Colonel Charles Lee Younger

IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN: I, Charles Younger of the County of Jackson in the State of Missouri, being of sound mind and memory, in view of the uncertainty of life and wishing to dispose of my property differently from the laws of decents as in all good conscience I feel that I ought to do, do make and publish the following, my last will and testament, hereby revoking all other wills or parts of wills, which I may have heretofore made. ITEM 1st. In view of the fact that I have heretofore by deed of gift, conveyed to the six next named persons upwards of Thirty Thousand Dollars worth of Real Estate in common, which is an equal share of my Estate with others hereinafter named whom I am bound by every tie of honor to provide for. I will and bequeath to my beloved wife Sarah S. Younger the sum of one dollar, which with the property given her in said deed of gift is in lieu of dower in my Estate. I give and bequeath to Harry W. Younger the sum of one dollar. I give and bequeath to Littleton Younger the sum of one dollar. I give and bequeath to Virginia L. Creek, wife of Jacob Creek the sum of one dollar. I give and bequeath to Elizabeth D. Woods, wife of Thomas Woods, the sum of One dollar, and to Lucy S. Burten the like sum of one dollar. ITEM 2nd. I give and bequeath to Parmelia Wilson of Jackson County, the eighty acre tract of land situated in said County which I bought of Hampton, reference being had to Hamton's deed to me. To Have and To Hold the same to her and her heirs forever. ITEM 3rd. I give and bequeath to Adeline L. Dalton wife of Lewis Dalton, Jr., the tract of land containing two hundred and ten acres on which said Dalton and wife now live in Cass County near Harrisonville, and one negro girl, slave named Minerva, about twenty-seven years of age, which girl slave was hired to Todds at the Noland House. To Have and To Hold the above land and one negro girl unto her the said Adeline and to her heirs after her in tail and not to the said Lewis Dalton, Jr., nor his heirs nor assigns. ITEM 4th. I will and bequeath that after my death the following slaves belonging to me be manumitted and forever set free from slavery or service or bondage to any man, to wit: Elizabeth, aged 22 of mulatto color and her two children named Catherine and Simpson. Also Fany, aged between 35 and 40 years, and her two children named Nathan and Washington, and that their freedom commence at my death. ITEM 5th. I give and bequeath to said Elizabeth, Fanny, Catherine, Simpson, Nathan and Washington, named in the 4th Item, jointly, the 300 acre tract of land situated on Little Blue in Jackson County, which I bought in part from John Ross and from Hawkins Estate and in part from the U.S. Land Office, all which land is easily ascertained by reference to the deeds from the last named parties to me and from the land office Certificate. To Have and To Hold the same to said last mentioned legatees after their freedom, Forever. ITEM 6th. I give and bequeath to the children of Milton Younger, deceased to-wit: Rebecca, Charles and Catherine Younger, the sum of one dollar each and this I do because I have already given them as much as I intended to do besides this legacy. ITEM 7th. After the payment of my just debts and the special legacies herein mentioned, I give and bequeath to Sophia S. Wilson, Charles F. Wilson, Mary S. Wilson, Martha L. Wilson, Jefferson Wilson, Bruce Wilson, and Sophronia Wilson, who are sometimes called by the name of "Younger" instead of "Wilson" (and whom I acknowledge as my children by the said Parmelia Wilson their mother) all the remainder of my Estate both real and personal to be divided equally between said seven children. In this testimony I hereunto set my hand and affix my seal this 26th day of February A.D. 1852. CODICIL: IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN: I Charles Youger, of the County of St. Clair and State of Missouri, being of sound mind and memory, in view of the uncertainty of life, and wishing to make some farther provisions in regard to my temporal after my death, I hereby confirm each and every provision in my will made in Jackson County, Mo., on the 26th day of February, 1852 and reattested by Theodrick Snuffer and John Bedill as witnesses at my request on the 28th day of October 1854, ratifying said will in every particular not altered in this codicil No. 1, and revoking all other wills and codicils heretofore made by me, save and except the will above described and this codicil No.1 to said will. It is my will and desire that the slaves Catherine and Simpson, mentioned in my will, shall, after my death, be known by the names of Catherine Younger and Simpson Younger, and in addition to their freedom absolutely at my death it is my will and desire that my Exector hereinafter named, shall, as soon as convenient after my death, take said Catherine and Simpson to a free state and place them in a respectable school