William
STONE proved 1839
THIS IS THE LAST
WILL AND TESTAMENT
of me William Stone of His Majesty's
Dock yard at Chatham in the County of Kent Master Shipwright First
I desire to be decently interred at the discretion of my Executrix &
Executors hereinafter named & appointed & do direct them to pay
and satisfy all my just debts funeral & testamentary charges &
expenses as soon as conveniently may be after my decease & I do
hereby give and bequeath to my dear Wife Dinah Stone all
such part and so much of my household goods and furniture plate linen
and china as she may choose to select for her own use &
accommodation and do direct my said executrix and executors to sell and
dispose of the residue and all other my Personal Estate not consisting
of money or securities for money & with the monies arising therefrom
& any other monies which shall come to their hands by virtue of this
my Will after discharging the aforesaid debts and expenses lay out the
residue in the purchase of Government Stock in the same funds in which
my other monies may be standing at the time of my decease and I
do hereby give and bequeath unto my said dear Wife Dinah Stone
the dividends or Interest of such respective Stock funds or securities
for & during the term of her natural life for her own absolute use
and benefit and from & after her decease I
do hereby give & bequeath the said Stocks funds and securities and
all the rest residue and remainder of my Estate and Effects whatsoever
and wheresoever and of what nature or kind soever the same
? shall or may consist unto my dear Children namely Sarah
Booth now the Wife of William Booth William Stone
Joseph Stone Josiah Stone Ebenezer Stone
Elizabeth Stone Reuben Stone and Charles
Stone in and by equal parts shares and proportions for their
respective use & benefit and do direct the same to be paid or
transferred to them accordingly within three months next after the
decease of the Survivor of me and my said Wife and I
do hereby nominate constitute & appoint my said dear Wife Dinah
Stone Executrix and the said William Stone and Josiah
Stone Executors hereof and hereby revoking & making void all
former other Will and Wills by me at any time heretofore made do declare
this only to be and contain my last Will and Testament In
Witness whereof I the said William Stone the Testator have
hereunto set my hand and Seal this twelve day of March in the year one
thousand eight hundred and thirty four Wm Stone
Signed sealed published and declared by the said William Stone
the Testator as and for his last Will & Testament in the presence of
us who in his presence at his request & & in the presence of
each other have subscribed our names as Witnesses thereto Wm
Morgan J Moore
Proved 15th April 1839 Power reserved to Dinah Stone and William
Stone
William Stone was not a Shipwright as the others recorded here but
the Master Shipwright of Chatham Dockyard, 1830 to 1839; previous to
coming to Chatham he was Master Shipwright at Deptford Dock Yard, 1813
to 1830. A post usually filled by a "Gentleman". He was in
charge of the shipwrights and responsible for their work, constructing
ships and for rebuilding them. His will is of interest, contrasting with
many of the wills published here, rather brief with no real estate or
personal estate detailed, and no value of the estate indicated. In 1830
he was responsible for converting the Bomb Vessel Terror for Arctic
Service, this ship, with the Erebus, was used by Sir John Franklin in
his ill - fated attempt to find the "North West Passage" in
1845.