James Blake of Newenden, Kent is the testator. I could not find his death registration on Find My Past. I did learn that Newenden is the smallest village in Kent.
In his will he mentions his sons John and James and his daughter Alice. He holds the leases on farms named Lostenham and Harenden. His eldest son is not yet 18 years of age.
The will doesn’t offer any clues about the family other than their land holdings. I could not find any Blake records for Newenden. There is a partial transcription of the will below on the Kent Historical Society Website. I have attempted to transcribe the entire will but the content provided online by the Historical Society certainly captures the will quite well although in less detail.
Transcriber: Elizabeth Kipp
Recorded: 29 Nov 2019
Source: The National Archives, PROB 11/36/102
Testator: James Blake
Place: Newenden, Kent
Type of Record: Will
Date of document: 10 Mar 1552/53, probated 12 Apr 1553
[Margin]: Jacobi Blake
1 This is the last Will and Testament of me James Blake of Newenden in the Countie of
2 Kent made the tenth day of Marche in the seventh yere of the Reigne of our Sovereign Lord Kinge Edward the sixth First
3 I bequeath my soule into t[he ]handes of Jesus Christ and my Bodye to be Buried in the Church yard of Newenden Item
4 I bequeath twentie shillings of monye and a seame of wheate to be geven at my buriall amonge the poore people of
5 Newenden aforesaid Item at my monethes mynde twentie shillings in Like manner to be bestowed by the discretion
6 of my executor Item I will and bequeath to Elis Blake my daughter fortie poundes of Lawfull money of Englande and
7 litle cheste wh[i]ch was her mothers w[i]th all the kerchers vailes and lynnen in the said cheste and her mothers best hooks and a
8 tach of silver the said fortie poundes to be paide to her w[i]thin a moneth next after her marriage or at her age of xxxth
9 yeres And the saide goodes to be delevered to her ymmediatlie after my decease And if it fortune the said Elis to decease
10 before her marriage or her age of xxxth yeres Then I will the saide fortie poundes to John and James Blake my sonnes
11 Item I will to George Blake my cosyn one thre yereinge heyfer w[i]th a calfe and a twelve mountinge heifer budd Item
12 to John Willerd my servaunt a two yeringe heifer w[i]th a calfe Item I bequeath to Thomas Brincker and
13 Humfrey my servaunts either of them a Cote of myne and humfrey my best white hoose Item I bequeath to James
14 Bate my servaunt a two yeringe heifer w[i]th a calfe Item I bequeath to John Springett my servaunt two peces of Lande
15 w[i]th a crofte and a forelande lyinge to the Chauncell nexte Newynden being parcell of my ferme of Harenden to have
16 and to hold unto hym his executors and assignes from the feaste of Saintt Michaell th[e]archangel nexte comynge
17 unto th[e]ende and terme of fouer yeres paying therefore yerelie unto my executore fortie shillings at the feaste of
18 th[e]annunciation of our Ladye and Saint Michael th[e]archangel by even porcions provyded that the said John shall
19 neither stripe or wast any woodes or underwoodes Item I bequeath to Elizabeth Witt my servaunt a cowe w[i]th a
20 calfe my best gowne and my wiffes best kirtle Item I bequeath to Anne my servaunt iii yards of my Russet
21 and ii yards and a q[ua]rter of White blankett Item I bequeath to Joane Burge ii yards of Russett for to make
22 her a peticote Item I bequeath to Johan Manne my s[er]vant a cowe and a peticote cloth of Russet and a wo[r]sted
23 kirtle that was my wives Item I bequeath to John Fowle my brother from the feaste of Sainte Michaell
24 th[e ]archangel nexte all my ferme of Lostenham to have unto him his executors and assignes duringe all
25 the tyme of my life therein Item I will that John Fowle shall have of my stock the which he shall
26 requyre to the value of fortie pounds the vallue to be as he canne agree w[i]th my executor or el[s]e to have fortie
27 poundes in monye and that the said Fowle shall pay for the saide stocke or else the fourtie poundes again unto
28 my executor w[i]thin two yeres nexte the wryste thereof Item I bequeath to Thomas Donke all my ferme of
29 Herenden as well the Landes before bequeathed to John Spryngett after the yeres ended as also all the land
30 residue to have to him his executors and assignes from the f[ea]ste of Sainte Michael th[e ]archangel next
31 coming unto th[e ]ende of vij yeres he paying therefore to the use of John Blacke and James Blacke my sonnes
