Joshua James's Last Will & Testament:

IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN, this tenth day of October one Thousand eighteen hundred, I Joshua James of Suſsex County and State of Delaware being Very Sick and weak in body but of perfect mind and memory knowing the certainty of Death and Yet the uncertainty of time I shall be called by it to my long Home knowing that at the general Resurrection to be raised up by the power of God in sure and sertain hope of the resurrection to Eternal life, through our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ, I commit my body to the Durst (?) to be buried in the most plain and decent manner, knowing in whom I have believed and being pursuaded that he will keep that which I have Committed unto him the fullest Aſsurance of faith, I commit my Soul into the hands of the Everloving altogether lovely Jesus on whose compleat and Everlasting righteouſsneſs Indepensd for the Justification of my person and expence of my poor unworthineſs through sincear performance and the day he shall come in the Glory of his father his own Glory and the Glory of his holy Angels to Judge the Quick and the dead I do hereby Utterly revoke Disanul all former Wills or bequests by me made the year above written to be my last Will and Testament ~~~
I Give and bequeath to my beloved Daughter Levinah Lambdon one Negro named Lott and no more of my Moveable Estate ~~~
I Give and bequeath to my beloved ſon Elias James One Negro Boy named Nathan and If he should attempt to sell the said Negro in the County or out of the County to be amediately taken from him by my Executrix of my Will and no more of my Estate ~~~
My Will and desire is that my beloved ſon Noah should have my Negro boy Ephraim and one Cow and Earling and no more of my Estate My Will and desire is that my beloved Daughter Nancy James should have my Negro Girl Milky ~~~
My Will and Desire is that my beloved Wife Alice James should have forty five Acres of land called Joshua's Discovery during her Natural life or Widowhood and when she dies or Marries my will and desire is that my Daughter Bridget Workman should have the forty five Acres called Joshua's Discovery to her and her Heirs forever, ~~~
After all my Debts and funeral Charges are defrade that my wife Alice James and William Workman Should be my Soul Executors of this my last Will & Testament, and likewise my Will and desire is that my Wife should have all my Estate that is not Legast, and when she dies for all her Estate that I have left her to be Equatablely divided between all my Children that I had by her which is Bridget Workman, Nancy James, and Nelly James and Polly James and Betsey James, and I do hereby utterly disanul all former Wills and bequests by me made, and this and no other to be my last & Testament in presents of us Subscribers,
Joshua James {seal}
Signed, Sealed and published and pronounced before us Subscribers }
Test;
Levin Connaway
Peggy (her'X'mark) Connaway
George (his'X'mark) Howard
MEMORANDUM this 11th day of June 1805. Before me Phillips Hollock Register Appointed for the probate of Wills and granting Letters of Administration for the County afsd., Appeared Levin Connaway, Peggy Connaway & George Howard the Subscribing Witneſses to the foregoing Will who being duly sworn on the holy Evangels of Almighty God did severally depose and say that on their sight presence and hearing the Testator Joshua James did sign, seal, publish, pronounce and declare this Instrument of Writing to be his last Will and Testament and that at the doing thereof, The said Testator was of a sound disposing mind, Memory & Judgement to the best of these deponents knowledge and belief, and that they and each of them did sign the same as Witneſses in presence of the Testator and at his request—
Phillips Kollock Regr.