usand
Seven Hundred Fifty & eight, I, Thomas Wales of Braintree, in the
County of Suffolk & Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England,
Gent--being in good health of Body and of Sound Disproving mind and
Memory, Thanks be given to God--Calling to mind my mortality, Do
therefore in my health make and ordain this my Last Will and
Testament. And First I Recommend my Soul into the hand of God who
gave it--Hoping through grace to obtain Salvation thro' the merits
and Mediation of Jesus Christ my only Lord and Dear Redeemer, and my
body to be Decently interd, at the Discretion of my Executer,
believing at the General Resurection to receive the Same again by the
mighty Power of God--And such worldly estate as God in his goodness
hath graciously given me after Debts, funeral Expenses &c, are Paid I
give & Dispose of the Same as Followeth--

_Imprimis_--I Give to my beloved Wife Sarah a good Sute of mourning
apparrel Such as she may Choose--also if she acquit my estate of
Dower and third-therin (as we have agreed) Then that my Executer
return all of Household movables she bought at our marriage & since
that are remaining, also to Pay to her or Her Heirs That Note of
Forty Pound I gave to her, when she acquited my estate and I hers.
Before Division to be made as herin exprest, also the Southwest
fire-Room in my House, a right in my Cellar, Halfe the Garden, also
the Privilege of water at the well & yard room and to bake in the
oven what she hath need of to improve her Life-time by her.

After this, followed a division of his property amongst his children,
five sons, and two daughters. The "Homeplace" was given to his sons
Ephraim and Atherton. Ephraim had a good house of his own, so he took
his share of the property in land, and Atherton went to live in the
old homestead. His quarters had been poor enough; he had not been so
successful as his brothers, and had been unable to live as well. It
had been a great cross to his wife, Dorcas, who was very high
spirited. She had compared, bitterly, the poverty of her household
arrangements, with the abundant comfort of her sisters-in-law.

Now, she seized eagerly at the opportunity of improving her style of
living. The old Wales house was quite a pretentious edifice for those
times. All the drawback to her delight was, that Grandma should have
the southwest fire-room. She wanted to set up her high-posted
bedstead, with its enormous feather-bed in that, and have it for her
fore-r