Will of Thomas Wilson of Shipton, dairyman, 1803 (proved 1804)

National Archives PROB 11/1416/274

In the name of God Amen I Thomas Wilson of Shipton in the Parish of Winslow in the County of Bucks Dairyman being in good health of body and of sound disposing mind memory and understanding (praised be God for the same) do make and publish this my last Will and Testament in manner following that is to say I give and bequeath unto my Godson Robert Wilson Son of my Brother Walter Wilson and to my God daughter Susannah Goff Daughter of my Sister Mary Goff and my Godson Thomas Wilson Son of William Wilson the Legacy or  Sum of Fifty pounds apiece and to my Godson Thomas Goff Son of my said Sister Mary Goff and Thomas Hopkins Son of my Sister Mary Hopkins the Legacy or  Sum of Twenty pounds apiece and which I direct to be paid unto them when they attain their several and respective ages of Twenty one years by my Executors hereinafter named out of my personal Estate also I give and bequeath unto Ezra Eagles of Ampthill in the County of Bedford Gentleman and William Wilson of Adderbury

[p.2] in the County of Oxford Grazier all and Singular my Goods Chattels ready Money Debts and Securities for Money Stock in my Farming and Dairying Business both alive and dead and all and Singular my personal Estate and Effects whatsoever and wheresoever and of what nature kind or denomination soever the same consists and which I shall be seized and possessed of to hold of the same unto the said Ezra Eagles and William Wilson their Executors and  adm(inistrat)ors upon the Trusts hereinafter mentioned concerning the same (that is to say) upon Trust that they the said Ezra Eagles and William Wilson and the Survivor of them and the Executors and adm(inistrat)ors of such Survivor do and shall as soon as conveniently may be after my decease sell and convert into Money all such part or parts of my said Estate as shall not consist of Money or Securities for Money by public Auction or private Contract and shall and do call receive and get in such part or parts thereof as consist of Money or Securities for Money and thereupon with all convenient speed then afterwards invest and place out at Interest the Monies arising by such Sale or Sales and to be called in  as last mentioned after paying of my just Debts Funeral Expences Costs and Charges of proving this my Will and other expences and the Legacies hereinbefore and hereinafter by me given and bequeathed upon Government or real Securities and shall and do yearly and every year pay or cause to be paid unto my Sister Sarah Eagles (who now resides with me) for and during the term of her natural life one annuity or clear yearly Sum of Twenty pounds and I direct the same to be paid her by equal half yearly payments on the two most usual Feasts or days of payment in the year that is to say the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Michael the Archangel in every year the first of the said half yearly payments to begin and be made on such of the said Feasts as shall first and next happen after my decease and upon further Trust to pay the residue of the Dividends Interest and produce arising from my said Monies so directed to be placed out as aforesaid unto my Daughter in Law Mary Wilson during the Minority of my Grandson Thomas Wilson (Son of my late Son Thomas Wilson deceased) to enable her to maintain Educate and bring him up but my mind and Will nevertheless is that in case my said Daughter Mary\Wilson/ shall at any time hereafter before my said Grandson shall attain his age of Twenty one years Marry again and not continue the Widow of my said late Son then my will and mind is and I do hereby direct my said Trustees and the Survivor of them . . . to apply the Interest Dividends and produce \as/ aforesaid to and for the use and benefit of my said Grandson in such manner and form as they in their discretion shall think most fit and proper and not to pay the same or any part thereof unto my said Daughter Mary Wilson or any after taken Husband  any thing hereinbefore contained to the Contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding and upon further Trust that they my said Trustees and the Survivor of them . . . do and shall as soon as my Grandson Thomas Wilson shall attain his age of Twenty one years call in the Trust Monies so directed to be placed out as aforesaid (except so much as shall be Sufficient to produce the clear sum of Twenty pounds a year which I direct to be kept out at Interest during the Term of her natural life of my said Sister Sarah Eagles) and pay and divide the same equally between my said Daughter in Law Mary Wilson and my said Grandson Thomas Wilson share and share \alike/ but subject to the proviso hereinafter mentioned that is to say provided always nevertheless that in case . . . Mary Wilson shall marry again before . . .Thomas Wilson shall attain his age of Twenty one years then I direct that the residue of my said Trust Monies so directed to be divided as last mentioned to be paid to . . . Thomas Wilson for his own absolute use and benefit and that she my said Daughter in Law shall have no part or share therein anything herein contained to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding and upon further Trust that they my said trustees . . . do and shall as soon as my said Sister in Law Sarah Eagles shall depart this life call in the Trust Monies hereinbefore directed to be placed out at Interest for such Trusts as aforesaid and pay and divide the same between my said Grandson Thomas Wilson and my said Daughter in Law Mary Wilson . . . but subject nevertheless to the proviso . . . in case my said Daughter in Law shall Marry again during the minority of my said Grandson and in case it shall happen that . . .

