Re: Early Wills -naming main beneficiary

On Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:16:02 +1100, "Di Mortimer" <diymort@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

Hi All

I have a will transciption of a yeoman ancestor (Mortimer, John ) dec'd
Sandford Devon 1604, he might be 45-65 naming many workers, poor people,
brothers, sisters and their children . godchildren (one bearing his name )
, 2 married daughters, his wife the executrix.. if she should marry then 150
pounds would go to his overseers.

I did not find the name of a possible eldest son or any children in this
PCC
will which was proved in London.

Does anyone know if it was common to make allowance prior to death of a
person's eldest son and others, and that would be the reason they were not
mentioned. ( I imagine it might save taxes as well)
Sandford parish records unfortunately start only at 1603 so researching a
son's name is well-nigh impossible.

Question 2 : Were naming patterns common at that time (as in Scotland,
eldest son named after father;s father and so on?) .

A confirmed Branch leading to present day sprang up in Friston Sussex
circa 1618.

Many thanks for any suggestions.

One thing to bear in mind is that if he *owned* any land, it would
pass to his eldest son as "heir at law", and would probably not be
mentioned in the Will. Freehold land could not be disposed of by Will
except by the device of a trust (the expression to look for is "to the
use of" the beneficiary) and this was not common until somewhat later.

--
Don Aitken
Mail to the From: address is not read.
To email me, substitute "clara.co.uk" for "freeuk.com"
.

Relevant Pages

  • Early Wills -naming main beneficiary
    ... Sandford Devon 1604, he might be 45-65 naming many workers, poor people, ... I did not find the name of a possible eldest son or any children in this ... Were naming patterns common at that time (as in Scotland, ...
    (soc.genealogy.britain)
  • Re: Early Wills -naming main beneficiary
    ... Sandford Devon 1604, he might be 45-65 naming many workers, poor people, ... I did not find the name of a possible eldest son or any children in this ... The main heir to a customary tenement commonly wasn't mentioned because he ... you probably won't have a probate inventory - in the ...
    (soc.genealogy.britain)