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Help deciphering handwriting - will of Robert Hill-Littler, Antrim Road, Belfast

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  • Help deciphering handwriting - will of Robert Hill-Littler, Antrim Road, Belfast

    Hi all,
    An image of the will of the above who died on 4 April 1900 is available in the Will Calendars section of the PRONI website. However, I'm finding it really difficult to decipher much of the handwriting so I'm hoping there's someone out there with a better eye for this than me. Just to give some pointers re some bits I can make out - he was an inland revenue officer, of Tareen, Antrim Road, Belfast and I can make out these children's names: daughters Margaret, Louisa and Elizabeth and sons William, Robert, David and Fred(erick) and a few of the assorted bequests eg piano, davenport but not a great deal more.
    If there's anyone willing to have a stab at this you can find the image at
    http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search..._calendars.htm and then enter the surname Littler (rather than Hill-Littler). His will starts about half way down the first page of the handwritten image.

    Any help gratefully received even if its just the odd few words...
    thanks in anticipation ...
    Christine
    Researching:
    HOEY (Fermanagh, other Ulster counties and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) BANNIGAN and FOX (Ballyshannon, Donegal, Ireland and Portland, Maine, USA) REYNOLDS, McSHEA, PATTERSON and GOAN (Corker and Creevy, Ballyshannon, Donegal, Ireland) DYER (Belfast and Ballymacarrett) SLEVIN and TIMONEY (Fermanagh) BARNETT (Ballagh, Tyrone and Strangford, Down)

  • #2
    Hello Christine,

    is this the one you mean?



    i'll have a look and see if I can find/work out anything.
    Julie
    They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

    .......I find dead people

    Comment


    • #3
      this is what I can make out.......

      Hereby revoke all wills and codicils and testimentary? dis???? [blank] by me and declare that this is my last will and testament. I bequeath the following [blank] legacies?? to my daughter Margaret the sideboard furniture of two front bedrooms on first floor at [blank] silver plate and plated articles, pictures and dressing room suite. to my daughter Louise the drawing room piano and the dining room suite to my daughter Elizabeth the [blank] [blank] [Might be the smokers room piano] and [blank]. to my son Fred? the Davenport in the drawing room, to my son William the smoke room? [blank] pony & Trap harness and saddle, to my son Robert the dining room mirror and [blank] my watch and chain. To my son David the wall ? [blank] and coal scuttle matching same to my daughter Margaret and my son Fred the remainder of my household furtniture including books to be divided between them as equally as possible. I bequeath the proceeds of my policy of insurance to my daughter Margaret, Louise & Elizabeth and my son William to be divided equally between them. I desire and bequeath all the remainders of my property of any [blank] [blank] [blank] after payment of any? debts funeral and testementary expenses and bequeath? the share ? other than aforesaid unto my son Fred absolutely. I appoint Robert J Armstrong of 85 Malone Avenue, Belfast and my son Fred to be the executors of this my will and testement whereof I have [blank] [blank] by me, this twelfth day of January one thousand nine hundred.
      Last edited by Darksecretz; 11-01-13, 10:48.
      Julie
      They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

      .......I find dead people

      Comment


      • #4
        I've added a few bits to Julie's transcription

        Hereby revoke all wills and codicils and testimentary? dispositions heretofore made by me and declare that this to be my last will and testament. I bequeath the following specific legacies?? to my daughter Margaret the sideboard furniture of two front bedrooms on first floor at [blank] silver plate and plated articles or artistes?, pictures and dressing or drawing? room suite. to my daughter Louise the drawing room piano and the dining room suite to my daughter Elizabeth the [blank] [blank] [Might be the smokers room piano] smoke room piano and suite and [blank]. to my son Fred? the Davenport in the drawing or dining? room, to my son William the smoke room? sideboard pony & Trap harness and saddle, to my son Robert the dining room mirror and [blank] my watch and chain. To my son David the small bookcase[blank] and coal scuttle matching same to my daughter Margaret and my son Fred the remainder of my household furtniture including books to be divided between them as equally as possible. I bequeath the proceeds of my policy of insurance to my daughter Margaret, Louise & Elizabeth and my son William to be divided equally between them. I desire and bequeath all the remainders of my property of any kind whatsoever[blank] [blank] [blank] after payment of any? debts funeral and testementary expenses and legacies other than specified (bequeath? the share ? other than aforesaid) unto my son Fred absolutely. I appoint Robert J Armstrong of 85 Malone Avenue, Belfast and my son Fred to be the executors of this my will and testement whereof I have [blank] [blank] by me, this twelfth day of January one thousand nine hundred.
        Jackie

