Help with 1592 Will, partially transcribed

[en2gen]

If you're not all sick of hearing from me, here is yet another old will I need help with:

LWT of John Merrie Sherbourne 1592 Transcription

In the name of God Amen the 23rd day of February 1591 ___________reign
Elizabeth ______I John Merrie Of Sherborne in Harforthlyfe in the diocese and countie
of York Thanks be Almighty God being at ________of good and perfect remembrance do make ordained______this my last will and testament in manner and form following
/ First asking God Almighty pardon and foregiveness of all my offenses I commend my soule to the _____of the Blessed
Trinity and my body to be buried within the parish church of Sherbourne / I give and bequeath to Agnes
my wife one _____ _______ / I give unto my son Thomas Merrie one _____ _____/I give for ____ ______
of my part of the _________ house (?) unto George Merrie _____________ / I give to my son
Merrie ________ to my son William Merrie ________to ______Merrie __________ to Isabell ______ and _______
_________I give for ________of all my  _________ to Agnes my wife _________to
Anne Ban____ ________________the ______________of all my goods __________in of my _______________
My debts paid and _______performed I give _______and bequeath unto Agnes my wife
George (?) Merrie William and Peter (?) and Thomas Mery my __________ I make _______
__________ this my last will and testament being ________Thomas __________
John Malton and Peter Morris (remainder in Latin I think)

Thanking you all,
Louise in California

[horselydown86]

...The xxiiij^th [= 24th] daie of ffebraurie 1591 A(nn)o Regni
Re(gi)ne Elizabeth xxxiij...

That is, the thirty third year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth.  (Note this is an accurate date and not Old Style.)

...w(i)^thin the dioces...

...Thanked be...

...at the making hereof of good...

...do make ordeine and constitute...

...to the mercifull tuic(i)on of...

...my wyfe one Spenged Cowe...  (One for the dialect glossary.)

                      ...one branded whye It(em) I give the fee simple
of my part of the guilde howse unto George Merrie and his heires w(i)th the Evidences app(er)teninge...

...Merrie six pence... (Same amounts to William and Peter following.)

                                                 ...To Isabell Palmer and her
Children eight pence.  Item I give the tuic(i)on of all my Children during theire minoritie to Agnes my wife It(em)
To Anne Hause two pence.  The residue of all my goodes & Chattells w(i)^th y^e interest of my farme
my debtes [to begin the nest page]

[horselydown86]

...debtes paid and legacies performed I give assigne and...

George and Peter are correct.

...my sonns whome I make exe
cutores of this............These being wytnesseis Thomas w^mson *
John Malton and Peter Morris...

*  I think this is to be read as Williamson but it's not entirely clear.

[en2gen]

Wow, that was a difficult one for me. Thank you so much HD....how do you do that so efficiently?!

I did check the dialect dictionary and found that Spenged Cowe is a speckled cow. I could not find any word that would define what a "branded whye" would be but am assuming it is also some sort of cattle or other livestock since John was a husbandman.

I'm also learning some new words...like "tuicion".

In the section where he starts giving his sons six pence it starts out "I give to my son
Merrie" ....then he names all of his sons except Thomas. Do you think that is a clerk's error as it seems like a first name of a son is missing there?

Many thanks again for your wonderful help!!

LL

[horselydown86]

...how do you do that so efficiently?!

I could not find any word that would define what a "branded whye" would be but am assuming it is also some sort of cattle or other livestock since John was a husbandman.

In the section where he starts giving his sons six pence it starts out "I give to my son
Merrie" ....then he names all of his sons except Thomas. Do you think that is a clerk's error as it seems like a first name of a son is missing there?
LL

Regarding the whye - see the post by goldie61 on this thread:

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=734270.msg5796284#msg5796284

There seems to be a word in the margin on the same line as the missing forename, so that could be it.  Or it's a clerk's error carried over from the Original Will (since this appears to be a Registered Will).

Reading these is all about practice and exposure to as many documents from the period as possible.  Ideally you will be comparing the transcriptions back against the original to see how the letters are formed, what contractions are used and so forth.  Then you will recognize a word when you see it again.

[en2gen]

Oh thanks for that link on the Norse words....those Vikings!!

You don't know how excited my cousin and I are to find this link to a child named Peter Merrie. And, we have now found his burial in 1636 mis-transcribed as MORRIE in addition to some references to his brothers George and Thomas. So we are on a roll!!

We have Peter Merry (b: 1733) back as far as his grandfather Robert b: circa 1650, so we are getting closer thanks to this!! It is an unusual name so this is VERY intriguing!! Many thanks once again.

LL