This is a case about the last will and testament of a woman, Maude Mig, who died of leprosy around 1487. She and her husband had been judicially separated at the time of her death. The grant of separation, which allowed them to live apart though they were still legally married, may have been dueContinue reading “Alice Norman c. William Clerk”
Category Archives: Testamentary
Office c. Margaret Agmundesham
Margaret Agmundesham’s appearance before the Consistory Official may have been the result of an “office” case (where the court undertook an investigation into a matter under its purview), or it may have related to litigation, perhaps a suit brought by the Ann mentioned in the responses below. This was a testamentary matter: in some wayContinue reading “Office c. Margaret Agmundesham“
Agnes Symson alias Baker c. John Baker
Only part of this testamentary case survives, leaving the precise matter at issue (and indeed even the question of who was plaintiff and who was defendant) unclear. Luckily, the will in question survives (TNA, PROB 11/8/388) and it throws light on what the dispute might have been. John Baker Sr.’s testament was written on 13Continue reading “Agnes Symson alias Baker c. John Baker”
John Maliber c. Agnes Dalston alias Boste
John Maliber sued Agnes Dalston alias Boste in 1493, claiming that she had unjustly withheld from him a bequest or legacy from her late husband, Thomas Dalston. Maliber had been Thomas Dalston’s apprentice, only newly beginning the usual seven-year term when Dalston died in 1484. Dalston’s surviving will indicates that he was a citizen glover.[1]Continue reading “John Maliber c. Agnes Dalston alias Boste”
Office c. Henry Baker and Thomas Pursot
When John Rawlyn of the Essex town of Ulting died in 1493, he left a testament in which the name of one of the executors, “a certain Carr” of Chelmsford, was crossed out. This raised suspicions that the document had been tampered with, that the other executors had deleted Carr’s name after Rawlyn’s death. ThoughContinue reading “Office c. Henry Baker and Thomas Pursot”
Unknown c. William Eve and William Hayward Jr.
These depositions are not especially informative about the substance of this lawsuit (or possibly disciplinary proceedings?) about a will – even the name of the party bringing it forward is unclear. William Hayward Sr. died in August 1493; as other evidence indicates, he lived in Chelmsford, Essex. Both he and his son appear in ChelmsfordContinue reading “Unknown c. William Eve and William Hayward Jr.”
Margaret Shewyn alias Howsyn c. Adam Bagby
This is a case of disputed inheritance, the suit revolving around whether legacies made by oral bequest were to be honoured even when not specified in the testament. Margaret Shewyn’s witnesses testified that Elizabeth Smyth had several times orally bequeathed to her a bed, a blue gown, and a blue girdle or belt decorated withContinue reading “Margaret Shewyn alias Howsyn c. Adam Bagby“
Consistory 