Will - Easy to read but tricky to understand.

[Sparklecat170]

Hi, I have a copy of a will dated 1838 for James Grimwood,Farmer, Hatfield Peverel, Essex.  The will is easy enough to read but I just don't understand it.  My descendent is his daughter Lydia who is mentioned a number of times but what she was bequethed is a bit of a mystery to me. Her brother James, was the eldest son and was bequethed the farm which is not unexpected.  From what I can make out James Snr was a wealthy man when he died, Lydia and her sisters were bequethed money but for some of them it didn't seem to be that straightforward.  Is there anyone that can help me understand?  The will is 3 pages and these are attached, although it looks as though you need to right click on the images and open as new tabs to see the whole pages.
Many thanks for all your help.
Sparkle

[Neale1961]

I’ve had a quick look at page 1 only where Lydia is mentioned. I haven’t looked at other pages.

As I understand it, a Trust Fund was established for Lydia.
The executors were directed to invest £700 so that she would receive regular payments of the interest and dividends.
The funds could not be used by her husband to pay any of his debts (thereby ensuring that Lydia had personal financial security).
Lydia’s children at age 21 or upon their marriage were all to receive 1 part of the funds for their own personal use.

[Neale1961]

Page 2 (Summarised, as I understand it)
For the daughter Mary Ann wife of Ed Barwell, it looks as if the same sort of Trust Fund arrangement (as for Lydia) was made.
Daughter Hannah wife of Richard Algar received £300
Daughter Eliza wife of Thomas Algar received £600
Unmarried daughter Elizabeth received £700 (paid at £4, 10 shillings per annum); plus £50 for her immediate use.
Unmarried daughter Ann received £700 (paid at £4, 10 shillings per annum); plus £50 for her immediate use.


Page 3 (Summarised, as I understand it)
After all debt and funeral costs were paid, the son James inherited everything else, including the farm and all the equipment and stock, etc.

[Neale1961]

Some thoughts -
Daughters Elizabeth and Ann were both unmarried, so their inheritance was arranged differently from the married girls.

Perhaps Eliza and Hannah had received some money from their father at the time of their marriage, which is why their inheritance was different from Mary Ann and Lydia.

Mary Ann married in 1820 to Ed Barwell
Lydia married in 1820 Thomas Crisp
Eliza married in 1827 to Thomas Algar
Hannah married in 1830 to Richard Algar

[Jebber]

In case you are unaware of the position of women and any money she owned at that time.  Until the Women's Property Act of 1870 as soon as a woman married everything she owned became the property of her husband, right down to her clothes, so various provisions were made for them in wills to  keep inheritances out of the husband's hands.

There is plenty of information online about the Property Act and later changes if you Google.

My apologies if you already know this.

[Sparklecat170]

Many thanks for your help.  I was not aware of the Women's Property Act 1870 so this of course makes complete sense in why these trust arrangements were set up.  I'm learning every day!  Thank you.