        Comment


        • #5
          Wow! Julie and Jackie - thanks so much for all the time and trouble you've both gone to with this query. It's virtually all deciphered now. I've pasted the whole thing in below combining our collective efforts and highlighted the remaining blanks and questions in bold. If you wouldn't mind comparing this against the original again to see if you agree with the transcription or if any of the blanks now become crystal clear, that would be fantastic. However, this is far more than I ever expected to get, so once again, many thanks. I've spaced our collective transcription out below to make it a bit easier to follow.


          I Robert Hill-Littler of Tareen, Antrim Road in the city of Belfast, Inland Revenue Officer hereby revoke all wills and codicils and testamentary dispositions heretofore made by me and declare this to be my last will and testament. I bequeath the following specific legacies


          to my daughter Margaret the sideboard furniture of two front bedrooms on first floor at Tareen silver plate and articles, pictures and dressing/drawing/dining room suite (My question: is drawing room the most likely option here as it looks like Louisa below gets the dining room suite - would you be likely to have silver plate in a drawing room? what would a 1900 Belfast drawing room be likely to contain?)
          to my daughter Louisa the drawing room piano and the dining room suite
          to my daughter Elizabeth the smoke room piano and suite
          to my son Fred the Davenport in the drawing/dining room (My question - my understanding was that a davenport is a desk and therefore drawing room would be the more likely reading here. however, I've just googled it to be sure and found that a Davenport can also be a large upholstered sofa, typically able to be converted into a bed. That's the thing with family research - you learn something new every day! Whichever it is, a pleb like me would still probably bung it in the drawing room ...)
          to my son William the smoke room sideboard, pony & Trap, harness and saddle,
          to my son Robert the dining room mirror and [blank] my watch and chain.
          To my son David the small bookcase and coal scuttle matching same (I can't really visualise a matching bookcase and coal scuttles I have we missed something here?)
          to my daughter Margaret and my son Fred the remainder of my household furniture including books to be divided between them as equally as possible.
          I bequeath the proceeds of my policy of insurance to my daughter Margaret, Louisa & Elizabeth and my son William to be divided equally between them.
          i desire and bequeath all the remainder of my property of any kind whatsoever after payment of any debts, funeral and testamentary expenses and legacies other than specified unto my son Fred absolutely.
          I appoint Robert J Armstrong of 85 Malone Avenue, Belfast and my son Fred to be the executors of this my will and testament whereof I have hereunto ??enclosed my name this twelfth day of January one thousand and nine hundred.
          Signed and acknowledged by the said Testator as [blank] for his last will and testament in presence of us present at the same time who at his request in his presence and in presence of each other have hereunto ??enclosed our [blank]
          George ??Boyard, John Chisholm




          Sent from my iPad
          Researching:
          HOEY (Fermanagh, other Ulster counties and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) BANNIGAN and FOX (Ballyshannon, Donegal, Ireland and Portland, Maine, USA) REYNOLDS, McSHEA, PATTERSON and GOAN (Corker and Creevy, Ballyshannon, Donegal, Ireland) DYER (Belfast and Ballymacarrett) SLEVIN and TIMONEY (Fermanagh) BARNETT (Ballagh, Tyrone and Strangford, Down)

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Karamazov View Post
            Wow! Julie and Jackie - thanks so much for all the time and trouble you've both gone to with this query. It's virtually all deciphered now. I've pasted the whole thing in below combining our collective efforts and highlighted the remaining blanks and questions in bold. If you wouldn't mind comparing this against the original again to see if you agree with the transcription or if any of the blanks now become crystal clear, that would be fantastic. However, this is far more than I ever expected to get, so once again, many thanks. I've spaced our collective transcription out below to make it a bit easier to follow.


