I first discovered Austin Blake in the Tax rolls of Hampshire at West Tytherley in 1665 with the hearth tax return. In 1665 there was an Andrew Blake and a John Blake at Lockerley. At Lockerly in 1571 there was a Marmaduke Blake and a William Blake. There was an Augustien Blake baptized 19 Dec 1598 at Andover the son of John Blake (C05807-2 Family Search). There were at least two John Blake marriages at Andover in the 1590s and it isn't possible to isolate which John is the father of this Augustine or to determine if this is the Augustine found later at East Tytherley. Interestingly Augustine identifies his brother as John Blake. John Blake (one or many) baptized a number of children at Andover between 1592 and 1615: namely, (unknown) son baptized 29 Apr 1592, ......e son baptized 23 Nov 1594, John baptized 24 Aug 1596, Joan daughter baptized 17 Oct 1596, Augustine baptized 19 Dec 1598, Roberd son baptized 14 Mar 1600, Peter son baptized 11 Apr 1603, Dorothy daughter baptized 8 Aug 1615.
Why would this family have made a move to East Tytherley though between 1598 and 1636 when Augustine married there?
Augustine Blake the testator was married to Christian Couse at East Tytherley 30 Jan 1636 (M15502-1 Family Search). Note the spelling of Joane Cowse witness to the will below and I do wonder about the correct spelling of this surname. If this is Augustine born at Andover he would be 38 years old in 1636 and 60 in 1658 when his will was probated. A baptism for Christian Cowse was found at East Tytherley 29 Nov 1615 with John Cowse listed as father (C15502-1 Family search). No marriage found on Family Search for John Cowse 1600 to 1616 at East Tytherley. Find My Past has Augustine's burial at Lockerley as 4 Mar 1657. He must have written his will on his deathbed as it was dated 2 Mar 1657.
Children born to Augustine and Christian (Family Search C15502-1):
Augustine Blake baptized 9 Jan 1637 at East Tytherley
Nicholas Blake baptized 1 Mar 1639 at East Tytherley
Hugh Blake baptized 25 Apr 1641 at East Tytherley
The Austin Blake in the Tax rolls at West Tytherley is likely the Augustine Blake baptized 9 Jan 1637 at East Tytherley. Missing from these baptisms are the other children of Augustine and Christina namely: Joane, Mary, Richard, and Christian (with the last three it being noted that they are not yet 21. Later Augustine mentions there are four children not yet 21 and that would include Hugh who was baptized in 1641. Perhaps Nicholas has died as there isn't any mention of him in the will.
Held at the Hampshire Record Office in Winchester is a will for Walter Blake of East Tytherley which was probated in 1547. No idea on who Walter Blake is and given the date of his probate he would be a contemporary of Nicholas and his brother Robert. No mention of Walter Blake in any old records that I have found thus far other than this will.
East Tytherley is two miles north of Lockerley and 2 miles east south east of West Tytherley. Also East Dean is 1.6 miles WSW of East Tytherley and 2.0 miles WSW of West Dean and to give it a perspective with regard to Andover which is 12 miles NNE of East Tytherley. Because of the proximity to Wiltshire the need to transcribe those wills I have from the Swindon and Wiltshire Record Office becomes ever more apparent as most of them are from the 1500s. I believe that I will move to the Wiltshire Blake wills once I have completed Hampshire Wills in my possession. I have quite a number of Wiltshire wills and perhaps these will help to reveal the Blake family in this border area of Wiltshire/Hampshire/Dorset.
One interesting discovery as I trawled through some Family Search information on William Mershe was the discovery that he had married Mary Couse 8 Jun 1645 at East Tytherley. It would appear perhaps that William is not so much his brother in law but rather the husband of his wife's sister since Mary and Christian both have the surname Couse.
Augustine proved to be a popular forename in the Blake family with Richard Blake baptizing a son Augustine 22 Apr 1703 at West Tytherley, Augustine and Prudence Blake baptizing a son Augustine 22 Apr 1742 at West Tisted and Augustine and Elizabeth Blake baptizing a son Augustine 8 Aug 1698 at Basingstoke.
