Will some of the earlier wills that I have still to work on help out with this Blake line at East/West Tytherley and Lockerley? The will of Walter Blake and as mentioned in the will yesterday for John Blake of Over Eldon, this Walter is the brother of John Blake and also of Robert Blake of Lockerley. The will is probated just six days after the death of Walter and the two named individuals are Annie [wife] and William Blake (perhaps the eldest son) since he is also named first in the order of the four children named by Walter namely William, John, Freeiswynd and Alice. It is possible that these children are young as neither of the girls are married in 1553 at the latest when John writes his will and mentions the children of his brother Walter.
I will come back and complete the probates later as they take quite a bit of time and in this case his wife and son William probated the will.
Walter mentions his parent’s wills or perhaps just his fathers as there is a will for Robert Blake of Lockerley written 22 Oct 1545 which I shall do next. That might answer the next question in my mind. Who is Robert Blake of Lockerley. There is a brother of Walter named Robert who lives at Lockerley.
Just to place these place names into context with respect to Andover; Lockerley is 13 miles south south west; East Tytherley is 11 miles south south west and Kings Somborne (Over Eldon is located in this parish) is 9 miles south. On the other hand, Kings Somborne is 8 miles west of Winchester, East Tytherley is 2 miles west of Winchester and Lockerley is 13 miles west. With regard to Salisbury, Lockerley is 10 miles east south east, East Tytherley is 10 miles east and Kings Somborne is 14 miles east.
These three areas mark specific centers where Blake families are found even in this early time period. Given that the results of my families yDNA does not match a known Blake line in the Winchester/Southampton area and the possible yDNA for the Salisbury area, one is left to conclude that there are a number of distinct Blake lines in the Hampshire/Wiltshire/Dorset/Berkshire areas. Why did they choose Blake as a surname? That is the question that has taken me on this rather long journey into the history of the Blake family. Certainly some of these families are related but is it by marriage? At an earlier time frame did some of the males take on the surname of a Blake daughter? Of course, there is always the possibility of illegitimacy back in the 1300s/1400s but I suspect that the acquisition of the surname Blake may have been through marriage rather than a Blake daughter having a child out of wedlock. These Blake families knew each other although did not generally refer to each other as cousin thus far in my transcriptions of these early wills where other Blake families are mentioned but not as relations.
Gradually as I continue with my one name study of the Blake family, I am acquiring an enormous appreciation for the Blake researchers that have come before me. I wish I had more of their information which they acquired on the one hand but on the other hand, I am not limited by their interpretations. Coming from what appears to be a rather small branch of this Andover Blake family, I have no preconceived notions about this family. Other than my father and grandfather mentioning Old Hall where their ancient ancestor lived, any real information on the Blake family handed down to me is limited to their time at Upper Clatford from the mid 1700s on.
Transcriber: Elizabeth Kipp
Recorded: 19 Mar 2014
Source: Family Search Film 186689, Catalogue C-687, number 105
Testator: Walter Blake
Place: East Tytherley, Hampshire, England
Type of Record: Will
Date of document: 9 Jul 1547, probated 15 Jul 1547
Condition: 16h century English, legible copy
[Wrapper]: 1547 Walterus blake estitherley
[Wrapper]: Test[a]m[ent] Walteri Blake de 1547
1 In dei no[m]i[n]e Amen The ix th day of July In the yere of o[u]r lorde god m ccccc xl
2 vij th I Walter Blake of Est tedurley hole of mynde and seke in body makyth my
3 testament in this maner folwyng first I gyve and bequeth my soul to god my
4 body to be buried in the church lyttyn of saynt peter In Est tedurley beside
5 my frendys In p[ri]mis I gyff to my mother churche of the holy trinitie iiij d It[e]m
6 I gyff to my brother John Blake of over Elden xx shepe the one halfe males
7 the other ewys It[e]m to my brother Robert Blake of lokerley street vj shepe
8 half males half yewys It[e]m I gyf to will[ia]m Chroscyll one ewe and a lam[b]
9 It[e]m I will that John Blake my brother and Richerd Basset be my oversears
10 of this my testament And eyther of them to have for ther labo[u]rs vj s viij d It[e]m
11 I wyll to have my father and mothers obyt to be kept yerely and to byingd
12 for my discharge Accordyng to ther wyllys for my discharge to the which
13 I was sworne that they may be remembred yerely And I and all my good
14 fends sawlys and all estym sawles w[i]th them The residew of all my goods
15 not bequeathed my detts payde I gyf and bequeth to Annye Blake my wyf
16 to Will[ia]m Blake John Blake Freeiswynd Blake and Alice Blake my children
17 whome I make myne executors that they dispose for my soule as they thynke
18 best Also I will that all my othere goods be devydid to my saide executors
19 In this man[ner] Fyrst Annye my saide wyfe to have the one half of my saide
20 goods And my other iiij children being executors w[i]th her to have the
21 other half equally devidid amongs them iiij At the discret[i]on of my saide
22 supervisors Thes being witness George Boner John Colyns and John pragnge
23 w[i]th others
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