[Will]

I Walter Dulany of the State of Delaware being in perfect Health and of sound and disposing mind do make this my last Will and testament

Imprimis I direct that all my just Debts and the just Debts of my Deceased Mother to whom I am Executor and residuary Legatee be paid as soon as they conveniently can after my Decease and to that End I charge all my Estate real & personal

Item Whereas I have promised to convey to my Sister Rebecca Hanson five Hundred Acres of Land part of my Tract of Land called the Remains of his Lordships Gracious Grant I do hereby Devise and bequeath unto my said Sister Rebecca Johnson five Hundred Acres of the the Said Tract of Land (to be laid off to her by my Executor if the same should not be done before my Decease from that part of the Said Tract which is of the least Value and is as to interfere or injure as little as possible the remainder) to hold to her the Said Rebecca for Life and after her Decease to such of her children by Thomas Hanson her Husband and his her or their Heirs as she shall by her last Will and Testament devise or appoint and for want of such Devise or appointment to be Divided in the following manner viz. Two hundred Acres thereof to her Son named Grafton Hanson or Grafton Dulany Hanson and his heirs and the remaining three Hundred Acres to be divided between her sons Samuel and Thomas and her Daughter Rebecca Hanson and their Heirs equally between them

Item, I do hereby Devise and direct that my Negroes hereafter named shall be manumitted and set at full and free Liberty at the dates and Periods following Viz. My Slaves named Nase, Henny, Grace and Nan alias Nan Drummond to be free on the first Day of April in the Year eighteen Hundred and ten. My slaves named Margaret and James the Son of Henny to be free on the first Day of April eighteen Hundred and thirteen. My Slaves named Sue or Susan the Daughter of Grace and Rachel the Daughter of Nelly to be free on the first Day of April eighteen hundred and twenty. My Slaves named Jack and Stephen the Sons of Delia, Jerry the Son of Grace, Hetty the Daughter of Delia, Polly the Daughter of Margaret and Sall and Hannah the the Daughter of Henny to be free on the first Day of April eighteen hundred and twenty four. My slaves named Nathan son of Delia and all her children (except an Infant hereafter mentioned). John the Son of Grace and all her children younger than her Daughter Suck or Susan and all the children of Nelly younger than her Daughter Rachel to be free on the first day of April eighteen Hundred and twenty eight

Item. Whereas I sometime past gave to my slave named Delia a Paper declaring under my hand that she should before on or about the thirty first Day of March in the Year eighteen Hundred and eight but which paper was not duly executed and acknowledged and may not be adequate to the purpose for which it was intended I do therefore hereby Devise that the Said Delia and her Infant child be free at the time specified in the said Paper or Instrument of writing if the same can be found and if not that they be free on the said thirty first day of March above Mentioned. And that my Slave named Suck alias Susan or Susannah Hanson and  her Son Thomas be free on the first Day of April eighteen hundred and five and I do further Devise and direct that all the Children which shall hereafter be born of the women or their female children, before mentioned, shall be free the Females when they respectively attain the age of twenty one years and the Males when they respectively attain the age of twenty eight years and that all the Children which may now or shall hereafter be born of my Negro Woman named Betty alias Elizabeth Stewart shall be free when they respectively attain the ages aforesaid

Item. Whereas there were some negroes in the Possession of the late Colonel James Brill[?] which were sequestered by the Legislature of Maryland and held for the Use of my late Dear wife and were afterwards allowed to be transferred to me but two of the women were permitted to live with their Husbands and their Children have Grown up without being contracted in the [????] and habits of freedom I do therefore considering the hardship that would now attend their being reduced to a state of  Slavery relinquish all claim to the said women and their children and do hereby Devise and bequeath them respectively to be Manumitted and free.

Item I Devise and direct that all my Estate & Property in the City of Annapolis My Lotts in the City of Washington and my Negroes and other my personal Property be sold having regard in the Sale of my Negroes that they be respectively disposed of for the Periods of their Servitude herein before mentioned and that attention be given to obtain them good Masters who will not sent them out of the neighborhood or State where they now reside and if the amount of these sales shall be inadequate to the discharge of the Debts aforesaid or so declare then that the remainder cannot be discharged (with the consent of my creditors) from the Profits of my Estate in seven years beyond what may be necessary for the maintenance & Education of my Children then & in such case I do also Devise and direct that a further part of ^ that part of ^ my real Estate ^aforesaid may be necessary be sold by my Executors for the payment of the Debts aforesaid.

Item I devise and direct that my Executors pay my old Negro woman named Sue or Susan the Sum of twenty five pounds annually during her life for her maintenance and support – the same to be paid in quarterly portions to her or to such other person as they may judge proper to be laid out for Her use & benefit.

Item After the payment of the Debts aforesaid and all other charges on my Estate I do give Devise and bequeath to my Daughter Mary Grafton Hessilius[?] Dulany and her Heirs one fifth part of the rest of the Said Tract of Land called the Remans of his Lordships Gracious Grant. To my Daughter Sara Leitet Dulany one other fifth part of the said Tract of Land to her & her Heirs and to my son Grafton Lloyd Dulany and his Heirs the remaining three fifths of the said Tract of Land and and all the rest & residue of my Estate and Property of what nature or kind soever to him his Heirs Executors & administrators.

