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m. Abt 1715
(edit)
m. Abt 1741
Facts and Events
William Berry was one of the Early Settlers of Augusta County, Virginia __________________________ [edit] Early Land Acquisition in Augusta County, VA
William Berry's land (Borden Tract NE, 145 acres) as shown on the map meticulously drawn by J.R. Hildebrand, cartographer. This map is copyrighted©, used by permission of John Hildebrand, son of J.R. Hildebrand, April, 2009. Note tract of 130 acres acquired in 1752 is adjoining to the south, and land of Charles Berry, William's brother (326 acres, 1752) is nearby to the northeast. Acquisition of Land from Chalkley's:
Disposition of Land from Chalkley's:
[edit] Will of William BerryRockbridge County, VA Will Book 1, pp. 429-430. (Transcription) In the Name of God Amen I William Berry Sr of Rockbridge County and State of Virginia Being weak in body But of perfect Memory thanks be Given to the almighty God for the same and Calling to mind the Mo[rta]lity of my Body an knowing that it is appointed for all men once to Die Mak[e and] Ordain this my last will and testament in the manner and form following first I Recommend my Soul into the hands of God that gave it and my body to the [ground] to be Buried in a Christian and desent Manner at the Diseration of my Exec[cutor] and as tutching Such worldly Estate as it hath pleased God to bless me with in th[e] I Give and Dispose of the Same in Manner and form following Im promist I Give [and] Bequeath to my son James Berry the one half of this Plantation thu and my s[on] William Berry now lives on to him his heirs & assigns forever and the other half of s[aid] to my son William Berry & his heirs and assigns forever orterwies my son William Berry is to have it at his Choice to pay sd James Berry the just sum of one hundred fifty pounds after my just Debts is paid and retain the whole of sd lands for Ever also my Negrow man Namd Ralph after my Death is to be Valued By sd James and William Berry or Some other fit persons chosen for that Purpose and the price of s[aid] Negrow to be Equally Divided Betwixt the sd James and William Berry or their he[irs] still referring to William Berry his choice like tht of the land I also Beq[ueath] to my son John Berrys heirs the Just sum of five Pounds I required that my s[ons] James and William Berry Each is to pay fifty shillings to the heirs of s[on] John Berry now Deceased I Bequeath to my Daughter Mary Berry my W[earing] Coat and her Coalt and a Saddle and two cows and two heifers those to [have] her Choice with her Bed and furniture and the rest of my houshold furnitu[re] such as puter and pots I allow to be Divided between my two Daughters Mary and Jane Berry My Negrow wench named Ann I Leave to my Daughter Mary Berry to be hers and her Assigns forever the rest of Moveble Estate I allow to be Divided Between my two sons James and William Berry Excepting one Mare Named Trim that I allow to Become the property of my Son James Berry at my Decease Likewsie to my Daughter Jane Berry I Bequeath five shillings sterling in Room of her Birthright and to my Daughter Nancy McCampble I bequeath five shillings sterling in Room of her Burthright Likewsie my Daughter Mary is to have her Mentainence off the planatation and I Do Constitute and appoint my two Sons James & William Berry Executos of this my last will and testament in Witness whereof I Have Set my hand and Seal this sixteenth Day of February in the Year of our lord one thousand seven hundred & Ninety one. Signd Seald Published Pronounced and Delivered by the sd William Berry (X his mark) William Berry Senr to be his last will and Testament in Presents of John Berry Chs Berry At a Court held for the County of Rockbridge the fifth day of February 1793 This Writing purporting the last will & Testament of William Berry deceased was presented in Court by James Berry & William Berry Executors herein named and proved by John Berry & Charles Berry subscribing witnesses and Ordered to be Recorded and on the motion of said Executors who made Oath according to Law Certificate is granted them for obtaining Probate thereof in due form they having together with James McCampbell & John Tedford their securities entered into & acknowledged their Bond in the penalty of £1000 Conditioned according to Law Teste A. Reid Cl. [edit] Information on William BerryB.2. William Berry {B.2.} http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~berry/newupload/pages/B2.htm William Berry {B.2.} was born at an unknown location, although it seems likely that his birth place was either Scotland or northern Ireland. Depending on when the Berry family emigrated from the old country, there is a possibility that he could have been born in Virginia or Pennsylvania, but Scotland or Ireland seem more likely locations. His birth date is also unknown, but a rough estimate can be derived indirectly from the estimated birth date of his wife's siblings, as well as from estimated birth dates of his own siblings and his first cousin. William Berry married Jane MaGill (~1723 - ?), one of eight children of William MaGill, Sr.116,265,322 Documented birth dates for Jane MaGill's siblings are not available, but there are undocumented dates from several sources for some of them. Esther MaGill is believed to have been born in 1720. Ann MaGill's birth date has been given as 1722. Birth dates for James MaGill have been variously given as 1714, 1715 and 1724. William MaGill, Jr.'s birth date is cited as either 1715, 1725 or 1726. John MaGill's birth date has been cited as being 1728 or 1729, and Elizabeth Eleanor MaGill's birth date has been noted as being after 1715, 1719 and 1721.116,117,169,321,322 While there is not complete agreement on the dates for these individuals, they all fall within a range extending from 1714 through 1729. If they are approximately correct, then Jane MaGill was probably born sometime during this time period with an average guess being about 1720. Estimated birth dates for William Berry's