In the Name of the most Glorious and undivided Trinity, God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, Amen.
I William Pulton, alias Poulton, Esquire, Heir Apparent of the Ancient and Honourable Family of the Pultons of Desburgh, or Desborough, in County of Northampton, being perfectly sound in Mind and Health in
Body, thanks to Almighty God, shall here declare my intentions and dispose of my Affects and affairs after
my Death as in the manner thereafter mentioned
I Give and Bequeath to my only Son Alfred Giles Pulton, or Poulton, after my Death, my Mortgage which I
have on the Lands and Farms of Johnson Atkinson Busfield Esqr and Elizabeth his Wife, situated in the
Parish of Bingley in the County of York; but I do order and appoint that my Daughter
Mary Catherine Pulton, alias
Quenet, his Sister and widow of Lewis Quenet, shall be entitled to and he shall pay her yearly
out of the Interest received on the said Mortgage Forty Pounds lawful Money of England during her natural
Life, by two equal half yearly payments as soon as he received the said Interest; if the Mortgage should be
called in and not paid off I then order and Devise that so much of the Money shall be deposited in such
security that she may receive Forty Pounds a year Interest from it during her natural Life
I Give and Bequeath to my said Son all my Plate, but will not have the arms altered on them; all my
Books, but I desire that not any of them may be parted with; also my Book of the account of the Pulton
Family, which I desire may be taken Great Care of and handed down to Posterity and always remain in the
hands of the eldest Heir
I Give him also the [???] of his Dear mother's monument
I Give him also my Painted Virtues with the
Drawing of the Juno[?]; my Regulator; the second[?] watch; the Gold Chain for a woman with four swebles[?] the Gold
Triangle Seal; and Gold Snuff Box; all my linnen (except sheets and table linnen which I Give to my
Daughter)
Thomas Tompion the father of English watchmaking. He made very accurate clocks that would be wound only once a year,
enabling accurate calculations for astonomers. He invented the first widely used balance spring regulator
and an escapement that allowed him to create flat watches.
see Wikipedia
I also Give and Bequeath to my said Son my Mahogany Chest upon Chest; my Bureau with all my Books
and Papers that shall be therein at my Death; my little Bureau Dressing Glass; my Red Moraine[?] Bed and Furniture in which his Dear Mother died; and my Spring Clock named Tompion; but I would have him Give to
his Sister his Small Mahogany Bureau, and if he should not do it, desire he would have a Spring Clock made
into the Spring Case I have and Give it to her
I also Give him my pieces of Green[?] Silk and likewise all my Draws of Instruments tools & I order that
all the Cloaths of my Dearest Dear Wife (if I should not dispose of them before my Death) also equally
divided between them
I also Give and Bequeath to my said Daughter Mary Catherine Pulton, alias Quenet, besides the before
mentioned interested part in the before mentioned mortgage, all my Household Furniture and China (except
what has been before excepted)
I likewise Give and Bequeath to my said Daughter two hundred pounds, or two East India Bonds of one
hundred pounds each with the Interest due on them if she thinks proper to let them lay at Interest &
believe it will be best
I also Give to my said Daughter (except I should have given it her before my Death) the Gold Chest[?]
Watch named John Monkhouse[?] and the womans Gold Chaine with four Spring Swebles[?]
if my Son should die
before his Sister and leave no lawful Issue I then order that his Sister shall possess as her own of the Mortgage money as the Interest will bring herein
Forty Pounds a year; the remaining part at his Death he may dispose of as he shall think proper
if my
Daughter outlive her Brother I would have her sink any of the money for her Life the [???] that
at her Death she disposes of three hundred Pounds as I here mention: one hundred Pounds to be give to
the house at Gant where her dear Sister died; one hundred pounds to be given to the English Benedictine
[???] at Dunkirk; Fifty Pounds to be given to the English House at Gravilin; and Fifty Pounds to be given to those at
Oire[?]. The
remaining part at her Death she may dispose of as she shall think proper
But if my Son should die before his sister and leave Issue lawfully begotten then this part of my will
becomes void and of no use. The money here mentioned I Give to his lawful Issue Except two hundred Pounds;
which two hundred pounds I Give and Bequeath to my Daughter to dispose of at her Death as she shall think
proper. But is through Sickness or any Occasion she shall find it necessary to have any part of the two
hundred pounds which I have left her to dispose of at her Death it shall be given
her either by my Son or whom he shall have Issue appointed in Trust for his Children
The Clock which was made for my Dear Daughter Cresia
I desire that when it can be done with perfect
Safety it my be sent to the house where she died
I order that all my watches and Clocks not here
mentioned be sold as soon as Possibly can be after my Death and the money
arising from their sale be divided into three parts: one part I Give to my Son for his
Trouble, one part I order to be given to poor Families, the third part I order to be given for
anniversary prayers for myself and my Dear Wife. All my Clothes may be valued and sold and the
money coming by the sale I would have directly given to poor objects of Charity
I order that after my Decease to be buried in the same Grave with my Dearly beloved Wife in
the Church of Desborough and to be buried in two Coffins and in the same manner as she was. I
