Muhlenberg County Kentucky
Wills: R
William Rice Sr., 1826
In the name of God Amen. I, William Rice Sr., a citizen of Muhlenberg county & state of Kentucky, being in good health, of sound mind & memory but far advanced in age & knowing that it is appointed unto all men once to die, do hereby make, ordain & appoint this my last will & testament in manner & form following that is to say.
First, it is my will & desire that my true & loving wife Frances have my land & the plantation where on I now live with all the appurtenances of the same there unto belonging, during her natural life, but immediately after her death the land & plantation as above described shall be possessed & enjoyed by my son Mathew Rice & his heirs forever, together with one cow & calf, two ewes & lambs, ten geese and plow & two hoes, with one bed & furniture, which he now has in possession.
Item the 2nd, And whereas I have heretofore given to my three sons Larkin, Ezekiel & William each one tract of land lying in the county of Washington, Ky., it is my will & desire that should there ever be any money collected from the estate of James Vaughn decd., late of Virginia, against whose estate I have just claims, that the same be equally divided between my four sons & two daughters viz. Claibourn Rice, Jesse Rice, James Rice, Benjamin Rice, Polly Rice & Anny Rice.
Item 3rd, As I have empowered my son James Rice to go to Virginia to settle & transact my necessary business there, it is my will & desire that he go & that after receiving a reasonable compensation for his services & necessary expenses out of the proceeds of what he shall get from Virginia, that my son Benjamin have one hundred dollars out of what so may get from the estate of my father & brother John Rice for his trouble & expencese for putting that business in such train as it now stands in, after which the residue or balance of what I may get from Virginia shall be equally divided among all my children that shall then be living.
Item 4th, It is my will & desire that all the negroes that I now possess or may hereafter possess together with all my personal estate except what I have given to my son Mathew, be possessed by my wife Frances for her use & benefit for and during her natural life.
Item 5th, As the negroes that may be living after the death of my wife cannot be equally divided without seeling them, it is my will and desire that they be sold to the highest bidder, only amongst the children & not out of the family and the money thence arising to be equally divided among all my children that may then be living.
Item 6th, Provided there should be nothing gotten from Virginia or not enough to make one hundred & twenty dollars to each of my under named children, that is to say Claibourn Rice, Jesse Rice, James Rice, Benjamin Rice, Polly Rice & Anny Rice, in that case the money arising from the sale of the negores shall be applied to make up that sum to each of my children named in the sixth item, the balance then remaining if any shall be equally divided among all my children that shall be then living.
Lastly, I do hereby constitute & appoint my two sons Clabourne Rice & James Rice the only & sole executors of this my last will and testament utterly revoking, annulling & making void all other wills, legacies & bequests by me before now named or mentioned, ratifying & confirming this and no other to be my last will & testament.
In witness whereof I have here unto set my hand & seal this 4th day of November one thousand eight hundred & seventeen.
William Rice
Signed, sealed & pronounced in presence of
Jeremiah Langley
Elijah Langley
James his X mark Wilcox
Muhlenberg County
April County Court 1826
The last will & testament of William Rice decd. was exhibited in to court & proven by the oaths of Jeremiah Langley & James Wilcox, two of the subscribing witnesses thereto, which is thereupon admitted to & truly recorded.
Att. Chs. F. Wing clk.
Source: Muhlenberg County Kentucky Will Book 2, p. 251.
Updated August 13, 2022