Results 1 to 6 of 6
  1. #1
    Brick wall demolition expert!
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Lancashire
    Posts
    3,642

    Default On tender hooks ...

    I've not been a great fan of Ancestry's "shaky leaves" in the past, particularly when dealing with Welsh surnames, you get far too many eroneous hints. However about a week ago I noticed that they were trialling a new beta function which I thought would give a go.

    Well, I have finally found the date of death of my great grandfather's sister Margaret Williams nee Roberts. Thanks to the censuses I knew she died between 1901 and 1911, but anything other than that was like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack, as I wasn't even certain where she died.

    Today up pops a probate hint. I nearly dismissed it without looking at it, knowing that they didn't have two half pennies to rub together, but as its a slow day I took a look, and blow me its her. How do I know? Well she was living in her mother's house in small village just outside Caernarvon, and probate was granted to her mother, despite the fact that her husband was still living. It was granted in London, rather than locally, and the estate was valued at the princely sum of £4!!!!

    So totally intrigued I have now invested £10 to get a copy of her Will to find if there was anything to it, and will be on tender hooks until it arrives; and in all probability will come down to earth with a great big thud.

  2. #2

    Default

    Good luck! It sounds like I have to take those leaves more seriously...

  3. #3
    Super Moderator christanel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Wairarapa New Zealand
    Posts
    10,676

    Default

    What a great find Megan.
    Like you I sometimes see the hints and think 'Naw I won't bother" but then I think "What if?' so your great find has given me more incentive to plow through the hints.
    Let us know what the will says. I wonder if there is a juicy tale behind Margaret giving probate to her mother?
    Christina
    Sometimes paranoia is just having all the facts.
    William Burroughs

  4. #4

    Default

    I read this thread because of the title. Do you know where the expression "on tenter-hooks" came from?
    (I am the fount of all trivia!)
    When cloth was woven it would then be washed and put out in the sun to dry. To ensure thay it stayed in the correct shape it would be stretched out on the ground and hooks were placed along the edges and hammered firmly into the ground. These were tenter-hooks and kept the fabric under tension. So whenever we are in suspense, under tension we say "I am on tenter-hooks".
    To Quote Michael Caine, not many people know that LOL;
    Sorry to kidnap your thread but I simply couldn't resist.
    Last edited by Ladkyis; 22-07-2019 at 9:28 AM. Reason: erroneous line break
    Sadly, our dear friend Ann (alias Ladkyis) passed away on Thursday, 26th. December, 2019.
    Footprints on the sands of time

  5. #5
    Brick wall demolition expert!
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Lancashire
    Posts
    3,642

    Default

    Well I received the Will

    She made the will 8 days before she died, and she left her "wedding ring watch and gold chain" to one son, and her "keeper ring and silver chain" to her other son. Her mother to look after the items in question until the boys reach 16 years old, and if she died before then, then her brother was to look after the items for them. All of which suggests that she wasn't on good terms with her husband, and/or that did not trust him.

    She also left her clothes to her mother.

    But I'm still no clearer as to why it was proved in London rather than closer to home.

  6. #6
    Super Moderator - Completely bonkers and will never change.
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    England
    Posts
    9,620

    Default

    For some (to me, totally inexplicable) reason, at least fifty per cent of wills are not proved in the Probate Registry office nearest to your home.
    Look at any page in the 1858-1996 section of the Probate Index, and you'll see stuff such as people lived Hampshire, Dorset, Dover, Bath, Hastings, wills all proved in London. But on the same page someone else who lived in Hampshire had their will proved in Shrewsbury.

    Pam
    Vulcan XH558 - “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Select a file: