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I John Bellows Senr
of Marlborough in New England being weak of body but of sound understanding
do make & ordeyn my last Will & Testament in manner and forme following
viz. 1. After my debts are payd I give and bequeath unto Mary
my loving wife, unto her own use & dispose & to remaine in her
hands for as long as she pleaseth, as her own propper goods, one cow wch
came of a cow that I had of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, also an heifer which
came of the sd cow wch now is two years old. Also
one calfe of this present yeare, likewise my biggest brass kettle &
my lesser iron pott & the bigger of my two brass skilletts. 2. I will
of my lands in Marlborough aforesd & myne othr
moveable goods shall be disposed of unto my children, namely Isaac, John,
Thomas, Eleazer, Nathaniel, Mary and Abigail, when they shall be of the
age of one and twenty years or marryed. My son Isaac shall have a double
portion of my Estate which remains besides wt I have given unto
his mother (as abovsd) & each of the rest of my sd
children shall have halfe as much portion as my son Isaac hath. 3. I have
already bequeathed unto my daughter Abigail Lawrence, as so much of her
portion one two yeares old heifer, & one iron pott & the worth
of ten shill. in othr small things. Furthermore I leave Mary
my loving wife whole Executrix of this my Will & Testament & shee
shall have her maintenance from my Estate for so long as she shall remain
my widow. Finally I desire and appoint my loving friends Joseph Rice &
Joseph Newton to be the overseers of this my last Will & Testament.
In witness whereof I the sd John Bellows senr, do
hereunto put my hand & seale, this nineteenth day of June one thousand
six hundred eighty & three. In prsence of
John Bellows &
seale
John Woods
Isaac Amsden
Octob. 2. 83. Sworn in Court by the sd witnesses, as attests Tho. Danforth R.
An inventory of the
goods and chattells of John Bellows deceased late of Marlborough in New
England, taken by Deacon Solomon Johnson, Abraham How, John Woods partly
on the 6th partly on the 8th of August, 1683.
The Vital Records of Marlborough show John's death date as 10 Jan 1683, clearly in contradiction with the printed probate records.
The Genealogical Dictionary of New England says "John's will, made 19 Jun 1683, proved 2 Oct of the same year, names wife, 5 sons, and 2 daughters; omits the son Benjamin who had been adopted by a rich man."
The omision of Benjamin from the will, and the mention of his adoption, supports my theory that Benjamin was not really John's son at all. Why would Benjamin be adopted while both his parents were still living, and with plenty of other siblings? My theory is that Benjamin is really the son of John's first child Mary. Could the "rich man" who adopted Benjamin be his real father?