Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records
(Hartford District),
Charles W. Manwaring,
Hartford, 1902,
Vol 1, p 51
George FENWICKE, Saybrook. The Will of George FENWICK is that of a historic personage, giving glimpses of an English gentleman's home & estate. Also, an intimation of a fact that tribute must be paid at the mouth of Connecticut River. (To the Saybrook Company?)
Inventory from File. Will, P. C., Vol. I, No. 9.
Invt. £941-15-00. Taken by Robert CHAPMAN, William PARKER & William WALER. Delivered in the General Courte at Hartford, 18th May 1660, by Mr. John CULLICK. Inventory as followeth:
Items. in Cattle at six Mile Island, taken 12 May 1660, by Thomas BULL & Robert LAY, with farme buildings, fences upon it, and Implements of husbandry belonging to it. £432-15-00
The land at Oyester river quarter, £30-00-00; the Land at black hall quarter, £60-00-00, £90-00-00
the land at pottapoge quarter with the meadow belonging unto it, £25-00-00
the land in the towne of Seabrook with all the housing and buildings thereupon, all the Orchard, and house lot belonging thereunto, £80-00-00
the hundred acres and the meaddow belonging to the thousand pound Lott, Corne field being about twentie acres, and one hundred acres of Land adjoyning, £60-00-00
the western acres at Seabrook, £60-00-00; one yoke of oxen in Mr. James FITCH his hands £14; in debts belonging unto the estate about one hundred pounds, several of them being uncertain, £70-00-00
besides the arrears in the several towns by yon the river for the fort, etc. £100-00-00
Total, £941-00-00
the mares and horses in the woods, the number and value of them unknown.
Debts oweing by the estate, about sixty pounds.
Note: all the Land at Seabrook, with the yoake of oxen, was appraysed by John CLARK, Senior, and William PRATT, with John LAY.
The Will of George FENWICK was extracted out of ye Regisrt of ye Court of Probate of Wills & grantinge Administrations:
The Councell which the Prophet gave to King Hezekiah upon ye Lords Message to him, that he should die and not live, is seasonable for all, it being as true of all others as of him, that they must dye & not live, the truth of which is not more certain than the time uncertain, whereof by mercy being sensible, though at present in good health, I make this my Last Will & Testament as followeth: First, if bequeath unto my dearly beloved wife Katharine all remainder of terme fro years that shall beeto come at ye time of my decease, in Worminghurst, with all ye Appurtenances to it belonging, in lieu of that part of her joynture in Morton, in ye County of Durham, which is yett in lease for about five or six years. Item. I give unto my saide wife two suites of Hangings, ye one Caesar, ye other of Diana, as also ye Greene imboydered bed and ye brocond Cloth bed lyned with Sarsnett, with Chairs & Stoles, & all belonging to them, with ye best bed quilt, blanketts, & two paire of holland sheetes for her owne bed, And two other beds, blanketts, foure pairs of Sheets, & other necessaries to them, for two servants' beds. Item. I give untomy said wife all ye plate & pewter that is marked with our Armes; Also ye blew Damaske Couch & Chairs, & all ye lining wee bought since marriage, and all ye pictures & such Books as shee will chuse; Also ye Coach horses. I mention not her Towells, or a bed of her owne working, or other things that are her owne which she brought with her. But if there be any question of them, I intend her them all, as alsoe the best looking glasse &another Lesse. Item. I give unto my most Naturall & dear Mother, Mrs Dorothy CLAVERING, ten pounds per Annum, to bee paid quarterly to her during her life by my Executrix. Item. I give unto my Brother Claudius & to ye heirs, males of his body, Lawfully begotten, after ye decease of my wife, All my Landes in Brenck bourne and nether ffarminton, in the county of Northumberland, with theire appurtenances. And if my said brother shall dye without an heire, male of his body, and leave daughters, then my will is that my heirs to whom ye reversion of ye said devised Lands shall come