Oh my word, I've found a STINKER of a will from 1837

[TressiliansStone]

I've been transcribing C18th & C19th wills. They're often fascinating – but this is a corker!

Our testator is not a happy bunny...

And I'll tell you for why........

Love it. Loving the vocabulary.

Especially, 'unworthy brother'

My gt-grandfather had many (adult) children. One daughter married and emigrated. The will stated that her share had to go only to her, not her DH. There was some indication that the DH was a bad 'un.

He also left money to a 7-yo grand-daughter who appeared to be living with him and his wife.

He left a smaller share to one son, noting that said son had received money some years earlier to start a business - which became successful - so that seemed fair.

Old wills are fascinating!

Cocomumma, Scottish wills from Scotland's People.
www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/advanced-search

English wills from the National Archives.
discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/advanced-search

Although most aren't quite such good value as Mr J Bell's.

These really give you an insight into what was going on in society at the time.
Off topic slightly but in the spirit of historical documents, in the Birmingham Museum they have a Middle East section. One historical document is from a market, where amongst every day items one item listed is a woman being sold as a slave by her own BIL! Its horrific now, but obviously so normal then.

@TheMarzipanDildo

Bloody hell that’s a lot of exposition. And not a lot of punctuation.

We still don't use punctuation in wills or other legal documents even now. Heaven forbid the man in the street might understand it!

Absolutely fascinating. Please tell us more about any other Wills you find. I love this stuff.

Fantastic 😆

Washeduponthebeach I actually had lovely, homely one yesterday: an artisan, rather than a grand nabob.

Just as fascinating to a nosy bugger like me, though.

Half a mo' while I dig it out.

Amazing!! Thanks for sharing this thread!

This is the inventory of a "brewer's servant" (ie brewery employee) in Edinburgh who died in 1763.

"In the first the said Defunct had pertaining and belonging to him at the time of his decease foresaid the goods and gear aftermentioned of the several avails and prices following Viz.t Imprimis a Curtain Check bed with a Chaff bed and bolster fifteen shillings Item four pair Scots blankets and two english blankets fifteen Shillings Item ten timber Chairs six Shillings and three pence Item an old chest of Wainscot drawers four shillings Item an old Timber Press three shillings Item an old little tea Cupboard One Shilling Item an Old Folding Oval Table and an old timber standart[?] three Shillings Item a fir timber Chest One Shilling and six pence Item an old spinning wheel and an Old reel two Shillings and six pence Item a little Old Chimney one Shilling Item a little old glass and a little box one shilling and Six pence Item a Curtain Chack[sic] bed with a Chaff bed and and bolster fifteen shillings Item five pair sheets and four half Sheets Eighteen Shillings Item six tablecloths and Six Servits and four pillowbees[?pillowberes] eight Shillings Item a timber press and an old roller Box-bed four shillings Item two old little timber chests and a little stool and an old little table One shilling and six pence Item three plates and six trenchers of Peuther weighting fourteen pound @ eight pence p[er] lib[rae] is nine Shillings and four pence Item two pint Stoups two Chopin Stoups a muchkin half-muchkin two Gill Stoups of peuther and one peuther Chamber pot weighting thirteen pound @ five pence per lib[rae] is five shillings and five pence Item four Old whiteiron Chopin decanters and a muchkin One, One Shilling and three pence Item two pair brass hand Candlesticks and a sole Candlestick three shillings Item an old broken Kitchen Chimney and tongs Spit raxes and Cran two Shillings and Six pence Item a yelling[sic] pot Brass pan and an Old Tea-kettle Six Shillings Item Seventeen Old knives and ten forks, and a dozen horn Spoons and Spoon-creel One Shilling and two pence Item Seven timber Caps or dishes with ten timber trenchers and a timber plate and a Ladle One Shilling and Six pence Item eight Same Trenchers, six old broken Chiny Cups and Saucers, two old Stone tea pots, and Cemented Slapbowl two Shillings Item Six little silver tea Spoons nine Shillings Item an old bottle rack and four dozen bottles five Shillings and sixpence Item a Silver Watch one pound ten Shillings All Sterl[ing] money Extending the Goods and gear before written in haill to the sum of Eight pound seventeen Shillings and four pence Sterling Which in Scots money is One hundred and six pound eight Shillings."

I enjoyed reading that. Thanks OP 😊

Six old broken chiny cups 🤣

The Dictionaries of the Scots Language may be needed for that one!

