There's lots more information on the
On this page: [Introduction] [Wills in chronological order] [Other names in alphabetical order] [Useful links]
Introduction
I didn't expect to find very much in the way of Wills because the Devonshire Will records were destroyed by fire in the war. However, I have now found quite a few copies in the PRO records (now available online) and a further 14 Estate Duty Office Copy Wills from the DRO (now searchable online). The copyright rules do not allow me to post the images here without paying but I am allowed to post transcriptions. Pam Jackson has kindly transcribed most of these Wills for us. The others have been transcribed by me and may not be as accurate (I am still learning to read old handwriting). The wills are listed in chronological order of proof (i.e. roughly a little after the date of death). Unlinked details will be summarised as soon as time permits but I am happy to do lookups in the meanwhile.
Sources: PRO=Public Record Office, DRO=Devon Record Office, DLSL=Devon Local Studies Library, BMI=Burnet-Morris index, PWDRO=Plymouth & West Devon Record Office, TOT=Totnes Museum
The wills are listed below with links to pages that include summaries and full transcriptions where available The testators seem to mainly come from the Totnes tree (unsurprisingly) and they are shaded in yellow. The others we have not yet identified. Can you help?
Links to Wills - Chronological Order
| Date Proved | Testator | Occupation & Location |
Source | Other surnames | Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1581 | George WINDIT | of Exeter | BMI | JOBSON | |
| 1589 | Wyllam WYNDEATT | of Ashberton | DLSL | LYGHTE, BARRET | |
| 1590 | Laurence WYNDEAT | of Aishburton | DLSL | HANNAFORD | |
| 1613 | Peter Wyndeat | Rector of Aveton Gifford | DLSL | ||
| 1653 | Peter WINDEAT | of Dartington | DLSL | ||
| 1659 | Thomas WINDEATT | now of Meavy | PRO | EDGCOMBE ATTWILLE | |
| 1686 | Anthony WINDYETT | Clothier of Plymouth, Devon | PRO | ?AVANT ?CAUNT ?CHALLANGE COLE ?CROOK ?COUTH/CROUCH CROSSING HARRIS HOOK ?LOCK ?NORROLT PEARD PORSMOUTH ?TREWATHEN WESTLAKE WILCOCKS | ? |
| 1734 | Mary WINDEATT | PWDRO | Reference: 242/5/9 (I haven't seen this yet). | ||
| 1760 | Anthony WINDEATT | Stay Maker of Saint Martin in the Fields , Middlesex | PRO | BENNETT MASON | ? |
| 1760 | Joan WINDEATT | of Moretonhampstead | PWDRO | Reference: 242/10/3 (I haven't seen this yet). | |
| 1766 | Elizabeth WINDEATT | Fellmonger's Wife Tavistock, Devon |
PRO | BAYLY BRABANT BRIDGMAN BROWNE BURGESS CAUNTER EVANS FOLLOTT FOOT GULLETT HARRIS HOOKEY MILFORD PARSONS PATHYBRIDGE PAWLING SAVORY SEARLE STOBLE WILLS (Plus some others that are difficult to decipher.) | TOT |
| 1769 | Widow Saint Martin in the Fields, Middlesex |
PRO | SKINNER JONES ROGERS YEATES SADLER BAKER MATTHEWS | ? | |
| 1780 | James WINDEATE | Seaman His Majesty's Ship Apollo |
PRO | GODFREY POWNALL MILBURN PRYHN | ? |
| 1786 | Samuel WINDEATT | Gentleman Totnes |
TOT | SMITH NEWLAND CUMING SEARLE BERRYMAN SOPER | TOT |
| 1794 | John WINGETT | Seaman His Majesty's Ship Orion |
PRO - ADM 48/99 14 Aug 1794 |
I haven't seen this one yet. Ship Pay Book Number 458 |
|
| 1800 | George WINDEATT | Yeoman Ilsington |
PRO | [Death Duty Register index only] | |
| 1804 | Walter WINDEATT | Yeoman Widicombe |