32 twentie poundes And after the saide vij yeres I will all the said lease and ferme of Herenden as well all
33 other lands nowe beynge in the hands of John Fowle and Thomas Donke, Richard Baylie and Thomas
34 Courte as all the Residue unto John Blake my sonne to have unto huym during all the tyme of my Leasse therein
35 And if the saide John die then I will it to James my sonne to have unto him in like manner And if James fortune to decease
36 Then I will it to Alice my daughter in Like manner. Item I bequeath to John Blake and James Blake my sonnes all my
37 brasse and pewter Cowpbordes, chestes, ij of my best Featherbeddes w[i]th ire boulsters, coverings, pillowes, w[i]th all
38 other things thereto belonging and all my lynen equallie to be devyded and delyvered unto them at either of their ages
39 of xxiij th yeres The Residue of all my goods and cattalls moveable or immovable my debtes first paide and this my
40 will fullfilled I geve and bequeathe them unto John and James my sonnes herebeit my will and full mynde is that Thomas
41 Donke shall sell them all to the best prise he canne and the monye thereof that he shall bestowe and bye Landes and
42 tenements to the use of the said John Blake and James Blacke my sonnes and of theire heires and assignes forever And
43 that the same Donke to receave the proffitt thereof to those aforesaide Item I bequeath to the reparacions of the Church
44 of Newenden three shillinges Item I make and ordeyn the said Thomas Donke to be my sole executor of this my present
45 testament and last Will Item I make John Twisden Thomas Petter and John Fowle my overseers of this my will and
46 testament and I geve to either of them vj s vij d for theire labor Item I bequeath to everie of my godchildren vij d
47 This is the Last wyll and testament of me the saide James Blacke made
48 the day and yere aforesaide converrynge all my Lands and tenements, Rentes, Reversions, p[re]mises w[i]thin the Countie
49 of kente First I will and bequeath that John Twisden and Thomas Petter shall receave and take all the proffittes
50 and Issues the woodes and underwoodes onlie excepted of all my Lands, tenements and Rentes until John my sone
51 come to his age of eighteen yeres and that they shall sufficientlie kepe them and putt them to scole at theire discretion and
52 also shall honestly bringe and kepe upp Alice my daughter until the said John come to his age of eighteen yeres And
53 for the overplus of the proffittes of the said Landes after my children founden I will that they shall make a true
54 accompts unto the saide John and James my sones when the said John shall come to his saide age of eighteen yeres
55 and that I will all the saide Landes tenements and Rentes w[i]th the appurtenances unto the said John and James Blake
56 my sonnes and to theire heirs and assignes equallie to be devyded amonges them Item I bequeath that whereas I have
57 one Rente of thre poundes six shillings eight pence by the yere goinge out of the Landes of John Twisden and the saide
58 Rent is upon redemptions as by Indenture it appereth that if the said John Twisden has __ encumbrances and
59 assignes to redeme the said Rente and pay £60 the which quietly oute for the said Rent that then my will is that
60 Thomas Donke my executor shall receave the said £60 And when he hath receaved it that he shall bestowe the said
61 monye upon Lands to the use of the saide John and James my sonnes and theire heirs for ever Item my will
62 is that the saide Thomas Donke my executor shall suerlie pay to Barthileme Brooke £75 at the tyme
63 as it is appropriate to bepaide for the Lands I late bought of hym This witnesse John Sharpe John Fowle John
64 Hope John Twisden
65 Probatum fuit suprascriptum testamentum unarium ultima voluntate duodecimo Aprilis Anno domini
66 millesimo quingen o guinguagesimo tertio Juramento Thome Donke executors in h[uius]m[od]i testamento nom[in]at de
67 Approbatum et insumatum et Commissa fuit Administratio omnium bonorum etc deo ___ De bene et fidelter administratio
68 eadem Ac de plano et fideli Inventario omnium bonorum etc exhibden necnon de plano et vero compo in ea parte reddend
69 Ad sancta dei Evangelis Jurat
Friday, November 29, 2019
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Caught Up
I am finally caught up. If you sent me an email and you did not hear from me please do write with your query/comment again.
