William Ricketts (1672 - bef. 1735)

Born 1672 in Ridgeland, Westmorland, Cornwall, Jamaica

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Anne (Walton) Ricketts — married about 1682 in Maryland [uncertain]

Descendants

Died before 8 Dec 1735 before age 63 in New York, New York

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This profile is part of the Ricketts Name Study.

Biography

William RICKETTS. Born in Ridgeland, Westmorland, Cornwall, Jamaica. died in NYC between 1734, when he dated his will, and before 8 Dec 1735, when his will was proved.(1)^[1]

This abstract is on pages 188 and 189. It refers to Liber 12, page 410, probably Book 12 of the original documents. The abstract now follows:

Page 410.--In the name of God, Amen. I, WILLIAM RICKETTS, late of the Island of Jamaica, but now of New York, Gent., being in good health. I leave to my wife Mary £500, and two negro slaves, if my estate in the Island of Jamaica be in a flourishing condition, and not otherwise." I leave to my wife Mary, / of my dwelling house where I now dwell; and / the garden and horse stables; and / the plate and furniture, "if she doth continue my widow, but not otherwise. I leave to my daughter, Mary Walton Ricketts, £800, and the house where I now dwell, with the outhouse and gardens, after my wife's decease, and four negro slaves, and an out set in furniture to the value of £100 Stirling, when married; "Also 50 hogsheads of good Muscovado sugar, when my son William shall enjoy my estate in Jamaica, on condition that my said estate be then deemed to be worth £8,000, Jammaica money." If my daughter marries without the consent of her mother, she is to forfeit all but her first legacy. I leave to my daughter, Elizabeth Ricketts, £1,000, and an out set in furniture to the value of £100 when 18 or married, and 3 negro slaves; Also all my farm on Staten Island with stock, etc.; Also the same amount of sugar, with same conditions as above. I leave to the children of my daughter, Violetta Hicks, 50 hogsheads of sugar. I leave to my mother, Mary Ricketts, a suit of mourning and a ring, and the same to my brother George Ricketts, and the same to my son-in-law and daughter, Hicks. I leave to my nephew, Jacob Johnson, a negro boy, when he is 20 years of age. I leave to my severall God children, a ring and silver spoon. I leave to my brother and sister, Walton, and to each of their sons, a mourning ring. I leave to Rev. William Vesey, Richard Charlton, Edward Vaughn, James Orem, and William Harrison, Ministers of the Gospel, each a ring, a hat band, and a pair of gloves. To Thomas Walton, a silver hilted sword. "My wife is to give as many pair of gloves and mourning rings among my friends as she shall see cause." To my cousin, George Goodin, and to Daniel Turnure, each a ring. I give to my bearers, a ring, hat band, scarf, and gloves. To the poor communicants of Trinity Church, £3 to be paid by my executors, "the same day that I shall depart this life, every year, during the minority of my son William." I leave to my son, William Ricketts, all the rest of my estate, real and personal, in New York or Jamaica, but he is not to sell the estate in Jamaica, but transmit it to his children. Mentions my nephew, William Range Ricketts. I make my wife Mary, and William Walton, Sr., executors, and in case of the death of William Walton, my son-in-law Edward Hicks, or Jacob Walton. George Goodinis to be executor for the estate in Jamaica.

Dated --, 1734. Witnesses, Johanes Burger, William White, John Kelly. Proved, December 8, 1735.

[NOTE. -- The homestead of William Ricketts (a wealthy man of his time) was a lot 50 feet wide, on the north east corner of Nassau and John streets. He also owned a house and a lot on the south side of Pearl street, about 50 feet east of Fulton street. --- W.S.P.]

Research Notes

There is a lot of mixup or downright speculation about the parents and the actual line. Some list William Blakeston as the father of Thomas Anthony Sr., and others list William Ricketts and Mary Goodwin as the parents. However in his will he names relatives that make it fairly certain he was a son of William and Mary.

Many say he had a middle name of Blakestone, although there's no documentation and middle names were uncommon in the mid 1600s.

original birth of 1640 is and estimated twenty years before marriage

• Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s

Name: William Ricketts Arrival year: 1686 Arrival Place: Barbados or Jamaica Primary Immigrant: Ricketts, William Source Publication Code: 1217.4 Source Bibliography: COLDHAM, PETER WILSON. Bonded Passengers to America. 9 vols. in 3. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983. Vol. 4. Home Counties, 1655-1775: Surrey, Hertfordshire, Kent, Essex, and Sussex. 231p. Household Members: Name Relation William Ricketts

Sources

1. ↑ Will: "New York, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1659-1999"
   Record of Wills, 1665-1916; Index to Wills, 1662-1923 (New York County); Author: New York. Surrogate's Court (New York County); Probate Place: New York, New York
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry au Record 8800 #2990379 (accessed 5 October 2023)
   William Ricketts probate in 1734 in New York, New York, USA. Residence Island of Jamaica, New York.

• An abstract of his will is to be found in "Abstracts of Wills on file in the Surrogate's Office, City of New York (Volume III. 1730-1744) by New York (County) Surrogate's Court". This was published in Volume XXVII of the New York Historical Society Fund in 1885.