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Will of Abraham Holditch, Merchant of Totnes, Devon

Proved 8 June 1667

© Crown Copyright

National Archives Catalogue Reference: PROB/11/324

Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Carr Quire Numbers: 59 - 116

Transcribed by Cindy Smith.

Copied by permission from her Holdridge Family Website.


In the Name of God Amen I Abraham Holditch of Totnes in the city of Devon, merchant, being infirm in body but of sound and perfect memory thanks be to Almighty God and calling to remembrance the uncertain state of this transitory life and that all flesh must yield unto death when it shall please God to call do make constitute ordain and declare this to be my last will and testament in manner and form following, revoking and annulling all wills previously all and every testament and testaments will and wills heretofore by me made or written by word or in writing and this only to be taken for my last will and testament and none other, and first, (being penitent and sorry from the bottom of my heart for my sins past) I give will and bequeath my soul unto almighty God my savior and redeemer in whom and by the merits of Jesus Christ I trust and believe assuredly to be saved and to have full admission and forgiveness of all my sins and that my soul with my body at the personal day of resurrection shall rise again with joy and through the merits of Christ oath and passion possess and inherit the kingdom prepared for his _____ and ______. And my body to Christian buriall to be decently interred.

And for the following of my temporal estate and such goods lands chattels and debts as it hath please God to bestow upon me I do order give dispose of and bequeath the same in manner and form following. That is to say ffirst I will and do order that all the debts that I owe justly to any person or persons whatsoever shall be well and fairly counted satisfied and payed in some convenient time after my death and for the doing thereof my will is that my manor of Broadmayne in the county of Dorset after my decease shall be sold at the best rate it may go by my loving brother Master Jacob Holditch my kinsman Master Richard Opie and Mr. William Hooper of Exon Lynnen Draper or any two of them or by the survivor or survivors of them I do constitute and hereby empower to ______ bargain and sell the said manor of Broadmayne with all the appurtenances to the same belonging by such deeds or conveyances as ______ shall devise possess of the same said or aforesaid shall be good to all intents purposes and constan_____ in the law whatsoever and if my sos____ had sold and conveyed the funds and if any money shall be left remaining out of the sale of this said manor after my debts are paid my will is and I do convey order give and bequeath the yearly profits thereof or interest of the same to my most deare and loving wife Elizabeth Holditch which yearly profits or interest thereof I do hereby _____ bequeath and impower the said Jacob Holditch Richard Opie and William Hooper or any of them to secure and pay to her by quarterly payments immediately from and after the sale of the said manor during her natural lifeAnd my will further is that from my death and until the sale of the said manor aforesaid my said wife shall have and enjoy the rents profits and _____ of the said manor And my further will and meaning is that said moneys as shall be made of sale of the said manor after my said debts are paid and after my said wife's death shall rem____ who be my executor hereafter named to whom I give and bequeath the following my will is and I do hereby give full power and authority to them the said Jacob Holditch Richard Opie and William Hooper or any two of them the survivor and survivors of them to sell _____ bargain and dispose of the aforesaid all my houses, lands and tenements that I have in the ________ in the parish of Saint Buttolph Aldgate in the City of London or in any other parish or parishes in the said city, ___ at the ____ unto. And such moneys as shall be _____ thereof my will is that my said deare wife Elizabeth Holditch shall have the profits and interest immediately from and after the sale of the same houses lands and tenements to ___ and paid to her by quarterly payments as aforesaid by the said Jacob Holditch Richard Opie and William Hooper or any of them during situate the course of her natural life and from my decease while the same shall be sold as aforesaid my said wife to have and hold the rents tithes and profits thereof and from and following said wife's decease the principle money shall be made of the sale of the said houses lands and tenements shall go and be and I do hereby bequeath to my said brother Jacob Holditch for the ____ of his natural life and after his decease I give and bequeath all the said principle money to Philip Holditch son of my said brother Jacob and in case the said Jacob Holditch Richard Opie and William Hooper or any of them as aforesaid shall not sell and dispose of said houses lands and tenements in the behalf of my said wife then I do hereby give devise and bequeath the said houses lands and tenements and every part and parcel thereof after my said wife's death unto my said brother Jacob Holditch for the _____ of his natural life and after his decease to his son Philip Holditch and to him and his heirs and assigns forever. Also my will is that I do hereby order and as much as in my death impower the said Jacob Holditch Richard Opie and William Hooper or any two of them from and after my decease and during my said wife's life to sell make lease and grant estates in my manor of Gaston in Totnes aforesaid for any number of years Terminable on the deaths of one two or three persons provided that my estate or houses or my tenements of the said manor go forward at any and _____ _____ for those lives Determinable as aforesaid Either in possession or _____ And the _____ of the said manor of Gaston I give and bequeath unto my said wife during her life and such moneys as shall be made form time to time during my said wife's life for fines and ___ by them on the said manor of Gaston together with all other profits that may come grow arise or go out of the said manor my wife so that my said wife shall have the interest and profit throughout during her life to be served and paid to her by quarterly payments by the said Jacob Holditch Richard Opie and William Hooper or any of them as aforesaid And said moneys as shall be ___ made and ____ on the said manor of Gaston after my said wife's death I give devise and bequeath the same to my executor hereinafter named And after my said wife's death I give devise and bequeath all and singular the manor of Gaston with it's rights members and appurtenances unto my loving kinsman Mr. Phillip Holditch sonne of Mr. Walter Holditch my late brother _____ and to him and his heirs and assigns forever. Also I give devise and bequeath after my decease unto my said deare wife during her life all that tenement in Totnes aforesaid wherein and Nicholas Blackallow was liveth and the would and profits of the same And all my