Searching for a Will

[jorghes]

I can't seem to find a will which apparently exists... so I ask the denizons of LC.

My ancestor is Robert Reynoldson, presumably born around 1715 most likely in Addlethorpe, Lincolnshire (although no baptism record has been found as of yet), died around 1759 also most likely in Lincolnshire.

Someone has found his will once before, as there is a "typed" version of it circulating Ancestry.

It apparently was dated 5 Aug 1759 and proved in Oct 1760. All the names on that will match up with other records - baptisms and the like, so the "Typed" version is a match for Robert Reynoldson.

I have searched the lists on Ancestry and the National Archives, and no "Robert Reynoldson" appears on either from a search.

Are there any other places I could search for this will?

 

[Pauline]

This will was proved in the Lincoln Consistory Court, and there are pdf indexes to these on the Lincolnshire Archives site.

As far as I know, LCC wills are not available online though at least some can be viewed via FamilySearch at a Family History Centre - you would need to check their catalogue for what's available.

Otherwise you would need to contact Lincolnshire Archives about obtaining a copy

 

[Pauline]

died around 1759 also most likely in Lincolnshire.

His burial can be seen at FMP, or if you don’t have a subscription there, you can browse Addlethorpe registers for free at the LincstothePast website.

 

[Helen7]

This will was proved in the Lincolnshire Consistory Court, and there are pdf indexes to these on the Lincolnshire Archives site.

Yes, I found a reference to this will (Reynoldson, Robert, grasier, Addlethorpe, 1760) in the LCC index and it seems you can order a digital copy of the will by e-mail from Lincolnshire Archives.

 

[Pauline]

Reynoldson is not a particularly common name in Lincolnshire but there was a Thomas Reynoldson who was vicar of Mumby in the late 17th century. He died (and left a will proved LCC) in 1701. Mumby is not very far from Addlethorpe, so could there be a connection?

 

[jorghes]

His burial can be seen at FMP, or if you don’t have a subscription there, you can browse Addlethorpe registers for free at the LincstothePast website.

I do have a subscription on FMP (was using it to search for his baptism record, fruitlessly), so I have now located his burial register, thanks.

Yes, I found a reference to this will (Reynoldson, Robert, grasier, Addlethorpe, 1760) in the LCC index and it seems you can order a digital copy of the will by e-mail from Lincolnshire Archives.

Ooh, thank you - will investigate how to order it.

Reynoldson is not a particularly common name in Lincolnshire but there was a Thomas Reynoldson who was vicar of Mumby in the late 17th century. He died (and left a will proved LCC) in 1701. Mumby is not very far from Addlethorpe, so could there be a connection?

I have no idea. I have never been able to find his baptism entry, so I don't know the name of his parents.
I discovered yesterday from a cousin that there is a family story running around of a royal connection - one of Robert's ancestors possibly being an illegitimate son of Charles II (perhaps his father?)- and this infamous will mentions some kind of plate (which unfortunately has since been both destroyed and then lost by my cousin's branch of the family) which could have been a link to said parents or something else, who knows. The story apparently is told in more than one branch of the family, but hasn't as far as I know, filtered to my branch as I had never heard it before.

I'm skeptical of the royal connection idea, but I'll have a look and see if there's a link between Robert and Thomas.

The name not being all that common makes it easier to locate people, so that's a good thing. Part of the story is that the surname was "made up" by the missing royal ancestor for their child, but who knows!

 

[Helen7]

Ooh, thank you - will investigate how to order it.

There is a page of detailed instructions on how to order from Lincs Archives. Hope you find your royal connection (!) - or perhaps the connection to Rev Thomas anyway.

 

[jorghes]

There is a page of detailed instructions on how to order from Lincs Archives. Hope you find your royal connection (!) - or perhaps the connection to Rev Thomas anyway.

Yup, I will print out the form and have a try.

Was searching through the archives, seems that there were some Reynoldsons in Pinchbeck, Lincs as they have a 1550 inventory for a Robert Reynoldson, perhaps thats my ancestors!

 

[Pauline]

I have never been able to find his baptism entry

From this sort of era, and for a number of reasons (non-conformism, missing or incomplete registers etc) there may not be a baptism record to be found. Even if you do find one, it isn't always very easy to tell if it's the right one.

