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In the name of God Amen.
I John Albert of the town of Pownal, in the county of Bennington and state of Vermont, being of sound mind and memory and considering the uncertainty of life do therefore ordain and publish this to be my last Will and Testament, That is to say after all my lawful debts are paid and discharged the residue of my estate real and personal I give, bequeath to wit and dispose of as follows to wit: To my daughter Mrs Elizabeth White of the town of Greenwich in the county of Washington and state of New York I give Eight hundred dollars : To my daughter Mrs Etta Grover of the town of Fairfield in the county of Somerset and state of Maine I give Eight hundred dollars : To my grand-daughter Elystra White of the town of Greenwich in the county of Washington and state of New York, I give Five hundred dollars : To my son William Henry Wills of the town of in the county of Washington and state of New York I give the sum of one dollar. To my son John Albert Wills of the town of Schuylerville in the county of Saratoga and state of New York the sum of one dollar : To my daughter Mrs. Emma Ricker of the town of Hoosick Falls, in the county of Rensselaer and state of New York I give bequeath and devise all the rest, residue and remainder of my real and personal estate.
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Likewise I make, constitute and appoint My daughter Emma Ricker in town of Hoosick Falls, county of Renns and state of New York to be executor of this my last Will and Testament, herby revoking all former wills by me made.
In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed my seal the Fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Nine hundred and Fourteen
John Albert Wills X his mark
By Mead Brounell
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John Albert Berryman Wills died on 22 March 1919 in Hoosick Falls which may have been the home of his eldest daughter, Emma Wills Ricker.
Less than two months later, the legal probate notices appeared in the Bennington Banner settling his estate according to his last will and testament.
It appears that John A. B. Wills followed the longstanding tradition of disinheriting his two sons by leaving them $1 each. Supposedly, the person who inherits one dollar cannot contest that they were overlooked when the deceased wrote the will. How this traditional started isn’t certain, but estate planners caution against using this method to disinherit someone.
