Person:George Micklejohn (1)

Will Transcript

Will of George Micklejohn:

In the name of God Amen the twenty sixth day of September one thousand seven hundred and ninety three I George Micklejohn being of sound & perfect memory of mind (praise be given to God for the same) and knowing the uncertainty of this life on earth, being desirous to settle things in order, do make this my last Will and testament, in manor and form following

That is to say First and principally I commend my soul to Almighty. I do revoke, renounce, frusrate and make void all wills by me formerly made [and] declare and appoint this my last Will and testament.

Item I give and bequeath to my wife Elizabeth five pounds and no more,

I give and bequeath to my son William thirty shillings and no more.

Item I give and bequeath to my son Robert three pounds and no more as for my other children Elizabeth, James, Thomas and Catherine I give and bequeath all moneys, horses, cattle […illegible…] household furniture (excepting three pounds for my son George) that I am in possession of to be divided amongst them and as for the land Whereon I live my desire is to be equally divided between my son Thomas & my daughter Catherine to them & their heirs forever.

(Signed) George Micklejohn

Witnessed by: Jno. P. Smith

Probated in Mecklenburg Co., VA the 15th day of February 1819.

1.   Rootsweb Message Boards.

   On 29 March 1766, our ancestor, the Rev. George Micklejohn, an adventurous Anglican minister, left England, headed across the Atlantic for North Carolina. The name of the ship and the port of departure are not known. His name appears on a list of British clergymen who emigrated to the Americas with financial support from the British crown. [American Immigrant Ministers, 1690-1811, Ancestry.com database] According to a biographical essay by Alfred Stratton Lawrence, Micklejohn was sent by The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts.# Variant spellings I have seen are Meiklejohn, Mecklejohn, Mucklejohn, and even McEljohn in one instance. "Micklejohn" is the spelling that has been passed down in our family.
   Verifiable information about George Micklejohn’s life on the other side of the
   Atlantic is hard to come by. It is thought that he was born in Berwick-on-Tweed, Northumberland, England, an area that had changed hands between the Scots and the English numerous times.
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   Even though George Micklejohn was treated mildly because of the respect held for him as a man of the cloth and also because he had some influential friends among the patriots (Thomas Person of Granville for one), being banished to Perquimans County (on the coast, about 150 miles from Orange County) presented some serious problems for him. Besides being a minister, he was also a husband and father of a large family. At some point before 1770 he had married Elizabeth Lockhart, daughter of Samuel Lockhart and Catherine Bennett Lockhart. Elizabeth Micklejohn is mentioned as a daughter in Catherine Lockhart's will dated 24 August 1786 and proved in 1792 in Hillsboro, Orange County, NC.#
   In November, 1776, George Micklejohn obtained discharge from his parole by swearing an oath of loyalty to the state at the Halifax County Convention.#
   Parson Micklejohn continued his ministry for many years, in Orange County and in
   Granville County. He was named Bishop of North Carolina ca 1817.# His former
   royalist activities seem to have had no effect on the respect that accrued to
   him in later years.
   
   http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GABALDWI/2008-01/1199304532