THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
OF
Dec. 28, 1820
May 1822
In the name of God Amen! I LUKE LAMB of Camden County and the State of North Carolina being of sound mind & memory, blessed be to God do this 28th day of December 1820 make & publish this my Last Will and Testament in the manner following that is to say, I leave the use of the land that I bought of BUNT?, Gale, Ferebee, & Jinkins as I have divided it to my Daughter PEGGY ETHERIDGE for & during her natural life and no longer after her death I give the sd. land to the heirs of her own body begotten..
ITEM: I leave the use of the land I bought of Simons & Jarvis as I have divided it to my daughter LYDIA DOZIER during her natural life and no longer after her death I give the sd. Lands to the heirs of her own body.
ITEM: I leave the land that I bought of John Williams called Biges to my two Grand Children TULLY DOZIER & LOVEY McBRIDE to be equally divided when TULLY arrives to lawful age but if either should die non age the survivor shall inherit and I give the said lands after their death to the heirs of their own body but if they should leave no heirs of their own body I give the said lands to my own children that is then living.
ITEM: I leave the use of the land I bought of Noah Sawyer… Sawyer or Demsey Sawyer and part of the land I bought of Enoch Sawyer to my daughter CLOE HERRING during her natural life and no longer and after her death I give the said lands to the male heirs of her own body forever, and I give my right of the third of Iramans? Sawyer widows thirds to William Herring forever, and I leave my Daughter CLOE HERRING three negroes Moses, Joe, and Easter during her natural life & no longer & then to the heirs of her own body.
ITEM: I leave the use of the land bought of Robert & Griffith Gregory to my daughter SALLY DOZIER, as it is bounded by John Lamb and others during her natural life & no longer & then I give the said land to the male heirs of her own body, and I give my said Daughter one negro girl Dinah. I leave the use of the land bought of Abner Lamb on the west side of the Great Ditch to my daughter PHOEBE DOZIER during her natural life and no longer & then I give the said lands to the heirs of her own body lawfully begotten, and I leave the use of two negroes Lamb and Luke.
ITEM: I give to my son ABNER LAMB that part of the Lake land that joins Gideons heirs & CLOE HERRINGS from the canal to the backline & part of the Creek Swamp to the mill run, and three negroes, Robin, Isaac & Jemy my still & articles belonging to making of cyder and my wearing clothes.
ITEM: I give all the land I bought from Abner Lamb on the east side of the Great Ditch and five acres of the land I bought Godfrey binding Abner Lamb 50 acres that he bought at auction to my Grand Son ISAAC GREGORY.
ITEM: I give my grandson MARK GREGORY half the new survey on Aronouse Creek Swamp and the land I bought of Demsey Burgess to him & his heirs forever.
ITEM: I give to my granddaughter MARY GREGORY the two children that the wench I gave her before she died. I give my daughter POLLY FERREL two Negro men Timothy & George. I give GIDEON LAMB‘s two sons WILSON & GIDEON all the lake land that is not given & half the Creek Swamp to the run of the Mill forever. I leave the use of the Negro Reuben, Cloe & children and her Increase & the girl Cloe that I lately bought for my granddaughter, LUCY SPRUEL during her natural life & no longer, and at her death I give the said negroes to such children as she may have living at that time. But if my said Grand Daughter LUCY SPRUEL should die without child or children living at her death, I give the said negroes to my own children that may be living at that time. And I appoint my son ISAAC LAMB & his Executors guardians to my Grand child LUCY SPRUEL, with respect to the property given to her I am willing and agreed that BAILEY SPRUEL shall keep the said negroes in his possession free from charge for the same as long as my said Grand Daughter LUCY’s guardian hereby appointed shall think fit & no longer he the said Spruel supporting & educating my said Grand Child in the time & he the said Spruel shall under no pretence whatsoever remove the said negroes out of this County. And I hereby nominate my two Sons ISAAC LAMB & ABNER LAMB executors to this my Last Will & Testament the day and date above written.
Signed, Sealed & acknowledged to be the Last Will and Testament of the Testator.
LUKE LAMB Sen. (seal)
Acknowledged in the presence of us
As his last will
John Ferrell
Joseph Linton
John Chamberlain
His X mark
“My cash notes and my small property, that not given I give to my Sons ISAAC, JOHN LAMB & POLLY FERRELL, this is an addition to my Last Will
LUKE LAMB
Wrote by my own hand, the gift I gave George to my Daughter POLLY, I want him valued & put with her part & the balance to be given to her in notes & money.
These two additions were acknowledged before us as part of this Will.
John Ferell
Joseph Linton
James Chamberlain
His x mark
I LUKE LAMB not intending to revoke or alter any part of my Will otherwise as hereafter named, do make & publish this codicil as part of my Last Will & Testament.
I give my cash, notes & other small property not given away in the body of my will, but given to my said Sons ISAAC LAMB, JOHN LAMB and Daughter FERRILL share & share alike & my will is that the boy George given to my said Daughter POLLY FERRELL in the body of my will be valued at Four Hundred dollars & come into this division & be a part of her share & to make her share together with said valuation equal to the share of my Son ISAAC LAMB, or the share of my Son JOHN LAMB and it is also my will that Boy Sandy for which my Son ISAAC LAMB has a bill of sale be valued at Three Hundred dollars & be a part of his share in said division.
The money I sold the two negroes for say? The negroes I gave in the body of my will to Grand Daughter MARY GREGORY now PALMER I give to my executors forever in trust to be laid out in the purchase of real estate at their discretion to be conveyed the use to the said MARY PALMER during her natural life & no longer & the to the heirs lawfully begotten on her body forever. The sum is Five Hundred & Fifty dollars out of which my said executors to retain for their troubell in buying said land & making said conveyances.
Signed, Sealed & Acknowledged by me as a part of my Last Will and Testament the 28th day of March 1822.
LUKE LAMB seal
Signed sealed & acknowledged in presents of us
Joseph Brown
Willoughby Jones
Camden County Court May Term 1822
The foregoing was exhibited in open Court & proved as the Last Will & Testament of LUKE LAMB Sen. Dec’d. by the oaths of John Ferrell & Joseph Brown subscribing witneses thereto. And at the same time ISAAC LAMB & ABNER LAMB executors therein named appeared & qualified as executors thereto by taking the oath prescribed by law. Ordered to be recorded.
Test. M. L. Lewis clk.
Contributed and transcribed by Judy Merrell Brickhouse