“Ninthly. I hereby appoint my three sons Abraham, John & Smith Thompson executors of my last & only will; and I do hereby authorize & empower them, or such of them as shall take upon themselves the execution thereof, and the survivors & survivor of them, to fulfill by the execution of conveyances and otherwise, as may be proper, any contracts for the sale of lands, made by me, which shall be outstanding at the time of my death.
“Lastly. I hereby give, devise & bequeath to my three sons Abraham, John & Smith Thompson all the remainder & residue of my personal estate not required for the purposes of my will under the provisions above made & all my real estate wheresoever situated, to be equally divided between them. To have & to hold their respective shares thereof to them, their heirs & assigns forever, subject to the following conditions & reservations, viz.; first that out of the avails of the sale of Lindenwald there shall be reserved & paid over to my son Smith Thompson, his heirs or assigns the sum of seven thousand five hundred dollars in full satisfaction for his advances towards the expenses incurred by the additions to and improvements upon the dwelling house & outbuildings with the expectation that the place would be devised to him upon terms that would be equitable in respect to his brothers, the payment to be without interest during my lifetime. Secondly that upon the sale of Lindenwald the preference shall be offered in succession to my sons, beginning for the reason above assigned & no other, with the youngest, if the son accepting the same is willing to pay therefor as much as the place can be sold for on the market.
“The three pieces of plate last presented to me by my deceased friend Benjamin F. Butler, I bequeath to my three sons Abraham, John & Smith Thompson to be equally divided between them.
“In Witness Whereof I have to this instrument set my hand & seal this eighteenth day of Januy in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty.
“M. Van Buren.” (Seal.)
“Subscribed, sealed, published and declared by the said testator Martin Van Buren to be his last will & testament in the presence of us the undersigned, who at his request & in his presence and in the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses & affixed our respective places of residence this 18’ of Jany 1860.
“John M. Pruyn, M.D. of Kinderhook.
“Laura Collins of Albany.
“If my faithful James remains with me until my death I wish my executors to make him a present of one hundred dollars.
“M. Van Buren.”