On this day in JANUARY ...

[DORAN54]

my mother was born she would have been 98 today

[genjen]

Today I have only one distant ancestor - Ruth Dickenson, baptised Brough under Stainmore, Westmorland in 1710. She was a 7 x great aunt.

She may be distant but I am nevertheless delighted to be able to include her in my tree because finding this line gave me several Westmorland families to add to my tree. I have only lived here for thirty-four years and Kendal people are very dismissive of offcomers but now I can say that I do actually belong in the county!

[stonechat]

Thomas Pullen dob unknown was baptised this day in 1828 in Much Cowarne in Herefordshire

He was my gt gt gt uncle and the family was clearly very poor
He and his brother Benjamin (my great great grandfather) were both convicted in 1843 for housebreaking - they stole bread cheese and bacon.
Thomas was convicted again in 1845 of stealing potatoes. He was transported to Van Diemens Land (Tasmania) and did not come back.

The family remained poor, the father Thomas sen was convicted(!) of abandoning his family in 1846 and was imprisoned for this!

Thomas jun settled in Tasmania, married and had a family.

[LizzieW]

On this day,

John Isaac Cockett my g.grandfather was born in Holbeach, Lincs in 1843.  He became a master baker and moved to Manchester sometime between 1861 and 1867 where he was living when he married.  Presumably he decided it would be better for trade in Manchester rather than Lincolnshire.  As my g.gran was living in Lincolnshire in 1861 I guess they must have met in Lincolnshire before moving to Manchester.

David Manton my husband’s 4 x g.g.uncle was baptised in Long Itchington, Warks in 1762.

William Woodward my 2 x g.g.uncle was baptised in Frodsham, Cheshire in 1808

John Woodward my 3 x g.grandfather (and father of William Woodward above) died in Crowton in 1848.  The cause of death was influenza 5 weeks.  He was a butcher.  The electoral roll of 1837 shows that he owned freehold land and a house in Crowton Marsh, and his will made in 1842 mentions “all those my several freehold cottages or dwelling houses with the gardens, lands and appurtenances in Crowton and Frodsham and all other my real estate whatsoever and wheresoever and also all my household goods and furniture, plate, linen and china, live and dead stock and all other my personal estate and effects” yet when he died 6 years later his assets were only valued at £100!  In his will he said everything had to be sold for the best possible price and after his debts had been paid, (including £90 he owed to a named person), should be divided between his children (or their heirs if any of them predeceased him) “deducting out of the respective shares of my said children, such sum or sums of money with interest thereon as I have at different times advanced to them respectively and which I have set down in a Book and signed the same”.  – I wonder why I never thought of doing that when I “lent” money to my adult children. 

Rebecca Gilchrist my 2 x g.g.aunt was buried in Boston, Lincs in 1834 aged 2.

Ann Collett (nee Bishop) my 7 x g.grandmother was buried in Eye, Suffolk in 1712/13

[stonechat]

his will made in 1842 mentions “all those my several freehold cottages or dwelling houses with the gardens, lands and appurtenances in Crowton and Frodsham and all other my real estate whatsoever and wheresoever and also all my household goods and furniture, plate, linen and china, live and dead stock and all other my personal estate and effects” yet when he died 6 years later his assets were only valued at £100!

The value quoted seems to me to be the personal estate and omits the real estate

[LizzieW]

Stonechat

This is what it states at the bottom of the will

The 15th day of July 1848
John Woodward and Samuel Lewis the Executors in this Will named were sworn in Common form and they also made Oath the personal Estate and Effects of the Testator at the time of his death within the Diocese of Chester were under the value of One hundred pounds.

Before me S William Clarke surrogate
The Testator died the 17th Jany 1848.
Probate issued dated 21 July 1848.


So does personal estate and effects discount real estate?  I thought the value at probate was what tax was paid on - even in 1848.

Lizzie

ps.  My g.gran who died in 1908 didn't leave a will, but administration states that her effects were only £107.13s 9d, yet a distant ancestor sent me a copy of all the houses my g.gran owned at the time of her death and the rent that had been collected, plus what was outstanding, plus bills for work done by local traders for the upkeep of the houses.  So does that mean that any property owned, even if not for personal use was not included for probate?

[stonechat]

LizzieW
Cannot claim to be an authority but having seen in the past the same aparent discrepancy in values, it was what I though was the case
I know older wills deal more or less only with personal estate

[LizzieW]

Thanks, Stonechat.

I wonder what happened to the property my g.gran owned, certainly none of it came to my gran, she lived with us and at the time my mum only rented the shop and living accommodation we had.  I think, as her 2nd son (1st son in an asylum) was given administration I guess he took over the properties. 

Better get back on topic. 

Lizzie

[Seoras]

On this day 17th January 1792, Agnes, the first child of my 4xG grandparents Peter Wardlaw and Agnes Wallace was born in Hermiston in the parish of Currie. The three lines in the register for her birth tell me much.
Her father Peter died in Hermiston 51 years later and all his children were born there so I know, though he was born a few miles away in Ratho, he spent most of his life in this village.
At his death he was the village postmaster but on this register entry he is a shoemaker, so I know that his son my 3xG grandfather who was also a shoemaker followed his father's profession.
Her parents married 5 months before this birth so her mother was pregnant at the time of marriage.
Agnes was named after her maternal grandmother and the witnesses were John Wardlaw, possibly Peter's father but more likely his elder brother and Robert Bishop. I have yet to find out who Robert was but would bet on him being a relation of the baby's grandmother who was Agnes Bishop.
I don't know for sure but suspect that like my cousin, two great aunts, my great grandmother and a 4xG grandmother, all who were christened Agnes, she like them may have been known as Nancy. This being a pet name for Agnes in Scotland.
Agnes had four brothers John, Peter, Alexander and George and four sisters, Barbara, Margaret, Jemima and Christian and I have the parish register entries for all their births. Her youngest brother George was my 3xG grandfather.