order my Son to see the Grave filled up and the stone laid on, and that he distribute with his
own hands after the Burial twenty pounds to the poorest Families of Desborough after my
Funeral Expences is paid and if I should be Debtor to any person that it be discharged
I Give and Bequeath to my said Son Alfred Giles Pulton, or Poulton, whom I appoint and order
whole and sole Executor and Administrator of this my last Will and Testament all the residue
of my personal Estate not before mentioned, to be parted into three parts: two parts I Give and
Bequeath to my said Son and third part, if he thinks proper, he may Give to my Daughter, Mary
Catherine Quenet[?] his Sister
William Poulton Signed, Sealed, Declared and Delivered by the within named Testator in presounce of us who subscribes here our names :-:
James Ganter[?] :-: Henry Weedall :-: March
the 3rd 1785
First Codicil:
This cancelled legacy is not visible in the Will proper. It presumably
was under one of the obliterated sections
First Codicil
As the Affairs and proceedings of [???] Annabels Akem[?] have not been according to my
wishes I do here Cancel and make void the Legacy which in my will I had left her of
[.......illegible .....] what I have raft[?] out only concerned her August the 19th 1788 Signed by
me :-: William Poulton
Second Codicil
I desire that at my Death that Mr Quenet, Mr Canter and Mr Weddall may each of them have a
handsome Mourning Ring. On the 21st Day of August 1792
Probate
Appeared Personally John Quenet of Brewers Green in the Parish of Saint Margaret
Westminster in the County of Middlesex, [???] Maker, and Henry Woodall of Brewers Street in the
Parish of Saint James Westminster in the said County, apothecary[?], and being duly sworn on the Holy
Evangelists to depose the Truth severally made oath as follows:
and first the said John Quenet for himself saith that he found the paper writing, the which annexed, purporting to be
and contain the last Will and Testament with two Codicils of William Pulton, otherwise Poulton,
late of the Parish of Saint Margaret Westminster in the County of Middlesex Esquire, Deceased,
in a Bureau in the said Deceased's house after his Decease; the said will beginning thus "In the name
of the most Glorious and undivided Trinity God Father Son and Holy Ghost Amen I William Pulton
alias Poulton Esquire" ending thus "all the Residue of my Personal Estate not before mentioned
to be parted into three parts two parts I Give and Bequeath to my said Son and the third part
if he thinks proper he may Give to my Daughter, Mary Catherine Quenet, his Sister" and thus
subscribed "William Poulton" and having the third line from the top of the third side of the
said will erased, the fourth and Fifth lines from the top of the said side erased and
obliterated, and the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh lines from the top of the
said side of said will all obliterated also having part of the thrid line from the top of the
fourth side of the said will erased and obliterated, and the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and
eighth lines from the top of the said side also severally obliterated. The first of the said
Codicils beginning thus "as the Affairs and Proceedings of Iaine[?] Annabella Akerne[?] have
not been according to my wishes" ending thus "August 19th 1788 Signed by me" and thus
subscribed "William Poulton" and having part of the third and all the fourth lines erased; he
this Deponent saith that he verily and in his Conscience believes the said will and first
Codicil with the erasures and obliterations as afoursaid to be all in the very same plight and
Condition as when so found by him; and this Deponent John Quenet and the aforesaid Henry
Weddall severally made Oath that they knew and were well acquainted with the said William
Pulton, otherwise Poulton, deceased for several Years before and to the time of his Death, and
also with his Manner and Character of handwriting and subscription having frequently seen him
write and enscribe his name to writings and having now with care and attention viewed and
perceived[?] the paper writing hereunto annexed purporting to be the first Codicil to the Will
of the said Deceased (and written at the end of the said will) beginning ending and subscribed
as aforesaid they, these Deponents, severally say and Depose that they verily and in their
Consciences believe the whole of the said Codicils as it now appears is of the proper
handwriting and subscription of the said William Pulton, otherwise Poulton, Esquire, Deceased
:-: John Quenet :-: Henry Weedall :-: the Day aforesaid the said John Quenet and Henry Weedall
were duly sworn to the Truth of the aforesaid Testament [???] [???] Geo Harris
:-:[???] J G Christian Not. Pubc.
This Will was proved at London with two Codicils the twenty third Day of August, in the year
of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety two, Before the Worshipful George Harris
Doctor of Laws and Surrogate of the Right [???] [???] William Swynns Knight also Doctor of Law
Master Keeper or Commissary of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury lawfully constituted by the
Oath of Alfred Giles Pulton, otherwise Poulton, the Son of the Deceased and the sole Executor
named in the said Will to whom Administration of one and singular the Goods, Chattels and
Credits of the said Deceased was granted having first sworn duly to administer.
Notes:-
The original will has little punctuation or separate
paragraphs. As this makes it hard to read I have
inserted some punctuation and broken the text into separate clauses.
"[?]" following a word means that the word on the original document is unclear and the
transcription may be incorrect.
" [???] " means that a whole word was illegible and could not be guessed at.
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