Being my family historian, I bump into strange documents from time to time. A couple of years ago, I saw a will from 1717 that I thought might belong to an ancestor. It turned out that it did not, but the will was so fascinating that I wanted to discuss it with you. The logic and style are very different from what we know as a will today (although the goal is the same -- to allocate resources according to the wishes of the deceased, without tension).
Three small points
First, in a mistake, I once said an ell was 14 inches. In fact it is 45 inches.
Second, I suspect you know the term anno domini, which we commonly call A. D.
Third, a "share" of tobacco had different meanings. In some cases it was a negotiated amount, for example with a shareholder. The most common meaning was a full "hogshead" barrel, which was typically 1,000 pounds. It sounds as if that might be what was meant in this document.
This is a relatively short podcast so it will not cost a significant portion of your life to listen. And you might find it interesting.
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