[p.3] Mary Wilson and . . . Thomas Wilson shall depart this life before he attains his age of Twenty one years then upon further Trust that they my . . . Trustees shall and do call in my Trust Monies and shall pay and divide the same unto and amongst all and every my nearest relations or next of kin in equal shares and proportions to whom only in such case I do hereby give and bequeath the same and I do hereby further will order and direct and declare that my . . . Trustees shall and may be at Liberty and I do hereby authorize \and empower them respectively  by and out of the Trusts Estate to deduct retain and reimburse/ himself and themselves all such Costs Charges and Expences as they or either of them shall be at pay sustain or be put unto in the Execution of this my Will or the Trusts thereof and that he or they or either of them shall not be accountable or answerable for any more Monies than what he or they shall actually receive nor for any involuntary Loss misapplication or nonapplication of the Monies but each only as shall happen through his or their wilful neglect or default and lastly I do hereby Nominate and Appoint the said Ezra Eagles and William Wilson my joint Executors and Trustees of this my last Will and Testament and I do hereby give and bequeath to them the sum of Ten pounds a piece as a small Compensation or mark of acknowledgement for the trouble they may have in and about the Execution of this my Will hereby revoking and making void all former and other Wills and Testaments by me at any time heretofore made I do declare this only to be my last Will and Testament In Witness whereof I the said Thomas Wilson the Testator have to this my last Will and Testament contained in four Sheets of paper affixed together at the Top with a Seal set my hand and Seal Videlicit [sic] to the first Three Sheets thereof my hand only and to this fourth and last \sheet/ thereof my hand and Seal this Twenty First day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred and three Tho. Wilson [signature] Signed sealed published and declared by the said Thomas Wilson the Testator as and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us who  have at his request in his presence and in the presence of each other Subscribed our Names as Witnesses to the same John Emery Kempston Hardwick Bedford Wm. King Winslow

This Will was proved at London the Twenty ninth day of October One thousand Eight hundred and Four before the Worshipful Samuel Pearce Parson Doctor at laws and Surrogate of the Right Honourable Sir William Wynne Knight also Doctor of Laws Master or Commissary of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury lawfully Constituted by the Oaths of Ezra Eagles and William Wilson the Executors named in the said Will to whom Administration was granted of all and Singular the Goods Chattels and Credits of the said deceased they having been first sworn duly to administer.

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Notes

Thomas Wilson was already a widower when he married Ann, daughter of Benjamin Ingram at Winslow in 1772. Her sister was Sarah Eagles, mentioned in the will. Ezra Eagles was her son. Thomas' son Thomas was probably from his first marriage, and is likely to be the Thomas Wilson buried at Winslow in 1797.

He was tenant of Shipton Farm by 1786 (also shown in the Land Tax for 1781, 1786 and 1795 as a tenant of the Selby-Lowndes estate with land in Winslow and Shipton). In 1781 he was also tenant of some land of Benjamin Ingram his brother-in-law. He bought a messuage and close of land in Shipton which were inherited by his grandson Thomas Wilson of Leighton Buzzard at the 1805 manor court.

Newcastle Courant, 9 Dec 1786
STOLEN or strayed out of a ground belonging to Mr Thomas Wilson, of Winslow, in the county of Bucks, on Thursday the 16th of October last, A DARK BROWN MARE, five years old next[?] grass[?], 13 hands and an half high, a dark brown muzzle, and a scar in the forehead, her mane hangs on the near side, fire-branded on both feet with T.W. and has a short cut tail.
Whoever will give information of the offender or offenders who stole the said Mare, so that he or they be brought to justice and convicted thereof, shall receive a reward of FIVE GUINEAS, but if strayed, any person who will bring her to Mr Wilson aforesaid, shall receive HALF-A-GUINEA and reasonable charges.

The following documents, summarised in the Bucks Archives catalogue, concern the administration of the will. William Wilson of Adderbury the executor apparently came to live on Thomas' farm for a time. He was probably the father of William Wilson (d.1829).

CBS, D-BAS/47/186a
Legacy discharge, 21 June 1822 of Ezra Eagles of Ampthill (Bedfordshire), gentleman and William Wilson of Adderbury (Oxfordshire), grazier, executors of Thomas Wilson of Shipton in the parish of Winslow, dairyman - legacy tax £1.5.0.

D-BAS/47/186b
Account of personal estate of Thomas Wilson of Shipton in Winslow, dairyman, 4 July 1805 between Ezra Eagles of Ampthill (Bedfordshire), gentleman and William Wilson late Adderbury (Oxfordshire), grazier, now of Shipton, grazier giving £48.15.0 to Susanna Goffe of King's Sutton (Northamptonshire), spinster; witness Thomas Rawbone; endorsed with receipt of 10 December 1805 of 10 shillings duty  

D-BAS/47/186c
Account of personal estate of Thomas Wilson of Shipton in Winslow, dairyman, 4 December 1805 between Ezra Eagles of Ampthill (Bedfordshire), gentleman and William Wilson late Adderbury (Oxfordshire), grazier, now of Shipton, grazier giving £20 to Thomas Goffe of King's Sutton (Northamptonshire), farmer; witness John Wilson; endorsed with receipt of 10 December 1805 of 10 shillings duty  

