Will of Thomas Blake, of Saint Breage, Cornwall, National Archives PROB 11/84, Image Reference 80/68, probated 15 Jun 1594

I have absolutely no ideas on the origin of the Blake family in Cornwall. Have they moved over from Devon? Did they come from Ireland to Cornwall? Did they spontaneously choose the name Blake?

There is a marriage of a Thomas Blake and Elizabeth (unknown) 30 Sep 1551 at Landulph Cornwall which is just inside the Cornwall border from Devon. Their children: Christopher, Reignolde, Elizabeth, Grace, Frauncis, Dorothye. Their grandchildren: Thomazine and two other Jenkins, William, Pascowe, Richard and Alson children of Frauncis, Grace's children not identified by name, Dorothy, Christopher and Reignolde do not appear to have any children. Wife of Reignolde is Anstice. The Thomas in this will is a grandfather so this could be his marriage in 1551. The will was written in 1594. It was just rather interesting to find a marriage on the Family Search website that is a possibility. The Cornwall Family History Society has a lot of material transcribed but this material is too early.

I need to read more of the Blake wills in Cornwall to see what I can learn about this branch of the family. It is interesting to see so many branches of the family in English Counties prior to 1600. When I decided to do the Blake one name study, I made my decision to do it without prejudice removing any thoughts from my mind about my own Blake family's origin and that of any other that has been published with a couple of exceptions. The Blake Pedigree Chart at the Swindon and Wiltshire Record Office outlining the descent of the Blake family at Calne is one of my cornerstones. The recording of Margaret and John both as children of William Blake married to Avis Ripley (William is listed as a son of Roger Blake and Mary Baynard) is incorrect. I hope one day to be able to determine if my thought that John is the son of William Blake (son of Nicholas at Knights Enham) and Margaret daughter of William Blake and Avis Ripley. The published history of the Blake family in Ireland is a second "cornerstone" that I use when looking at the Blake family there. There is a history of the Blake family of Suffolk that I am looking forward to receiving one of these days which has been thoroughly researched. As well the Visitations of Blake families in different Counties is another item on which I will place a good deal of confidence although realizing that errors can and do creep in. But the general flow is what I am looking for with regard to tracing lines of the various Blake families. The yDNA Blake study is the other cornerstone of my research.

This particular will is very interesting and will probably be helpful looking at the southwest of England. Thomas' sons have unusual forenames.


Transcriber: Elizabeth Kipp
Recorded: 2 May 2012
Source:  The National Archives PROB11/84, Image Reference 80/68  (images by me)
Name of testator: Thomas Blake, of Saint Breage, Cornwall
Place: Saint Breage, Cornwall, England
Type of Record: Will
Dated:, 20 Apr 1594, probated 15 Jun 1594
Read: Electronic file
Condition: old writing, 16th century, fine copy
[In margin] T  Thome
[In margin] Blake

