Captain Thomas Hemphill’s Will – page 7

This is the seventh installment in a series of nine posts in which I transcribe the will of my Revolutionary War ancestor, Captain Thomas Hemphill. In the first post, we learned that Captain Thomas’ will was contested by two of his children and a son-in-law, and that the date usually seen for his death may be wrong. The copy of the contested will as it was transcribed into the court records began on page 2. Pages three and four continued the will copy and began to explain the reasons that the will was contested. Pages 5, 6, and 7 continued the court testimony ¹ .

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Transcript

writing and the old man Sitting near to him.  Neal went

there to buy his Cattle and the Testator observed the Cattle

were not fat enough and he must call again.  this was in

December 1823.  Last of January or first of February he

called again Neal said from old man,s Situation under

standing he was Sick, he expected he would not trade

and proposed that James Hemphill one of the defendants

and Whiteside should sell the Cattle to him.  James replied

his father did his own trading and he must purchase of

him.  He went in and saw the old man who said he

had been expecting him for several days and if he had

not have come, he intended to turn the Cattle out on

Monday following,  Neal having promised when first there

to return in about a month.  He sold the Cattle to Neal

at twenty dollars per head in Silver, and took his note

payable in Silver with Interest from the date and Said

that was his practice, but if Neal paid him in a month

he would not charge him interest and observed as he

had offered Security he would take it.  He conversed

as if he had his Senses as well as he ever knew him to

have them.  Jourdan the Subscribing witness swears that at

the time he Subscribed the will, the Testator told him he had

not forgot him that he should have the Cattle and he afterwards

gave him the Cattl.  Roane swares that the day Mr. Henry was

there he called also in company with Thomas Green, the old

man was apparently in a Stupour, and had no mind at all

He was acquainted with him and had formerly boarded at

the same House in Morganton when the old man would

attend Court and had called on him frequently, talked

over the revolution, and was intimate and well acquainted

yet the Testator did not know him, and was as he con

Sidered destitute of mind.  Mr. Henry was again called

and swore he considered him in his Senses, and that he

had known him from the year 1791 That he talked Sense

ibly as at other times.  Robert Henry further gave evidence

that the Testator enquired whether it was necessary to

Notes on page 7

This page doesn’t have any new genealogical information, but it does have a few interesting tidbits.

One of the witnesses called upon Captain Thomas in December of 1823, then again in January or February of 1824.  The will was dated 12 Jan 1824, so his testimony is important in establishing Captain Thomas’ capacity at that time.

Mr. Henry was mentioned only by surname on the previous page.  Here we find out that he is Robert Henry.  There is also a Thomas Green mentioned on this page.  I don’t have Greens or Henrys in my tree, but these men were certainly associates, so I need to file their names in the FAN (Friends, Associates, Neighbors) club.

Lastly, there is my favorite line from this page – when Thomas Green testified that he had frequently called upon Captain Thomas and they had “talked over the revolution.”  Captain Thomas was both an officer and a patriot in the American Revolution.  Wouldn’t you just love to have heard some of those conversations?

Check back next Monday for page 8 of Captain Thomas Hemphill’s will.

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