As I work my way through Saunders and Saunderson clues, trying to determine whether Judith who married William Williams in Cumberland County, Virginia in 1788 was a Saunders or Saunderson, I am sharing transcriptions of family wills as I come across them.

Today’s will is for William Saunderson, son of William Saunderson (who died in Cumberland County, Virginia in 1781).

Like so many other Virginians, William Saunderson decided to move his family westward into the new lands found in Tennessee, where he settled and died in Maury County in 1808.

His will is a bit confusing because it states he lived in Davidson county, but it was proved in Maury County, with no explanation.

William Saunderson his will May 20th 1808

In the name of God amen I William Saunderson of Davidson County & State of Tennessee being of perfect mind & memory Calling to mind the certainly of Death & the uncertainty of the time it may be, do make constitute & ordain this my last Will & testament revoking and hereby disannuling all other Will or Testaments in any wise heretofore made by me I do also by these presents make constitute & ordain my beloved wife Jemima and my daughter Nancy Saunderson the sole Executrix & Wm Bradshaw Executor of this my last will & Testament in manner & form as follows to wit

Item 1st I give & bequeath to my beloved wife Jemima Sanderson two negroes to wit Jacob & Lucy & their increase or profits during her natural life or widowhood and on the day of her death or wedlock the said two negroes to wit Jacob & Lucy & their increase of profits to be equally divided between my present surviving daughters (To wit) Nancy, Sally, Lucy, Polly, & Patsey Sanderson.

Item 2nd I give & bequeath unto my two sons in law (to wit) Kemp Holland & Wm Wade Baker one dollar each to be paid them their heirs &c (and no more) out of my personal estate

Item 3d I give & bequeath unto my present surviving daughters to wit, Nancy, Sally, Lucy, Polly, & Patsey Saunderson all the rest of my real & personal estate to be equally divided amonst them their heirs & after my just & lawfull debts first being paid

In testimony where of I the said William Saunderson have hereunto set my hand and affixed my Seal this second day of February one thousand eight hundred & fifty.

William Saunderson Seal

Test: Thomas Hudson, Andrew Patterson & Samuel Shannon

Proved April Session 1808 of Davidson County, Tennessee

John Hyde Saunders, who died in 1768 in Cumberland County, Virginia is the only man by that surname found in the early records of the county. So, it’s time to turn my attention to the Saundersons, of whom five – William, William Jr., William, Ann and John – are found in the Cumberland County Personal Property Tax Lists through the 1780s.

The research path of least resistance means picking the low-hanging fruit first, which, in this case, is the will of William Saunderson, who died in Cumberland County in 1781.

In the name of God amen. 21st April 1781. I Wm Saunderson senr. of the county of Cumberland being sick & weak of body but of sound & disposing memory thanks be to God for the same do make this my last will & testament in words following [? faded]

First principally I bequeath my soul to God who gave it and my body to the earth, to be buried in a decent manner.

Item. I lend to the use of my loving wife (Ann Saunderson) my whole estate real & personal during her natural life or widowhood to [???] & educate herr children.

Item. I give & bequeath to my son Wm Saunderson at my wife’s death or marriage all my land on the north west side of Willisses creek & as much on the other side thereof as shall make it square, the line to extend from the line of Drury Woodson to the line of Jones Meador deced to him & his heirs forever.

Item. I give & bequeath to my two sons Daniel & Robert Saundersons as above mentioned the remaining part of my land laying off as convenient as can be & my son Robert, to have the part on which my dwelling house now stand to them & heirs forever.

Item. The slaves & personal estate, which the lord have lent unto me except negro girl Aimy I leave to be equally divided among my several children respectively mentioned (to wit) Sarah Foster, John Saunderson, Nancy Foster, Wm., Mary, Lucy, Daniel, Robert & Eliza Saunderson to be devised by fair & equal lot after the death or marriage of my wife.

Item. I give to my daughter Susannah Saunderson five pounds curt. money.

Item. I give & bequeath to my daughter Eliza. Saunderson the negroe girl Aimy excepted out of my estate to maintain her durg her natural life & whoever of my children takeing such care of her as may be most conducive to her support if she dye before she arrive to the age of twenty years or marry, then I give the negroe to such child taking care of sd. Eliza. as aforesaid to them & their heirs forever.

Item. I give to my three daughters Mary, Lucy & Eliza. Saunderson each of them one good feather bed & furniture when they marry or are seperated from their mother by death or other lawful means.

And lastly I nominate & appoint my loving wife & Thos Sug. Hill to be
executors of my will & desire they may see the same fulfilled by paying
my debts & paying the legacies respectively mention’d as they may be respectively due.

Wm Saunderson SS

Sign’d Seal’d * published
in presence of us
Thos Sug. Hill
Joel Meggs
Nicholas (X) Faulkner

Will proved on 28 May 1781 at Cumberland County Court.

Note that Ann Saunderson died in 1812 and left a will in Cumberland County leaving her entire estate to her son, Robert Saunderson.

The DAR Patriot Index offers some help with William Saunderson, estimating that this man was born c1740. His service to the cause for American independence is verified by him furnishing supplies in February 1781.

It is clear from William’s will that he had no daughter named Judith, so we can cross him off the list as a possible father of Judith who married William Williams in 1788.

There is a second William Saunderson from Cumberland County in the DAR Patriot Index, who will be introduced in the next Saunderson family sketch.