1    In the Name of God Amen The six and
2    twentith daye of Aprill Anno D[o]m[ini] A thousand five hundreth ninety foure And in the six and
3    thirtith yeare of the Reigne of our Soveraigne Ladye Elizabeth the Quenes Maiestye
4    that nowe is I Thomas Blake of Badellicke within the parishe of Saint Breage
5    nere Slade Bridge in the County of Cornewall being sicke in Bodye but in perfecte memorye
6    praised be god doe make and ordayne this my Last Will and testament in manner and forme
7    following that is to saye Imprimus I bequeathe my Soule to Almighty god My bodye to
8    christian Buriall. Item I give to the poore mens Boxe of the same parrishe three shillings and
    [Page 2]
9    foure pence. Item I give towards the Repara[t]ion of the foresaide parrishe churche three shillings
10    and foure pence Item I give to my sonne Christopfer Blake my best newe panne of white brasse
11    a payre of yron banded wheeles with a weyne and Buff to the same belonging (Lately the goods of Charles
12    Blake deceased) as also one horse harrowe with his appurten[an]cs Item I give to the saide Christofer
13    the somme of seaven poundes to be paide him his Executors or Assignes within seaven yeares next after
14    my deathe. Item I give and bequeathe to my sonne Reignolde Blake the somme of threescore pounds
15    to be paid him his Executors or assignes within seaven yeares next after my deathe / Item I
16    give to him and his assignes my Terme of yeares yet to come of and in twoe closes of Lande thane
17    named the Calves Parke in Pewtor holden of Frauncis Tredimocke Esquire the other in Bodmen
18    holden of one John Hicks for terme of yeares yet to come / Item I give and bequeathe to my saide
19    sonne Reginolde Blake and his assignes my terme of yeares yet to come of and in all suche messuags
20    Landes and Tenements as I holde in Bodellicke and Pengreane of Alson Best Widowe
21    deceased as by Lease thereof made dothe appeare To have holde occupye and enioye the same
22    from and ymmediatly after and not before the deathe of Elizabeth Blake my Wyfe / Item I
23    give to my daughter Elizabeth Jenkins my best silver girdle Item to my daughter Grace
24    my second best silver girdle / Item to Dorothye my daughter my best third silver girdle Item
25    I give and bequeathe to Thomazine the daughter of my sonne in Lawe Pathricke Jenkin
26    the somme of tenne pounds to be paide within twoe yeares next after my deathe / Item to Pathericke
27    Jenkin his twoe other children eche of them a sheepe / Item to every of my daughter Grace her
28    children a sheepe / Item to William Pascowe Richard and Alson the children of my daughter
29    Frauncis eche of them a sheepe / Item to Walter her sonne twoe keene to be delivered him at
    suche time as he shall accomplishe the age of one and twenty yeares / Item I give to my daughter
30    Frauncs the somme of forty shillings to be paide unto Pathericke Jenkins to her use after the
31    rate of tenne shillings by the yeare to begaine ymediatly after my deathe / Item I give to
32    every of my servants a sheepe / Item I give to William Bettye a cowe / Item to Anstice the
33    wyfe of my sonne Regnolde Blake the somme of twenty shillings / Item I give to my sonne in lawe
34    Pathericke Jenkins twenty shillings / Item my will is that three of the best bedsteds nowe remayneing
35    in my house shall Lykewise there contynue and remaine to the next inhabitannt there after the
36    deathe of my wyfe. The Residue of all my goodes and cattells moveable and unmoveable and
37    all utensills whatsoever not given nor before bequeathed my debts and Funerall charges paid
38    I give and bequeathe to Elizabeth Blake my wyfe. And her I make and ordayne my wholle and
39    sole Executrix  And I appointe my sonne in Lawe Pathericke Jenkins my overseer to see this
40    my Last Will and Testament performed. Those being Wittnesses Pathericke Jenkins Robert
41    Willton Johan Trevithan and many others

Arnold family of Winterborne Whitchurch and Milton Abbas, Dorset

Yesterday I spent some of my research time working on the Hampshire Blake family marriages. I am now in the process of matching up the marriage partners from Free BMD. I worked on 1910 and 1911 and will now go to the 1911 British Census to see if I am able to determine which of the possible partners is the correct one. It will be a slow process but aided greatly on occasion by Marriage Challenges that are undertaken by the Guild of One Name Studies. I will also begin work on the Andover Registration District Cardinal Points in case, at some point in the future, a member of the Guild takes on the Andover Registration District Marriage Challenge. I wish I could do it but from faraway Canada that is quite impractical except for the individual Churches in the Registration District for which I have the marriage fiche. Indeed I have quite a number and intend to eventually purchase all of them. The Blake family is found extensively in this Registration District (as well as many others).

Today, is the research day for the Arnold family. Hannah Arnold (baptized 18 Jan 1795 at Winterborne Whitchurch) was the daughter of William Arnold (baptized 21 Feb 1770 at Milton Abbas) and Elizabeth Molton (baptized 20 April 1766 at Winterborne Whitchurch) and married 30 Aug 1793 at Milton Abbas all of Dorset UK. Hannah married Charles Butt 26 Dec 1820 at Winterborne Clenstone and they had seven children Thurza (baptized 11 Mar 1821) married to Thomas Knight 10 Nov 1844 at Turnworth, Abel (baptized 15 Feb 1823 at Winterborne Stickland) and married to Martha Knight 8 Feb 1850 at Turnworth, Josiah (baptized 15 Jan 1826 and buried 24 Jan 1826 at Winterborne Stickland), Louisa (baptized 27 January 1827 at Winterborne Stickland) and married to Samuel Knight 7 Sep 1849 at Winterborne Stickland (my 2x great grandparents), John (bc 1830 Winterborne Stickland) and married to Jane Gumbleton 13 Apr 1857 at Winterborne Stickland, Arthur (baptized 5 Jan 1834 at Winterborne Stickland) and married to Jane Cross Sep quarter 1853 in Blandford RD, and Nehemiah Butt (baptized 15 May 1836 at Winterborne Stickland).

