Many thanks for the grave details, diddymiller.
I am 100% confident that this is the John whose will I am investigating. He mentions his married sisters and their families, and they are all traceable, as well as his Wilmot inlaws. And reports of this daughter's subsequent marriage all mention that John was the grandson of the Rev Henry Wilkinson of Beeston.
So, John's wife Mary died in 1764 -- and from the dates, she was about 10 years older than John. A year later, John married the very much younger Elisabeth. But the bond and allegation state that John was 35 -- in fact he was 61 or 62
(he was also wealthy, maybe that helped in the search for a young wife!
)
Elisabeth died in November that year (1775), having given birth to a daughter, also Elizabeth. (so she must have been pregnant when they married).
John died in 1778 when his daughter was actually only 13. And just a few months later, his daughter eloped to Gretna Green and married against the wishes of her guardians (she apparently had a fortune of £20000, which may have contributed to her being "snapped up"
). John must have been spinning in his grave!
All very Jane Austen, don't you think!!
Sadly I can't link this John with the other JW who was definitely my ancestor, though this John was distantly linked to another part of my tree.
