General Notes

[Martha Culpepper.ged]
Robert Culpepper died in 1743. He must have been about 8 0 years old,
which was well above average for his day and a ge. Robert's will, written
in 1739 and proven in 1743, is i mportant, as he and his brother Henry
are the ancestors o f most of the American Culpeppers. It is necessary to
loo k at a copy of the actual document and not the abstract, t o note
that Robert had a son, Robert, Jr., to whom he gav e his great Bible, his
"lancets, horse flemes, and other in struments of iron for the use of
horses." A fleam was a sur gical knife, as was a lancet. Robert gave five
Shillings ea ch to his sons Joseph and Benjamin Culpepper, who by this t
ime were in Edgecombe County, NC. He gave half a Crown eac h to his
daughters Rachel Wilder and Ann Wilder. These smal l gifts of money
indicate that Rachel and Ann had moved awa y from Norfolk County, and had
probably already had some he lp along the way from Robert. He gave his
daughter Elizabet h Ward, wife of John Ward, an ewe and a lamb,
suggesting th at she still lived nearby in 1743. And daughter Mury Gree n
must have been nearby in 1743, as she received an ewe a s well. Mury's
husband may have been Henry Green (see below ). At the moment,
descendants of Mury Green are unidentifie d. However, there were folks
named Green in early Edgecomb e County, NC records. Robert Culpepper made
a point of ment ioning his grandson, William Culpepper, in his will.
Willia m got a cow and calf, and an ewe and lamb. Robert must hav e been
particularly fond of William, since William got mor e live stock than
Robert's daughters, Elizabeth Ward, and M ury Green. This was probably
his grandson William, son of R obert Culpepper, Jr. Robert gave all his
land in Norfolk Co unty to "his loving daughter Mary Tart," and appointed
he r husband, Eleazer Tart, as his sole executor. Henry Green , John
Joyce, and Richard Dale witnessed the will. One coul d suspect that
Robert's daughter Mary was the one who was l ooking after him in his old
age, and so she was the one wh o was rewarded with Robert's land.