THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
OF
February 20(28?), 1822
In the name of God Amen! I BRICKHOUSE BELL of the County of Camden and State of North Carolina being weak of body but of sound mind and memory knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, do make and ordain this my Last Will and Testament in manner & form following Viz.
Item. I give & bequeath unto my Wife MARY BELL all the property of every nature & kind she was possessed of when I intermarried with her, except such as have been made use of, also one gig, two sows and eleven shuts, & four pigs & all the previsions in the house except four barrels of old pork to her & her heirs forever.
Item. I lend to my Daughter NANCY COX during her natural life the following negroes viz. Amy & her three children Stephen, Smart, and Sarah, & Lucy & her child Dinah, Lini & Smart son of Lucy and after her death, I give & bequeath unto the children of my Daughter NANCY COX as well those hereafter to be born as those already born, the above mentioned negroes that I loaned her during her natural life to them & their heirs forever. I give & bequeath unto my Daughter NANCY COX one sorrel mare called Cross to her & her heirs forever.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my Daughter JANE BRAY, the following negroes viz. one negro woman named Courtney & her three children, Sally, Stephen, & Julia, also one negro man named Young Charles, one negro woman called Young Sarah & her Son Demsey to her & her heirs forever.
Item. I give & bequeath unto my Son CARTWRIGHT BELL part of the land that I purchased of CALEB CHURCH bounded as follows viz. beginning at the North River opposite a branch where ABNER ROBESON formerly lived running northwardly to the mouth of said branch, then up said branch to a ditch then up the ditch to the main road, then across the main road north twenty one(?) east by a line of marked trees to JOHN WILLIAMS line then west said WILLIAMS line to the run TULLY GREGORY’S line then down the main stream of the run to the North River then the various courses of the River to the first station also one negro man named Enoch, one negro girl Rachel and one negro girl Grace to her and her (sic) heirs forever.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my Son TULLY BELL the remainder of the land I purchased of CALEB CHURCH whereon he now lives also the land I purchased of THOMAS C. FEREBEE also one negro man named Willis, one negro girl named Claricey, one negro man called Old Charles, one negro woman Old Sally, one bed & furniture one yoke of young oxen, two cows & calves, six head of sheep to him & his heirs forever.
Item. I give & bequeath unto my Son JAMES W. BELL all the land I purchased of SARAH STEWART also the swamp I purchased of JOHN LAMB, also one negro man named Lerry(?), one negro girl named Lomen, one old man Cuffee, one old man Jack, one bed & furniture, two cows & calves, six head of sheep, to him and his heirs forever. My will and desire is that the board & tutition of my Son JAMES W. BELL at Raleigh be paid out of the money in hand—the ??? to be made out of the property not given away in particular legacies also one hundred dollars in notes for the purpose of purchasing him a horse.
My will & desire is that all the property not before given away in particular legacies at my death to be equally divided amongst my five children, viz. NANCY, JANE, CARTWRIGHT, TULLY & JAMES W. BELL.
Lastly I nominate & appoint my Son in Law ANDREW BRAY & my two Sons CARTWRIGHT & TULLY my whole & sole Executors to this my Last Will & Testament. Revoking all former wills by me made. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal the twenti (runs off the page could be 20th or 28th not sure) day of February in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty two.
B. BELL seal
Signed, sealed & declared to be the
Last Will & Testament of the
Testator by him in the presence of us
G.C. MARCHANT
H.N. WILLIAMS
Camden County Court
May Term 1822
This instrument of writing was exhibited in open Court & proved as the Last Will & Testament of BRICKHOUSE BELL dec’d. by the oath of GIDEON C. MARCHANT a subscribing witness thereto and at the same time CARTWRIGHT BELL & TULLY BELL Executors therin named appeared & qualified as Executor thereto. Ordered to be Recorded.
Test. M.S. LEWIS clk
Will Book C
Pages 4, 5
Contributed and transcribed by Judy Merrell Brickhouse