Will of Sarah Evans, widow of Benjamin Evans - (Prince George County, Virginia Deed Book B, p. 73)
This will is transcribed elsewhere in Lee Hutcheson Davis, "Wills of Benjamin and Sarah Evans," The Southside Virginian Vol. X, No. 3, pp. 113-115 (1992), available on the web, so I won't retranscribe it here. However, the Davis transcription misreads one important point, the name of Evans' grandaughter Eliza "Bucknall" as "Elira." Prince George Co. suffered significant record losses during the Civil War, so records there were particularly sparse. However, it happens that in 1991, one of the pillaged county record books, covering the years 1710-1713, reappeared. One of the wills recorded in this book, that of Sarah Evans (1711) mentioned a “Lawrence Bucknall” (named as executor) and his wife Sarah, as well as three sons, one named Lawrence, and a daughter. When one inspects the probate record for this will, one finds that the court granted probate to the executor “Lawrence Buckner.” Evidently, the testatrix had somewhat misunderstood her son-in-law’s surname, which was recognized correctly by the court. This will effectively proves the hypothesis that Lawrence and Sarah Buckner were the parents of Lawrence Buckner of Prince George County, as well as an eldest son William and a youngest son Henry. Edward Buckner of Surry County is not mentioned, but since circumstantial evidence suggests that he was a brother of Lawrence Jr., it is likely that he had not been born yet, since he was apparently several years younger than Lawrence.
Unusually, there isn't a copyright on the images I have, so I can make those available:
Date of will 8 Nov 1711
Date of probate 11 Dec 1711
People named:
