Unconfigured Ad Widget

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Aren't Wills great!

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Aren't Wills great!

    not merely for the family info they provide, but also insights into a person's character.

    I've just finished deciphering a will from 1658 in very ornate Elizabethan writing (not a job for the faint-hearted). The chap didn't leave any sons, so isn't a direct ancestor, but has indicated which families I need to look at... he names his wife "Bethanie" [what a lovely name in the mid 17th Century] and he mentions a deceased brother "Larance" who had 2 sons. Larance/Lawrence/Laurence not being as common a name as the dozens of Williams and Johns that share his surname, I have a pretty good idea which family to concentrate on.

    But the real pleasure came from reading some of the specific bequests. I've put a couple of extracts into modern spelling, and added punctuation to help readability but left the grammar as it was.

    ITEM I give unto my servant Mary White the sum of Five pounds of lawful money of England to be paid unto her within six months after my decease.

    ITEM I give unto the poor of the parish of Thorne the sum of Five pounds of lawful money of England to be paid and distributed unto the said poor at the discretion of my executrix and my brother Edward, in clothing or in moneys as they shall see most convenient, within one month after my decease.

    ITEM I appoint my executrix to bestow for the benefit and entertaining of my friends at my funeral the sum of Four pounds.

    He had an adult brother Robert, who is obviously married with a daughter of his own, as she got a separate bequest.
    ITEM I give unto my brother Robert the sum of Ten pounds of lawful money of England, to be paid into the hands of my brother Edward within one month after my decease, to be employed by him (the said Edward) to the best advantage and benefit of him (the said Robert) and to be ordered and delivered to him (the said Robert) according to the necessity of him (the said Robert) and as the necessary occasions of (the said Robert) shall require at the discretion of the said Edward and not otherwise.

    So I have a picture of a benevolent and generous gentleman, who loved to entertain his friends, but knew his brother was a bit of a spendthrift!
    Vicky

  • #2
    you are lucky I have not found one will yet ??? can you tell me where you find yours ??????????

    Comment


    • #3
      Depends where your families are Val, and unfortunately it can be a bit hit-and-miss.

      this one was from the National Archive, where I've also found a couple of others of interest to me. Really only for those in the south of England.

      I beieve Cheshire have done a good job of cataloging what they have too.

      I've had early ones from Durham University for my Northumbrian branch; they don't currently have an online cataloue but they are working on digitising what they have.

      From 1858 of course you have the National Probate Calendar, which covers all of England (& Wales?)
      Vicky

      Comment


      • #4
        you must have the same luck as me Val, have a look at this site, mine where not there but worth a look as there free to view

        This website is for sale! willtranscriptions.co.uk is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, willtranscriptions.co.uk has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!


        Joyce

        Comment


        • #5
          thanks Vicky but you cant access the National probate calender yourself can you ?
          Its so frustrating isnt it Joyce? thanks for that link am off to have a nosey.

          Comment


          • #6
            no its not online, but there are copies in some records offices, and some big libraries may have lists of local ones.

            Its also available for the public to consult in many probate offices. For example the sub-office in Sheffield has a computer system where you can do searches. They also have the big books with the actual lists. You still have to order the Will from York though sometimes there is some nice info just in the index - for example, if its an Admon rather than a Grant of Probate, you get the value of the estate & who administered it. You don't get much more info than that by paying to see the grant of the Letters of Administration, so it saves you money.
            Vicky

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Val wish Id never started View Post
              thanks Vicky but you cant access the National probate calender yourself can you ?
              Its so frustrating isnt it Joyce? thanks for that link am off to have a nosey.
              TNA at Kew has a microfiche copy up to 1948 (or thereabouts) - subject to some missing fiches. People (such as myself) go there occasionally, and maybe one of us would have a look on your behalf, if you have enough info to make that a viable proposition.

              There's one set of fiches per year, and the names are listed (printed) alphabetically.

              Other than that - it's a trip to Holborn... also not entirely out of my range, occasionally.

