In the name of God, Amen. I, Benadict Alford of Windsor in the County of Hartford and Colony
of Connecticut in New England, am at this Time Through God’s Goodness in Common Health
and of a Sound Mind and Memory, and Calling to Mind the Mortality of My Body and Duty to Set
my House in Order, Do Make and Ordain this to be my Last Will and Testamony [sic] that is to
Say Principally and first of all I Give and Recommend my Soul into the Hands of God that Gave
it and My body at Death I Give to the Earth to be Buried in Decent Christian Burial at the
Direction of My Executor Hereafter to be Named, Hoping Again to Receive the Same Through the
Merits of Christ at the Resurrection of the Just, and as Touching Such Worldly Goods and
Estate With Which it Has Pleased God to Bless me With in this Present Life, I Give and Dispose
of the Same in the following Manner and form (Viz):-----
Imprimis I Give and Bequeath unto my Truly and Well Beloved Wife Abigail the Use and
Improvement of My Dwelling House and Barn and my Home all Dureing [sic] Her Natural Life.
And Also I Give unto Her the Use and Improvement of One Cow and One Half of My House Hold
Staff Dureing [sic] her Natural Life-----
and After Her Decease to be Equally Divided Amongst my Children-----
Item I Give and Bequeath unto my Son Benadict Alford and to his Heirs And Assigns for Ever
All My Real Estate Where Ever the Same May Ly [sic] or How Ever the Same May be Butted or
Bounded, Together With All the Buildings thereon Standing, and Also all my Movable Estate
Excepting What I Have Before Disposed of to my Wife, to be to Him His Heirs & assigns
for Ever, He Paying the Legacies & Here as Shall Hereafter Be Mentioned.
Item I Give and Bequeath to My Daughter Abigail Phelps in Addition to What I Have Already
Given Her, Ten Pounds Money.-----
Item I Give and Bequeath unto my Daughter Azubah Alford the Sum of Twenty Pounds Money.-----
Item My Will is that All the Legacies Mentioned in this Will be Respectively Paid by My Son
Benadict out of the Estate I Have Above Given him, But upon His Neglect or Refusall [sic]
to Pay the Same My Will is that So Much of the Land Above Given to Him Shall be Disposed of
as is Sufficient to Pay the Same, and that my Daughters Legacies be Paid in One Year Next
After my Decease-----
Item My Will and _____ [desire ?] is that my Son Benadict Alford Shall be the Only Executor
to this My Last Will and Testament and I Appoint Him thereto-----
I Witness of What is Above Written. I Have Hereunto Set my Hand and Seal this 7th Day of
April, Anno Dom 1760-----
Benadict Alford
Signed Sealed published pronounced & Delivered by the Said Benadict Alford to be his
Last Will & Testament in the Presence of us the Subscribers.
Josiah Allyn
John Filley
Henry Allyn
[Note: Spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been left the same as in the
handwritten copy used to transcribe the will.Comments are enclosed in brackets [ ] and
not parentheses.]
