| 4th January 1860 Last Will of Margaret Miller (Wife of William Bonnallie) | From the records of Notary Charles Aylwin Record #535 Quebec Archives Microfilm #4M01-1211 |
On the fourth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty, before me the undersigned Public Notary duly commissioned and sworn in and for that part of the Province of Canada heretofore Lower Canada, residing at the Parish of Cap Santé in the District of Quebec, in the said Province, and the witnesses hereinafter named personally came, appeared and was present Dame Margaret Miller of Halesborough in the Parish of Cap Santé, widow of the late William Bonnallie in his life time of the same place, farmer, deceased.
Which said Margaret Bonnallie being in good bodily health and of sound mind, memory and understanding as to us appeared by her manner and conversation, considering the certainty of death and the uncertainty of the hour thereof, hath requested of us the said Notary to receive and reduce into writing this her last will and testament and which we, Charles Aylwin, Public Notary, in the presence of Roger Lelièvre, Esq., Registrar of the County of Portneuf, and Jacobe Germain, Master Joiner, both residing in the said Parish of Cap Santé, have accordingly done as dictated to us by the said Margaret Bonnallie, in the words following, to wit:
Firstly and principally, I commend my soul to Almighty God the Father of all mercies humbly imploring at His hands forgiveness of my sins through the gracious intercession of my Divine Redeemer Jesus Christ.
Secondly, I will and direct that all my just and lawful debts and funeral expenses be paid and satisfied by my Executor hereunto after named.
Thirdly, I will and bequeath unto my well beloved son Benjamin Torrence Bonnallie, with whom I reside, all and singular the property moveable and immoveable, goods, chattels, money and effects whatsoever of which I may die seized and possessed and wherever the same may be situate and found, the immoveable property of which I am at present possessed being, a lot or parcel of land situate lying and being in the said Parish of Cap Santé and being lot number twenty four in the fourth concession of the lands in the Barony of Portneuf, containing four arpents or thereabouts more or less in front, by twenty five arpents or thereabouts more or less in depth and forming about one hundred superficial arpents of land, together with the dwelling house, barn and stable thereon erected, appurtenances and dependencies.
To have and to hold the said lot of land, good, chattels, money, and moveable effects above described, willed and bequeathed unto the said Benjamin Bonnallie, his heirs and assigns, to the only proper use and behoof of the said Benjamin Bonnallie, his heirs and assigns, from and after my decease in full and absolute property from thenceforth forever.
And for the execution of my present last will and testament, I do hereby appoint my said son Benjamin Torrance Bonnallie Executor, into whose hands I do in conformity to the law and custom of this Province, hereby deseize and divest myself of all my property for the ends hereof, and hereby instituting him my sole and universal legatee.
Hereby revoking all other wills, testaments, and codicils which I may have made prior to the present to which alone I do adhere as containing my true intentions and last will.
It was thus done and dictated word for word and published and declared by the said Testatrix as and for her last will and testament to and in the presence of us the said Notary and witnesses above named, in the office of the said Notary at Cap Santé aforesaid on the day and year first above written at the hour of one in the afternoon.
In faith and testimony whereof the said Testatrix hath to these presents (number five hundred and [thirty five]) twice duly read according to law, set and subscribed her mark or cross having declared to be unable to sign her name as full length in consequence of a nervous affection of her right hand, in the presence of us the said Notary and witnesses also hereunto subscribed.
Three words struck are null. One marginal note approved is good.
Margaret Bonnallie, her mark;
Roger Lelièvre, his signature;
Jacobe Germain, his signature;
Charles Aylwin, Public Notary, his signature
[Transcribed by Gerald J. Neville – May 2011]