Can someone help read the girl's name and what is bequeathed with her?

Question

Hello, I am trying to read part of an old will from a poor photocopy. The will belongs to John Council, who wrote it in 1795 in Maryland.

He was an enslaver. An item in his will seems to say, "one Negro Girl named [Fanny?] now aged about Eight or nine years and my Chaise & [Harness?]," but I am not confident about the girl's name or the last word.

Any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Images of the hadwritten will

Answer 1

I agree with you: Fanny and Harness.

Comments

I agree, along with the reading of Chaise. Presumably, this refers to a horsedrawn buggy -- hence, the harness -- and not a long sofa.

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Thank you. I'm glad to have that confirmation.

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Thank you for mentioning that chaise can have a different meaning. I didn't know it could be a kind of buggy. I'll find out more about that.

Answer 2

chaise, (French: “chair”), originally a closed ... The carrying poles, or shafts, were attached to the horse's harness in front and fixed to the axle in back.

Answer 3

You will notice that harness is written as harnefs. "f" was used to represent a soft "s" sound. It would have been used in American in the late 1700s. Here is an article from wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_s