Held at:

National Library of Wales

Reference:

BR/1641/183

Source:

Photocopy of original documents

Title:

Probate Collection; Will and documents for Watkin William, yeoman

Place name:

Craswall

Date:

1641

Description:

Documents:
1. Will dated 13 March 1640 .
Beneficiaries:
To daughter, Mary, one cow called Blanckwen.
To daughter, Constance, one cow called Hoywen.
To daughter Sibill, a cow called Bicca with her calf and a mare colt.
To grandchild, Margaret, one heifer called Blackie 'being now in calf'.
To son David, one bullock called Mavicke and a mare.
To son, John, 5 ewes 'if they live until May next'.  
To son, William, 5 other ewes 'if they live until May next'.
To Constance, Sibill and granddaughter Margaret, the rest of the sheep 'if they live until May next', to be divided equally between them.
To son, David, one cauldron, one bedstead, one bed, one bolster, one covering, 2 sheets, one drum cloth, all the boards and benches in the house 'except one table in my chamber wch I give to my daughter Marie'. David is also to have one of the biggest and one of the smallest pewter dishes. The rest of the pewter dishes and the sheets are to be divided amongst Sibill, Constance and Mary equally.
To granddaughter Margaret, one coffer and to son David one great coffer.
The rest of the unbequeathed household stuff to the 3 daughters to be equally divided.
To daughter Sibill, £3 and to Constance , £1.
To David and the 3 daughters, all the corn growing equally divided between.

Executor: son, David.

Marked by testator.

Witnesses: John Jenkins, John Lewis, Morgan Thomas, James Prichard, William Prichard and William Miles, clerk.

Date of probate: 31 March 1641 .

2. Inventory: dated 20 March 1640 ; value £38  6   8d .   Appraisers; John Jenkins, Phillipp John Thomas, Lewis Jenkin and Hugh Lord.

 

 

Observations:

This will is unusual in that the individual cattle have names but the horses don't perhaps this is an indication of their relative values to the farmer.
The documents include a bond with incomplete date .......1641 with bounden David Watkin of Craswall, yeoman and Thomas Rowland of [Michaelchurch] Esklie in a surety of £100..
His inventory is reproduced below with modern spelling.

                                    Inventory

 

 

   £

   s

   d

In primis his wearing apparel

 

    1

 

 

Item   four kine

 

    6

  13

    4

Item   one three year old heifer

 

    1

    6

    8

Item   one three year old bullock

 

    1

 

 

Item   one bay mare and a yearling colt

 

    2

  13

    4

Item   twenty sheep

 

    1

  10

 

Item   three bedsteads

 

 

  15

 

Item   three flock beds and 4 feather bolsters

 

    1

  13

    4

Item   ten pairs of sheets and one pillow.

 

    2

    2

 

Item   one blanket

 

 

    2

 

Item   two 'coversheets'

 

    1

 

 

Item   three drum cloths

 

 

  15

 

Item   two brass pans

 

    1

 

 

Item   one little brass pan

 

 

   2

 

Item   two brass pots and a brand iron

 

    1

    1

 

Item   one great kettle

 

 

  10

 

Item   one little kettle, one pair of links and
    pothooks

 

 


    1


    8

Item   five pewter dishes

 

 

  10

 

Item   three little panniers

 

 

    2

 

Item   one brass candlestick and two pewter
    candlesticks

 

 


    3

 

Item   two little saucers

 

 

    1

 

Item   two pewter salts

 

 

 

    6

Item   five coffers

 

 

  13

    4

Item   two trinds

 

 

    6

 

Item   three stands

 

 

    6

 

Item   one 'kellorne'

 

 

    1

    6

Item   one pail

 

 

    1

 

Item   one churn

 

 

    1

    6

Item   two broches and a pair of gobbards

 

 

    2

 

Item   one quarter of beef & two flitches of bacon
    in the house

 


*

 

 

Item   two table boards

 

 

    4

 

Item   one bench and a form

 

 

    1

 

Item   seven sawn boards

 

 

    3

    6

Item   two bags and one 'kipe'

 

 

    6

 

Item   one plough and a pair of harrows

 

 

  10

 

Item   one yoke, a tow and a pair of car bridles

 

 

    2

 

Item   of hard corn now growing ??? 2 acres

 

    1

 

 

Item   of barley in the house ??? 5 bushels

 

 

  15

 

Item   of oats ??? 5 bushels

 

 

  10

 

Item   of malt ??? 2 bushels

 

 

    5

 

Item   of hard corn unthreshed by estimation -
    6 bushels

 

 


  18

 

Item   12 cheeses

 

 

    8

 

Item   one axe and one bill

 

 

    1

 

Item   two mattocks

 

 

    1

 

Item   one hatchet, one shovel and spitter[spade]

 

 

    1

 

Item   one hog, two geese and a gander

 

 

    5

 

Item   for house lumber

 

 

    1

 

Debts owing by specialty
    from Thomas Jenkin

 


    4

 

 

Desperate Debts

 

 

 

 

From Joan David  Fifteen shillings

 

 

  15

 

From Harry Jenkin  Eight shillings

 

 

    8

 

 

 

£36

    7

   8d


                                    Summa Totalis  38li   6s   8d
The difference may be due to the fact that the value of the beef and bacon flitches could not be included in the list as they were hidden by a fold in the original document..

It is difficult to know who wrote out the inventory as none of the 4 appraisers could write their own name!

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