Jehosaphat Eldredge

     Jehosaphat was born circa 1657 in Yarmouth, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. He was the son of William & Anne [Lumpkin] Eldredge. Jehosaphat married Elizabeth Covell, daughter of Nathaniel Covell II and Sarah Nickerson, in 1688 in Monomoit, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Jehosaphat and Elizabeth had children: Nathaniel [ca. 1690- ca. 1729] [m. 8/04/1712 Sarah Conant], Elizabeth, Elisha [>1695] [m. Fear Nickerson], Edward [7/17/1702-1730] [m. 1725 Mary Nickerson], Elnathan, Ebenezer [2/__/1707-2/25/1797] [m. Deliverence Nickerson] & Barnabas [ca. 1710] [m. 10/20/1735 Mary Hurd]. He made his will the nineth day of the twelvth month. 1731.

In the name of God amen I Jehoshaphat Eldred of Chatham in ye County of Barnstable within his Maj~st province of ye Massachusetts Bay in New England, being und infermity of body but of sound memory, & mindful of my mortality & being willing to set my house in order before my departure out of this world do make ordain and ratify this my last will & testament hereby nullifying & making void all former wills & testaments by me made. Imprs. I give & bequeath my soul to God my faithfull creator to be by him saved & made eternally blessed and my body to ye earth to be decently buried, in hope of a resurection to an endless life of glory, thro ye merit of Jesus Christ. And my debts & funeral charges being paid, I dispose of all my worldly goods as followeth. I give & bequeath to my faithfull & well beloved wife, Elisabeth, all my housing & land in Chatham above mentioned, to be by her enjoyed so long as she shall continue my widow, saving that my daughter Elisabeth Eldred shall be allowed houseroom, firewood, meadow, & other land for her particular improvemt. (that is to say six acres of arable land, if she has occasion for it, meadow eno' to mow four or five loads of hay, & pasturing for half a douzon cattle) as long as she lives unmarried. Itm I give to my true & loving wife aforsd & to my aforesd daughtr all my movable estate to be divided equally between them aftr my decease
Itm I give to my aforesaid daughter if she live unmarried after her mothers death or second marriage, one room in my house to be enjoyed by her as her own, so long as she shall live single, either ye leantom or ye other part of ye house, as she, herself shall chuse. And also I give her ye same privelige of firewood, meadow, & land for tillage as above mentioned, so long as she shall continue unmarried. Itm I give unto my two grand children Mercy & Anna Eldred, daughters of my son Edward Eldred deceased five shillings to each of them after my decease & if they live to be of mature age I give to each of them twenty pounds besides. And if either of them shall die before they come to mature age, I give to the survivor ye share of ye deceased together with her own. And if both of them die before either of ym comes to mature age ye forty pounds yt they shd have had shall be divided equally among all my children that shall be then alive. Itm I give unto Jonathan & Nathanael Eldred, ye two sons of my son Nathanael Eldred deceased, my meadow in Ragged neck, which lies between ye meadow of Catn Joseph Harding & that of Deacon Thomas Atkins and my eigth part of ye high meadow in Gregorys Neck And also eight acres of land, of my houselot, which together with four acres, which I do hereby give to my son Elisha Eldred shall be on ye north side of my houselot, adjoyning to Paul Crowells land & of highway yt leads to Paul Crowell, to be divided by agreement equally between you. Itm I give to each of my five granddaughters ye children of my son Nathanael Eldred deceased, Bathsheba Bethiah Kezia Nelly & Mehitable five shillings I give to my son Elisha Eldred my house & land in Redriver Neck and three acres of meadow below that house at the northward end, next to Stewars, provided that he shall alow his hatherin away to their meadow & room to set their hay upon ye upland, when they shall have occasion for it. Itm I give to my said son, Elisha Eldred, my eighth part of ye flats of breakstuff in Gregorys neck & my half of a lott at Redriver Hollow whereas Robert Paddock owns the other half saving to his brethren liberty to cut fencing stuff thereon for fencing ye meadow that I give them Itm I give to my son Elnathan Eldred four acres of meadow in Redriver neck the rest of that meadow to my two sons Ebenezer & Barnabas; who shall hoave powr to take their part of it togeather in wch part of or form themselves shall chuse Itm I give to my son Elnathan Eldred ten acres, part of it upland, & part of it swamp, on ye northwest part of the old field, as it is called; as ye fence now stands Itm I give to my two sons Ebenezer & Barnabas Eldred, my dwelling house after my wife's decease or second marriage, saving to my daughter Elizabeth ye privilege expressed already in this my last will and testament and to ye sons Ebenezer & Barnabas all my land not bequeathed herein to any other of my children they paying the legacies herein expressed above & ye debts yt above shall be contracted before or at my decease. Finally it is my will yt none of my children to whome I have given to hall have liberty to sell or alienate any of these lands except to their brethren only and ye same is my will as to their children after them. And I do hereby nominate & appoint my well beloved wife Elisabeth, & my son Elnathan Eldred Executors of this my last will and testament. In witness whereof I have set hereunto my hand and seal, this ninth day of the twelfth month, commonly called February in ye year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred & thirty one. Jehoshaphat (his Z mark) Eldred Signed, sealed & declared to be his last will & testament; by Jehoshaphat Eldred, in presence of
John Rider John Rider Jnr.Joseph Lord.¹

Jehosaphat departed this life in Chatham. [Monomoit was renamed Chatham in 1712.] His will was probated on 29 November 1732.