In the name of God Amen
I JOHN MARTIN of the County of Stokes & State of North Carolina being of sound & perfect mind & memory blessed be God for the same, do this 10th day of May 1821 make & publish this my last will & testament in manner following that is to say of all the worldly goods it has pleased God to bless me with, do give & bequeath as herein mentioned. I lend unto NANCY my wife during her natural life four Negroes Edd Ben frank & Sarah also all the land adjoining together with all appertaining west of the road & to the creek & up the creek to the old still house branch up the same to the south extremity of my land that is to say all adjoining lands boath on the Little Yadkin &c to her in like manner & ten cows & calves and as many hogs as she shall choose out of my stock & such household furniture & she shall choose & four head of horses such as she shall choose the waggon & gears all plantation tools &c &c
2nd I give to my Daughter POLEY C. BYNAM & the lawful heirs of her body the Negro girl Suse & issue and that the 1500$ HAMPTON BYNAM ows me by bond is to be given up to him & has he board the children to the amount of more than the interest of sd bonds amounts to the balance to be made up &c
3. I give to my daughter ELIZABETH HARRIS & the heirs of her body one Negro girl named Mary during the natural life of her sd Elizabeth & at her decease to be her & issue of said Mary to be divided equally among the the children of her Elizabeth
I give to my son JAMES the land he now lives on as laid out betwixt him & John also two Negroes he has in possession Tom & Peter.
I give to my son JOSEPH Martin the part of the tract I bought on Peters Creek that he has tended & used for several years that is to say below south of the creek & the mouth of the branch that runs by Joneses cabin also the land adjoining Berry Coomer Ben Beasly & others a 76 acre tract adjoining the tract that Daniel Coomer sold to Wm. Boils &c & the 2 negroes he has in possession Morris & Bill.
I give to my son JOHN Martin the balance of the tract of land that he and James lives on as laid out & now is between them & a tract of hundred acres adjoining Mallery Smith &c & 2 negroes Antony Seal with these conditions, after Seal has four children alive the youngest one year old my son James to have one of them drawing lots for first choice if John should choose to pay James the full value of the one that shall fall to James by such lot &c.
I give to my son SAMUELL the one half in value of the 640 acres of land in Jackson County on line creek State of Tennessee two Negroes Bob & Winney one horse of the value of $100 three cows & calves bed & furniture &c.
I give to my son GEORGE the other half of the tract of land on Line creek Jackson, State of Tenessee three Negroes Brice little Will & Cuggar one horse of the value one hundred dollars & a saddle worth 15 dollars & bridle three cows & calves bed & furniture
I Give to my son THOMAS Martin the lands beginning at the southern extremity of my land I now live on up the old still house branch down the same to the creek down the creek to mouth of the old spring branch up the same to the head of the chinkepin patch then northwardly as the road runs to the Quaker Meeting House all that adjoining East & North of said road creek & branch & also one other parcel or tract on the big creek joining Timothy Rowark Jacob Pearce Zebulan Vaughn & others also one other parcel or tract lying near Springfield Meeting house known by the name of Harrells old field &C and the following Negroes Haston and at his mother's deceas or disolution of widowhood Edy and issue only Bet excepted & Ben one horse of the value of one hundred dollars saddle of the value of fifteen dollars one bed & furniture three cows & calves
I Give to my son WM. GILHAM Martin all the balance of the lands I now live on that I have lent to his mother during natural life & lying West & South of the land given to Thomas that the lines joins boath on the waters of the double creek & Little Yadkin and a tract lying above Judeth Rowarks of two hundred acres & such Negroes as herein mentioned that is to say Hardin at his mothers decease or desolution of widowhood Frank & Sarah & her issue one horse of the value of one hundred dollars saddle of the value of fifteen dollars three cows & calves bed & furniture &c
And now let this be taken as my special desire & will that my three grand children JOHN MARTIN CLOUD, MARYANN CLOUD & JEROMELIZA CLOUD be raised & taken care of at the direction & care of my son James Martin & that the two girls be educated as to read & right & Martin as hereafter mentioned in this will; I also will that John Martin Cloud have at the age of twenty one years which I now will and bequeath to him a small Negro boy by the name of Sanders also one horse & saddle worth seventy five dollars & be educated so as to understand & know the english latin & Greek languages & after this far learnt to be got to the study of the law, if capacity will allow of it I also give to my granddaughter Maryann Cloud one Negro girl by the name of Gin, and likewise to my granddaughter Jeromeliza Cloud a negroe child by the name of Bet when arrives at age &c &c.-