Children of  William Arnold and Elizabeth Molton:

Thrysa baptized 25 Jan 1791 at Winterborne Whitchurch married Robert Tuffin 3 May 1814 at Winterborne Stickland

Abel baptized 11 Mar 1792 Winterborne Whitchurch

Charles baptized 1 Dec 1793 at Winterborne Whitchurch

Hannah (as above)

Jane baptized 10 Jul 1796 at Winterborne Whitchurch

Mark baptized 25 Mar 1798 at Winterborne Whitchurch

Sarah baptized Winterborne Clenstone and married to Joseph Butt 7 Jun 1824 at Winterborne Clenstone

Elim baptized 11 Jan 1801 at Winterborne Clenstone and married to Mary Ann Cuff  24 Apr 1821 at Winterborne Whitchurch


Ann baptized 8 May 1802 at Winterborne Clenstone


Interestingly three children of the Charles Butt and Hannah Arnold family married three children of the same Knight family. Charles Butt was known to my grandfather and is my only link back in time for the Butt/Arnold family. My grandfather could remember visiting his great grandfather Charles Butt for his 80th birthday celebrations at least that is what my memory has left me with from the eight year old who listened eagerly to her grandpa talking about his ancestors in England. He did not know anything about the wife of Charles other than her name which I did not remember from long ago but did discover when I undertook my family genealogy beginning eight years ago. It was at Gene-O-Rama in 2003 that I first noticed the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. I thought about doing a course there in Methodology because my cousin George DeKay wanted me to do a Profile for the Pincombe family (my maternal line) for the Westminster Delaware History book (now published). Not really having any ideas on how to do English Research from Canada I felt that a course in Methodology would assist me. In two months of taking the course I had signed up for all the English Record Courses and just six months later I added all the Canadian Record Courses to my portfolio (I graduated in May 2007).

When we visited Milton Abbas (briefly as a drive through) in 2008, the village lived up to its name as one of the most beautiful in Dorset with all of its thatched roofs. We drove through on a somewhat misty day although quite visible and the village had a somewhat ethereal quality (probably mostly in my mind) that lingers still if I close my eyes and remember again coming round on the road and entering the village. The Arnold family were known to be at Milton Abbas back into the 1500s with there being six members of the Arnold family on the 1641-42 Protestation Returns:

Henry Arnold, gent
Richard Arnold, constable
William Arnold
David Arnold
Henry Arnold
John Arnold

Other researchers have looked extensively at the Arnold family but I have not yet found, what I consider, a clear path back to one of these earlier Arnold members. The parents of William Arnold (father of Hannah Arnold) were John Arnold (baptized 4 Aug 1725 at Milton Abbas) and Hannah (or Ann) Norris (baptized 5 Jan 1731 at Milton Abbas) and they were married 5 Jul 1751 at Milton Abbas. They had eight children with William being the seventh child and third son. Mary (bc 1752) married Stephen Elford 27 Apr 1780 at Milton Abbas, John (bc 1754), Jane (bc 1756), Joseph (bc 1759 at Milton Abbas) married Susanna Best 18 Jul 1781 at Milton Abbas), Hannah (bc 1762 at Milton Abbas) married John Hooper 21 Mar 1791 at Milton Abbas, Susannah (bc 1765 at Milton Abbas), William (as above) and Ann (bc 1773) married James Vacher 26 Jul 1796 at Milton Abbas. I decided to check and see if I could find any baptism details for the siblings of William as it is a while since I have looked at this family.

The OPC Dorset page is an excellent resource (I have put up the Winterborne Clenstone material) and I have found that the baptismal records are now available from the Bishops Transcripts for the above mentioned children:

Mary baptized 8 Apr 1752
John baptized 17 Mar 1754
Jane baptized 20 Oct 1756
Joseph baptized 24 Oct 1759
Hannah baptized 18 Aug 1762
Susannah baptized 2 Oct 1765
William baptized 21 Feb 1770 (a good verification for the material I received from an Arnold researcher)
Ann (no new information)

Burials are not yet available for the time period 1731 to 1812. http://www.opcdorset.org/Milton%20AbbasFiles/MiltonAbbas.htm  is the website for the opcDorset material. I verified the marriages and did find them all as written above including James Vacher married to Ann Arnold (by licence) with no parents listed. I wonder if the earlier researcher has connected Ann to the correct family since she is not listed in the baptisms.

Looking at the Norris family there was an Ann Norris baptized 5 Jan 1731 child of John and Mary Norris at Milton Abbas. One other child was baptized to this family namely Joseph baptized 30 Apr 1735 at Milton Abbas. There were members of the Norris family at Milton Abbas on the 1641-42 Protestation Returns namely Christopher Norris, William Norris, George Norris, and Leonard Norris. I shall explore the Norris family next time I work on the Arnold family.

