These files comprise two types of source document, and are described as such:
1) Original Wills. Unless otherwise noted, these are the actual handwritten source documents found in the NC State Archives. In most instances they will have the actual signature (or "X") of the testator and witnesses.
2) Will Book Enties. For some, I have both the will book entry and the original will. For some, only one or the other. Will book entries are written by the Court Clerk, and will have his facsimile of the signatures. These frequently have at least minor differences, and about 10% of the wills have serious differences between the two versions of the document with common errors being names left out or spelled differently, and lines in the original sometimes skipped.
The approach taken with these documents is the attempt to accurately transcribe the spelling, "carriage returns", and each letter of each word. If a word is obviously missing it is sometimes added within square brackets "[]" for clarity. If there is something that is illegible, crossed out or such, in-line notes are written similarly. Repetitions and other vagaries are noted with "[sic]". If is says "&" I write "&", not "and" and vice versa.
Double letter "S" in these wills was commonly written in the past with a ligature, looking somewhat like "fs", but close examination will reveal that the lower portion of "f" is looped backwards and is not actually an "f". These are transcribed as "ss". It should also be noted that some writers used the same letter without the following "s" to indicate a single "s". These are transcribed accordingly.
If the entire document has unusual characteristics, these are noted at the end of the transcription under "Transcriber's Notes"
As with any other family history project, this one is not without errors. Despite checking and rechecking, I am still spotting errors in these transcriptions. You are certainly welcome to look at the source yourself and come to your own conclusions. If you see an error in a transcription, please let me know. Contact me at benz2@earthlink.net . I will correct it.
