Pressdee family of Alfrick

[Eastbury]

Hi Pimpernel
Just read your first message.
Re the Marriage Settlement case Wood v. Shallard. I remember seeing a 17th century marriage settlement where a wealthy older man marrying a younger wife gave her brothers his houses in London as a surety I suppose, in case he died before her. She died not long after their marriage and I assume he then had to get the houses back from his wife’s family as there is a case at TNA Kew in Litigation  C8/2017/25. Looks like it could be something to do with the mills in your case?

2) I’ll check the marriage of William Wood when I go into Worcester concerning the “Save our Worcestershire Archives” campaign. Please have a look at this and consider signing the petition. https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-the-worcestershire-archives
Since the Petition was launched just a few days ago the County Council has reduced the Archive budget cut to 1/3rd, but everything else on the Petition stands and every signature counts. Just read some of the supportive comments.

3) If there’s time I’ll look to confirm/deny Ann Presdee’s parentage to John & Mary Butler
4) Clarify the James & Mary parents of John Presdee.
5) I’ll list any wills, but reading them would be something for another time, as you’ll appreciate my priority is in helping the Award winning Archive and it’s great staff.

Jack

[pimpernel]

Dear Jack, That's incredibly kind of you, thank you very much!

Naturally, petition signed and shared on social media

I found the 1828 Record of Will on the National Archives, which just mentions Joseph Pressdee of Alfrick as executor. Using online sources such as the LDS site I've counted eight children listed as an offspring of John & Mary Pressdee (though whether they are all the same John & Mary isn't clear), Joseph is the youngest of these, baptised in 1792. I would have thought will executors would have been elder children rather than the youngest, but is it just case by case? If it is all the same family, I'm wondering why Joseph would have been father John's executor, rather than elder brother John the flour merchant, or other surviving older children?

[Eastbury]

Hi Pimpernel
Thank you so much for signing the Save the Worcestershire Archives Petition https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-the-worcestershire-archives   and spreading the word on Social Media.

Looks as if the Presdees are a confusing lot! Perhaps Joseph was living with his father?

I’ll re-read all the posts before I go into Worcester later in the week.

Just remembered FindMyPast has the Worcestershire Probate Index 1600 - 1858 on-line.
The Joseph Presdee executor might be the one who died in 1839 at Knightwick but he didn’t leave a will, there is just a letter of administration according to the Index.
James Presdee – none of them left wills, so there are just Letters of administration -  1794 Leigh, 1785 Alfrick, 1848 Worcester & Alfrick
John Presdee wills/adminstrations  - 1783 Hallow (not near Alfrick or Suckley), 1806 Suckley, 1828 Alfrick, 1847 Worcester, St Peter (Not close to Alfrick and Suckley - admons only)
and two different Elizabeth Presdee’s who died leaving wills in 1785 Alfrick

There are original documents in the Worcestershire Archive that look interesting:-
1)   Ref 705: 380 BA11395 parcel 1/i items 1-18    1784-1849 Assignments of leasehold, will, abstract of title, receipt, agreements, mortgage and other papers relating to property in Old Storridge [Herefordshire], ALFRICK and other places.

2)   There’s another to do with Leigh which includes Presdee and refers to deeds, will and papers - Ref 705:192 BA 5589 parcel 88i 

You can appreciate from this why the Worcs. Archive shelving covers the equivalent to 12 miles!
I'll be in touch later in the week.
Jack

[Eastbury]

Hello pimpernel I'll have to send two messages.

The first about John Presdee that father of Anne Presdee who married William Wood and the second about John Presdee married to Deborah Bullock.

Worcester Journal - Thursday 25 April 1811
Same day (as the announcement above it viz Wednesday) was married at Suckley Mr Wood, Miller near Bromyard, to Miss Presdee only daughter of Mr John Presdee of Millam in this county.
(Should be Milham aka Grove Place, Alfrick, Parish of Suckley.) John Presdee sold that property 1824.

9 June 1828 Probate was granted on the will for John Pressdee. I need to check burial in Parish Register as it should give his age, which should help in determining who his parents could have been.
It is John Presdee’s 1828 will mentions daughter Ann married to William Wood. It also mentions land at Ashfields in Leigh and land at Powick. He signed his name as John Press Dee.

The Marriage Licence for John Presdee of Alfrick and Mary Butler is dated 24 Jan 1776 they married 1st Feb 1776. On the licence he is called a yeoman. He went along to get the licence with Edward Bateman Serjeant of the Worcestershire Militia. John signed as John Pres Dee, if you can read anything into that!

Finally Ann Presdee who married William Wood could have been baptised as Susannah. I’ve had that happen in Worcestershire parish records. I haven't looked for in parish records.

Jack

[Eastbury]

second message re John Presdee married to Deborah Bullock
Another John Presdee you mentioned was living in Worcester as a Flour Dealer. He died in 1874 and his obituary in Berrows Worcester Journal describes him as aged 96, (born about 1778) for many years the faithful servant of the late Thomas Lucy. In other words he worked for him (as a Flour dealer)

Thomas Lucy was a miller. It seems he owned several mills including the Albion Mills near the Worcester Porcelain Works in Worcester, he was a city councillor, was one of the signatories to set up the new Corn Exchange near the old Sheepmarket. You can imagine the problems Worcester had with two Corn Exchanges! The Old Corn Exchange was in the Corn Market. Thomas Lucy had also rented some properties (with others) in St Swithins Street and I suspect that is where that John Presdee lived. Presdee was described as living in that street on one of the census returns

When Deborah Presdee died 19 Jan 1870 aged she was named as Mary Deborah Presdee of John Street wife of John Presdee.

From newspapers - A John Presdee and Deborah Bullock  married in Newent in 1810. She was from Compton in Gloucestershire.

Re the first message I sent,  I'll check the Parish Register to find out how old John Presdee was who died in 1828 in about a week or so - unless someone can find the PR on-line.

Jack

[pimpernel]

Jack, I'm astounded and deeply grateful for this, research I'm not able to access myself at all. Thank you so much!

[Eastbury]

Hi Pimpernel

I’ve been trying to track down your John Presdee who died in 1828 aged supposedly 78. I looked at 1750 and 1748,1749 and 1751 in Alfrick, Lusley, Suckley and Leigh, and there was no trace of him, so today I looked at the Malvern Family History Society excellent “work in progress” database. The nearest match was John Presdee son of John and Mary Presdee who was baptised on 26 July 1757 at Suckley.

His parents may be the John Presdee labourer who married Mary Jones by banns (Feb 8, 15, 22) on 26 February 1756. witnesses - Benjamin Oliver and William Presdee.
I’m not confident that this is your John who died 1828. I recall spotting a William and a Thomas both referred to later as paupers and your John got on on better in life.
If it is the right John, the database identified his potential siblings baptised at Suckley as Mary 10 March 1760, Susannah 10 January 1763. There’s another Susannah daughter of James and Elinor, she was baptised 23 May 1763 at Suckley.

Regards
Jack

[pimpernel]

Thank you so much Jack! 

One of the biggest problems (other than not being able to find the parish records online!) is the distinction between Alfrick and Suckley. The villlages are so close together it's hard to see any entry as being other than one big family, but there must have been at least two Pressdee families - a Suckley household and Alfrick household, possibly even more.

The 1757 baptism seems to be the correct one for John though! The potential parents you mention sound quite possible, other than the fact they had pauper children! I've seen trees on Ancestry that associate John's parents as John Pressdee and a Mary Page, but no references to confirm their parentage, or indeed marriage, so I'm disregarding until evidence turns up.