775 possibly in New York, and passed away on 17 March 1858 in Coolville, Athens, Ohio. She married Augustine Webster, my 4th great-grandfather, on 20 October 1793 in Columbia, New York.

Here's the transcription of Mary's will, transcribed to the best of my ability. If there are errors, please let me know in the comments below.

Mary Webster's Will

In the name of the benevolent Father of all I Mary Webster of Athens County Ohio, do make and publish this my last Will and Testament. There is due me from Moses A. Webster Administrator of the Estate of Augustine Webster deceased the sum of Five hundred & fifty two Dollars, which I wish to be disposed of as follows.

Item 1st I give and devise to my Grandson William Wesley Rardin one hundred Dollars, which sum I wish to be put out on interest made secure until he arrives at the age of twenty one years, and in case he should die before he arrives at the age of Twenty one years, then I wish the said one hundred dollars and all the interest that may accrue on the same to be given to my beloved son Ebenezer Webster.

Item 2nd I give and devise to my son Wesley Webster fifty Dollars. Also I give and devise to my son Abraham Webster fifty dollars. Also I give and devise to my Grandson Nelson Cowdery's heirs that is now alive the sum of Twenty five Dollars to be equally divided between said heirs. Also I give and devise to my two Grand Daughters Elizabeth L. Shields and Samantha Cowdery twenty five Dollars each. Also I give and devise to my daughter Betsy Smith the Remainder of the five hundred and fifty two Dollars first mentioned, to say two hundred and Seventy Seven Dollars.

Item 3rd I do hereby nominate and appoint Hiram Smith Executor of this my last Will and Testament Hereby authorizing and empowering him to compromise adjust Release and discharge the debts and claims due me and dispose of the same as above mentioned.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 10th day of May in the year AD 1856.

Signed and acknowledged by Said Mary Webster as her last Will & Testament in our presence & signed by us in her presence.

Wm. F. Pilcher
J. P. Humphrey

Mary mentioned several family members in her will. Here they are in order:

Moses A. Webster - Mary's son and my 3rd great-grandfather. I wrote a blog about him in a previous post.
Augustine Webster - Mary's husband.
William Wesley Rardin - Mary's grandson. William is the son of Mary's daughter Samantha and her second husband, Moses Rardin.
Ebenezer Webster - Mary's son. I wrote about Ebenezer in a previous post.
Wesley Webster - Mary's son. I wrote about Wesley in a previous post too.
Augustine Webster - Mary's son. I also wrote about Augustine in a previous post.
Nelson Cowdery - Mary's grandson. I don't have Nelson in my genealogy database, but Mary's daughter Mary was married to a man named Ethan Cowdery.
Elizabeth L. Shields - Mary's granddaughter. I don't have Elizabeth in my genealogy database either. And I don't know of any of Mary's daughters marrying anyone with the last name of Shields.
Samantha Cowdery - Mary's granddaughter. I also don't have Samantha in my genealogy database. Could she be Nelson Cowdery's sister?
Betsy Smith - Mary's daughter.
Hiram Smith - Mary's son-in-law and husband of her daughter Betsy.

Mary's last Will and Testament is such a valuable document. In it she mentioned three people that I had never heard of before: Nelson Cowdery, Elizabeth L. Shields, and Samantha Cowdery. Who were they? Where and when were they born? Did they get married and have families of their own? I now have the opportunity to put on my genealogy detective hat and do some family history research so I can find the answers to these questions.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

 

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

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1 "Ohio, Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998," database with images, Ancestry.com  (www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 September 2015), Athens, Ohio: Record of Wills, Vol 6-7, 1848-1865; Will of Mary Webster, Vol 7, pg. 187-188, Will dated 10 May 1856, Probate dated 14 October 1858; citing Ohio County, District and Probate Courts.^↩