| 17th August 1869 Will of Isabella Bonnalie Widow of Lawrence Corrigan | From records of Notary John Childs No. 5414 Transcribed from Quebec Archives Microfilm #4M01-1604 |
Before us the undersigned Notaries Public duly admitted, commissioned and sworn residing at the City of Quebec in the Province of Quebec, personally came and appeared Dame Isabella Bonnalie, residing in the Parish of St. Gabriel of Valcartier, widow of the late Mr. Lawrence Corrigan in his lifetime of the same place, Farmer, who being in good bodily health and especially having the full and perfect enjoyment of all her intellectual and mental faculties as appeared unto us the said Notaries by her discourse and proposals, declared unto us the said Notaries that considering the certainty of death and the uncertainty of the hour thereof and being desirous of arranging her temporal affairs in order to be better prepared to leave this world whenever it will please Almighty God to call her home, she hereby makes her last solemn will and testament which she required us the said Notaries to receive and write down and which she dictated and named unto us the said Notaries in manner and form following, viz.:
Firstly and principally, I recommend my soul to Almighty God beseeching Him thro’ the merits of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior to pardon my manifold sins and receive me into His Heavenly Kingdom.
Secondly, I do will and ordain that as soon as possible after my decease all my just debts be paid and satisfied and wrongs by me done, if any, scrupulously repaired by my Testamentary Executor hereinafter appointed and named in the discretion and prudence of whom I rely for my funeral ceremonials, as also for services and masses for the repose of my soul.
Thirdly, I do hereby give and bequeath unto John Corrigan, Farmer, one of my sons, the undivided Lot of land situate and being in the said Parish St. Gabriel of Valcartier being number Ten of the Fifth Range on the North West side of River Jacques Cartier containing threes acres in breadth by thirty acres in depth, bounded in front by the said River and in the rear by unconceded lands, on the one side by Patrick Corrigan and on the other side by the immoveable property hereinafter designated together with the undivided half of the dwelling house and other buildings thereon erected, circumstances and dependencies, and whereof have already made him a Donation intervifs by Deed passed before John Childs, Notary, bearing the date at Valcartier aforesaid on the twenty eighth day of July now last past, and which said Deed of Donation intervifs I do hereby confirm and ratify, and moreover I do hereby give and bequeath unto my said son John Corrigan, a good serviceable horse and three milch cows, provided I do not give him the same prior to my decease.
Fourthly, I do hereby give and bequeath unto my daughter Catherine Corrigan the sum of five pounds currency and unto each of my two daughters, Margaret Corrigan and Ann Corrigan, the sum of ten pounds currency to be paid unto them respectively three months after my decease.
Fifthly, I do hereby give and bequeath unto Lawrence Corrigan my youngest son all and every the residue of my property of which I may die possessed of whatever nature and value the same may be and wheresoever the same may be situated for by him to enjoy, possess and dispose thereof from the day of my decease in full property and for ever hereby instituting him my said son Lawrence Corrigan my universal residuary legatee in property at the charge and under the express condition that he shall keep and maintain during her natural life his sister the said Catherine Corrigan and provide her during said time in a suitable manner to her condition with all the necessities of life as well in health and sickness, for such is my desire.
Sixthly, I do hereby name and appoint as the Executors of my present will and testament the persons of the said John Corrigan and Lawrence Corrigan, my said two sons, into the hands of whom I do hereby divest and disseize myself of all my said property according to law.
Seventhly, I do hereby cancel and revoke all other wills and codicils by me made previous to this present one which alone I consider contains my true intentions and last will and desire.
It was thus done, dictated and named unto us the said Notaries by the said Testatrix and these presents having been duly read and read over again unto her the said Testatrix by John Childs one of us the said Notaries in the presence of André Elphride Tessier, his colleague Notary, she declared that she well heard and understood the same and persisted in the contents hereof.
For thus done and passed at Quebec in the office of the said John Childs one of the said undersigned Notaries on the seventeenth day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty nine under the number five thousand four hundred and fourteen, and the said Testatrix being requested to sign these presents declared that she could not write nor sign, but she required us the said Notaries to sign these presents which we have done in her presence, in faith and testimony of the premises first duly read according to law.
A.E. Tessier, N.P., his signature;
J. Childs, N.P., his signature
Transcribed by Gerald Neville, 2011
Note by Patricia Balkcom: Isabella wrote this will 6 weeks after her husband died. It named five of her ten surviving children (two additional children had died). Two sons, James and Patrick, had moved to Ontario and three other children, Thomas, Michael, and Janet are not in the will. She died 18 years later on the 16th of May 1887 at about 84 years later. It is possible there is a later will or codicil.