Will of Frances Black, widow, 1910 (proved 1912)

Oxford Probate Registry

I Frances Black of 4 Belle Vue Terrace Station Road Winslow in the County of Buckingham Widow hereby revoke all former Wills Codicils and testamentary instruments made by me and declare this to be my last Will and Testament. I appoint my friends Laurence James Saunders of 3 Manse Cresent [sic] Stirling and George Ingram Senior of Winslow aforesaid Executors and Trustees of this my Will and I give to the said George Ingram the legacy or sum of Twenty pounds if he shall accept the office of Executor and Trustee as aforesaid as an acknowledgement of his trouble in so acting. I give and bequeath the following specific legacies to my Niece Margaret Black Saunders Daughter of Laurence Saunders my Pearl and Diamond brooch to my Niece Jane Maidment the Widow of the late Harry Maidment my Keeper Ring to Elizabeth Ingram of Winslow my Wedding Ring and Hair Ring to Jane Woolhouse the Wife of the said George Ingram my Ruby and Pearl Ring to Sarah the Wife of William Ingram of Winslow aforesaid my Ruby and Brilliant Ring to Dorothea Annie Gray Thompson my Watch and Chain and Trinkets and to the Reverend Robert James Thompson of Melrose the Gold and Coral Ring and the pair of Gold Solitaires worn by my late Husband. I give and bequeath the following legacies to my Niece the said Margaret Black Saunders the sum of Fifty pounds to my Niece Margaret Kay Donald Daughter of the late George Thompson the sum of Fifty pounds to my Niece the said Jane Maidment of Watford the sum of Twenty pounds to my Niece Martha Seaton of Hartwell near Aylesbury the sum of Twenty pounds to my Niece Elizabeth Ingram of Winslow aforesaid the sum of Twenty pounds to my Niece Ellen Welch of Thornborough the sum of Twenty pounds to my Niece Maria Welch of Thornborough aforesaid the sum of Twenty pounds and to my maid Sarah Ann Harrup aforesaid the sum of Twenty pounds if she shall be in my service at the date of my death. I give devise and bequeath all he rest and residue of my estate and effects whether real or personal unto my Trustees Upon trust that my Trustees shall sell call in collect and convert into money the said estate as soon as conveniently maybe after my decease and shall stand possessed of the proceeds to arise from such sale calling in and conversion Upon trust to pay my just debts and funeral and testamentary expenses and the legacies bequeathed by this my Will and after payment of my just debts and funeral and testamentary expenses and legacies Upon trust for the said Laurence James Saunders absolutely. In witness whereof I have to this my last Will and Testament set my hand this Thirteenth day of October One thousand nine hundred and ten.
Frances Black [signature]
Signed and acknowledged by the Testatrix Frances Black as her last Will and Testament in the presence of both of us together we being present at the same time and we at her request in her presence and the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses the words “Hair Ring” having been first interlined in the seventeenth line of the first page hereof.
William J. Whitehorn [signature] Solicitor, Winslow.
Henry Crofts [signature] Grocers Assistant, Winslow.

On the Twentieth day of January 1912 Probate of this Will was granted at Oxford to Laurence James Saunders and George Ingram the Elder, the Nephew, the Executors.
It is hereby certified that the foregoing is a correct Copy
Dated this Twenty fifth day of January 1912

BE IT KNOWN that Frances Black 4 Belle Vue Terrace, Station Road, Winslow in the County of Buckingham, Widow, who at the time of her death had a fixed place of abode at Winslow aforesaid, within the district of the Counties of Oxford, Berks and Buckingham, died on the 5th day of December 1911 at Winslow aforesaid.
AND BE IT FURTHER KNOWN that at the date hereunder written the last will and Testament of the said deceased was proved and registered in the District Probate Registry of Her Majesty’s High Court of Justice at Oxford, and that administration of all the estate which by law devolves to and vests in the personal representative of the said deceased was granted by the aforesaid Court to Laurence James Saunders of 29 Crossgate, Cupar, Fife, Collector of Taxes and George Ingram the Elder of Winslow aforesaid, retired Butcher, the Nephew of the Deceased, the Executors named in the said Will.
Dated the 20th day of January 1912
Gross value of Estate £1032 -18 – 3
Net value of Personal Estate £993 -10 – 4
Resworn £1543 – 1 – 7 and £1789 – 11 – 9
Extracted by Whitehorns & Law, Solicitors, Winslow

Notes

The 1911 Census shows Frances Black, widow aged 77, married for 48 years and with no children, living at 4 Belle Vue Terrace with her servant Sarah Ann Harrup aged 42.

In 1881 she was living in Buckingham Road with her husband George Black, chief clerk for the Inland Revenue, born in Scotland. In 1871 they were living in Derby. They haven't been found in the 1891-1901 Censuses but they were living in Winslow by 1908. George died in 1910 aged 77.

In 1861 George Black was lodging at 12 High Street. In 1862 he married Frances Turnham in East London registration district. She was the sister of his landlord Thomas Turnham, and is listed as "Fanny" in the 1861 Census.

Most of the beneficiaries of the will were Frances' relatives on the Ingram side: George, William and Elizabeth Ingram were siblings. Their sister Jane Ingram married Henry Maidment at Chelsea in 1863, and their sister Martha married Thomas Seaton at Winslow in 1872. Their sister Ann, who married James Welch, was the mother of Ellen and Maria Welch, farmers at Thornborough.

Laurence Saunders seems to have been Frances' husband's brother-in-law.