shall pay to ye said daughters, if two, each of them five hundred pounds; if three, four hundred pounds a piece; if above three, then to each one three hundred pounds apiece, the firs payment to beginne according as ye proprtion shall happen to bee paid yearly from the time that my heires shall enter upon & receive ye profitt of ye said Land. Item. I give unto my Nephew Thomas LEDGARD, & to ye heirs males of his body lawfully to be begotten, all my Lands in Thirston & Tillington, in the County of Nothrumberland, after ye decease of my wife; and if my said nephew shall dye without heirs, males, Then my will is, That my heirs shall pay to such daughters as hee shall leave, three hundred pounds by one hundred pounds per Annum, ye first payment to beginne from ye time that my heirs enter into and receive the profitts of ye said Land. Item. I give to my siste LEDGARD & my sister CULLICK each fifty pounds; to my brother LEDGARD & Brother CULLICK each Ten pounds; to my sister CULLICK's children One hundred pounds a peece; to my neece CLIFTON fifty pounds, And my neece BOOTFLOWER's boy fifty pounds. Item. I give to my Daughter Elizabeth ye suite of Landskipp hangings & to my Daughter Dorothy that of Susanna. The remainder of my household stuffe not devised I leave to be divided between them. Lastly, I make my daughter Elizabeth sole Executrix of this my last will & Testament, and doe give unto her ye remainder of all my personal estate & Chattells, my debts & Legacies paid, onely I give unto my daughter Dorothy one hundred pounds per Annum ofut of my Lease of ye lands in Sussex. Item. I give unto Ralph FENWICK, now Schollar of Christ Church in Oxford, Tenne pounds per Annum, to be paid quarterly for ye terms of Six years from ye date herof. Alsoe, I give to every Servant Twenty shillings for every year they have been in my service before ye day of my death. Lastly, whereas there are besides thsoe Lands in the North, which will descend to my daughter from myselfe, certain Lands in Sussex after a few years that discends unto them from their Uncle Edward APSLEY, Esquire, deceased, as also some houses in Hartshene, Land in Middlesex, & some Salt Marsh in Kent neare Epr church, after ye Lease expired, My advice unto them is, that by ye Councill of some Judicious & indifferent friends, ye Lands in ye North & South may be balanced and divisions equally made, so that if it may bee ye one may have ye Lands in ye North for her part & ye other those in ye south, And yt my daughter Elizabeth, being ye Elder Sister, may have her choice.
In witness heereto I have set my hand & Seale this second of ffebruary, One thousand Six hundred & fifty Six. G. FFENWICKE
And I purpose, if God give life, to adde a Codicill in remembrance of some friends which now I could not perfect. This I declare & publish to bee my last Will & Testament. Sealed the 8th day of March, 1656.
In presence of Robert LEEUES, Moses FFRYER.
I, George FFENWICKE, of Warminghurst, in ye County of Sussex, Esquire, doe make & appoint these prsents to be my true & proper Codicil to my Will & Testament, this Ninth day of March, One thousand six hundred & fifty six. And first of all I doe herby revoke and renounce fifty pounds ye ye years, given in my will to Dorothy my daughter out of ye Lands in Sussex during my terme in them, and also I revoke £500 of ye Legacy, one thousand pounds, which I give by my will to her my said daughter Dorothy, And I doe hereby give & bequeath the summe of five hundred pounds to Katharine FFENWICKE, my deare & loveing wife. I doe also hereby revoke and make voyd ye gift of wt ever sum or Summes of money are given formerly by my will to my siste CULLICK & her Children, or to all or any of them, and I doe give & bequeath to her my Said Sister and her Children all my Lands, Chattells, reall & personall, that are in New England, and my debts that are oweing thereunto mee, to be divided amongst them into soe many parts ast here are persons of them, & in such a manner as yt her Eldest sonne may have a double portion. And likewise that out of itt may bee had Five Hundred