| 4th March 1868 Last Will of Bridget Moran (Widow of Michael Cullen) | Transcribed from the records of Notary Jean-Baptiste Delage, #1669 Quebec Archives Online |
On this day the fourth of March in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty eight, before the undersigned public notary for the Province of Quebec in the Dominion of Canada and Alexander McKee and James Whelan, farmers of the place called Tewkesbury, County of Quebec, witnesses to these presents, personally came and appeared Brigitte Morrin of the said place of Tewkesbury, widow of the late Michael Cullen in his life time of the same place, farmer, who being of ill health but of sound mind, memory and understanding as she appeared to the undersigned notary and witnesses made her last will and testament as follows:
I give, devise, and bequeath to Nicholas Cullen, my son, and to James Cullen, son of John Cullen, my other son, all the property moveable and immoveable of whatever kind and nature it may be that I may die possessed of, without any exception whatever, instituting them my universal legatees.
To have and to hold all my property moveable and immoveable, by equal share from the day of my death unto them the said Nicholas Cullen and James Cullen my son and my grandson.
These presents having been read to the testatrix by the said notary in the presence of the said witnesses, she, the said testatrix, hath declared well to understand the same and has persisted in the same as containing her last will and intention.
At the place of Tewkesbury aforesaid, dwelling of the testatrix, on the day & year first above written under the number sixteen hundred and sixty nine of the minutes of Jean-Baptiste Delage, the undersigned notary.
In testimony whereof the said notary & witnesses have signed in the presence of each other, the testatrix having declared not to know how to write nor sign her name, after the reading done.
One marginal note good, twenty words deleted are null.
Brigitte Cullen, her mark; Alexander McKee, his signature; James Whelan, his signature; J.-B. Delage, Notary, his signature.
Transcribed by Gerald Neville, May 2011
Notes by Patricia Balkcom: I had hoped that this will would help sort out questions around the different Cullen families, however, it has actually made the waters more murky. Several researchers have been trying to establish which Cullens were children to Bridget Moran. This Will establishes that Nicholas was her son. It also states that she had a son named John and a grandson named James. However, is this the John Cullen of Valcartier (married to Elizabeth Cassin and whose oldest son was James)? When John Cullen marriage Elizabeth Cassin, the record stated that his parents were Lawrence and Mary Cullen. Also, there is the strong possibility that Bridget had two other sons – Lawrence and James, residents of Stoneham – why aren’t they mentioned in the Will? James actually died a few months before Bridget, but he is still living when she writes this will. It is possible that her sons John, James and Lawrence already were well established on their own lands and so she left land to her youngest son Nicholas, and grandson, James. Bridget died two years after writing this will – 1870, at the reported age of 83.