The "Spit, raxes and Cran" are fittings for the hearth (spit, rack, wee crane for hanging a pot), and a "chimney" was a fire grate which could be portable.

And I knew what a box-bed was, but a chaff bed? Pillowbere?

Turns out beds could just be filled with straw (chaff), if you couldn't be bothered to fill a tick (sack) to make a mattress. And pillowberes are pillow cases.

Marvellous site here, for a quick education in bed history!
www.oldandinteresting.com/medieval-renaissance-beds.aspx

I’m
Curious to know what a cemented Slapbowl is..

@Washeduponthebeach

I’m Curious to know what a cemented Slapbowl is..

Me too!!

The slap bowl would be with the two stone teapots - slap/slop bowl for tea dregs.

Cemented - maybe mended?

Fun fact, the founder of the Smithsonian Museum was my great-something uncle, but left his entire fortune and the Museum to charities (if I recall the family tale correctly).

What you don't find out until you dig a little deeper into said tale, is the reason he disinherited the family out of what would now be billions is because he was adopted and the whole Smithson clan treated him like shit for it (they remain to be utter cunts to this day, so I do not blame him).

ANameChangeAgain, that's horrific.

Alas, I've seen wills containing similar, right up to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1833.

It's not pleasant reading.

That’s delightful. I’m so pleased for him that you sharing this with us means his moans about his brother are now known by those of us so far in the future beyond what he imagined 😂

Also “dropped down dead” made me laugh. Legalese is so wordy. This is wordy but perfect.

This post contains material about slavery.

Some of the wills mentioning slavery are written by people in Britain who may never even visited the West Indies (why dirty their hands). Others are of residents there who are rather more involved.

For example, Alex Innes wrote a will at Spanish Town in Jamaica, in 1747.

"I give and devise unto Anne Innes my reputed natural Daughter by Jane Gregory (who is now in Scotland for her Education) the Sum of Fourteen Hundred Pounds Jamaica Money at her Age of Eighteen Years or day of Marriage which shall first happen And it is my Will that the Interest of the said Fourteen Hundred Pounds shall commence from and immediately after my death and shall be paid by my Executors for her Education and Maintenance untill her said Age or Marriage but if my said Daughter shall dye before her Age of Eighteen or Marriage"

Alex describes Anne's mother, Jane Gregory, as "a Free Mulatto Woman" and left her "the Sum of One Hundred Pounds Jamaica Money".

For his daughter Kitty:

"I give and devise unto Catherine Innes alias Kitty Innes my reputed natural Daughter by Mary Innes the Sum of Seven Hundred Pounds Jamaica Money […] the said Legacy to be paid unto my said natural Daughter Catherine Innes when She shall attain her Age of Eighteen Years of day of Marriage which shall first happen And it is my Will that the Interest of the said Legacy of Seven Hundred Pounds shall commence immediately from my death and shall be paid by my Executors for the Maintenance and Education of the said Catherine Innes in some part of Great Britain untill her Age or Marriage aforesaid"

Which sounds kinda OK. But then the following is what he says regarding Mary:

"It is my Will that my Executors hereinafter named or one of them do purchase the Freedom and Manumission of a Mulatto Woman named Mary Innes immediately after my death and for that purpose I will that any Sum not exceeding One Hundred and Twenty Pounds Jamaica Money be paid for such Manumission and from and immediately after such Manumission is Recorded I give and devise unto the said Mary Innes the Sum of Twenty Five Pounds Per Annum to commence from the time of the Record of the said Manumission and to be paid her Quarterly by my Executors for and during the Term of her natural Life"

Yeah I notice that you're not freeing her now, during your own lifetime... And for comparison you're willing your married sister in Scotland £1000 which she doesn't sound like she really needs, so...

Alex Innes also included enslaved people in his legacies to Jane Gregory and to Kitty & Mary Innes, and unusually the will mentioned their names.

So we know that the people held under enslavement in his household included Rachael and her Children Abba Cuffee Quashec Whaucia and Aurilia, and two other women or girls named Diana & Molly. I wouldn't want them to be forgotten.

PermanentTemporary, the HEICS captain's was the most dramatic example, but I've been impressed to see so many wills taking great care to establish female independence. Many testators were clearly making a real effort to protect the women they cared about from sexist legal and economic structures.

Often it's just the addition of the phrase "exclusive of jus mariti" or other wording to protect a woman's income from her husband's control.

On the other hand, there was a genteel farmer's widow who had benefited from annuities in male cousins' wills. When she died in 1900, she went went out of her way to leave money to over two dozen women – some family, some servants, some apparently neighbours. It looks like a very real attempt to empower them.

