Can you solve my probate conundrum?

QMy direct ancestor Alice Cary is named by her father Thomas Cary in his will proved 1660. He also names three other daughters and a son-in-law.

However, in his burial record he is named as Thomas Cary ‘senior’ while in the probate record he is named as Thomas Cary ‘ the elder’. The executor was an uncle from a neighbouring parish. Could this mean that he also had a son called Thomas who is not named in the will? Would this be unusual?

Also, for probate purposes, would there have to be a living Thomas ‘junior’ for my Thomas to be referred to as ‘ the elder’?

I’m trying to sort out all the 17th century Thomas juniors and seniors named in the parish register and I have a huge headache! Lyn James

AThe answer to this question is a combination of probability and proof. Probability, in what we know about family structure in the 17th century and proof in the evidence required supporting the probable scenarios.

The probabilities: it is very likely that a man described as ‘senior’ or ‘the elder’ had a living son of the same name. Naming patterns of the time suggest that Thomas junior would have been the eldest of Thomas senior’s sons.

The fact that Thomas junior was not named in his father’s will suggests that provision had already been made for him (through an apprenticeship, cash to set him up in business or the transfer of family property) or that he had been disinherited. We may never know the answer to that one!

The proofs: have available baptism indexes for the county of residence and neighbouring counties been checked? Are there any deeds in the county record office naming Thomas senior or junior, or any contemporary manor court books recording a property transfer between father and son?

Court cases regarding inheritance would be worth searching for. The indexes are online at discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Ian Hilder