Hi, Could someone possibly help me with this handwritten Will. I can't make out the names/places. I

LegacyUser

LegacyUser

would not let me continue. James Chaplin of ?, Ironmonger. I can't make out the names/places. I would appreciate any help. Thank you

Teresa Arispe

I'm not going to pretend like my old English reading skills are the best, but here's what I'm seeing:

 

"Niece Elizabeth [surname] the daughter of James and Elizabeth [surname] late of Grays Inn Lane in the county of Middlesex and James Chaplin of [name] Street in the city of London ironmonger"

 

That last line is just talking about survivors and executors, I think, no proper names there.

 

I'm afraid I'm not quite sure what Elizabeth's last name is; I think it may start with an S but I'm not certain.

 

I think her parents probably lived on Grays Inn Lane (or Grays Inn Road), which is in London. Middlesex was a county in England until 1965, when it was incorporated into Greater London. Unfortunately I'm not sure about the street where James Chaplin lived.

 

I know that's not 100% perfect, but I figured I'd take a stab at it.

LegacyUser

the same and every part thereof unto my dear wife (Inserted above) Manley my niece Elizabeth Fisher the daughter of James and Elizabeth Fisher late of Grays Inn Lane in the County of Middlesex and James Chaplin of (Cateaton?) street in the city of London Ironmonger and to the survivors and survivor of them and to the executors or administrators of

Paul W

Agree with Glynn - there was a Cateaton Street in the City of London, now part of Gresham Street. See https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x104584 and other Google results.

 

Manley seems unusual as a female name, but was possibly a family surname. I would have slight reservations about it, as the "M" does not quite match the way it is shown in "Middlesex". Also, is "Mauley" just possible? I have Lauder ancestors, but the name is frequently transcribed as Lander, due to the similarity between the handwritten "u" and "n".

LegacyUser

Thank you Glynn. I thought it looked like the name Fisher also, but was not sure. Cateaton is correct, found other documents that had the same street name. Thank you so much for your help.

Best wishes,

PChaplin

LegacyUser

Hi Paul, Thank you so much for your help.

The name "Manley" is the last name of the person that wrote the Will. This is Thomas Manley's Will. On the side of the paragraph he wrote his wife's first name "Mary" Her name was Mary Manley (maiden name Chaplin). The Manley name has been used in the family as a middle name for both, male and female. They did the same with the Chaplin name. I guess in those days they used the mother's maiden name as a middle name a lot. They also named girls in boys names a lot. From what I understand they did it because oldest girls could not inherit only the boys could. Not sure if that's true but it had something to do with that.

Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it.

Best wishes,

PChaplin