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Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Will of Charles Elliot, Gentleman of Hayes.

Here are some excerpts from the will of Charles Elliot, husband of Lydia Bayley and father of our ancestor Robert Elliot.  In his will he refers to himself as a "Gentleman", although as far as we know his career was spent as a cook and victualler.

"This is the last will and testament of me Charles Elliot of the parish of Hayes in the County of Middlesex Gentleman first I give and bequeath to my loving wife Lydia Elliot all my household goods furniture and Effects plate linen and china to and for her sole use and benefit during the term of her natural life...

...and whereas I am possessed of two messuages or tenements with the Barns Stables Yards Gardens and appurts and about two acres of (???) and about one acre of arable land....and also of a malt house and mill now being in the possession of my son Josiah Elliot...being in the parish of Hayes aforesaid and one of which said messuages or tenements is known by the name or sign of the Adam and Eve part of which is freehold and part copyhold  (*note the Adam and Eve was a pub run by Charles' son Josiah Elliot) and the other wherein I now reside...    

...I give and bequeath [all of the above]...to my said wife Lydia Elliot...during the course of her natural life...and from and immediately after her death I give and devise the said freehold and copyhold messuages or tenements Lands ... and premises with the appurts unto my son William Elliot of the Town of Uxbridge in the County of Middlesex Currier and John Elliot of Hampton Wick of the County of Middlesex Currier and Robert Elliot of Hammersmith of the county of Middlesex Currier their heirs and assigns upon trust that they....immediately after my said wife's demise, cause the same to be sold by public auction for the most money that can be had...and the money arising from the sale of my said estate...shall...become part of my personal Estate for the purpose of paying the several [bequests that follow]...

...I give and bequeath to my son Thomas Elliot of Tottenham Row Court Road in the County of Middlesex Organ Builder the sum of six pounds I give and bequeath to my son Charles Elliot of S???? Town in the County of Middlesex the sum of one hundred pounds I give and bequeath to my daughter Martha Hilton the wife of Henry Hilton late of the parish of Hayes Carpenter fifty pounds also I give and bequeath unto my daughter Lydia Burton the wife of the late Thomas Burton now of Hammersmith in the county of Middlesex the sum of two hundred and fifty pounds also I give and bequeath unto my said son William Elliot....the sum of two hundred and fifty pounds also I give and bequeath to my son John Elliot...two hundred pounds also I give and bequeath to my son Robert Elliot...the sum of one hundred pounds also I give and bequeath to my said son Robert Elliot all my right estate and Interest of and in a certain part and parcel of ground with the chapel and premises thereon...this land built with the appurts situate....lying in the Parish of Hayes...and adjoining the Garden...of Mr. Edmund Bayley...

...also I give and bequeath to my daughter Mary Maxwell wife of Alexander Maxwell of ? Yard aforesaid two hundred and fifty pounds also I give and bequeath unto my son Josiah Elliot two hundred and fifty pounds...

...and as to all the (rest?)...of my personal estate...after the demise of my said Wife I give and bequeath the same unto the said Charles Elliot Lydia Buxton William Elliot John Elliot Robert Elliot Mary Maxwell and Josiah Elliot to be equally divided between them share and share alike...

....and lastly...I do....nominate and appoint the said William Elliot John Elliot and Robert Elliot executors of this my will...this fifteenth day of October in the fiftieth year of King George..."

Charles died February 16, 1813 in Hayes, where he spent the last half of his life.  His wife Lydia survived until 1827, at which point the children would have received their legacies.  It can't be a coincidence that Robert and Josiah brought their families to Canada in 1827;  perhaps the money prompted them to invest in new opportunities, or perhaps they didn't want to leave an aged parent.

Some archaic vocabulary is used in this will.  A messuage with appurtanences means a house with all the outhouses belonging to it (stables etc), yards, gardens, orchards, and so on (sometimes even an associated pew in the local church).  Freehold and copyhold land are feudal terms referring to types of land tenure.  Copyhold land was land where the title deed received by the tenant was a copy of an entry in the manorial court roll.  Copyhold land entailed services due to the lord of the manor, and some copyhold land could be sold or inherited (this seems to be the case here).    

In terms of the value of the estate, I put the sums that Charles leaves his children directly (100 pounds to 250 pounds) through a historic currency converter on the web.  As you can imagine, converting value between historical periods is a tricky business.  According to the website Measuring Worth, 250 pounds in 1813 converts to 13,800.00 pounds if you convert using the retail price index (that's about $25,279.00 CAD), or 170,000.00 if you calculate using average earnings of each period (that's a whopping 311,408.00 CAD).  So it's very hard to be sure exactly how wealthy Charles Elliot was at the end of his life, and how much wealth he passed on to his seven children.  Any historians reading this care to help me out with that?         

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