name in will?

[kylejustin]

i need help reading a name in a will, please. i know who everyone is except for the niece whose name i can't read.

prerogative court of canterbury wills on ancestry: dorothy cloake 1804 romford, essex

2nd last line on page 1:

"unto my three nieces, mary mc? widow, sarah prior and anne prior, spinsters"

repeated again on page 2, line 15 from bottom of main will (where wittness signatures are)

"and niece mary mckea? widow, executrixes..."

and again in the probate "by the oath of mary mc? widow"

any ideas on what the name is? the handwriting is florid, even for pcc wills!
assuming her maiden name is "prior"- as she is mentioned with sarah and anne, i can't find a mary prior marriage to a "mc" anything in essex.

[bubblebelle]

Have had a look and notice that she cites some names within the will with Mr or Mrs. Is it possible this could Mrs Rea or something similar?

[cbcarolyn]

Its almost as if the will writer wasn't sure either, and made it a bit hard to read! have added snips

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/5111/images/40611_311388-00154?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=4664c35a4507c9aa760c23df92dee085&usePUB=true&_phsrc=SZd49526&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.52597160.1617303667.1604311989-1844071588.1601823764&pId=33162

will1.JPG

will2.JPG

will3.JPG

[Katarzyna]

I'm wondering whether the M^c/M^r you are seeing is Mary's middle name shortened with superscript as, for example, Elizabeth is written Eliz ^th. Can't think what name that would be though.

[Anne in Carlisle]

Could it be meant to say 'Mary, Mr Kea's widow'. It doesn't really look like Mc on any of the examples. Not sure if it is Kea or some other short name though.

Anne

[webwiz]

Do you know Dorothy's siblings? Was her maiden name Prior or had a sister married a Prior?

[kylejustin]

The maiden name is "spurling" also sper/spar. There is a john prior, widower marriage to a sarah spurling (no marital status) in 1762 at hornchurch. Never been able to track them forwards, and no birth for that sarah. Though strongly suspect this is the correct marriage and an unknown sister, parents of the nieces in the will. Have pondered if that marriage was connected for years.

i know what happened to dorothy's siblings, bar one. Their parents are a bit iffy. Hard to prove things with paucity of detail in romford parish registers.

[webwiz]

I assume that none of Dorothy's siblings had a daughter Mary as far as you know.

[kylejustin]

Only one sister, mary, is unaccounted for. The only sister to have kids was susan, mentioned with her kids in the will. I'm sure the john prior/sarah spurling marriage is correct, i can't find births though.

[cbcarolyn]

Probably stating the obvious, but a niece could be her husbands sisters child.

[webwiz]

Or even a previous husbands niece. Or possibly a person that she thought of as a niece although technically not.

[Lin Fisher]

Just found this marriage on FMP in Essex. Don't know the area though.

Mary Sparling of West Bergholt
Robert Read of Fordham
Married on 2 Jul 1765 at West Bergholt.

Not checked for any children yet.

[cbcarolyn]

have you found the wills of either husbands - just wondering if they my mention. Do you have death dates?

I can see marriage of Dorothy Woolstone to John Cloake 1/1/1782 he is from St Ann Westminster, not searched any further in case you have already looked at these.

There is this will of John Cloake in St Ann Soho (I assume this is possibly same place) - him or maybe his father? Probate Date: 4 Jul 1786

Also a John Cloake in Princes Street in rate books of Westminster
and a marriage in 1778 to Elizabeth Bradford St Ann Soho

[vera2013]

The maiden name is "spurling" also sper/spar. There is a john prior, widower marriage to a sarah spurling (no marital status) in 1762 at hornchurch. Never been able to track them forwards, and no birth for that sarah. Though strongly suspect this is the correct marriage and an unknown sister, parents of the nieces in the will. Have pondered if that marriage was connected for years.

i know what happened to dorothy's siblings, bar one. Their parents are a bit iffy. Hard to prove things with paucity of detail in romford parish registers.

There is a Mary Prior b 1865 Hornchurch f John m Sarah. Bap 29 Sep 1865.

I can see a marriage of a Mary Prior to Peter McLea transcribed Clea Westminster 1794.

Also a death of Mary McLea 1853 Bayswater. Letters of Administration to Ann Prior, Spinster, sister, Camberwell.

However Mary Mc?? Was recorded as a widow in 1804. Can't see a death for Peter McLea

EDIT on FMP a Mary McClea was buried Hornchurch St Andrew 19 Nov 1853 aged 88. Residence Rectory, Duke St, Grosvenor Sq, London

Vera

[Elaine]

Just come across this one

Peter Mclea burial 30 May 1798 Hornchurch

[Elaine]

Burial record I could find for Peter

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-YSLX-T7K?i=1110&cat=495537

and Mary

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-YSLX-YZT?i=2095&cat=495537

ever hopeful of a note on the parish record!

[kylejustin]

Ooh! Think you've done it ladies! I had suspected they might have lived in london, as other family members did at times. But couldn't find enough scraps to look properly!

[kylejustin]

so, done some digging.

1) john cloake- that will mentions a wife, but not by name! so not sure if that is dorothy's husband. there is no will i could find in the PCC or essex archives wills for john woolstone plus variants.

2) there are 4 children born at hornchurch to a john and sarah prior (just trawled registers): betty 1763 (not mentioned in aunt's will, no burial found), mary 1765, sarah 1767 (mentioned in aunt's will), and anne 1770. there is only one sarah prior burial in hornchurch, in 1794 of a pauper. there are two possibilities for john prior: 1803 (no info on record) or 1809, age 83. he is in the death duties index, listed as insolvent in 1810.

3) mary prior married peter mcclea in st james piccadilly in 1794. wittnesses sam pride and anne wilson. they mean nothing to me. peter mcclea buried in 1798 at hornchurch, no details in the hornchurch register.

4) mary mcclea and anne prior are living together in the 1851 census in paddington london. listed as mcaldred b.1776 and prier b.1782 both in hornchurch on FMP. they have a visitor, henrietta shaw b.1808 hornchurch with them. so i know we're on the right track, as she is my aunt. can't spot either in 1841 nor anne in 1861.

5) mary mcclea d.1853, grosvenor square. ordered the death and admin. anne prior d..1863, camberwell. ordered death and will. both buried in hornchurch.

[cbcarolyn]

kylejustin point 4 sounds like a good bonus - always like it when you can get a connection.

I notice the Westminster marriage had Prior as Prier, so sounds like a common mis spelling/transcription.

does seem to be a big Westminster connection - any idea what they were doing there. I did find an apprentice record for one of the husbands name to be a Surveyor. I don't know Hornchurch much, shopping in Romford for years as a teenager is all I can offer! Wonder what the connection was

[kylejustin]

Henrietta was previously missing in 1851, and she is 'shan' no forename on fmp. So a really good find. She was also anne prior's executor. Wonder if they are together in 1861 now!