A cool frosty morning & I feel very bad- tho my back pains seem to have subsided ? my lungs & stomach are very sore & annoying ? wish to bank potatoes for the winter ~ I here insert my will & last testament which is in lieu of afore formally written.

In the name of God, Amen;

I, James NANCE knowing the uncertainty of life [to the mind of mortals] and the certainty of death, and feel disposed to bless God for his manifestation of mercy toward me, in this for prolonging my unprofitable life and now granting me a calm reflecting mind to write this my last will & testament. I therefore declare it to be as follows,
my house tract of land I live on in Milam County, State of Texas containing 203 3/5 acre, I wish divided between my three children Berthenia Margaret, James C. R. and Josiah C. NANCE with lines occurring parallel with the original league lies so that sixty of our acres including my present residence as division No. 1 be set apart to James my eldest son.
Also one acre including my grant which I give to each of them alike. The next adjoining on second division to contain seventy acres, I give to Josiah my baby boy and the third division of seventy two and three fifth acres I give Berthenia my daughter.

And as my debts are so small that when those are paid which due to me, they will be fully canceled. My will is that there shall be no sale of my property of any description and that the Court have nothing to do with my estate of affairs but to record this my will and its final settlement by some proper person who I hope to be able to mention hereafter who shall be paid therefore a reasonable compensation for his labor, done in a reasonable time and not by a percentage off my little children. My patrimony from my father?s estate I will to my three children equally, my hogs, cattle, my wife's horse and mine, if found, besides all the other things what was their mothers or me, I will to them equally to be kept together ?till the oldest becomes of age, so that the increase and profits thereof may be applied to giving them, my children, a liberal education [in good select schools, if possible, if not, then the best schools to be found where they can obtain a high moral training, but not sectaranized ] which I judge if properly attended to will amply sufficient to do it. I wish them thoroughly taught the principals of a sound education and to fear God and not man, to be entirely above doing a mean thing. My compass & chain & other books & apparatus for surveying I give the first preference to my son James, but if he fails to fit himself of its use and Josiah does qualify himself for then it shall be Josiahs. My father's Bible & hymnbook that came to me, I give to James. The Bible their Mother gave me, to Josiah. The brass clasped Bible I gave her & their Mother's testament to Berthenia. My watch to my boy that does not get the compass. All my other books & household & all other property of which I am now possessed or shall be possessed of I give to them equally and I exhort them to take heed to the exhortation I gave them appended to a former will.
And now when death shall come, a messenger from God to take me from my children, I shall commit them to God's grace and a providence believing he will deal kindly and bountifully with them and watch over them for good and present them to his glory in Christ, Jesus the Lord and bid them farewell. Written and signed by my own hand this November 20, 1869.

James Nance, [signed]

Filed Oct 5, 1885
W. D. Paden, Co. Clk Milam Co.
The State of Texas
Estate of James NANCE, Deceased In County Court of Milam County, State of Texas
On this 7th day of Dec AD 1885, came on to be heard in this court the application of Berthenia M. NANCE for the probating of the last will & testament of James NANCE, deceased and appearing to the court that due notice of said application had been given and thence upon cause T. S. Henderson and Miles Wilburn residents of Milam County State of Texas, all credible witnesses who having been duly sworn in open court declared that they were personally acquainted with his handwriting which was also generally known by his acquaintances; that said James NANCE is now dead that they verily believe said instrument in writing now exhibited to them in open court and purporting to be the holographic will of him the said James NANCE, which said will bears the date the 20th day of Nov 1869 and was filed in this court on the5th day of Oct 1885 and any part thereof to be wholly written by him the said James NANCE. That said James NANCE was at the time said will purports to have been written and signed by him over the age of 21 years and was of sound and disposing mind and memory.

Also appeared in open court, Miles Wilburn and Berthenia M. NANCE who having been sworn say that James NANCE departed this life on the 13th of January 1885, within the jurisdiction of this court, to wit, in Milam County, State of Texas. That the offered paper writing purporting to be his last will & testament was found after his death in his trunk among his valuable papers. And it appearing further to the court that the court has jurisdiction of the estate of said testator and that testator executed said will with the formalities and --------- and under the circumstances required by law to make it a valid will and that said will was never revoked.