John Ross senior

SC1/37/12, Aberdeen Sheriff Court Wills.

Trust deposition and settlement - precis.

John Ross of Clarks Court in the Island of Grenada, now residing at my house called Granton Lodge near Aberdeen in Scotland.

To George Patterson of Grenada at present residing in Great Britain, Robert Kerr late of Grenada now residing at Newton Stewart in Galloway, Duncan Davidson advocate in Aberdeen and John Henry of Watchmount Esquire, all my real and personal estate at my death including my sugar estate called Clark's Court and my other sugar estate called Granton, both in St George, Grenada, and all other lands and estates, property and effects heritable and moveable, real and personal, in England upon trust for the following purposes.

To pay my dear wife Helen such sums of money as may be sufficient for the immediate maintenance of the family and education of the children until proper provision can be made for the regular payment of her jointure of £300 per annum provided by our marriage contract.

My uncle George Ross, late of Shelburn, Nova Scotia, who died in 1816 did by his last will bequeath four-fifths of his residuary estate to my four children then living and appointed Henry Guest of Shelburn and myself as his executors and trusteers for my said children. The shares of the said property came only into my possession in September 1824, amounting to £6,450 sterling. Two of my four children who were alive at the time of my uncle's decease are now dead, and two others have since been born, namely Mary and John. It is my wish that Mary and John shall succeed to the shares of the two deceased, and that the whole of the £6,450 shall be secured to my four children Helen Jane, Margaret, Mary and John equally totally independent of my own estate. I have lent out £2,000 of the said legacy to the Earl of Aboyne in my own name as executor and trustee of my late uncle, and I am possessed of 26 shares of the captial stock of the Aberdeen Town and County Bank which I purchased with and to form part of the investment of the said monies to the amount of about £3,000, leaving uninvested the sum of about £1,500 thereof, which has in the meantime been applied to enable me to pay off the debt on Granton estate. Therefore myself, my heirs and successors as sooon as may be to invest the remaining £1,500 in securities in this country for behoof of my children and make over to my said trustees 26 shares of the capital stock of the Aberdeen Town and County Bank, and the balance of £1,500 or whatever it may be to be a first lien on Granton estate.

As soon as convenient after my death, or when they shall think it can be done with the most advantage, my trustees to sell the whole of my estate both real and personal, in Scotland and the West Indies, and in particular my estate of Granton in Grenada and my house of Granton Lodge in Aberdeen, and with the proceeds to invest £1,500 on securities to make up the legacy left to my children by their great-uncle George Ross. Secondly to invest such a sum as may be sufficient to my dear wife Helen the sum of £300 annually for her jointure by our marriage contract. Until this may be done and my house of Granton Lodge may be sold, the rent of Granton Lodge to be taken as part of the said sum of £300. The sum of £600 which I borrowed of Duncan Davidson to enable me to pay of the expense of building and fitting out the said house to be first paid out of the real proceeds of the sale of the house.

The residue of my estate to my children Helen Jane, Margaret, Mary and John and any other child that may be precreated of my present marriage, share and share alike. On receiving their legacies from their great-uncle, they shall be bound to grant my trustees and executors a free and absolute aquittance of their respective shares of the aforesaid legacy. In case of any of them attempting to call into question the equal partition I have made of the said legacy, they shall forfeit all claim to any share of the residue of my estate.

And whereas in the present state of West India affairs it may not be in the power of my trustees immediately to sell or dispose of my estate of Clark's Court in Grenada and circumstances may occur to render it necessary to pay off the present mortgage upon the same to Alexander and Russell Ellice, I hereby authroise my trustees to borrow money and pay off the said Alexander and Russell Ellice and to grant a fresh mortgage or mortgages upon the said estate.

The said Helen Ross or Carnegie my spouse, along with George Patterson, Robert Kier, Duncan Davidson and John Henry to be tutors and curators to my children in their minorities.

Signed at Aberdeen 06/10/1830.

Codicil dated 06/05/1833. My wife Helen Ross and John Brown of the island of Grenada, practitioner in medicine, to be added as trustees and executors.