siblings (derived mostly in this report) range from 1716 through 1742 with the bulk of the date estimates occurring in the 1716 through 1725 range.321 Thomas Berry, who is believed to be a first cousin of William Berry, is noted to have been born in 1718.7,96,99 Assuming that William Berry was approximately the same age as his wife (which is not necessarily true), and was probably born when most of his siblings were born, as well as his cousin, a best guess for William Berry's birth date would be around 1720. As noted above, at an unknown date and place, William Berry married Jane MaGill, a daughter of William MaGill. While the place of their marriage remains lost to history at the present time, it is possible to estimate an approximate date. John Berry, who is most likely their oldest son, was born about 1742, so the marriage probably took place a year or so prior to that date.20 An estimated marriage date of 1740, thus, seems to be a reasonable guess. Since neither the Berrys nor the MaGills were living in Augusta County, Virginia at this time, but more likely in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, it seems inescapable to assume that the Berrys and MaGills must have lived near each other wherever they lived before they moved to Augusta County, and that William Berry and Jane MaGill were married at that location. Jane's father, William MaGill, Sr. was born in either northern Ireland or Scotland, and emigrated to Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1726 or 1727. If the estimated birth date for Jane is close to being correct, then she was probably born in the old country - most likely northern Ireland.265,322 Am 1838 letter written by John MaGill, a grandson of William MaGill, Sr., to John's nephew, Caleb MaGill, however, stated that William Berry married Sarah MaGill not Jane MaGill.169,231 He identified all of the men that married William MaGill's daughters, but it appears that he mismatched two of the daughters and husbands. The proof for this conclusion lies in several Augusta County court entries (shown in the timeline below) that identify a woman named Jane as William Berry's wife. Hugh Campbell, Robert Fowler and John Jones, the other sons in law of William MaGill can easily be identified in these court records, and there are no other individuals named William Berry living in or near the Augusta County area at this time. The fact that these records connect William with Jane and that no other William Berry lived in the area, clearly show that William Berry actually married Jane MaGill instead of Sarah MaGill, as noted in the 1838 letter. William Berry wrote his will on 16 February 1791, identifying his children. Since he failed to mention his wife, a reasonable assumption is to believe that she had already passed away by that time. One source, however, gives her date of death as 1793 in Rockbridge County, Virginia.117 Since she appeared in Augusta County records in the spring of 1764, Jane must have passed away sometime between 1764 and 1791. In early 1793, William Berry's will was proved in court, thus bracketing William's death as occurring sometime between 16 February 1791 and 5 February 1793. Partial Timeline of William Berry (complete listing at source) 18 June 1746: Augusta County, Virginia Deed Book No. 1, page 128-130- THIS INDENTURE made the Eighteenth day of June in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and forty six BETWEEN Zeruiah Borden, Widow of the County of frederick and Benj.a Borden of the County of augusta in the Colony of Virginia Executors of the last Will and Testament of Benj.m Borden late of Orange County Gent deceased of the one part and Wm Berry of the Same County. (more listed at source) 1746:Conveyances In Borden Tract 1741-1780; William Berry 145 (acres)--5s (shillings)--1746 (year of purchase)--Moffett Cr. (location) 15 Nov 1752: Augusta County, Virginia Deed Book No. 5, page 533; Borden & Company to William Berry, 130 acres of 92,100; James Trimble's line, near Moffet's Creek; Thomas Berry's line; David Hay's run. Delivered: Wm. Martin July 1760. 1752; Conveyances In Borden Tract 1741-1780; William Berry, 130 (acres)--5p 10s (pence/shillings)--1752 (year of purchase) 20 Mar 1753; At a court held for Augusta County; William Berry and Jane his wife she being first privately examined in open court acknowledged this their release for land indented to Thomas Berry which on the motion of the sd Thomas Berry is admitted to record. Test John Madison Aug. 1753; Congregations of New Providence and Timber Ridge Presbyterian Churches; Petition Signers for Reverend John Brown; William Berry (among many others) 20 Nov 1764; Augusta County, Virginia Deed Book No. 11, page 715. At a court held for Augusta County Nov 20th, 1764; John Berry Acknowledged this his Release for Land to William Berry which is ordered to be Recorded. 19 May 1773; Augusta County, Virginia Order Book No. 15, page 172. Robert Wardlaw appointed road surveyor, vice William Berry. 10 Nov. 1783; Rockbridge County, Virginia Order Book 1, page 509, 510; Andrew Moore (Plaintiff) Against William Berry and William McKeeney (Defendants); In Case. William McKee Jun Came into Court and Undertook for the Defendant McKeeney McKeeny and Solomon McCampbell came into Court and Undertook for the defendant Berry, that in Case they should be Condemned in this action they should pay the Costs and Condemnation of the Court or Render their Bodies to prison in Execution for the Same, or that they the said William McKee and Solomon McCampbell for the said Defendants respectively will pay the Costs and Condemnation for them. 3 June 1785; Apprentice Bonds of Augusta County, Virginia 1772 - 1817; Apprentice: Nancy Dobage; Master: William Berry. Trade: Housewifery 16 Feb. 1791; Rockbridge County, Virginia Will Book 1, pages 429-430
5 Feb. 1793; Rockbridge County, Virginia, Will Book 1, pages 429-430
2 Apr. 1793; Rockbridge County, Virginia, Will Book 1, pages 431-433
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