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Ephraim Williams Will

Location:

Deerfield, MA

Description:

Colonel Ephraim Williams (1714-1755) of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, made this will in July, 1755. He was killed in action only a few months later on September 5 in an ambush known as “the Bloody Morning Scout,” part of the Battle of Lake George, New York, in the French and Indian War (1754-1763.) Williams, who died single and had no children, left his much of his substantial estate, including “Negro Servants” at his Stockbridge farm, to family members and friends. Williams's will also left bequests to found schools and charities, including a school in Western Massachusetts, in a town to bear his name. Williams College in present-day Williamstown, Massachusetts, was incorporated in 1793. (Williams Family Papers, Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association Library)

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