Author Topic: Second opinion appreciated on will which seems to be wrong  (Read 394 times)

Offline Davedrave

  • RootsChat Aristocrat
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,722
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Second opinion appreciated on will which seems to be wrong
« on: Friday 07 May 21 09:13 BST (UK) »
I’d very much appreciate an opinion on a will. (This query is only answerable if you have access to the original India Office wills, which I have on FindMyPast. I’m not sure if they’re otherwise accessible.)

I was trying to discover whether James Herbert Lea born in Tezpur, India, in 1867, had any children. I haven’t managed to track down any baptisms in India or England. (I think that if he’d had children he would certainly have had them baptised because his mother was daughter of a rector and his cousin became Archbishop of Canterbury.)

James Lea married Nellie Grace Chadburn in Dacca in 1893.

He died in London in 1911. He left a will, written in India, but with the available document extracted in England.

The will is longish and extremely tedious, but the first page or so suggest that he was probably childless. He mentions his brother and sisters. Certainly parents Richard and Elizabeth Lea and brother Harry Kenilworth Lea tally with straightforward records (eg 1911 Census of Earley, Reading.)

However, the will goes on to mention a married daughter, and sons and even a wife with a different surname! It would seem that at some point a clerk may have copied part of another will into it. (This may be between pages numbered 44 and 45 in this record). Possibly the clerk had just gone onto autopilot.

Dave :)
ESSEX: Cramphorn Raven Sams Sayers Taylor; GLOS: Beacham/Beauchamp; HERTS: Chamberlain Chuck; LEICS: Allot Bentley Godfrey Greasley Hunt Hurst Jarvis Lane Lea Light Woodward; LINCS: Lambert Mitchell Muse ; STAFFS: Hodgkins Jarvis; SURREY: Light; WARKS: Astley/Chesshire Bradbury Hicken/Hickin Hudson; WORCS: Ballinger Beauchamp Laight

Offline mckha489

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 9,400
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: Second opinion appreciated on will which seems to be wrong
« Reply #1 on: Friday 07 May 21 09:41 BST (UK) »
I think the end of page 44 is yours, and it ends 'hereditaments' on a line below indicating the next page starts with 'hereditaments' so yes, page 47 is then your next page. IMO.

FindMyPast has just crashed when I was going to make a final check I had those page numbers correct. Fingers crossed.

Offline Millmoor

  • RootsChat Aristocrat
  • ******
  • Posts: 2,460
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: Second opinion appreciated on will which seems to be wrong
« Reply #2 on: Friday 07 May 21 10:00 BST (UK) »
I agree with Mckha489 re herediments.

I would also suggest looking at the newspaper archive. The Reading Mercury 20 May 1911 has his obituary. It clearly states "he leaves a widow, but no children".

William
Dent (Haltwhistle and Sacriston), Bell and Jetson (Haltwhistle), Postle, Ward, Longstaff, Purvis, Manners, Parnaby and Hardy (Co. Durham), Kennedy and McRobert (Banffshire), Reid(Bathgate), Watson (Wemyss), Graham (Libberton), Sandilands (Carmichael), Munro (Dingwall)

Offline Pennines

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 4,534
    • View Profile
Re: Second opinion appreciated on will which seems to be wrong
« Reply #3 on: Friday 07 May 21 10:13 BST (UK) »
Dave -- this happened to me with a Will I obtained from the Probate Office. The first 3 pages or so clearly belonged to the person concerned, but came to a clearly unfinished paragraph at the foot of a page - then the subsequent pages seemed to refer to someone else with completely different names mentioned.

In this case I contacted the Government Probate Office and they rectified the error - sending me the complete Will of the person concerned.
Places of interest;
Lancashire, West Yorkshire, Southern Ireland, Scotland.


Offline Davedrave

  • RootsChat Aristocrat
  • ******
  • Posts: 1,722
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: Second opinion appreciated on will which seems to be wrong
« Reply #4 on: Friday 07 May 21 14:01 BST (UK) »
Many thanks for all your help. I’ve been trying to see if there may be any living male descendants of Richard Lea’s sons and knowing that James had no offspring is very useful.

Dave :)
ESSEX: Cramphorn Raven Sams Sayers Taylor; GLOS: Beacham/Beauchamp; HERTS: Chamberlain Chuck; LEICS: Allot Bentley Godfrey Greasley Hunt Hurst Jarvis Lane Lea Light Woodward; LINCS: Lambert Mitchell Muse ; STAFFS: Hodgkins Jarvis; SURREY: Light; WARKS: Astley/Chesshire Bradbury Hicken/Hickin Hudson; WORCS: Ballinger Beauchamp Laight