Help needed to read a Wiltshire Will

[sueannbowen]

I have the will of Christopher Mogg 1634 and can only make out a few words here and there. If anyone can help or suggest how I can get it deciphered I would be really grateful. I have loaded it to flickr and I think this is the link (but I am not very good at that either!!)

[URL="https://www.flickr.com/photos/62663490@N04/"]

[Coromandel]

Here's my attempt at the first part:

[Mogge]
In the Name of God Amen The sixteenth day of de-
cember in the yeare of our Lord god one thousand six hun-
dred thirty three I Christopher Mogge of Upton
Lowell in the County of Wiltes husbandman at this
time weake in body, but of good, & p[er]fect memory
(god be praysed therefore) doe make & ordaine this
my last will, & testament in manner, & former follow-
inge. First I bequeath my soule into the hands of Al-
mighty god, trusting in his mercy & through the
blessed merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ onely
to be saved, & purged from all my sinnes, & to be
prosecuted blameless, & without spot(?) in the sight of
god the Father, And my body to be buried in the Church-
yard of Upton Lowell aforesaid.

(more to follow shortly!)

[Kerrywood]

In the Name of God Amen The sixteenth day of De-
cember in the yeare of our Lord god one thousand six hun-
dred thirty three I Christopher Mogge of Upton
Lovell in the County of Wiltes husbandman at this
time weake in body but of good & p(er)fect memory
(god be praysed there fore) doe make & ordeine this
my last will & testament in manner & forme follow-
inge First I bequeath my soule into the hands of al-
mighty god, trusting in his mercy & through the
blessed merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ onely
to be saved & purged from all my sinnes & to be
prosecuted blameless & without spot in the sight of
god the Father And my body to be buried in the church
yard of Upton Lovell aforesaid. Touching my world-
ly goods I thus dispose them First I give & devise
the whole state & tearme of yeares w(hi)ch I have in
my holde & lyving in Upton (Lovell deleted) wherein I now dwell
unto Thomas my sonne to have & to hold the same unto
the onely use & behoofe of Joyce my wife during her
naturall life & afterwards to the sole use of him the said
Thomas his executors & assignes during the whole tearme
upon condition that he the said Thomas or his Assignes
doe pay to each one of the rest of my children the
sum(m)e of ten pounds of lawfull mony within one yeare
after the decease of his mother It(e)m all the residue
of my goods and cattell I give unto my wife Joyce
upon condition that she shall undertake the paiment
of all my depts & save my executor harmelesse &
bring up my children honestly & in the feare of
god And I doe ordeine & appoint Thomas my
sonne to be my sole & onely executor of this my
last will & soale testament & hereunto have sub-
scribed my hand the day & yeare above written
In the p(re)sence of Tho: Hickman Gabriel Stevens
Gualter Freestone his marke
Christopher Mogge

(in Latin)
On 4 February 1633 administration of all the goods and credits of the said Christopher Mogge of Upton Lovell in the county of Wiltshire and in the (diocese?) of Sarum deceased was entrusted to Joyce Mogge his widow and relict who swore faithfully to administer etc. etc…..

(Sorry, Coromandel -- but two versions are always better than one, so please keep going )

[Coromandel]

[continuing from above]

..... Touching my world-
ly goods I thus(?) dispose them. First I give & devise
the whole state, & tearme of yeares w[hi]ch I have in
my holde, Y lyving(?) in Upton [word 'Lowell' struck through] wherein I now dwell
unto Thomas my sonne to have, & to hold the same unto
the only use, & behoofe of Joyce my wife during her
naturall life, & afterwards to the sole use of him the said
Thomas, his executors, & assignes during the whole tearme
after the decease of his mother. It[e]m all the residue
of my goods and cattell I give unto my wife Joyce
upon condition th[a]t she shall undertake the paiment
of all my depts, & save my executor harmeless, &
bring up my children honestly, & in the feare of
god. And I doe ordeine, & appoint Thomas my
sonne to be my sole, & onely exectuor of this my
last will, & ...le testament, & heereunto have sub-
scribed my hand the day & yeare above written.
In the presence of Tho: Hickman. Gabriel Stevens.
Gwalter Freestone his marke. Christopher Mogge.

I am not brave enough to attempt to transcribe the Latin, but it looks like administration of all Christopher Mogge's estate (which was valued at £89-7s.-2d.) was granted on 4 February 1633 to his widow Joyce during the minority of the executor.


P.S. I couldn't decide if the place name said Lowell or Lovell. Also, what I have transcribed as commas may just be places where the scribe rested his pen. If not, it is an interesting early use of the "Oxford comma"!

P.P.S. coo, you were quick, Kerrywood!

[sueannbowen]

This is absolutely fantastic! I have no idea how you do that- my hubby and I have been pouring over that Will and apart from a few obvious words got absolutely nowhere. This links Christopher to 'my' Thomas Mogg. I am soooo excited.

Thanks to both of you for your amazing help. I just hope I can do something for you one day.

[Kerrywood]

coo, you were quick, Kerrywood!

But you included all the commas, which I don't normally bother with, and the minority of the executor (very important!). Also the value of the estate, which I missed because I had the image over-enlarged and didn't see it in the margin.

[Kerrywood]

I have no idea how you do that

It's mostly through practice. About two thirds of this will is fairly standard verbiage, and when you've seen one ...

Seriously though, you might find the TNA online tutorial is helpful.

Also this modest little booklet is incredibly useful.

This links Christopher to 'my' Thomas Mogg. I am soooo excited.

Even better that it's been of genealogical use.

[Coromandel]

I have no idea how you do that

I went on a weekend palaeography course at Rewley House in Oxford . . . and another one on probate records. They were really helpful in giving me the confidence to tackle what at first looks like complete gobbledegook. Now I just love seventeenth century wills (except the Latin bits) and inventories! Sometimes nasty cramped Victorian handwriting is much harder to read. So . . . go on a course (or do that TNA tutorial) and practise, practise, practise!

It is great news that Christopher & Joyce have turned out to belong to you.)