Autograph document signed by John Osgood. St. John's Parish [roughly Liberty County], Georgia, 2 June 1773. 3 pages, 15 x 23 1/2 in. With adhered notification of authority for Osgood's executors. 

The last will and testament of Rev. John Osgood from St. John's Parish in the Province of Georgia. As part of his will, Osgood bequeaths his enslaved persons to his wife, Mary. He names them and their children as follows: Mingo, Prince, Isaac and Cretia, with her children Peter, Tom, Prime, Jean, Daphney and Cudjo. Additionally, Osgood allots his wife the use of the following enslaved individuals for seven years after his decease if she remained a widow: Harry, Frank, Princes, Jacob, Dinah, Cloe, Sylve, Peggy, Joney, Tenah and Nanney. Then, Osgood gives "one Negro Fellow who now works with him at the Carpenter’s Trade called jack, and all my Right in and to a Negro Child, belonging half to myself, and half to my Sister in Law Lydia Winn" to his nephew. 

According to History of the Midway Congregational Church, Liberty County, Georgia by James Stacy, Osgood was born in 1710 in Dorchester, South Carolina. By the 1730s, Osgood began his process of becoming a reverend. He first graduated from Harvard University in 1733 — one of the first native-born students to graduate in the 90 years since South Carolina was established — then was a mentee to Rev. Hugh Fisher of the old Presbytery of South Carolina in 1735. Osgood was ordained on 24 March 1735 in Dorchester, where he preached for nearly 20 years until he and his family moved to St. John's Parish in Georgia. 

When Osgood and other settlers from South Carolina made their way south to Georgia, Osgood was one of the handfuls that received a land grant of 500 acres, presumably where he built his plantation that is mentioned in his will. Additionally, while it is not explicitly stated in the book by Stacy, a document is quoted to infer that these settlers also received "their provisions and their Negroes", so it's likely that some of the enslaved persons Osgood bequeaths in his will were part of his "provisions" from moving. 

It's unclear whether Osgood started preaching as soon as he and his family got to Georgia; however, he was the parish's minister as early as 1761. Over the next 10 years, Osgood preached with an assistant and a co-pastor, until his health took a significant decline in 1771. His last service was on 5 May 1773, just a little under a month from when this will was drawn up. Osgood would pass away on 2 August 1773. 

[Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs] [Colonial America, 13 Colonies, Thirteen Colonies]

Modern tape repairs to some creases. New pieces of paper adhered to cover holes. Some small tears and rips.