where they shall be well clothed and cared for in every respect and their morals particularly guarded until they arrive at the age of twelve years each, and when they respectively arrive at the age of twelve years each, it is my will and desire that my executor hereinafter named shall place each of said children, Catherine and Simpson, at an academy or college of a high grade where each may receive a thorough classical education, and each be kept at said academy or college or some other institution of similar character until each of them shall have grduated according to the rules of such institution or institutions of learning, and if necessary to be kept at school until they are each twenty-one years of age, all the expences of educating said Catherine and Simpson, including board, tuition and incidental expenses and cost of traveling, to be paid out my estate. It is my will and desire and I hereby give and bequeath to the above named Catherine and Simpson the sum of Three Thousand Dollars to be paid to them in equal parts when they shall respectively arrive at the ages of twenty-one years, and in the case either of them shall die before he or she shall arrive at the age of twenty-one years, then, in that event the whole of the said Three Thousand Dollars to be paid to the survivor, and in case both the said Simpson and Catherine should die before either arrive at the age of twenty-one years, then said sum of Three Thousand Dollars to be considered part of my estate and to be included and disposed of according to Item 7th of my will above described and I hereby direct my executor to pay it over accordingly and said persons mentioned in Item 7th of the aforesaid will are hereby confirmed as residuary legatees. In order that they may be no mistake as the identity of said Catherine and Simpson for whom I have made and wish to make by this codicil, the most liberal provisions, I here state that Catherine is about 8 years of age and Simpson about 6 years of age, both of light mulatto colour, both the children of my mulatto woman Elizabeth, and that said Catherine and Simpson and their mother are now living with me in St. Clair County, Mo., and it is my wish and desire that the provisions of my above described will as well as this codicil be liberally construed to promote the Freedom, Happiness, Education and respectability of said Catherine and Simpson. It is my wish and desire that my son Coleman Younger have and I hereby give and bequeath to him one half of the farm in Jackson County, Mo., upon which I formerly resided for a few days but upon this express condition, that he pay to my executor Twenty-five Dollars per acre for the other half of said farm or pays to me during my life the said sum of Twenty-five dollars per acre for one half of said farm, in either event I have and bequeath to said Coleman Younger the other half. The land included in this bequest to Coleman Younger is the Hamilton tract of land and all the Ross Wilkerson tract of land both lying East of the State Road running from Independence South, except a little of the Hamilton tract and lying East of the Moultry tract of land and said tracts of land above mentioned bequeathed on the above condition contain between three and four hundred acres. I hereby revoke the bequest made in Item 5th of the above mentioned will which shall hereafter be set aside, revoked and held for noght, and the said land is hereby included in the bequest made in Item 7th of my above described will and I hereby give and bequeath to said persons mentioned in Item 5th and who are confirmed as my residuary legatees. I hereby confirm unto all the slaves mentioned in my above described will, their absolute freedom at my death. I hereby give and bequeath to Fanny and Elizabeth, who are made free by my will, and whose freedom is confirmed to them by this codicil No.1, the tract of land I own in St. Clair County, Mo., which I purchased of Comstock, containing 40 acres, and also the tract of land upon which I now reside known as the Gilliam Farm, it is hereby given and bequeathed to them jointly, and their heirs and assigns foreever. I hereby constitute and appoint Waldo P. Johnson Executor of my Will obove mentioned as well as the codicil No. 1 and enjoined on him the duty of strictly carrying out all the provisions of said will and codicil. In Testimony Whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 11th day of November, 1854. After the death of his first wife, Nancy, Charles settle in Crab Orchard, KY. where he bred and raced fine horses. About 1808 he is reported to have joined a volunteer group that left for eastern Missouri to fight Indians. By 1822 he was living in Calloway County, Mo. on the Auzvasse Creek. He lived for a time in Clay Co., Mo and finally settled in Cass County, Mo. where he obtained several hundred of acres of land.

Father of Colonel Henry Younger; Father-in-law to Bursheba Fristoe Younger, and grandfather to the famous outlaw, Cole Younger.