            I Robert Hill-Littler of Tareen, Antrim Road in the city of Belfast, Inland Revenue Officer hereby revoke all wills and codicils and testamentary dispositions heretofore made by me and declare this to be my last will and testament. I bequeath the following specific legacies


            to my daughter Margaret the sideboard furniture of two front bedrooms on first floor at Tareen silver plate and plated articles, pictures and dressing/drawing/dining room suite (My question: is drawing room the most likely option here as it looks like Louisa below gets the dining room suite - would you be likely to have silver plate in a drawing room? what would a 1900 Belfast drawing room be likely to contain?) It doesn't say that the silver plate is in whatever room the suite is in. There's no other mention of silver plate so I presume he meant her to have all of it
            to my daughter Louisa the drawing room piano and the dining room suite
            to my daughter Elizabeth the smoke room piano and suite
            to my son Fred the Davenport in the drawing/dining room (My question - my understanding was that a davenport is a desk and therefore drawing room would be the more likely reading here. however, I've just googled it to be sure and found that a Davenport can also be a large upholstered sofa, typically able to be converted into a bed. That's the thing with family research - you learn something new every day! Whichever it is, a pleb like me would still probably bung it in the drawing room ...) I've just had a look and the dictionaries I've seen say that the sofa definition is US or Canadian so I would be inclined to think it was the desk
            to my son William the smoke room sideboard, pony & Trap, harness and saddle,
            to my son Robert the dining room mirror and [blank] my watch and chain.
            To my son David the small bookcase and coal scuttle matching same (I can't really visualise a matching bookcase and coal scuttles I have we missed something here?)
            to my daughter Margaret and my son Fred the remainder of my household furniture including books to be divided between them as equally as possible.
            I bequeath the proceeds of my policy of insurance to my daughter Margaret, Louisa & Elizabeth and my son William to be divided equally between them.
            i desire and bequeath all the remainder of my property of any kind whatsoever after payment of any debts, funeral and testamentary expenses and legacies other than specified unto my son Fred absolutely.
            I appoint Robert J Armstrong of 85 Malone Avenue, Belfast and my son Fred to be the executors of this my will and testament whereof I have hereunto ??enclosed my name this twelfth day of January one thousand and nine hundred.
            Signed and acknowledged by the said Testator as [blank] and for his last will and testament in presence of us present at the same time who at his request in his presence and in presence of each other have hereunto ??enclosed our [blank] subscribed our names as witnesses (instead of enclosed our [blank])
            George ??Boyard Boyce, , John Chisholm
            Hi Christine

            I've added a few more comments although I'm no expert. Someone else may have better knowledge but hope it helps
            Jackie

            Comment


            • #7
              My go at it - putting in the line-returns to match the text (I find it makes it easier to find your place!), but adding in the double-return to make it easier to see the critical info. I have returned the earlier adjustments to black, so that my changes can be seen. Note that legal documents have no punctuation!

              I Robert Hill-Littler of Tareen, Antrim Road
              in the city of Belfast, Inland Revenue Officer
              hereby revoke all wills and codicils and
              testamentary dispositions heretofore made
              by me and declare this to be my last Will
              and testament. I bequeath the following specific
              legacies