You say that Robert was born around 1715 but is that a guess based on the date he married, or do you have some indication of his age? Looking at the marriages of my ancestors, the youngest groom was only 16 and the oldest 60, so a marriage date is not necessarily a very good indicator of when a man was born.

I mention this because Thomas Reynoldson, vicar of Mumby (from 1684), had a son Robert baptised 1687 in Mumby. It is somewhat on the early side but not impossibly so. The entry is at FMP but the surname has been mistranscribed as Reynolds. (I have submitted a correction.)

 

[jorghes]

From this sort of era, and for a number of reasons (non-conformism, missing or incomplete registers etc) there may not be a baptism record to be found. Even if you do find one, it isn't always very easy to tell if it's the right one.

You say that Robert was born around 1715 but is that a guess based on the date he married, or do you have some indication of his age? Looking at the marriages of my ancestors, the youngest groom was only 16 and the oldest 60, so a marriage date is not necessarily a very good indicator of when a man was born.

I mention this because Thomas Reynoldson, vicar of Mumby (from 1684), had a son Robert baptised 1687 in Mumby. It is somewhat on the early side but not impossibly so. The entry is at FMP but the surname has been mistranscribed as Reynolds. (I have submitted a correction.)

His marriage entry is something that has been found - he married Susanna Bransby in Addlethorpe on 15th May 1740 and had at least 11 children with her between 1741 and 1758 (according to baptism records) - at least 5 of those died in infancy.

Yes, 1715 is a bit of a guesstimate as that would put him in the range of about 25 when he got married. It was Susanna's second marriage, her baptism record puts her birth year in about 1713. Even with a loose birth date, I can't find a possible Robert Reynold/son that seems correct.

But you are completely correct - one of my 3x great grandfathers married at 16 to an older woman (she was in her 20s) and over his two wives, had 15 children, the eldest born in 1874 and the youngest in 1914. I was a little surprised when I realised, but I have his birth entry, death entry and marriage entries, as well as the entries for almost all of his 15 children, including the one born when he was 56.

- note: the three Robert Reynoldsons on the list when you search without an approximate birthdate are born in 1744 (my ancestor and Robert I's son) and 1776 & 1793 - 1776 is Robert II's son, and 1793 is grandson to Robert I and nephew to Robert II. There's also a fourth in the family (Robert Reynoldson), born in 1810, who is Robert II's second son with the same name (to a different wife).

 

[Pauline]

the Lincolnshire Consistory Court

Have just noticed this error (too late to edit) - it should of course be Lincoln Consistory Court.

 

[Pauline]

the three Robert Reynoldsons on the list when you search

The 1687 Robert is not yet showing up in the search, and it may take a while for the transcription of his surname to be corrected.

I did notice that Reynoldson not only comes in a variety of spellings, but is not infrequently mistranscribed, so there may be other Roberts out there not showing up in a search.

It also occurred to me that if Robert's will does mention "some kind of plate" (from your post #6 above), then it would quite possibly be mentioned in any earlier Reynoldson wills. So if the will of the Mumby Thomas Reynoldson (see my post #5 above) refers to the plate then you would know that was an ancestor/relative of your Robert.

 

[jorghes]

The 1687 Robert is not yet showing up in the search, and it may take a while for the transcription of his surname to be corrected.

I did notice that Reynoldson not only comes in a variety of spellings, but is not infrequently mistranscribed, so there may be other Roberts out there not showing up in a search.

It also occurred to me that if Robert's will does mention "some kind of plate" (from your post #6 above), then it would quite possibly be mentioned in any earlier Reynoldson wills. So if the will of the Mumby Thomas Reynoldson (see my post #5 above) refers to the plate then you would know that was an ancestor/relative of your Robert.

Very true indeed - I will have to check both Robert's will from 1760 and Thomas's so that I can see if both mention the plate.
The copy of Robert's will mentions the plate as follows (according to the "typed version"): 'All rest of personal estate, plate, household goods and furniture, and all stock, cattle, goods and chattels...' which if it is correct, suggests that the plate is quite important and to be honest, it seems a curious way to talk about your worldly possessions - mentioning the plate first.

I'll widen my search to see what I can find for those that have alternative spelling and could be mis-transcribed.

 

[Pauline]

All rest of personal estate, plate, household goods and furniture

I think this may be fairly standard "catch-all" wording, and that "plate" does not refer to a single item but to either all his tableware or possibly all his gold/silverware.