pounds which Idoe give to ye publique use of that Country of New England, if my loveing friend Mr. Edward HOPKINS think it fitt, And to be employed and used to that end as my said Loveing friend Mr. Edward HOPKINS Shall order and direct. Alsoe, I doe hereby give & bequeath to my Loveing friend Mr. Robert LEEUES ye summe of Twenty pounds to buy him Books. I doe also desire ye said Robert LEEUES to be Assistinge to my Executrix, And to take care of and helpe her in ye management of her estate in ye Countyes of Sussex, Middlesex & Kent. And I will that ye charges which he shall bee at therein be Allowed him by my Executrix, And alsoe Consideration for his paines. I alsoe give & bequeath to my Servant Moses FFRYER soe much as will make up the Legacye given him by my will Ten pounds, which I will to be employed by my Executrix to ye payment of his debts soe far as it will extend, and the remainder to be paid to himselfe if anyy bee. I give and bequeath to dame Eleanor SELBY, of Barwick, Tenne pounds. I doe alsoe hereby desire her my much honored goodfriend Eleanor SELBY of Barwicke to undertake ye care and education of my daughter Dorothy. I also desire my deare friend & ffather-in-law, Sr. Arthur HASLERIGGE, to accept ye meane rememberance of forty shillings to buy a ringe, which I doe hereby will & bequeath unto him. And likewise forty shillings a peice to every one of his Children for the like purpose.
I desire my very good friends, my Cosen Lawrence & his wife, And my Cosen Strickland & his Lady, to accept as the remembrance of an affectionate friend, of ye sum of forty shilligs a piece to buy them rings, which I doe hereby give & bequeath unto them. I also give & bequeath to my Ancient Acquaintance & dearly beloved friend Sr Thomas WIDDRINGTON the sum of five pounds which I desire him to accept to buy a ringe. I give also & bequeath to my deare & good friend Mr. Edward HOPKINS, late warden of ye ffleete, forty Shillings, to buy a ringe. I give & bequeath to my good friend Aaron GOURDON, Dr. of phisick, Ten pounds. I give & bequeath to my good friends Mr. Tempest MILNER, Alderman, of London, & to his kinsman Mr. Robert KEY, five pounds to buy what they please in remembrance of mee. I also give to my father-in-Law, Mr. CLAVERINGE, and to Thomas BURRELL, Brinkebarne, in ye County of Northumberland, forthy shillings a peice to buy them rings. And in witness of all this I have hereunto Set my hand & Seale & published & declared this to be my true & proper Codicil, to be annexed to my Will, ye day & yeare first before mentioned. Before Sealing I will that Six pounds per Annum bee paid to Tristram FFENWICKE during his life, forty Shillings by the yeare ot Mr. OGLE of Leith in Scotland, And Twenty Shillings a yeare to ye widdowe CLARK of Weldon, during their severall lives. G: FFENWICKE
In the presence of John STRAFORD, Ro: LEEUES, George LARGRIPE.
This was declared by George FFENWICKE, Esqr, to be his Act, Ture Intent & meaning, a Codicil added and annexed to ye within closed Will, to which we that set our hands to this as Witnesses did also set our hands witnessing his declaratio of that and publication of it And this hee added to itt.
In the presence of Ro: LEWES, John STRAFORD, George LARGRIPE.
This Will & Codicil annexed was proved at London the 27th day of April, in the yeare of our Lord 1657, before the Judges for Probate of Wills & grantinge Administration, lawfully authorized by the Oath of Elizabeth FFENWICKE, the daughter & Executrix named in ye Will of the sd. Decd, To whom Adscon ofall & singular the Goods, Chattles, & debts of ye sd. Decd was committed, she being first sworn by Commission well & truly to administer ye same.
This is a true Copie of ye originall Will & Codicil of ye sd. George FFENWICKE, Esqr., decd, which is truly & faithfully examined and collated, Pr me, Leonard BROWN, Notory Publique.
This is a true Coppy of the aforesd. attested Coppy, examined together with him whse name is hereunder written as Attest. Per me, Robert HOWARD, Notary Publique. Massachusetts Collonee, Novae Angle 10 mar 1658. Thomas WALKER.