I think I will start to plan my days once again and get back into transcription. Perhaps tomorrow will see my first transcription up for a while.
I think I will start to plan my days once again and get back into transcription. Perhaps tomorrow will see my first transcription up for a while.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
30 emails left
The last 30 emails have finally been reached. They all need a response of one sort or another. They range from 2017 to 2019 although most are 2019. They have all had a preliminary response (mostly I will get back to you when I get a chance) but each one require me to work through one of my descendant lines.
It will be nice to be finished. I would like to get back to the Blake wills. I also want to get back to writing up the children of my 2x great grandparents John Blake and Ann Farmer. I am working on child # 4 of 10 children. One is written up, my great grandfather, and three of them have smaller families but three of them had quite large families so will take some time to finish them and move on to Samuel Knight and Louisa Butt, the parents of my great grandmother Blake. A woman described to me by my father as being a very warm person with long blond hair braided and wrapped around her hair like a crown he used to say. I have a picture of her with her hair arranged that way. He loved going to see her in Goodworth Clatford where they lived when he was young. His grandfather was strict and he had to always mind him but his grandmother adored him he said.
It will be nice to be finished. I would like to get back to the Blake wills. I also want to get back to writing up the children of my 2x great grandparents John Blake and Ann Farmer. I am working on child # 4 of 10 children. One is written up, my great grandfather, and three of them have smaller families but three of them had quite large families so will take some time to finish them and move on to Samuel Knight and Louisa Butt, the parents of my great grandmother Blake. A woman described to me by my father as being a very warm person with long blond hair braided and wrapped around her hair like a crown he used to say. I have a picture of her with her hair arranged that way. He loved going to see her in Goodworth Clatford where they lived when he was young. His grandfather was strict and he had to always mind him but his grandmother adored him he said.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
68 messages
Perhaps I will get through the better part of these 68 messages tomorrow. It would be great as I could get back to research once again.
178 emails
Finally beginning to look doable. Perhaps by the end of the week all emails will have been filed, answered or contemplated.
If you are reading this towards the end of the week, today is Tuesday 26th of November, then resend your email.
If you are reading this towards the end of the week, today is Tuesday 26th of November, then resend your email.
Monday, November 25, 2019
266 emails
Working through all of these emails is like a walk back through the last year. I think though I really must avoid letting my email box build up. Uncharacteristic of me actually to let that happen as I am an organized person at heart.
Hopefully another hundred or so today. I had two volunteers for a couple of projects - Hampshire Project and Birmingham and Midlands Project (both DNA projects) - but I simply haven't had the time to follow through on the one hand with scanning a particular book that I have (discovered that it was missing an index for about ten pages - Yikes and I did try to rework the index so that has slowed me down) and for the second one I think he may have lost interest. They will be the last people that I write to and that is about 30 emails. Last because I need to prepare a longer email to discuss the possibility of collaboration and that does involve more thinking for sure.
I have mostly backed away from the T haplogroup studies (two) although do still receive the emails and do respond on occasion.
Although the number of emails does not appear to be going down by one hundred a day, I continue to receive 50 or so a day to which I am responding as received.
Hopefully another hundred or so today. I had two volunteers for a couple of projects - Hampshire Project and Birmingham and Midlands Project (both DNA projects) - but I simply haven't had the time to follow through on the one hand with scanning a particular book that I have (discovered that it was missing an index for about ten pages - Yikes and I did try to rework the index so that has slowed me down) and for the second one I think he may have lost interest. They will be the last people that I write to and that is about 30 emails. Last because I need to prepare a longer email to discuss the possibility of collaboration and that does involve more thinking for sure.
I have mostly backed away from the T haplogroup studies (two) although do still receive the emails and do respond on occasion.
Although the number of emails does not appear to be going down by one hundred a day, I continue to receive 50 or so a day to which I am responding as received.
Sunday, November 24, 2019
334 emails
I am now getting down to the emails that will entail more work than just filing. I decided to join WikiTree and having time to work on my tree there has been pretty well nil. I would like to get to it but it will definitely not be before the new year. I had a rather scathing letter asking why I only have two people up with my maiden surname (my father and myself) and do not have enough names for them to check against their DNA matches. I did write and assure the individual that if he matches me then my email will show up and he can write to me about the match with myself or any of my siblings. Those emails tend to get answered somewhat quicker as I am busy re-phasing my grandparents and surprisingly there are not that many changes. But each new match that can be proven with regard to shared ancestry makes the phasing ever the more interesting.
Genealogy is not really my passion. Organization is and the desire to establish my family lines in a rigorous fashion for the descendants of my parents and grandparents. We (my siblings and I) are my grandparents only grandchildren. Going back to the great grandparents this is not the case on my father's side, I have a number of second cousins although that number is fairly small and a number of them are half second cousins. On my mother's father's side, I have only half second cousins and there are only two of them. On my mother's mother's side, I am still trying to locate the grandchildren of one of my grandmother's sisters and the other one who had three sons has just one granddaughter still living with descendants. The rest of her siblings did not have children. So the number of second cousins is small but the number of third cousins takes a rather dramatic leap. Although my paternal grandfather had eleven siblings only one child, the eldest daughter, had a large number of grandchildren/great grandchildren. The rest had two to three children at most and many of them had no children at all.
What ever happened to being friendly in genealogy one might say? Although I must admit quite a few of these emails are from distant cousins thanking me for my blog which has assisted them in their trek backwards. Some have queries that I cannot answer without doing a lot of research that I have no intention of doing.
Others are asking about the five projects that I administer at FT DNA. For three of these projects I do a newsletter three times a year so mostly I do not get a lot of queries on those studies which is rather handy to be honest. I probably can not answer any questions about their family lines anyway and the research is ongoing with respect to all of these haplogroups. H11 though has proven to be quite fascinating and as the project continues to grow one can see resting spots for various subclades of H11. However, FT DNA has changed access so actually determining location is not quite as easy as it was but privacy is important for sure. I never identify anyone in my reporting by name or kit number; it isn't necessary to do so and I do not report other than in those newsletters any particular mutations.
For my two one name studies I actually get very few emails as people tend to write to me directly. Most requests come for the Blake surname and usually it is in disagreement with what I am saying. I do provide the links back to my blog where the relevant details including location and transcription of original records and leave it at that. I am not going to be able to convince everyone with a family history that they descend from the family of Lord Robert Blake that in actual fact they may not descend from that particular Blake line.
Back to emails!
Genealogy is not really my passion. Organization is and the desire to establish my family lines in a rigorous fashion for the descendants of my parents and grandparents. We (my siblings and I) are my grandparents only grandchildren. Going back to the great grandparents this is not the case on my father's side, I have a number of second cousins although that number is fairly small and a number of them are half second cousins. On my mother's father's side, I have only half second cousins and there are only two of them. On my mother's mother's side, I am still trying to locate the grandchildren of one of my grandmother's sisters and the other one who had three sons has just one granddaughter still living with descendants. The rest of her siblings did not have children. So the number of second cousins is small but the number of third cousins takes a rather dramatic leap. Although my paternal grandfather had eleven siblings only one child, the eldest daughter, had a large number of grandchildren/great grandchildren. The rest had two to three children at most and many of them had no children at all.
What ever happened to being friendly in genealogy one might say? Although I must admit quite a few of these emails are from distant cousins thanking me for my blog which has assisted them in their trek backwards. Some have queries that I cannot answer without doing a lot of research that I have no intention of doing.
Others are asking about the five projects that I administer at FT DNA. For three of these projects I do a newsletter three times a year so mostly I do not get a lot of queries on those studies which is rather handy to be honest. I probably can not answer any questions about their family lines anyway and the research is ongoing with respect to all of these haplogroups. H11 though has proven to be quite fascinating and as the project continues to grow one can see resting spots for various subclades of H11. However, FT DNA has changed access so actually determining location is not quite as easy as it was but privacy is important for sure. I never identify anyone in my reporting by name or kit number; it isn't necessary to do so and I do not report other than in those newsletters any particular mutations.