              Christine
              Researching: BENNETT (Leics/Birmingham-ish) - incl. Leonard BENNETT in Detroit & Florida ; WARR/WOR, STRATFORD & GARDNER/GARNAR (Oxon); CHRISTMAS, RUSSELL, PAFOOT/PAFFORD (Hants); BIGWOOD, HAYLER/HAILOR (Sussex); LANCASTER (Beds, Berks, Wilts) - plus - COCKS (Spitalfields, Liverpool, Plymouth); RUSE/ROWSE, TREMEER, WADLIN(G)/WADLETON (Devonport, E Cornwall); GOULD (S Devon); CHAPMAN, HALL/HOLE, HORN (N Devon); BARRON, SCANTLEBURY (Mevagissey)...

              Comment


              • #8
                Like you Vicky I'm always pleased to find wills (though I've had nothing as far back as you have). I've frequently blessed the unmarried sisters of my ancestors who have left lots of tiny bequests or items and have helpfully given the married names of their nieces. Last week we went on some country walks across the farmland mentioned in wills from OH's family.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Always worth a google search of online catalogues for record offices.
                  (A couple of local firms of solicitors have offloaded a load of "paper" records at the Treasure House, Beverley.)
                  I did a google search for John A*** and found that the aforementioned solicitors had deposited a copy of his will at the TH. On line, there was a brief abstract, naming most of the beneficiaries and giving their relationship to John.
                  As he had no children (although he'd been married twice) he'd left bequests to nephews and nieces. This was a fantastic find, because it tied together two groups of A*** siblings, born in two different parishes. I'd always felt these two groups of children were siblings but the will abstract, with the full names of the next generation, proved it.

                  So, google, google, google everywhere.

                  Jay
                  Janet in Yorkshire



                  Genealogists never die - they just swap places in the family tree

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    thanks very much for the info and thanks Christine I may take you up on that kind offer

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      *tuts loudly at the thought of punctuating a legal document*
                      Uncle John - Passed away March 2020

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I have several interesting ones !

                        Edward Collis left his estate to his sons Edward and Thomas, but "nothing to my daughter Elizabeth and son Farmborough, for their disobediences" (1759).

                        Then there's John Iliffe, who died unmarried in 1902 - he left bequests to 41 different people ! It showed he stayed in touch with his siblings families back in England, New Zealand and Australia and gave me all the married names for the girls (13 bequests). He left 25 bequests to married and single women in Sydney, Melbourne, Albury, Bathurst and other places - I am yet to find out who most of them were, and just 4 to men he knew. The hardest one to trace was described only as "the eldest son of Nancy Grieve, of Durham St Bathurst, born before her marriage." There is also a bequest to Nancy Grieve. This makes the imagination run riot, as he also left bequests to his illegitimate daughter and her mother, without stating any relationship. I think I know who he was, but I cannot trace him in the BDMs as his name is a very common one.


                        Di
                        Diane
                        Sydney Australia
                        Avatar: Reuben Edward Page and Lilly Mary Anne Dawson

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I've sent some transcripts I've done to Online Parish Clerks. It would be really great if more people did as they are so useful to all of us (Diane - our Edmund Harwood is there)

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            ooohh I will have a look
                            thanks Jill
                            Diane
                            Sydney Australia
                            Avatar: Reuben Edward Page and Lilly Mary Anne Dawson

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              There are some useful links right at the bottom of our own Wills and Probate page.

                              If anyone comes across any others which could be added, then please just stick them in the comments box at the foot of the page and we will add them for you.
                              Caroline
                              Caroline's Family History Pages
                              Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                Sometimes Wills can be very helpful, listing names, relationships and details. Sometimes, like other sources, they can be indecipherable or vague.
                                ~ with love from Little Nell~
                                Chowns, Dunt, Emms, Mealing, Purvey & Smoothy

                                Comment


                                • #17
                                  And sometimes a man can leave everything to his dear wife without mentioning her name!

                                  (yes, I'm talking about you, Thomas Denbigh!)

                                  Comment

                                  Working...
                                  X