WILL OF JOHN COLEMAN
State of South Carolina}
Marion District }
In the name of God Amen Know all men by these presents that I John Coleman of
the State and District aforesaid, being of Sound and Disposing mind memory and
understanding, do hereby make publish and declair this my last will and
Testament, hereby revoking all other wills or codicils by me heretofore made.
Impremis. I wish my Executors herein after named to have my body buried in a
decent and Christian like manner.
Item. It is my will also that my Executors hereafter named do sell and dispose
of my two horses, a Gray mair a chestnut horse as well as all my crop of corn
and cotton, except as much corn and provisions as will Support Caroline Mairs
and her children for one year which provisions I leave to her to be set apart
by my Executors.
Item. It is also my will that the Proceeds of said sales as well as the
proceeds of debts and other funeral expences and whatever deficiency may be
left after the application of the personal Estate aforesaid my will and desire
is that my Executors do sell a Sufficient portion of land of which I may die
seized and possessed to pay off and discharge Said, the portion of lands so to
be sold as aforesaid for said purpose to be left to the discretion of my said
Executors.
Item. I give and bequeath to Caroline Mairs on bed and furniture
Item. It is also my will that the ballance of my household and Kitchen
furniture together with my Plantation Tools, farming utensils, my rifle Gun or
Blacksmith Tools, be sold by my Executors and the proceeds applied with that of
my personal Estate above named to the payment of my debts.
Item. I give and bequeath to Edward Mairs son of Caroline Mairs, my horse
Colt, betwixt one & two years old.
Item. All the lands which may be left after the Sale to be made by my
Executors for the payment of debts of which I may die seized and prossessed I
wish to be disposed of as follows: vis.. To my neice Susan Rogers wife of
Bethel Robers I give onehalf of said Lands, to her and the heirs of her body
forever, To Esther Coleman my niece, daughter of Moses Coleman I give one fourth
of said land, -- and to Edward Mairs and Hannah Mairs children of Caroline Mairs.
I give the other one fourth part and if either of the last mentioned children
should die without leaving lawful issue him or her surviving them my will is
that the survivor of said children should have the whole of said one fourth
part of said lands hereby bequeathed to them.
Item. My will further is that the above lands above given to my nieces the
children aforesaid be divided if praticable so as to set apart to Susan Rogers
one half thereof. To Esther Coleman my niece one fourth & to Edward &
Hannah Mairs one fourth without making a sale of the same.
Item. To my Nephew Sampson Coleman I give and bequeath one hundred dollars in
lands to be taken from the lands above bequeathed, and if said lands cannot be
set apart to the amount of one hundred dollars then my Executors are hereby
authorized to sell enough of my lands to make up this legacy of one hundred
dollars to said Sampson Coleman.
Lastly I hereby nominate, constitute, and appoint my friends
Alexander C Carmicheal and Arch'd Q McDuffie, Executors to this my last will
and Testament, to carry out and Execute this my last will and Testament.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this first day of
October A D one thousand eight hundred and fifty three.
Signed, sealed, published and declared in the presence of us who have
subscribed the same in the presence of the Testator and of each other.
John Coleman (SEAL)
W. W. Harllee
Henry Powers
Samuel Altman
We Alexander C. Carmicheal & A Q McDuffie do hereby decline acting as
Executors of the within will Executed by John Coleman dated the 1st Oct. 1853.
Witness our hands this 5th June 1854.
A Q NcDuffie (SEAL)
A C Carmicheal (SEAL)
Recorded in Will Book 2, Page 183?
Original Will Missing
Sworn to May 22, 1854
E. B. Wheeler, Ordinary
Roll No. 982
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INFORMATION CONCERNING THE PROBATE OF JOHN COLEMAN, JR'S WILL
Roll # 982
by Francine Jones, 8 March 2001
Since Alexander C. Carmicheal and A. Q. McDuffie declined to act as Executors
of this will, Bethel Rogers and John Rogers petitioned for letters of
Administration on 20 May 1854. They along with Benjamin Shooter made bond of
$8000 on 5 June 1854 and Bethel Rogers was made administrator. An Inventory
and appraisement was held on 6 June 1854 with John Rogers, Stephen Smith and
A. Martin as the appraisers. Accounts were current in 1854 and 1855 with them
paying Caroline Mairs $24.00 on 21 June 1854. Other accounts were paid at that
time, but not to any other legatees. Accounts were current in 1856, 1859, 1860.
On 11 May 1871 James Smith, his wife and other applicants petitioned the court
for Bethel Rogers to make an accounting and partitionof the estate. The papers
were all gathered up from different attorneys who had held them during the
Civil War times and distributions were finally made. Making this case more
confusing was the fact that John Coleman, Jr.'s father, John Coleman, Sr. had
died about April 1845 and his estate was not yet fully settled. Therefore it
is necessary to also look at his estate which is found in Equity Roll #38.
Information gathered from all three sources show the following family connections:
1. John Coleman, Sr. was the father of three sons, Moses, John, Jr. and
Edward. Edward was deceased at the time of his father death and left
5 children; Washington, Martha, John, Elizabeth and Susan Coleman.
John Coleman, Sr. had married a widow, Esther Miller. Esther died shortly
after her husband. In addition to the 3 Coleman sons, she left two daughters
by her first husband, Dicey Lewis and Abigail Rice.
2. Esther Coleman, daughter of Moses Coleman, married Thomas Proctor and
moved out of state. Esther was deceased before the estate was settled and
her daughter, Elenora Proctor received her portion of the estate. She was
still a minor in 1872.
3. Hannah Mairs married James Smith
4. Bethel Rogers married Susan Coleman
5. Sampson Coleman has be the son of Moses Coleman since there is no other
possibility. Susan could be daughter of Moses or of Edward Coleman for we
have learned that Edward had a daughter named Susan. However, if this is
the case, why did John not leave anything to any of Edward's other children?
6. Edward Mairs was 18 years old in 1871.
Who was Caroline Mairs and what was her relationship to the Coleman family?
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