| 10th July 1857 Last Will of John Hornby Husband of Mary Turpin | From the Notary Records of Philippe Huot No. 1628 Quebec Archives Film #4M01-5099 |
On this day, the tenth of July one thousand eight hundred and fifty seven, before us the undersigned Notaries Public residing in the City of Quebec, personally came and appeared Mr. John Hornby, Farmer, of the Settlement of Valcartier in the Parish of St. Ambroise, Seigniory of St. Gabriel, who being apparently in good bodily health and of sound and perfect mind, memory and understanding, requested the said Notaries to receive and write down his last will and testament which he instantly made, dictated and named unto us word for word in manner and form following, that is to say:
I recommend my soul to Almighty God and direct that my body be committed to the earth with descent and Christian burial at the discretion of my Executors hereinafter named.
I will and direct that all my just and legal debts and funeral expenses be fully paid and satisfied by my said Executors.
And as to the worldly estate with which it hath pleased God to bless me, I give, devise, direct and dispose in respect thereof as follows, viz.:
I give and bequeath unto my son, Charles Hornby, all that half lot of land lying & being in the Parish of St. Ambroise, Seigniory of St. Gabriel, at the place called Valcartier being the south half of lot number three on the continuation of the Fifth Concession & on which I now reside, together with the buildings thereon erected & all & every the cattle, farming utensils, and household furniture & all other moveable effects which will be on said half lot of land & will belong to me at the time of my decease.
I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife, Mary Turpin, an annual life rent of ten pounds, cy [currency], which I hereby expressly charge & bind my three sons, John Hornby Jnr., William Hornby & the said Charles Hornby to pay her share & share alike from the day of my decease until the day of her death by quarterly payments of two pounds ten shillings, cy, in advance. And I will & direct that in case she should require it that the said John Hornby Jnr., William Hornby, & Charles Hornby be bound & obliged upon her requisition to erect upon some portion of the said half lot above described which she will choose a small dwelling for her use and to supply her with the necessary furniture which she will require, and also an annual necessary quantity of firewood, and a milk cow & the annual requisite quantity of hay & straw to keep the same.
I further give and bequeath unto my beloved wife, the sum of five pounds, cy, which will be paid her by my said Executors at he day of my decease.
I give and bequeath unto my brother Richard Hornby, residing at Mansfield, England, the sum of seventy pounds sterling money.
I give and bequeath unto my grandchild William Henry, son of Francis and Termelia Hornby, residing in Pennsylvania, the sum of five pounds currency.
I give and bequeath unto my granddaughter Jane, daughter of John Hornby Jnr. & Elizabeth McCartney, the sum of five pounds currency.
The three last legacies to be paid equally by my three sons, John, William & Charles Hornby within a year after my death, out of the residue of the monies which I hereinafter bequeath unto them.
And as to the residue of all monies which may be in my possession or belonged to me at the time of my decease or which may be then due to me either by mortgage, promissory note or otherwise, I give & bequeath the same unto my three said sons, John, William & Charles Hornby to be divided between them share & share alike.
And as to the remainder of all other moveable effects, household furniture & other things which I have not disposed of by my present will & testament, I give and bequeath the same unto my said son, Charles Hornby.
I do hereby request my two sons John Hornby Jnr. & William Hornby to assist by advice & necessary aid their brother the said Charles Hornby whenever the said Charles Hornby shall need the said aid in his farming operations, such as ploughing or otherwise.
Lastly I do hereby appoint Messrs. Henry Ward & John Brown, Farmers, my friends, to be Executors of this my present last will & testament, revoking all formers wills & codicils any time heretofore by me made.
It was thus made, dictated, named by the said John Hornby, Senior, unto us the said Notaries on the day and year above written, and the present will & testament having been read over and over again lu et relu to the said John Hornby, Testator, by Mtre. Philippe Huot, one the said Notaries, in the presence of Mtre. Edward George Cannon, his confrere, who was present all the time during the execution hereof for the express purpose thereof, the said John Hornby declared to have perfectly heard and understood the said will and testament and persisted in the contents thereof.
Done and passed at the said City of Quebec, in the office of Philippe Huot, one of the undersigned Notaries, where his confrere came and was present all the time for the express purpose & validity of the present testament, on the day and year above written, under the number one thousand six hundred & twenty eight, the said John Hornby, Testator, having declared not to know how to write nor sign his name when requested so to do, after these presents having been twice duly read as aforesaid according to law, requested us the said Notaries to sign the same in faith & testimony thereof.
Two marginal notes approved are good; seven words erased are null.
E.G. Cannon, N.P., his signature;
P. Huot, N.P., his signature
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NOTE: John Hornby made at least one previous will. From the records of Notary John Birch, Record Number 537 (Quebec Archives Microfilm #4M01-1372) dated 16 January 1853.
Translated by Gerald Neville, 2012
Note by Patricia Balkcom: John’s wife, Mary, died a few months after this will was written. I haven’t found John’s death date, however, he is listed in the 1861 Census of Valcartier.