Samuel Koenig's Will

After Samuel Koenig passed from this life in August, 1895, his wife and children were summoned from as near as the neighboring township of Morton to as far away as Colorado for the reading of his will.

The Summons:

The Text of the will:

“In the name of God, Amen.  I, Samuel King of the County of Tazewell and state of Illinois, being of sound mind and memory do make publish & declare this to be my last will and testament, hereby revoking any and all wills by me heretofore made.

First:  I desire that as soon after my death as practicable that all of my just debts and funeral expenses be fully paid.

Second:  after the payment of my just debts and funeral expenses, I give grant, divide and bequeath all of the rest of my property real and personal now or hereafter to be acquired by my beloved wife Mary King during the course of her natural life to be used and enjoyed by her, which is to be in lieu of any dower interest she may have in my estate. 

Third:  after the death of my beloved wife Mary King, I give divide and bequeath all of the rest and residue of my estate real and personal now or hereafter to be acquired by the heirs of my Body share and share alike and should any of my children have died, to their children, the said grand children taking a parents share as provided by the statute laws of the state of Illinois.

Lastly:  I hereby nominate and appoint my beloved wife Mary King to be the sole executrix of this my last will and testament without any bond or securities being required from her for the faithful performance of her duties as executrix  of my will hereby waiving the statutory requirements requiring securities to be paid.

 In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 1st day of June AD 1878  -

  This will was witnessed by John Sommer and Abial B. Sawyer.

The probate documents attest to the fact that Samuel, his family and friends were practicing Mennonites.  In the deposition specifying the date and location of death, a pre-printed form was used.  But everywhere on this form that the words "swear" or "sworn" appear they are crossed out and replaced with some form of the word "affirm".  This was because Mennonites were forbidden to swear, based on a strict interpretation of Jesus' saying in Matt. 5:33-37, "Let thy yeas be yeas and thy nays be nays".  Therefore, rather than swear any oath, a Mennonite would simply "affirm" the statement in question.

Samuel and his wife Mary are buried in Pleasant Grove Mennonite Cemetery in Elm Grove Township, Tazewell County, Illinois.

This page was last updated on September 19, 2002

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