13Ibid.
14Ibid., 275.
15 A few individual examples from Watertown might illustrate the rule and variations: Deacon Henry Bright, a widower who died in 1686, gave to his oldest son John the homestead and 200 acres of land; his other sons and daughters received 40 or 50 acres each and equal portions of money. Abraham Browne assigned everything to the care of his widow, with the land later to be divided equally among his sons, legacies of livestock for his daughters; but the will could not be proved and the court applied the double-partible rule. John Coolidge in 1691 left everything in the care of his widow, subsequently to be divided equally among five sons, with the homestead to a younger son, and a double portion of money to the eldest. John Whitney of Watertown who died in 1673 left the homestead and “the old mare if she lives” to his youngest son, the furniture to the eldest, a double share of land to the second-born and single shares to his other children. John Warren (d. 1667) left his homestead to his second son Daniel and divided his lands among five children. Roger Wellington (d. 1698) divided his lands equally among three sons and gave his furniture to the youngest. These instances are drawn from Jonathan C. Sor-ken, “Watertown Inheritance Patterns in the Seventeenth Century” (paper, Brandeis, 26 Nov. 1986). See also Thomas R. Cole, “Family, Settlement and Migration in Southeastern Massachusetts, 1650-1805: The Case for Regional Analysis,” NEHGR 132 (1978), 171-85.