The vanishing Will

[mezentia]

As Wills are still 10 for £15, I've been getting quite a few. I have just been going through the Will of Ellen Scatchard (1847 - 1872), of Bishop Monkton in Yorkshire, and one passage caught my attention:

I give to my late Master the Reverend John Bentley Waytes of Markington any sum or sums of money I am entitled to under the Will of the late Mr. Francis Buck of South Stainley

The Reverend John Bentley Wayte was also the executor for the will.

Ellen did not marry or have any children (as far as we know). One of the witnesses to Ellen's will was the Vicar of Bishop Monkton, Frederick J Poole. I'm assuming that Ellen might have been a religious person, and that possibly she kept house for Rev. John. I still have to trawl the censuses for Ellen to prove this point. However, my main problem is that I can't seem to find Francis Buck's Will. I've checked the probate seach website and Ancestry, but there doesn't seem to be a probate entry for Francis. Francis Buck died in 1871, and as Ellen seemed to be aware when she made her will of the legacy left her by Francis, her maternal grandfather, I'm assuming that probate must have been granted between Francis' death in 1871 and 29 March 1872 when Ellen made her own will. So the question is, where is Francis Buck's will? 

[a chesters]

Some assistance regarding census information. There are two possibilities for 1871

Both show her as a servant

1871 Ellen Scratchard age 24 niece to Jonathon Bairstow in Church lane, Knaresborough She was registered as a general servant.

OR

1871 Ellen Scratchard age 24 unmarried, servant cook, to Eleanor Wilks in Post Office Lane? In Heath in Yorkshire

Both show her as born in Bishop Monkton in Yorkshire

1861 Ellen Scratchard age 14 house servant to Simon Wilkinson of Collins House in Scotton Yorkshire.

1851 Ellen Scratchard age 4 granddaughter to Joseph Scratchard of ? Crown Farm? In Bishop Monkton

Hope it helps.

A Chesters

[mckha489]

Could she be referring to the will of Francis Buck who died 1858?
It may have had a long tail.

[mezentia]

Thank you both for replies.

Tracing Ellen Scatchard reveals some of the problems with this family, that is a restricted set of first names, a locally common name, and a multitude of variations on the surname. 

As regards the will of Francis Buck, I'll take a look at the 1858 entry, but I'm fairly confident that the Francis referred to in her will is her grandfather who died in 1871. I know that probate sometimes get granted many years after a death, I've one that's 10 years after, but the fact that Ellen mentions Francis' will in her will leads me to believe that probate should have been granted in 1871 - 1872. Unless, of course, there was actually no will at all. However, I have found that people do not tell fibs in their wills; where money and property are concerned it's far too important to get things right.

[aghadowey]

You might be interpreting it incorrectly and perhaps she was mentioning possible inheritance if she was mentioned in Francis' Will when it was probated. Would be worth checking for Francis' probate after Ellen's death, however, this doesn't mean that a Will actually existed.

I give to my late Master the Reverend John Bentley Waytes of Markington any sum or sums of money I am entitled to under the Will of the late Mr. Francis Buck of South Stainley

[Elwyn Soutter]

Not every will required probate. (That’s still the case today).  Probate is required where inheritance tax (or it’s predecessors) is payable and some financial institutions also demand probate before releasing assets to the executor, but if the estate is of lowish value and the assets are all movable or with a financial institution happy to release them without probate (and some are), then the estate can be wound up without a probate grant. In such a case no will is going to be lodged with the Probate Office. The executor should retain it for a number of years but ultimately it is likely just to be thrown away.

As an example, my mother in law died about 5 years ago leaving a simple will with one or two bequests with the residue to go to her son. She lived in rented accommodation and had a joint bank account with one of her daughters.  Her estate was under £10,000.  The executor (her daughter) settled the debts and other financial matters and disposed of her property in accordance with her wishes without a probate grant. So you won’t find her will in the local probate office.

Possibly Francis Buck’s estate was similarly straightforward?

[mezentia]

Thank you for your observations, Elwyn. It's not a possibility I had considered, or even knew about until now (you're never to old to learn  ), but you may well be right. In any case, I certainly now need to do a little more research into the subject so that I can add a suitable comment to Ellen's history.