I'm reminded of the impact on Virginia Woolf of the constant supply of ten-shilling notes which appeared magically in her purse, thanks to an aunt who took a fall from a horse while riding to take the air in Bombay.

The genteel Edinburgh lady's attentions also extended to the most minute detail about her belongings – and even dealt with the problem of what to do with monogrammed heirlooms!

‘To Mrs Margaret Black or Turnbull of the Elms Morningside all the silver plate belonging to me marked with the Letter "T" which formerly belonged to her uncle James Tait and was bequeathed by him to his cousin Charles Bertram my Brother excepting twelve tea spoons as marked and to Raphael Turnbull her youngest son the plain silver tea service which belonged to the said James Taitt[sic] including the said twelve teaspoons marked with the letter "T" To the foresaid Isabella Bertram Daughter of my late cousin John Bertram Hartside in liferent for her liferent use only my silver tea service marked with the letter "B" and which I bequeath subject to said liferent, to Harriet Edith Bertram third daughter of John Bertram presently Farmer Hartside To the said Isabella Bertram in liferent for her liferent use only twelve silver table spoons and soup ladle which belonged to my Father and are heirlooms marked with the initials "JB" and which I bequeath subject to said liferent to John Bertram Hartside her brother whom failing to his children To the foresaid Margaret Smith and Lucy Christian Smith Daughters of the late Mrs Margaret Bertram or Smith Inverness my flexible gold and silver bracelets To the foresaid Isabella Bertram in liferent for her liferent use only one dozen Tea spoons in a morocco case and marked with the initials "B" and which I bequeath subject to said liferent to the said Harriet Edith Bertram To the foresaid William Bertram Harvey my mothers China White and gold tea service consisting of Teapot six cups and saucers sugar bowl and creampot. To the said Mrs Katherine Bertram or Cockburn Lingdale Lodge Birkenhead my Drawing Room crimson and drab sofa blanket To Miss Gladys Craig daughter of the said Charles Craig late of Craigesk my walnut workbox lined with crimson and my small brooch with hair and pearls To the foresaid Mrs Harriet Bertram or Scott Dudgeon my black lace shawl To the said Mrs Marion Wallace or Cowan daughter of the foresaid deceased Andrew Wallace of Halbeath my gold broach with hair and marked with "J. Dickson" To the said Marion Turner my servant if in my service at the time of my death the furniture in the servants bedroom including beds and bedding therein three pairs of sheets two bolster cases and two pairs of pillow cases also the five chairs covered with haircloth and the old easy chair covered with drab moreen and all my under clothing woolen jackets and woolen dresses and bonnets’

The people being referred to as possessions really does make you go cold.
Its all fascinating reading though. I like the sound of the Edinburgh lady. I imagine her in a parlour, dictating her will whilst petting a her Pomeranian.

Yes, it's absolutely chilling.

For @PermanentTemporary, another will empowering women, this time in 1739.

This one escalated quickly.

"I Robert Tod of the parish of St Margaret Westminster in the County of Middlesex Dealer in Coals and Wood being in good and perfect mind and memory and understanding and considering the uncertainty of this transitory life Doe make this my last Will and Testament in manner following Item I give to my neice Jane Steavenson Spinster daughter of my late Sister Margaret Tod al[ia]s Steavenson widow of the late James Steavenson of Edinborough in North Britain butcher dec[eas]ed the sume of One hundred Pounds if living within Six months after my decease Item I give to my neice Margaret Finlayson Spinster daughter of my late Sister Jane Tod al[ia]s Finlayson late of Edinborough North britain deceased all my houshold Goods Plate rings and Linnen with all other Furniture belonging unto me and likewise the Wharf and my dwelling house belonging thereto which I purchased of John Streachey Esq[ui]r[e] and the sume of Two hundred Pound Item I give to the Scots Corporac[i]on in Black Fryars One hundred pounds Item I give to James Finlayson my Nephew son of my late Sister Jane Tod al[ia]s Finlayson Wife of George Finlayson of Edinborough deceased all the residue and remainder of my Estate both Reall and Personall with my Stock in Trade with my book debts Bonds and Notes with all and singular my rights and Credits dues and all Demands whatsoever which shall happen to be due unto me now and shall become due after my decease Item I doe hereby nominate and appoint the abovesaid James Finlayson and Margaret Finlayson his Sister Executors of this my true and only last Will and Testament In Witness whereof"