Friday Find

On By mcphilbrickIn Briles, Tennessee

The notebook of BRILES / BROYLES items given to me by fellow researcher, Mildred Barby is yielding another find. This time, it is a typed copy of the will of Adam Broyles. Unfortunately, I don’t know which Adam Broyles.

The will identifies the following children:

  • Moses Broyles -first born son
  • Aaron Broyles
  • Joshua Broyles
  • Milla Broyles Parther
  • Mina Broyles
  • Mary Broyles
  • Anne Broyles Brown

In trying to figure out which Adam Broyles authored the will, I found a possibility on FamilySearch. This Adam Broyles

  • has a daughter, Anne (178-1832) married to Anne Brown
  • has a daughter who could be Milla: Demilla (1760-1801) married to Painter
  • has a daughter who could be Mina: Jemima Broyles (1765-1860)
  • has two daughters named Mary
  • has sons named Joshua (1771-1831) and Aaron (1767-1845)
  • has a brother named Matthias (1740-1818)
  • has a sister, Catherine Broyles married to a John Wayland
  • has a sister, Elizabeth Broyles, married to Conrad Wilhoit

However, there are some differences. The FamilySearch family for an Adam Broyles has

  • an oldest son who is named Michael and not MosesNo son named Moses is listed
  • Additional sons include Daniel, Adam, Samuel, Tobias, and George
  • Additional daughters include, Sarah, Nellie, Rosanna, Leah and Elizabeth

When I checked WikiTree, I found an Adam BROYLES, son of Jacob and Mary Catherine Broyles. This profile uses a Culpeper county, Virginia will to identify the children.

If this will is for Adam Broyles, son of Hans Jacob Broyles, then it is for a second cousin six times removed to me. Our common ancestor would be Johannes Breyel and his wife Ursula Ruop who were also the immigrant ancestors. Since this is for the BROYLES side of the tree and not my BRILES side of the tree, I will leave it up to descendants of Adam Broyles to figure out who this is and if necessary to make the changes to the FamilySearch tree.

Will of Adam Broyles (6)

In the name of God Amen, the nineteenth day of April One Thousand seven hundred and eighty-two, I, Adam Broyles being sick of body but of good and perfect memory, thanks be to Almighty God, and calling to rembrance the uncertainty estate of this transitory life, that all flesh must yeild to death when it shall please God to call, do make this and declare it to be my last will and testament in manner and form following, first being peni­tent and sorry for all my sins, most humbly desiring forgiveness for the same, I commend my soul to Almighty God, my Saviour and Redeemer, in whose merits I trust and believe assuredly to be saved and to have full remission and forgiveness and to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, and my body I commend to the earth to be decently buried at the discretion of my executor here­after named and for the settling of my temporal estate and such goods, chat­tels and debts as it hath pleased God to betow on me. I do order, give and dispose the same in manner and form following, that is to say, imprimis first paying all my lawful debts. I bequeathe to Moses Broyles, my First born son, two hundred acres of land out of the land he, said Adam Broyles, bought of Joseph Ballard, on the south side of little limestone, be the same more or less; to my sons Aaron and Joshua Broyles, the land I now live I bequeathe to them to be equally divived to them, I bequeathe to my Daughter Milla Parther two hundred acres of land he, said Adam Broyles bought of George Doherty, be the same more or less and five shillings sterling; then I bequeathe to Mina Broyles, sixty pounds of this currency to be paid in the year ninety or the executors can pay it sooner and interest from she is married till time of payment and bed and furniture and one cow and calf at the time of her marriage and two pots and duch oven; and to my daughter Mary Broyles I bequeathe to her sixty pounds of this currency, bed and furn­iture one cow and calf, two pots and one duch oven. The family is to live on said plantation he now lives on while unmarried and the whole of the remain­ing estate to be equally divided at the year ninety at the discretion of the executors. Negroes and Kentucky land and all estate and if any of these legatees should die without heir, their part shall be equally divided among the rest and to my daughter Anne Brown I leave four shillings sterling and I hereby make and appoint me loving friends Joseph Brown, Moses Broyles, and William morre full and sole executors of this my last will and testament, hereby revoking dyanalery (?) and making void all former wills by made declaring this only to be my last will and testament.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals this nineteeth day of April, one Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty-two
Adam Broyles (Seal)
Signed sealed and delivered in the presence of us
John Waddle, his mark
Conrad Willhight
Mathias Broyles, his mark
The Foregoing Will was proven in open court by oaths of John Waddell, Conrad Wilhight and Mathias Broyles, the subcribing witnesses thereto at May Session 1782 and ordered to be recorded. This Will is on record at Jonesboro, Wash­ington co.,Tenn. and is one of the first on record in said County.