His Will states as follows:
“I, William Butler of the parishe of Heston in the county of Middlesex, yeoman beinge sicke state of body but of perfect memorie, blessed be God therefore, doe make and ordaine this my last Will and Testament in manner and forme following: In primis (firstly) I commend my soule into ye hands of Allmighty God my creator and Maker trustinge to be saved by the meritts of the death and passion of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ And I commend my body to the earth from whence it came and to be decently buried in the Churchyard of Heston.”
It appears from the Will that he only had one child, a daughter named Jane, who was under the age of twenty-one at the time of his death. He left her “ffive acres of arable Land lyinge and beinge in the parish of Wargrave in the Countie of Berks” when she came of age or married. Wargrave in Berkshire, near Reading is a village some 20 miles to the west of Heston, both settlements being close to the main road from London to Bath. It may suggest that the Butlers of Heston had some earlier family connection with Wargrave. Alternatively, it may have belonged originally to his wife. Under the legal doctrine known as ‘coverture’ then existing, control of land and other property effectively passed to her husband upon marriage.
William Butler, in his Will, left his house and other buildings situated on two acres of land at Heston to his wife, Elizabeth “duringe her naturall life” and “after her decease to (his) heir or heirs”. He appointed his wife as his Executrix but also called on his two brothers, George and Arthur to be overseers of his Will to assist his wife. In a further memorandum after making his Will he gave to his daughter, Jane “In the chamber over the hall, one iron bedstead, one featherbed, two feather boulsters, one………..Tapestrie……and three……… and two blainketts” (some of this was indecipherable). This points to the fact that whilst his house may have been quite substantial, his possessions were probably quite limited. The births of two Janes are recorded in 1646 and 1647.
Elizabeth may have been his second wife, perhaps explaining why his daughter Jane was born so late in his life. Earlier, in 1620, there had been a record of the baptism of a son named John to a William and Sarah Butler.
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