              to my daughter Margaret the side
              board furniture of two front bedrooms on [?in]
              first floor at Tareen silver plate and plated
              articles, pictures and drawing room suite
              to my daughter Louisa the drawing room
              piano and the dining room suite to my daughter
              Elizabeth the smoke room piano and suite
              to my son Fred the Davenport in the dining
              room to my son William the smoke room
              sideboard, pony & trap, harness and saddle
              to my son Robert the dining room mirror
              and [stock?] my watch and chain
              to my son David the small bookcase and
              coal scuttle matching same to my daughter
              (the coal scuttle may well have been hidden in a box as part of a fireplace-surround - we have coal boxes hidden in "leather"-topped box-stools)
              Margaret and my son Fred the remainder
              of my household furniture including
              books to be divided between them as equally
              as possible I bequeath the proceeds of my
              policy of insurance to my daughters Margaret
              Louisa & Elizabeth and my son William to be
              divided equally between them I devise and
              bequeath all the remainder of my property
              of any kind whatsoever after payment of
              any debts, funeral and testamentary expenses
              and legacies other than specified unto my
              son Fred absolutely I appoint Robert
              J Armstrong of 85 Malone Avenue Belfast
              and my son Fred to be the Executors of
              this my will In witness whereof I have
              hereunto subscribed my name this twelfth
              day of January one thousand and nine hundred.
              R Hill Littler
              Signed and acknowledged by the said
              Testator as and for his last will and
              testament in presence of us present at the
              same time who at his request in his
              presence and in presence of each other
              have hereunto subscribed our names
              as witnesses
              George Boyce _ John Chisholm
              Last edited by Christine in Herts; 12-01-13, 17:55.
              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
                for Robert it says - the dining room mirror and clock also my watch and chain.

                Margaret

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by margaretmarch View Post
                  for Robert it says - the dining room mirror and clock also my watch and chain.

                  Margaret
                  That makes much more sense!

                  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


                  • #10
                    Julie, Jackie, Christine and Margaret,
                    What can I say? Done and dusted in well under 48 hours. I would never have cracked this on my own so many, many thanks for your time and efforts on my behalf.
                    Christine - I'd noticed the lack of punctuation but just put some in for my own benefit as it was driving me mad. I never knew until your post that this was a legal convention. Presumably in older documents or is it still the case now? What was the logic behind it? I suppose I can just about see how incorrect punctuation could potentially lead to difficulties in determining the testator's true intentions, or even how punctuation marks could be inserted after everything was signed and witnessed to alter the original sense. I wonder if there have ever been any instances of this happening. Might be an idea for Lynne Truss if she were to write a whodunit where punctation was crucial to the plot...
                    Hope I can return the favour at some point.
                    Regards,
                    Christine
                    Researching:
                    HOEY (Fermanagh, other Ulster counties and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) BANNIGAN and FOX (Ballyshannon, Donegal, Ireland and Portland, Maine, USA) REYNOLDS, McSHEA, PATTERSON and GOAN (Corker and Creevy, Ballyshannon, Donegal, Ireland) DYER (Belfast and Ballymacarrett) SLEVIN and TIMONEY (Fermanagh) BARNETT (Ballagh, Tyrone and Strangford, Down)

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      you are very welcome Christine, just glad that we could help
                      Julie
                      They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

                      .......I find dead people

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        The other thing about these wills is that what we are seeing is a transcript rather than the original that's why it is often hard to decipher - imagine a job where you spent the whole day handwriting documents - bound to get a bit tedious and therefore monotonous in style.
                        Margaret

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Karamazov View Post
                          Julie, Jackie, Christine and Margaret,
                          What can I say? Done and dusted in well under 48 hours. I would never have cracked this on my own so many, many thanks for your time and efforts on my behalf.
                          Christine - I'd noticed the lack of punctuation but just put some in for my own benefit as it was driving me mad. I never knew until your post that this was a legal convention. Presumably in older documents or is it still the case now? What was the logic behind it? I suppose I can just about see how incorrect punctuation could potentially lead to difficulties in determining the testator's true intentions, or even how punctuation marks could be inserted after everything was signed and witnessed to alter the original sense. I wonder if there have ever been any instances of this happening. Might be an idea for Lynne Truss if she were to write a whodunit where punctation was crucial to the plot...
                          Hope I can return the favour at some point.
                          Regards,
                          Christine
                          We all enjoy helping solve puzzles... not above getting a bit competitive at times! ;)

                          As for the punctuation thing. I believe that legal documents stick to that convention even now. It's thought that punctuation is more likely to cause confusion that prevent it, and coud lead to problems later. You'll also see symbols used to make sure that the line is filled if the next word is too long to fit and has to go onto the next line.

                          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

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