PRO | [Death Duty Register index only] | |
| 1804 | Richard WINGETT | Harberton | PRO | [Death Duty Register index only] | |
| 1807 | Samuel WINDEATT | Gentleman Totnes |
PRO | WHITE ABRAHAM CRIBBET MATTERFACE | TOT |
| 1812 | Mathew WINGYETT | Confectioner St. John, Exeter |
PRO | BASS FORCE KINGWELL PAUL RICHARDS TOWNSEND | ? |
| 1812 | Andrew WINGETT | Labourer Plymouth, Devon |
PRO | EDWARDS LUSCOMBE | ? |
| 1818 | Thomas WINDED | Yeoman Torquay Devon |
DRO | BEDLAKE BOYCE CROCKWELL | ? |
| 1820 | Mary WINGYETT | Confectioner Exeter, Devon |
DRO | ARTHUR BASS FORD KINGWELL PAUL TERRELL | ? |
| 1821 | Thomas WINDEATT | Hinge Maker, Oil Leather Dresser, Fellmonger and Glue Maker Tavistock , Devon |
PRO | [The scanned image of this Will is very poor - I have requested a replacement] | |
| 1824 | John WINDEAT | Yeoman North Bovey, Devon |
DRO | BALL GRAY HARVEY PONSFORD SHEARS | ? |
| 1825 | Elizabeth WINDEAT | Widow Moretonhampstead, Devon |
DRO | BRAGG LANG PILLER PITTS PUDDICOMBE WRAYFORD | ? |
| 1826 | John WINDEATT | Tanner Bridgetown, Berry Pomeroy, Devon |
DRO | COLLIER, KING | TOT |
| 1827 | Jane WINGETT | Widow of Plymouth, Devon | PRO | BURNARD COOMBE WELSFORD | ? |
| 1828 | Samuel Milford WINDEATT | Berry Pomeroy, Devon | PRO | LAMPEN MILFORD TOZER WALLACE | TOT |
| 1832/3 | William WINDEATT | Woolstapler Tavistock, Devon |
DRO | ANGAS, BOX | TOT |
| 1833 | Sarah WINDEATT | Spinster of Ipswich Suffolk | PRO | CHEVALLIER COBBOLD FARTHING HAMMOND HOARE KETT MILFORD SMITH TOZER WRIGHT | ? |
| 1833 | Thomas White WINDEATT | Minister of the Gospel Totnes, Devon |
DRO | HEATH MARSHALL TAUNTON | TOT |
| 1834 | Mary WINDEATT | Widow Tavistock, Devon |
DRO | ----no other names in this document--- | TOT |
| 1836 | Elizabeth WINDEATT | Bridgetown, Berry Pomeroy, Devon | DRO | COLLIER ELLIOTT FOX KING WALLACE | TOT |
| 1841 | Dorothy WINDEATT | Widow Modbury, Devon |
DRO | ANDREWS GRILLS LAKEMAN | ? |
| 1842 | James Britnell WINGYETT | Merchant Plymouth, Devon |
DRO | BALL CHALKER DEVENISH DOIDGE FARMER FORD HAKE HORSWELL MADEN MADGE OLDREY PEAGAM PRANCE RANDOM ROOKER SHEPHERD STEADMAN WEBB WHITE | ? |
| 1842 | John Bowles WINGYETT | Chemist and Druggist Plymouth, Devon |
DRO | CHALKER FORD OLDREY ROOKER | ? |
| 1844 | Sophia Wilton WALLACE | Widow | PRO | WELSFORD LYLLYCRAP TOZER WALLACE KENEDY FILLITER ?ROCOULTER | TOT |
| 1850 | 1850, Thomas WINDEATT | Woolstapler Tavistock, Devon |
PRO | BALY/BAYLY GRIBBLE HARVEY | TOT |
| 1850 | 1850, William WINGET | Pianoforte Maker Tottenham Court Road, London |
PRO | BELLINGHAM OLIVER MATTERFACE PALMER REYNOLDS RUMBELOW TUCKETT WRIGHT | ? |
| 1852 | Mary WINDEATT | Spinster, Bridgetown, Berry Pomeroy, Devon |
DRO | COLLIER ELLIOTT HANNAFORD KING PARNELL | TOT |
| 1855 | Elizabeth WINDEATT | Buckfastleigh, Devon | DRO | BURGE, KING | TOT |
| 1855 | Elizabeth WINGETT | Sydenham, Kent | PRO | COOMBE BROWNE BEVAN HEARDER | ? |
| 1855 | William WINGETT | Gentleman, late Master Cooper Plymouth, Devon |
PRO | FISHLEY MADDICK SHOWEN | ? |
| 1856 | John WINDEATT | Gentleman Bridgetown, Berry Pomeroy, Devon |
DRO | AMERY DOBELL HANNAFORD TOZER TREHANE TUCKER | TOT |
| 1856 | John WINGETT | West Teignmouth, Devon | PRO | ADAMS ALWOOD CROYDON EVENS | ? |
| 1864 | John WINDEATT | 9 Brunswick Terrace, Plymouth | PWDRO | Reference: 500/181 - copy will - I haven't seen this yet | TOT |
