Will of John Lawsdall of Thurlby 1545

Date: 1545 to 1545
Location: Thurlby, Lincolnshire, England
Surnames/tags: Lawsdall Eldred

Contents 1 Introductory Notes 2 Transcription Conventions 3 Persons Mentioned 4 Will 5 Probate 6 Footnotes

Introductory Notes

The will of John Lawsdall of Thurlby, near Bourne, Lincolnshire, England was written on 19 September 1545 and proved in the Consistory Court of Lincoln on 23 October 1545.^[1]

The will is a register copy, written in English over one and a half pages. The text is generally clear and easy to interpret; with only one instance of overwriting where the underlying word is illegible. Some of the language is archaic, as expected for a will of this era. The paper/parchment is in good condition. The will starts on folio 22 recto and the probate statement ends at the bottom of folio 22 verso.

Transcription Conventions

The conventions used in this transcription are:

• spelling, punctuation, line breaks and capitalisation are recorded as in the document, with the following exceptions to aid readability:
  • capital I is silently modernised to I or J as appropriate (eg "Joan", rather than "Ioan")
  • ff at the start of a word is silently modernised to F (eg "First", rather than "ffirst")
  • additional paragraph breaks may be included to increase readability of large amounts of text
• superscript letters are silently lowered, except where these relate to money (eg ^{li s d}), dates (eg ^th) or titles (eg M^rs)
• abbreviations/breviographs are expanded with the additional letter(s) in square brackets, except symbols for money (li s d) and the ampersand (&)
• the letter thorn is recorded as "th" in square brackets (eg "[th]e", rather than "ye")
• short series of missing/illegible letters are recorded with a period for each letter thought to be missing/illegible in square brackets; longer gaps are described with an editorial note
• editorial notes are italicised and in square brackets
• names and relationships are highlighted in bold
• footnotes are used to clarify archaic terms, difficult text and discrepancies
• u/v and i/j are recorded as they appear; even where modern usage would dictate one over the other (eg "haue", rather than "have" if the third letter is clearly a "u"; "vnto", rather than "unto" if the first letter is clearly a "v")
• where a series of letters consisting of minims contains an "i", the tittle is placed over the logical place where the "i" would occur, irrespective of where it appears, since it was often a scribal convenience to place it only over the terminal minim (eg "saving" rather than "savnig")
• the virgule, signifying a pause (comma, semi-colon, colon or full-stop), is recorded using a forward slash /, but only when such intent is obvious (the virgule is often indistinguishable from various check marks and otiose flourishes that are of no significance)

Persons Mentioned

The will mentions the persons below. Modern/alternative spellings for names have been included where appropriate, to help ensure this page is listed in relevant web searches.

• john lawsdall[e] of [th]e p[ar]yche off thurlbey: John Lawsdall of Thurlby, testator
• S[ir] James fyschare: James Fisher, priest
• Agnes Eldred my doughter: Agnes Eldred, daughter, and wife of Thomas Eldred, executor
• Thomas Eldred: Thomas Eldred, husband of Agnes
• nycholes Eldred: Nicholas Eldred, son of Thomas Eldred, executor
• Symon Eldred: Simon Eldred, son of Thomas Eldred
• Robert Eldred: Robert Eldred, son of Thomas Eldred
• S[ir] Edwarde baker: Edward Baker, witness

Will

[folio 22 recto]

In dei no[m]i[n]e Amen the xix day off September
the yere off oure lorde god m^t ccccc & xlv I john
lawsdall[e] of [th]e p[ar]yche off thurlbey^[2] hoylle off mynde
and good remembrance heyre make my laste
wyll[e] and testament after thys ^Forme man[er] heyre Follo
wying. Fyrst I bequethe my soulle to almyghtye
god and to hys blessyd mother sancte mary &
to all the holly company off hevyn and my body
to be buryed in [th]e p[ar]yshe churche off sancte firmin
in [tha]t towne aforesayd: Also to the I bequeth to [th]e
hye ault[er] vj^d. Also to the mother churche off lyncoln
ij^d. Also to the bells iiij^d. Also to the co[m]mon lyghte
viij^d. Also vj ladys off scowne^[3] to mendyng off hyr
ways. Also I wyll[e] that eu[er]y god chylde that I haue
vnder xx^to yere olde to haue a grotte^[4] a peyce. Also
I will haue iiij tretalls^[5] to be dunne for me
in thurlbe churche w[i]t[h] one honest p[re]yste. Also I
wyll that my executors do doylle^[6] in the towne
off thurlbe to poore folke where moste neyde ys
v^s: Also I wyll[e] that my executors do dyspose in

[folio 22 verso]

In [th]e towne off baston^[7] to poore folke where moste neyde
ys iij^s iiij^d: Also I wyll[e] that [th]e sepulcare gylde off
wythame^[8] to haue vij^d: Also I wyll[e] that S[ir] James
fyschare to haue iiij^d: to say messe and dyryge:
The resydew off my goods nott bequethed I ^{[illegible word]} bequethe
to Agnes Eldred my doughter the wyffe off thomas
Eldred whome I make my full[e] executryce and
nycholes Eldred [th]e son off thomas Eldred he to be
execut^oryce w[i]t[h] hyr and he to haue for hys labor
xx^s and also my executers to dyspose off my
buryynge day the vij daye and [th]e xxx^ti daye
as they shall[e] thynke ytt best for my soulle &
all[e] chrysten soulls: Also my doughter to haue all[e]
my detts and to paye my detts and my legacs
Also I wyll that Symon Eldred the son off
thomas Eldred to haue the howse that John
maryll[e] dwells in to hym and to hys Aeyrys^[9]
lawfully begotten: and for lacke off ysswe I wyll[e]
that Rob[er]t Eldred ^[th]e son off thomas Eldred to haue
the sayd house to hym and hys Aeyres lawfully
begotten and so for lacke off ysswe to remayn
frome one to brother to A nother: Also I wyll[e]
that whoo so eu[er] haue [th]e sayd howse shall[e]
eu[er]y yere be bestowe xij^d: for my soulle and
all[e] chrysten soulls that ys to say fyrst to
[th]e p[re]este iiij^d for dyryge and messe and vj^d
to poore folke and the cheyffe rentte to [th]e vyc[er]
the wyche ys ob^[10] to be payde off mydsom[m]er day
wytnes theroff S[ir] Edwarde baker thomas Eldred
w[i]t[h] o[ther] moo:

Probate

[folio 22 verso continued; translated from Latin]

The aforesaid testatment was proved before Master William Stafforde, Dean of the Deanery of Stamford the 23rd day of October in the year of Our Lord one thousand five hundred and forty five.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Consistory Court of Lincoln, "Registered wills vol. 12, 1545-1546", fol. 22 recto, will of John LAWSDALL of Thurlby, proved 23 October 1545; images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ : accessed 31 December 2022) DGS no. 8228301, image 38 of 337 (can be viewed at Family History Centres and Affiliate Libraries); Lincolnshire Archives. Transcript.
2. ↑ Thurlby (near Bourne), Lincolnshire
3. ↑ ladies of scorn
4. ↑ groat, four pence
5. ↑ mass for the dead on the thirtieth day after death or burial
6. ↑ dole, ie distribute
7. ↑ Baston, Lincolnshire, about 3 miles from Thurlby
8. ↑ Witham, Lincolnshire, about 3 miles from Thurlby
9. ↑ heirs
10. ↑ halfpenny