Will
of Peter Kivett (1726-1797) in 1793
of Randolph County, North Carolina
There are at least two versions of Peter Kivett's will
in existence in the official records of North Carolina. The original
handwritten will of Peter Kivett is preserved in the North Carolina archives in
Raleigh. Bill Kivett has made available for inclusion in this website a
copy of a copy of the "original" Peter Kivett Sr. last will and testament as
filed in the NC State Archives in Raleigh, NC. Bill Kivett was permitted by
then President Forbis "Pete" Kivett to review and copy it in 1996 from the
archives of the Peter Kivett Family
Association. However, on visits to Raleigh
both Bill Kivett and his wife Nell personally held with, great trepidation, this
now rather frail priceless original document. From Bill Kivett's personal
recollection of this moving experience, he is reasonable sure that the attached
represent true copies of this three page "original will".
Note that there exists another similar 2-page document recorded in different
handwriting in Randolph County, North Carolina Will Book 2, page 7. There are
slight name spelling differences for some of Peter's children in this Will Book
2 document, and the "signature" of Peter appears to be in the same handwriting
as the person who must have transcribed the "original will" into the bound
Randolph County Will Book 2. The copies of the original Peter Kivett Will seem
to contain on page 3 of 3 the signature of what was chosen to be part of the
Peter Kivett Family Association, Inc. logo.
Over the years, various transcriptions seem to have
been made from both of these versions, themselves each containing a few
additional typographical and spelling differences, and certain serious omissions
- further adding to spread of misinformation. Even the version seen on the
http://pkivfa.org/peter's_will.htm referenced
Donna Martin's "Wright-Kivett Families" link includes the child Charity Foust in
her summary of the will, but references to Charity and some other lines from
this "will book" will are not seen in her transcribed text shown elsewhere on
her website - reportedly taken from the Randolph County Will Book 2 version,
microfilm C.R.081.801.1-.14.
These attached scanned and converted images of the Original Peter Kivett Will
are embarrassingly poor, but the best currently available. These images
were copies of copies of a document that itself has aged not so gracefully over
the years since it's reported 03 Oct 1793 creation date. In our opinion, it's
little short of a miracle that this still mostly readable 212 year old Kivett
family treasure was ever produced and has survived - even if in various
versions. As most know, without the identities and relationships listed in
Peter Kivett Sr.'s "original will", vital evidence about this first American
Kivett family would have been forever lost.
Bill Kivett has granted permission for inclusion of these images of this
most important Kivett family record on the http://pkivfa.org/peter's_will.htm
web site. It is certainly a matter of public record for anyone who asks to see
the original Will at the NC State Archives. This brief explanation of the
Peter Kivett
will, its two versions, and the genealogical importance are included to
demonstrate web site credibility and relevance more fully.
© 2006
Click on the following links to view the: