Transcribed July 2004 by Linda Sparks Starr from copy provided by the court house.

 
HENRY STEHR } Lebannon Township in the County of Lancaster the 17^th day of

Dec'd } January in the year of our Lord 1780 In the name of our Lord

Jesus Christ I do hereby make my Last will and Testament in manner following First my wife Barbara shall have her dwelling Place in the small stone House in the upper story during her Life free and without paying any Rent for the same

2d she shall have a right to take and Keep a Cow with the Privilege to feed the Cow in the stables where she pleases or otherwise John and Jacob shall build a stable for her to feed her Cow in and sufficient Room for fother [fodder] in the same and the said John and Jacob shall each of them give and deliver yearly unto her a waggon Load of Hay or second crop for winter fother and in the summer time she shall have a right to feed her Cow to Pasture along with their cattle with where she Pleases.

3d She shall have her Bed and what so ever thereto belonging and as much Household goods and Kitchen Furniture as she shall choose aforehand.

4^th John and Jacob shall each of them give and deliver unto her House yearly Three cords of wood and cut it small in the winter for the stove during her Life

5^th John and Jacob shall each of them give unto their said Mother yearly eight Bushels of wheat and three Bushels of Rye during her Life and bring it to the mill and back again without wages and also each of them shall give her yearly fifty Pounds of Pork with the Lard in the Hog from which the said Quantity is taken and Twelve pounds of Beef each of them and also each of them five Pounds of rendered Tallow for Candles and a half a Pint of salt each with Privilege to use the cellar as she pleases

6^th My wife shall have a right if there is aples to have as many of them for eating and for making of dryd aples as she has need of and if Jacob makes Cider then he shall give unto his said mother a Barrel and a half of good Cider

7^th John and Jacob shall each of them give unto their said mother yearly eight Pounds of Hachelt hemp or Flax and three Pounds of good wool each and Jacob shall allow her a part of the Garden. [Hatchel is 'a comb like instrument used for cleaning and dressing flax or hemp'.]

8^th John and Jacob shall give and allow unto their said mother a Horse when she desires to ride and which she pleases and bring it to her House during her Life

9^thy If my said wife should choose to live at any other place then the said John and Jacob shall deliver the said Articles to the place she then Lives without wages or as much money for it as the above mentioned things ar (sic) worth to enable her to purchase the same.

10^thly John and Jacob shall give unto their said mother yearly during her Life each of them Three pounds hard money without deduction.

11ity And if my said wife has taken away the above mentioned goods then the remainder (if any) of my personal Estate shall be sold and my debts therewith paid as far as the same will reach excepting the cloaths press Jacob shall have

12lity I give and bequeath unto my two sons John and Jacob my Plantation whereon I now live to them their Heirs and assigns for ever For which said Land they shall pay the sum of Twelve hundred Pounds hard money in manner following That is to say the said John and Jacob shall pay my debts which may then remain unpaid and in three years after each of them shall yearly pay Twenty Pounds of hard money until the said sum of Twelve hundred is paid

13^th I order that two of my children shall have share of the said yearly payments yearly The first payment shall be made to my Daughter Annie Margret and son Philip the second to my daughter Anne Mary and son Henry the other third my Daughter Rosina shall have alone and so to begin again until the said Twelve hundred Pounds are paid and each of them be equal shares John and Jacob alone shall be allowed to them the Last when the rest have got what the[y] ought to have

14^thty My son Philip shall have his dwelling Place allong with his said mother in the small stone House during his Life without paying any Rent and I give unto him one hundred Pounds of hard money over and above his equal share out of the above mentioned Twelve hundred Pounds but the said one hundred Pounds shall remain in their hands until the said Twelve hundred Pounds are paid. but John and Jacob shall pay unto him the yearly Interest thereof as long as the said sum is outstanding. No House rent shall be demanded of him for said House as aforesaid and if he should be inclined after the decease of his mother to remove from the said Place then he shall have a right-to-take the stove along if he pleases for it is his property he shall also have the stable for his Horse as long as he lives there without Rent but if he removes then he shall have no right to let the same to any person and they shall not take it away that stable and if he comes back again he shall have a right to dwell therein again as long as he pleases and John and Jacob shall allow his Horse to go in Pasture in the summer with their Horses

15^th My son Philip and Jacob shall be executors of this my last will and take care that every thing is done agreeable to the same

16thity no accounts of any of my Children against me shall be allowed or accepted excepting they have writings for the same from my own hand nor any allowance shall be made to any of them for being with me over and above their Lawful age for they had Liberty to go when the[y] pleased But If any of them should absolutely insist upon being paid for the same then and in that case I give unto such a one of my children one English shilling as and for his or her whole portion and shall be excluted of his childs share and sent forth'd as one of my children and every thing shall be charged against such a one whatever he or she has received of me since it attained to lawful age

17thty I order that fifty Pounds of the said Twelve hundred Pounds shall remain unpaid during the Life of my said wife without Interest and if my said wife should come in need there the said John and Jacob shall pay unto her out of the said fifty Pounds as much as she has need of

18thty John and Jacob shall divide the said Land as well as they can Peaseably John shall have his part on the side where he lives and the upper part of the swamp across the same to the Lane and Jacob shall have the Lower part where he lives and shall have a part of the swamp on the other side until he has that land which he ought to have but Jacob shall have ten acres more than John on account of the many stones and each of them shall have as much meadow ground as the other and shall pay one as much as the other of the said Twelve hundred Pounds

19 I order that my said Sons shall not have a right during the Life of my said wife to sell his share of said Land to any stranger but if he is not inclined to keep the same then he shall allow the same to one or the other of my other children for a reasonable Price and shall be appraised by four senceable (sic) men and this is my Last Will and Testament signed sealed in our presence

Michael Koch

Lenhard Koehler Henry Stehr (seal)

Lancaster County ss the fifteenth day of April Anno Domimi 1782 Before me the subscriber personally appeared Michael Koch and Leonard Kohler the witnesses to the foregoing Will and on their solemn Affirmation according to Law did severally and respectively declare and affirm that they were present and saw and heard Henry Stehr the Testator in the foregoing will named sign seal publish pronounce and declare the same as and for his last Will and Testament and that at the doing thereof he was of sound and ___disposing mind memory and understanding to the best of their Knowledge observation and Belief John Hubley Regr

Be it Remembered that on the fifteenth day of April Anno Domini 1782 the Last Will and Testament of Henry Stehr late of Lebanon Township in the County of Lancaster yeoman dec'd was proved in due form of Law and Letters Testamentary thereon were granted to Philip Stehr and Jacob Stehr the Executors therein named they being first duly qualified well and truly to administer the estate of the said deceased and especially to exhibit into the Registers Office of Lancaster (on or before the fifteenth day of June next) a true and perfect Inventory thereof and render a just account of their administration on the real Estate when thereto lawfully required Given under the seal of the said office Viz me John Hubley Regr