dwelling houses in Totness aforesaid wherever I now live likewise for her life. And my will is that my said wife shall have the use of and benefit of all the goods and implements of the household stuffs that now and shall be at the time of my death in my said dwelling house And after my said wife's death I give devise and bequeath my said dwelling house in Totnes aforesaid with all and singular the appurtenances belonging to my said brother Jacob Holditch and to him and his heirs and assigns forever and likewise the barns to the said dwelling house belonging or appertaining And also I give devise and bequeath to my said brother Jacob Holditch after my said wife's decease all the goods and implements of household stuffs that shall be in my said dwelling house in Totnes aforesaid at the time of my death except all such goods and household stuffs that I had by my cousin Richard Harvey and that came to me by my said wife All which goods wherever the same now is or hereafter shall be found I give devise and bequest unto my said wife together with all her rings Jewells ______ Choy___ needlework and other goods whatsoever that came to me or I had any right to by my said wife or from her former husband And the ___ and half of my plate to be _____ by her All which goods, rings jewells plate and other things shall be kept by my wife and be by her disposed of wording to her will and pleasure And if my said wife shall at any time within one year after my death leave th said dwelling house and all the goods and household stuffs therein (except all the goods, rings, and other things before enjoyed) unto my said brother Jacob Holditch and resigns all her right and interest therein unto him by good assign or conveyance. Then I do hereby order and appoint him the said Jacob Holditch to pay unto my said wife the summe of two hundred pounds for the same. Also I give and bequeath unto my cousin Phillip Beard [Board?] the summe of fifty pounds to be payed to him by my executor hereafter named within six years next after my decease allso my will is that my executors hereafter named doe pay within six months and after my death to Elizabeth Harvey my servant the summe of three ____ pounds that I owe her and in token of my love and kindness to her I doe hereby give devise and bequeath unto the said Elizabeth Harvey the sum of fourty pounds which her sister Edith Harvey oweth me. And I doe declare that my executor will do his best and _____ to _____ it for her. Allso I give and bequeath unto Mr. Francis Hinddon late minister of Totnes aforesaid five pounds to Mr. George Mortimer minister five pounds to the poor of Totnes five pounds to be disbursed amongst them within six months next after my decease at the discretion of my executor hereinafter named and for the _____ given to Mr. Abhiddon and Mr. Mortimer my will is that be paid to them by my executor within six months next after my death. Allso I give devise and bequeath unto everyone of my siaters and sisters in law and their children that shall be living at the time of my death twenty shillings to each and every of them to buy a ring to wear in remembrance of me And to all my servants that shall be ____ in the time of my death I give to each and every one of them the summe of fourty shillings which said several legacies of twenty shillings and fourty shillings likewise paid in some short time after my death. Allso I give devise and bequeath after my own and my said wife's death unto my said kinsman Richard Opie all my copyhold lands of inheritance which lie and are in the county of Norfolk and to him and to his heirs and assigns forever which lands I formerly surrendered lawfully to enable me to bequeath the same in and for my last will and testament. And it is my will that my said wife shall enjoy these copyhold lands during her life without any interruption or disturbance whatsoever. And I doe hereby declare is my will that if the said Manor of Broadmayne and the moneys that shall be payed on the manor of Gaston aforesaid by fines or otherwise and my debts and personal estate be not sufficient to satisfy my said debts and legacies then I do hereby order and devise that the remainder of my said gifts and legacies goe unpaid after my said wife's death shall and is hereby charged on my said dwelling house in Totness aforesaid and the said manor of Gaston that is to say two thirds of the said manor and one third thereof on the said dwelling house and that the said Jacob Holditch to whom I have given and bequeathed the said house and my cousin Phillip Holditch to whom I have bequeathed the said manor shall satisfy and pay the remainder of such debts and legacies _______ to the said possessions. And if the said Jacob Holditch shall refuse to pay after my said wife's death his parts of the remainder of the said debts and legacies if such be according to his possession aforesaid then my said brother Jacob Holditch shall loose the right and interest that he might ____ on _____ by this my will of and into my said dwelling house aforesaid. And the same not withstanding if this my will shall remain and be unto the said Phillip Holditch sonne of said Jacob Holditch whom ( upon the payment of such debts and legacies as I have had charged as aforesaid on the said house I give devise and bequeath the said house with the appurtenances to him the said Phillip Holditch and to him his heirs and assigns forever. And so likewise if my cousin Phillip Holditch sonne of Walter Holditch to whom I have given as aforesaid my manor of Gaston shall default after my wife's death to pay the parts and ______ of the remainder of any debts and legacies aforesaid then he shall likewise loose his right and clayme to the said manor of Gaston and shall have no benefit in that house but this said manor shall then goe and be and I doe hereby give devise and bequeath the same to the said Phillip Holditch sonne of my said brother Jacob Holditch and to him and his heirs and assigns forever __ Paying such ____ and _____ of the remainder of such debts and legacies as is hereby intended _______ on this said manor. And I doe hereby constitute and ____ and _____ ____ my said kinsman Richard Opie and the said William Hooper as overseers on this my last will and to see the same _____ performed according to the said intent and meaning thereof. And for their paynes that they may be at in and about the _____ of this my will performed I give to each of them the summe of four pounds to be payed by my executor within six months next after my decease. All the rest of my goods chattels debts and other things not herein nor herein given and bequeathed I give devise and bequeath unto my said brother Jacob Holditch whom I make and _______ to be whole and sole Executor of this my last will and testament in notice whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal and publish this to be my last will and testament the eighteenth day of March in the nyneteenth year of the reign of our most generous Lord King Charles the second Anno Domini 1666 Abraham Holditch sealed and published in the presence of John Goss [?] John Pope [?] Samuel Dobbs