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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: coombs on Saturday 31 May 25 14:38 BST (UK)
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Often we have a beady eye on a possible ancestor and we may find out that they are the right one, but also you will find out they are are not your ancestor. However in regards to the latter, it is better to know, then you can look up new leads once you have eliminated an ancestor.
A trip to the Society of Genealogists recently for a day, paying a £20 pass for the day helped me look at some much needed FamilySearch info which you cannot access outside an affiliate library or LDS centre etc. Also I found out a few new things as well as eliminated some possible ancestors.
My ancestor was William Botwright (a surname with a number of variants) who wed Eliz Moyse in Chediston in Suffolk in 1685. They had 2 known children, Elizabeth and Mary. I descend from Mary. William Botwright died in 1718 in Bruisyard, Suffolk.
I had a keen eye on the William Botwright baptised in 1661 in Fressingfield, son of Francis and Barbara as being the one who wed in 1685 in Chediston. Fressingfield is just 2 miles or so from Chediston.
However Barbara Botwright left a will in 1701 and mentions sons John, Francis and James but no William. She mentions a daughter or two, and grandchildren Spatchett and Andrews. Barbara seems to be born Barbara Steward, and who wed Francis Botwright in London in 1646.
It probably shows that it is a good idea to be careful than to take a leap of faith. Likely the Fressingfield William died as a baby or something.
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The title of this post made my imagination dash in quite a different direction!
TY
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You're most likely right in putting the Fressingfield William to the side, but I don't think you can entirely rule him out simply on the basis of not appearing in Barbara's will.
I've certainly seen wills which mention some but not all children/descendants. Indeed I've seen some very recent wills which mention two of the children but make absolutely no mention of another!
These being living/within living memory, I have some idea of the reasons - I'm sure many of the same reasons would have applied in 1701!
As I say, you're probably right - this is certainly a strong clue which diminishes the likelihood of the Fressingfield family being a match.
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The title of this post made my imagination dash in quite a different direction!
TY
I too had a wayward thought, I wonder if it flew in the same direction, should we blame a draft or draught? :-\
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You're most likely right in putting the Fressingfield William to the side, but I don't think you can entirely rule him out simply on the basis of not appearing in Barbara's will.
I've certainly seen wills which mention some but not all children/descendants. Indeed I've seen some very recent wills which mention two of the children but make absolutely no mention of another!
These being living/within living memory, I have some idea of the reasons - I'm sure many of the same reasons would have applied in 1701!
As I say, you're probably right - this is certainly a strong clue which diminishes the likelihood of the Fressingfield family being a match.
In 1714 when William's daughter married in Leiston, he was described as a "gent". Yes I think the William Botwright born 1660 of Fressingfield is unlikely but as you say not 100% ruled out. If my William married in 1685, I guess he was around the same age as William born 1660. My William died in 1718 in Bruisyard, he left no will, and no age given on burial.
So it seems some people did not give their estate to all their children.
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When my great grandmother died in 1921 she bequeathed sixty pounds to each of her five named children. My grandmother at the time was a widow in her late twenties with health issues and a four year old daughter to bring up. She was not left anything or mentioned in the will. Just because they are not mentioned doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
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I am off the the affiliate library in Norwich on Wednesday where I can access more FamilySearch records than I can from home or a non affiliate library, so will have another gander at Suffolk wills. I know many Suffolk records are coming onto Ancestry on the 14th August but they will be baptism, marriage and burial registers, and the wills may be sometime in the future so I heard.
Often a drawing board moment can set you free, as it can lead to new leads.
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In 1690 a Mary Botwright, spinster, of Bungay left a will and she mentions "cosen" William Botwright and his 2 children Elizabeth and Mary, whom she leaves a bible to, and some crockery to. My William Botwright had a daughter Elizabeth in 1687 in Chediston, then Mary in 1689, with Mary being my direct ancestor.
Something to go on at least. Bungay is a few miles north of Chediston.
Mary Botwright also mentions "cosen" Ann Botwright, providing she is alive, according to the will, and cosens Mary Jeffries and Elizabeth Gowing.
On a side note, I found an exciting lead with my Norwich ancestor Henry Helsdon, worsted weaver. In 1737 he, alongside Sarah Covell, applied for the admin of the estate of her deceased husband Wm Covell of Ashmanhaugh just above Wroxham/Hoveton.