The will of William Scatcherd, 1595

[mezentia]

Although this will appears to have been written in a resaonably neat hand, it is nevertheless proving difficult for me to decipher, so help, please, once again. The image shows about the first quarter of the will; I shall probably be back to ask for help with the rest.  My attempt so far is:

In the name of God Amen ^1595^ I Will{ia}m Scatchard of Arthington in the
Countie of York mason being sicke of bodie, but of perf{ect} and good remembrance laud and praise be unto
Almightie god, do constitute ordeyne and make my last will and testam{en}t in manner and forme following
ffirst I do commend my soule into the hands of almightie god, and my bodie to be buried in the {church}
Yard of Addle Item I give will and bequeath one black {?? ??} to Alice Scatchard my
daughter all my chattels and goods moveable and unmoveable other than that I will and bequeath {??}
black {ch??ked} {??} to {??} my {??} and two {??} {??} and a guinea {??} I bequeath to ffran{es}
and Henry my brethren and I to dorothie my sister {??} to Henry two guineas and to {?..?}
{?...?} a hogg, and my cloake to my brother Richard, And further my mynd and will is
{?...?} please god to call my said daughter to {??} before she be {??} of my lease wich I have
{??...??} of Cirill Arthington esquier my landlord ( wich god forbid) then my mynd will and
full pleasure is {??} {??} and {??} my younger brethren {??} shall {??} the {rem??} of

Any recommendadtions for any reading material to help with decipering secretary script and court-hand would be appreciated, preferably ones that have lots of examples.

[goldie61]

…………….buried in the p(ar)ish church

………..bequeathe one black hawked Cowe……. (most of this seems to be crossed out, leaving just 'Cowe'.

Line 6 at the end
...........................................bequeath one
black hawked cowe to Isabel my mother and two guiner(?) hogges and a guiner w(it)ch I bequeath to Ffrancis


 A Google search says a ‘hawked cow’ was one with white on her neck…………..
Also a Google search says a 'Guinea Hog' was a small breed of black pig.........
I'm not convinced the scribe has written 'guinea'. The word seems to change slightly each time he writes it. Perhaps it was his attempt at an unfamiliar word.


It was easier to transcribe the rest rather than pick out all the bits you had missing..

and Henry my brethren, and to dorothie my sister  viz, to Henry the guiner and to the other two
either of them a hogg, and my cloake to my brother Richard, And further my mynd and will is
that if it please god to call my said doughter to his mercie before the expirac(i)on of my lease w(it)ch I have
of the grannt of Cirill Arthington esquier my landlord (w(it)ch god forbidd) then my mynd will and
full pleasure is that Ffrancis and Henry my younger ple brethren shall have the remnant of



'viz' means 'that is to say'

[arthurk]

I agree with nearly all of this, but two small comments:

………..bequeathe one black hawked Cowe……. (most of this seems to be crossed out, leaving just 'Cowe'.

Line 6 at the end
...........................................bequeath one
black hawked cowe to Isabel my mother and two guiner(?) hogges and a guiner w(it)ch I bequeath to Ffrancis

I think the writer got mixed up about the order he was writing things. I read it as the black hawked cowe being totally deleted before Alice, and written as a bequest to his mother instead. Otherwise there should be 'and' between doughter and all my chattells on the next line.

Also,

...of the grannt of Cirill Arthington esquier my landlord

graunt rather than grannt.

[mezentia]

Could the word guinea/guiner possibly be gimmer? According to the yorkshire dialect site https://www.yorkshiredialect.com a

hogg

is a young sheep before its first shearing, and a

gimmer

is a ewe between the first and second shearings or prior to first giving birth. This, to me, makes more sense than a Guinea Hog, which it seems is a small black pig native to the USA.

Thanks for the help with this part of the will. I will use this to work on part two, although I am sure I will be back for more help soon.

[jimbo50]

Could 'guiner' be the spelling for a 'weaner' ?

As in Guilliaume for William.

[arthurk]

Gimmer hogg looks good to me - now you mention it, I think I might have seen it in a will before.

[mezentia]

Probably one of mine 😂😂

[jimbo50]

Gimmer hogg looks good to me - now you mention it, I think I might have seen it in a will before.

I see it now, the yorkshire dialect - gimmer,  is a ewe between shearings. Ewe is  otherwise known as a sheep. Sheep Pig = Babe (the film)
I was having trouble accepting a hog as a sheep, when everything screams male pig.
Guiner is definitely a weaner , a young pig.
Although it's all pretty short term description to use in a will. Weaners are normally killed within a year as well.

[arthurk]

Gimmer hogg looks good to me - now you mention it, I think I might have seen it in a will before.

Now I've read it properly, the yorkshire dialect - gimmer,  is a ewe between shearings.

But not just that:

According to the yorkshire dialect site https://www.yorkshiredialect.com ... a gimmer is a ewe between the first and second shearings or prior to first giving birth.

Guiner is definitely a weaner.
Although it's all pretty short term description to use in a will. Weaners are normally killed within a year as well.

I can't find anything on 'guiner'. Can you provide a link to a definition, please (bearing in mind the date and location of the will)?