Texas General Land Office, Nacogdoches 1st Class file 1117 (Richard Pillow): contains a certified copy of the will of Asa Mitchell, 1865.

Word-for-word transcription (spellings kept; uncertain letters in brackets).

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In the Name of God Amen: I, Asa Mitchell, a citizen of the County of Bexar, State of Texas, being of sound mind & disposing memory, but having already attained to a greater age than is generally allotted to man on earth; & being at present infirm & frail in constitution, & knowing the uncertainty of life even to the young & most vigorous, & the absolute certainty of death to all, do make & ordain this my last will & testament for the disposition of my earthly affairs after my death, hereby revoking, cancelling & annulling all other wills & testaments & codicils made or published by me.

First:- It is my will & desire that all my children, whether by my first or second marriage, shall be placed upon a footing of equality, as near as may be, in the final distribution of my estate, counting & reckoning whatever may have been heretofore advanced to such of my children as are of age or married, whether in property, or moneys, or in their support & education during their minority.

Secondly:- To provide for the support & education of my minor children, & to place them on an equality with their elder brothers & sisters, who have attained to the age of majority, I will dispose of my irrigable Lands of the Mission Conception, lying between the old Conception Ditch, &

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road, & the San Juan Road, all of which is subdivided & delineated on a Map of said Lands, made and executed for me by M. L. Merrick, County Surveyor, as follows, "to wit":

First: (1st) To my daughter Emily & to my son Wallace I will & bequeath, in equal portions, the subdivisions or Surveys delineated & numbered on said Map as Surveys No. 1 & 3, including the Homestead thereon, estimated to contain together 103845 square varas, to hold the same in common between them, or to divide & partition the same as they may see proper.

2nd: To my daughter Medora I will & bequeath Surveys Nos. 2 & 4, according to the same plan of Survey & estimated to contain together 130995 square varas.

3rd: To my son Asa J. Mitchell I will & bequeath Division No. 7 of said plan of Survey estimated to contain 116000 square varas, & also Division No. 5 of same plan estimated to contain 106000 square varas.

4th: To my son "Nathaniel Mitchell," though of full age, in consideration of the infirmity of his hand I especially will & bequeath Survey No. 6 of same plan, intending this bequest to be over & above an equal portion in the distribution of my estate — the division in this clause bequeathed estimated to contain 125000 square varas.

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5th. In consideration of the love & affection I bear my Grandson Asa Belvin, I will & bequeath to him Survey No. 8, of said land, according to the same plan estimated to contain 125000 square varas.

And I declare that the foregoing bequests are of community property, & are intended to convey the whole of said lots or parcels of land.

And should any of my children object to the foregoing bequests & claim the community interests of their deceased mother, then it is my will & desire that the value of the portion so claimed be deducted from the portion of such child or children in the distribution of my general estate, & added to the portion of the Child or children who may be deprived of any portion of the foregoing special bequests by reason of such claims.

Third. It is my will & desire that my Medina Lands on which I formerly resided, & especially the Laguna; & also one half league & labor of land on the Leona formerly held in common with John S. McDonald & of which by agreement I was to have choice of halves be divided in equal portions among all my children, & in case the children of my last deceased wife should object to the equal division

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of these lands, by reason of their being community property, then it is my will & desire that the portion of the children of my first wife shall be made equal out of my portion of the community in said lands.

