Will, NC, Mecklenburg, John Patterson Sr. 1831 In the name of God, Amen. I JOHN PATTERSON Senr. of the county of Mecklenburg & state of North Carolina, being in a low state of health; but through the mercy of God, of sound & perfect mind and memory and calling to mind & memory, and calling to remembrance the mortality of my body, as God hath appointed to all men once to die, do make & ordain this my last will and testament in the form & manner following, viz. FIRST & PRINCIPALLY I recommend my soul to God who gave it through grace and mercy in Christ Jesus, and my body to the earth to be buried in a decent Christian manner at the discretion of my executors herein after named. Touching my worldly estate, wherewith divine providence has bless me, I give & bequeath & dispose of the same as follows. FIRST I direct that all my just debts & funeral expenses be paid and discharged out of my property as soon as convenient after my decease. ITEM I will and bequeath to my beloved wife MARGARET [PATTERSON] the plantation on which I now live, together with all the plantation or land which I purchased from WILLIAM SAMPLE during the term of her natural life. ITEM I give and bequeath to my wife MARGARET my Negroes JACOB, CONGO, & NAN, LUCY, JANE, DARY, ADALINE, JESS, SHAM to her & her heirs forever – also all my household & kitchen furniture, also my road wagon & new Gig with all gear & harness to them belonging with all the farming utensils on my plantation. And also four head of horses called Jim, Diamede, Pigeon, Phebe with her colt. Also five cows and their calves & three young cattle of her own choice & my two yoke oxen & cart and all the hogs and sheep on my plantation and a years provision of every necessary for her & her family. ITEM I give & bequeath to my wife MARGARET three hundred dollars in specie. ITEM I give and bequeath to my daughter MARY [PATTERSON] ROSS and her heirs forever my negro woman JIN and all her children. ITEM I give and bequeath to my son WILLIAM PATTERSON & to his heirs forever the plantation on which he now lives, and also my Negroes PHEBE & her family, EPRAIM, ISAAC & little JIM and five of my young cattle at the discretion of my wife. ITEM I give and bequeath to my daughter ELIZABETH [PATTERSON] DENKINS [DINKINS] and the heirs of her body forever my negro woman MILLIS & her children now in her possession and also the man which I gave her at her marriage with all the stock, and furniture of every [kind] that she then received, also my negro girl FLORA to her & her heirs forever. ITEM I give and bequeath to my JOSEPH PATTERSON & his heirs forever the plantation bequeath to me by my son JAMES N. H. PATTERSON, deceased, with all the stock of cattle, hogs & sheep to it belonging, and farming utinsels on the same. ITEM I give and bequeath to my JOSEPH PATTERSON & his heirs forever at the decease of my wife MARGARET the plantation on which I now live, including the tract of land I now live on with the two adjoining which I purchased from JOSEPH REED, deceased, and JOHN MORRIS. Page 1 of 3 ** PAGE BREAK ** Will, NC, Mecklenburg, John Patterson Sr. 1831 ITEM I give and bequeath to my JOSEPH PATTERSON and his heirs forever my Negroes REUBEN, FLORA, TOM, JOHN & FANNY. ITEM I give and bequeath JOSEPH PATTERSON four head of horses, viz: Two gray horses, one gray blond horse & a sorrel mare. ITEM I give and bequeath to my grandson JOHN P. ROSS at the decease of my wife MARGARET the plantation or tract of land which I purchased from WILLIAM SAMPLE to him and his heirs forever. ITEM I give and bequeath to my grandson JAMES N. ROSS & his family forever the tract of land which I own on the SE side of MCALPIN’s Creek and divided by the creek from the plantation above bequeathed to my son JOSEPH PATTERSON and containing eighty nine acres to be the same more or less on which land ARCHIBALD UNDERWOOD now lives. ITEM I give and bequeath to my granddaughter MARY ADALINE ROSS and her heirs forever my negro girl EMELINE. ITEM I give and bequeath to my three grand children ANN ROSS, ELIZA M. ROSS & WILLIAM [ROSS] one hundred dollars each, to be paid by my executors into the hand of their father WILL [WILLIAM] ROSS at my decease. ITEM I give and bequeath to my granddaughter MARY ADALINE PATTERSON one hundred dollars to be paid by my executors into the hands of her father WILLIAM PATTERSON at my decease. ITEM I give and bequeath MARGARET H. PATTERSON & her heirs of her body forever my negro woman IRISH. ITEM I give and bequeath MARTHA ADALINE PATTERSON & her heirs of her body forever my negro girl MARY now living at JOHN STEPHENSON’s. ITEM I give and bequeath to my grandson JOHN N. DENKINS [DINKINS] one thousand dollars to be paid by my executors out of the money coming to me from WILLIAM FULGER in the hand of LEWIS DENKINS [DINKINS] at my decease, which $1000 in case the said JOHN N. DENKINS [DINKINS] should die in minority shall go to the heirs of the body of my daughter [PATTERSON] ELIZABETH DENKINS [DINKINS] share & share alike. ITEM I will and direct that my cotton gin & screw & smith tools run as they are for the mutual benefit of my wife & children & that they bear an equal part in all the repairs that may be necessary on the same. ITEM I have some time back made a verbal contract with ROBERT ARNOLD for a part of the tract of land which I purchased of MOSES KERR, which part I suppose would measure somewhere near one hundred acres; and for which he, [ROBERT] ARNOLD was to pay me eight dollars per acre. Now if ROBERT ARNOLD will give payment or such bond & surety as shall satisfy my executors for the safety of the price, then & in that case, it is my will & I authorize & direct my executors to convey to him, ROBERT ARNOLD the said land allowing him five years to pay for the land, with interest on the price from the day. Page 2 of 3 ** PAGE BREAK ** Will, NC, Mecklenburg, John Patterson Sr. 1831 ITEM it is my will and I direct that my executors shall sell at public sale at reasonable credit all my lands not herein bequeathed or otherwise conveyed before my death. ITEM it is my will and I direct that all my perishable property not herein devised be sold at public sale and on a reasonable credit. ITEM I also will and direct that all the money in my possession & due me by notes & accounts and also all the money arising from the sales of my property in compliance with this my will, after the debts & legacies herein before mentioned are paid shall be paid by my executors to my daughter MARY ROSS also one share shall be paid to my daughter ELIZABETH DENKINS & one share shall be paid to my son JOSEPH PATTERSON and the other share shall be paid by my executors into the hands of WILLIAM ROSS in trust for & to be laid out for the use of JOHN PATTERSON Jr. and his family. LASTLY I nominate & appoint LEWIS DENKINS [DINKINS], WILLIAM ROSS & JOHN PATTERSON Jr. executors of this my last will & testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 6th day of July, 1831. JOHN PATTERSON Sr. {seal} In presence of us. H. FOSTER JAMES GRIBBLE MARY POTTS Page 3 of 3 ** PAGE BREAK **