| 1864 | Thomas WINDEATT | of Tavistock, esq | PWDRO | Reference: 500/182 - copy will - I haven't seen this yet | TOT |
| 1884 | Mary Tapper Windeatt | Of Luckdon in North Bovey | Devon Record Office 3555M-0/T/2/21 | Copy will - I haven't seen this yet - Details below | ? |
| bequeathing farm called Lower Langdon in North Bovey to son Edward Henry Windeat, etc. To son Cyprian Windeat 2 farms called Higher Meripit and Harter Land | |||||
| 1896 | Leslie WINGETT | Ordinary Seaman Service No. Z/524 |
PRO reference ADM 339/1 | I haven't seen this yet | |
| 1897 | Arthur Albert WINDEATT | Ordinary Seaman, Service No Z/4439 | PRO ADM 330/1 | I haven't seen this yet | |
Other Names - alphabetical order
ABRAHAM ADAMS ALWOOD AVANT AMERY ANDREWS ANGAS ARTHUR BAKER BALL(x2) BALY/BAYLY(x2) BARRET BASS(x2) BEDLAKE BELLINGHAM BENNETT BERRYMAN BEVAN BOX BOYCE BRABANT BRAGG BRIDGMAN BROWNE BROWNE(x2) BURGE BURGESS CAUNT CAUNTER CHALKER (x2) ?CHALLENGE(Susan, maidservant, 1686) CHEVALLIER COBBOLD COLE COLLIER (x3) COOMBE (x2) ?COUTH/CROUCH CRIBBET CROCKWELL ?CROOK CROSSING CROYDON CUMING DEVENISH DOBELL DOIDGE EDWARDS ELLIOTT(x2) EVANS(x2) EVENS FARMER FARTHING FISHLEY FOLLOTT FOOT FORCE FORD (x3) FOX GODFREY GRAY GRIBBLE GRILLS GULLETT HAKE HAMMOND HANNAFORD(x3) HARRIS(x2) HARVEY(x2) HEARDER HEATH HOARE HOOK? HOOKEY HORSWELL JONES KETT KING(x4) KINGWELL(x2) LAKEMAN LAMPEN LANDEMAN LANG LYGHTE LOCK LUSCOMBE MADDICK MADEN MADGE MARSHALL MASON MATTERFACE(x2) MATTHEWS MILBURN MILFORD(x3) NEWLAND ?NORROLT OLDREY(x2) OLIVER PALMER PARNELL PARSONS PATHYBRIDGE PAUL(x2) PAWLING PEAGAM PEARD PILLER PITTS PONSFORD PORSMOUTH POWNALL PRANCE PRYHN PUDDICOMBE RANDOM REYNOLDS RICHARDS ROGERS ROOKER(x2) RUMBELOW SADLER SAVORY SEARLE (x2) SHEARS SHEPHERD SHOWEN SKINNER SMITH (x2) STEADMAN STOBLE SOPER TAUNTON TERRELL TOWNSEND TOZER(x3) TREHANE ?TREWATHEN TUCKER TUCKETT WALLACE (x2) WEBB WELSFORD(x2) WESTLAKE WHITE (x2) WILCOCKS WILLS WRAYFORD WRIGHT(x2) YEATES
Links
About Wills
- What information can I find?
- From the UK Government's Family Records Centre
- Probate Records
- from Genuki Devon
- Wills and Probate Records
- From the Devon Record Office - specific advice about Devon wills
- A practical guide to using wills for family history
- By David French on the Berkshire Family History Society website
Advice on reading old handwriting
- English Handwriting 1500-1700: an online course
- from Cambridge University
- Paleography Tutorial
- from the Access to Archives site
- Early English handwriting
- Examples of sentences from the Wills of some ancestors of DAve Tylcoat in Burrington, Devon. Further advice and full transcriptions also available.
- Deciphering Old Handwriting
- from an American commercial site
- The two links below to samples of abbreviations of proper names use identical examples and it looks as if they were both copied from the same book? No source attributions are given . . .
- Old Style Abbreviations - Proper Names
- from the same American site
- More Examples of the Abbreviations of Proper Names
- From the old handwriting section of Mary Hudson's pages at Rootsweb
- Old Style Handwriting: A Beginner's Guide
- Another American site but this time from "The Smoot Family Association: dedicated to sharing our work online"
