Record Masterclass
Stuart A Raymond explains how you can track down and make the most of English and Welsh wills that were created under Church jurisdiction
Track down wills created before 1858
Do you want to read something that your ancestor wrote? If so, one of the very few documents that might enable you to do so is their will. Wills, admittedly, were sometimes written by scribes, but they were written at the direction of testators, and may reveal interesting information about your forebear’s personal life. They also have a very long history, first being used in the 10th century.
Sacred Purpose
Originally, the purpose of a will was to make pious bequests to the Church. That is why for centuries, right up until 1858, Church courts exercised probate jurisdiction; after this date a civil authority, the national Court of Probate for England and Wales, was responsible. The will generally begins with the name and parish of the testator, perhaps their status or occupation, and the date (although the latter is sometimes found at the end). The bequest of the soul follows immediately, in which the testator proclaims their faith.
During the Reformation, the words used may indicate whether your ancestor was a ‘Papist’ or a Protestant. Reference to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the whole company of saints, and requests for prayers for one’s soul, reflect Roman Catholic beliefs; mention of the ‘elect’ and the doctrine of predestination are of Protestant provenance. The pious were likely to make bequests to the Church or the poor, and sometimes gave alms to the parish of their birth – which may help the genealogist trace other records about them.
The main body of the will is likely to be devoted to family bequests. For most testators, the purpose of the will was to make provision for family members who had not otherwise been provided for, ie widows and children. Wills are likely to identify all surviving offspring. Children who had already been established in a trade or on a farm were likely to receive a token bequest, perhaps a shilling. Many testators named their younger children, rather than their heir, as executors, because they were the ones who benefited from the will. Alternatively, widows often served as executors: their future might also depend on the will’s provisions.
It’s important to note that generally married women could not make wills: their property belonged to their husbands. Widows, however, could be testators. Their bequests could be more wideranging than those of their husbands, since the latter had frequently already made provision for their offspring. Single women could also make wills. They, of course, usually had no children to provide for. Women’s wills are therefore likely to mention a wider range of kin than those of married men. Servants and friends are also more likely to receive bequests.
‘Children established in a trade were likely to receive a token bequest’