State of North Carolina }
Beaufort County }
In the name of God Amen, I John Prior Stokesbury of the state and county aforesaid being in perfect health, do make and ordain this my last will and testament, in order following, that is to say I give and recommend my soul into the hands of Almighty God that gave it, and my body I recommend to the earth, to be decently intered, at the discression of my son Arthur H. Stokesbury whom I constitute, leave and appoint my executor, and touching such worldly estate which it hath pleased God to bless me with I will and bequeath in the following manner and form, I leave to Dosia Stokesbury my wife, one shilling as her behavior to me was intolerable in many respects that I could not put up with & I bequeath to my son Arthur H. Stokesbury the whole and entire stock of cattle and hogs, that I possess now, and the entire lands I bought of James and his son Simon Alderson being only fifteen acres of land they bought of John Whitley adjoining the old Plantation where I now live on as the old Plantation of 184 ½ acres is to be divided equally between John, James, Ira & Arthur Stokesbury, and Polly Manduel and Arthur Stokesbury is to have the land I purchased of the Aldersons as his own property besides the division of 184 ½ acres both pieces of land contains two hundred acres being the land commonly none by the name of Naughtons Point, and all of the lands I posess in Ireland by the name of Inch bride & Corbitstown which the leases will show that I gave and renewed in the year 1811 to Dowling and Muldony besides the land of Esker which I let Will: Conery as a brother in law have the one half of the lands of Esker for him to care of for me and to receive the rents for me also and all the furniture of beds and mahogany Chairs and tables silver spoons & sundry other articles and horses, cattle that I left there postecheas phicton (?) and all the plantation utensils &c which Connery has in his possession of my property and never settled with me for any of them at all besides several other things to the amount of four or five thousand pounds sterling and never accounted with me for any part of it, to me which he is still due to me for the amount which I give and bequeath the entire of it to my son Arthur H. Stokesbury to be his own property forever and another plantation on the main road to Wilmington near the town of Collumbus and county [Bladen Co., NC] where I formerly lived, which my said son Arthur Stokesbury will have forever as his own property and my household furniture beds, chairs & tables, and half dozen silver tea spoons, Gigg, harness, two sets of carpenter tols &c Cart and all farming utensils and all the kitchen furniture, pots, dutch ovens and all other iron ware, coffee mill, hand mill, and every thing else I possess to be the property of Arthur H. Stokesbury to have and enjoy as his own property forever; and I do hereby utterly disallow, revoke and disanul all and every other former testaments and wills by me in any ways before named, willed and bequeathed ratifying and conforming the and no other to be my last will and testament in Witness thereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 29th day of August 1835

John Prior Stokesbury {seal}

Signed sealed published
and pronounced by the sd
John P. Stokesbury as his last
will and testament in the presents
of us ~

Samuel Topping, Witness }
Sharp B. Lucas, do }
Israel Eborn, do }

Proved at September Term 1847 of Beaufort County Court.

Source: Beaufort County Orphan Book F, 1845 - 1847. North Carolina State Archives: C.R. 009.501.7; Pages 383, 384; 1835. Will of John Prior Stokesbury

Note: Son William Clark Stokesbury had died previous to the writing of this will, sometime between 1830 when he appeared in the Beaufort Co. census and 1835. (Could he possibly have been named for William Clark of Lewes, Delaware??? Son Arthur H. Stokesbury died sometime between the writing of this will in 1835 and the probate of this will in 1847. Since he doesn't appear in the 1840 Hyde Co. census, we may assume that he died between 1835-1840. I believe that Arthur was probably the youngest of the children.

Note: Wife’s name "Dosia" Stotesbury is most probably a nickname for JPS's 2nd wife, Sarah (Gurganus) Stokesbury, possibly a nickname for Dorcas, which may have been Sarah's middle name. Sarah name is given as "Sally" in most records and she was deceased by 1850. She was a daughter of Aaron Gurganus (d.1810), a Revolutionary War veteran, and Wealthy Winfield. John Prior's eldest son was named John Aaron, probably after his grandfather.

Note: Judging from records available, I believe that the children of John Prior Stokesbury and Sarah Gurganus were as follows:

1 - John Aaron Stokesbury (1792-1862)
2 - Mary "Polly" Stokesbury ( - ) [mar. (___?___) Manduell]
3 - William Clark Stotesbury ( ? -by1835)
4 - James Bradish Stotesbury ( - )
5 - Ira H. Stotesbury ( - )
6 - Arthur H. Stotesbury ( -by1840)

Note: The area of land from the western bank of the Pungo River to Sinclare Creek (almost to Bath Creek), was part of Hyde County from 1712 to 1819. In 1819 this area of land became the eastern section of Beaufort Co., NC. When searching for deeds, wills and other records for this period, check the records of both counties.

Beaufort Co., NC Estates Index Page
Beaufort Co., NCGenWeb