Re: Priscilla Gold, d/o John Estill & Rebecca Christian?
-
In reply to:
Re: Priscilla Gold, d/o John Estill & Rebecca Christian?
Sandra Taylor 12/14/02
I've been able to form a small theory regarding Priscilla's sometime quoted surname, "Gold." I think it's possible that it may have been her middle name, and some people have incorrectly assumed it was her last. I seems odd that if her parents were John Estill and Rebecca Christian Estill that she should have a different surname.
I found a copy of John Estill's will, and in it he names as his beneficiaries his wife Rebecca and leaves property to "my daughter, Priscilla Gold." If the commonly quoted dates for Priscilla's birth are correct, she would have been about one year old when this will was written, precluding the possibility that she acquired the name Gold from a previous marriage before she married Thomas Ray. I have been unable to find any record of either her mother or father being previously married to anyone named Gold.
From what I understand, in order for Priscilla to be assured of receiving the property appointed her in her father's will, someone would have to be granted legal guardianship of her to protect her welfare and oversee her affairs. Custody of minor children, it seems, was automatically granted to the mother in the event of the father's untimely death, but legal guardianship was another matter.
John Estill was supposed to have died sometime in 1780. On Feb. 19, 1782, according to the Annals of Augusta County, Va., Rebecca Estill was granted legal guardianship of Priscilla Estill. This is almost certainly the Priscilla Gold mentioned in her father's will.
mike
More Replies:
-
Re: Priscilla Gold, d/o John Estill & Rebecca Christian?
Sandra Taylor 12/14/02