Item. In case it should not be done during my Life I do hereby devise and Direct that my Executors take measures at the expense of my Estate to have my Lands surveyed and the lands ascertained & fixed as soon as they conveniently can after my Decease and after conveying the Land hereby Devised to my sister Rebecca Hanson and ascertaining what must be sold (if any) to pay my Debts it is my desire that my childrens parts of the said Land Lands devised to them be respectively allotted and laid off but that the Rents and profits of the whole of the said Land called the Remains of his Lordships Gracious Grant shall be applied in common to the Education maintenance and use of my said Children until they shall respective arrive to the age of twenty one years, or marry, when, and as they shall respectively attain the said age, or marry, their said respective Estates shares or Portions hereby Devised to them shall be paid & delivered to them respectively

Lastly I do hereby constitute and appoint Phineas Bond Esq of Philadelphia Nicholas Ridgely Esq Chancellor of the State of Delaware & Henry Moore Ridgely Esq. of Dover Executors of this my Will & Guardians of my said Children Hereby revoking and declaring nil & void any & all other Wills by me made In witness whereof I have hereunto set my Hand and affixed my seal this Twelfth Day of October in the year of our Lord eighteen and four. Walter Dulany {seal}

Signed Sealed Published and Declared by the Testator as and for his last Will & Testament in the presence of us who have signed as witnesses thereto in his presence & in the presence of each other.

The Words “Eleanor” in Page 1st & “that part of aforesaid” in Page 2d being first interlined

Jno Cummins. Jacob Raymond Samuel E Parke

State of Delaware Kent County Register of Kent County personally appeared before me Nathaniel Smithers as for the probate of Wills &c John Cummings and Samuel E Parke two of the subscribing Witnesses to the above and foregoing Testament of writing and on their solemn affirmation duly administered do respectively declare that they saw Walter Dulany the Testator above mentioned sign and seal the above and foregoing instrument of Writing that at the time of his so doing he was to the best of their belief of sound disposing mind and memory and understanding that [????] [?????????????] subscribed their names Thereto as witnesses in the presence and at the request of said Testator and in the presence of Each other and also saw Jack Raymond at the same time subscribe his name as one other witness to the same. In Testimony where I have hereunto set my hand the twenty first day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seven. Nat’l Smithers Regr.

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[new document]

List of the sales of the goods belonging to the Estate of Walter Dulany decd. Made on the 23d, 24rh & 26 days of December 1807. This list was kept by Jeremiah Burchinel &c

N,B. J. Burchinel was hired as a clerk to keep this list of sales

Polly, the daughter of Margaret [&] Nathan, the Son of Delia had been given to Mrs. Rogers, by Mr. Dulany in his lifetime –

John, the Son of Grace, –  had been sold by Mr. Dulany in his life timeto William Fowler –

Nan, or Nan Drummond, to be free 1 April 1810 – at the time of the death of Mr. Dulany, she was on the western shore of Maryland, and it was some time before the executor could get any information respecting her; he was however informed that “she had been subject [paper torn] [paper torn] and was entirely useless, livi [paper torn] of Mrs. Brice, and that she would [paper torn] expense if taken from Mrs. Brice’s”

Mr. Dulany’s will is dated the 12th October 1804; He died on or about the 19th day of October 1807 –

The foregoing List of public Sales was kept by Jeremiah Burchinell a clerk hired by the executor for that purpose. H.M. Ridgely Exr.

[Inventory of goods not transcribed here]

The following articles of property belonging to the estate of Mr. Dulany were not [in]cluded in the Inventory and appraisement, because they were not in the State of Delaware at the time of the appraisement, but were in different places in the State of Maryland, and could not without great trouble and expense, if at all, be obtained by the executor for the purpose of being appraised; and the Executor had, at the time ofthe appraisement, no knowledge of some of them, they have however since been [??????????] viz.

James, the son of Henny, sold to Josa. Richardson for      Dur. 126..00

Sall (or Suke) of Henney   ”  ”   James Foard ” ”  133..33

Rebecca, of Nelley ” ”  Arnold Hudson ” ”   90..00

Eliza, of Nelley ” ”  Benjamin Pearce ” ”  40..00

Jane, of Delia ” ” William Fowler ” ”  60..00

Jerry, of Delia, (deceased)”. ” Catharine Bell ” ” 100..00

[goods not transcribed here]

The following named negroes that are mentioned in the will of Mr Dulany, are not noticed by the Executor in the Inventory and appraisement, or in his accounts for the reasons hereinafter assigned, viz –

Henney – was sick at the time of the death of Mr. Dulany and had been for some time previous and died in a short time after.

Eleanor – had been sold to Joshua Richardson by Mr. Dulany in his life time.

Suke, or Susan, the daughter of Grace, had also been sold by Mr. Dulany in his life time, to David Spry.

Hannah – the daughter of Henney, was sold by Mr. Dulany in his life time to William Ervin. 

[end of document]

“Kent, Delaware, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS55-GQHB?view=explore : Dec 9, 2025), image 499 of 880; Delaware Public Archives (Dover).

Image Group Number: 104399950

Transcribed 9 Dec 2025 by Nancy Maliwesky