Manuscript copy last will and testament of William Drury. Anne Arundel County, [Maryland], originally recorded 9 October 1822, copy 3 April 1879. 2 pages. Witnessed and undersigned by Samuel Drury, Sr., Richard G. Hutton, and Charles Hodges. An addendum follows on 4 June 1823, sometime after Drury’s death attesting to his soundness of mind. Docketing to verso notes that it was filed several times in the spring and summer of 1879. With partly printed document accomplished in manuscript, affixed to manuscript. Anne Arundel Co., MD, 3 April 1879. Undersigned. Noting that the document “is truly copied from the record in the office of the Register of Wills.”

Very early manumission document. William Drury of Anne Arundel Co., Maryland details his intentions for his estate, of prime importance are the fates of the many enslaved people which he outlines first, before any other property: “I manumit and leave free my negro man Lom immediately upon my death, and I bequeath all my other slaves to my beloved wife Mary Eleanor, to serve her for the term of ten years from my death or until her intermarriage, or death, whichsoever may first happen and then to be free. The children of those slaves born in the meantime to be free when their parents are

The 1820 Census records that he enslaved 4 individuals (names not listed). The addendum to the will indicates that Drury died sometime between the composition of the will in October 1822 and early April 1823. In the docketing, it is noted that it is “Filed by Complainants with Commission June 4, 1879,” however, no further details are revealed.

A rare example of early manumission in Maryland with the opportunity for further research for the curious.