Zachiariah Booth Sr.

Zachariah Booth Sr. had written a will in 1760.
Then he wrote a codicil in 1762, shortly before his death.

I'm so glad they were both provided with his probate records in Stratford CT.
Here's the codicil which shocked me.

Stratford March 15th 1762.

I Zachariah Booth of Stratford do make this codicil to my last will and Testament (illegible) I give to my beloved wife Sarah the sum of forty pounds lawful money over and above (illigible) to her mentioned in my (illigible) Last Will. I give unto my daughter Chabee(?) the sum of fifteen pounds lawfull over and above the legacy to her mentioned in my said last will. I give unto my daughter Anna Curtis wife to Nathan Curtis of Durham the sum of five shillings lawfl money which is to be the whole of her portion at the same time hereby occuling revoking and making null and void the legacy mentioned and given in my said last will, having advanced her already since the making of my said last will. - I give unto my son Daniel Booth the sum of ten pounds lawful money over and above what is mentioned given him in my said last will & testament. I do appoint and (illigible) my beloved wife Sarah and my two sons Hezkiah and Abel to be Executors of my last will and testament confirming this to be a part and partial of my said last will and testament in confirmation whereof thence hereunto set my hand and seal the day and date above.

Very shaky signature Zachariah Booth

Witnessed

Entered by Rob Fairchild Justice of the PEace

The shock was hearing him say his beloved wife was Sarah.  His wife that I knew of had died, and her name was Anna.  All the records I'd read, other ancestry trees, other trees from other Boothes in the community, mentioned only Anna, and their three sons, Nathan,  Zachariah Jr, and Daniel.

There are lots of different people here mentioned, and first I think my interpretation of the hand writing, probably by my ancestor himself, isn't "Chafee," but Phoebe.  That's a name that occurs in the original will also.

And then there's a daughter "Anna Booth Curtis, wife of Nathan Curtis of Durham".  She didn't get much because he says he's already advanced her the money set for her in his last will.  And now there are sons, Hezkiah and Abel, to be executors.

The signature is shaky on the codicil, but has the same loops on the "B" of Booth as the will from 2 years earlier, where yes, even more children are mentioned.

This is where my detective thrills are in genealogy.  Finding a source document, even microfilmed originals, that tell about people I never heard of otherwise.  Now I plan to spend some time looking at these children, who would have been great aunts and uncles - six greats because Zach Sr. was a 7 times great grandpa.

But first, let me give you some more details about Grandpa Zach.  He was the one who built the home still standing in Stratford, CT (at least I think so, it's been moved at least once.)

After the Revolutionary War, General Joseph Walker purchased the Zachariah Booth homestead, which had been built in 1690.   Apparently Grandpa Zachariah sold it earlier than that however...

There are more details of the home, which I'll show you tomorrow!

Editor's note: I just realized the house couldn't have been built in Zachariah's lifetime if the foundation was built in 1609...as the caption on the photo says.  I'm going for 1690!