Fourth. After the payment of all my just debts, (& I declare I owe none, except about eight or nine hundred dollars to Jacobs Short,) it is my will & desire, that all the balance & residue of my Estate, of whatever nature or kind, & wheresoever the same may be situated, be equally divided among all my children, taking into account & estimation all advances heretofore made to any of my children, which advances so made are to be added to my General Estate & the Division made equal, & the portions advanced to be assigned to the child or children to whom the advance was made as a part of his or their portion. And I declare that my Son Nathaniel Mitchell has heretofore received of me in money & property the Sum of Seven Thousand nine hundred & twenty seven dollars, & my daughter Mrs. Caroline W. Belvin [spelling uncertain — possibly "Belvin"/"Belvan"] & her husband the Sum of Seven Thousand & forty six Dollars & twenty cents, for which I hold their receipts & to be accounted for in the final distribution

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of my estate. And I further declare that heretofore I sold to Mr. Fly of Brazoria County a tract of land for the sum of Eleven thousand dollars, which land was the community property of my first wife, the mother of Nathaniel Mitchell & Mrs. Caroline W. Belvin & myself, & that the sale was afterwards confirmed by the said Nathaniel Mitchell & Mrs. Caroline A. Belvin, & that they, as sole heirs of my said first Deceased wife are justly entitled to the Sum of five thousand, five hundred dollars, one half of the proceeds of said tract of land, to be equally divided between them & which amount must be deducted from the amount advanced to them in equal portions or added in equal portions to their distribution shares of my Estate. And I also declare to have heretofore advanced to my daughter Mrs. Laura Joyce & her husband "William J. Joyce" ten acres of land with improvements thereon one mile below the City of San Antonio, valued at four thousand dollars & also to my said son-in-law W. J. Joyce Confederate money of the value of two hundred dollars. And in like manner I have conveyed to "Hiram A. Mitchell," one of my sons, ten acres of land about one mile below the City of San Antonio, with improvements thereon of the value of four thousand five

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hundred dollars, for which I hold their respective receipts, & all of which is to be accounted for in the final distribution of my Estate as hereinbefore directed. And as the property in this clause mentioned was community property of my last deceased wife & myself, & my intention was to give the whole of said property to my daughter "Laura Joyce," & my son "Hiram A. Mitchell," Now I declare that if any of the Children of my said last deceased wife should claim any part of the community interest in said property, then there shall be added to the portion of Mrs. Joyce or Hiram A. Mitchell, or both as the case may be, from my general Estate, an amount equal to that claimed, & which amount so added shall be deducted from the portion or portions of my general estate, of him or those claiming.

Fifth: I Nominate & appoint my two sons-in-law, R. A. Belvin & W. J. Joyce, & my son Hiram A. Mitchell Executors with full power to carry out the provisions of this my last will & testament & to make final settlement & distribution of my Estate among the heirs as herein directed. & for this purpose my said Executors are authorized

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to make sale of such property of my Estate not herein specially bequeathed as they may believe necessary to pay expenses & debts or as in their opinion cannot be conveniently & advantageously divided in kind.

Sixth:- It is my will & desire that my Executors herein named shall not be required to give Bond & Security nor do I wish any farther action had on my Estate in the County Court for the Settlements of Estates than to admit to Probate & record this my last Will & Testament & to file & record an Inventory of my Estate.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed my Name at the City of San Antonio in the County of Bexar & State of Texas on this the Eighteenth day of October in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred & sixty five, & the undersigned Witnesses have signed the same, I declaring to them this to be my last will & testament at my request.

Witnesses:

P. P. Peel

Geo. Cupples

[signed] Asa Mitchell

[U.S. Internal Revenue stamps of $25 affixed]

Filed in my office Nov. 22nd A.D. 1865, at 8 o'clock P.M. & Recorded January 12th A.D. 1866, at 1 o'clock P.M.

[signed] Peyton Smythe, Clk. C.C.B. [County and] Co[unty].

### p. 8 — County Clerk's certificate

The State of Texas

County of Bexar

I, Mortimer Slocum, County Clerk of said County, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true & correct copy of the last Will & Testament, of Asa Mitchell dec'd, as recorded among the Records of said County, in Book A. of Wills, on pages Nos. 1, 2 & 3.

In Witness Whereof I hereunto sign my Name & affix the impress of my official seal at office in San Antonio the 9th day of June A.D. 1870.

[signed] M. Slocum

County Clk. Bexar Co.