Will of Richard Gibbs, builder, 1878

Principal Probate Registry

This is the last Will and Testament of me Richard Gibbs of Winslow in the County of Buckingham formerly a Builder but now out of business I bequeath to my dear wife Ann Gibbs the use and enjoyment of all the household furniture and other personal effects of which I may die possessed during her life and after her decease I direct that the same shall be divided among all my children then living in equal shares I devise my freehold house with the yard garden stable and premises situate in High Street Winslow now in my own occupation unto my said wife during her life Subject nevertheless to the the mortgage for two hundred pounds now existing thereon and to the payment of the interest in respect thereof And after the decease of my said wife I devise the same house and premises to my sons John Haley Gibbs and George Gibbs their heirs and assigns Upon trust to sell and dispose of the same by public auction or private contract And after payment of all principal and interest which may then be due on the said mortgage together with the expenses of such sale to retain or pay to themselves all claims of money which they or either of them may have advanced or paid during my lifetime or the lifetime of my said wife for interest on the hereinbefore mentioned mortgage and to retain or pay and divide the net surplus between all my children who shall be living at the decease of my said wife in equal shares I appoint my said wife and my said sons John Haley Gibbs and George Gibbs to be Executrix and Executors of this my Will In Witness whereof I have hereunder set my hand the fourth day of June one thousand eight hundred and seventy seven

Richard Gibbs [signature]
Signed by the said Richard Gibbs the Testator as and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us present at the same time who at his request in his presence and in the presence of each other have subscribed our names as witnesses Henry Small. [signature] Solicitor. Buckingham. F.P. Bonner. [signature] Clerk to Mr. Small.

Proved at London 16th September 1878 by the oaths of Ann Gibbs, Widow the Relict and John Haley Gibbs and George Gibbs the Sons the Executors to whom adm(inistrati)on was granted.
ON the 16th day of September 1878 the Will of Richard Gibbs late of  Winslow in the County of Buckingham, deceased, who died on the 30th  day of August 1878 at Winslow aforesaid was proved in the Principal Registry of the Probate Division of the High Court of Justice, by the Oaths of Ann Gibbs of Winslow aforesaid, Widow the Relict and John Haley Gibbs of Upper Richmond Road in the Parish of Putney in the County of Surrey Builder and George Gibbs of Winslow aforesaid Builder the Sons the Executors named in the said Will, they having been first sworn duly to administer.
Under £100. No Leaseholds.

Notes

Richard Gibbs was aged 68 when he died.  He was born 16 Nov 1809, son of Matthew and Mary Gibbs. Matthew died in 1845 aged 78.  He may be the Matthew son of Richard and Hannah Gibbs who was baptised in 1772, if 78 is a mistake for 73.  Matthew Gibbs married Mary Heley at Hillingdon in 1796.

In the 1841 Census Richard is recorded as a bricklayer living next door to his father in the High Street with his wife Ann (nee Munday, from Great Horwood) and 3 children.  They later lived at 87 High Street, which was put up for sale immediately after Richard’s death (see below). Their daughter Mary Ann had an Anglican baptism in 1833 but Richard became a Baptist and had an adult baptism in 1835. He was buried at Keach's Meeting House.

The children of Richard and Ann were:

• Mary Ann b.c.1833, m. Emanuel Clarke of Adstock, farmer, in 1857
• Richard b.c.1835; bricklayer in Wandsworth from c.1866
• John Heley b.1838. Heley seems to be the original form of his name but it is written as Haley in the copies of the will and probate, and he signed himself John Haley Gibbs in the 1921 Census. He moved to Wandsworth in the 1860s as a builder. His first wife Ann died in 1914, and he married Elizabeth Ann Saving in 1915; she was born in Winslow but had established herself as a dressmaker in London.
• William b.1841 m. Hannah Harding of Winslow in 1862
• Matthew b.1843
• Thomas b.1845; bricklayer in Wandsworth in 1871
• George b.1847 m. Emma Hewlett of Winslow in 1869
• Elizabeth b.1850; living with parents in 1871
• Hannah b.1853; living with parents in 1871
• Jabez b.1857; carpenter in Wandsworth by 1881

1878: Buckingham Advertiser, 19 Oct
HIGH STREET, WINSLOW.
A WELL-BUILT FREEHOLD HOUSE, with a most convenient Premises, standing in a good position in the most developing part of the town, and remarkably  well adapted for a business house, with Gateway Entrance and a capital Yard, Garden, Stabling, &c.,
TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION BY Mr. Geo. WIGLEY
On TUESDAY, October 29th, 1878, at the Bell Inn, Winslow, at Five o’clock in the afternoon, in one Lot, by direction of the Executors of the late Mr. Richard Gibbs.
  The Property comprises a capital Brick and Slated House, containing 4 Bedrooms, 2 Front Sitting Rooms, Kitchen, Scullery, &c., very convenient Court Yard, with gateway entrance, Brick and Tiled Stable, Chaise –house, Hovel, and a good Garden and Well of Water.
  It is Freehold and is particularly well adapted to any one requiring a business house with compact premises, being situate in the leading thoroughfare.
For a view apply to Mrs. Gibbs, and for further particulars to Henry Small, Esq., Solicitor, Buckingham.