The parents of John Arnold (baptized 4 Aug 1725 at Milton Abbas) were John (baptized 21 Apr 1702) and Susannah Arnold (bc early 1700s). I did not find a marriage for them on the OPC Dorset webpage. Checking the IGI does not reveal a marriage (old and beta searches). John and Susannah Arnold baptized six children at Milton Abbas namely John (as above), James baptized 1 Feb 1726/27, Jane baptized 29 Jan 1728/29 and possibly married to William Muckell 29 Jun 1745 at Milton Abbas, Mary bc 1730 and possibly married to Robert Davis 25 Dec 1749, William baptized 26 Jan 1732, and Thomas baptized 21 May 1737.

 Researchers tend to have the parents of John Arnold (baptized 21 Apr 1702) as James and Mary Arnold. A will for James Arnold MA/4 1742 (Dorset Record Office) is abstracted online (http://www.opcdorset.org/Miscellaneous/ArnoldWills.htm) and includes the following:

"the will of James ARNOLD of Milton Abbas dated 25 June 1742 Proved 8 August 1743 Mentions Wife: Mary ARNOLD Son: John ARNOLD Daughter: Mary wife of William Lovell Daughter: Ann wife of Peter House. Daughter: Jinny Appoints wife Mary as Executor"

and a will for Mary Arnold (wife of James Arnold) MA/3 1744 (Dorset Record Office)  and includes the following:

"the will of Mary ARNOLD (wife of the above) of Milton Abbas Mentions: son John ARNOLD Daughter: Mary wife of William Lovell Daughter: Ann wife of Peter House Grand daughter: Honor Daughter: Jinny executor"

Children of James and Mary Arnold:

Mary baptized 8 Mar 1694/95 and married to William Lovell with daughter Honor Lovell

James baptized 25 Feb 1697/98 and married to Honor Lovell 26 Jun 1721 with children Mary baptized 11 Oct 1722, Honour baptized 29 May 1724, James baptized 31 Dec 1725, Robert baptized 9 Nov 1727, Henry baptized 1 Apr 1730, Ann baptized 12 May 1732 and Catherine baptized 1 Jan 1735 all at Milton Abbas

John (as above)

Ann baptized 19 Oct 1704 and married to Peter Hause with son Peter baptized 26 Mar 1722 at Milton Abbas

Jane Arnold baptized  13 Apr 1712; buried 18 Aug 1712

Jinny Arnold (probably Jane) baptized 4 Mar 1714/15

The parents of James Arnold (married circa early 1690s) are unknown as is the surname of his wife Mary. I checked the IGI including the new Beta search.

There is a James Arnold baptized 4 Oct 1663 and son of James and Sibbell Arnold (twin of John baptized same date). Interestingly they also have a son Henry and one of their grandsons is named Henry. Henry Arnold at Milton Abbas was on the Protestation Returns.

The will of Henry Arnold, gent, exists as an abstract and he has sons Robert, Henry, Richard (possibly eldest son), William.

"The will of Henry ARNOLD (Gentleman) of Bagbere in Milton Abbas, Mentions: to be buried in Milton Abbas where his mother and father were buried left £5 to the Church of Milton. Mentions, Daughter Anne Goldsbough £20 and to her five children £20 to be paid to them when they are one and twenty years old, children of Robert Goldsbough, gave to the two daughters of his son Robert ARNOLD £200 equally divided. Mentions: Brother in law Mr Thomas Rose or Rofe, John Trogenwell for rent. Son: Henry ARNOLD Son:  Richard ARNOLD Mentions George Baker. Elizabeth and Thomas Domfret? (I think these were servants) My son-in-law John Coobes and Elizabeth his daughter, two daughters of my son Henry ARNOLD and William ARNOLD my son. Sampson Biles, my son Robert ARNOLD and his brother in law Thomas Rose/Rofe. Mentions his brother John Arnold of Alton (Gentlemen) son- in-law Richard Savidge (I am not sure if this is John of Alton’s son-in -law or his) Son Robert ARNOLD rector of Melcombe who I make and appoint (I think this means son of my brother John of Alton) This will was granted to Richard ARNOLD ( I think the oldest son)"

I do not get a sense from this will that he has any grandsons from his sons. The Arnolds at Milton Abbas in 1641-42 are:


Henry Arnold, gent
Richard Arnold, constable
William Arnold
David Arnold
Henry Arnold
John Arnold
 
Henry`s will was dated 1646 mentioning his sons Robert, Henry, Richard and William. That leaves John and David Arnold as different lines at Milton Abbas and perhaps my James descends from one of these other lines. There do not appear to be any wills of these lines (at least not mentioned on the Arnold wills site). Henry does mention a brother John at Alton.

At this point I will leave any more thoughts on the Arnold family until my next research day on this family which will include a look at  the Norris family.