D-BAS/47/186d
Deed poll, 1 June 1822 by Mary Wilson and Thomas, her son; reciting will of Thomas Wilson of Shipton in Winslow, dairyman of 21 March 1803 bequeathing to Ezra Eagles of Ampthill (Bedfordshire), gentleman and William Wilson of Adderbury (Oxfordshire), grazier all his personal estate including his farming and dairying business, in trust for sale and conversion into cash, then for investment and payment of an annuity of £20 to the testator's sister-in-law Sarah Eagles and payment of the residue interest, dividends etc. each year to testator's daughter-in-law Mary Wilson during the minority of her son Thomas (son of testator's son Thomas) until age 21, then to call in the principal (except to much as maintained the £20 annuity) and divide it between Mary and Thomas Wilson, calling in the remainder on the death of Sarah Eagles and dividing it between Mary and Thomas; reciting death of Thomas Wilson senior and proof of his will in PCC in October 1804; reciting the personal estate of Thomas Wilson amounted to £1,062.12.11 of which £840 was lent to John Wilson of Adderbury and £180 was laid out in purchase of £306.7.8 stock in 3% consols and £46.5.2 remained with Ezra Eagles; reciting Thomas Wilson junior was then 21 and his mother remained a widow; reciting £440 was secured by bond of John Wilson and on 6 September 1817 and divided equally between Thomas and Mary Wilson and they had since received the produce of the 3% consols and the sum of £46.5.2 and that £400 remained due to them which was to be paid on the death of Sarah Eagles and Ezra Eagles with William Wilson, had applied to Thomas and Mary Wilson to give sufficient discharge for the sums of £440, £306.7.8 stock and £46.5.2; Thomas and Mary Wilson acknowledged payment by Ezra Eagles and William Wilson and acquitted them; witness Ezra Eagles junior  

D-BAS/47/186e
Receipt 11 April 1832 given by Sarah Cotching, wife of Robert Cotching of Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire) and widow of Thomas Wilson to Ezra Eagles on receipt of £9.3.4 from Ezra Eagles being interest paid by William Wilson on his bond for farming stock  

D-BAS/47/186f
Statement of interest, 8 October 1831 received from William Wilson on his bond of 12 June 1804 - £8.6.0 and £10.6.0 due to Ezra Eagles as executor of his mother and £9.3.4 to be shared between Sarah Cotching and her son Thomas Wilson  

D-BAS/47/186k
Legacy Duty form, 29 October 1831 on account of Thomas Wilson of Shipton in Winslow, yeoman: £44.4.6 cash in house; £130.14.7 cash from sale of household goods; £841.13.9 sale of husbandry implements and farming stock and £407.3.0 from further sale; £300 bonds etc with £6.5.0 interest; £3.10.0 book debts - total £1,733.10.10; £50.18.0 probate charges; £50.9.10 funeral expenses; £34.6.7 executorship expenses; £227.19.2 debts; £138.10.2 debts on bond; £160 pecuniary legacies an £180 used in purchase of £306.7.8 3% annuities - reside £891.7.1 plus £252.15.4 sale of 3% annuities - total £1,144.2.5 minus £400 retained as annuity to Mrs Eagles - total £744.2.5 divided equally between Thomas Wilson and Mary, his mother  

D-BAS/47/187
Deed poll, 8 October 1831 by Robert Cotching of Leighton Buzzard (Bedfordshire), grocer and Sarah, his wife; reciting will of Thomas Wilson of Shipton in Winslow, dairyman of 21 March 1803 bequeathing to Ezra Eagles of Ampthill (Bedfordshire), gentleman and William Wilson of Adderbury (Oxfordshire), grazier all his personal estate including his farming and dairying business, in trust for sale and conversion into cash, then for investment and payment of an annuity of £20 to the testator's sister-in-law Sarah Eagles and payment of the residue interest, dividends etc. each year to testator's daughter-in-law Mary Wilson during the minority of her son Thomas (son of testator's son Thomas) until age 21, then to call in the principal (except to much as maintained the £20 annuity) and divide it between Mary and Thomas Wilson, calling in the remainder on the death of Sarah Eagles and dividing it between Mary and Thomas; D-BAS/47/186d; reciting Thomas Wilson late of Leighton Buzzard, grocer, grandson of Thomas Wilson the testator and legatee in his will, by his own will of 23 January 1827 bequeathed all his personal estate to his wife Sarah subject to payment of £100 to his mother Mary on the death of his aunt Sarah Eagles, part of £200 to which he should become entitled by virtue of his grandfather, and appointing his wife executrix; reciting death of the testator and proof of his will on 2 August 1827 in peculiar court of Leighton Buzzard; reciting Sarah Wilson married Robert Cotching; reciting death of Sarah Eagles meaning Robert Cotching and Sarah, his wife were entitled to £200; reciting all interest due Robert and Sarah Cotching on the £200 had been paid by Ezra Eagles and William Wilson; witnessing Ezra Eagles and William Wilson paid £200 to Robert and Sarah Cotching, who quitclaimed to them; witness John Eagles of Ampthill, solicitor