I Bought My 4x GGfather’s Will

This week has been all about my English ancestors. I spent some time searching the 1921 Census of England and Wales on FindmyPast and purchased several records for my family. Then a friend of mine posted that she’d bought some wills and commented how quickly she got the documents (just a few days). So I decided to look because I’d heard before that sometimes it took as long as six months.

Here’s a bit of the back story. In February 2020, I’d purchased the will for my 4x great grandfather, Thomas Vincent.

7I waited and waited for notification, but I never received that. cx

So today, I decided I would try again and perhaps purchase that will again and a couple more. I found a few more 4x gfathers, John Roberts and John Johnson’s wills were also available to be purchased. I entered my order and paid my 1.50 1.50(GBP), British Pound, for each will. (approx $2.50 Canadian or $2.04 US $). The system then transferred me to a screen that showed the order for the two will, and low and behold, there was the will I’d purchased in 2020. It had been there since March of 2020, but I never was notified, or it has gone to my spam folder.

Thomas Vincent lived 1781 – 1858 in Wiltshire, England. He was married twice, first to my 4x ggmother, Jane Harding, and then Elizabeth Stokes.

So I had a look at this will of Thomas Vincent. Probate of the will was on July 3, 1 61, in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Thomas Vincent is described as a woodsman (I’d s n this on the 1851 England Census). As you can see below, the will list his executor as Henry Vincent, who is the half brother to my direct ancestor, William Vincent.

The will does mention Thomas’s wife Elizabeth, her father John Stokes, and brother Charles Stokes. The document says the furniture of John and Charles Stokes which is not to be auctioned off after the death of his wife, Elizabeth. This confirms that I have the right Thomas Vincent as I knew Thomas’s wife was a Stokes, so I can add two additional names to my family tree. Although not in my direct line, they are still part of the FAN Club (friends, associates, and neighbors).

My ancestor, William Vincent, isn’t explicitly mentioned, but it does state that following the death of Thomas’s widow Elizabeth, any proceeds from the auction of Thomas’s estate would be divided between the living children. Elizabeth died in 1862, so William would have been living.

If you have an ancestor in the UK that has a will that you’d like to purchase, then you can order it HERE.

You might ask… how would I know. You can search on the site above as long as you know the year of the death date, and you can also find this information on Ancestry, MyHeritage, FindmyPast, and Family Search.

Happy hunting.