In the name of God, Amen. I, Adam Fisher of Penns Township, Union County, state of Pennsylvania, yeoman, being weak in body but of sound and perfect mind and memory, blessed be Almighty God for the same, do make this my last will and testament, in manner and form following; Principally and first of all, I commend my soul into the hand of Almighty God, to be in mercy received, and my body I give to the earth, to be buried in a christianlike manner, and as touching my worldly estate, wherewith it has pleased God to bless me in this world, after my just debts and funeral expenses are paid, I give, devise and bequeath in manner and form following; 1st, I give and devise that my beloved wife, Margaret, shall have the sum of one thousand dollars, lawful money of the United States, to be paid her out of the first money which shall come into the hands of my executors, hereinafter named, and she shall and may keep as much of my house and kitchen furniture as she shall think proper, and shall and may keep one cow of my flock, if she thinks proper, and at all events, she the said Margaret, shall have all things, dower, etc., as is stipulated in an article of agreement which I have made with my son, Christian Fisher, over and above what I have bequeathed her in this will. 2nd, I give, bequeath and devise unto my son, Christian, the plantation which I sold him some time ago, as by a. deed which I made to him will Appear, and for whioh plantation he paid me in full, except what he is to give to my wife, Margaret, as per a former agreement made with him. 3rd, I give, bequeath and devise unto my son John, the plantation on which he resides at present, and which I sold him some years ago, as a deed which I made to him appears, and for which plantation he paid me in full, except what he is to give to my wife, Margaret, as per an agreement with him. 4th, I order and direct that my son, Benjamin Fisher, shall have my house and three lots of ground in Swifttown (Beavertown), Beaver Township, Union County, likewise about eight acres of ground adjoining the said town, during his natural life for his use, and after the decease of my said son, Benjamin, the said lots and land are to fall back to my estate. 5th, I give, bequeath and devise unto my son, George Fisher, the plantation on which he resides and for which plantation he paid me in full, except what he is to give my wife, Margaret, as per an agreement in writing made with him, he the said George having said me in full for the said plantation, except as above excepted. 6th, I give, bequeath and devise unto my son, Peter Fisher, the sum of five hundred dollars of lawful money of the United Sates, to be paid to him by my hereinafter mentioned executors, as soon as so much cash of mine comes to them after my decease, at least two years after my decease. 7th, I give, bequeath and devise unto my daughter, Margaret, intermarried with John Snyder, the interest of one thousand dollars to be paid to her yearly, and to begin one year after my decease, and the principal to remain in the hands of my executors, for the use of my dead daughters children, until the decease of my said daughter, Margaret, then to be paid to my grandchildren as they become of the age of twenty-one years, and in case of the death of any of the said grandchildren, the survivor, or survivors of them shall receive their respective share of the said principal sum to be equally divided. between than, or the survivors of them. 8th, I give, devise and bequeath unto my son, Jacob Fisher, the plantation on which he resides at present, and which I sold to him, as will appear by a deed made to him by me for the sale, and which shall be considered as his share of my estate at present. 9th, I give, devise and bequeath unto my grandchildren, Amelia, Henry, and Elizaboth, which are the children of My late son, Michael Fisher, deceased, the sum of two hundred dollars each, which is to be retained in the names of my executors, and to be paid to them by my said executors, as they become of the age of twenty-one years, or whenever either of them marries, and in the case of the death of any of my said grandchildren, the said sum is to be divided between the survivor, or survivors of them. 10th, I give, bequeath and devise unto my son, David Fisher, a certain tract of land situated in Penns Township, Union County, state of Pennsylvania, containing about eighty acres, more or less, adjoining John Fisher's, Daniel Mowrer's, Jacob Fisher's, and Simon Bickel's land, to have and to hold the said tract of land, to him, his heirs and assigns forever. My hereinafter executors are to execute a deed to the said David, for the said tract of land, as soon as possible, after my decease. 11th, I order and direct that the tract of land which I own in Center Township, Union County, and likewise the hill.land which I own in Chapman (now Union) Township, in said County, at the mouth of the Middle Creek, and extending up the said creek to John Snyder's tract of land, on which Jacob Zouns now resides, shall be sold at the discretion of my hereinafter named executors, either by private or public sale, but in case they cannot sell the said two tracts of land at a reasonable price, then it is my will to rent it out until they can obtain a reasonable price therefor. The first mentioned tract is the item mentioned in Center Township, is the same whereon a grist and saw mill is erected. 12th, I give, bequeath and devise unto my granddaughter, Magdalena, daughter of my deceased son, John Adam Fisher, the sum of fifty Dollars, lawful money of the United States, to be paid to her two years after my decease by my executors. 13th, It is my will, and I order and direct that my hereinafter executors, shall settle my whole estate within three years after my deseace, and after this settlement, if any sum of money shall remain, in addition to the hereinafter bequests, in the hands of my executors, the same shall be equally divided between my own children, hereinbefore mentioned, vis. Christian, John, Benjamin, George, Peter, Peggy, intermarried with John Snyder, Jacob, and David. And, lastly, I do hereby nominate, constitute and appoint my beloved sons, Christian Fisher,. George Fisher, and John Fisher, executors of this my last will and testament, and I revoke, disannul all other wills, legacies, and bequests, by me heretofore made, declaiming this, arid no other, to be my last will and testament. In witness whereof, I, Adam Fisher, have hereunto set my hand and seal the Tenth day of March, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-four.
Adam (X his mark) Fisher
WITNESSES:
Joseph Feehrer
George (X his mark) Gehret
Source: Union County Will Book "A", page 266.
Comments:
Adam Fisher was unable to write, and possibly could not read, judging from his will, however, his Old Family bible seems to indicate that he, or someone in his family could write, because it contains the names and dates of birth of all of his children. Mrs. Annie Fisher Chapman, Selinsgrove, Pa, had the old bible in 1934. A recapitulation of his will would indicate him a man of above the average wealth of that time. He bequeathed $1000 to his wife, $500 to his son Peter, the interest of $1000 to his daughter Margaret, and after her death this sum was to go to her Children, he bequeathed $600 to Michael's children, and $50 to John Adam's daughter. He deeded a farm of I64 acres to Christian, one of 164 acres to George, one of 80 acres to David, one to John (this was probably the "Poland" tract, of 144 acres), and one to Jacob, and a house, three lots, and eight acres in Beavertown to Benjamin, for a life estate. Beside this he owned land at the mouth of Penns Creek, in what is now Union Township, and a grist and sawmill property, near Beavertown, in what was then Center Township.
Submitted by: Harrison.
Last Modified