will of Joseph Berry 1749 King George County. 

     In the name of God Amen. I Joseph Berry of the County of King George and Parish of Hanover being in good health and sound and perfect sence and memory as usually at other times past for which blessing I give thanks and praise to Almighty God, but calling to mind the uncertainty of this life and that it is appointed for all men once to die do make and ordain this to be my last will and testament in manner and form following, that is to say first and inprimis I commend my soul into the protection of my great and mercifull creator and my body to the earth from whence it came to be decently buried at the discretion of my executix hereafter named in sure and certain hope of a joyfull resurection at the last day, and for such wordly goods as it hath pleased God to bless me with I give as follows, vizt.. Item: That, whereas by the Last Will and Testament of my father William Berry, deceased, bearing date the 5th of Feb. 1720 he has therein demised to my brother Enoch Berry the plantation and land whereon he then lived in the following words, vizt..I give to my son Enoch Berry the plantation I how live on with all the land joyning thereto now in my possession being the third part of a certain pattent granted to Enoch Doughty by computation five hundred acres to him and his heirs lawfully begotten of his own body and for want of such heirs to fall to my son, Joseph Berry and to his heirs lawfully begotten of his own body. Now that I am heir at law to my mother she being the daughter of said Enoch Doughty, I am apprehensive that the said clause or paragraff mentioned in my said father's will does not convey a legal title to my said brother Enoch Berry in the said land, but notwithstanding as I know it was my Mother's desire and my father's will that my said brother Enoch Berry should have a part of the said land, I do therefore declare and am well contented that it should be according to their will and desire, but as my brother Enoch Berry and I have formerly agreed that he the said Enoch should have in lieu of the said land given to him by my father's will the upper part of the said land being the plantation whereon I formerly lived before the death of my father Wm. Berry, now I do hereby desire and it is my will that my said brother Enock Berry do hold the said plantation whereon I formerly lived as above said it being the same plantation whereon my brother Enoch Berry now lives with all the land lying between the North easternmost bounds of the said Pattent and the Creek called Doughty's Creek which creek is the division between his land and mine, his land being the upper part of the whole tract to him and the heirs of his body lawfully begotten and for want of such heirs to return to the heirs of my body lawfully begotten in the same manner as is mentioned and intended in my fathers will aforesaid, but if it shall happen at any time hereafter that my brother Enoch Berry or his heirs or any other person or persons claiming under them shall claim any right or title to the land whereon I now live it being the same land what is mentioned in my father's will aforesaid or shall bring any troublesome or vexatious suit in law against my heirs, executors or any other person or persons claiming by me or my heirs on account of the aforesaid gift intail mentioned in my father's will as aforesaid, that then this paragraff in my will as it above recited shall be utterly void and of none effect and that my heirs, executors or administrators or any other person claiming by them shall have power and authority to enter and possess the premises above mentioned as if this demise had never been mentioned in my will. item: It is my will and desire that my well beloved wife Catherine Simcock Berry do hold and possess my land and plantation whereon I now live during her life only allowing to my son Joseph Berry the liberty of the house which he has lately built and the liberty of building such other houses as he has occasion for with a reasonable portion of ground to work on provided that he shall have no privilige to work any land but such as his Mother is willing to let him have without being prejudicial to herself. Item: It is my will and desire that after the death of my wife Catherine Simcock, my land whereon I now live be equally divided between my 2 sons Joseph and Benjamin Berry allowing to each part an equal breadth upon the River counting from the mouth of the Creek to the lower corner of the tract next to Col. Carter's land, the line or lines for the division to extend back from the River to parallell Carter's lines, my son Joseph to have the first choice after the division the said land to them and their heirs forever, but if it shall happen that either of my said sons Joseph and Benjamin shall die without heirs or making any legal disposition of their parts of the said land that then the inheritance shall descend to their next brother, vizt. my son Withers he being my third son, and if they should both dye without heirs or otherwise disposing of their land in their lifetime that then the inheritance thereof shall descent to the said son Withers and his next brother Thomas, my fourth son, to be held by them in the same manner as is above mentioned to their older brothers. Likewise if my 2 sons Withers and thomas should bothe or either of them dye then the inheritance shall descend to their 2 youngest brothers, Baldwin and Reuben, my 5th and 6th sons, in the same manner as is above mentioned to their other brothers. The meaning of my intent and desire that my 2 oldest sons then living or their heirs may from time to time hold my said land between them, and if my said sons or any of them or their heirs they being at the same time in right and property to sess or convey the whole or any part thereof belonging to them as they shall think fitt. Item: It is my will and desire that m wife Catherine SimCock do hold all my other estate both real and personal during her life to use and dispose thereof at her own discretion in paying my debts and funeral expenses and likewise for her own support and the support and maintainance of my children until the youngest come of age which I desire may be under her tuition and if any part of my estate or the profitts thereof( excepting the reversion of my land as above demised to my sons) be left at her death that it may go to my children to be distributed amongst them according to the discretion of my aforesaid wife Catherine Simcock Berry whom I do hereby constitute and appoint to be whole and sole Executor of this my last will and testament and I do hereby revoke and disannull all former wills by me heretofore made and do ratifie this to be my true and last will as witness my hand and seale.