Monday, February 12, 2007

The Will of Thomas Gilham SENIOR


The Will of Thomas Gilham SENIOR

by Randi Bowles Meentzen Feb 2007
I have been looking for that last peice of paperwork which would finish up my application for my admission into the DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. I had several ancestors who had been "proven" such as 6th ggrandfather Henry Winland and 6th ggrandfather Captain John Baker. However I wanted to "prove" an ancestor who had not yet been documented and that is my 5th great grandfather Abel Triplett. He was born in Goose Creek Loudon Co Virginia about 1753 and he sold beef to the troops and drove the cattle to them. The Rough Minute books of the Ketoctin Chapter of the DAR record his service and payment for the same. He did not serve as a soldier as two of his brothers did . He was at home managing the farm alongside of his mother who was also recently documented into the DAR by "cousin" Bev Bartley. If you have applied for a lineage society, then you know that each generations connection has to be documented by birth ,marriage and death records. That isnt too difficult until one gets into the timeframe before 1830-1860 when it was not required to register such events. At that point one has to start looking in tax and census lists, wills and tithables,land patents and any other source which can fix a location and the connected relatives. Many County boundary lines changed in this time frame and in the case of the Triplett family they moved "west". First they left Virginia and settled in Zanesville Ohio and then moved to Bureau County Illinois. This gave a wide range of areas to search in.
Abels daughter was Elizabeth Mary Triplett born on the 7th of January in 1786 in Loudon Co. VA. She married Thomas Gilham Sr (1774-1845) and this was the final connection which I needed to document. I was very happy when I received the will of Thomas Gilham several weeks ago from the Harrison Co Ohio Courthouse until I found it to be the wrong Thomas Gilham. It was the will of his son, Thomas Jr. But, lucky for me , my genealogical mentor, Ruth Lockwood of the Fernanda Maria Chapter of the DAR was on her way to the Mecca of research... the Latter Day Saints library in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was ecstatic to find on opening my email on my birthday of all days, that Ruth had found the missing link, the will of Thomas Gilham Senior. He several times mentions his wife Elizabeth and his son in law , (my 4thggrandfather, )the Rev. Isaac C. Burr who married Mary Gilham in 1828 in Belmont Co Ohio.
I will be transcribing the will later this week so return to this section for the update. It is worth noting that there are 2 sons mentionedwhom I have not seen attributed to Thomas before i.e. Greenbury Gilham and Stephen Gilham. Greenbury is a name often used in the Triplett line. He mentions son Israel and son Peter and daughters. His executors are Lewis Gilham and John Gilham. The sons Greenbury, Stepehen and Peter are each instructed to choose a horse as the others allready have. An extra 100 dollars is given to Peter to make him equal with what the daughters had allready received. The bulk of the property ,personal and real is given to his wife Elizabeth.
John and Lewis Gilham as executors are admonished to assemble a list of his worth at time of death and are given a time frame of 3 months to do it.I have a document which they presented listing "notes" which he was carrying . I think but am not certain that this was money owed to him at the time of his death for real estate purchased from him and land rent owed to him. The names listed are
William Dunn Sr. amt owed $106.75
Samuel Clark $ 1.00
Jonas Bimand $ 1.56
William Gilham $ 62.00
Thomas Gilham $104.00
Isaac Burr $ 73.00
Amount Received from James Tallman
for Real Estate $826.00
Amount Received from Isaac Hazelet
for Real Estate $2,940.00
By Cash Received of
Unreadable Charles Unreadable $ 3.76
By rent from John Gilham $ 41.18
Cash on hand at time of death $89.93
Some other items are unreadable.
The previous page itemizes personal items and totals of columns are, $135.27,. $39.67,$34.92, $147.06, $ 106.75, $4.00, +5.00
The final column is almost unreadable but my closest guess is $4,882. 64
Lewis Gilham signs that the executors are receiving no commission.
I will post more transcriptions from these documents so continue to check back
My DAR application is on its way to Washington D.C. and will be pending until the final approval is made. At that time ,Abel Triplett, patriot of the American Revolution ,will be given a National number.His documentation will be entered into the DAR archives in Stone Mountain and will gain his rightful place of respect and honor for the services he performed to forward the cause of Americas Freedom.
FOLLOWING IS THE TRANSCRIPTION:
January 18,1842, To all whom it may concern, I Thomas Gilham, being of sound mind and..illegible...and the uncertainty of human life do make and ordain this my last will and testament in the manner following to wit
First I will that all my past debts and financial expenses be fully paid and 2.that my sons Greenbury, Stephen and Peter should each have a h.... ........ if they should not get there before my departure from the world 3. I agree and bequeath to my daughter Ellen Jones fifty dollars to make her equal to what I have allready given to the rest of my daughters after .... 4, I will that my beloved wife Elizabeth have all the balance of all my property both real and personal during her life and after her demise I will that my executors herein after with all my property both real and personal be sold at public or private sale and when all is sold that equal division be made between all of my children and after it is ascertained what and ......... I will that 100 dollars be taken from my son Israel Gilham's share be added to my son Peter Gilhams share that he may have that much more on account that he is a cripple and that Israel may have that much of than the balance and further I do make make constitute and appoint my sons Lewsis and John Gilham executors of this my last will and testament in testimony hereof I hereby set my hand and seal this day of and yaer above Thomas Gilham, witnessed by James Tallman, Evans Berry.
Probate, The State of Ohio Belmont County, Court of Common Pleas, September 10 ad 1845, The last will and testament of Thomas Gilham Late, deceased, was this day brought into court and presented for probate and it appeared to our satisfaction in open court reduced to writing and filed, that said will was duly attended and not under any constriant whereupon the court approve said will to order that the name be recorded with the proof now taken.

No comments: