Blake Newsletter completed and will publish it tomorrow

 I completed the Blake Newsletter Volume 12, Issue 1, 2023 yesterday and will publish it on New Years Day. I found it an interesting newsletter to write and the descendants of the Blake family at Calne and Andover number in the many thousands perhaps hundred of thousands - no ideas on that. Certainly the families in the 1400s, 1500s and 1600s were very large and many of them have disappeared from the areas in which they were born. One is left to suspect that they emigrated to the Western Hemisphere or parts of the Eastern Hemisphere - Africa, Australia, India or other areas or migrated to other parts of England/Scotland/Ireland. Definitely the numbers of Blake in the Calne and Andover areas diminished rapidly in the 1700s. 

The link to Diana, Princess of Wales is most interesting and the Prince of Wales has many many people related to him in England although quite distantly! The Thomas Blake that is the ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales is in the twelfth generation back. Thomas Blake at Eastontown married Eleanor Hall but they lived a good part of their life in London, UK. Thomas' parents John Blake and Margaret Blake are a very interesting couple (and I believe that one is of the Calne Blake family - Margaret - and one of the Andover Blake family - Thomas). The newsletters do discuss this family as it was a descendant of John and Margaret Blake who was last found at Knights Enham leaving his will (he lived in London however) dated 3 Jan 1727 and probated 8 Jul 1734. His Blake line technically ended with his daughters - six in all - Elizabeth, Diana, Jane, Rachel, Anne and Sarah. I did find it interesting that one was a Diana but the direct link with the Blake family is much further back!

This morning first thing I completed the last day of Solitaire games for 2022 - it is somewhat nostalgic to do that actually. My first thing to do on my computer each day is to play the five solitaire games of the day in Microsoft Solitaire. I greatly enjoy that and it does clear out any brain fog first thing and sets my brain up for a busy day of work on my various projects. 

Tomorrow is New Years Day and one would wish and pray that the war in Ukraine could be over and we could go back to just living our lives. I do try to understand the mindset of dictators and their supposed fear of the United States and NATO but it is just made up logic to justify greed and aggression - it has no substance. NATO is a defensive organization; always has been and God willing always will be. We in the Western Hemisphere and the British Isles and the European Union do not want a war with Russia or anyone else. We would like to prevent war as it is destructive to our world especially with nuclear weapons but we will not stand by and watch as Ukraine is butchered once again by the Russians who have now become the Nazis - the starvation of Ukrainians by Stalin is fresh in our minds. Looting, raping, pillaging and destroying Ukraine is a sinful and illegal act by Russia. Ukrainians defending themselves is their right - Glory to Ukraine. So ends this year and on to the next as we continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to hold off the Russian advance and to defend their people under the cruel occupation of the Russian Army in parts of Ukraine. 

Belarus would do well to sit on the sidelines - Russia will do anything to try to create an incident to spark trouble on that border. Do the Russian people accept what the Nazi Psycopathic Greedy Putin and his enablers are doing in Ukraine - only they can stop it. Rise up O Russia and rid yourselves of these monsters Putin and his enablers and have the life that you deserve - Christmas with your families and a bright New Year instead of the death of so many young Russian men - not the sons and daughters of Putin and his enablers they will have a lovely Christmas with all the best things - your Russian sons are dying on Ukrainian battle fields which Putin and his enablers have created by illegally entering Ukraine.

A review of the genealogical information in the Blake wills at Enham and nearby completed

Yesterday was a good day of completion. All of the wills that I had collected up for review are now completed. I did reach James Blake with all of that work although he is also on the Pedigree Chart for Blake held by the Swindon and Wiltshire Record Office as well as the College of Arms in London. Finding his line back to either Nicholas or Robert was an important quest and I will now review the path back to these two sons of Jone Blake who left her will as a widow in 1527. Her likely husband Richard left his will in 1522 naming Robert as his eldest son and it looks like he mentions Nichi and an unknown daughter who was Elizabeth Mylne after marriage. Robert's line coming down is huge with six sons and Nicholas has two sons (William and Edmund) but the second one does disappear from view (Edmund has a son Stephen but no further information). However, William's family is very large. So more work on that today to complete the newsletter for the first of January 2023. 

Yesterday we went skiing once again and it was a good trip - a little warmer which was pleasant and I only had one partial mishap - I went down on one knee but managed to get back up again using just my poles so a good trip. I am loving the skiing and can ski around my backyard as well on the really cold days that are to come in January and February. The fresh air is good for me for sure. 

I can feel the year slipping away now. Today is meant to be above freezing perhaps as much as 5 degrees celsius so there will be some melting which is always nice for the driveways and roads. The trees have lost their snow cover leaving them bleak and forlorn in the grey sky. It is exciting though to think of the life inside of those trees waiting to blossom forth come spring. I love it when the buds suddenly appear on the trees in the spring. It is truly magic although we now know the machinations of trees so not really but our ancestors must have felt there was magic in the air as the world warmed up and the trees woke up once again after a long winter rest. 

Lots of working time today on the Newsletter and starting to think about the next issue of the Kipp Newsletter. If Russia does leave Ukraine and go home then an issue of the H11 Newsletter which is the first issue of the year and a look at the breakdown of the various subclades of H11. Most holders of this particular clade of H live in Eastern Europe and indeed even into parts of Asia including India. There is a small group in Europe and the British Isles but I think roughly 80% live in Eastern Europe still with their ancestors having wintered during the Last Glacial Maximum at Ukraina. The ancient home of these peoples for sure but they have moved all over the world now. In a way we are a world people although do have countries that we call home. My line likely made the trek to the northern British Isles (Ayrshire/Argyllshire Scotland) as the ice retreated following the path through the Scandinavian Peninsula perhaps or through Doggerland but there are people in the Scandinavian countries who also carry H11 mtDNA. But they also went East from the refuge into Russia and other countries to the East as well as staying in Ukraine and moving west but the numbers were not large. And so the world which is so united in their DNA is on the verge of becoming one world perhaps as we come together to look after the environment but we do need more participants who care about our earth - everyone has to work towards a zero emission so that the wildlife can survive as well. What would the world be without all of us.

On to the rest of the wills for Blake family members at Knights Enham and nearby

 It ended up being quite a trek doing the will of Jone Blake. It was a difficult one - rather faint and a number of items crossed out. Being a woman, she had a lot of material items that she wanted to go to particular son, daughters, granddaughters and grandsons. 

There are eleven wills left to extract the genealogical information to complete my task. I suspect the summary will take another newsletter to really look at all of this material. I did work my way through some of it earlier but to look at all the wills at once will be quite a task that I have set for myself. At 77 I am slowing down a little in that regard plus it is a busy season. 

Thinking of King Charles III's Christmas message I am not sure I agree with the thoughts of the Queen's Chaplain. I think the monarchy is more than it being the Head of the Church of England. I think he phrased his Christmas message very well including all the peoples of the United Kingdom. 

 The Monarchy stretches back over a thousand years in England and has been in this century and the last a beacon of hope in a strained world. There is a promise in this line that is coming to fruition with Charles as King now and William to come with Kate his wife and then their children, George, Charlotte and Louis with their eventual heirs. Charles has good ideas; is in an environmentalist and dedicated to the world's future existence. He makes England grand really; people notice England because of him and his son William and family.

I think people need to be more flexible in their thinking these days. It is one of the reasons that Russia attacked Ukraine. The mindset of the greedy psychopathic nazis Putin and his enablers could not get past the idea that Ukraine could be independent, could seek membership in the European Union and could be a member of NATO. It certainly wasn't working well for Ukraine to be part of the Soviet Union, Stalin tried to starve them to death during the 1930s. Their memories of Russia are not very pleasant one could say given the past and the present. I like the idea of Zelenskyy to have the United Nations manage the peace talks and the peace. If Russia truly wants peace than they would let that happen. The men of Russia do not have to die on the battlefield day after day; it is sinful to throw one's youth away like Russia is doing. Putin and his enablers are destroying Russia. 

Wills of Richard Blake and Jone (Blake) Blake, 1623 and 1631 respectively; both of Andover

 Richard Blake, Linen Draper, of Andover left his will dated 10 Sep 1622 and it was probated by his wife Jone/Joane 15 May 1623. It is easy to tell who his children are as he names all of them and some of his grandchildren are also named. Unfortunately he does not name his siblings nor does he give a hint on his parent’s names. Naming his brothers in law as Nicholas Blake and William Smith is perhaps a clue to the ancestry of his wife Jone Blake as her surname was Blake before marriage. She appears to fit into the children of William Blake and Margaret Hibberd - she had a brother Nicholas and a sister Dorothy married to William Smith. The land which he discusses in his will is not property that belonged to the William Blake and Margaret Hibberd family (which was inherited from their mutual father William Blake who left his will in 1582. This Richard has done well for himself as a draper - he inherited only ₤50 from the will of his father William Blake (d 1582) as the second youngest son with three older brothers and the first two received the bulk of the inheritance which was a number of different properties. This does appear to place him as the second youngest son of William (d 1582)

Names mentioned in the will:

Jone Blake, wife of testator
William Cooke, tenant
Mr. Palmes, land owner
Mr. Thomas Fittiplace, land owner
Sir Francis Neale, land owner
William Blake, eldest son
John Blake, son
Nicholas Blake, son
Richard Blake, son
Peter Blake, son
William Blake, grandson, second son of William Blake
Peter Blake, grandson, son of William Blake
Mr. Richard Venables, land owner
Jone Bayly, daughter
Dorothie Burmingham, daughter
Ellnor Hinxman, daughter
Margarett Savage, daughter
Mr. Peter Noyes the elder, cousin
Mr. Nicholas Blake, brother in law
Mr. William Smith, brother in law
Joseph Hinxman, son in law
Hugh Marshall, witness
Nicholas Blake, witness
John Elton, witness

Richard names his eldest son as William which is helpful since the parish registers for Andover have not yet begun when he is baptized.

Baptisms and marriages for the children at Andover:

William Blake married Dorothy Madgwick 6 Feb 1606 (likely born before 1586)
Jone Blake married Richard Bayly 6 May 1605 (likely born by 1585)
Elizabeth Blake married John Hapgood 18 Jun 1605 (likely born by 1585)
Dorothy Blake married Peter Burmingham Apr 1608 (likely born by 1588)
Elenor Blake baptized 23 May 1589, married to Joseph Hinxman 10 Dec 1610
Margaret Blake baptized 25 Apr 1592, married to Richard Savage Apr 1616
Richard Blake baptized 30 Sep 1593 (lived at Tower Ward, London)
Peter baptized 25 Jul 1596
Edward baptized 21 Feb 1598 and buried 2 Mar 1599
John baptized 25 Oct 1601
Nicholas baptized 27 Mar 1604
Alice buried 11 Sep 1613

Since the eldest children are likely born by 1585 the possible date of marriage for Richard Blake and Jone Blake would be circa 1584 or earlier. That would give a likely date of birth for Richard of the early 1560s or earlier. I believe this Richard to be the son of William and Elizabeth Blake with William Blake leaving his will in 1582 at Eastontown, near Andover. William does not mention grandchildren in his will but to place him in a family he does mention his brother and sisters. William is definitely the son of Nicholas and Margaret Blake of Enham.

Will blogged for William Blake probated 14 Nov 1582:

http://kippeeb.blogspot.ca/2012/09/will-of-william-blakeyeoman-of-andover.html

and he mentions his siblings which clearly places him in the family of Nicholas and Margaret Blake of Enham. His brother Edmund mentioned in his father’s and his mother’s will quite disappears from the records although said to have a son Stephen. William has a large family as seen in his will. It is this large family along with his Uncle Robert’s family that form the nucleus of the Blake family in this area of Hampshire. Robert being a brother to Nicholas and named in their mother’s will and if I am right about Richard Blake who left his will in 1522 also named in his will where Robert was the eldest son. 

Transcribed by: Elizabeth Kipp
Recorded: 22nd  February 2008
Source: The National Archives, PROB 11/141/491
Place: Andover, Hampshire, England
Type of Record: Will
Testator: Richard Blake, Linen Draper
Place: Andover, Hampshire, England
Dated: 10 Sep 1622, probated 15 May 1623
Read: Electronic copy
Condition: scan, smudges, old English writing good, contrast medium

[Margin]: T[estament] Richardi
[Margin]: Blake

1    In the name of the eternall and everlivinge
2    God father sonne and holly ghost, In whose name I was baptized in whome only I hope and beleive
3    to bee saved Amen The tenth daie of december in the yeare of our lord god one thousand six
4    hundred and two and twentie And in the yeares of the raigne of our soueraigne Lord James
5    by the grace of god king of England France and Ireland, defender of the faith etc the twentith
6    and of Scotland the six and fiftieth I Richard Blake of Andever in the Countie of South[amp]t[on]
7    lynnen drapier aged of yeares being sicke in boddie but of good and perfitt memorie I thancks
8    my god the giver and preserver thereof doe make and ordayne this my last will and testament
9    as followeth Revokinge hereby both in deede and in lawe all former and other wills heretofore
10    made by mee And first with a free hart and willing mind I doe yield and render my soule
11    into thee hands o[f] father sonne and holye ghost I doe acknowledge with all my hart and doe
12    confesse I am a greate sinner and have neede of the grace mercy and favor of God and I hope
13    that I shall find both grace and merrit of god the father for his beloved Christs sake in him
14    I believe, hee is my redeemer hee liveth for ever and ever and maketh intercession for sinners
15    and this I knowe that now I am a corruptible body but I hope throughe Jesus Christ to rise an
16    Incorruptible boddie and I believe that the lord will have mercie uppon mee for hee first made
17    mee soe this I believe whether I live or dye I am the lords to whome bee all honor glory power and
18    dominion both now and for evermore Amen As concerning my boddie I bequeath itt to the earth
19    from whence itt came Item I give to Trynitie Church in Wynton – ij s vi d and to the church
20    of Andever xx s Item I give and devise to Joane Blake my loving wife my house wherein I
21    now dwell in Andever and all the lands w[i]th th[e ]appurten[a]nce thereunto belonging And all that
22    my house and lands thereunto belonging in Andever aforesaid heretofore called the Bleu Ancker and
23    is now called the Phenix in the possession of William Cooke And all other my lands and ten[emen]ts in
24    Andever aforesaid ^ w[hi]ch I purchased severally of Mr Palmes and of Mr Thomas Fittiplace and alsoe that house or tenement in Andever aforesayd wherein Walter Waight shoomaker now dwelleth And alsoe all that my messuage
25    or ten[emen]ts and one acre of land in Sopstreete alias Soplane in Andever aforesaid and allsoe
26    all that my mannor and farme of Cricklades with the water mill thereof in Andever
27    aforesaid and all the lands rents profitts and com[m]odities whatsoever thereunto belonging
28    And allsoe all that my messuage and Farme of Gallacre al[ia]s Gavellacre and all the lands
29    rents profitts and com[m]odities whatsoever thereunto belonging And allsoe all those my lands ten[emen]ts and
30    hereditaments which I purchased of Sir Francis Neale lyeing in Forton in the p[ar]ish of Longe
31    parish And all and ev[er]ie in the rents of the said sev[er]all mannors messuages lands tene[men]ts and p[re]misses
32    referred upon anie lease or leases thereof or of anie p[ar]te thereof made To have and to hould all
33    and singular the said mannor messuags farmes mill lands tene[men]ts and p[re]misses unto the sayd
34    Joane my wief for and during her naturall life if shee shall soe long continue and keepe her self sole
35    and unmarried And after her decease or marriage w[hi]ch shall first happen I devise and bequeath
36    all and singular the saide mannor messuags farmes mill lands ten[emen]ts and p[re]misses and the rev[er]cion
37    and remaynder of them and ev[er]ie of them in manner and forme following that is to saie I give and
38    devise unto Will[ia]m Blake my eldest sonne my saied dwelling house and all that my saied mannor and
39    Farme of Cricklades together with the mill thereof and all the lands thereunto sev[er]allie and respectively
40    belonging and all the houses and lands with theire appurten[an]ces which I purchased of Mr Thomas
41    Feffiplace aforesaide To have and to hould to him the saide Will[ia]m Blake and his heires for ever
42    And I give and devise unto John Blake my sonne All that my said messuage or ten[emen]te called
43    the Bleu Ancker or Phenix aforesaide and all other the messuags lands and ten[emen]ts w[hi]ch I purchased
44    of Mr Palmes in Andever aforesaide and alsoe all that my said house or ten[emen]te wherein Walter
45    Waight aforesaide now dwelleth and all the lands thereunto belonging To have and to hold unto
46    my saide sonne John Blake and to the heires of his boddie lawfullie begotten and for defaulte of
47    such issue the Remaynder thereof to my said sonne Will[ia]m Blake ad his heires for ever
48    And I give and devise unto my sonne Nicholas Blake All those my lands ten[emen]ts and hereditaments
49    lyeing in Forton aforesaid w[hi]ch I lately purchased of Sir Frances Neale to have and to hold unto
50    [Page 2]
51    unto my saide sonne Nicholas his heires and assignes for ever Uppon this condition that my
52    saide sonne Nich[ol]as Blake and his heires shall paie to ev[er]ie of his brothers and sisters twenty pounds
53    apeece within two yeares next after the decease of Joane my saide wife And further I give and
54    devise unto my saide sonne Nich[ol]as Blake All that my messuage and Farme of Gallacre alias
55    Gavellacre and all the lands ten[emen]ts and hereditam[en]ts thereunto belonging and the rev[er]cion and Remaynder
56    thereof with their appurt[en[ancs To have and to hould unto my sayde sonne Nicholas Blake and
57    to the heires of his boddie lawfullie begotten and for defaulte of such yssue the Remaynder thereof
58    to my sayde sonne Will[ia]m Blake and to the heires of his boddie lawfullie begotten and for defaulte
59    of such yssue the Remaynder thereof to him and his heirs for ever provided allwaies and my will
60    is that if itt shall happen my saide Farme and lands of Gallacre to come unto my sayde sonne
61    Will[ia]m Blake or to his heires for defaulte of heires of the boddie of my sayde sonne Nicholas lawfullie
62    begotten That then my saide sonne Will[ia]m Blake or his heire which att that time shalbe shall
63    paie unto Richard Blake my sonne two hundred pounds, to Peter Blake my sonne one hundred pounds
64    and to John Blake my sonne one hundred pounds of currant english money to bee paid w[i]thin two
65    yeeres nexte after the said land shall come unto my saide sonne Will[ia]m or to his heires as aforesaide
66    And yf my sayde sonne Will[ia]m or his heires to whome the sayde land shall happen to come for defaulte
67    of heires of the body of my said sonne Nich[ol]as shall make default of payment of the sayd sev[er]all
68    som[m]es of money unto my said sonnes Richard, Peter and John in manner as is aforesayd That
69    then I give and devise the saide Farme of Gallacre and lands thereunto belonging unto my sayde sonne
70    Richard Blake and his heirs uppon condition likewise that the said Richard Blake or his heires
71    shall paie unto my said sonnes Peter and John one hundred pounds apeece, And I give and devise
72    unto William Blake my grandchilde second sonne of my sonne Wyll[ia]m All that my saide messuage
73    or ten[emen]te in Soperlane al[ia]s Soperstreete aforesaid and one acre of land thereunto belonginge
74    and the rev[er]cion and Remaynder thereof To have and to holde unto him and to the heyres of his bodye
75    lawfully begotten and for defaulte of such yssue the Remaynder thereof to Peter Blake his brother
76    one other of my grandchildren and to his heires for ever Item I give and devise unto Jone Blake
77    my sayde wife All that my moyety p[ar]te and porcion of the Farme of Upclatford and the rents
78    thereof which I sometymes held together w[i]th Mr Richard Venables To have and receive the rents
79    and profitts thereof for and during all the estate and terme of yeeres therein yet to come
80    and unexpired (if shee shall soe long live and keepe her self widdowe and unmaryed and after
81    her decease or marriage which shall first happen I give and devise all my estate and terme of
82    yeares therein then to come and unexpired with the rents and profitts thereof unto my sayde
83    sonne John Blake his executors and assignes; provided my will and meaning is that my said
84    wief shall paie out of the rents and proffitts of the sayd Farme of Clatford unto my sayd sonne
85    John Blake for his mayntenance att Oxforde the some of xxiiiij li by the yeere yearly Item
86    I give and bequeath unto my sonne Richard Blake fower hundred pounds of currant
87    english money over and above all such moneys as hee hath allreadie had of mee to bee paied unto
88    him by my executrix in manner following viz [a vi]t one hundred pounds thereof within six months
89    next after my decease and soe within ev[er]ie six moneths next following one hundred pounds
90    untill the sayd some of fower hundred pounds bee fullie paied Item whereas I promised to
91    give unto my sonne Peter Blake upon his marriage with his now wief the some of Five
92    hundred pounds (Three hundred pounds whereof I have allreadie paied unto him my will is
93    that my executrix shall paye unto him one hundred pounds more within one yeere next
94    after my decease and in full satisfaction of the said Five hundred pounds I give unto my
95    sayd sonne Peter my lease and terme of yeares of the Salteren or Salthouse in or neere
96    the towne of Southampton if hee shall accept thereof in satisfaction of the sayd
97    500 li Item I give to ev[er]ie of the children of Jone Bayly my daughter x ls a peece
98    Item I give unto Dorothie Burmingham my daughter x li and to ev[er]ie of her children
99    40 s apeece Item I give unto Ellnor Hinxman my daughter one hundred pounds in
100    regard her porcion hath beene lesse then the rest of her sisters and to ev[er]ie of her children
101    40 s apeece Item I give unto Margarett Savage my daughter xx li and to ev[er]ie of her
102    [Page 3]
103    children 40 s apeece Item I give to ev[er]ie of my sonne William Blakes children 40 s apiece Item the residue
104    of all my goods credditts debts cattells and chattells whatsoever not given nor bequeathed moveable and un-
105    moveable I give and bequeath fully and wholly to Jone Blake my sayde wief whom I make and ordeyne to
106    bee my only and sole executrix of this my last will and testament to paie all my debts and discharge all
107    my legacies hereby given and bequeathed and to see my bodye decentlie buried Item my will is that all the
108    waynskott glasse benches shelves table bordes and ioynestooles of my dwelling house shall after my
109    sayd wifes decease remayne and bee unto my said sonne William unde[r]saied My overseers of
110    this my last will I desire to bee my Cossen Mr Peter Noyes th[e ]elder, my brother in law Mr Nich[ol]as
111    Blake my brother in law Mr Will[ia]m Smith and my sonne in law Joseph Hinxman and I
112    give unto each of them xx s a peece giving willing and graunting unto them and the longest li-
113    ver of them full power and authoritie to determyne decyde and end all ambiguities doubtes
114    questions and debates whatsoever which shall arise amongest my sayd children or anye of them
115    And further my will is that my executrix shall become bound by obligacion to my overseers as
116    they shall thincke reasonable before my will bee proved to p[er]fourme and paye all the legacyes be-
117    fore given and bequeathed w[hi]ch yf shee shall refuse to doe Then my will is that Will[ia]m Blake my
118    sonne shall bee my executor of this my last will becominge bound as aforesaide to perfourme
119    the same provided allwaies and my will is that yf itt shall happen after my decease anye of my
120    sonnes or anye other to whome I have limited to enioye anye p[ar]te of my lands or goods aforesaide
121    not to content himself or themselves with such porcion of lands or goods in such manner and
122    sort as I have before given and bequeathed the same or shall attempt practise or endeavour to
123    disturbe alter chaunge frustrate or made voide in anie respect or point this my last will
124    and testament and the contents of the same or anie p[ar]te thertoof that then my sayd sonnes he or
125    they and every other person and persons to whome I have given and graunted to have and enjoy anye
126    p[ar]te of my lands goods and chattells shall for ever lose the benefitt of this my last will to all
127    intents and purposes and the legacies to them or any of them by the same given and devised
128    And then I doe give and devise the same porcion of my lands and goods to the residue of my sayde
129    sonnes not soe offendinge to be equallie and indifferentlye divided amongest them Item my will
130    and meaning is that my sayde wief shall receive and have all the rents and p[ro]fitts of my
131    lands given unto her as is aforesayde towards the paiement of the legacies in this my will
132    contayned yf my goods and chattells shall not suffice to satisfie the same And lastely I give and
133    bequeath unto the corporacion of the towne of Andever and theire successors for ever Thirty
134    pounds of currant english money uppon condicion that the Baylief and approved men for the
135    time being of the sayde corporacion shall with the same money either purchase land in Fee
136    simple to the use of the poore people of the same towne accordinge to the proporcion of the sayd somme
137    of Thirtie poundes and paye the rent thereof yeerelye unto the sayde poore people or els that the
138    sayd Bailliffe and approved men shall give securitie unto my executrix and overseers or the s[ur]vivors
139    of them by rent chardge or otherwise by some other assurance as shal[l ]bee by my sayd executrix and
140    overseers or the survivor of them or theire counsell learned devised to paye unto the sayd poore
141    people such as have most neede and to soe manie of them as the sayd Bailliffe and approves
142    men shall thinke fitt the some of fourty shillings att the feast of St Thomas theapostle yerely
143    for ever And further I give towards the paving of the waye to the Free scoolhouse in Andever
144    the some of twentie shillings In witnes whereof I have to this my last will and testament sett
145    my hand and seale the daie and yere above written Richard Blake witnesses hereeunto Hugh
146    Marshall  Nich: Blake  John Elton
148    Probatum: fuit testamentum suprascriptum apud London coram venera
149    bili viro domino Will[el]imo Byrd milite legum doctore Curie prerogative cantuariensis ma
150    gistre custode siue com[m]issario legittime constituto decimo quinto die Mensis Maij Anno
151    domini millesimo sexcentesimo vicesimo tertio Juramento Joanne Blake relicte dicti
152    dicti defuncti et executrixio in huisimodi testamento nominat Cui com[m]issa fuit administratio
153    bonorum Jurium et Creditorum dicti defuncti de bene et fideliter administrando eadem
154    ad sancta dei evangelia Coram Hugone Marshall cl[er]ico vigore com[m]issiomis in ea p[ar]te al[ia]s
155    emanata Jurat

The wife of Richard Blake, Jone (Blake) Blake left her will dated 23 Apr 1631. It was probated in a local court possibly and not the Prerogative Court of Canterbury but actual probate is not with this copy of the will. Her date of death is unknown but a burial for Mrs. Jone Blake 20 May 1631 as a widow is likely for her. She mentions to the Curate at Andover Mr Elton (as did her husband); She makes references to other items in the will pertaining to Church donations. 

Names mentioned in the will

Jone Blake, widow, testator

William Baily, grandson

William Blake, son (eldest)

Katheren Baily, granddaughter

Richard Blake, son

John Blake, son

Jone Baily, daughter (eldest)

Richard Baily, son in law

Peter Blake, son

Nicholas Blake, son

Rosmard Anesend, debtor

Peter Burmingham, son in law

Joseph Hinxman, son in law, executor in case of failure by William Blake

Mr Nicholas Blake, brother

Mr William Smyth, brother in law

Other grandchildren, mentioned only by surname - Burmingham, Savage, Hinxman

Other daughters, mentioned only by surname - Dorothy Burmingham, Elenor Hinxman, Margaret Savage. 

Missing from the will of both her parents Elizabeth married to John Hapgood (one child only Elizabeth also not mentioned). Two daughters are deceased as infants/young child. One son died as an infant - Edward. 

I ordered a copy of the original scans from Family Search a while ago but had not transcribed it. An oversight in these years that have passed since I received it.

Recorded: 26 Dec 2022
Source:  Family Search Will Acquisition
Place: Andover, Hampshire, England
Type of Record: Will
Testator: Jone Blake (widow of Richard Blake)
Dated: 23 Apr 1631
Read: Images
Condition: smudges, old English writing, faint
       
1    In the name of God Amen the xxiijth Daye of Aprill in the yere of o[u]r Lord god 1631, I Jone Blake of Andever in the county
2    of South[ampton] wid[ow] being sicke in body but of good and p[er]fitt memory (god be praysed everlie) doe make my last will and testament in
 3    manner and forme following revokinge hereby all former wills First I com[m]end my soule into the hands of almightie
 4    god my maker hopinge assuredly thorough the onely meritts and mediation of my saviour Jesus Christe to be saued and
 5    be made an Inheritrix of his heavenly kingdome my body I comend to the earth to be buried in the Church of Andever
 6    nere vnto the place where my husband was buried.  It[e]m I give to the Church of Andever xxs.  It[e]m I give to the
 7    use of the poore people of Andever the some of x ₤ to be bestowed and disbursed together w[it]h xxx ₤ formerly giuen
 8    by my husband by the Bailliffe and approved men of the corporacon of Andever as is appoynted by my said husbands will
 9    It[e]m I giue to the Church of Knights Enham xx s To the poore there v s To the poor people of Forton x s It[e]m I
10    giue towards the repayring of the Free Schoolehowse xx s To the poore people of Andever to be distributed amongst
11    them at my buriall xl s To Mr Elton of Andever I giue xx s Item I giue to Will[ia]m Baily my grandchild xx ₤
12    of currant english money to be paide vnto him by my executor w[it]hin six moneths next after my decease It[e]m I giue to ev[er]y of
13    my sonne Will[ia]m Blakes children xx s a peece To my Daughter Bailies children (Katheren and Will[ia]m excepted) xx s a peece
14    To my daughter Burminghams children xxs a peece To my daughter Hinxmans children xx s apiece To my daughter
15    Savages children xx s a peece.  It[e]m I giue vnto Richard Blake my sonne one hundred pounds of currant money to be
16    paide vnto him w[it]hin one moneth next after my decease  It[e]m I giue to John Blake my sonne one hundred pounds
17    of like money to be paide by my executor vnto him his executors or assignes at the end or expiracon of the lease of the Farme of Upclatford
18    called my Lord Sandys Farme and in the meane tyme to be disposed of by my sonne Hinxman to the vse of my
19    saide sonne John at the rate of six in the hundred p[ro]vided if he shall haue occasion to disburse yt towardes the rente
20    takings of the said Farme of vp clatford or otherwise unto ymploy it soever for his such like good this my executor shall paye the same
21    w[it]hin three moneths vpon notice thereof to him giuen  It[e]m I giue to my Daughter Jone Baily Fifty poundes currant money
22    and my will is that my executor shall dipsose of the same to her vse and paye the interest thereof after the rate of six in the hundred to her husband Richard Baily and
23    the principall to her survivour ysyue.  It[e]m I giue vnto Katheren Baily my grandchild one hundred poundes currant
24    money to be paide vnto her at her marriage or age of xxj yeres w[hic]h shall first happen And in the meane tyme
25    to be put out by my executor for her vse and benefitt at the like rate of six in the hundred p[ro]vided that shee marry w[it]h the consent of my executor and
26    overseers or the most p[ar]te of them  It[e]m I giue and bequeath to Nich[ol]as Blake my sonne halfe of my kyne and half my hogges at Forton fortie
27    acres of wheat and six acres of barley sowen and to be sowen at Forton aforesaide and one hundred sheepe to be taken as
28    they shall rvn and be let out at the felde late there to be kept till sheere tyme [several words crossed out]  It[e]m I
29    giue to my said sonnes Peter and Nich[ol]as my fouer Carthowses one Carte and dungpott, two ploughes w[it] their harnes and
30    furniture equally to be divided betwext them All the residue of my stock of cattle corne and other goods and householdstuffe of
31    myne at Forton I giue and bequeath to said Peter Blake my sonne  It[e]m I giue vnto my said sonne Nich[ol]as Blake three q[uar]ters
32    of barley wh[ich] widow Rosmard Anesend doth owe me It[e]m I giue to my sonne John Blake one featherbed, one feather bolster, one           
33    pillowe and pillowe [co]ver, one pare of blanketts and one covverlett,  It[e]m I giue vnto my sonne Peter Blake one pare
34    of home made sheetes and two pare of ordinary sheets  It[e]m I giue to my sonne Richard Blake my best tableclot[h] savinge
35    It[e]m I guie to Katheren Bailie two shete tablecloths one pare of good canvas shete and one more pare of canvas and halfe a dozen of table napkins
36    one and one pare of sheets and one dozen of gray napkins  All the residue of my lynnen I giue and bequeath to my sonne
37    William Blake  p[ar]t is delivered to my fower Daughters equally to be divyded betwext them provided allwaies and upon this condicon
38    and my will is that my sonne in law Richard Baily my sonnes Richard Blake John Blake Peter Blake Nich[ol]as Blake and
39    Katheren Baily to whome I haue giuen legacies as aforesaid and every of them at or before the recept of their several legacies shall give
40    their several bonds to my Executor wh[ich] condicone to the such or the like effect as my sone in lawes Peter Burningham and
41    Richard Savage haue already entered into to paie ra__ly and aproximatly together wh[ich] my executor according to the legacies to each of
42    them giuen toward the buildings and repayings of my pt of the Farme of Upclatford and towards such chargs expences and damags
    as my said executor shall or may and be hereafter put out during the same. It[e]m I give unto my sonnes in law Joseph Hinxman
43    the moitie or half of the orchard during the terme I haue theire wh[ich] I hold of St Mary Colledge nere winton the other
44    moitie and the lease thereof and of the howse wherin Will[ia]m ___ is habitely  I giue to my sonne Will[ia]m Blake and my will and
45    desire is that my sonne Hinxman maye ___ w[it]h my sonne William Blake in the nowe takinge of the said orchard when
46    the same shall hereafter happen  It[e]m I giue to Katherin Baily my cotten gown and my third best petticote, one of my best
47    __ocke and two of my worsted my cloak and my savegard two kerchers and two p[ar]tletts and other aparel all the residue of my wearing
48    apparell I will unto my five daughters equally to be divided betwext them:  And as concerninge my Daughter Burningham and
49    my daughter Hinxman and my daughter Savage I haue lately delivered vnto there husbandes Fifty poundes apiece for and in lieu of
50    their further legacies All the residue of my goods cattles and chattles money plate and howseholde stuffe not hereby
51    giuen nor bequeathed I giue vnto my saide sonne Will[ia]m Blake whome I doe make my Executor of this my laste will and
52    Testament to paie all my legacies and dets and to see my body decently buried my overseers of this my last will I desire
53    to be my brother Mr. Nich[ol]as Blake and my brother in Lawe Mr. William Smythe, and I giue vnto them xx s apeece givinge
54    willing and grantinge vnto them and the longe liver of them full power and authorety to determyn decide and all
55    ambiguities doubts questions and debates wh[ich] shall or maie arise amongest my saide children or any other to whome I
56    haue giuen any legacie Provided allwaies and my will is that if yt shall happen after my decease any of my children
57    or any others to whome I haue given any legacy not to content himself or themselves wh[ich] such porcion of my goods or such
58    and in such measure as I haue giuen the same or shall attempt or endeavour to disturbe alter manage frustrate
59    or make voide this my last will and testament or any p[ar]t thereof that then he or shee or they to whome I have
60    giuen any legacy shall f[or]ever loose the benefitt of this my will and the legacies hereby given
61    and then I doe giue the same porcion of my goodes and monie to be residue of my saide children not so offending
62    to be equally divided amongst them. And further  my will is that my Executor shall become bounde by obligacon to my
63    overseers on such a so[m]me of money as they shall thinke fit before my will be proved to p[er]forme the same and paie all the
64    legacies before giuen wh[ich] if he shall refuse to doe then my will is that my sonne in lawe Joseph Hinxman shalbe my
65    Executor becominge boounde as aforesaide to my overseers to p[er]forme my said will It[e]m further I give unto my sonne
66    Blake’s childe xx s In wytnes whereof I haue hereunto sett my hande
67    Jone "B" Blakes  marke
68    Whitnesses hereunto 
69    Nich: Blake
70    Mary Cor[__]e  

The reference to the farm at Upper Clatford is most interesting as my great grandfather worked on a Farm there as did his father John as far as I can tell. 

Thomas Blake was the father of John Blake and the land which he farmed was likely copyhold and had belonged to the King family (Joanna King married Joseph Blake). The will of Thomas King passed the property to Joseph Blake. It was one of the first wills that I read for my family and I was somewhat shocked that Thomas King did not even mention his daughter; all comments were directed at his son in law! Both the father of Joseph Blake, Thomas Blake and Thomas King were married to women with the surname Carter (Thomas King married Mary Carter 10 Jan 1728 at Upper Clatford (she was the daughter of John Carter and Jane Woods (married 4 Aug 1701 at Andover); Thomas Blake married Ann Carter daughter of Edmond Carter and Ann Monk (married 8 Sep 1700 at Andover). An eight year old child which I was just eight when my grandfather passed away did not retain all that was said to her in those years of listening to my grandfather. He did say may things but I think I only really retained the ones he emphasized.

Cross Country Skiing

We decided to go cross country skiing yesterday; I haven't gone skiing in perhaps six or seven years but I decided I was up for the idea. We went o the local skiing trail and spent about 1.5 hours going to the so-called point and back again. I fell twice on the way out but managed to get into a good style on the way back and stayed on my feet. It felt like a great accomplishment and really enjoyed it. We should get another couple of times out before the next rain event. All that fresh air was quite nice and it was perhaps minus 8 degrees celsius so well in my range of temperature as minus 20 is definitely out for me. 

Hence, I did not complete the will that I was working on but hope to finish that today and post it. It is an interesting will and I have not seen it online anywhere. It is an interesting comment by a woman of this time frame as she discusses finance in a way that shows she was an equal partner with her husband. They were cousins (possibly second I haven't worked it out) so would have known each other all of their lives. Their large family can be found all around the world now. One of their grand daughters (daughter of William and Dorothy (Madgwick) Blake married Major General Robert Sedgwicke 6 Jan 1634 at Andover. He died in the West Indes in 1656 and she died in London in 1667. Their children, interestingly enough, were baptized at Charlestown in the Royal Colony of Massachusetts. Samuel 31 Mar 1638; Benjamin (no date found); Joanna (Hanah) 14 Jan 1640; William circa 1643; Robert 1645 and did continue living in America. Those dates not confirmed by me but found in a writeup on the Sedgwicke family. It is a will written when Charles I was still King. 

Yesterday was also cleaning house day and two flours are completed so today I clean the basement and another week of cleaning accomplished. I do like cleaning as it lets me be orderly but I can also live quite well with disorder when it suits the times. My husband and I were somewhat opposite in that regard; he always had piles neatly organized mind you but piles none the less all over the house as he dealt with various events and projects in which he was involved and he was involved in a lot of these through our marriage. When I look back I can see how involved a person he was; he enjoyed all of these particular involvements for sure and I did go with him for some of them. Genealogy, to be honest, I avoided for a very very long time until DNA arrived on the scene and my cousin who wanted a Pincombe Profile for his history book publication of Westminster and Delaware Townships, Middlesex County, Ontario. Edward was already into genealogy way back when I first knew him although I did not notice how consumed he was by the search for his roots until later as we mostly talked science and especially Chemistry which also interested him. But gradually genealogy became his second occupation in life and then his first when he retired and he loved every minute of that pursuit. I remember our trip to Boston in 2004 to the NEHGS Research weekend. Edward had been busy working away on his own research for a bit and had discovered a really lost ancestry in his mother's line. Verifying the information was very important to him and a trip that involved this research time was planned. Meeting Gary Boyd Roberts set him on a path that encouraged him to retire and pursue this information. We were both signed up for the event but I passed on my research time to him as my interest was in Pincombe and I did not expect to find much on Pincombe in the library although I did actually which was a surprise. Mostly I knew all of that history but I did discover that my third cousin's line that had gone there was not the only one. However, I was still a newbie and carefully blocked that at the time! But my cousin had already contacted me and I had agreed to help out and then there was all this talk of DNA in the air which did really interest me. Both the yDNA of my father's line would end with my brothers (four of them) and my mother's mtDNA would end with her daughter's daughters unless my own daughters had daughters which did not happen and so I felt an imperative to gather all of that DNA information for future researchers in our lines. That was just starting to emerge in my mind in that time frame along with collecting information on the Pincombe family for the Profile which was already in the works at that time - I was taking 42 courses from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies to prepare myself and conduct research using the various courses which was most successful. 

Out of my workroom window is a lovely view of the snow falling. The trees are once again coated with a thin layer of white and it looks quite ethereal out there. I do so love the winter. I really can not imagine living anywhere else. 

On to the day and breakfast. Probably no skiing today but time will tell we could do a short run.  It is just minus 3 degrees celsius at 9:00 a.m. so tempting.

Bible Reading - 1 John 1: 1-2:2

The darkness is all around us these days - it is there in the morning when I awake and it is there at night when I go to sleep. But the world is also in a dark place with Russia still invading Ukraine and not packing up and going home again. The Russian soldiers will miss being home with their wives and families with their mothers and siblings. Putin and his enablers continue to rob them of their rights - they are like slaves and if Putin became stronger that grip hold on their lives will grow even stronger. Go home Russians and enjoy Christmas with your family. The Ukraine is not yours to have or to plunder - they are people they are your own blood. Rid yourselves of the greedy psychopaths Putin and his enablers who have stolen your country from you and give you very little back. These verses from 1 John talk about the light and life. They tell us not to sin - you are sinning soldiers of Russia; you are destroying your fellow man and so many women and children have died - the sins are enormous because you are the invader; you are sent to do the murdering whilst Putin and his enablers and their sons are sitting at home enjoying their time before Christmas and Christmas to come for them. You may lay dead in the trenches rather than have Christmas. Go home. 

Yesterday I worked on the will of Jone Blake - I had a transcribed copy of this will from Charlou Dolan but it is a difficult will with a lot of blanks. I finally got a copy of the original scans but forgot that I have never transcribed it for myself so yesterday I spent the day working away at that and it is in the proof reading stage now and will publish it later today. Does it offer any new clues? It lets me see that this Blake family at Andover was still prosperous in 1631 but the stage is changing - Charles I will offer to a Blake (Calne Blake family) at Pinhills a title and he will refuse it. It will annoy Charles and he has the Blake home destroyed there and most Blakes are going to hide likely from his anger for a bit. The Blake family in Somerset decides to side with the Parliamentarians and Cromwell wins. The problem appears to be that the Blake family at Calne and at Andover are still supporters of the King - the Pinhill family just didn't want to have a title - and so they are out of favour with Cromwell and then the Restoration in the 1660s and Charles II is King but the surname Blake has been made famous by Robert Blake who was Lord High Admiral of the Fleet during the Commonwealth and Protectorate (1649-1660). By now some members of the Blake family at Andover have moved away to start a new life in the Surrey and London areas and they were very successful (this is the Blake line of Diana, Princess of Wales); at the seat of power they could tell and show their story of support for the King. Some  have stayed in Andover but life has been harder for them and they have lost most of their property during the Commonwealth and Protectorate period (William had entered the baptisms of his children into the Andover Parish Register which was forbidden to do during this time period - he was a priest by training) and then the Restoration has not been as kind to them although the people of Andover support them and when William died in 1696 he doesn't even leave a will - there is nothing left as far as I can tell. His son John is living in Andover and has a large family and it is his son Thomas that is my ancestor (he carries on being a Draper as his grandfather and great grandfather had done). I begin to understand why my Grandfather was so determined that I should know we are not related to Robert Blake of Somerset, Lord High Admiral! Never really thought about it that much before but it makes sense. My cousin commented that Edward Blake (our mutual great grandfather was well respected in the area). Interesting comment to hear in far off Canada for sure - he said it though when we were visiting him. There was so much to tell me and I did write it down this time but then I was in my 70s and working away on the Blake family a little bit here and there but it did eventually bring me to taking on Blake as a one-name study in 2011. They are a fascinating family.  

More work today on the wills of the Blake family at Knights Enham and then start to put together what I have learned to put into this next issue of the Blake Newsletter.

15 Wills left to do

I have managed to work my way through all but 15 of the wills for Blake mostly an Enham but a few places closeby as well since descendants of Robert and Nicholas lived in areas around Knights Enham/Kings Enham as the places were known but Knights Enham is now a subdivision in Andover these days.  I hope to finish the wills today and then spend a couple of days preparing the material for the Newsletter with a few thoughts on my part. 

It is truly amazing that we have just these six last days in 2022. So much time has passed since COVID first raised its ugly head in early 2020 and our lives have changed a great deal. This watershed event has resulted in great changes in our world but perhaps the largest is the attention to the world itself as an entity that we must protect. There is a lot of evil in our world but I can never remember really thinking about it before. Russia attacking Ukraine is one of the very big evils in our world - it is positively mediaeval in its style. Another evil is the constant bombardment of the environment which is just as sinful. Both are an enormous danger to our world. The one because it is being led by a greedy psychopath Putin and his enablers and the other because it is a result of industrial neglect for which countries must take some responsibility although the largest emitters have to rein it in or lose our world as we know it. 

As we move towards the end of the year prayers that next year will see a more responsible world respecting Mother Nature and God.

Merry Christmas and thank you to God for His many gifts to us

Christmas morning has come with no wind, my walks and laneway all cleared by the company but it is cold out there and more snow to come. But the sun is shining at the moment and it is a beautiful day to remember the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ. 

I shall go and watch last night's service at Church very soon. I always put family first and last night we watched the third Harry Potter movie because that is what we planned. I would, to be honest, like to be at Church but family time is very important and I enjoyed that time. Besides I really like going to Church on Christmas Day as well as Christmas Eve but there is something special about the Christmas Day Service - God is with us I feel on that special day in the year. 

Yesterday good progress on the wills and I am more than half way through them. Charlou Dolan prepared a list of the descendants of Robert Blake (brother to Nicholas Blake) at Knights Enham and I will soon compare all of this extraction with that work. Always more information comes to light but she has put a great many hours into her pursuit of the Blake family at Andover in the Robert Blake line. I did have good advice to look towards that line which did bring me to Nicholas. I just have that memory from my grandfather and father about Nicholas at Old Hall. And so I have found a line that does go back to Nicholas although there are lines in the Robert tree that could also work but they are not this 100% fit that the other line that I found is. So I persist in the idea that this is the line for my father and grandfather and his father etc. etc. 

Merry Christmas to the world and especially Ukraine - that their heroic struggle will be noted by God and with His support they continue to stand against the greedy psychopaths Putin and his enablers. We must help the Ukrainians; the world stands at an abyss because of Putin and his enablers. They even abuse the Church of Jesus Christ by claiming earlier that this was a religious struggle against a people already maimed and starved by the earlier Soviet Union and now Russia itself  under Putin and his enablers continue that horrific slaughter of the innocents. Interesting that Putin always says Russia is ready to negotiate but they have their red line - they will not remove their military from Ukrainian soil; their sham referendum is not accepted by the rest of the world. The soil of Ukraine is soaked in the blood of the children of Ukraine killed by Putin and his enablers - not one foot should be given away as Putin will not respect the rights of any country that was formerly in the Soviet Union if we do not help Ukraine hold the line. Rise O Russia and cast off the greedy psychopaths Putin and his enablers - they will spill the blood of Russia to steal the riches of Ukraine for themselves. Russia was a great nation; bring back that great nation and eliminate Putin and his enablers. 

Church on You-Tube and then the Christmas Message of King Charles III. May he reign over Canada and not be replaced by an elected head of state that generally becomes corrupted by such power. We have some good examples that corruption does not taint and Justin Trudeau continues to come to mind - although he has had Ethics complaints I think they are mostly trivial and he has been a good Prime Minister through difficult times even if I am a Conservative. The Conservative Party needs to show me that they are not devoted solely to the Oil Industry of Alberta over and above everything else in Canada; that they are not going to destroy our libraries in order to make it possible for them to continue supporting only Alberta and then I will listen.  

The Christmas Message of King Charles III was a wonderful experience. Thank you to him for his gracious message of love for all and very well done. He shared memories of his parents - Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. He also remembered the Prince and Princess of Wales for all their hard work and pictures of his siblings going about their work of goodness in the United Kingdom. God bless them all.

The Wills of the Blake family at Enham

I did find 53 Wills to look at for the Blake family at Knights Enham/Kings Enham/Enham although some of them are for villages/parishes nearby since the family did live in various places around Andover and in Andover proper. I am entering in the genealogical information found in the wills. The intent is to find the line for James Blake. I believe he is descended from the brother of Nicholas Blake (PCC will probated 20 Jun 1547) namely Robert Blake (PCC will probated 22 June 1542) who had six sons and did live at Enham. Nicholas lived at Old Hall also in Knights Enham but tended to refer to his home as Old Hall. The interesting part about Old Hall was that it was a pile of rubble in my great grandfather Edward Blake's time as a child but apparently the family did make a regular trip to that place perhaps to remind them of their genealogical lineage - no ideas on that but my grandfather certainly could trace his family back at least in my memory but I was just eight years old when he died and although my father did mention Old Hall at least once in my memory there wasn't any particular reinforcement of that memory of the list of names after that time. As I searched back towards the little that I did remember - Edward's father was John; John's father was Thomas and Thomas' father was Joseph; I did indeed find that line at Upper Clatford which was known to me. Moving back with Joseph was only possible because the priest at Upper Clatford recorded in the Parish Registers that Joseph Blake was of Andover. I knew there were Thomass, Johns, Williams and the furtherest back that I recalled clearly was Nicholas but I also knew that I was not remembering all of it or very well. My grandfather had actually put more significance into remembering the Kings and Queens of England which I could recite quite well all the way back to King William I, Duke of Normandy although I also knew of the earlier British Kings Alfred the Great and Canute but he seemed to see the Norman line as the Kings/Queens of England. 

By the time my grandfather first saw Old Hall even the rubble of stones was gone but he did pass that memory on to me and so I pass it on to my Newsletter readers since some of them are my cousins. I always hope that others will send me remembrances of their Blake line to publish and some have and I have published them. I do check them out though. 

So my project is to extract all of that information from the wills which I have mostly transcribed (there are seven that I felt I must look at that I have not yet transcribed) and list the parents, siblings, children, grandchildren mentioned in the various wills. There are a few wills for wives and one for the remarried wife of Nicholas Blake  (Margaret (Blake) (Blake) Munday). I believe that Richard Munday married Silys Blake (daughter of Thomas Blake) and when she died he married his sister in law Margaret Blake who had first married Nicholas Blake. Likely they were protecting the property inheritances of their children by bringing the two families together as Richard's will was probated in 1551 just four years after Nicholas' will was probated and Margaret Munday's will was probated in 1558. It is a huge task but should be able to accomplish it in the next week before the next issue of the Newsletter is due. I am watching the snow continue to fall outside of my workroom window. The roads are heavy with snow all around the area and the company that clears my laneway and walks has not yet come today but we bought all of our groceries to last into next week so not a problem plus we are doing a Harry Potter long weekend - the first film already watched. It is something that we used to do (Edward and the girls along with me) when the girls were growing up along with yummy food to eat whilst we watched. It was the only time we did that - normally we always sat at the table but those weekends were treasured by us as 100% family time. 

Time for my run - 40 minutes. More work later. 

The so-called West only wants Peace

Jealousy is perhaps the worst human trait - I am slowly coming to that conclusion. I do not think I thought about it very much perhaps because I can never remember being jealous of anyone. I was much too closed a person to really notice everyone else. I still am mostly but I do feel we have duties to do in our lives as human beings. Jesus came and brought us the Good News about God His Father and the Christian religion sprang from that Good News. His message of tending the sick, feeding and helping the homeless and the downtrodden and caring for widows and orphans has rang loudly down through the ages and really they are sensible ideas and aims as well as being wondrous. If you do not tend the sick and the homeless than you do not know what is going on in the world around you whether it be a plague or discontent strong enough to create world wars. Caring for children will always be most important because they are the future. We have been watching a number of animal documentaries and how mothers (and fathers) care for their young. During long cold winter months when their young are born the mammalian mothers literally allow their young to feed on them even though they do not have any food to eat until spring comes - survival of the young is built into their genes. But back to jealousy and understanding it as a human emotion which I am slowly coming to realization of its derogatory essence in the human existence. It breeds violence; it breeds war and I do not believe it breeds knowledge and progress. 

It brought me to thinking about Elon Musk. He has done marvelous things in the evolution of knowledge along with his co-founder Kimbal Musk they have added greatly to knowledge in the last twenty years. Why does he do it? He is an energized human who has followed the American Dream seeking to do everything that he wants to do with his ability. I would never say that I agree with his tactics but then I am not an entrepreneur type of person. But it was interesting that he presented a poll on whether he should step down as CEO of Twitter and with 57% thinking that he should he is now looking for a new CEO. He is perhaps an honest person lacking jealousy and that is good to see and there are more like him in the world. It is the American Dream showing forth in its brilliance and is the dream of all peoples who strive to make this world a better place and they gravitate to the United States because they feel free to develop and grow to their full potential there. Some may disagree with me but his intent is to have peace but he too likely realizes that we can not have peace by capitulating to Nazism which is what we are presented with by Putin and his enablers. In less than one hundred years Nazism has again reared its ugly head with Putin and his enablers expressing it. 

So we sit still in that lull that existed in the world in the 1930s before World War II but this time the US, the UK and Europe are seeing the future that befalls us if we do not continue helping Ukraine to prevent a third world war by fighting Putin and his enablers - the suffering though is huge for the Ukrainian people but then they have suffered for nearly a hundred years initially as part of the Soviet Union, then eliminating the graft that predominates Russian culture and now fighting off an invasion by Russia. They know how to fight and what they want from life.

Will I ever become jealous? I do not really think so. There isn't anything that I want beyond the love of God and Jesus His Son. Although I have two children and two grandchildren I have always believed that my children are their own masters and will do in life what they want to do and when they went on their way as adults I was no longer in charge and so I return to the things that I want to do in life before God calls me home. Jealousy is a dreadful disease and humans would be so much better off if they could simply live the peaceful and content life - eliminating people like Putin and his enablers is the way forward but it is not a job that we in the West can take on - it needs to come from within. Through my life I have watched as freedom became endemic in the western world but it is a freedom tendered by good governance and gradually I suspect that even communism can bring a communal type of freedom to countries that believe in this system of governance. But raw dictatorship such as is practiced by Putin and his enablers can only bring pain and suffering because they are jealous psychopaths who want all the riches of the world for themselves. 

On to the day, it is Christmas Eve Day as we prepare to celebrate once again as we have from the time of the birth of Jesus those many many years ago.

Russia's terms for peace

 Russia has only one term for peace - capitulation. Otherwise they are quite prepared to keep letting their soldiers die on fields of battle that are already lost to them. They do not care about their own people - only Putin and his enablers have the right to life on their terms is how one would interpret the latest comments. Rise O Russia and rid yourselves of these leeches that suck out the riches of Russia for themselves and throw away the blood of her sons. The way forward for humankind is peace where everyone profits not the kind of peace that Russia dictates where they get everything that they want and desire which is basically Ukraine and does it end there? One wonders, where does it end? The world watched as the Soviet Union swallowed up Eastern Europe at the end of the Second World War. Why did we watch? The worst war in history had just been fought; millions lay dead and we were still fighting against Nazism but once it was quelled and the German people quickly realized that the Soviet Union was coming for them they surrendered in droves and the war ended. But the peace was crushed by an Iron Curtain that descended across Europe created by the Soviet Union. No one benefited from that - the Soviet Union became bankrupt and so we are where we are now - all the countries that freed themselves when the Soviet Union collapsed are in the firing line of Putin and his enablers. We must hold the line and prevent a breakout of Russia as they do not care about their own people; they are just cannon fodder to give Putin and his enablers as much as they can take. 

Yesterday I worked away on James Blake. He has intrigued me for a while partly because some people had him in Devon. I am not sure he was ever in Devon and he was too late to establish the Blake family there as there were Blake in Devon long before this James Blake was born. Sorting out these Blake families is truly an interesting task. Knowing one line (my father's) in Andover lets me separate out all the claims that were made about Blake families in that area and gradually one might be able to sort them all out (mostly by yDNA in truth) and build trees that truly link the various Blake families back to their ancient roots in the British Isles. Why do I do it? Curiosity I guess. My grandfather talked a lot about his Blake family - who they were but more often who they were not - his line was not related to Robert Blake, High Admiral of the British Fleet during the Commonwealth period. He did not believe his line was related to the Calne Blake family although he could have been mistaken on that in that I suspect that the wife of Richard Blake (Joane Blake) was a descendant of the Calne Blake family which would solve a mystery in the Andover family being related to the Calne Blake family but only on the female side. The Devon Blake family is a bit of a mystery not yet solved either although I have blogged a lot of their wills and those of the Blake family in Cornwall. I try not to make guesses as to how these lines might or might not be related. My suggestion that the Blake family of Cornwall was descendant of Blake members coming from Bretagne was not well received but the parish registers seem to indicate such a relationship. Only time will tell and I am hoping that someone else in the future finds the Blake lines equally interesting and pursues this study. One excellent happening is the marriage of Charles and Diana and their son William who will be King after his father. Diana was descendant of Thomas Blake of Andover and that line is fairly clear in the records and might generate more interest in Blake in the future. 

The storm rages about me today - the snow fell in the night and now it sounds like freezing rain and sleet. We are in for a tumultuous day for sure and the wind is just starting up. I shall watch all those large trees with a careful eye. The car is in the garage where it is semi-safe but there is a large fir tree that could take out the entire front of my house or be caught in the large tree in front if we are very lucky. Then of course there is my tree that could come down although the large branches which pointed towards the house have long ago been removed and it is heavy facing the street rather than the house. At the back the Black Walnut looms near and could do a job on the back of the house for sure. However, patience and good luck may prevail once again! We planted our maple tree way at the back and it is huge but the only damage it could do is to take out our fence - everyone is safe from that one!

My tea is so lovely in the morning and I am very nearly into the habit of drinking it every day; it takes a little while to build up a habit for sure. But on these cold winter days that hot green tea is very pleasant in the morning. 

The day before Christmas Eve day and we are ready for a quiet Christmas time. We do not need to go out at all before midweek next and so we will watch this storm from inside. The snow removal company will do its task and the city will clear the streets. God blesses us as always with our lives and our world. That peace may come once again to our world.

Blake Newsletter

Time escaped me and I have not made it to the Family History Library to work on the Somerset subsidies. Instead I will write about James Blake of Knights Enham. He left a will dated 3 Jan 1727 and probated 8 Jul 1734. I will spend some time working on him for the next newsletter and perhaps for the April Newsletter I can get back to the Somerset subsidies and looking at the Blake family in Somerset and their possible link back to the Calne Blake family. 

Life does move too rapidly on occasion even for this 77 year old but gradually as the Christmas Season presents itself I will find some quiet time once again. 

Back to sleep once again as my mind is a bit active these days. 

Would I trust Harry and Meghan to deliver on a documentary now?

Being very fond of documentaries (albeit generally about our earth) on Netflix would I now trust Harry and Meghan to deliver a good documentary? The answer may well be no; I know they are in it for the money so will deliver whatever the money pays. 

I find some comments about the breakup of Harry and his family to be a bit too anti-royalist; too anti-monarchy.  Is the break in the family permanent? No ideas on that really and do not actually care. I think a trimmed down monarchy is an excellent idea going into this century and we now have a King and four close heirs. Money wise that is good savings for the people and these five people are huge money-makers for the economy of the UK. They of course go at it with that attitude that they are making money for the British people and not themselves. Along with the Queen and the Princess of Wales who do a lot of service work for nothing really because they support their husbands, the overall cost of the monarchy will continue to go down proportionately to GDP as the number of people involved in maintaining the monarchy as an inherited essence diminishes. The palaces could become tourist areas making a good deal of money for the government as well (King Charles is so right about that). Edward, my husband, really enjoyed touring Buckingham Palace and I was along for this extra. We have seen so many pictures of the interior that I did not really feel the need to be inside but it was nice to do for sure (I always feel a little like I am intruding on someone's private space although one is certainly welcomed into the building and it helps to pay for its upkeep and I can always say that I was actually there if I am so disposed). Plus you are where history happened and that is always fun! My thing is always the Churches and we saw a lot of them I am thankful to say. These tours are very well planned. 

King Charles III will be an excellent monarch. He managed the funds of the Cornwall estates exceedingly well; better probably than any Prince of Wales to date. He loves the UK with all his heart and soul and it shows even if he does lose his temper over a pen that should have worked. So as far as I am concerned (and of course it has nothing to do with me really except he is King of Canada as well and all of this business is energizing the people here who would like to have an elected Head of State) goodby to Harry and his family. He will continue to be a "spare" along with his children for quite a while yet until George, Charlotte and Louis push Harry and his children way down the line. They had their say; a lot of us listened and watched the Netflix special that was created by Harry and Meghan. They didn't really tell us anything new that we didn't already know actually. There are a lot of very evil people out there who are racist and Harry and Meghan managed to stir them up because of their jealousy of William and Kate and their future roles as King and Queen. Harry wanted to be an equal or perhaps even better no ideas on that and guess what primogeniture is still alive, well and strong in royal lines for a reason. One does need a legitimate heir who isn't in it personally for the money but for the good of the country and all of its people first! The series on Netflix certainly gave the impression that money was uppermost in the minds of Harry and Meghan and being the most popular which just doesn't make sense given the way that the Royal Family is managed. Plus they did not appear to be very willing to do what the government wanted them to do when the government wanted it done. The Royal House is a servant of the people for the most part even if they do get all the trappings of wealth. 

Cleaning all accomplished and on to phasing chromosomes - I have four full days of work ahead with just a little more shopping to be ready for our very quiet Christmas day and the Church Service of You-Tube. May God bless everyone and do unto those who do not follow His commandments particularly of jealousy, murder and stealing their just desserts. Russia definitely comes to mind as the Ukrainians continue to suffer in the cold and dark of winter because of Russian greed. Russia's enemy is Putin and his enablers as they see to the continuing loss of Russian soldiers  and waste of money overall bombing a country (Ukraine) that would like to remain independent of Russia and why shouldn't they be; what has Russia ever done for them but murder their children and others in Ukraine over the last hundred years. Glory to Ukraine.

Heading towrds Winter Solstice 2022

 Tomorrow is Winter Solstice - the time of the fairies and the little people as they hide away for winter only coming out on the warm days as my grandfather would say but he was talking about his England - his Hampshire which he loved to the end of his days. When he talked about the fairies and the little people I just listened; I didn't ask him any questions because I didn't really have any. No one else talked about the little people or fairies and I was just eight when he passed away. At Winter Solstice though the fairies and little people were very active he said but I can not remember why that was now. Just that they were to him. I sometimes wonder if there is still belief in the fairies and the little people!

There appear to be two items that the news is most about these days,  first item is Glory to Ukraine as she battles Russia which has illegally invaded the country and still doesn't have the good sense to just go home. The lives of the peoples of Russia are being destroyed and only they can stop it. The lives of the peoples of Ukraine are being snuffed out with relentless bombing of civilian populations destroying their infrastructure in the midst of the cold of winter. More help for Ukraine is needed as they fight valiantly against the Russian army. That is one item and Glory to Ukraine.

The second item is the Netflix series on Harry and Meghan. In my mind I had moved away from it but Harry and Megan planted so many little items into the six sessions that they continue to be in the news cycle. I missed the tampering with the Queen's Speech in Cape Town when she was 21 years of age but I tend to watch these shows when I am exercising and I didn't watch this set twice and likely will not do so. I have moved on to more interesting and accurate documentaries. Already there are a lot of comments on the pictorial content saying that it doesn't pertain to what is being said but rather selected for its visual look. It attacks the UK and the Commonwealth when the opportunity to showcase the Commonwealth would have been more appropriate I think - King Charles (as his mother before him) has worked throughout his entire life to help all peoples in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the Commonwealth. This series doesn't recount the whole story; just a story that suits the narrative of this documentary which should really carry a label  that the Queen herself created - "while some recollections may vary ....." There are nutters in every country who are racist for sure and completely unacceptable. Overall I found that jealousy on the part of Harry and Meghan for William and Kate predominated throughout the entire six issues of the two part documentary. 

We have been enjoying some really interesting documentaries on Africa the past couple of days. It is a beautiful part of the world but much affected by Climate Change.

The winter moon high in the sky at daybreak

Winter has so many interesting happenings. On the clear mornings when dawn breaks, the winter moon is high in the sky. Dawn today is a yellowish glow in the sky promising a cold day probably although no snow. When it is cold the snow is very dry and flaky which is not a bad tradeoff for the days around zero when the snow is thick and heavy with moisture. 

Today is cleaning day and I begin in the basement since that is where the vacuum migrated to last cleaning week. This works very well and no more dragging the vacuum up two flights of stairs. 

Started Chromosome 21 and like Chromosome 22 I do not have a lot of good matches for some of my grandparents but I do have some new interesting ones so will see if I get much time to work on that. 

Other than that we are into the week before Christmas and by far this was Edward's favourite time of the year. Growing up in a family of just three - his mother and his older brother - Christmas was a quiet time. Merging with my family - Christmas was a busy time and he loved that. Funny I tended to opt for the quieter time although did enjoy time with my family. 

On to the day. Breakfast awaits. 

A slightly reddish glow on the horizon as a new Sunday dawns

Looking out my workroom window at 6:54 am there is a slightly reddish glow on the horizon and it is Sunday - Church on You-Tube once again. The Fourth Sunday in Advent and Christmas continues to be a much loved time for me. The birth of Jesus and His gifts to our world have been with us through more than 2000 years. As I look back in time in my own family and read their wills (some written in their own hand) I can feel the continuity. The love of God and Jesus His Son before the break with Rome and after. My Blake line seemed reluctant to leave Rome but the Excommunication of  Queen Elizabeth their rightful Queen went against their belief and so they became adherents to the Church with Elizabeth as its Head and they moved on (but the desire for one Church remained certainly with my grandfather and father). My grandfather used to talk about Nicholas Blake and Old Hall - interesting when I did find the path back to Nicholas Blake and Old Hall. He could recite the line all the way back but I could only remember back to Thomas and then Joseph but was hazy on the names before that other than knowing there were more Thomas, more John and more William and then there was Nicholas (and a Richard which I had forgotten) way back there and that name stuck in my mind. My father reinforced that when he too mentioned Nicholas Blake and Old Hall. And so at Christmas time I remember Nicholas Blake and all his descendants and there are many. I have published the line coming down from Joseph Blake (he was the first known to me that lived at Upper Clatford where my grandfather and his eleven siblings lived as children with their parents Edward Blake and Maria Jane (Knight) Blake). 

The red glow is reaching ever upward through the stark branches of the trees still laden with the heavy snowfall of the last few days. We walked around the large block and it was so lovely to be out in the fresh air yesterday. A little family time now and then back to work once again (me too as I work away on my historical research into my parent's surnames). Like most physicians though my youngest will be working when needed - health issues arise and need care.

May the Royal Family enjoy their holidays; they have earned them working hard for all the peoples of the United Kingdom.  I shall listen to the Christmas Message from King Charles III - will mark it on my calendar. Those who support the King, Prince of Wales are to be commended for their task is long days and many appointments/activities with the support of their wives. They are devoted to success for all the peoples of the United Kingdom not just their own pocket. There really isn't anything wrong with formality - it is comfortable.

This Christmas we are giving each other a book that we really want and will spend part of the day reading our new books - mine is going to be Robert S Gottfried's Epidemic Disease in Fifteenth Century England: The Medical Response and the Demographic Consequences. "The Black Death: Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe" was a fantastic read. 

Finished Chromosome 22 yesterday  and a new set of matches revealed a little more depth into my Pincombe line. It is a chromosome though that has insufficient matches to break down the Buller line and of course the father of my paternal grandmother remains a mystery although circumstantial evidence exists but no known matches (it really needs to be a half second or half third cousin). It is an interesting chromosome though as the Blake and Knight families have a clear separation. The Pincombe and Gray lines also clearly separate. On to Chromosome 21.

And the snowstorm continues with amazing views from my work window

Woke up to a beautiful scene outside of my workroom window. Snow is beautiful - treacherous for sure but beautiful none the less. I took a picture but I am always forgetting the screening on the window and so the picture is full of fine wire and does not do justice to the beauty of my surroundings today. I will enjoy it though and being mild (around 0 degrees celsius) cross country skiing will be on a lot of agendas for the next few days.  What a gift at Christmas time - Mother Nature as usual is always kind when she can be. We do need to help her along by protecting the environment in as much as we are able. Nuclear Fusion is the key to all of that - elimination of the burning of fossil fuels. It is really a waste to burn them as they have the ability to make so many life saving devices, to house people and to provide toys for children - a real must as well. Children grow up happier and healthier when they have the good food of the land and toys to play with in their daily lives. 

Today is going to be my day to work out the rest of my donations for the year. I have a couple in mind and need to think about what Edward and I talked about those last few months as he would come back to it quite regularly when we sat and chatted in the mornings at first and then later most of the day. It is strange as it was not really a thought out plan as we thought his time was still in the many months or perhaps years but life can be cruel and my strength weakening as the days passed. But I did not notice it at the time - I simply got up and got on with the day and I am so glad in retrospect that I simply moved away from my computer and spent time with Edward. But he had some donations that he wanted me to make on a regular basis and I simply did not get that done last year in the way that I wanted - it was hard that year after Edward passed. Time does permit you to move forward but it does take a full year to come to terms with loss and then find a way that suits what you always shared and how to live your life without your better half. 

We are watching a wonderful series on one of the parks in Africa at the moment on Netflix. I have lost my desire now to travel to places far away - it was that marvelous thing that Edward and I did for over 14 years as we traveled back and forth to Europe. Africa attracted me as a child because I knew people that were there and I wanted to be part of their activities - in my case it would have been medicine but my friends were teachers in the universities there. It was a very long time ago now but it is fun watching these wonderful documentaries that Netflix have on their streaming service. 

I have moved past the Harry and Meghan series although I have been watching the Crown again during my exercise periods. I find the historic references intriguing and tend to check up on them for their historical accuracy but the recounting is interesting. Royalty always looks so wonderful from the outside which is the whole idea really but it is a hard life being in the Fish Bowl and constantly watched. Their activities monitored constantly and as a family often blamed for the "activities" of their ancestors. They walk a pretty tight line in terms of how they live their life but they return so much richness to life especially when times are hard. They are a distraction to that hardness of life as my grandfather used to say and give the people hope for the future and better times. Jealousy does abound in that life though and the King/Queen have to be ruthless to weed it out in whatever way works best for the protection of the People and the Governance. Better to go away quietly if you do not like the lifestyle. I do not think life is that successful for those who make a splash - a glance at the life led by the Duke of Windsor supports that thought (he did spend it in a gilded cage though for sure). He was jealous of his brother whilst he himself was king (King Edward VIII) and continued to be jealous of his brother when he became King (King George VI) after the abdication - mind you my mind is somewhat slanted on that because of my grandfather but history does support that theory. I am looking forward to a Prequel that has been mentioned looking at the lives of King Edward VII, King George V, King Edward VIII, and King George VI. My grandfather talked about all these Kings that had lived in his lifetime (perhaps Queen Victoria will also be worked in as my grandfather was born in 1875 and so lived in England during her reign as well). 

Today is Chromosome 22 once again. I did work away at it yesterday working the new matches in and will continue with that today as well. Then I can look at what I did with the phasing of the Great Grandparents and see if there is any new information to put into that chart. 

On to breakfast once again. Last night we made chili which is one of my most favourite meals - enough for two more days which is great. I do love Chili.

Another huge snowstorm - skiing adventure to come

Another huge snowstorm has  and will come our way. This makes Christmas so very nice for sure. Up early and it is still dark at 7:20 a.m. although slowly the sun is shining through the snow. The trees are bleak against the snowy sky and it will be an interesting day. Solitaire games all played and the day is ahead of me. 

Good luck with the matches yesterday and looking at Chromosome 23 but not much done on Chromosome 22 yet but I have three good days to work away on the phasing before cleaning times comes around once again. 

I did find the Harry and Megan part 2 series to be unexpected as I would not have thought to spend so much time on the social media aspect - it is just trash really all those dreadful posts and not worthy of seeing the light of day. One must often wade through such things I guess if you do read a lot of social media but royal watchers will have enjoyed all the scenes with the children of Harry and Meghan and I expect it will be a hit like the first three sessions. Watching it again less likely for me (I have watched the Crown probably ten times or more) as I found that first issue of the second part to be quite undesirable. We need more control on social media perhaps or more emphasis on being respectful rather than publishing hatred. Here in Canada we have a law against publishing hate which is a good thing I think; freedom of speech can go too far but it is also a slippery slope to ban things one must be cautious that it does not get out of control.

I do like Netflix though and mostly that is what I watch on television in those moments when I watch television - mostly when I am exercising. I do watch the news regularly and the weather though but all the bells and whistles are for visitors and I will keep them on the contract for them. There are so many documentaries on Netflix that I have not yet enjoyed so that is always good news. Always something interesting to watch whilst I am running or lifting weights or doing calisthenics or biking. 

I also watch Prime and there is a lot of good and interesting material on there as well. I haven't subscribed to the other streaming sites mostly because there are not enough hours in the day and I need to save my pennies or nickles since we did away with pennies on food like everybody else!

I like to put in eight hours a day on my historical research into my parent's surnames. They had interesting surnames that have spread all around the world now but the roots are still there to be worked on and figured out in as much as I am able. I have picked up both of these names from earlier researchers at the Guild of one-name studies. They did their part and I have managed to obtain some of their work which has benefited me and my readers of the Newsletters and I hope to add to that and one day another will pick up the quest I am sure. By publishing online I keep it alive and ready to access in my lifetime and my daughters will continue that into the future - not the research for sure but the ability to access what I have done. Too much genealogy at a young age can be burdensome although in a few cases it has been an inspiration - it is the sort of thing that in my case one doesn't come to until one hits their 60s and both of their parents have passed on and one becomes interested in all those stories and it just goes from there. Although in my case it took my cousin to really get me into it which I freely admit. I had definitely avoided it for many years whilst I observed Edward working on his family tree throughout our entire marriage. But it did make for some family time with the girls on my own which I still relish in my thinking time. 

On to the day and breakfast. I have already had my cup of green tea which I intend to become a morning habit. I will need to work away at that though as my tendency is to do my morning stretching exercises and get up and work on the computer!

Harry and Meghan - Part Two

Not being a social media person I really hadn't seen those dreadful, nasty and unacceptable comments made online (Twitter mostly) or in the "Tabloid Press" that were anti-Meghan (although I think that publishing them once again gives them too much viewing time when they are just gutter language and not worthy of a second pass over the eyes).

I already expressed my thoughts that Harry should have done more to acquaint Meghan with British people and their comfort zones particularly his family members. As one looks back in time you can see the conflict that arose between the Queen and her sister and before that King Edward VIII and his brother and later when King Edward abdicated the conflict between Edward Duke of Windsor and King George VI. It does look like all the attention is going towards the heir and it is meant to; after all they will also have all the bad press. Tension must run high in royal families is my thought although any family has traumatic moments which can rip it asunder or strengthen it. But living in a Fish Bowl is never easy and the British Royal House does it very well.They are out there constantly in the line of fire.

I regret though I am still seeing Harry as being jealous of his brother and perhaps the Princess of Wales as well in that she will be Queen and Meghan will be Duchess of Sussex. It is nice to think so highly of your wife as Prince Harry does but circumstance has brought Kate Middleton to be the wife of the next King and she is doing and will do a wonderful job - England's Rose for sure. King Charles, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children should be permitted to do their job without distraction and receive the satisfaction of a job well done. 

At the finish I realize that I just found it very sad that the Royal Family has to endure all the criticism in this six part series. I ended up not watching it a second time. Racism is cruel; unkind; ridiculous but we need to be careful about calling it racism as the more items we see as racism the more it emboldens those who are racist. We need to work together; walk together and live with respect for everyone. Life doesn't change in a generation unfortunately; it will take time.