Looking at the Hampshire Record Office online catalogue there is a will of Augustine Blake of West Tytherley probated 1708, There is a will and inventory of Augustine Blake of West Tytherley, collarmaker probated 1767 and 16 Dec 1689 there is a lease for three lives given to Augustine Blake of West Tytherley, brickburner for land, messuage, coppice and meadow. It does appear that they do stay in the West Tytherley area. The wills I can request as images and in the future I have a list that I want to acquire. They must wait for the moment though until I have cleared my desk i.e. computer file of all the wills I have on hand. At first I thought to work through each one but now I am of the opinion that I need to transcribe them, then go through them and link them as I am able (have done some of this whilst working on them) and separate them into sets (i.e. by family, by area).
Selecting Lockerley as my search term for the Hampshire Record Office from 1500 to 1700 reveals a couple of interesting items:
Will of Robert Blake of Wallop Street Lockerley, 1545B/022 probated 1545
Will and inventory of Robert Blake of Street, Lockerley 1554U/03 probated 1554
Inventory of Marmaduke Blake, parish not given 1581AD/07 probated 1581 (his will is to come)
Probate inventory and renunciation of John Blake of Lockerley, husbandman 1670AD/016 probated 1670
This is likely the John Blake buried 23 Apr 1670 at Lockerley (Hampshire Genealogical Society).
Perhaps the last item might reveal information on Augustine if it happens to be his brother John whom he names in his will.
There are 271 wills held by the Wiltshire Record Office between the early 1500s and the middle 1800s for Blake family members. I have about 25 of the earliest ones which I will transcribe once Hampshire and a couple of extraneous wills are transcribed that I think might be helpful for the Rigge family and one other. Once Hampshire is complete I will return to my alphabetical listing and will begin at Hertsfordshire then London, Middlesex, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, etc.
Transcriber: Elizabeth Kipp
Recorded: 14 Oct 2012
Source: The National Archives, PROB 11/1829/430
Name of testator: Augustine Blake, Yeoman
Place: Lockerly, Hampshire, England
Type of Record: Will
Dated:2 Mar 1657, probated 13 Aug 1658
Read: Electronic file images
Condition: middle English, 17th century, tiny writing, fairly clear copy
[In margin] Augustine Blake
[In margin] 370
1 In the name of God Amen
2 I Augustine Blake of Lockerly in the County of South[amp]ton yeoman doth
3 here make my last Will, and Testament. first I bequeath my soule into ye hand
4 of Allmighty God, and my body to be buryed in the Churchyard of Lockerly. Item,
5 first I give to my sonne Hew ten pounds. Item, I give to my daughter Joane
6 ten pounds, to bee paid according to the discretion of my Executor. Item, I give
7 to my sonne Augusten ten pounds. Item, I give to my daughter Mary ten pounds.
8 Item, I give to my sonne Richard ten pounds. Item, I give to my daughter Christia[n]
9 ten pounds, to be paid when they come to the full age of one, and twenty yeares, and
10 if it shall please God that eyther of them deceased before, his, or her, the portion of
11 him or her to remayne to the other to bee devided between them by even and equall
12 por[t]ions, and I make Christian Blake my wife my full, and whole Executor of all
13 my goods household stuffe, and lumber whatsoever, and to receive all whatsoever is
14 due to mee, and to pay all my debts due to others and if my wife doe marry with any
15 man without the consent of William Mersh my brother in Law, to pay the summe
16 of Twenty pounds to William Mersh within one and twenty days after her
17 marriage to the use of my foure youngest children to increase their possessions, And
18 I heartily desire my brother John Blake, and William Mersh to be my Over-
19 seers, to see this my last Will, and Testament full filled, and I doe give to my
20 Overseers twelve pence a peice for their paines In witness hereof I Augusten
21 Blake doe here upon Sett my hand, and seale dated the second day of March
22 in ye year of our Lord God one thousand six hundred fifty and seven, the
23 marke of Augusten Blake. / Signed, and sealed in the p[re]sencs of the mark
24 of Joane Cowse, William Mearsh
25 This Will was proved at London the thirteenth day of August, one thousand
26 six hundred fifty eight before the Judges for probate of Wills etc. by the oath of
27 Christian Blake ye relicte sole Ex[ecu]trix etc to whom Admon etc was Comitted she
28 being first by Commission sworne truely to Administer etc.
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