Do you have photocopies from microfilm in your files? If so, do you have the documentation on them? I have to admit that I have such undocumented photocopies of county records. Today’s find is an 1896 Wapello County, Iowa will for Polly Thompson.
Wapello County, Iowa
Last Will and Testament
of
Mrs. Polly Thompson, Dec’dWill
I, Polly Thompson, aged sixty nine years, residing near Kirkville, in Wapello County, Iowa, widow of the late William Thompson deceased, hereby make and proclaim this my last Will and Testament, hereby revoking all former wills, by me at any time heretofore made, to-wit:
1 – It is my will that my just debts and funeral expenses be first paid out of my estate.
2 – All of my household goods and household supplies together with my family horse and carriage. I hereby give and bequeath to my three daughters, Eva J., Fannie L. and Bertha M. Thompson, share and share alike.
3 – I next give, devise and bequeath to my said three daughters Eva J., Fannie L., and Bertha M. Thompson, the sum of one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars each to be paid out of my estate.
4 – I next give to my daughter Hattie E. Simpson, and to my son John Q. Thompson, the sum of five hundred ($500.00) dollars each, to be next paid out of my estate.
5 – All the remainder of my real and personal property, of every kind and character, I give, devise and bequeath to my sons George W. Thompson and James S. Thompson and to my three daughters, Eva J. Thompson, Fannie L. Thompson and Bertha M. Thompson, share and share alike.
6 – I hereby constitute and appoint George W. Kirkpatrick, residing near Kirkville, Iowa, executor of this, my last Will and Testament, and hereby empower im at public or private sale, on such terms as may seem to him to be for the best interest of my estate, to sell all of my personal and real property, of every kind and character whatever, not including that bequeathed to my three daughters, in Paragraph NO. 2 of this will, so as to enable him to distribute the same according to the terms of this, my will.
Witness my hand at Ottumwa, Iowa, on this July 20th, 1896.
Polly Thompson; Testatrix
We, the undersigned residents of Ottumwa, Iowa, hereby certify that we were present and saw the testator, Mrs. Polly Thompson, sign and execute the foregoing will, which she declared to us to be her Last Will and Testament, and that at her request, in her presence, and in the presence of each other, we hereto sign our names as attesting witnesses, on this July 20th, 1896.
W. M. Jenison. Witness
Hettie Dana. Witness
E. E. McElroy
I was unsuccessful locating this will using FamilySearch’s new ‘Experimental Search’.
Since this will is NOT for my William and Polly Thompson ancestral family, I searched Ancestry’s public trees and found the goins tree which seems to fit the will.
Since I have Mary Hogle in my Ancestry tree, I uploaded an image of the will to her gallery and added the transcription to the description of the image. I also messaged the owner of the goins tree with information about the will.
A trip to my local public library allowed me to locate the will. Thus, I can create a citation for the will.
Iowa, Wapello County. Will records, 1856-1906. Film #979673 DGS 7592015. Polly Thompson, 20 July 1896; Vol. 4: page 87; digitized images, FamilySearch http://www.familysearch.org : viewed online 11 March 2024.