Will of William Short, baker, 1702 (proved 1703)

Herts RO 140AW19

In the name of God Amen I William Short of
Winslowe in the County of Bucks Baker being Infirme in Body but of sound and
perfect Minde and Memory All possible praise be given to God for the same but considering
the Certainty of death and the uncertain time thereof Doe make and Ordeyn this my Last
Will and Testament. First and Above All things I Comitt my selfe into the hands of
Allmighty God Hopeing through the Merritts of Jesus Christ My Savio(u)r & Reedeemer to be made
pertaker of Everlasting Life And my body I Com(m)itt to the Earth to be decently
Interred att the discretion of my Executor herein after named And as for such temporall
Estate as it hath pleased God to bestowe upon me I Give and dispose thereof as followeth
Impr(im)is I Bequeath All my Goods Chattells Household Stuffe and personall Estate
whatsoever and wheresoever unto Thomas Short my Brother Upon Trust to be
sold for the payment of my Debts and the Overplus thereof If any be to be deteyned by
the said Thomas Short dureing the life of Katherine Short my Mother for the
paym(en)t of three pounds Yearly unto the said Katherine which I am Obleidged by
Bond to pay and she is willing to accept \deducting First all such charges as the s(ai)d Thos Short shall expend in the performance of this Trust/ And whereas I have made a surrend(e)r of my
Coppyhold Tenem(en)t lyeing near the Church Yard in Winslowe unto my Brother Thomas
Short for the secureing the paym(en)t of Forty pounds for which the said Thomas Short
Stands Ingaged with me I doe therefore hereby release the said  pr(e)misses unto the said Thomas
Short and doe hereby declare that the same shall In defect of assets out of my p(er)sonall
Estate to pay my said Debts be Sold by the said Thomas Short and the Overplus thereof if any
shalbe paid over unto John Short my sonn But In case my said p(er)sonall Estate
shalbe sufficient to discharge my said debts then My Will and desire is that the said
Thomas Short and his heires shall surrender my said Tenem(en)t to my sonn John and
his heires And I doe hereby Constitute and appoint the said Thomas Short Full &
sole Executor of this my Last Will and Testam(en)t Revokeing all former Wills by me made
and declaring this only to be my Last Will and Testam(en)t Wittnesse my hand &
seale this sixth day of Aprill Anno D(omin)i 1702

William Short

sealed signed published and declared in the
p(re)sence of us who have hereunto subscribed o(u)r names   
as Wittnesses in the p(re)sence of the Testator

Thomas Blake
Nicho(la)s Merwin
John Markham

[Latin] 20 May 1703
Thomas Short brother & executor
sworn before Rev John Cole archdeacon
in presence of Edm(un)d Browne NP & registrar

Inventory of William Short the elder, baker, 1702/3

Herts RO A25/4541

An inventory of the Goods and Chattells of William Short the Eld(e)r late of Winslowe in the County of Bucks Baker Dec(ease)d made and Approved by Thomas Blake and Thomas Foster the sixteenth day of March Anno D(omi)ni 1702

£
s
d
In the Shopp
Impr(im)is One Hundred & Forty Nine pounds of Salt att
00
18
8
Two paire of Scales Weights and other Lumber att
00
11
9
Item One Counter in the New Shopp att
00
05
0
In the Dineing Roome
Two Tables One Chest of Drawers One Chest & a Nest of Boxes & Six Turkey workt Chaires att
02
01
0
Plate and Gold Rings att
04
16
4
Five Paire of Sheets Table Cloths and Napkins
01
07
6
One Pair of Brass Andirons Fire Shovell Trugs and other Lumber
00
13
8
In the Roome over the Dining Roome
One Feather Bedd Bedding and Beddstead and one Chest of Drawers
03
14
0
Andirons Chaires and Stooles
00
03
6
In the Garrett next the Streete
Two Beddsteads Two Bedds Bedding a Chest & 3 Chaires
02
07
0
In the kitchin
Tenn Pewter Platters One douzen of Plates & a Cheese Plate
01
01
0
One Copper Pott & a Porridge Pott
00
12
0
Two Tables Stooles Chaires Fire Shovell Trugs and other Lumber
01
19
0
One Hogg
02
00
0
In the Cellar
Butter Cheese Barrells Tubbs and other Lumber
02
07
3
In the Corne Chamber
Wheate and Beanes & a Bushell a Peck a Shovell and other Lumber att
08
12
9
In the Stable
One Horse att
02
00
0
One Loade of Wood & 8 Hundred of Faggotts
06
00
0
One Hogg and Trough
01
15
0
One Cart & Wheeles Plowe Hurdles & other Lumber
08
08
6
In the Feild
The Cropp upon the ground
22
10
0
In Parsonage Close
Two Timber Sticks and Two Whips for the Mill
02
10
0
In the Roome where He dyed
One Feather Bedd Bedding & Beddstead Chaires and other Lumber
03
04
0
His wearing Apparrell & Money in his Purse
04
00
0
Booke Debts Sperate and Desperate
65
07
3¾
 
-----------------
 
149
5
8¾

The total should be 2¾d not 8¾.

[signed]
Thomas Blake
Tho: Foster

[verso, Latin] Sum total of the inventory up to here Lxxxiij li xviij s v d

[English] Booke Debts Sperate and Desperate Lxv li vij s iij d

toto 149 05 8¾

[Latin] Inventory presented 20 May 1703 by the executor

Notes

William Short served as overseer (1687) and churchwarden (1690). He was buried on 16 March 1702/3: "William Short baker". His wife Margaret was buried on 18 Feb 1682/3. However, according to the 1692 court roll his wife and the mother of his son William was Frances, nee Willmott, so it seems that she must have died soon after William jr's birth (although her burial is not recorded at Winslow; see Bond of William Short, 1698) and that he married Margaret in 1680 or 1681. He then married Elizabeth Pown(d)all (3 Mar 1684/5; she was probably the daughter of the vicar John Pownall, b. 19 Oct 1654), and she was buried on 3 June 1700. Although they aren't mentioned in the will, he had several more children (see his purchase of 5 acres in 1698 and the arrangements he made in 1703 before his death):

Trugs: probably baskets for firewood

Sticks: tree-trunks cut for timber (OED, s.v. stick, n.1, 6)

Whips: a whip can mean the arm of a windmill (OED, s.v. whip, n., 14) but the OED's earliest example is from 1760. It is possible that William took over the windmill after the death of Robert Hobcraft the miller in 1681, but he clearly did not live on the premises.

Copyright 12 September, 2019