http://xrl.us/Hopper1770WillSeller's description:
Last will and Testament of Garret Hoppe(r), 1770 " of " . . . New Barbadoes Neck in the County of Bergen, Eastern Division of New Jersey". Two and one-half manuscript pages.
A scarce survival of a detailed last will and testament from the Hackensack, New Jersey area. The heirs named in the will are Garret Hoppe's(r) wife Cathrina, son Jacob and daughter Marytje. The family name is spelled Hoppe throughout the will, yet it comes from the same group of documents I currently have on Ebay from the Hopper family. At some point it was likely changed and it was also not uncommon for there to be spelling variants of family names at that time.
The first section of the will is of a spiritual nature and attests to Garret's faith in Jesus Christ and his hope for Redemption. It then covers his future funeral arrangements. Following this, Hoppe leaves his real and personal estate to his "beloved wife . . during the time she remains a widow". He then leaves to his son, Jacob " . . .for his Primogeniture or Birth Right after the decease or remarriage of my said wife abovesaid my House Clock my Dutch Bible all my horses . . . " etc. Hoppe also leaves his farming implements, wagons, etc. and . . . "As also my Negro Man Cato". He refers to him as his man, not as a slave, though he was in all likelihood. Hoppe does not seem to have been as rich or had as many slaves as his descendant, John J. Hopper in his will of 1833.
Garret Hoppe then leaves sums of money for his daughter, Marytje . . ." two hundred and fifty pounds current lawful money of the Colony of New York to be paid by my son Jacob . . .". How it is to be paid in installments is then explained. Further division of the estate is detailed and Marytje's husband, Isaac Van Geison (sp?) is mentioned as sharing in his wife's inheritance. Garret's grandson, Hendrick VanGeison is also mentioned at this point and . . " my truly and well beloved friend the Revd. David Marinus to be executors of this my last will and testament . . ".
The final half page declares this to be Garret Hoppe's last and final will : "Signed Sealed Published Pronounced and declared to be my last will & testament in the presence of Peter Zabriskie, Johannes Bant, Naujie Kip his mark ( hand drawn cross in between to signify his signature). To the right of this is Garret Hoppe's name as well as "his mark" GH and an L.S. in a stylised oval. Apparently Garret did not write, unable to sign his name, indicating this will is the work of a scribe. At the very bottom is the three line certification of a clerk " . . . from the Perogative Office of the State of New Jersey at the City of Burlington". His signature follows, Herbert (?) hard to make out his last name as it is written in a very tight script - see pictures.
Measurements & condition : Fully opened the will measures approximately 13-1/4" by 16-1/2" ; folded in the normal manner it is approximately 8-1/4" by 13-1/4". The paper is watermarked with a large orb and crown mark and a smaller mark with script letters in a circle. There are four horizontal folds and one vertical. The paper is still supple with only slight age-toning. The edges are irregular with virtually no loss of corners, etc. The ink is strong and very readable with the front page writing done at an angle slightly up to the right. The following pages the writing straightens out. My pictures should show clearly the minor holes at fold intersections, etc. When I got this the will was seperated along the horizontal fold lines. It has been gingerly re-attached with minute amounts of glue along the horizontal folds by a professional. All sections are perfectly lined up in their original positions. Some areas of minor seperation have been left as is - care was taken not to over-restore the document. This is a four page document with the second half of page 3 and all of page 4 blank except for below notation.
Back of final blank page has handwritten note : "Copy of Garret Hoppe's Will". This was done by the scribe to attest to its being true to Hoppe's intentions. Scribes usually made more than one copy ; one to be filed in the courts and maybe copies for immediate family members. The word copy then did not mean the way we use copy today. A rare and complete manuscript from pre-Revolutionary New Jersey. New Barbadoes was a section of Bergen County that saw early settlement.12 pictures were provided in the auction - I've posted 10 here, unaltered.
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