Dated 13 March 1858, recorded 19 April 1858, Fauquier County: "In the name of God, Amen - I William Hefflin of Fauquier County in the State of Virginia do make & publish this as my last will & testament being at the time of sound mind & memory - Imprimis - I devise and bequeath to my Executor herein after named all of my property real & personally to be sold upon reasonable and fair terms for the purposes herein after provided, viz-
1st I desire that all of my debts & funeral expenses be immediately paid after my decease-
2nd I require that each one of my children and Grandchildren shall account for such property as they may have received from me or my estate, and that in the division hereinafter provided the amount received by each shall be deducted from the share they would otherwise receive-
3rd I desire that the proceeds of my entire estate shall be equally divided amongst any living childrens and grand children, my grand Children however to have in this division the shares which their parents would have taken if living -
4th The shares which my children Elizabeth DAVIS, Patsy THAYER, Ellen PINKARD will take I expressly will and desire shall be secured against the debt & be held entirely free from the control & management of their husbands during their lives and upon their death shall be equally divided amonst their surviving children except that in the case of Patsy Thayer's death I will & desire that her share shall only be divided amongst the survivors at the time of her death of the following children vis: James Thayer, George W. Thayer, Frank Thayer, Lucy F. Thayer, Mittie Thayer, and Buchanan Thayer - and to effect the prupose herein ex . . .

I direct that my Executor shall hold as trustee the property herein conveyed to my daughters & their children either in money or invested in land or other property as he may think advisable -
5th I except from the devise to my executor the ground no used by me as a graveyard, desiring on fourth part of an acre to be set apart & kept for a burying place for my children and grandchildren. 6th I hereby constitute and appoint William H. Payne as my executor. William Heflin "X" his mark Signed by Alexander Porter in the presence of and by the direction of William Hefflin with his name, and acknowledged published and declared on the 13th day of March 1858 by the said William Hefflin . . .
At a Circuit Court of Fauquier county held on the 19th day of April 1858, This last will and testament of William Heflin, deceased, was proved by the oaths of Alexander Porter and Robert E. Martin . . ."

569 acres of his land was located on Turkey Run, about 5 miles southeast of Warrenton, just off of present-day Meetze Road. William came into possession of this land after the death of Lawrence Butler, who was the uncle of William's wife, Lucy Briscoe. Lucy Elizabeth Briscoe was originally from Westmoreland County, Virginia. Her father, Daniel, died when she was very young, probably when she was 4 or 5 years old. Lucy's mother, Elizabeth Butler, presumably survived Daniel, as she was mentioned in his will. At some point, Lucy became a ward of her uncle, Elizabeth's brother, Lawrence Butler. Sometime prior to 14 February 1820, Lawrence Butler died, for on that date, John Butler of Fauquier County entered into a bond with Thomas Fisher and William Hefflin. John owed William $35 and Alexander Kelly $13. Alexander Kelly happened to be the executor of Lawrence Butler's estate. William Heflin was the surety for John for this bond.

On 19 Apr 1822, Alexander D. Kelly, executor of the estate of Lawrence Butler, deceased, was party to a deed in which he was to sell the Butler land at public auction on credit of two years. William Heflin became the purchaser of this land for $1,187.72. The land consisted of two tracts, one at the corner of Samuel Porter in Wither's line, thence along Porter's line, then corner to Josiah Holtzclaw, Bumbry's line, totalling 66-1/4 acres. Another tract was adjacent to that tract, above a line of Samuel Porter, 10 acres plus appurtences.

In Deed Book 25, page 108, which would have been before this sale, John W. Butler entered into a bond with Alexander D. Kelly, whereby John gave up his right to the Lawrence Butler estate to Alexander Kelly. In Deed Book 26, page 206, dtd 19 Apr 1822, Alexander Kelly was listed as the executor of Lawrence Butler's estate. John W. Butler's relationship to Lawrence Butler is unknown. There exists no proof that Lawrence ever married, and in his will, he mentions no children. John is likely a brother or perhaps a nephew.

A William Heflin appears in the following entries in Fauquier County, VA deed books. This may be our William, but may also be the William who married Sukey Ellis in 1803:

10 Nov 1828, Deed Book 30, page 279, 280 - between George Hume, Milley his wife, and William Heflin a certain parcel of land for $750 on waters of Thum-run in Manor of Leeds, Fauq Co., VA. The location of this land, being in northern Fauquier, near Orlean, indicates that the William Heflin here is the one who m. Sukey Ellis.

8 Sep 1831, Deed Book 32, pages 85, 86 - between Martin Weaver and William Hefflin and Edward P. Templeman. Weaver was indebted to Templeton. The parcel of land was in the Manor of Leeds, Fauquier Co., 33-1/3 acres. William Hefflin was to settle the property and pay off debts. This land was also located in northern Fauquier, near Orlean, so the William Hefflin mentioned in this deed is also likely the one who m. Sukey Ellis.

1835, Deed Book 35, page 162, Withers and Heflin for 153 acres for $725 Fauquier Co., VA on the waters of Turkey Run adjacent to lands of H. L. Pope, Thomas Fisher, and others. E. E. Withers had conveyed the tract to his son, Thomas G. Withers, having purchased the same from Samuel and William Porter. This land bordered some land that William Heflin already owned. The land was on Turkey Run, and therefore this William Heflin is most certainly our William Heflin.

15 Jan 1843, Deed Book 42, page 489 – William Heflin purchased 320 acres for $1,500 from Tilman Weaver, William Weaver and wife Elizabeth. The land was on the waters of Turkey Run. The land bordered land already owned by William Heflin, as well as land owned by Henry Bussey and Williamson's line on the side of the Falmouth road. This was the same land coveyed to John Porter by deed from Martin Withers, trustee. The land was from the division of the estate of Jacob Weaver. Interestingly enough, Nathaniel B. Butler was the son-in-law of John Weaver, Jacob's brother. I have been trying to establish a relationship between Nathaniel Butler and the other Fauquier Butlers that William Heflin's family intermarried with. It is not known if Nathaniel was related to Lawrence Butler, and it is not known if he was related to the family of Townsend Butler, into which a number of William Heflin's descendants married. As for this specific deed, with the land being on Turkey Run, this is certainly our William Heflin.

15 Oct 1847, DB 46-390 - William purchased 205 acres for $400, on the main road leading from Elk Run Church to White Ridge. White Ridge was used for the area now known mainly as Somerville, in southeast Fauquier County. This is the same tract of land that Bailey bought from Philips and Wallace. Jones sold to Joseph Shumate & he sold to Richard Smallwood. William's son George, who purchased this tract of land from William's estate in 1859, married Catherine Smallwood, daughter of Richard. We know that George Heflin, William's son, lived on this land, so we can be certain that the William Heflin mentioned herein is ours.

William had a very large estate, bond for which being $30,000. He had 774 acres of land and 50 slaves. His executor, William Payne, sold 304 acres for $5,097.50 to Thomas B. Stewart. One-quarter acre was reserved for William Heflin's graveyard. A map of this land is in Deed Book 57, page 312. On 15 Sep 1858, Thomas Stewart entered into a mortgage with Alexander D. Payne for 3 installments totalling $1529.27. As of December 1999, Ken O. Kortberg owned this property. The graveyard can be found, as a wrought-iron fence surrounds it. However, no markers are in existence, so we don't truly know who is buried therein.