"JOHN ATKINSON,

"THOMAS HOLMES,

"B. JOHNSTON."

William Paul evidently died in 1774, instead of 1773, as all the
biographers of his famous brother {294} have it, and the will was
accordingly probated, as will be seen from the following transcript of
the court records:

"At a Court continued and held for Spottsylvania County, December the
16th, 1774.

"The Last Will and Testament of William Paul, deceased, was proved by
the oaths of John Atkinson, a witness thereto, and ordered to be
certified, and the Executors therein named refusing to take upon
themselves the burden of the execution thereof, on the motion of John
Atkinson who made oath and together with John Walker, Jr., his
security, entered into and acknowledged their bond in the Penalty of
Five hundred Pounds as the law directs. Certificate is granted him for
obtaining letter of administration on the said decedent's estate with
his will aforesaid annexed in due form."

In further support of these facts, the grave of William Paul was
recently discovered in St. George's churchyard, Fredericksburg, and his
tombstone bears the date of 1774. This effectually disposes of Colonel
Buell's contention. For whatever reason John Paul assumed the name of
Jones it was not in testamentary succession to William Paul; for
William Paul kept his inherited surname to the last.

It occurred to me that John Paul might have been empowered to represent
his sister in the settlement of his brother's estate. A
power-of-attorney which would have enabled him to attend to her affairs
would not necessarily have been registered in the Scottish or American
courts; yet, knowing the methodical habit of the Scottish bar, I caused
search to be made in the {295} private papers and records of those
local advocates who might possibly have handled the business in
Scotland; but with no results so far.

I also had search made for any conveyance of the property mentioned in
the will by William Paul's administrators. I append a copy of a letter
from Mr. J. P. H. Crismund, a county clerk of Spottsylvania County.

"SPOTTSYLVANIA, VA., June 7, 1901.

"I have made the matter of John Paul Jones and William Paul and William
Jones a matter of most careful study and search, but have not been able
to find anything beyond the last will and testament of William Paul, a
copy of which I send you. My first search was made to find the
conveyance from William Paul's administration, with w