For my two one name studies I actually get very few emails as people tend to write to me directly. Most requests come for the Blake surname and usually it is in disagreement with what I am saying. I do provide the links back to my blog where the relevant details including location and transcription of original records and leave it at that. I am not going to be able to convince everyone with a family history that they descend from the family of Lord Robert Blake that in actual fact they may not descend from that particular Blake line.
Back to emails!
Emails less than 400
Still working away on the emails and now less than 400 to do. However, 25% of these require some digging into the records to resolve any issues so takes a little more time.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
1400 emails to go
I am slowly working my way through my emails (down to 1400) and hope to complete that task by the end of this month.
I want to get back to my transcription of the Blake wills as I got sidetracked back in the summer and haven't been able to get back to that.
Now that I am 74 I am thinking in earnest about continuation of some of these projects that I have created. I can see doing them, God willing, into my 80s but I need to be thinking about who might pick up the project and carry it on.
Interestingly one of my daughters is starting to get interested in all of this and may pick up some of the work. That has certainly given me pause for thought.
I want to get back to my transcription of the Blake wills as I got sidetracked back in the summer and haven't been able to get back to that.
Now that I am 74 I am thinking in earnest about continuation of some of these projects that I have created. I can see doing them, God willing, into my 80s but I need to be thinking about who might pick up the project and carry it on.
Interestingly one of my daughters is starting to get interested in all of this and may pick up some of the work. That has certainly given me pause for thought.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
H11 Newsletter, Volume 3, Issue 4, 2019
H11 Newsletter
Table of Contents
1. Project Statistics
2. Changes in how a project administrator can view your results
3. H11 in the news
1. Project Statistics:
Combined GEDCOMs Uploaded 49
DISTINCT mtDNA Haplogroups 17
Family Finder 257
Maternal Ancestor Information 301
mtDNA 327
mtDNA Full Sequence 317
mtDNA Plus 324
mtDNA Subgroups 22
Total Members 359
Unreturned Kits 14
Within the study group we have members in every sub-haplogroup except H11a5. I will not do a breakdown of the various groups in this newsletter. Specifically, I will do that in Issue 1 of each year.
2. Changes in how a project administrator can view your results
FT DNA has upgraded their access to accounts so that the default is Group Access only. If you wish to have your results included in the project then you must grant Limited Access to the Administrator. Minimum access means that I can not see any earliest ancestor information that you may have added to your project.
3. H11 in the News
Ian Logan has an extensive list of Haplogroup H11 where the samples have been uploaded to Genbank on a website (up to the end of April 2019):
http://www.ianlogan.co.uk/sequences_by_group/h11_genbank_sequences.htm
This site lists all of the mutations for the submitted samples. Members of H11 may find this site very interesting.
Any submissions to this newsletter can be submitted to Elizabeth Kipp (kippeeb@rogers.com).
Table of Contents
1. Project Statistics
2. Changes in how a project administrator can view your results
3. H11 in the news
1. Project Statistics:
Combined GEDCOMs Uploaded 49
DISTINCT mtDNA Haplogroups 17
Family Finder 257
Maternal Ancestor Information 301
mtDNA 327
mtDNA Full Sequence 317
mtDNA Plus 324
mtDNA Subgroups 22
Total Members 359
Unreturned Kits 14
Within the study group we have members in every sub-haplogroup except H11a5. I will not do a breakdown of the various groups in this newsletter. Specifically, I will do that in Issue 1 of each year.
2. Changes in how a project administrator can view your results
FT DNA has upgraded their access to accounts so that the default is Group Access only. If you wish to have your results included in the project then you must grant Limited Access to the Administrator. Minimum access means that I can not see any earliest ancestor information that you may have added to your project.
3. H11 in the News
Ian Logan has an extensive list of Haplogroup H11 where the samples have been uploaded to Genbank on a website (up to the end of April 2019):
http://www.ianlogan.co.uk/sequences_by_group/h11_genbank_sequences.htm
This site lists all of the mutations for the submitted samples. Members of H11 may find this site very interesting.
Any submissions to this newsletter can be submitted to Elizabeth Kipp (kippeeb@rogers.com).
Friday, November 1, 2019
H11 Newsletter is in preparation
Working on the H11 Newsletter and ready probably early in the next week.
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